Event 1 - 25th March 2008

“I love VC!” These are the first words I hear uttered by Edward Slack and it’s not hard to understand why. After two successive cashes totaling £21,000, Ed has done well in live tournaments sponsored by VC and he’s eager to make it a treble with a strong showing in our latest offering – the aptly named
Prague Poker Palooza festival.

It won’t be easy however with the early field shaping up to be an aggressive lot: equal parts online savvy vs. cagey Czech live vets. Compounding the potential home field advantage are the significant distractions that Prague presents our early arrivals. From the powerful and plentiful Czech beer that arrives like manna from heaven to willowy women in sociable surroundings, Prague is testing the resolve of even the most disciplined players. Two days after our plane touches down on the tarmac, it’s becoming clear this will be a battle of endurance as much as it will be a battle of wits. Even more obvious is the fact that this festival will be a tactical one with Western and Eastern European poker styles clashing on a table by table, hand by hand basis.

Full House

When Event 1 finally commences with a packed house field and a CZK 137,500 prize pool up for grabs, the inevitable nerves and anticipation give way to close-to-the-vest poker play with the usual suspects sizing each other up with the subtle thrust and parry that makes tournament poker a supremely satisfying sporting event and psychological study.

Initial comments have us patting ourselves on the back. “The field looks solid. The festival offers great value. The venue is top drawer.” Indeed, the good folks at the Spearmint Casino have outdone themselves and we find ourselves marveling at their winning combination of hearty humor and practiced precision. Fortunately the players agree and, as the tournament progresses, the minutiae of organization fades to the background as it rightfully should, and the skill and sheer chutzpah of the players come to the fore.

This is when the personalities emerge.

Some brash young sharks from Holland threaten the field early on, their over the top aggression yielding the inevitable mixed bag of stunning suck outs followed all too often by more bashful bust outs. In true Antonius fashion, some heavy hitters from Greece arrive late, their chips stacks somewhat worse for the wear with the blinds moving inexorably upwards. Their initial disadvantage seems not to faze them in the least and soon they’ve thrust themselves into the fray picking up ground and chips quickly. Elsewhere, a duo of Prague pretties are turning heads with a sly combination of tight jeans and loose play whilst the aforementioned Mr. Slack has found his own pair of queens not enough to salvage an uncharacteristic misread.

As play progresses to its historic first final table, the Prague Poker Palooza is shaping up to be a festival to remember. With cash game and sit-n-go tables springing to life around the periphery, the battle lines are drawn between the last men standing in the main event: Peter Schmidt, a wily Dane who’s unassuming demeanor belies a killer instinct and local favorite, Tomas Hanzlik, a 26 year old Czech who refuses to wilt under the pressure of winning one for the home side. Ultimately, the aggression that takes Schmidt to the final table betrays him in the end as Hanzlik adjust his tight play on the fly, trading his opponent punch for punch until the final knockout blow when Hanzlik’s Queen & kicker tops Schmidt’s Jack and rag for the win, the trophy and the first place booty. Applause rings the table as the crowd shows their approval for a well deserved victory and our winner confesses with charming modesty that he’s happy to consent for a brief interview otherwise he’s likely to charge onto the cash tables and make some mistakes given his current state of excitement. The excitement is clearly infectious with the games showing no signing of abating and in a moment of epiphany, I realise this blog must come to a close so that my own evening’s play can commence at long last. Searching for a suitable seat, I run into Edward who’s recovered nicely from his main event bust out with a second place cash in a well fought sit n go. Not the treble he was seeking, but he can rest easy in the knowledge that he’ll have four more attempts at the serious money before the week is through.

Lee Ferris - VC Poker: On location at the Prague Poker Palooza.

Event One Winners