Julian Thew Blog - Dortmund EPT & Drogheda Deepstack Event  -  By Poker Boss

The German leg is my least favourite stop on the EPT tour. It's far from the most exciting of venues and getting to the casino means a ten mile trip in a taxi. The fact that I failed to get through Day 1 means I'm unlikely to change that opinion for at least another twelve months.

My starting table was pretty good. EPT Deauville winner Mats Iremark was the real class at the table, a player who's in lots of pots & isn't afraid to put three bets in with filth. William Hill qualifier Dan Walley was also on the table & had fared far better than me by the time we were split up.

There were no faces on my new table, in fact it was very passive & I actually managed to build my chips up from 8k to 12k when Ramsi Jessala was shipped into the 8 seat.

I've played with Ramsi several times & he really is a pleasure to watch; he has a lovely tempo & a great table presence.

My demise took just two hands & the first involved calling a 900 raise from Ramsi with 6-6. We checked the J,8,4 flop and I called 1300 when the jack paired on turn. I was all set to bet the river if & when it was checked to me when a third jack popped up. He now led out for just under the pot with a 4000 bet. I'm embarrassed to report that yes, I called & his queens were very good.

On the very next hand I made a horrible limp with Kc-Qc in a multiway pot, check-raised the 2,6c,9c flop, got set in & called. He had Jc-2c & the deuces held up. Taxi!

My main focus for the Drogheda event was some practise with a 50k starting stack in preparation for the WPT Championship at the Bellagio in April.
It was good practise to, I played for three days finishing in 16th spot, just two off the money and unusually for me, I'd only been all-in twice, firstly with a set over set halfway through Day 1 & finally with my exit hand.

50k in chips means that the event does play very differently & it was only at the end of Day 2 that the blinds & antes started to pressure you.
I made Day 3 with 400k, a shade over average & surprisingly, the twenty three that remained were all tightly packed with no runaway leader.
As in Dortmund, it took just two hands to send me to the rail. The big stack on the button made it 40k, I re-raised to 120k from the SB with K-J but the BB then shoved & we both got out of the way.

Down to 220k and the average was up to nearly 500k. I was looking for a spot & when another habitual raiser raised to 35k, I made it 110k with A-6 from the BB. Alas, he then pushed all-in & I elected to take my medicine. He had J-J & I didn't suck out.