Vienna is the Austrian capital and has one of the richest histories of any European city. Many kings and queens have lived in this majestic place, and it therefor it's fitting to pay extra attention to hands played here this week with that hand.
Dutch pro Jorn Walthaus, who currently resides in Hong Kong, just faced a raise from George Bogdan Ana who had made it 300 before the flop. Walthaus called the raise from the small blind and the flop brought out .
Both players checked and on the turn the hit. Walthaus lead into his opponent for 900 and Ana made the call. On the river the hit and Walthaus bet another 1,600. Ana went into the tank for quite a bit before he raised it up to 4,200.
Walthaus, using his usual imposing stare-down posture, took about 15 seconds before putting in another raise. The Dutchman made it 11,600 and Ana went back into the tank before ultimately making the call.
Walthaus tabled for a full house, while Ana flashed his before throwing his cards into the muck.
With the cameras trained on Viktor Blom as he chatted to his friend Johnny Lodden, Jens Lakemeier was in a hand with him on a flop reading . Lakemeier led out for 400 and Blom made the call. The turn card saw a check from Lakemeier and when Blom threw out a bet of 650 Lakemeier folded.
Blom opened the next hand for 250 and when it folded to Lakemeier in the big blind he was undeterred and made the call. The two players saw a flop of . Checked to Blom who made a bet of 300 which Lakemeier called and they both checked the turn .
When the fell on the river Lakemeier changed tack and led out for 600. Blom weighed up the situation and flicked out the chips for a call. Lakemeier’s card headed straight for the muck however as he elected not to show and the pot headed Blom’s way.
Ziga Jamnikar, sitting next to Lakemeier, said sympathetically, “He’s too rich to bluff.”
Blom is known for his super aggressive play and over sized bets from time to time when playing no-limit hold'em. He does know a different gear than warp speed 9.
Blom opened to 250 under the gun and got two callers, the player next to him and Jens Lakemeier in the cutoff position.
Blom made a 400 continuation bet on and both opponents called. The turn was the and all players checked their option.
The hit the river and Blom checked. The player next to him checked as well but Lakemeier bet out 1,600. Blom wasted no time calling, the third involved player folded.
In a hand that took a few minutes to play out we had reached the river of a board reading . Salvatore Bonavena had bet the flop and then called a raise from Team PokerStars Pro Maxim Lykov. Bonavena then check called a bet on the turn and then checked the river.
He was now facing a bet of 3,500 on the river and he took a while, chewing contemplatively on his glasses. Eventually he threw in a chip and made the call and when Lykov turn over for trips he mucked his cards and surrendered the rest of the bet from his stack.
Gavin O'Rourke, a PokerStars qualifier from Ireland, opened for 300 and Team PokerStars Pro Liv Boeree defended her big blind. The two players checked it down to the river reaching a final board. “Sixes?” said Boeree and was pleasantly surprised to see they were good.
Distractions are essential. Bring as many as you can carry to the EPT. Photo courtesy of the PokerStars Blog.
For some the prospect of an opening day on the EPT can be a daunting prospect. But help is at hand. This new cut out and keep guide to your first day should see you happily though to Day 2. You’ll be on your way in no time, as the PokerStars Blog reports here.
Daniel-Gai Pidun managed to win the European Poker Tour in Berlin for €880,000 last year, he finished 17th the year before and 9th in 2011. Pidun made his way to Vienna, and since there's no way for him to defend his title in Berlin this year our expectations are very high.
It's safe to say Pidun was the chief of the EPT when the tournament was hosted in Berlin, as the enthusiast amateur player has three total cashes besides his deep runs.
Slowly but surely we're starting to see that Pidun's not just good on his home court, as he cashed the Eureka High Roller event yesterday. Pidun had a nice warm up here in Vienna and we're looking forward to seeing what this Main Event has in store for him.
Pascal Vos, who finished fourth when Pidun took the title last year, just showed up as well to chase more EPT glory in the Austrian capital.
"The fans back home will like that one," Jason Wheeler smiled, after we wrote up an interesting hand in which he folded a big one. We caught a hand from the start that played out as following.
Wheeler raised to 275 and Konstantin Puchkov called from the button after which Vizsnyiczai Zsolt three-bet from the small blind to 1,700. The American pro tanked for a bit before making the call, and Puchkov followed suit.
The flop brought out and Zsolt checked to Wheeler who quickly bet 2,225 and Puchkov let go of his hand. Zsolt grabbed some more chips before he fired 6,200 into the pot.
Wheeler went into the tank for a bit before he started talking to his opponent.
"What country are you from?" Wheeler kindly asked, as Zsolt remained quiet.
"What's your favorite color?" Wheeler added.
"Are you for the annexation of Crimea by Russia?" Wheeler continued, all while Zsolt remained silent.
After a brief pause Wheeler said, "I don't like to fold to Russians," as he threw his face up into the muck. Zsolt was kind enough to show as he raked in the pot. Wheeler made an impressive lay down, but his geographical assumption wasn't as good because Zsolt hails from Hungary.
![[user20283]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
.
hit. Walthaus lead into his opponent for 900 and Ana made the call. On the river the 
hit and Walthaus bet another 1,600. Ana went into the tank for quite a bit before he raised it up to 4,200.
for a full house, while Ana flashed his 
before throwing his cards into the muck.
. Lakemeier led out for 400 and Blom made the call. The turn card 
saw a check from Lakemeier and when Blom threw out a bet of 650 Lakemeier folded.
. Checked to Blom who made a bet of 300 which Lakemeier called and they both checked the turn 
.
fell on the river Lakemeier changed tack and led out for 600. Blom weighed up the situation and flicked out the chips for a call. Lakemeier’s card headed straight for the muck however as he elected not to show and the pot headed Blom’s way.
and both opponents called. The turn was the 
and all players checked their option.
and beat out Lakemeier's 
.
board. “Sixes?” said Boeree and was pleasantly surprised to see they were good.
