European Poker Tour - Latest Post

The tournament officials at Casino Copenhagen tinkered with the schedule today. We were originally intended to play down to 32 players, which would probably have taken about eight levels, but they decided at the last minute to make it 40, perhaps fearing we would be here all night. Had...more

And there we have it; day 1b is in the books. In keeping with what we have seen countless times before, this was not a day for the faint hearted. Right from the off, when the seat draw pitted Bertrand Grospellier, Gus Hansen, Michael Tureniec, Jesper Hougaard and Annette...more

Less than 24 hours ago the mood in Copenhagen's poker circles was one of jubilee; an evening spent toasting the latest winners at the Scandinavian Poker Awards, names like Eastgate, Sahamies and In de Betou. Tonight though, after eight day 1a levels of play, the mood is more of...more

No one ever won a poker tournament without making the odd bluff, hitting the odd card, laying the odd trap and making the occasional hero call that might also have sent them to the rail. The 28-year-old Moritz Kranich from Hamburg, Germany, has shown all the requisite skills and...more

Fifty percent of the starting field here in Deauville were French. Of the 48 players who have cashed so far at Casino Barriere this week, 21 grew up beneath le tricolore. And tomorrow's final table, which begins in Normandy at 2pm, will feature eight players. Five of them, you...more

When we started today the general consensus was that we wouldn't get anywhere near the last 32 player stage, which is what is usually expected on day two of an EPT. All the hallmarks of a long day in the saddle were plain to see: nearly 250 players and...more

At around 7pm this evening, media row might have been mistaken for the place to be. It resolutely isn't - let's get that clear - but in quick succession we had visits from the World Champion Peter Eastgate and then Luca Pagano, the record holder for cashes on the...more

Many attractions lure the world traveller to these parts. The picturesque streets are only the backdrop to the town's annual film festival, and year-round Deauville is one of the centres of French horse racing. After this week, it will become time for Deauville to be recognised once again as...more

Every step around Paradise Island is an assault on the senses: vibrant colours dazzle from the sea, sand and bartenders' shirts, while the sound of calypso music pipes through the undergrowth 24-hour a day. Strangers are greeted with warm handshakes wherever they go, and the smells and tastes of...more

Around these parts, if you want to sit down for a decent meal, you are advised to get a reservation. Otherwise, you may go hungry or end up eating a tuna sandwich out of a deli cooler. If you have the right amount of money in your pocket, you...more

Any player can win a poker tournament in any number of circumstances. An individual can sometimes go on the biggest rush of their life and make all the right decisions at all the pivotal moments; another can just get lucky time and again. But sometimes, every now and then,...more

When you think of poker in Italy - and on the boisterous EPT these days you rarely have the opportunity not to - you probably think of the Team PokerStars Pro duo Dario Minieri and Luca Pagano, with notable mentions to Max Pescatori and Dario Alioto. But as from...more

Day three was a story of heroics, luck and what seemed to be a thousand Italian poker players in designer glasses romping into the EPT history books by sheer weight alone. Chief among the rompers was Salvatore Bonavena, who became our overnight chip leader. While the Italian experience on...more

At the very start of the day - day two at EPT Prague - the tournament director Thomas Kremser announced that we would be playing down to four tables of eight, 32 players, no matter how long it took. Typically, there was a weary groan from the press corps,...more

The line-up for day 1b at EPT Prague read like a glittering who's who of modern poker. There were EPT champions and online legends and then a man entered the house with the biggest reputation of all: Europe welcomed back to its bosom Peter Eastgate, the 22-year-old Dane who...more