MaltaPoker

 

Host: Malta Poker Events
Venue: Portomaso Casino
Tournament Style: €220 Freeze-out
Registered Players: 64
Satellite entries: 17 players
Direct Buy-in: 47 players
Tourney Duration: 9 Hours

64 poker players registered for the Halloween €220 Freeze-out tourney at the Portomaso Casino hosted by Malta Poker Events. The prize-pool reached just under €13,000 giving out cash prizes to the 9 poker players who made it into the money this month. The first prize of €4000 went out to Beatriz Bernal Leonardo [Spain], for placing first.
The first hand of the night was dealt at 16:45, with blinds increasing every 30 minutes, as players quickly started making plays for each others chip stacks which amounted to 7000 at the beginning of the tourney.
By the first break, the player count was down to 48 players which took the average stack to about 9300 and by 21:45, 19 players were left. Around 6 hours into the game, the tourney was down to the final table and included players Leo Said, David Meli, Ivan Farrugia, John Olsen, Spartaco Vivaldi, Beatriz Bernal Leonardo, Chris Sammut, Hiryonen Mikko Ilan and Jacob Nilsson.
The highlights at the final table started with one of the most animated player at the table, Leo Said who was in the Chip lead, and followed closely by David Meli. Leo placed a 40K bet which got called by the lowest stack at the table, as a last struggle to get back into the game. Hiryonen Mikko Ilan didn’t have enough chips to cover Leo’s bet and pushed all in while holding JQ. The flop immediately favoured Leo’s AQ as he paired both his hole cards when the QAT32 were uncovered from the deck sending Hiryonen out in 6th Position with a pair of Queens.
The chip distribution at the table with 5 players left was now as follows:
1. Leo Said – 142K
2. David Meli – 132K
3. Christopher Sammut – 69K
4. Spartaco Vivaldi - 65K
5. Beatriz Bernal Leonardo – 49K
With the blinds now at 3k/6k Spartaco Vivaldi was now on the button and pushed all-in holding JQ. Spartaco, who had a slighter bigger chip stack after collecting some blinds in the previous hands got called by Chris Sammut who was on the big blind and holding AQ. Here, the dealer uncovered 69Q22 which gave both players a pair of Queens, yet Chris Sammut held the lead with his stronger kicker [Ace]. Chris doubled up with this call taking his stack up to over 130K placing him inches away from Leo Said, the chip leader at the time. Spartaco’s stack took a decisive blow with this hand as he was left with just 4.5K which he lost in the following hand against Beatriz Bernal Leonardo who sent him out in 5th place with €950.
At 12:45am the table featured four poker players of which three Maltese and one Spanish player. With J8 in his hands, Leo Said called the big blind in the pot against David Meli. Leo raised upon pairing his Jack on the flop and David Meli who held A6 retaliated with a call upon pairing his Ace. The turn showed an 8 which now gave Leo 2 pairs, Hooks and Snowmen, and the confidence to bet another 20K on his hand. After some thought, David called Leo’s bet, and the dealer uncovered yet another Jack, giving Leo a full house with Jacks full of eights. At this point Leo slowly poured all of his chip stack, pushing all in into the pot - David Meli called this push, only to see Leo’s monster which overpowered David’s pair of Aces sending him out in 4th position with €1250.

 

With just three players left at the table, and a great distance between her and the remaining two other players, Beatriz now started to implement a more aggressive style pushing all in against Leo Said and Christopher Sammut on several occasions. She managed to increase her chip stack by winning the blinds several times as none of the other players were willing to take unnecessary risks at this crucial stage of the game.
At around 1:15am, Chris Sammut offered an All-in challenge to the other players while holding A8. He got called by Leo, who held a far greater chip lead while holding AK. The board showed JK629 giving Leo a pair of Kings which resulted in Chris’s busting out leaving Leo and Beatriz Bernal Leonardo as the final two players at the table. Chris Sammut was awarded €1490 for placing 3rd, an excellent placing, considering the high level of international competition at the tournament.
With just two players left in the game and a great disparity between their chip stacks, it seemed like Leo would have forcefully finished the game in a few hands, yet Beatriz showed no signs of weakness. She started pushing Leo into uncomfortable positions which led to him handing her many blinds and small raises after folding hands in order not to lose big chunks of his pot all at once. Within a few rounds, however, Beatriz had reached Leo’s Chip stack which was over 365K before they competed heads up, and slowly surpassed him.
Beatriz started by doubling up with the first All-in by Leo when he was holding 69 against her 98. The table showed AA934 giving her the advantage with her higher kicker and doubling her chip stack as she uncovered her hole cards.
A few bluffs, aggressive plays, and several uncalled all-ins later, Beatriz was now holding a larger stack than Leo, who was playing very passively at this advanced stage of the game. Beatriz gave Leo a very hard time in this heads-up challenge playing very aggressively, forcefully pushing Leo out of many pots by re-raising and pushing all-in to dominate her much more experienced opponent.
The game came to a close at around 2:00am when Leo pushed All-in holding K9 only to get called by Beatriz who held a much stronger hand – A pair of Kings. The flop showed 94T64, which gave Beatriz a much stronger lead, as Leo’s hand didn’t gain strength with any of the Flop, Turn or River cards. By now, Beatriz’s stack covered Leo’s push which guaranteed her 1st Place in the Halloween tourney, sending out Leo Said in a very respectable 2nd place with €2500 and winning herself €4000 in cash in addition to the Poker Table generously sponsored by Malta Poker Supplies.

 

Beatriz, our first ever female participant to win such an event, was delighted with her biggest win to date, and admitted that she hardly ever plays live tournaments at such an entry price, yet was encouraged to play by a close friend, who also participated in the event, yet didn’t place himself ‘in the money’. Her well paced aggressive style and heads-up strategy, were the decisive strengths with which she managed to outsmart her final opponent in a heads up challenge that saw her chip stack increase by over 700% in the last few hands of the tourney.
With her stunning performance at the final table, this young and flourishing player has proven that Poker, which usually features a higher male participation rate, is a game which goes beyond gender, and serves as a perfect example for aspiring female poker players giving them more confidence in participating in similar events held around the islands.
Results:
1. Beatriz Bernal Leonardo [Spain] - €4000
2. Leo Said [Malta] – Satellite - €2500
3. Chris Sammut [Malta]- € 1490
4. David Meli [Malta[ – Satellite - € 1250
5. Spartaco Vivaldi [Italy] - € 950
Photos of the Event may be viewed at the Gallery at MaltaPokerEvents.com. A highlights video of the Halloween tournament will also be online in the coming days.
The November satellite tournaments are back starting from Thursday, the 5th November at the Portomaso Casino. Winners of these satellite events will win their seats into the November €220 taking place at the Portomaso Casino on Sunday the 29th November 2009.
Malta Poker Events

The fourth episode of the weekly live satellite tournaments hosted by Malta Poker Events attracted 35 players on Thursday the 22nd October at the Portomaso Casino St. Julians.

Among the players present, were some of the regular Malta Poker Events fans like Stephen Spiteri, Ryan Seguna, Charles Sammut and Hubert Micallef as well as last month’s €220 winner, Georg Westin [Sweden].
The event started at 20:30Hrs where dozens of poker players took their shot at the event which gave them a chance at winning their €220 entry to the end of month Halloween Poker Tournament taking place at the Portomaso Casino, Malta, on the 1st November 2009.
The tournament progressed at a steady pace with quality poker players who were taking their time at analysing their opponents before taking any chances with uncalculated decisions. By midnight the game was down to the final table and the actions started to tighten up as leader Brian Cremona had a very strong lead, George Deguara as the short stack while there was a fairly broad distribution of chips amongst the remaining players.
Within a few of minutes after sitting down at the final table, the first player out in ninth was George Deguara, who was one of the lowest stacked players at the table. Next up was Georg Westin, who pushed blindly in a last attempt to double up as his chip stack started to shrink in comparison to the average. Brian Cremona, called Georg’s all in while holding AK and managed to dominate the Q3 held by Georg, and finished off by winning his entire stack which was around 3,700 at the time.
Stephen Spiteri, holding a reasonably healthy stack noticed that the game started to tighten up and took advantage of this by pushing and taking blinds in more than one occasion. While holding KQ, he eventually got called by Victor Mifsud, who was holding A4 diamonds which developed into a flush with a King of diamonds on the turn. The game wasn’t over yet however as to everyone’s surprise, the river card showed a King, which gave Stephen Spiteri a monster full house with King’s full of queens, as he claimed all of Victors Chips, sending Mifsud out in 7th position as the bubble.
The next determining hand was played between Charles Sammut and Mario Mannara, where Charles placed a 6,000 bet which Mario called fairly quickly. The flop showed JT9 and Sammut quickly followed up with an All-in while holding A10. Mario also paired a T on the flop and called Sammut’s bet only to be dominated by his opponents higher kicker, the Ace of Spades, as the turn and river cards didn’t help strengthen Mario’s hand.
The game came to a close by around 00:45 in a hand played between Stephen Spiteri and Ryan Seguna. Ryan pushed all in holding a pair of kings and got called by Stephen Spiteri’s pair of tens. Ryan’s hand maintained it’s strength on the flop which showed a 988 until the turn which showed a 6. The situation completely reversed itself when the river card came out as a 6 giving Stephen Spiteri a runner runner straight, and all of Seguna’s chips. Ryan went out in 5th position, winning himself a ticket for next week’s satellite tournament, leaving Brian Cremona, Charles Sammut, Ivan Farrugia, Stephen Spiteri as the winners of this episode of the October Satellite tournaments.
The next and final episode of the weekly satellites will be taking place at the Portomaso Casino, Malta on the 29th October 2009. The event is set to start at 20:30 hours and should attract around 40 – 50 players for their final chance to win their entry to the Halloween €220 tourney taking place on the 1st November 2009. Players are encouraged to dress-up for the Halloween event to complement the theme of the night as the ‘Spookiest tournament of the year’.

 

€220 Halloween tournament ticket winners: From Left to right – [Brian Cremona, Charles Sammut, Ivan Farrugia, Stephen Spiteri]
Satellite Winners:
- Ryan Seguna
- Mario Mannara
More info and photos may be viewed at the gallery on maltapokerevents.com.
Malta Poker Events

 

Date: 15.10.09
Time: 20:30hrs
Venue: Portomaso Casino, Malta
Starting stack: 3000 chips
Blind levels: 18 minutes

The Portomaso casino was full of fun packed poker action last night as the casino’s poker halls accommodated the Malta Poker Events October satellite – Episode 3 as well as the Poker Idol €330 side event for the group of professional poker players who qualified for the poker holiday package through the Poker Idol Poker Room. A €5/€10 cash game and the regular €1/€2 were also held for the many players who stormed the casino last night. Several Italian players were also present as they also joined in on the action against some of the best players introduced to the Maltese Poker Scene by Poker Idol, the online poker room tagged as ‘the future of online poker’.

The satellite event for the Halloween themed tournament attracted 19 local players this week, resulting in 5 payouts - 2 main event tickets being given out to the prize winners, two tickets for next week’s satellite event plus the remaining pot for Jackie Cachia, who placed fifth. The multi table tourney started at 20:30Hrs and progressed at the normal rate with the break taking place after approximately 75 minutes.

 

As a mid-game surprise for our players, the Portomaso Conference centre was set-up for this eventful day with a full blown buffet featuring a vast array of carefully prepared gourmet to suite the most discerning tastes. Players were invited to indulge in a wide range of sea food, pasta, cold cuts and an assortment of cheeses, sweets and exotic fruits to complement the fantastic overall turnout last night. In the buffet area, Malta Poker Events players also had the opportunity of meeting up and networking with professional poker players who participated in the Poker Idol Open side event which took place last night at the Portomaso Casino.

After refuelling with the exquisite food preparation, players rejoined their tables to compete for the final prizes for their respective tournaments.

The final table of the October edition Satellite tournament commenced at around 23:15Hrs and featured many of the regular players who participate in the weekly satellites as well as some new players who were hopeful about winning their buy-in to this month’s Halloween-themed event. Among these were also previous satellite winners JP Grech, Massimo Pappalardo, Rueben Velden and Leo Said.

After the tournaments were over and prizes given out, players were invited to club 22 at the Portomaso tower for a night of partying in company of the Poker Idol crew and players.

 

Photos may be viewed on the Malta Poker Events Photo Gallery

 

Winners of the Halloween themed €220 event on the 1st November 2009 pictured above.
• Leo Said [Left]
• David Meli [Right]
Winners of satellite tickets
• Rueben Velden
• Joe Camilleri
Winners of remaining pot:
• Jackie Cachia
With just two remaining satellite events before the €220 tourney this month, join us next Thursday the 22nd October at the Portomaso Casino for your chance to win a seat into the Halloween themed poker tournament being held on the 1st November 2009. Prize pool is expected to exceed €13,000 this month!
Free parking, snacks and beverages for all our players.
For more information on our current event schedule, please contact us on info@maltapokerevents.com
Malta Poker Events

Venue: Portomaso Casino, Malta
Time: 20:30Hrs
Price: €27+3
Style: Freeze-out
Structure: Freeze-out
Starting Stack: 3000 Chips
Blinds levels: 18 minutes
Players registered: 32

The second episode of the Malta Poker Events weekly satellites came to a close a last night with 32 players registering for the weekly event.

Four €220 prizes were given out, granting the winners entrance to the €220 freeze-out taking place at the Portomaso Casino on the 1st November 2009.

This month’s €220 freeze-out will be a Halloween-themed event and the Casino will be adorned to suit this theme, with dealers and staff dressed up in Halloween costumes for the spookiest night of the year. Players are also encouraged to participate by dressing up as Ghouls & Ghosts, Witches & wizards or any costume that may suit their fancy.

As a special bonus for the themed €220 freeze-out tournament, the first prize winner of the tourney will also be the lucky winner of a full sized 10 person professional poker table sponsored by Malta Poker Supplies. The table will be on display at the Portomaso Casino on the day of the event [01/11/09]

 

 

Winners pictured from left to right: Thomas Harvey, Edward Cachia, Benji Psaila,David Camilleri

More photos may be viewed at the Gallery found on the Malta Poker Events web-site.

Join us on the 15th October 2009 for the third episode of the Malta Poker Events weekly satellites. The event will feature a €27+3 buyin and is set to start at 20:30 Hrs.

For more information contact us on info@maltapokerevents.com

[URL="http://maltapokerevents.com/"]Malta Poker Events[/URL

Monthly tournament - September Edition [27.09.09]

 

Casino Floor

Malta Poker Events - €220 Monthly Tournament: September Edition

Buy-in: €220
Style: Freeze-out
Satellite entries: 26
Total players registered: 67
Venue: Portomaso Casino, St.Julians, Malta

67 poker players registered for the first episode of our ‘Monthly €220 Poker Tournaments’ with their eyes set on the first prize of €4000 out of a pool which reached over €13,000 this month.

The September Edition was hosted in the larger, smoke-free poker hall at the Portomaso Casino; the same hall which was utilized for the internationally broadcast Malta Chili Poker Open 2009. The well-lit open space featured an area stacked with savoury snacks and refreshments for players to enjoy through the eight hour tournament.

 

Among the players present, there was a large part of Maltese poker players, and many Scandinavian players from the local igaming community. The tournament also attracted a few players from neighbouring Italy, and players from countries like Russia, Portugal and France. There were also a few EMOP participants present, who played at the international poker tournament held at the Casino di Venezia, Vittoriosa, earlier last week.

The first hand of the night was dealt at 18:45, and players quickly started their road to the final table of this months edition at the Portomaso Casino, holding a chip stack of 6000 with blinds increasing every 25 minutes.

By the first break the player count was down to 46 players taking the average stack to about 8500. Here, players started getting a feel for each other’s plays and taking advantage of the information at hand to take more calculated decisions at the felt.

Players kept up a steady pace with very active plays throughout the tournament and at around 12:30Am 9 players were left at the final table.

Towards the final hands with only 5 players left in the game, the blinds were now at 5k/10k and Therese Harvey [Malta] pushed with her 20K stack. She got called by Arthur Voskanyan [Russia] and Stefan Eric Johnson [Sweden] who then checked their way to the river holding Q6 and QT respectively. Therese’s Q9 paired a nine on the flop and kept its strength all the way to the river, tripling up and taking her stack up to 60,000 chips.
A few hands later, Stefan Eric Johnson, weakened from his previous loss, was all-in with 76 and got called by Georg Westin who was holding AT. Georg hit two pairs when the dealer showed AJT99 on the felt and sent out Stefan in fifth place taking home €1000.

 

Malta Poker Events - Georg Westin [Left] and Antoine DeGiorgio [Right]

With 4 remaming players at the table, Arthur Voskanyan from Russia, pushed his stack from under the gun while holding A10. What seemed like a steal turned into a successful play by Arthur as he got called by Therese’s K6. The flop gave Arthur a trips aces winning him the pot and sending out Therese in a highly respectable 4th place, taking home €1300. Therese gained entry to the €220 event through a €27+3 satellite tournament held earlier last week at the Portomaso Casino.
With 3 players left in the game and around €8000 to be won, Stefan Lundberg pushed all in holding Q9. Arthur called Stefan’s push and uncovered a stronger starting hand, AQ. The community cards came out showing 5T24A giving Arthur a pair of aces on the river. Stefan lundberg finished in third position and took home €1530 in his final hand before returning home to Sweden after his poker holiday in Malta.

 

Malta Poker Events - September 220 Tourney Winner - Georg Westin

Around seven and a half hours into the game, Arthur Voskanyan and Georg Westin went heads up in the final hand of the September edition of the monthly Malta Poker Events tournaments at the Portomaso Casino. With the blinds at 6k/12k, Arthur pushed all in holding Q10 and waited for Georg to act. Georg called this push right away while holding KQ and proceeded to watch the dealer uncover 96A32 giving him the advantage with his K high. Arthur won €2600 in second position and Georg took home the biggest share of the pot for his placing first - €4000.
9 players [of which two Maltese players – Antoine DeGiorgio and Therese Harvey] made it in the money and shared the chunky prize-pool, with €4000 going to 1st place, Georg Westin from Sweden. The top five players in last night’s tournaments were:
Georg Westin [Sweden]- €4000
Arthur Voskanyan [Russia]- €2600
Stefan Lundberg [Sweden] - €1530
Therese Harvey [Malta] - €1300
Steffan Eric Johnson [Sweden] – €1000
Photos of last night’s event may be viewed at the Gsllery on Maltapokerevents.com
Join us for the next edition of the Monthly tournaments with the October Edition Satellites starting on Thursday the 1st October at the Portomaso Casino. Entry is a low €27+3.
Malta Poker Events

Last night’s episode started at 20:30hrs with 67 registered players and 3 separate yet simultaneous tourneys - A multi table freeze-out satellite of 45 players in the regular poker room at the Portomaso Casino, and two more games, a re-buy satellite and a freeze-out satellite in the no smoking area of the Casino.

The event featured the highest attendance rate for our Poker events this month and players demonstrated abundant anticipation for the €220 freeze-out this Sunday, the 27th September 2009.

The hottest hand of the game was played a few hands before the game came to a close.

With blinds at the 800/1600 level, Luke Lyttleton [chipleader] called the big blind and was followed by Andrew Camilleri [Placed 8th In Malta Poker Open] who also called the big blind.
The players in the small blind and the big blind positions checked and the dealer followed by
uncovering the flop and showing Q 9 8.
Holding top pair, Luke Lyttleton bet 4k and Andrew Camilleri responded with a 12k Push. Andrew’s snowmen [88] had hit trips on the flop. The small blind and big blind both folded and a few minutes later, after much consideration, Luke called Andrew’s push. Luke uncovered his KQ whose paired Queen was up against Andrew’s Trips.

 

The turn card came as a Queen which gave Luke Lyttleton trips and also pushed Andrew’s hand in full house territory – This took Andrew’s probabilities to a near certain win, yet as the last card was turned, a monster hand came in the form of a queen on the river, giving Luke Lyttleton Quad Queens, sending out Andrew Camilleri in 7th position. Having experienced a relatively bad beat, Andrew still displayed great sportsmanship here, cheering Luke and wishing him the best of luck in Sunday’s €220 freeze-out tournament.
A few hands later, with the blinds at 1k/2k and antes up to 200, the game came to a close when Joseph Mangion went all in, pushing 7.2k on Luke Lyttleton. Luke called this action as he held a respectable A10 which held their strength as Joseph’s JQ didn’t strengthen on the flop which showed 8 4 7. The 2 on the turn didn’t help Joseph either and when the river card [10] came out it was his final blow which gave Luke a pair of 10’s before sending Joseph out in 6th position with €115 in cash.

 

Some of last night's featured winners: From left to right - Ruben Vellden, Christopher Sammut, Thomas Harvey, Luke Lyttleton.
This week’s winners for the €220 Freezout on Sunday the 27th September 2009:
- Christopher Sammut
- Thomas Harvey
- Luke Lyttleton
- Hubert Micallef
- Ryan Seguna
- Matthew Pace
- Ruben Vellden
- Domenica Tortamasi
This week’s runners up:
- Vincent Muscat €130
- Joseph Mangion €115
- Marlene Camilleri €104
As a warm-up for Sunday’s €220 freeze-out event, this week we are offering our players a new and exciting Knock-out tournament. Everyone loves knocking out players - In this tourney you’ll get paid for it! This event will be taking place on Saturday the 26th September at the Portomaso Casino at 19:00Hrs. The fresh tournament has a buy-in of €45 and the players will receive €15 for every player they knock-out in addition to whatever cash they win from the normal prize-pool. If interested, please register early for this event as we are limiting it to three tables.
The satellite events this month resulted in 26 seats being handed out as prizes for the end of month September freeze-out and several more players placed their registrations last night. With less than 2 days to go, spaces are being taken up at a speedy rate giving this month’s tourney a reasonably chunky prize-pool.
You may register for this weekend’s €45 Knockout and €220 Freezeout at the Portomaso Casino cash desk between 10am and 4am.
More photos at the Malta Poker Events gallery
Malta Poker Events

September Satellite – Episode 3 [17.09.09]

Following some players requests, two satellite tournaments were held in this week’s poker appointment with Malta Poker Events. We hosted a re-buy satellite tournament allowing one rebuy and top up as well as our regular freezeout satellite.

With this week’s tournament layout and the 42 registered players, this week’s payouts totaled 9 prizes and included 7 seats to September’s end of month €220 tournament [27.09.09] and 2 seats for the satellite tournament taking place on 24.09.09.

The re-buy tourney consisted of 10 players and resulted in three 1st prize €220 event seats being given to winners - Elvira Camilleri, Giovanni Tozzolino, and Westin Georg. George Deguara and Andrea Stellato also made it in the ‘money’ and won themselves a seat each to the final September Satellite, Episode 4, being held on the 24th Septeember at the Portomaso Casino.

Re-Buy satellite winners

 

From left to right: Elvira Camilleri, Giovanni Tozzolino, and Westin Georg.

The freezeout satellite tourney attracted 32 players with prizes given to the remaining 4 players in the game. Winners included Maude Smith, Jon Mallia, Alexander Fenech and Chris Sammut, who gained entry to this weeks satellite after winning a previous satellite ticket earlier this month in the September Satellite – Episode 1.

Frezeout satellite winners

Malta Poker Events - September Satellite Episode 3 - Freezout Winners

 

From left to right: Alexander Fenech, Chris Sammut, Maude Smith, Jon Mallia.

More photos of the winners and other participants may be viewed at the Gallery at Maltapokerevents.com

Malta Poker Events

 

The satellite tournament, with a €27+3 entry fee attracted 44 enthusiastic poker players taking their seats in the Poker room at the Portomaso Casino on the 10th September 2009. Amongst the players present were three of the Malta Chili Poker Open 2009 finalists - Massimiliano Privitera from Italy who had placed 2nd, taking home €8,670, Gordon Mifsud who placed fifth and won €2,800 and Andrew Camilleri in 8th placing and €1,128 prize.

This week’s payouts included 5 seats to September’s end of month €220 tournament [27.09.09] and 3 seats for the satellite tournament taking place on 17.09.09.

The first break was over by 22:30hrs and by then, there were 30 remaining players with an average stack of 4,400 chips.

At the final table, Omar Granata and Daniel Mais went out in 7th and 8th place respectively,

With the blinds now at the 2K / 4K level, The strongest of the remaining 6 players at the table were Tanya Apap and Gordon Mifsud, and on the opposite end of the scale there was Giovanni Totsolino with 700 chips.

A struggling effort by Giovanni took place when he pushed all-in with his 700 chips while holding 5 6 and got called by Tanya who held a pair of fours at the time. The flop showed 9 3 3 6 7 helping Giovanni to double up when he paired his 6 on the turn.

In the next hand, Giovanni pushed all-in yet again, with a 1400 stack, and got called by Thomas Harvey and Gordon Mifsud. Giovanni’s KJ hit a pair on the flop and trips on the river when the flop showed 10 4 J 2 J. The 6 10 held by Gordon and A 3 held by Tommy could not match Giovanni’s hand and helped propel his chip count up to 5,400.

The deciding hand played was between Giovanni Totsolino and Massimo Pappalardo, while the dealer button was at Gordon Mifsud. Massimo [SB] holding 10 9 called Giovanni’s [BB] push and he showed his A 7 in turn. Massimo’s hand paired the 9 on the flop and kept it’s strength all the way to the river, beating the hand held by Totsolino. This play sent out Giovanni Totsolino in sixth position winning a ticket to a satellite event on 17.09.09, and leaving the reaming five players as the prize winners of the €220 tickets for the end of month tourney on 27.09.09.
Prizes for the €220 end of month tourney were awarded to:

 

From Left to right: Joe Grima, Gordon Mifsud, Tanya Apap, Massimo Pappalardo, Thomas Harvey
Satellite tickets were awarded as prizes to:
- Giovanni Totsolino
- Daniel Mais
- Omar Granata
See the rest of the photos at our Gallery at the Malta Poker Events website.
Malta Poker Events

 

Malta Poker Events - Stephen Spiteri - Prize Winner

September Satellite - Episode 1

After a long summer break for many, Thursday the 3rd September marked the start of an action-packed season full of No Limit Hold'em.

50 poker players signed up for Episode 1 of the September satellite tournament by Malta Poker Events

6 €220 main event prizes were given out, which entitles the winners entry to the end of month €220 freezeout taking place at the Portomaso Casino on Sunday the 27th September 2009.

The tourney was completed within 4 hours, with blinds increasing every 18 minutes.

There were many familiar faces, several players who attended the Malta Poker Seminar and the Malta Chili Poker Open 2009, and a mix of regular local card players who contributed €27 each to the pot.

Players were all seated by 20:30hrs and within ninety minutes at the break, 30 players were left in the game, taking the average chip stack up to 5000 from the initial 3000.

The final table started at 23:15hrs with 9 players at the table. Steven Spiteri held the chiplead here with 29,000 chips.

In the final stages of the game, Luke Lyttleton called Carmel’s 12,700 push and was shown the only hand that could beat him pre-flop: Rockets! Furthermore, Luke’s confident call did not see his KK develop into a hand stronger than Carmel’s AA and Luke lost a very large portion of his stack leaving him 5,400 while callus now held over 25,000.

The first player out after the break put his AJ up against Steve Spiteri’s KK. With blinds at 1,000, Steve raised 5,000 and was pushed all-in by Zsolt Noji. Steve called the additional 4,000 and saw the dealer unfold a favourable flop, turn and river, taking his chip-count to approximately 40,000.

Luke Lyttleton was the next player out of the game finishing in eight position. He pushed all-in holding KJ and got called by Charles Sammut holding A10. Sammut paired his ten on the flop, and took hold of all of Luke’s 5,400 stack.

The game came to a close when Chris Sammut went all in holding 5 8 against Kristian Jorgensen’s pocket 3’s. Kristian called and hit trips on the turn, sending Sammut out in seventh place. Sammut’s placing gained him entry to next week’s satellite taking place on Thursday, 10th September at the Portomaso Casino.

€220 Tickets for the September 27th Freezeout were given as prizes to the following players:
- Steve Spiteri
- Carmel Callus
- Kristian Jorgensen
- Charles Sammut
- Jeremy Harding-Roberts
- Lawrence bonnici

€27+3 Ticket for 10th September satellite:
Chris Sammut

The next satellite will be taking place on the 10th September at the Portomaso Casino.
The Event will start at 20:30Hrs.

Free parking available at the Portomaso Car Park

Malta Poker Events