After a very entertaining road trip through Italy I’m finally in Monte Carlo (MC).  Since I arrived early and couldn’t check in straight away I decided to take a walk around MC. It was very nice to see the sun again since it has been raining the last couple of days here.  I sat down at a cafe and had an espresso and a panini.  Everywhere you go in MC you feel a bit on the poor side.  Nice hotels, cars, boats everywhere.  People wear expensive jewlery and brand clothing  on their daily walk to the store with their trophy dogs.  Might sound a bit bitter, but just trying to give an honest view of what it’s really like here. 

Tomorrow I’m playing in the main event in the EPT Grand Finale here in MC with a buy in of €10600.  Many famous players are here which is not very surprising considering the buy in and status of this event. It’s the first time I’m playing this event and I’m very excited about it.  I’m also very greatful to PokerTime for giving me the chance to do so =)

Reports here.

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1. Monte Carlo casino, unfortunately the event is not held here
2. Cars getting ready for the upcoming Monte Carlo Grand Prix
3. View over Monte Carlos harbour
4. Shopping street in central Monte Carlo

There are two key elements two omaha; playing nut hands and playing in position.  Position is extremely important mostly because giving free cards is never a good idea if you have a made hand.  There are almost no blanks in omaha.  Therefore you have to defend your hand from early position in multiway pots almost always giving your hand away.  You have to play very differently from early position and late position and be very selective with what hands you play and raise with UTG.  Playing the nuts sounds very easy and it is.  Players tend to have stronger hands when the money goes into the middle.  A set is almost never the best hand at the river so you have to make sure you protect your hand and let players pay to see their draws.  This brings us to the next subject; drawing to the nuts.  I mentioned earlier that players more often have the nuts or redraws to nut hands in omaha.  Drawing to second nutlflush and low straight can cost you a lot of money in omaha.
 
 A few pointers to keep in mind:

* Try to avoid hands with “danglers” (cards that don’t help the rest of the hand; i.e. AKQ7 hand, the 7 beeing a dangler)

* Higher pocket pairs are a lot better than lower.  Ok sounds like common knowledge but the chance of beeing over-setted is a lot bigger in omaha so you should try to avoid playing smaller pair without redraws.

* Connecting cards are good.  Hands like QJT9 are very good hands especially double suited.
* Try to be unpredictable.  Play your draws and your sets the same way.

Good luck =)

Started the day with a walkabout in Sanremo.  Unfortunately I managed to leave the hotel when the siesta was ongoing and nothing was open.  Had a breakfast/lunch at a cafe next to the casino.  After lunch I walked to a grocery store to pick up some stuff for our roadtrip.  Of course I had to make a mandatory stop at one of many gelateria’s  in Sanremo.  I am a huge sucker for a good ice cream and where can you get better ice cream than Italy?  If you ever need to know where to find the best ice cream in San Remo I am your man!  Trust me, I’ve tried all places in Sanremo:D

osoarkalk
1. The best gelateria in town
2. If you dont want to be bothered eating lunch don’t eat out next to the casino.  You will be forced to deal with people selling watches, bags and sunglasses; all fake of course.
3. Lunch of the day
4. A gelato from the 2nd best gelateria in town

After a short online session, fortunately a lot more sucessful than the tournament a bunch of swedish players had dinner at Buena Vista, a good restaurant nearby the casino.  After dinner we played a friendly €500-sit n go.  Poker is best played live and in good company so it can’t get much better than this =)

Seat 1: Magnus Petersson
Seat 2: Jag, Oskar Silow
Seat 3: Joakim Garp
Seat 4: Bengt Sonnert
Seat 5: Stefan Mattsson
Seat 6: Tobias Garp
Seat 7: Micke Norinder
Seat 8: Tomas Brolin
Seat 9: Chris Björin

Not much value as you can see if you are familiar with swedish poker players.  I start out really well and bust the first three players,   Norinder, Joakim Garp and Stefan Mattsson and get an early chiplead.  Eventually myself, Chris Björin and Tobias Garp are left.  After Chris bust Tobias I’m HU with Chris who is Swedens highest ranked tournament player both in career winnings and number of bracelets.  Obv he is impossible to beat and I have to settle for 2nd which I’m sort of satisfied with, playing more for entertainment than the money in this little get together.  All in all its always nice to walk home with a little more money than you came with =)

As previously stated I’m in Sanremo Italy to represent PokerTime in the EPT.

When I take a seat at the table there is no players I recognize which I like.  Most likely I’m the only shark at the table;)  Unfortunately a very good Swedish player Jonas Molander and Jani Sointula (Hellraiser) who I actually knocked out in WSOP main event 2005 when I came 14th with TT vs A6.   Oh well, I think I can deal with better players as well :) 

During level 1 I get AA and decide to limp re-raise UTG.  A standard play that you don’t see that often these days so hopefully they will read it as an attempt to represent rather than an actual hand.  A player makes it 150 and 2 players call.  Blinds are 25-50 and startstack is 10k.  I make it 800 in an attemp to isolate one player and make them pay to outflop me.  Remember in tournaments calling of your chips trying to hit flops against hands you know have you beat is not as profitable as you can’t take more from them later when they are tilted since they can’t rebuy.  To my big surprise I get two calleres to my huge raise.  Flop is good, but not great; KKT with a flushdraw in dimonds.  I can’t give anybody credit for a dimond draw.  The first player should have a big pair and the other player a wider range of middle pair or suited connectors.  I make a bet of 1500 and actually hoping to get the pot right there.  The first player calls and the 2nd folds.  Halfway there.  Turn is a 9.  Not really a scare card since it is very unlikely he has 99 or QJ.  I ponder about what to do here and in hindsight moving all in or checkraising all in would have been the best play.  I decide to bet 2500 in the 5600 pot and he calls.  River is a J and my read on him was wither JJ or QQ so I’m dead either way.  Can’t see that he can have anything that he will fold if I bet or that I can beat if I check and he bets.  I check-foöld and I’m left with only 4k :(  Slightly tilted I don’t play my shortstack to perfection and continue to bleed down to 2k where I’m stuck during most of level 2 and 3.  At one point I’m actually down to 1200, but after moving in twice with no callers I get QQ and can move all in over a raice and get called my KTs.  Flop is very rigged.  Worse than online ;)   QJ9 he flops straight and I flop topset.  Turn 9 gives me a house and fortunatley I can play a little longer =)

Back up to 4k and during level 5 I move all in from BB with 44 over SBs 1k raise on blinds 150-300.  He folds which I’m happy with cause I don’t have to flip.  The hand after everybody folds to me in SB and I look down at AKs and make a raise to 1100.  BB moves all in and I call imediately since I’m ahead of his range.  Unfortunatley he is slightly ahead with 88, but I manage to win a coinflip and I’m back up to 10k

I lose a few hands where I try to bluff my countryman but fortunately I get it back from an italian who likes to buy pots when it’s checked to him and I make a good call and back up to 10k.

During level 6 I raise in late position with A6s and decide to make a marginal call when I get repopped from BB.  Flop is A22 and he checks and so do I.  Turn is a Q and I call his smallish bet.  River is a 6 which is a nutcard for me.  He bets and I ponder raising, but decide to play it safe and just call.  It would not have mattered cause he instantmucked when I called so he had squadosh.  Now I got 16.5k and actually around average.  Very nice comeback I must say!  I lose a 3k coinflip a few hands later with KQ vs JJ, but I’m happy to have 13k after level 6 anyways.

During level 7 I frop to 10k and level 8 is the last of the day.  Blinds are now up to 300-600 with a 75 ante meaning that 10k does not give a lot of room for flop play.  I look down at 88 and decide to go with it.  I make a raise and call when a player with 60k stack move all in from BB after all others have folded.  I hope to be in a coinflip situation or obviously to that he has a smaller pair and I have him dominated.  Unfortunately he has TT and no mircales and I’m bust :(  Sort of Ironic that I busted with 88 in my last EPT in Dortmund as well….

Photo: Lina Olofsson /pokerstarsblog.nu

Unfortunatley day 1 was the only day for me.  Let’s hope the remaining swedes do better and that I crush all opponents in the EPT final in Monte Carlo next week.  I will start day 1B on the 28th.  Next year they are actually making adjustments to the EPT tour adding startchips which will is highly appreciated among the players.  30k gives you a lot better value for your money and room to play than 10k. 

The EPT in Sanremo is the most popular on the tour and gor good reasons. Everything here is great, the city, the casino, the venue, the food, the staff, and no hidden fees whatsoever.  Also everybody are happy creating a great atmosphere =)  This tournament is actually the largest one ever held in Europe with 1178 player starting and plenty of fish.  If there is one tournament besides WSOP you should make plans for every year it is defenately this one!