EPT Copenhagen: Day 1A, levels 7 and 8 (400-800, 75 ante)

10.55pm: End of play
That’s it. Players are bagging and tagging. It looks like Andrew Pantling from Canada will be our overnight chip leader with 155,800. However, we’re counting up as many of the leaders as we can right now.

The chip count page as soon as possible – and a full wrap of today’s events will be with you shortly.

11.44pm: Last few hands
The clock has stopped and the last four hands will be played out on each table before we end for the night.

11.40pm: Lars looks to heavens
The turn was out as 9♣ A♣ J♥ 10♦ and Lars Houugard bet 7,200 from the button when it was checked to him. His opponent called to see the 10♦ river where they both checked very slowly when it was their turn to act. Houugard tabled A♠ 9♥ for two-pair but his opponent’s 7♣ 8♣ had got there on the river. That puts him back to his starting stack of 30,000.

11.36pm: Last minute dents
Two sizable pots have caused some strategic rethinks for some, given new life and hope to others as the end of the day draws near. Rasmus Nielsen lost an all in with a flush draw against a set, leaving him with 62,000. At the other end of the room Johnny Lodden was on the losing end of a hand against Mikko Vahatorma. Lodden’s K♦ K♠ no match for Vahatorma’s flopped set of eights, costing him 24,700.

11.30pm: Freeroller chipped up
Morten Guldhammer is freerolling. He won a PokerStars freeroll for readers of a Danish newspaper – and got a seat and all expenses paid here at EPT Copenhagen. And he’s not letting that good fortune go to waste. After a tricky start to his day, when his chip count plunged to as low as 11,000, he’s now up to a very healthy 85,000 and looking a good bet to be comfortable going in to day 2.

“It’s not bad, is it?” he said. No, sir, it’s not.

11.20pm: Kofoed education
Arnaud Mattern just had a bite taken out of his stack by Kristian Kofoed.

Mattern had started things from late position getting a call from Kofoed on the button and a flop of K♣ 5♠ K♥ . It was here that Mattern made it 5,000. Kofoed called for an A♣ on the turn. Again Mattern bet, 10,000 this time, which was called again. On the river card A♥ Mattern gave it one last push, 20,000. But again Kofoed called, albeit after a bit of a think.

“You’re good,” said Mattern as Kofoed matched his bet on the river. 4♥ 2♥ for Mattern. [k][j] for Kofoed who now rests easy with 110,000. Mattern on the other hand has slipped down to 80,000.

11.15pm: Pantling settles in to a leading position
Just as we thought we’d found a new chip leader another one emerges and it’s another PokerStars Qualifier. Andrew Pantling from Canada is sitting on 156,000 after coming out the warmer player of two in a cooler. He and his neighbor saw a K-J-5 flop where all the chips ended up in the middle. Pantling had pocket fives for a set and his opponent had king-jack for top two. Ouch.

11.05pm: Poulsen pummelled
Jan Skampa just saw off a player, calling an all-in with A♥ J♠ with A♦ K♦ . The board ran out K♣ Q♠ 6♥ 5♠ 8♣ . Skampa stood to shake hands with Tonny Poulsen but the beaten man was already on his way to the door. Skampa up to 93,000.

11pm: Biggest pot brings new leader of the pack
The winner of the biggest pot so far (as far as we know) is Patrik Kaltrud and he now sits on a 140,000 stack. He saw a T-6-5 flop containing one diamond and check-called an 8,000 bet. He then check-called a 13,000 bet after the turn came J♦ . The river came 7♣ and once more Kaltrud checked. This time he faced a slightly larger bet, a 42,300, an all-in bet!

Kaltrud made the call with pocket kings and he took the pot eliminating his opponent who could only muster 6♦ 8♦ for a bunch of missed draws.

10.55pm: Conteh finds the rough
James Conteh, the British golf professional featured in video a little earlier (scroll down to 10.23pm), is finding it tough going. On a 2♥ 2♦ Q♣ flop he bets 10,000, but is forced to let it go when an aggressive opponent re-raises with a tower of yellow chips, enough to put Conteh all in. The son of former world light-heavyweight boxing champ John Conteh is now down to 18,000.

10.50pm: What could he have?
Another really interesting pot just developed on table Visser/Nielsen and both these players were both involved. A third unnamed player opened the pot with a raise to 1,500 from early position. Ruben Visser three-bet to 4,000 from mid-position and was called by Rasmus Nielsen in the small blind and the original raiser. The flop 5♣ 3♥ 10♥ was checked by all three to bring the K♣ turn. Nielsen took control at this point and led for 7,250 and was only called by the Dutch pro. Niilsen fired again but this time it was a hefty 22,550 (18k back).

“Could be such a sick bluff,” commented Visser “But you know I don’t like folding. You haven’t got a flush but I lose to tens and we chop if you have ace-king” he continued.

Visser painfully let the hand go and added, finally: “That was a hero fold. No actually for me it was more than a hero fold.” Visser ends the hand with 41,000, Neilsen on 65,000.

10.40pm: Lies and the lying liars who tell them
Our press-room colleague Henning Pohl is working on a short, tongue-in-cheek documentary called “Danes don’t lie”, based on a German comedian’s schtick with the same name. Rasmus Nielsen is Danish, but he might not be quite as honest as Pohl’s thesis would suggest.

A few moments ago, Nielsen raised to 1,650 under the gun and Henrik Ellasson called two spots to Nielsen’s left. “You have king eight?” Nielsen said, seemingly referring to a previous hand, and his opponent jabbed his thumb downward, suggesting an inferior holding even than that.

The two players then went through something of an auction-like process, before they seemed happy to assume that Ellasson had six seven. “Well, I have eight nine, so this could get fun,” Nielsen said.

The flop came 6♣ A♥ 9♣ and Nielsen said: “It really could be fun.” He bet 2,100, which Ellasson called. The turn was 7♣ and now Nielsen said: “So, you’ve turned two pair on me?” He checked. “Six thousand,” said Ellasson, and that was enough to get Nielsen to fold.

Ellasson did the decent thing and showed his hand, but it was a bit better than Nielsen had thought. He exposed A♦ 9♦ for top two. “I’m glad I folded ace seven,” said Nielsen, and I think that might have been the lie right there.

10.30pm: Trouble folding
With the button poised in front of him and chips to play with, Dario Minieri made it 1,425. Miklos Zsuffa, looking hesitant perhaps in the big blind, called, for a flop of 10♠ A♦ K♠ .

Zsuffa checked to Minieri who bet with two hands, throwing 2,225 into the middle, the speed of which only matched by Zsuffa haste in folding.

“My problem is I don’t really like folding,” said Minieri. Then the next hand.

Minieri, finding the action folded to him in the cut off, made it 1,375. He was up against Zsuffa again in the small blind. He raised to 4,000.

“May I?” asked Minieri, wanting to see Zsuffa chips. Satisfied Minieri said “raise” and made it 10,700 in total.

Zsuffa looked up, then looked down, then his eyes narrowed as if in deep thought. With 45,000 left behind he called to see the flop. K♦ K♥ 2♣ . Both checked for a turn card A♥ .

Scratching his eye Zsuffa checked as Minieri tossed in 9,400. Zsuffa called, getting a neutral looking 6♣ on the river. Check-check. Zsuffa turned over A♦ Q♦ . Minieri mucked, down to 64,000. Zsuffa on the other hand is up to 75,000.

10.20pm: That’s no time for a walk
Johnny Lodden is normally the one who bulldozers his way through a table. But with Dario Minieri sharing the same felt, he seems happy enough to wait for a spot to trap the Italian or at least show some aggression of his own. In the big blind, Lodden looks down and finds A♣ K♥ and is aghast as first Minieri folds from early position – and everyone else folds as well.

10.23pm: Meet a boxing champ’s son
Our family of PokerStars qualifiers is always of interest. Players come from all walks of life and all corners of the globe. When you cover events on a regular basis, you’re never surprised at who will turn up next. Take Copenhagen, where we bloggers met an English qualifier called James Conteh. Turns out he’s a professional golfer, and the son of former world light-heavyweight boxing champion John Conteh. Our video team caught up with him a little earlier…

10.15pm: This borg’s out of power
Tore Lagerborg is out. He was down to his last 3,150 when he moved all in from under-the-gun. It looked like he was going to steal the blinds and antes as one-by-one the player’s folded. Not the big blind though who called quickly with A♦ K♦ . Langerborg opened J♣ 9♣ and the board ran 8♣ 10♠ 3♦ 4♠ 5♥ .

10.10pm: Togsverd suffers with aces
Christian Togsverd raced into an early chip lead today when he took a monster pot from Martin Kabrhel in level four with a flopped set of tens. But not all big hands stand up in this game, as Togsverd just discovered to his cost. There was about 4,100 in pre-flop and two players, Togsverd and Kim Vindeløv. The flop was J♦ Q♠ 6♦ and suddenly a lot of chips in the middle. Vindeløv checked, Togsverd bet 3,000, Vindeløv raised to 8,000, Togsverd moved all in, comfortably covering Vindeløv. But he called all in – about 23,000 more – and the cards were on their backs:

Vindeløv: A♦ Q♦ or top pair and the nut flush draw.
Togsverd: A♣ A♥ or the toppest of top pairs.

The 4♥ on the turn changed nothing. But the 5♦ on the river was one of Vindeløv’s outs. He pumped his fists and added about 50,000 chips to that nice “ø” in his name. Togsverd is cut down to a similar sized stack.

9.55pm: Nasty two-outer for local pro
The PokerStars Blog caught up with Andrew Teng in the break, discovering that he has amassed a 79,000 stack during the first six levels of play. Most of that profit came in a hand against local hero Theo Jorgensen. There was three-betting and four-betting galore between the two pre-flop before a low flop came down. The Dane jammed with pocket queens and was called by Teng holding pocket jacks. All was looking good for Jorgensen until a two-outing jack came on the turn to end it for him.

“Life’s good right now”

9.50pm:Players are back
Play has resumed for the last two levels of today.