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The slow down in the main event is significant enough that the High Roller has now caught it up. Almost precisely at the time that they final 16 main event players redrew for the last two tables, they did exactly the same in the High Roller event.

Of course, all things aren’t precisely equal. When the main event started today with 24 players, we were in level 23 and deep into the money. When the High Roller reconvened with 53 today, they were only in level 11 (which are one-hour long) and still a long way off the bubble.

Indeed, only 12 are paid at all, so there might be a slow-down of their own over there pretty soon.

When the redraw took place, the final two tables of the High Roller looked like this…

Table 1

1 – Martin Jacobson

2 – Vicky Coren

3 – Davidi Kitai

4 – Bryn Kenney

5 – Vladimir Troyanovski

6 – Timothy Reilly

7 – Ilan Boujenah

8 – Vojtech Ruzicka

Table 2

1 – Steven Silverman

2 – Adrian Mateos

3 – Jonathan Duhamel

4 – Kevin MacPhee

5 – Alain Goldberg

6 – Andras Nemeth

7 – Janos Nagygyorgy

8 – Alexandre Reard

…but in the early going, both Vladimir Troyanovski and Ilan Boujenah bust.

Ilan Boujenah, in happier times 

With all due respect to Boujenah (who lost with ace-king against Vicky Coren’s aces), the elimination of Troyanovski is the one that will have surprised observers the most.

Not only was Troyanovski second in chips coming back this morning, but he has also of late become something of a big buy-in monster, having made the final table of the High Roller and the Super High Roller at the PCA. Three in a row would have been one hell of an achievement, but one suspects the former World of Warcraft player would have expected even more. He came second in the the second of those PCA events, so was surely expecting to win this time.

Not to be.

Vicky Coren: assassin 

Even after those two left us, the line up here still boasts two former EPT Champions, a former WSOP Main Event champion, a two-time EPT runner-up, the youngest ESPT winner, a WCOOP main event runner up, and a luck sack. Pass the time trying to match player with description. Answers are at the bottom of the page.

Jonathan Duhamel: an answer

Brand new to the World Series of Poker Europe schedule is a non-bracelet event that has attracted some of the most talented, and richest, poker players in the world. The €50,000 Majestic High Roller has a hefty entry fee that only a few can afford, but what makes it even more expensive for many is the fact that re-buys are available through Level 9.

Forty-three players paid the high entry buy-in yesterday and only five were totally eliminated on the first day of the three-day event. According to media reports, there were many Asian businessmen in Cannes and some of them decided to play the high stake poker tournament.

John Juanda was the chipleader at the end of the first day of play, having soared to the top after eliminating former Team Titan star Marvin Rettenmaier (who immediately forked over the cash to re-enter the tournament). Juanda finished the day with 538,000 chips, followed by Richard Yong with 408,200 and David Benefield with 375,000.

Familiar names in the tournament were Tony G, Daniel Negreanu, Erik Seidel, Sam Trickett, and Tom Dwan. Many of the players had previously been eliminated from the 2012 WSOPE Event #7: €10,450 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event, which is currently in its fourth day of play at the Majestic Barrière in Cannes, France.

2010 WSOP Main Event 3rd place finisher Joseph Cheong continues to lead the 2012 WSOPE Main Event, in which players are competing for a €1,022,376 first place prize.

Until the re-buy stage of the Majestic High Roller closes it will not be clear what the final prize pool is and how many players will be paid.

In one of the last hands on Day 1, Juanda showed pocket aces when he called Rettenmaier, who was holding A K. Nothing helpful came up on the flop, turn, or river, and Rettenmaier busted. According to media reports, Rettenmaier wasn’t happy about needing to re-buy immediately, but that kept him in the action and he finished Day 1 with a stack of 112,400 chips.

 

Our good friend Josef Rantamäki over at PokerBlog decided here in a guest post that it was high time he told us just who we he thought were the Top 5 High Stakes Poker Players:

1) Phil Ivey:

Now granted his legacy, of late, has been tarnished with his sabbatical from the scene.  Some wonder if his gambling so high like he had a bottomless pit of money behind him finally caught up to him.  Let’s not forget, one thing that hasn’t changed is the fact he’s still Phil Ivey.  It’s true, stories of epic craps rolls by Ivy have gone the way of the dingo and now sightings of the great one is instant news, but… he’s still Phil Ivey.

The naysayers may ask these last couple of years, if he’s so great where’s he been, and why hasn’t he still been dominating? That’s silliness or contrived retrospective analysis, and perhaps ignorance of everything Ivey has gone through. Not just the upheaval in the industry but personal conflicts. Embroiled in a still simmering divorce, Ivey’s been distracted, that will change soon enough. His peers almost universally named him as the best, and in a game where it’s so difficult to separate yourself he makes that separation look easy.

He’s earned his accolades it by being the best in the world. The face of the glory years of poker will always be Phil Ivey.  He won live, he won online, he won tournaments, and he won cash games basically excelling in every aspect of the new world of poker.

2) Tom Dwan:

The Durrrr Challenge, his internet fan boys, and his savvy, contemplative, aggressive, fearless style of play consumed the poker media recently. Touted as an amalgam of past greats, Dwan in a short time elevated himself to their equal. He is unflappable. Granted as a tournament player, arguably hundreds are better, but as a high stakes cash game player he rarely leaves a loser.  He might get an escort out of Macau if he keeps winning multi-million dollar pots there.

The Moneymaker effect transformed online poker and Dwan perhaps more than anybody else rose up through this new form of poker to dominate as no one had before him.  If Ivey is the face of the era, Dwan is a close second.

3) Isildur1:

Viktor Blom rose to prominence as a screen name: Isildur1.  He destroyed players in a meteoric rise that transfixed the world. “Who is Isildur1?” was the question every poker fan, writer, and player was asking at the end of this era. When Viktor Blom admitted, as many people suspected, he was the mysterious high stakes player capable of punting new found millions as easily as he earned them, not many were surprised, but legions of fans now had a face to root for.

Blom’s placement on this list, is likely the most debatable, as his accomplishments pale compared to the other four. What can’t be questioned is the fact he is living proof of the meritocracy of online poker, and talent having a short wait for success during poker’s heyday.

4) Patrik Antonius:

The Finnish professional poker player started to make news with results in 2005 and continued to be a star all the way through 2011. He battled Tom Dwan in a high stakes online challenge that never completed but transfixed observers. Antonius, like Ivey, played almost as competently in the nosebleed cash games, be it live, or online as he did in tournaments.

He has the good fortune and misfortune to be a part of some of the biggest pots of all time. Winning or losing his ever stoic face never changes

5) Erik Seidel:

The only player on this list to not been a part of, or express an interest in being a part of a huge online poker heads up challenge.   His loss to Johnny Chan in the Main Event was immortalized in the movie Rounders but since then, it’s been him and not Chan that has dominated High Stakes Poker tournaments.

Seidel’s run of success in recent years has him sitting atop the all time money winners list.  He also is just a few bracelets shy of Phil Hellmuth’s record 11.  Seidel, no matter the stakes, wins.  He has a track record of excellence that is second to none.

6+:  Jason Mercier, Daniel Negreanu, Phil Hellmuth, John Juada, Gus Hansen, Bertrand Grospellier, Jonathan Duhamel, Michael Mizrachi…  All great players, but not quite great enough for this list. For more on high stakes players and high stakes news head on over to PokerBlog.

Marvin Rettenmaier scored two cashes at high roller poker tournaments this month, but his Team Titan teammate Sam Trickett busted out of the European Poker Tour’s highest buy-in tournament ever. The World Series of Poker announced a $ 1 million buy-in bracelet event this summer, while the Asian Poker Tour staged the Manila Millions.

What’s up with high roller and super high roller tournaments? Why are the top poker players attracted to play them at such high entry costs?

Marvin Rettenmaier finished in 5th place in the €9,700 No Limit Hold’em – High Roller Event at WPT Vienna for a payout of €25,670. This week he finished in 3rd place in the European Poker Tour (EPT) Berlin €10,000 High Roller event. Marvin didn’t cash in the Main Events staged in Vienna and Berlin.

Sam Trickett canceled his plans to travel to Manila to play the Manila Millions, the high roller event staged as part of the Asian Poker Tour (APT) Philippines 2012, and which was the highest buy-in tournament ever to take place in Asia. Instead, Sam traveled to Monte Carlo to play the Monte Carlo EPT Super High Roller a €100,000 buy-in event. Unfortunately, Sam busted out on the first day of the event, long before the money was reached.

Meanwhile, the World Series of Poker will stage a charity event called the BIG ONE for ONE DROP, this summer as part of the WSOP schedule. The event will feature a $ 1 million buy-in and has already attracted 30 committed participants. Even though the event will raise a significant amount for the ONE DROP charity organization, which fights poverty by promoting worldwide access to water, a huge prizepool will be available to the winning players. First prize is expected to take home well over $ 12,000,000, which will be the highest poker prize ever.

What attracts poker players to these high roller events, especially the super high roller events with exorbitant buy-ins?

The playing fields at high roller events are small, and even though the starting chip stack is high, the tournament lasts a more management length of time in comparison to a Main Event. The prizes are very lucrative, so even if a player must pay a high buy-in, his finish could result in a huge winning. And finally, although the high roller events attract some of the best-known poker professionals, in many cases, and certainly in the super high roller events, some of the participants are not good poker players at all, giving a huge advantage to a skilled professional.

Last year, Sam Trickett placed 2nd in the Aussie Millions $ 250,000 Super High Roller and took first place in the Aussie Millions $ 100,000 Challenge. The playing fields were small, but the huge cash prizes Sam won (nearly $ 3 million in total), propelled him into the ranks of the top poker players in the world.

Once again it’s time for some more perfect poker talk as we’re back at the virtual rail, and this week we’re catching up  Exan13 who recently cashed for $ 25k in our $ 100K High Roller Tournament.

DW: Welcome to the PartyPokerBlog Exan13, so the usual first question, how’d you get started?

EX: Well I began to play poker in June 2009 via the pokerstrategy forum, where I got $ 50 starting bonus. Step by step, playing on micro-limits, I managed to become a successful MTCT player.

DW: Do you mainly play online poker, live poker, or a mixture of both?

I started  to pay attention to off-line poker only the last summer, when I visited a couple of Russian FTP sessions. I enjoyed it a lot, but then FTP kept blocked all my bankroll and I stopped to make sallies to off-line series. I started  to play off-line from time to time (cash + S&G) in my city. I spend a lot more time on online gaming. I haven’t visited WPT, EPT and WSOP yet.

DW: Do you have a day job or do you play poker professionally? Still in school? Some combination of all of the above?

I’ve never worked professionally. Thanks God I discovered poker and managed to realize myself in it. I would have had to finish studying last year, but I failed one exam and was expelled. Now I resumed study, I am going to take the exam and get a diploma.

DW: Okay sounds good who are some of your favorite professional poker players? Which players would you be most scared to see at your table? Any pros you’d hope to play with?

EX: I don’t like much TV-poker. So I don’t have favorite players. I would like to play with many of pros in poker tourneys to find mistakes in their game and be proud of myself. And, probably, to learn something in our trade.

DW: Okay here’s the fun question I love to ask say if you won a big live event what is the first thing you’d buy with the prize money?

 

EX: If I won a big live event, first of all I would build a big wooden nice house at the ocean. I would also invest in a business, to have income not only from poker.

DW: Sounds wise to me, good planing there, Can you tell us how you ended up winning this prize (maybe you could describe how you heard about the promotion, and how you prepared)

EX: I found out about the promotion in the forum, the promotions on party are great

DW: Well as usual thanks for your time Exan13, and have a great trip in Bali. It looks like some practice makes some perfect poker which a few of us out there could learn a thing or two from.

2.20pm: Break time

Players are on a 15 minute break.

2.10pm: Barbero claws some back

As the first break arrives Nacho Barbero managed to pull a few chips back after dropping to around 35,000.

On a flop of [5h][td][7c] Barbero bet which Vanessa Selbst called for a [jd] turn card. Both checked this time for a [9c] river. More checking. Barbero showed [as][js] to win the hand, back up to around 40,000.

Elsewhere, on a flop of [tc][jh][4c], Daniel Smith bet 5,100 from the big blind which Scott Seiver called in early position. Tobias Reinkemeier was on the button and passed. The turn came [2c]. Smith checked this time, using a kind of Kruschev fist to bang the table. Seiver looked on intently before betting 11,000 to take the pot. – SB

1.50pm: Jorgensen three-barrel bluffs

Theo Jorgensen has just been picked off by Joseph Cheong after firing three volleys into a [ad][7s][9s][kh][th] board. Cheong check-called every street, Jorgensen insta-mucked the river but was shown [as][js] for good measure. Jorgensen fired 1,200, 3,000 and then 7,000. It didn’t work and he was left with 25,000 with which to nurse his wounds.

Theo Jorgensen

Jorgensen, we’ve heard on the grapevine, is engaged in a prop bet where he must run one mile at the average speed of the current world record for the marathon (3 hours 43 minutes). That would mean running a mile in about five minutes, we reckon. Doesn’t sound like much fun to us… — RD

1.32pm: Coren beats Bord

“What terrible hand did you call a four-bet with pre-flop?” Vicky Coren asked James Bord.

The board read [ad][8c][7d][qc][9d] and Coren had bet 8,000 into the river. Bord didn’t look happy, he sighed signalling that there would be no check-raise, just a call or a fold. Bord eventually passed tabling [9c][7c] face up. Coren then accused Dan Shak of not understanding British sarcasm. Why? Some comment that had been made on the flop before we arrived. Shak, sporting some new specs, gave a nod of ‘Ahhh, right, I’ve heard of that.’ — RD

1.25pm: Final word

Things are gradually beginning to settle down with the field in the high roller levelling off at 60 – that’s how many names are on the list. We’re into the second level of the day however the blinds will remain the same. — SB

1pm: Pushing 60

We’re up to 56 players with only a few pots of note taking place. Eugene Katchalov has since arrived and there are more changes as a new table is opened which will be home to Katchalov, Vanessa Rousso, Theo Jorgensen and Eric Seidel.

As soon as the man who knows the answer to the question “How many levels are we playing today?” begins to look less distressed, we will endeavor to find out how many levels we’ll be playing today. — SB

12.40pm: A new look High Roller

Well, having originally said there were 36 players registered in the high roller that number is now up to 54 following the arrival of Barry Greenstein, Eric Seidel, Michael Tureniec, Luke Schwartz and number others.

It also means a few changes here and there. Vanessa Selbst has been moved to a new table, along with Mike McDonald, Seidel, Jonathan Duhamel and Nacho Barbero.

In admin news players start with 50,000 chips and play one-hour levels. — SB

12.20pm: Who’s Who

It’s largely a field of the usual suspects in the High Roller which has 36 players registered so far.

Theo Jorgensen, Vicky Coren and Vanessa Selbst share a table; Johnny Lodden, John Duthie and Vanessa Rousso share another.

Vicky Coren and John Duthie share a moment

Jonathan Duhamel and Joe Hachem are sitting side by side while Nacho Barbero and Viktor Blom are also among those playing. — SB

12.15pm: Cards in the air

Play begins.

12pm: Slow start

We’re going to have a delayed start.

11.45am: High Rolling

Welcome to EPT London, again, where this time the High Rollers take centre stage, albeit if you ignore the massive television table at the end of the room, for what is usually one of the most entertaining battles of the festival.

As of now details are a little sketchy, although the official name for the event is the High Roller “8 Max”, ,meaning play will be eight-handed all the way. There’s also the small matter of the entry fee, which is a very reasonable £20,000, plus £500 for postage and packaging.

The Houses of Parliament, with life belt for emergencies

Play is set to begin at 12 noon, running alongside the main event, coverage of which you can find here, or at the top of the PokerStars Blog home page.

It almost seemed like a rematch of the Aussie Millions Super High Roller Event staged in January. Team Titan’s Sam Trickett reached the final table of the World Poker Tour’s $ 100,000 buy-in Super High Roller Event at the Bellagio in Las Vegas and one of his opponents was poker pro Erik Seidel. Like the tournament in Australia, this one set a record for carrying the largest-ever buy-in for a WPT event. But this time there would be no Heads-Up rematch between Sam and Erik.

Sam was eliminated in 8^th place, short of the five players who finished in the money. Erik went on to win the tournament to capture the first prize of $ 1,092,780, increasing his total winnings for the year to $ 5,590,166.

 

Sam was knocked out in Level 14, with blinds of 10,000/20,000 and a 3,000 ante. Daniel Negreanu raised in late position to 44,000 and Sam moved all-in from the big blind for 430,000. Negreanu tanked for about a minute before he called.

Sam was holding KQ of diamonds and Negreanu held KJ of clubs, making Sam the dominant favorite to double up. But instead of offering him something to latch onto, Sam saw the board bring three additional clubs to give Negreanu the flush.

Later in the tournament, Erik Seidel went into Heads-up action against Erick Lindgren. Seidel had a chip lead of 7.12 million to 4.48 million, but Lindgren quickly doubled up to force Seidel against the ropes. Seidel managed to work his way back to the lead and eventually emerged victorious from the tournament.

A total of 29 players participated in the WPT Super High Roller tournament. The final payout for the top players was:

1) Erik Seidel, $ 1,092,780

2) Erick Lindgren, $ 700,500

3) Daniel Negreanu, $ 448,320

4) Vivek Rajkumar, $ 336,240

5) Justin Bonomo, $ 224,160

Current chipleader is American Justin Bonomo with 1,837,000 in chips. Action resumes later today, Vegas time. Go Sam!

 

“Made Day 2 of the $ 100k highroller, 6/17,” Sam posted on his Facebook page.

The World Poker Tour’s Super High Roller event, which followed the tour’s $ 25,000 championship, will make history as the highest buy-in televised event in the United States.

Other players participating in the Super High Roller are Erik Seidel, Daniel Negreanu, and Yevgeniy Timoshenko.

The current top six players are:
1) Justin Bonomo 1,837,000
2) Vivek Rajkumar 1,628,000
3) Erick Lindgren 1,607,000
4) John Morgan 1,009,000
5) Randy Dorfman 968,000
6) Sam Trickett 626,000

The event’s payout structure is:
1) $ 1,092,780
2) $ 700,500
3) $ 448,320
4) $ 336,240
5) $ 224,160

Action resumes later on Thursday, Las Vegas time. Go Sam!

Remarkably, there are still those who believe poker is a game of luck. Sure, there is an element of good fortune required, but the skills necessary to win big tournaments can not be in doubt. Just look at the names who are winning big, time and again. Luck? I don’t think so.

This €25,000 high roller event in Madrid, the new home for the EPT Grand Final celebrations, is a case in point. Chip leader going in to the final table is Galen Hall. Remember that name? That’s right, the same Galen Hall who won the PCA in January for a cool $ 2.3 million. And who else is here for the final? Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Rousso, who won this very event two years ago; ElkY who, like Hall, has won the PCA; and seasoned pros including Juha Helppi, Benny Spindler and Peter Jetten.

Try telling me they all lucked their way to this final.

Galen Hall

Of course, my reasoned argument would have fallen flat on its face were it not for the elimination of poor Alexander Luber on the bubble. He really had been lucky to get as far as he did. You see, he was down to just 3,000 chips late in the evening, and 1,000 of those had to go in for the ante in the next hand. Yet Luber managed to win the hand, and the next, and the next. Not long after he doubled up again, and before he knew what time of day it was he was up to 160,000.

Alexander Luber

It counted for nothing, though, as with nine players left, and after a torturous bubble period, he pushed with pocket queens and walked straight into the aces of Benny Spindler. And that was the end of that.

It was a nice pot that gave Spindler 710,000 chips to bag up, just ahead of Juha Helppi’s 707,000 but well behind Hall’s dominant 798,000. Hall, chisel-jawed and well spoken, had impressed everyone at the PCA, and here he was doing it all over again.

Benny Spindler

While it was Hall’s lead to gain, it was others’ to lose. Rewind to last night, when Viktor ‘Isildur1′ Blom closed out as chip leader. He returned today determined to press home his advantage. But he doubled up Vanessa Rousso mid way through the day and was never really able to recover.

Viktor Blom

Meanwhile, his online poker nemesis Tom ‘Durrr’ was threatening to steal the show. He returned in the morning bottom in chips with just 16,000 but worked that into 140,000 in the early levels. But two bluffs that went badly wrong saw him leave much earlier than the online railers would have wished, but not before some fascinating tussles with Luke ‘FullFlush’ Schwartz.

Luke ‘FullFlush’ Schwartz and Tom ‘Durrr’ Dwan

While all that was going on, a Russian gentleman called Alex Repik was shooting up the leader board and taking the chip lead. A rich businessman, he seemed unbreakable. But as the player numbers dwindled, and the stakes grew, he got picked off. Juha Helppi, the Finnish pro, prospered best, taking a succession of pots off Repik that saw his own stack finish so well. Repik was left with 141,000.

Team Pros to fall today, which began with 36 players, included Johnny Lodden, Humberto Brenes, Ville Wahlbeck and Eugene Katchalov. The Team Pro stable will be cheering ElkY and Rousso tomorrow. Here is how our final table shapes up:

Vanessa Rousso, USA, Team PokerStars Pro, 146,000
Alex Repik, Russia, 141,000
Peter Jetten, Canada, 63,000
David Sands, USA, 207,000
Galen Hall, USA, 798,000
ElkY, France, Team PokerStars Pro 165,000
Juha Helppi, Finland, 707,000
Benny Spindler, Germany, 710,000

Vanessa Rousso

That all kicks-off at 1pm local time hear at the Casino Gran Madrid. Each of our finalists is guaranteed €45,000, but it’s the €525,000 for first they’re all after.

Review our coverage today here:
Levels 9 – 12
Levels 13-16
Levels 17-19

That’s it for now, join us again at 1pm tomorrow, which also sees the start of the Main Event at noon. Thanks as ever go to resident snapper Neil Stoddart. Don’t be nicking his stuff. Cheerio.