Poker in Amsterdam - Part Two

Apparently, just 199 players returned on Thursday 8th November to contest the 2nd day of the Master Classics main event. I know this because a little bird told me. The same one that told me that all three of Blue Square's sponsored pros were still left in, with Mickey Wernick leading the charge. Sadly not all three are still there now but both Praz and Karl are amongst the 60 players who will resume play today to continue the quest for the €620,000 first prize. Both are just above average in chips and for much of day two they were seated together on the same table. Mickey was on the table next to them but after having his pocket jacks busted by pocket fours, he never recovered and was out just before the dinner break.

Keith Hawkins was also on the same table as Praz and Karl, making for some lively poker action on one of the few tables that was visible from the rail. Also still in is Nick Gibson, who finished 3rd at the London GUKPT, but Walsall winner Jerome Bradpiece, who came back with just 12,000 chips, did not make it through the day. Today there is a €300 event as well as the continuation of the main event. It is sold out but someopne has offered to sell me their seat, so I may just indulge a little. Well, if I'm not allowed to report on it, I might as well play.

Jonathan Raab
Friday 9th November

Poker in Amsterdam - Part One

Well, here I am in Amsterdam on tour with the Blue Square trio of Mickey Wernick, Praz Bansi and Karl Mahrenholz for one of the biggest and most prestigeous events on the European poker calendar. The Master Classics main event is a €5,000 no limit event held at the Holland Casino in the Dutch capital. We arrived on Tuesday afternoon just in time to see fellow Brit and World Heads Up Champion Jeff Kimber on the final table of the €500 Omaha rebuy tournament. He finished in 6th place. We were also just in time to buy seats into the main event as the tournament was rapidly approaching sell out status. With online registration closing a full five weeks before the event began, we had not been organised well enough in advance to secure seats at the event, so were taking a chance by simply turning up in the hope that there would still be places left. We had been assured by Amsterdam veteran of the last twelve years Paul Parker that it had never sold out in history and we should be able to get seats the day before. It was lucky we didn't decide on a trip to the Anne Frank House or the tulip market before hitting the casino, as there were fewer than 20 places left by the time we bowled on in. Several other British players missed out, but our lot all got in, if only just. 60 minutes later it was full.

The casino is enormous by European standards with each of its dens of gambling iniquity interlinked by stairways, rather like an overized rabbit warren. The poker tables for this huge tournament are dispersed throughout the casino's various rooms in batches on eight or nine, creating a vibrant atmosphere throughtout the state monopolised establishment. With the place as busy at it is, you can see why the Dutch government doesn't want to relinquish its stranglehold on the industry. Anyway, due to state laws restricting anything other than state run operations, media connected to online gaming sites is prohibitted, so I will not be able to report directly on anything that happens in the event. So without wanting to give too much away, Mickey Wernick's fortuitous preflop call with 5-3 on the TV table apparently will make good viewing as he knocked out two players in this single hand when two threes hit the flop. He was interviewed later about it for Dutch TV. Rumour has it that he, Praz and Karl all made it through day one with above average chip stacks (37,000, 29,000 and 36,000 respectively). I also hear that just under 200 of the 428 who started the tournament have survived into today's second day of play. Today I'm gonna keep my ears to the ground for any more second hand tales from the felt, because I sure ain't gonna break the law by reporting on a poker tournament. God forbid one should break the law here in Amsterdam.

Jonathan Raab
Thursday 8th November


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