Jan Bjoersland - Norway vs. Nottingham

The following is the third and final installment of Titan Team player Jan Bjoersland’s report on his experiences playing at the Dusk Till Dawn poker tournament in Nottingham, January 8 – 10, 2010.

It was the same structure as on Saturday, but 240 players. 27 got paid.

Level 1: A9 and limping in from the button. Fours guys were in the pot and it was ace high on the flop. Small blind starts betting and I call him all the way to the river and picked up 1,800 in the pot. No idea of what he had but a nice way to start the day.

Level 1: 66 in 7th position. Two limpers and I called. BB makes it 250 to play. All 3 of us called and the flop came: Ad 6c 3h. A pretty nice flop for me! Check-check-check and I bet 350…keeping the pot small to see if anyone has hit the ace. BB calls. 2d on the turn. He checks again and bet 600. He
calls. 8c on the river. I put him on a big ace and decided to check to see if I can re-raise him on the river. He bets 1,500 and now I get a strange feeling. Has he been slow playing a BIG monster? I flat call and he flips over AA for a bigger set. That could easily have been the end of the tournament but I got away really cheap.

Level 3: (75-150) 22 on the button. One limper and 6th position makes it 600 to play. Call from me, BB and the limper. Qd 10d 8h. A lot of draws with that flop but to my surprise I see the turn for free and it’s a deuce giving me a set! Now the initial raiser makes it 1,200 to play and I call in case he’s slow playing a monster. 9c on the river gives me the boat. Now he checks and I try to find out how much I can get out from him so I decide to bet 3,000. He thinks for a while….calls and flips over AQ. A really nice pot this early in the tournament and I guess the same guy doesn’t check to pair the next time…

Level 4 (100-200). I raise to 500 in 6th position with QK off. Button calls. Flop: Qd 3c 2h. I check and he fires out 1,200. This guy had been playing kind of loose for a while so he might have anything but I still decide to raise him so I make it 2,700 and take down the pot. A few hands later I pick up the hand of the day! AKs in the SB. Button makes a standard steal raise to 550 and since I am on a roll I re-raise him and put 1,650 on the table to take down the pot before the flop. To my surprise he calls quickly. Js 2s 4h on the flop gives me NOTHING but that flop couldn’t have helped him
either….if he didn’t have a big pocket pair on his hands. I lead out with 2,600 and he calls even quicker than before the flop. Now I started to get a little bit worried. 8s on the turn. A blank for me and most likely for him. I fire a 3rd bullet and bet out 4,000. He thinks for a while and called with a confident phrase: “I’ll call for value and will take it down on the river”. 7s on the river putting 4 spades on the board. I look at my cards and see no spade at all but it’s a perfect card to pull a bluff on the river so I go all in with my last 10K and then he starts to swear and curse…and
says that he can’t call. He mucks his hand and I show my AK. 30 minutes later the same guy is out of the tournament after a steaming period going all in blind!

Level 5 (150-300) 8d 9s in the BB. 3 limpers and I check to see the flop: 5s 6c 7d. A dream flop with top straight. I bet out 1,500 and the same guy who I was up against with AK in the big hand earlier calls. 3c on the turn. A perfect card if he’s got a 4 in his hand. 2,500 from me and  he makes it 6,000!! I could play slow here but there’s two spades and diamonds on the board and since I put him on a 4 he’ll probably go all in….but to my surprise he folds when I put him all in. Anyway…a big pot! 36,000 chips now with an average of 13,000 and I am among the chip leaders.

Level 5 (200-400 50 ante): AA under the gun. 1,000 from me. Two callers. Jd 3d Ts. Not the best flop since there are a couple of draws out there. I lead out with 4K and they both fold. Break. Blinds will start at 400-800 (100). 143 players left and the average is 16K. I have 33K.

Level 6 (300-600 50 ante): A7 in 6th pos. 1,200 from me against a small stack in the BB. He calls leaving him with only 5K more to play with. Qd 7c 2d. Middle pair and I put him all in. No call.

Level 6: Utg makes it 2,400. I look down at my hole cards and see two red ladies on the button. I have 3x his stack so I put 10K on the table. He goes all in with his remaining 9K and flips over 99. A terrible 9 on the river gives him the set….:o/ A pretty big pot that I take down 95 out of 100 times before the river.

Level 7 (600-1,200 200 ante): AK in 6th position. 3X the BB from me and the button calls with a medium stack. The flop gives me top straight. T J Q rainbow. Should be an action flop. I check and he checks…of course. No action with that monster flop. T on the turn. He checks again and now he must have a low pocket pair so I bet out only 3K but he folds straight away.

Level 7: 66 in 4th position and pick up the blinds and antes with a bet of 3,600.

Level 7: Limping in with 55. 7th pos, the button and BB check out the flop: 4d 5c 2s. Check from BB and I try a small feeler bet of 2,800 and they all fold. Nice little pot.

Level 8 (800-1600). All in with 44. No callers. 26K. 71 players left. The average is 36K.

Nothing more happens before Level 11 (2000-4000 300 ante): A5 in 6th position with only 5,500 chips. Then my roll starts. Double of against 7d 4c who tried to steal the blinds and antes, all in with A2 against A2 giving me runner flush and 2 hands later on AK against QQ where I hit AK on the flop. In 15 minutes I go from under one BB to average (80,000 chips) Amazing comeback!!

Level 12 and we’re into the money. Blinds 3,000-6,000 600 ante.

Level 14 (4,000-8,000 800 ante) QQ utg. 25K is the bet but no one calls. 19 players left.

Level 14: Utg all in with 56K. I call with 88 and another guy with 45K calls as well!!! Utg show AA!! And the other guy AJ. Still in with a chance but no 8 on the board and I am crippled down to 16K. I manage to get back into it when I double up in the BB with QT against 96. Then I have KT in the SB and there’s only the BB left so I HAVE TO go all in since I am super short. He calls with deuces and another deuce on the board takes care of my exit. *13th place and £158 out of 240 players. A nice result and I got my two buy ins back and money for the taxi ride back to the hotel.

In conclusion I must say that I am happy with the way I played. Almost made another final table in Nottingham and even though it was a “small” tournaments with low buy in you still have to play some good poker to get in
the money. My next stop will also be in Nottingham the 5th-8th of February for another £300+£36 Deep Stack event. After that one I’ll be attending the €500+€50 UKIPT event in Manchester from the 11th-14th of February. With a
starting stack of 15K and 60 minutes on the clock that’ll be an exciting tournament!

And that my friends, is how I played poker at the Dusk Till Dawn. Until the next tournament…

Jan Bjoersland takes on Nottingham

The following is part two (of three) of Titan Team player Jan Bjoersland’s experiences playing poker at the Dusk Till Dawn card room in Nottingham, January 8 – 10, 2010.

On Saturday the 9th we started off with 10K chips, blinds at 25-50, and 274 players. 27 got paid.

Level 1(25-50): Raise UTG 175. Re-raise from me in 6th position with AK. Flop: 2s 4s QD. Check-check. KC on the turn. Check-check. Check and 300 from me makes him fold. Next hand I have K5S in the BB. Three limpers and the pot is checked to the river when a KD hits the board. One guy tries to bluff the pot with 300 and mucks when I call him.

Level 1: 55 on the button. Three limpers and I raise to 175. Flop: 2D 4C 8S. A nice flop for a pair of 5’s so I take down the pot with a small continuation bet.

Level 2 (50-100): AKS on the button. Loose guy on my right makes it 500 to play so instead of getting tricky I flat call him. Flop: AS KC 2D – can’t complain with that board. He leads out with 600. I am thinking he might have a weaker ace and give him a chance to pair up on the turn so I make the call. 2S on the turn. No danger there. He bets 1000 now and I raise to make it 2000. He calls of course. Now I know for a fact that he has an ace, but probably a weak one. He then checks and calls my 1200 value bet on the river! A nice start!

Level 3: Limping in from fourth position with A7off. Five guys join the party and the flop comes: JS AC 4D. Check check-check-check and 600 from the dealer. I raise to 1500 and the pot is mine.

Break. Level 4 (150-300) will kick in soon and I have 13K with an average of 11500 chips.

Level 4: KK in the BB. Fifth position makes it 850 and gets one caller. With 200 already in the middle I pop it and make it 2200 to play. To my surprise they both fold.

Level 5: 55 in 4th pos so I limp in. Two players choose to see the flop as well. KD QS 6D. I lead out with 500 and the button calls. Another king on the turn and it goes check-check. 4 on the river and since I can’t put him on a hand I bet 1500, making him fold. He might have had an open straight draw with TJ.

Level 6 (300-600 50 ante): Q2off on the button. Fifth position limps and I decide to make a squeeze play and take down the blinds, the limpers 400 and the antes with a bet of 2600.

Level 7 (400-800 50 ante): 55 in the BB. Fourth position goes all in with 4600. Folded to me and after a while I decide to look him up. He’s got KJ. My pocket pair take the heat and he’s out of the tournament. Break now and I have 19,000 chips with an average of 15,600. 172 out of 274 players are left.

Level 8 (600-1200 100 ante): AKS in the SB. Seventh position makes it 2200 to play. Suspecting that he’s only after the blinds and antes I make it 6000 and he folds immediately.

Level 8: All in UTG from a short stack with 2200 chips. I call with AQs. Sixth position moves all in with another 7000 chips leaving me with a tough decision. I don’t like playing big pots with AQ but I figure that I am priced in and will have over 11,000 left if I loose the pot. I call and my suspicion is confirmed. The first guy has T9s and the other guy AK. No queen on the flop and I am down to 11K. Could have avoided the mistake but I put him on a pair and then I couldn’t figure out the math to fold my hand….:o).

Level 9 (800-1600 200 ante): A3 in the BB. Two limpers and I check to see KD 6S 3C on the board. Fire out 2600 and pick up the pot. 136 players left. Average is 19,000 and I have 13,600. Still in with a chance.

Level 10 (1500-3000 300): Moved to a new table. TT in the BB. Button moves all in with 26K and I instant call to find out that he has a pair of deuces. Double up to 26K!

Level 11 (2000-4000 400 ante): 76 players left. Average: 36K. My stack: 20K.

Level 12 (2500-5000 500 ante): I have 4500K on the button. Just under 1 BB!! All in of course and SB and BB look me up. I have T9off and with a board that shows 9 high I triple up. Mr. Short Stack is still in the game.

Level 13 (3000-6000 600 ante): J6off in the BB and I have 9K left. SB limps in….strange since I am so low on chips. Flop is: QD 10C 9D. He checks and I have to push all in with an open ended straight draw…and the SB calls. Still hanging on. 18K chips now. 47 players left.

Level 14 (4000-8000 800 ante): Q8 in the BB and with 1,5 BB left I call the SB’s raise. He has K8….and has me outkicked. With a 8 on the board but no queen I leave the tournament in 39th place, twelve places away from the money.

Stay tuned to read how I did the next day…

Team Titan player Jan Bjoersland

Our Titan Team player Jan Bjoersland recently returned to the Dusk Till Dawn casino in Nottingham, England, to play in yet another tournament that took place from January 8 – 10, 2010.

The following is part one (of three) reporting his experiences there in his own words.

I decided to visit Nottingham (in the UK) again and see whether my skills from 2009 could be transferred to 2010. To my relief, after a weekend of tournament play, this was confirmed!

I traveled there with a friend of mine and we decided to play two £50+£6 tournaments (the Super 50) at my favorite card room, Dusk Till Dawn. 

Here are my results from my weekend in Nottingham:

*Fri. Jan. 8th, 2010, 20:00 No Limit Holdem Limited Re-Buy £40+£6. 23rd out
of 56 players*

*Sat. Jan. 9th, 2010, 14:00 Super 50: £50 Deep Stack £10,000 GTD £50+£6. 39th
out of 274 players*

*Sun. Jan.10th, 2010, 14:00 Super 50: £50 Deep Stack £10,000 GTD £50+£6. 13th
out of 240 players and got paid £158!*

(Note – The buy-in was a total of £158 for all three tournaments.)

To summarize my experience, all in all I am satisfied with my performance – going pretty far in the first two deep stack tournaments and almost making it to the final table in the one on Sunday.

The first tournament we played on Friday the 8th (£40+£6) No Limit Re-Buy wasn’t all that interesting as I came in 23rd out of 56 players, so I will focus on the two “Super 50″ (£50+£6) tournaments in my next two posts.

Dusk Till Dawn Casino

Team Titan member, Jan Bjoersland from Norway, finished in 11^th place at the “Dusk Till Dawn” Casino in Nottingham, England, taking home £4,011. He was participating in the December “Monte Carlo” £250,000 GTD. event. Overall, Bjoersland was very happy with his performance. It was his third appearance at his favorite casino and in the past he finished there in 1^st and 4^th places.

The final day of play in Nottingham was full of action. On level 20 (6,000 -12,000), 15 minutes into Day 3, the 19^th player was eliminated meaning that every one of the players remaining had a guaranteed win of £2,835. Jan had a number of all-in situations on level 20. He went all-in with 33 from the middle position with no callers in reply. Then he went all-in with KK in Small Blind. Under the Gun raised 36,000 from his heavy stack of an estimated 650,000. At this point Jan only had 145,000 left and went all-in, and to his surprise, the opponent folded automatically (surprising for someone who had raised under the gun). Once again Jan found himself going   all-in with A6 on the button and he was met by the other players folding. During this level additional players had been eliminated leaving 14 remaining players and a guaranteed prize of £4,000+.

Level 21 (8,000-16,000) began with Bjoersland still the short stack at the table with a remaining 195,000 chips at his disposal. Then his final hand arrived. He had A10 on the button. There were 38,000 in the middle before the dealing of the cards and so he stood up and went all-in. The Big Blind called with 66. There was no A or 10 on the flop… no luck with that one… and so he exited the tournament placed 11th.

The next probable stop for Jan Bjoersland is the UKIPT in Manchester in February.

VIDEO 1 – WELCOME PARTY

VIDEO 2 – ANDREAS SCHMIDT

VIDEO 3 – FABIEN CARLIEZ

Igor Kurganov

Blinds are increasing to 200-400 ante 50, and 80 players are still in, so we lost 24 players since the dinner break.

Igor Kurganov is still in, with a short-stack of 9,000 chips.
If you have followed the Irish Winter Festival last month, you know who is Igor Kurganov.
If you didn’t: this guy was in final table of the main event of the Irish Winter Festival, and finished in fifth place.
He took home 35,900 €.

Andreas Schmidt, one of our Titan Poker Team Player, is still big stack with 36,000 chips.
His table seems to have woken up, and the way to play is becoming very aggressive:  all the hands are stopped before the flop, after a sequence like  “bet – 3-bet – all-in – fold”.

Sorel Mizzi

Sorel Mizzi has played the very last hand before the break:
he raised from middle position to 800, and his opponent, huge stack, re-raised to 2,000 from the cut-off. Sorel Mizzi made a 4-bet to 5,100, and his opponent snapped.

At this moment, Jean-Luc Dutto was trying to explain me how he lost a big part of his chips, but I violently interrupted him, saying “Wait a minute, that’s a big pot.” I know that poker players hate to be interrupted while they tell a hand… Sorry, buddy, it really was a big pot.

The flop came J-6-6 and Sorel Mizzi took all his time, watching his opponent, playing with his chips… He finally decided to bet 5,300, less than half of the pot, and his opponent quickly fold, showing pocket tens. Wow, he really wanted to go in break, and Sorel Mizzi saw it, I guess.

Mizzi showed one card: a ten. In yo’ face, could you hear if you were in Mizzi’s head.

I saw Fabrice Soulier just before the break, who made a nice increase during the two last hours: his stack is 23,000 chips.

“Now I can play” he said, and I can see his vampire teeth grow up.