Rinat Bogdanov is the latest name to be engraved onto the Champions Cup after he bested a tough final table that took more than 11 hours to complete in the historical Casino Di Venezia. For his efforts over the past week Bogdanov picks up €229,800, which includes a $25,000 seat to the WPT World Championship, a replica of the Champions Cup and a Murano glass replica of the Champions Cup.

Earlier in the week the Royal Flush Girls visited the Murano factory, here’s how they got on.

Back to the Final Table action! It took 90 minutes for the first player to be eliminated from the six-handed final table, that dubious honour going to Andrea Carini. He saw Andrea Dato open to 50,000 with blinds at 12,000/24,000/4,000a and decided to three-bet all in for 367,000 holding . Dato made the call and flipped over and when the board ran out it was all over for Carini.

Another 90 minutes went by before Gianluca Trebbi committed his entire stack preflop one too many times. Trebbi had been all in at least half a dozen times but when he did so with he ran straight into the pocket jacks of Alessandro Longobardi. Trebbi spiked a ten on the flop but could find another or a seven and he became the fifth place finisher.

The fourth place finisher was decided, yes you guessed it, 90-minutes after Trebbi’s demise. The highly aggressive Dane, Simon Ravnsbaek, had a very swingy day to say the least and it came to an abrupt end when he moved all in for 600,000 (around 15 big blinds) with a pair of red deuces. However, he did not bank on Bogdanov waking up with a pair of tens next to act. The board was void of any drama and Ravnsbaek exited the tournament area a few positions before we had predicted.

After Ravnsbaek’s exit play slowed down to a snail’s pace and it took close to four hours for the tournament to lose another player. During those four long hours the chip lead was passed to each of the three players on more than one occasion but Dato lost a couple of key pots and became the third place finisher. He found himself short stacked and moved all in from the small blind with and was instantly called by Bogdanov and his dominating . The board ran out and Dato was sent packing. Dato would have made a worthy champion as, along with Ravnsbaek, he was the only player who seemed willing to try and make things happen. We are sure his name will be gracing these pages again in the not too distant future.

After the four hour slog of three-handed play the media and railbirds hunkered down ready for a long, drawn out one-on-one battle but it was literally all over within two hands. With blinds at 40,000/80,000/10,000a, Bogdanov opened to 200,000 holding and Longobardi made the call with . Both players hit the flop and decided to check but the turn gave Bogdanov two pair and he bet it to the tune of 200,000 when Longobardi checked to him. The Italian quickly called but he check-folded to the 360,000 river bet when the fell.

The very next hand was the final hand of the tournament. Longobardi opened to 200,000 with his and Bogdanov decided to gamble and see a flop with his . Again both players caught a piece of the flop and Bogdanov check-called a 60,000 bet from his Italian opponent. The turn brought the into play and Bogdanov checked again then called an increased size bet of 240,000. The fifth and final community card was the and Bogdanov made a check that the best of pros would have been happy with. Then when Longobardi fired a bet of 300,000 Bogdanov sprung into action and moved all in. Longobardi re-checked his cards and made the call only to see his opponent had him crushed!

Shortly after being announced as the WPT Venice Grand Prix Champion Bogdanov spoke to Marianela Pereyra.

So that is it from Venice for another year, next on the WPT calendar is the WPT National Series in Denmark between Feb. 28 – Mar. 3 and then it jets off to Austria for WPT Vienna between Apr. 10-15. You can follow in Bogdanov’s footsteps and become a WPT champion by qualifying for one of these two fantastic events on PartyPoker. Download PartyPoker today and win yourself an exclusive package.

WPT Venice Grand Prix Final Table Payouts

• 1st: Rinat Bogdanov: €229,800
• 2nd: Alessandro Longobardi: €111,700
• 3rd: Andrea Dato: €72,275
• 4th: Simon Ravnsbaek: €52,565
• 5th: Gianluca Trebbi: €42,705
• 6th: Andrea Carini: €32,195

Simon Ravnsbaek is a machine! He is the reigning Danish Champion, a member of the final table at the last WPT Vienna and former winner of the PartyPoker.com Monthly Million for $200K (October 2010). He’s also on the final table of WPT Venice.

Danes have won the last three $200k guaranteed tournaments on PartyPoker.com in a row and are becoming a major force- too dominant in some peoples eyes. We ask Simon why the online tables are being terrorised by Vikings and discuss the upcoming WPT National Series event in Denmark.

More importantly, what’s it like to look like king of swing Michael Buble? Does he have some crazy nights?

00:01

Rinat Bogdanov Wins WPT Venice Grand Prix Main Event (€229,800)

and Rinat Bogdanov calls holding . Our final flop of the WPT Venice Grand Prix is and Bogdanov check-calls a 60,000 Longobardi c-bet. On the turn, Bogdanov hits two pair when the comes down from the sky. Bogdanov plays it cool, once more, and it is another check-call, this time for 240,000.

On the river we see the and Bogdanov remains composed and checks for a third and final time. Longobardi bets 300,000 and Bogdanov cannot contain his excitement. A smirk comes over his face as he moved all-in. Longobardi looks to the sky, checks his cards and then makes the call. Bogdanov turns over his hand and Longobardi gets to his feet to congratulate the new WPT Champion.

Bogdanov takes home €229,800 and Longobardi takes home €111,700.

23:55

First Hand of Heads-Up

Rinat Bogdanov opens to 200,000 with and Alessandro Longobardi calls with . The flop comes down and Longobardi checks and Bogdanov checks behind. The turn is the and again Longobardi checks then calls a 200,000 bet from his opponent.

The river is the and Longobardi checks but does not call Bogdanov’s 360,000 bet.

23:33

Andrea Dato Eliminated in 3rd Place (€72,275)

Andrea Dato has been eliminated from the Main Event after a clash with Rinat Bogdanov.

The shot-stacked Dato open-shoved with and was instantly called by Bogdanov with a dominating . The flop hits Bogdanov and leaves Dato drawing to a runner-runner. The on the turn locks up the hand for the Russian and the inconsequential completes the hand and we are now heads-up!

23:27

Longobardi Doubles Up Through Dato

Andrea Dato finds in the hole and makes it 160,000 to play. Rinat Bogdanov folds but Alessandro Longobardi announces he is all in and his fellow country man snap-calls him.

Longobardi:
Dato:

The flop gives Longobardi a whole host of outs. The turn is not one of them but the certainly is and Longobardi is back in business.

23:20

Longobardi Folds Best Hand

Alessandro Longobardi raises to 175,000, on the button, holding and Rinat Bogdanov three-bets, from the big blind for 420,000, holding . Longobardi takes some time before folding the best hand.

23:08

Dato Doubles!

We just cannot get down to heads-up, and three-handed play continues after Andrea Dato doubled up. Dato open-shoved 1,245,000 and after 30 seconds of so Alessandro Longobardi calls.

Longobardi:
Dato:

The board runs out and we are still three handed here in the WPT Venice Grand Prix Main Event.

23:03

Chip Counts

• Alessandro Longobardi: 2,330,000
• Andrea Dato: 1,295,000
• Rinat Bogdanov: 1,050,000

22:56

Another Big Hand For Longobardi

After looking down and finding Alessandro Longobardi opens to 140,000. Next to act is Andrea Dato and he decides to three-bet to 320,000 with the lowly . Once Rinat Bogdanov gets out of the way Longobardi moves all in for over 1,900,000 and Dato instantly mucks.

22:49

Longobardi On A Roll

Alessandro Longobardi is on a roll and picking up cards but nobody else is at the same time. Just now he raised to 140,000 with and was delighted to see Andrea Dato three-bet to 280,000 with . Longobardi pondered all of his options before settling for an all-in bet of 1,320,000. This was far too much for Dato to call and he snap-folded.

22:27

Bogdanov Doubles Up

Alessandro Longobardi folds on the button and Andrea Dato moves all in from the small blind for more than 3,000,000. Rinat Bogdanov instantly calls and the cards are turned over.

Dato:
Bogdanov:

The flop misses both players but Bogdanov’s ten-kicker is still in play. The turn is the and Bogdanov stays in front. The river is the and with that Bogdanov doubles and we are still three-handed.

22:23

No Action For Longobardi Again

Alessandro Longobardi opens to 140,000 with pocket fours but his bet goes uncalled once again.

22:19

Dato Forces River Fold

Alessandro Longobardi comes into the pot with a raise from the small blind, holding , and Andrea Dato calls in the big blind, holding .

The flop is and Longobardi c-bets 120,000. Action onto Dato and he raises to 240,000 and Longobardi makes the call. The turn of is checked through and we see the final card which is the . Longobardi checks and Dato bets 450,000 with complete air and Longobardi goes into the tank before folding the best hand.

Dato ~ 3,000,000
Longobardi ~ 1,100,000

22:11

Longobardi Three-bet Goes Uncalled

Andrea Dato opens to 120,000 with and the action folds to Alessandro Longobardi. He checks his cards but we cannot see them because the graphic is not showing them! Whatever they are they are worth a three-bet to 220,000.

Dato pauses for 60 seconds before folding. Longobardi shows his cards triumphantly to Dato and we see they are .

22:03

Chip Counts

• Andrea Dato: 2,775,000
• Alessandro Longobardi: 1,290,000
• Rinat Bogdanov: 610,000

21:00

Dinner Break

The players have been playing for seven hours now with only 30 minute respite so they have been sent on an hour’s dinner break.

20:41

Big Pot Goes Dato’s Way

First in Andrea Dato raises to 100,000 with and Rinat Bogdanov calls in the small blind with . Dato smashes into the flop and will be delighted that Bogdanov bets 140,000. Dato just calls. The players check the and river and Dato wins the pot.

Dato: 2,100,000
Bogdanov: 900,000

20:32

Longobardi Shoves On Dato

Alessandro Longobardi raises to 120,000, on the button, holding . Andrea Dato is in the small blind and he three-bets to 270,000 holding . Back to Longobardi and he moves all-in prompting an immediate fold from Dato.

Longobardi: 1,350,000
Dato: 1,800,000

20:25

Chippies

• Alessandro Longobardi: 1,810,000
• Andrea Dato: 1,435,000
• Rinat Bogdanov: 1,430,000

20:08

Ace-High Call For Longobardi

From the button Andrea Dato raises to 80,000 holding and Alessandro Longobardi defends his big blind with . The action is checked down to the river on a board of and Dato bets 120,000. Longobardi senses something is wrong and after a moments pause he makes a solid call.

Dato: 2,090,000
Bogdanov: 1,470,000
Longobardi: 1,170,000

20:00

Fish And Chips, Chips And Fish

• Andrea Dato: 2,090,000
• Rinat Bogdanov: 1,370,000
• Alessandro Longobardi: 1,215,000

19:50

Dato Hits Trips To Win

Rinat Bogdanov decided to get tricky and limp from the button with which sees Alessandro Longobardi limp with and Andrea Dato check in the big blind with his .

Flop: – Longobardi checks, Dato bets and only Bogdanov makes the call.

Turn: – Dato leads again, making it 185,000 to play and Bogdanov springs into action and makes it 330,000 to play.

River: – Dato checks and Bogdanov checks behind.

The pot slides to Dato.

19:29

River Bet Takes Down Family Pot

Andrea Dato raises on the button with and both blinds call. The action is checked through to the river on a board of and Rinat Bogdanov wins the pot with a bet of 150,000 holding .

19:21

Player Slow Down

Despite the fact play is now three-handed the players seem to be happy to simply pass the blinds to each other. Hands that are reaching flops are being check-folded. Hopefully the aggression will start to shine through soon.

19:10

Worst Hand In Poker Wins

Andrea Dato opens with just on the button and cannot be too happy when Rinat Bogdanov makes the call. He does so with . The dealer puts out the flop, gifting Dato a flush but a low one obviously.

Bogdanov leads into his opponent with a 100,000 bet but he quickly gets out of the way when Dato raises it up to 220,000.

19:08

Dato Three-Bets Bogdanov

Rinat Bogdanov opens to 80,000 with just and it is unsurprising when he gets out of the way when Andrea Dato three-bets to 220,000 with his pocket tens.

18:51

Simon Ravnsbaek Eliminated in 4th Place (€52,565)

Simon Ravnsbaek open shoves for 600,000 holding and Rinat Bogdanov peeks at his cards and see’s for the easiest call of his life.

Board:

Ravnsbaek has played wonderfully in this tournament but he is going to have to settle for 4th place.

Bogdanov: 1,800,000

18:26

Chips Counts At The Break

• Andrea Dato: 1,615,000
• Simon Ravnsbaek: 715,000
• Rinat Bogdanov: 1,160,000
• Alessandro Longobardi: 1,125,000

18:24

Break Time

Another level has been and gone and the players are on a 15 minute break.

18:23

Ravnsbaek Folds Best hand

Andrea Dato raises to 75,000 from the small blind with and Simon Ravnsbaek three-bets to 170,000 from the big blind holding pocket nines. Dato makes the call and the flop comes down . Dato checks and Ravnsbaek checks behind.

The turn brings the into play and again it goes check-check. The river is the and now Dato leads out, betting 245,000. Ravnsbaek looks pained in his decision making, but after close to 90 seconds he mucks his hand.

18:17

Bogdanov Doubles Up

A raise from Andrea Dato is answered with an all-in three-bet from Rinat Bogdanov and after a few moments Dato makes the call.

Bogdanov:
Dato:

The board runs out ! The river saved Bogdanov and we are still four-handed in the Main Event.

18:12

PartyPoker $500 Freeroll Password and $100 Reload Bonus

We have a $500 freeroll tonight at 2000 CET that readers of the blog can take part in. Simply download PartyPoker, create an account (if you do not already have one) and enter the freeroll. You’ll need the password “party500“.

We also have a 100% up to $100 reload bonus available, just use the bonus code “venice”

18:09

Longobardi Continues To Climb

Simon Ravnsbaek opens to 60,000 with and then calls when Alessandro Longobardi three-bets to 180,000 with .

The dealer puts out the flop and Longobardi leads out with a 150,000 bet, a bet that his Danish opponent quickly calls. The turn sees the make an appearance and Longobardi tries to end the hand by moving all in for his remaining 470,000 chips. His plan works because Ravnsbaek instantly folds.

18:02

Become a WPT Champion

Download PartyPoker today and start your quest to become a World Poker Tour champion!

17:56

Dato Three-Bets With Rags

Holding Alessandro Longobardi opens to 65,000 but he is stopped in his tracks when Andrea Dato three bets to 165,000. What do you think Dato three-bet with? I’ll tell you because you’ll never guess in a million years…… .

17:46

Longobardi Adds To Stack

Alessandro Longobardi opens to 65,000 with and Rinat Bogdanov decides to peel with the . The dealer fans out the flop and both players check. The turn brings the into the equation and now Bogdanov leads out with a bet of 70,000. Longobardi reaches for chips and he raises to 190,000.

Bogdanov releases his hands and Longobardi wins the pot.

17:37

Gianluca Trebbi Eliminated in 5th Place (€42,705)

Gianluca Trebbi moves all-in for the umpteenth time and eventually he finds a caller in the shape of Alessandro Longobardi. Unfortunately, for Trebbi he is in terrible shape when the cards are turned over.

Longobardi:
Trebbi:

Board:

Longobardi has found a hand at the perfect time and Trebbi is out.

Longobardi: 810,000

17:19

End of Level

We are now on a 10-minute break.

17:14

Dato Takes One From Bogdanov

The action is on Andrea Dato and he raises to 50,000 with only to see Rinat Bogdanov three-bet to 125,000 who is holding . Dato ponders his options for a few moments before sitting back in his chair, huffing and sighing as he does so. After two minutes he makes the call and it is heads-up to the .

Bogdanov checks, Dato bets 105,000 and Bogdanov almost instantaneously folds.

17:09

Chip Counts

• Simon Ravnsbaek: 1,540,000
• Andrea Dato: 1,215,000
• Rinat Bogdanov: 1,091,000
• Alessandro Longobardi: 478,000
• Gianluca Trebbi: 349,000

17:01

Ravnsbaek Continues To Push Table Around

Simon Ravnsbaek is completely bossing the table right now and he is showing no signs of slowing down. Andrea Dato raises to 50,000 with and Ravnsbaek is next to act and he three-bets with just ! He makes it 126,000 to play and after much deliberation Dato folds and the Dane’s rampage continues.

16:43

Continuation Bet Does The Trick For Ravnsbaek

Simon Ravnsbaek opens to 49,000 yet again, this time with and he finds callers in the shape of Rinat Bogdanov with and Andrea Dato with . The flop comes down and after Dato checks in the big blind Ravnsbaek bets 57,000 and it is enough to take down the pot because both players fold.

16:40

Ravnsbaek Caught With Fingers In The Cookie Jar

Simon Ravnsbaek opens to 49,000 with the monster that is and the action folds to Alessandro Longobardi moves all in for 293,000 with his . Getting significant odds Ravnsbaek calls and turns over his weak hand.

The five community cards fall and Longobardi doubles up.

16:35

Updated Chip Counts

Simon Ravnsbaek: 1,668,000
Andrea Dato: 1,257,000
Rinat Bogdanov: 1,075,000
Gianluca Trebbi: 380,000
Alessandro Longobardi: 293,000

16:34

Ravnsbaek Claims The Chip Lead!

Andrea Dato makes it 50,000 to play and Simon Ravnsbaek three-bets. Then in a flurry of action Dato moves all in and the Dane instantly calls!

Dato:
Ravnsbaek:

The flop leaves Dato drawing to a single out as the would give Ravnsbaek the flush. The turn is the and the river the and with that Ravnsbaek climbs to 1,668,000 chips and is the new leader of this final table.

16:28

Alessandro Longobardi Crushed

Alessandro Longobardi opens to 50,000 with and Andrea Dato calls him with . The action is on Simon Ravnsbaek and he wakes up with pocket aces and moves all in! Longobardi calls and Dato snap-mucks.

The board runs out and Ravnsbaek climbs to 810,000 whilst Longobardi drops to 297,000.

16:22

Ravnsbaek Moves In With Small Pair

With Andrea Carini’s exit Simon Ravnsbaek is the new short stack and he has immediately tried to rectify that by open-shoving for 366,000 with a pair of fives. The action folds to Andrea Dato an surprisingly he folds his .

16:18

Andrea Carini Eliminated in 6th Place (€32,195)

Andrea Dato opens to 50,000 with only to see Andrea Carini move all in for 367,000. Dato makes the call and finds he is up against .

The flop comes down which is very safe for Dato. The on the turn gives Carini some outs to the straight but the is not one of them and Carini becomes the sixth place finisher in the WPT Venice Grand Prix Main Event.

15:43

Chip Counts At The Break

Andrea Dato: 1,694,000
Simon Ravnsbaek: 366,000
Andrea Carini: 415,000
Rinat Bognadov: 1,179,000
Gianluca Trebbi: 300,000
Alessandro Longobardi: 719,000

15:40

Dato Shoves On Ravnsbaek

Simon Ravnsbaek opens with to 42,000 but his hand is quickly in the muck when Andrea Dato moves all in on him with his .

15:33

Bogdanov Feeling Flush

Simon Ravnsbaek opens to 42,000 with and Rinat Bogdanov makes the call with . The flop reads and Ravnsbaek leads into his opponent with a 55,000 bet and Bogdanov makes the call.

The turn is the and now Ravnsbaek checks to Bogdanov but he does not check behind with his top pair and flush draw instead he bets and the Dane quickly calls.

The river is the and Ranvsbaek sees no reason to be and he checks. Bogdanov attempts to get some value from his flush and he bets, forcing Ravnsbaek out of the pot.

15:31

Interview With Simon Ravnsbaek

Earlier on we spoke to one of the final table members, Simon Ravnsbaek, and here’s what he had to say.

You could join Simon at the WPT National Championships in Denmark, just download PartyPoker and win yourself a package!

15:29

Trebbi Shoves Again With Weak Ace

The action is on Gianluca Trebbi and he open-shoves with . Andrea Carini looks like he is pondering a call but he doesn’t pull the trigger.

15:13

Ravnsbaek Pushes Longobardi Off Best Hand

Alessandro Longobardi opens to 40,000 with his but he has a decision to make because Simon Ravnsbaek three-bets to 91,000 from the button, holding just . The flop comes down , Longobardi check-calls a 53,000 bet from the Dane.

The turn brings the into play and Longobardi checks again but when Ravnsbaek makes it 116,000 to play he sends his cards back to the dealer.

15:06

Gianluca Trebbi Shove Goes Uncalled

Gianluca Trebbi looks down at and decides it is strong enough to move all in for 244,000. His shove goes uncalled and he picks up the blinds and antes.

14:58

Dato Turns Nut Flush, Gets Paid Off

Andrea Dato opens the pot yet again this time from the small blind with . Simon Ravnsbaek makes the call with and there should be fireworks now!

The first three community cards are and Dato leads into his opponent with a 55,000 bet, a bet that Ravnsbaek quickly calls. The turn completes Dato’s flush, the , and he bets again. This time he increases his bet size to 70,000 and surely that is the end of the hand.

Ravnsbaek is reaching for chips and he’s raised to 186,000! Wow! Dato rechecks his cards to ensure he has the nuts, he does, and he calls. The final card is the and Dato elects to check. Thirty seconds later Ravnsbaek taps the table and checks behind, only to be show the nuts.

He laughs to himself, possibly a nervous laugh, because he cold have gone broke in that hand quite easily.

14:52

Dato Steaming Ahead

Andrea Dato opens to 40,000 with and Rinat Bogdanov three-bets with on the button to 98,000. Dato calls and it is off to the flop.

Dato checks and Bogdanov checks behind. The dealer burns a card and puts the out on the turn. Dato nnow has an open-ended straight draw and he decides to bet it to the tune of 135,000 and Bogdanov almost instantly folds.

That is Dato’s fourth pot on the spin.

14:48

Fish and Chips

Here are the chip counts of the six final tablists.

• Andrea Dato: 1,191,000
• Simon Ravnsbaek: 1,031,000
• Rinat Bogdanov: 964,000
• Andrea Carini: 594,000
• Alessandro Longobardi: 557,000
• Gianluca Trebbi: 295,000

14:43

Carini Gets Off The Mark

Andrea Carini opens the betting with a raise to 41,000 with from under the gun and both Rinat Bogdanov and Simon Ravnsbaek make the call.

Flop: – Ravnsbaek checks, Bogdanov checks, Carini bets 55,000 and both of his opponents fold.

14:37

Bogdanov Raises River On a Complete Bluff

Rinat Bogdanov opens to 33,000 with and Andrea Dato makes the call with . The dealer spreads the flop onto the table. Both players check and it is off the the turn. Again both players check, leading us to the on the river.

Dato grabs some white 10,000 chips and bets 45,000 and Bogdavon is reaching for chips and raises it up to 90,000! Crazy! Dato ponders his options carefully for around 60 seconds before mucking his hand.

14:30

Early Set For Longobardi

On a flop reading Alessandro Longobardi checks from the big blind seat and Andrea Dato fires a bet of 30,000 with his . Longobardi then check-raises to 76,000 with a set of deuces and Dato Hollywoods for a few moments before folding his hand.

WPT Venice Grand Prix Final Table Live Updates!

Hello and welcome to the Casino Di Venezia where at 1400 CET the final table of the WPT Venice Grand Prix Main Event kicks off in front of the full-scale WPT production team.

Mike Sexton is here, Vince Van Patten is here, the Royal Flush Girls are here and yours truly is here too and together we will be bringing you updates live from the final table. When we say live we actually mean on a 30-minute delay because we will be providing updates complete with hole card information.

The man they all have to catch today is Andrea Dato and his colossal stack of 1,591,000 chips. Dato made the final table of WPT Venice in December where he eventually finished in fourth place so he will be hoping to go around three places higher today.

His nearest rival is Simon Ravnsbaek on 922,000 chips. The Dane is a very talented player who is not afraid to get his stack into the middle, even against the big stack so expect some fireworks today. Yesterday Ravnsbaek five-bet shoved on Dato and turned over , could his aggression be his downfall?

Making up the final six are Rinat Bogdanov, Alessandro Longobardi, Andrea Carini and Gianluca Trebbi and when play resumes they will be seated as follows:

Seat 1: Andrea Dato: 1,591,000
Seat 2: Simon Ravnsbaek: 922,000
Seat 3: Andrea Carini: 347,000
Seat 4: Gianluca Trebbi: 343,000
Seat 5: Rinat Bogdanov: 907,000
Seat 6: Alessandro Longobardi: 558,000

Each of the players is now guaranteed €32,195 but the eventual winner will walk away with a massive €229,800.

Come back at 1430 for all the live updates from the WPT Venice Grand Prix Main Event.

I have said plenty of things in the past questioning the heart and commitment of the nippy chiwawa Daniel Negreanu but this man is qualified – he shoots from hip and says it how it is. He is an attack dog like Zasko and has sharp teeth for a vegan – he knows a snow pea when he sees one.

I have followed his lead, I have hired a personal assistant but we got off to a rocky start at WPT Venice. Don’t leave me waiting.

Follow the final table live updates here

15:56

WPT Venice Grand Prix Day 4 Completed: Andrea Dato Runaway Chip Leader

Day 4 of the World Poker Tour Venice Grand Prix Main Event was short and sweet, topping the scales at under three hours, thanks to having to only go from nine to six players. First to go was Massimo Mosele and he was followed out of the door shortly afterwards by Jeremie Sochet and American pro Jason Wheeler and with Wheeler’s elimination the final table was complete set in stone.

When play resumes on Friday afternoon the six final table members will line up as follows:

• Seat 1: Andrea Dato: 1,591,000
• Seat 2: Simon Ravnsbaek: 922,000
• Seat 3: Andrea Carini: 347,000
• Seat 4: Rinat Bogdanov: 907,000
• Seat 5: Gianluca Trebbi: 343,000
• Seat 6: Alessandro Longobardi: 558,000

15:48

Jason Wheeler Eliminated in 7th Place (€25,625)

Our final table has been set with the elimination of Jason Wheeler. Andrea Dato opened to 33,000 in the hijack only to see Andrea Carini three-bet to 85,000 from the cutoff. Gianluca Trebbi folded his small blind but Wheeler moved all in for 436,000. Dato made the call and when Carini folded the cards were revealed.

Wheeler:
Dato:

“One time,” pleads Wheeler

Flop: – A very safe flop for Dato’s jacks.

Turn: – Wheeler still needs an ace or queen

River: – An unnecessary set of jacks for Dato and with that Wheeler heads to the sidelines and we have out final table.

15:37

Trebbi Gets Shoving

Gianluca Trebbi is short stacked and it looks like he has made the decision to start getting his chips into the middle. First he open-shoved for 230,000 from UTG+1 and picked up the blinds and antes then almost immediately afterwards he shoved over the top of Andrea Dato’s opening 33,000 raise and found no callers.

15:26

Dato Hits Quads

Andrea Dato raises to 33,000 in the hijack and Gianluca Trebbi defends his big blind. The flop is and Trebbi check-calls a 30,000 c-bet. On the turn we have yet another deuce 2and this time Trebbi check-calls a 52,000 Dato bet.

Heading to the river Trebbi has around 400,000 behind and Dato has 560,000. We see the and Trebbi checks to Dato who bets 130,000. Trebbi doesn’t need long to make his mind up and flicks a solitary red 5k chip into the middle of the table to indicate a call. Dato shows for quads and the Trebbi hand suddenly became irrelevant as he slides it unseen to the dealer.

Dato: 800,000
Trebbi: 292,000

15:16

Slow Down

The players, who are relatively even in chips, are playing much more conservatively than at any other stage of the tournament and nobody seems to want to take advantage of that. The reason for the slow down is not just the pay jump but also the fact the full WPT production team is here and this tournament is going to be broadcast around the world.

It seems like the last seven players are wanting to get their faces onto the television!

15:04

Bogdanov Closes Gap

Simon Ravnsbaek raises to 28,000 in the cutoff and Rinat Bogdanov calls in the small blind. Gianluca Trebbi folds his big blind and they see a flop of . Bogdanov decided to check-raise to 70,000 and Ravnsbaek calls. On the turn we have the and Bogdanov bets 120,000 and Ravnsbaek decides to fold.

Bogdanov: 900,000
Ravnasbaek: 1,100,000

14:53

Wheeler Gets Into Push-Bot Mode

Jason Wheeler open shoves for 330,000 in the hijack seat, “I have 330,000…well around 375,000 after this hand,” says Wheeler before everyone folds.

“That’s a big shove,” says Ravnsbaek.

“Guess I am done folding,” says Wheeler.

“Tilt?”

“I don’t tilt often,” says Wheeler.

A few hands later and Andrea Carini raises from the cutoff to 33,000 and Wheeler moves all-in from the big blind and Carini folds.

“What is your stack now Jason?” Asks Dato.

“Around 410,000 – enough to some damage,” says Wheeler.

14:49

Official Chip Counts

• 1st – Simon Ravnsbaek – 1,200,000
• 2nd – Rinat Bogdanov – 783,000
• 3rd – Alessandro Longobardi – 680,000
• 4th – Andrea Dato – 625,000
• 5th – Gianluca Trebbi – 607,000
• 6th – Andrea Carini – 475,000
• 7th – Jason Wheeler – 270,000

14:32

Break Time

The players are on a 15-minute break.

14:24

Jeremie Sochet Eliminated in 8th Place (€19,055)

Jeremie Sochet has been sent to the rail and we are now on the WPT Venice Grand Prix final table bubble!

Rinat Bogdanov opens to 27,000 from the small blind and Sochet three-bets all in for an addition 94,000. Bogdanov decided to gamble and he makes the call.

Sochet:
Bogdanov:

Bogdanov picks up flush draw on the flop but he doesn’t need it because the turn is the leaving Sochet drawing to one out. Our river card is the and Sochet becomes out eighth place finisher.

14:12

Massimo Mosele Eliminated in 9th Place (€13,795)

Every tournament has one. The rock who somehow manages to get super deep in the tournament without seemingly playing a hand. This particular rock – Massimo Mosele – played two hands today. The first was an open shove that got through uncontested and the second is this one…

Massimo Mosele open shoves for 109,000, in early position, and Andrea Dato calls in the hijack seat. Mosele turns over and Dato has . The board runs out and Dato eliminates is fellow countryman.

Dato ~ 670,000

13:59

Trebbi Five-Bets

Jason Wheeler gets the action under way by raising to 26,000 from UTG+1. Alessandro Longobardi calls to his direct left and then the action folds to Rinat Bogdanov who squeezes to 86,000. To Bogdanov’s left is Gianluca Trebbi and he moves two towers of chips forward that turns out to be 194,000. This is enough to force snap-folds from Wheeler and Longobardi but Bogdanov ponders his options.

He’s sat scratching his head, literally, with a single yellow 1,000 chips but the friction caused does not spark any bright ideas and he folds.

“Show us a deuce!” jokes Simon Ravnsbaek as Trebbi sends his cards towards the muck.

13:54

Carini Check-Raise Wins Pot

Massimo Mosele raises to 25,000 first-in from the cutoff and the action folds to Andrea Carini in the big blind. He asks Mosele to move his hands so he can count his stack, he does and when he counts the chips Carini makes the call.

Flop: – Carini checks, Mosele continues with a bet of 30,000 but when Carini check-raises to 100,000 Mosele instantly mucks.

13:48

Ravnsbaek Comes Out Three-Betting

Andrea Carinjo opens to 25,000 from under the gun and immediately covers his mouth with his scarf. The action folds to Simon Ravnsbaek in the big blind and he three-bets to 62,000 and surprisingly Carini snap-folds.

13:45

Passively Played Kings Good For Longobardi

Joining the action on a flop, Jason Wheeler checks from the big blind and Alessandro Longobardi checks behind from under the gun. The dealer puts the onto the turn and now Wheeler comes out betting, making it 36,000 to play but Longobardi is not going away and he quickly calls.

The river is the and Wheeler goes back into checking mode. Longobardi checks behind and the players are instructed to showdown their hands.

Longobardi: – and the win
Wheeler:

Longobardi: 790,000
Wheeler: 650,000

13:39

Ravnsbaek Shoves On Dato, Shows a Five!

Andrea Dato raises to 25,000 in the hijack seat and Simon Ravnsbaek three-bets to 64,000 in the cutoff. The action folds back around to Dato and he grabs a handful of white 10k chips and his Danish opponent smiles. Dato counts out a four-bet of around 130,000 and moves it across the line.

“I am all-in,” says Ravnsbaek.

Dato mucks instantly and Ravnsbaek smiles before showing him the !

Ravnsabaek: 900,000
Dato: 630,000

13:35

Bogdanov Doubles Up

Rinat Bogdanov raises to 25,000 from under the gun and Jeremie Sochet quickly two seats to his left. The duo share a flop of and Bogdanov makes a continuation bet of 25,000 and Sochet calls. On the turn we see the and this time Bogdanov slows down and checks. Sochet dives straight into his chips and lays out a bet of 25,000, Bogdanov takes his time and makes the call.

The river card is the and Bogdanov verbally declares he is all in for a total of 122,000 chips. Sochet says something to him in French before finally calling and Bogdanov turns over for straight that he caught on the river. Sochet throws face up on the table for a flopped set.

Bogdanov: 410,000
Sochet: 206,000

13:21

Shuffle Up And Deal

Play is underway in the WPT Venice Main Event. We think it could be short and sweet with just nine players remaining and play stopping when we get to six.

12:22

WPT Venice Grand Prix: Day 4

Hello and welcome back to the historical Casino Di Venezia for the penultimate day of the WPT Venice Grand Prix Main Event. Just nine players remain and by the time the curtain comes down on today’s performance there will only be six and these six will return on Friday for the televised and live streamed final table.

Leading the way when play gets underway, at around 1300 CET, is Simon Ravnsbaek. His 795,000 chips slightly in front of Alessandro Longobardi’s 783,000. Third place at the start of the day belongs to Andrea Dato with 726,000 chips. You may remember Dato from the WPT Venice Main Event we ran in December because he made the final table and finished fourth for €43,170. Can he go one, two or three better in the Grand Prix?

Making up the final nine are Jason Wheeler, Gianluca Trebbi, Andrea Carini, Jeremie Sochet, Rinat Bogdanov and Massimo Mosele. here’s how the nine will line up.

• Seat 1: Andrea Dato: 726,000
• Seat 2: Simon Ravnsbaek: 795,000
• Seat 3: Andrea Carini: 430,000
• Seat 4: Rinat Bogdanov: 201,000
• Seat 5: Gianluca Trebbi: 474,000
• Seat 6: Jeremie Sochet: 402,000
• Seat 7: Jason Wheeler: 699,000
• Seat 8: Alessandro Longobardi: 783,000
• Seat 9: Massimo Mosele: 163,000

Follow Day 4 Live Updates Here

00:49

Day 3 Completed: Simon Ravnsbaek Leads With Nine Remaining

Day 3 of the World Poker Tour Venice Grand Prix Main Event has been completed after six 90-minute levels were needed to reduce the 27 starters down to the final table of nine.

When play resumes at 1300 CET on Thursday it will be Simon Ravnsbaek who will be the chip leader, his 795,000 stack nudging him just in front of the chasing pack. Ravnsbaek played aggressive poker throughout the day and despite starting as one of the shorter stacks he thoroughly deserves his place at the top of the chip counts.

This tournament marks the Dane’s second in a World Poker Tour Event, his only other cash on the tour coming in 2011 when he finished third in the WPT Vienna Main Event. Can he go one or two places better here in Venice?

In second place going into Day 4 is Alessandro Longobardi who slowly bled chips all day long before a mini heater right at the death saw his stack swell to 783,000, just 12,000 less than Ravnsbaek. This is his first WPT cash, can he now make it his first WPT win?

Making up the final hand are Andrea Dato (726,000) who finished 4th in the WPT Venice Main Event in December, Jason Wheeler (699,000) who has almost $3,000,000 in online poker tournament winnings, Gianluca Trebbi (474,000), Andrea Carini (430,000), Jeremie Sochet (402,000) and Rinat Bogdanov (201,000).

Day 4 has the potential to be rather short as we will only be playing down to the televised six-handed final table but you never know in this crazy game we all love. When play resumes the players will be seated as follows:

WPT Venice Grand Prix Final Table

Seat 1: Andrea Dato: 726,000
Seat 2: Simon Ravnsbaek: 795,000
Seat 3: Andrea Carini: 430,000
Seat 4: Rinat Bogdanov: 201,000
Seat 5: Gianluca Trebbi: 474,000
Seat 6: Jeremie Sochet: 402,000
Seat 7: Jason Wheeler: 699,000
Seat 8: Alessandro Longobardi: 783,000
Seat 9: Massimo Mosele: 163,000

00:03

Andrey Gulyy Eliminated in 10th Place (€9,855)

Andrey Gulyy has been eliminated on the final table bubble, becoming our 10th place finisher.

Five-handed he open-shoved for 170,000 with what turned out to be and ran straight into the of Alessandro Longobardi. The missed Gulyy but the turn gave him a plethora of outs. They failed to appear though as the river was the and he was eliminated in 10th place, bringing the tournament to an end.

23:47

Gulyy Again!

Andrey Gulyy is being ultra active during the latter part of Day 3 and he has just doubled up to 170,000!

A raise from Rinat Bogdanov was met with an all-in three-bet to 88,000. Bogdanov makes the call and it is off to the races.

Bogdanov:
Gulyy:

The board runs out and Gulyy doubles up.

23:36

Gulyy Loses Even More Ground

Andrea Carini raises to 22,00 in the cutoff, Rinat Bogdanov moves all-in from the small blind for 120,000 and Gulyy reships in the big blind for a little but more. Carini folds and we have a showdown.

Bogdanov:
Gulyy:

Board:

Bogdanov moved up to 240,000 and Gulyy was left with 82,000 and one hell of a headache.

23:23

Longobardi Doubles Through Gulyy

Andrey Gulyy makes a standard raise from the cutoff and Alessandro Longobardi calls on the button. The dealer gives us a rainbow flop of , Gulyy c-bets 21,000 and Longobardi makes the call.

The turn is the and Gulyy fires his second barrel of 51,000 and Longobardi calls once more. Finally, we see the and Gully goes to a tower of reds and as they start to shake he says, “150″. No sooner does he say 150 than Longobardi says, “I am all-in.”

Gulyy’s face hits the floor, “great you have a straight – nice hand,” he says.

“Yes,” says Longobardi.

Gulyy still pays off the additional 55,000 and Longobardi shows for the rivered straight. Gulyy shows everyone his flopped top set with before saying, “The best players always win in this game.”

Longobardi ~ 600,000
Gulyy ~ 200,000

23:37

Mosele Is Highlander

The action folds to Massimo Mosele on the button and he moves all in for 144,000. Simon Ravnsbaek instantly mucks but Jason Wheeler triumphantly says “call” and slams down a pair of black kings. Mosele shows and the dealer gets ready to deal the flop.

The WPT camera crew start to roll their tape as the dealer puts out the flop.

“Come on, I wanna go home.” says Wheeler.

The turn is the and Wheeler looks to the heavens and shakes his head.

“KING!” demands Wheeler but his pleas fall on deaf ears as the river is the and Mosele survives again.

“Highlander. He’s just like Highlander,” says Andrea Dato who has been seated to Mosele’s right all day long.

23:19

Longobardi Plays Rare Pot

Alessandro Longobardi must have been card dead all day because we have hardly seen him move his eyes away from his iPad. But he did just play a hand with Andrey Gulyy.

Gulyy raises to 21,000 on the button and Longobardi defends his small blind. The big blind doesn’t want anything to do with the pot and so they share a flop of . Longobardi checks to Gulyy who c-bets 26,000. Longobardi then check-raises to 62,000 and Gulyy calls. On the turn we have the and Longobardi moves all-in for 145,000 and Gulyy quickly folds.

Longobardi: 340,000
Gulyy: 500,000

23:07

Gabriele Lepore Eliminated in 11th Place (€9,855)

Gabriele Lepore has just been eliminated by Gianluca Trebbi. All the action went down pre flop with Lepore holding pocket sevens and Trebbi holding pocket queens. The board of offering no hope for Lepore and he leaves with €9,855 in his back pocket.

Trebbi ~ 670,000

22:56

Mosele’s Image Pays Dividends

Massimo Mosele has played approximately three hands in the last two days and he made that four when he open-shoved from the small blind.

“Any other player and this is a snap-call,” says Ravnsbaek.

He looks pained in his decision making but he comes to the conclusion that he is beat and he mucks his hand.

22:46

Marcel Bjerkmann Eliminated in 12th Place (€9,855)

Arguably the most entertaining player in the field has been eliminated, Marcel Bjerkmann. He opened to 21,000 on the button only to see Simon Ravnsbaek moved all in. Bjerkmann makes the call and the cards are revealed.

Bjerkmann:
Ravnsbaek:

The board runs out and it is game over for the man known as P3rc4. GG sir, you weren’t everyone’s cup fo twa but you were certainly different from the norm!

22:29

Gulyy Adds To Stack

Joining the action on a board, Andrea Carini checks to Andrey Gulyy who pauses for 45 seconds before picking up a pile of red 5,000 chips and a single yellow 1,000 and makes a bet. The bet is for 81,000 and Carini, sat with a scarf over his mouth, quickly calls.

Gulyy:
Carini: Muck

22:15

Trebbi In Fortunate Double Up

Simon Ravnsbaek raises to 17,000, in early position, and the action folds around to the quiet Gianluca Trebbi, on the button, who makes a three-bet to 41,000. Back to Ravnsbaek and he four-bets to 72,000 and then calls the 288,000 shove from Trebbi.

Surely Trebbi has aces or kings? Why of course he has… ! Ravnsbaek turns over and it looks for all the world that Trebbi is going to be our 12th place finisher.

Flop:

Trebbi now needs runner-runner cards to survive.

Turn:

There is one of them.

River:

Trebbi: 590,000
Ravnsbaek: 395,000

22:07

Last Level

It is the last level of the day folks, 90-minutes more and we will be packing up for the day, unless the players go a little crazy and we get down to six before hand.

22:01

Marko Neumann Eliminated in 13th Place (€8,540)

Marko Neumann, Germany’s sole survivor in this tournament, has been eliminated in 13th place. He open shoved for 95,000 with and Andrea Carini makes the call with . The board runs out and we are down to 12 in the Main Event.

21:47

Bjerkmann Shoves On Ravnsbaek

The action folds to Marcel Bjerkmann who opens on the button to 18,000. Simon Ravnsbaek three-bets to 51,000 which puts the action back on Bjerkmann and he asks his opponent if he will call if he shoves on him. He says he will but Bjerkmann moves in on him and Ravnsbaek snap-folds.

21:35

Jeremie Sochet Doubles Through Andrea Carini

Andrea Carini limps into the pot and Jeremie Sochet moves all-in for 193,000. The action folds around to Jason Wheeler in the big blind and he smells a rat. He shows us before folding and Carini makes the call. When the cards were overturned Carini was indeed setting a trap, but the timing couldn’t have been worse.

Carini turns over but Sochet has woken up with . Wheeler pats himself on the back and the dealer does his job and delivers five community cards. The board is and Sochet doubles up.

Sochet ~ 410,000
Carini ~ 195,000

21:24

Mosele Doubles Through Bjerkmann

Massimo Mosele now has around 160,000 chips after doubling up through Marcel Bjerkmann, who is looking increasingly frustrated about how his tournament is panning out.

Andrea Dato opened to 17,000 from the hijack and Mosele three-bet all in for 65,000 in the cutoff. Bjerkmann is on the button and he calls and Dato folds.

Mosele:
Bjerkmann:

The board runs out and Bjerkmann calls “Deuce” and the dealer puts a deuce on the river but it is of clubs and Mosele wins with a flush.

“Three flips in a row I’ve lost now. I know I can’t win them all but once in a while would be nice,” said Bjerkmann.

“What?” exclaims Simon Ravnsbaek, “you’ve won them all apart that one!”

21:06

Ravnsbaek Takes The Chip Lead

Simon Ravnsbaek has just taken the chip lead without a flop being dealt. Andrea Dato raises to 17,000 in the hijack seat and Marcel Bjerkmann calls on the button. Ravnsbaek enquires about the size of Bjerkmann’s stack before three-betting to 88,000. Dato is next to act and he also enquires about the stack size of Bjerkmann before four-betting to 136,000. Bjerkmann folds and Ravnsbaek breathes a heavy sigh, checks his cards, stares at Dato and raises a total of 100,000 more and Dato mucks instantly.

Ravnsbaek ~ 810,000
Dato ~ 638,000

19:49

Dinner Dinner Dinner Dinner Dinner Dinner Dinner Dinner Batman

Guess what time it is?

19:45

Marko Neumann Explodes!

After just being caught bluffing on the previous orbit Marko Neumann has just exploded and lost more than half of his stack.

Joining the action on the Sergey Gulyy bets 29,000 from the small blind seat only to see Neumann move all in for over 350,000! Gulyy looks puzzled as if something doesn’t make sense and he calls off his 199,000 stack.

Gulyy: – for top pair
Neumann: – for nothing at all

The river is the and Neumann gives 199,000 of his hard earned chips to his opponent. He now has 180,000 left whilst Gulyy climbs to 415,000.

19:31

Marko Neumann Caught Bluffing

Marko Neumann opens to 13,000 in early position and he picks up callers in the shape of Jeremie Sochet, Jason Wheeler and Alessandro Longobardi.

Flop: – All four players check the action around

Turn: – Wheeler checks, Longobardi checks, Neumann bets 16,000 and only Sochet calls.

River: – Neumann checks, Sochet bets 24,000 and Neumann hisses like a snake before mucking his hand.

19:22

Gabriele Lepore Doubles Twice In Two Hands

Gabriele Lepore has just doubled twice in consecutive hands. The first saw him all in with against the of Simon Ravnsbaek and the board ran out .

The second saw him all in with against the of Marcin Bjerkmann and the board ran out .

He now has over 280,000.

19:17

Sochet Doubles Through Gulyy

A preflop raising war breaks out between Andrey Gulyy and Jeremie Sochet that results in the latter being all in and at risk, though that risk is limited because he holds and is up against .

The board runs out and Sochet doubles to 240,000

19:13

James Akenhead Eliminated in 14th Place (€8,540)

James Akenhead has been eliminated. Simon Ravnsbaek opened to 13,000 and Akenhead moved all in for 23,000. Marcel Bjerkmann calls the shove and Ravnsbaek tries to raise but Bjerkmann complains to the floor. The floor rules Ravnsbaek can raise and he does just that and an angry Bjerkmann folds.

Ravnsbaek holds to Akenhead’s . The board runs out king heart and void of diamonds and with that the Brit is heading to the cashier’s cage for his winnings.

19:00

Erion Islamay Eliminated in 15th Place (€8,450)

There is an Erion Islamay shaped space where he once sat so we can safely assume he was our 15th place finisher.

18:57

Ouch! Akenhead Has Aces Cracked, Left With Just 23k

Marcel Bjerkmann raises to 14,000 in first position and James Akenhead three-bet to 36,000 in the hijack seat. Bjerkmann, of course, made the call and the two of them share a flop. Bjerkmann checks and Akenhead moves 45,000 over the line. Back to Bjerkmann and he moves all-in and Akenhead calls.

Akenhead turns over and Bjerkmann turns over for top two pair. The turn is the and the river is the and Akenhead stands up to leave. He is eventually told to sit back down because he has 23,000 chips left whilst Bjerkmann has 340,000.

18:45

James Akenhead Doubles Up

Marcel Bjerkmann opens from middle position and James Akenhead moves all-in, on the button, for around 120,000. Bjerkmann makes the call and flips over 7 6 and Akenhead shows A 5. The board runs out Q 2 2 Q 9 and Akenhead gets a much needed double up.

Akenhead ~ 240,000
Bjerkmann ~ 200,000

18:21

Break Time

Time for a quick coffee.

18:15

Heads-Up Event Added

It seems as though the plan for the remainder of Day 3 is to play down to the final table of six players. If this is decided then the players will have a well earned rest tomorrow. Just incase they are bored, the casino has put on a special heads up event. It is a €1350+150 buy-in with a starting stack of 20,000. Registration is open at 16.00 and the tournament starts at 17.00 where it will be contested as a “best of three matches” contest.

18:01

Lepore Loses Again!

Poor old Gabriele Lepore cannot do anything right at the moment, unless you count doubling your opponents up as being good. He raises to 11,000 then calls Massimo Mosele 89,000 all-in three-bet.

Lepore:
Mosele:

Lepore is in a good position to bust out an opponent but the flop comes down to change those plans. The turn is the and the river the and Mosele earns himself a reprieve but Lepore is down to around 60,000 an in real trouble.

17:46

Lepore Doubles Bjerkmann

A preflop raising war breaks out between Marcel Bjerkmann and Gabriele Lepore that results in the former being all in and at risk of elimination.

Bjerkmann:
Lepore:

Board:

Bjerkmann doubles to 210,000 chips.

17:34

Wheeler Doesn’t Win This One

Joining the action on a flop, Jason Wheeler bets 15,000 from middle position under the watchful stare of Andrea Carini who quickly calls. The turn is the and Wheeler taps the table and checks and Carini checks behind.

The river card is the and just like the turn both players checked.

Wheeler shows and Carini wins with his .

17:25

Massimo Mosele raises to 12,500, on the button, and Simon Ravnsbaek puts him all-in, from the big blind prompting a fold from Mosele.

Andrey Gulyy raises to 10,500 in early position, Jason Wheeler three-bets to 28,500, one seat to his left, and then Marko Neumann moves all-in for 200,000. Gulyy folds but Wheeler seems to have a much tougher decision, “can I really lay this down?” Says Wheeler before eventually mucking his hand.

Marcel Bjerkmann is getting bored, so he decides to have a little go at Andrea Dato once more. This time the floor intervene and Bjerkmann is given a warning of a one round penalty if he continues to disrespect his opponents.

17:16

Bjerkmann’s Stack Continues To Tumble

Marcel Bjerkmann continues to leak chips at an alarming rate and at this rate he will become his 15th place finisher.

Simon Ravnsbaek opens to 10,500 from under the gun and the action folds to Andrea Dato on the button. The Italian three-bets to 24,500 and then Bjerkman four-bets to 42,500. Ravnsbaek responds by five-betting to 105,000 which forces Dato out of the ahnd but Bjerkmann makes the call.

Flop: – Bjerkmann checks, Ravnsbaek bets 41,000 and Bjerkmann instantly calls.

Turn: – Bjerkmann checks again, Ravnsbaek shoves and Bjerkmann flicks his cards into the muck lightning quick and he is down to 60,000 chips whilst Ravnsbaek is at the other end of the spectrum with 680,000.

17:06

Bjerkmann And Dato Clash yet Again

After Massimo Mosele folds under the gun Marcel Bjerkmann open-limps. The action folds to Andrea Dato in the big blind and he bangs a red chip on top of the yellow chip protecting his cards to signal his intention to check.

The dealer puts out the flop. Dato checks, Bjerkmann bets 6,000 and Dato makes an instantaneous call. After burning a card the dealer puts the fourth community card onto the table, the . Again Dato check calls, this time a much larger 20,600 bet from the aggressive Norwegian meaning there are still two active players when the lands on the river.

Dato checks and Bjerkmann, who is still being massaged since yesterday, bets 54,500 but his bet spills into the actual pot. Luckily the tournament director is watching him like a hawk after a number of outbursts from him and he had counted the bet. Dato ponders his options for a few moments, sighing and sniffing up before mucking his hand.

Bjerkmann shows him the to which Dato says, “Nice bluff” and Bjerkmann begins re-stacking his chips. As he is doing so the tournament director asks him to pay more attention with his betting and he nods in agreement.

16:53

Konstantin Streletskiy Eliminated in 16th Place (€8,540)

Konstantin Streletskiy is no more, having busted out at the hands of Marcel Bjerkmann. A preflop raising war resulted in Streletskiy all in and at risk with against the crazy Norwegian’s . The pocket threes stayed ahead on a flop and the turn failed to alter anything and when the river came the it was game over for Streletskiy and we are down to 15 in the Main Event.

16:45

Giacomo Valenti Eliminated in 17th Place (€7,225)

Giacomo Valenti has been eliminated in 17th place. We’re unsure of the details but he is no longer seated at his table.

16:22

Frothy Coffee Time

The level has ended and the players are helping themselves to coffee. We’ll be right back

16:10

“You Deserve A Punch In The Face!”

James Akenhead raises to 8,500 from UTG+1 and after three players fold Andrea Dato calls in the cutoff. Marcel Bjerkmann calls in the small blind and Simon Ravnsbaek calls in the big blind.

Flop: – The action folds to Dato and he bets 15,000 only to see Bjerkmann check-raise to 44,000. This is enough to fold everyone except Dato who beats his opponent into the pot.

Turn: – Bjerkmann fires a bet of 64,000 and Dato quickly calls.

River: – Bjerkmann now bets 82,000 and Dato goes into the tank. He stays here for nearly two and a half minutes before announcing, “Call” and making the call.

Dato turns over for a full house whilst all Bjerkmann can muster is .

“Wow. That is the sickest slowroll I have every had put on me,” exclaimed Bjerkmann before flying into a Tony G-esque rant, “You deserve a punch in the face right now. Just don’t talk to me. If you see me out away from here do not talk to me dude.”

Dato is the new chip leader with 670,000 chips whilst Bjerkmann’s stack has dwindled to just 160,000.

15:49

Ravnsbaek Doubles Up

Marcel Bjerkmann has just been moved to his new table and he has gotten off to the worse possible start. He raises to 10,500 in early position and Simon Ravnsbaek three-bets him, one seat to his left, making it 28,000 to play. Bjerkmann immediately moves all-in and Ravnsbaek calls.

Ravnsbaek turns over and Bjerkmann turns over with so much confidence the whole room was sure he had aces.

Board:

Bjerkmann just shrugs his shoulders and hands over 160,000 to Ravnsbaek.

We then missed the following hand but we saw Bjerkmann bluffing into the welcoming arms of Gianluca Trebbi to lose even more chips.

Ravnsbaek ~ 330,000
Trebbi ~ 400,000
Bjerkmann ~ 460,000

15:34

Gianluca Speranza Eliminated in 18th Place (€7,225)

Erion Islamay makes a standard raise in middle position and Gianluca Speranza moves all-in from the big blind. Islamay calls and we have a showdown with Speranza at risk of elimination.

Islamay:
Speranza:

We only had to wait for the flop for the hopes of Speranza to be dashed.

Board:

Islamay: 270,000

15:24

Bubble Bursts, Tran Has Kings Cracked

The bubble has burst here in Venice after Lionel Tran had his pocket kings cracked. The action folded to him in the small blind and he moved all in for his last 40-50,000 and Bjerkmann made a rather loose call.

Bjerkmann:
Tran:

The flop comes down and Bjerkmann comments on how he has a sweat now that he has paired his jack. The turn is the which catapults him into an unlikely lead and Tran looks to the heavens but they do not answer as the river is the and he is eliminated.

Each of the surviving 18 players are now guaranteed €7,225 for their efforts here in Italy.

15:13

Lepore Doubles Up

Marcel Bjerkmann opens on the button and Gabriele Leprore three-bets all-in for 75,000 from the big blind. Bjerkmanm calls and comments on how he wants to bust a player out.

Bjerkmann:
Lepore:

Board:

“Don’t try re-shoving on me, it won’t work, unless you have ace-king that is!” says Bjerkmann

“What a call huh?”

15:00

Wheeler Spinning It Up

Jason Wheeler raises to 8,500 from the hijack and Alessandro Longobardi calls in the cutoff. The flop comes down and Wheeler continues with a bet of 12,500, a bet that Longobardi raises to 28,000. Wheeler instantly calls and it is off to the turn.

Wheeler now checks, Longobardi bets 38,000 only to see the American check-raise to 85,000 sending Longobardi deep into the tank. He stays there for at least four minutes before he mucks his hand and the bubble still looms.

Meanwhile Wheeler is up past 500,000 chips.

14:51

Set Over Set

Gabriele Lepore raises to 8,000, Jeremie Sochet three-bets to 18,000 and Lepore makes the call. The flop is rainbow and Lepore bets 15,000. Sochet raises to 40,000, Lepore moves all-in and Sochet calls.

Lepore turns over for bottom set and Sochet turns over for top set. The turn and river were barren for Lepore and Sochet has a huge double up.

Sochet: 480,000
Lepore: 111,000

14:30

Break It Up

Players are on a 15-minute break.

14:23

Bjerkmann Soars To 600,000 Chips

On a flop reading Jeremie Sochet checks from the small blind seat and Marcel Bjerkmann bets 18,000 chips into the already substantial pot. The is checked very quickly by both players but when Sochet checks the arrival of the Bjerkmann stacks up 59,000 and topples them over the betting line. Almost instantly Sochet mucks his hand and Bjerkmann now has almost exactly 600,000.

14:14

No Action For Konstantin Streletskiy

Despite only holding 31,500 chips and the blinds being 1,500/3,000/500a Viachevslav Goryachev decided to make it 6,500 to play from under the gun. To his direct left is Konstantin Streletskiy and he three-bets all in for 50,500 in total and the the entire table’s surprise Goryachev folds!

Streletskiy shows and picks up the blinds, antes and the 6,500 from the unconventional raise.

14:03

Guido Chiodo Busto

Jeremie Sochet now has 230,000 after eliminating Guido Chiodo. It was another preflop coinflip with Sochet holding and Chiodo holding . Sochet paired his queen and Chiodo was out. Simple as that.

Sochet ~ 230,000

13:57

De Paz Ditched

Dario De Paz’s tournament is over and we are down to 23 in the Main Event. He four-bet squeezed all in for around 45,000 chips in the small blind with but was called by Alessandro Longobardi and his .

The board ran out .

13:45

Fundaro Makes a Boat on The River

Joining the action on a flop that reads Simon Ravnsbaek checks from the small blind position and it is up to Giacomo Fundaro to act. With his head rested on his left hand he reaches for chips and best 6,000. Ravnsbaek quickly makes the call.

The turn brings the into play and against Ravnsbaek checks his option to bet. Fundaro bets again, this time making it 21,000 to play and again Ravnsbaek makes the call. The river is a second king, the and once again Ravnsbaek checks. Fundaro reaches for chips again and bets 33,500 and Ravnsbaek does not seem happy at all and he removes his mirrored aviator glasses and sighs.

“Thirty-three?” he quizzes before the dealer confirms the amount is 33,500.

Shortly afterwards he slides the required chips forward but shakes his head an mucks when he sees Fundaro turn over for a full house.

Fundaro is back to 168,000 whilst Ravnsbaek drops back down to 112,500.

13:19

Kara Scott Eliminated

From the cutoff PartyPoker pro Kara Scott moves all in for just 17,500 and Andrea Carini calls from the button. Both blinds fold and the players flip their cards onto their backs.

Scott:
Carini:

Board:

And with that Scott is eliminated from the Main Event. She was already short-stacked at the start of play and never managed to recover after losing with pocket fives to the of Konstantin Streletskiy.

13:16

Akenhead Gets His Chips Back

From under the gun James Akenhead makes it 6,500 to play and after one player folds Gianluca Trebbi flat-calls. Nobody else commits any chips and it is heads up to the flop.

Akenhead leads into his opponent with a 9,500 continuation bet, a bet that Trebbi instantly calls. The turn brings the into the equation and now Akenhead taps the table and checks. Trebbi, only his eyes visible due to his face being covered by a black scarf, snap-checks behind.

The final card is the completing a possible straight and Akenhead fires a bet of 16,500 into Trebbi. The Italian sits motionless for 30 seconds still holding the fabric over his face before sliding his cards from under the yellow chip that was protecting them and passing them to the deal.

Akenhead wins.

13:10

Akenhead Doubles Goryachev

The action folds around to James Akenhead in middle position and he raises to 6,500. To his immediate left is Viacheslaw Goryachev and he wastes very little time in getting his 30,000 stack into the middle. The remainder of the table pass their hands but after 20 seconds deliberation Akenhead calls.

Akenhead:
Goryachev:

The flop keeps the jacks in front. The turn changes nothing and when the lands on the river Goryachev does a little fist pump as he is now up to 65,000.

Welcome back to the Casino di Venezia for the third day of the World Poker Tour Venice Grand Prix Main Event where at 1300 CET the 27 surviving players will take their seats and do battle at the felt.

At some point the money bubble will burst and only the top 18 finishers will receive money, a min-cash being worth €7,225. But none of the players will want to go home with that when there is €229,800 up top for the winner.

Leading the way when play gets underway is the hyper-aggressive Norwegian Marcel Bjerkmann better known to many by his online alias of “p3rc4.” He sits down in Seat 1 on Table 3 armed with a field-leading 436,300 stack but it is anything but a done deal because he has the likes of Jason Wheeler (348,200) and James Akenhead (336,000) hot on his heels.

Plus let’s not forget some of the other talented individuals who are still in but not as well stacked as those already mentioned, players such as Andrea Dato, Gianluca Speranza and PartyPoker Pro Kara Scott who will all certainly have a say in who emerges from Day 3 with chips and who gets sent for an early bath.

Follow all the action, as it happens, here on the PartyPoker blog.

Lets meet the Royal Flush Girls on their big day out as they join in on the fun at the WPT here in Venice. A quick tour around the canals of Venice and a hop, skip and a jump later we find them on their way to the world famous Murano glass works, now press play.

We catch  up with Mike Sexton at the WPT in Venice as he tells us all his thoughts including a shot clock in poker!

Follow Day 3′s action here!

21:51

Day 2 Completed: Marcel Bjerkmann Leads

Day 2 has come to an end with just 27 players remaining. The overall chip leader is a certain Marcel Bjerkmann who bagged and tagged 436,300 but hot on his heels are the likes of James Akenhead (336,000), Gianluca Trebbi (323,500), Jason Wheeler (348,200) and Andrea Dato (309,900).

Join us Wednesday at 1300 CET for all the action from Day 3 when the money bubble will burst and we may play down to the final nine players!

21:16

Seven More Hands

As the title says we will be playing seven more hands before wrapping up for the night and heading to see the magician better known as Dynamo.

21:11

Split Pot

Simon Ravnsbaek has been pushing his stack in with great frequency in the last few orbits in an attempt to pick up some much needed chips. Just now he raised to 4,800 from early position and when Dario De Pez three-bet to 12,100 he moved all in for around 30,000 more. De Pez made the call and the cards were revealed.

De Pez:
Ravnsbaek:

Split pot on its way! The final board ran out .

21:01

Candio Crushed

Filippo Candio raises to 4,800 from UTG+1 and after on player folds Jason Wheeler three-bets to 12,300. The action folds back around to Candio and he announces he is all-in. Wheeler cannot believe his ears and even re-checks his cards for a split second before calling.

Candio:
Wheeler:

The flop comes down putting Candio into an unlikely lead. The turn is the and the river is the and Candio leaps to his feet saying something like “ach ach ach ach,” we don’t think he is impressed.

Wheeler is amazed and offers his hand to Candio who is a gentleman and shakes it before leaving the tournament area chased by half a dozen members of the Italian press. Meanwhile Wheeler now has around 390,000 chips and is right amongst the leaders.

20:42

Akenhead Continues to Chip Up

James Akenhead is constantly adding to his stack and now has 360,000 chips. he just won two hands back-to-back, both uncontested. We think his table has just gotten fed up with his constant, controlled aggression and is letting him do what he likes!

20:32

Mike Sexton Busts Out

Mike Sexton has been eliminated from the Main Event at the hands of Gianluca Trebbi.

It was Umberto Calabrese who got the betting started with a raise to 5,000 from the hijack. Sexton is in the small blind and he makes the call only to see Gianluca Trebbi squeeze to 17,500. Calabrese gets out of the way but Sexton moves all in for around 30,000 in total and Trebbi instantly calls.

Sexton:
Trebbi:

Flop: – “Bad start,” said Sexton in a huge understatement.

Turn: – No help for Sexton

River: – Trebbi makes an unnecessary full house and Sexton is eliminated.

20:15

The Royal Flush Girls’ Day Out

The Royal Flush Girls took a day trip today, take a look at what they got up to.

20:00

Fish and Chips

Here are the biggest chip stacks from around the room and the fishes to whom they belong.

Marcel Bjerkmann: 450,000
Filippo Candio: 320,000
James Akenhead: 320,000
Jason Wheeler: 250,000
Alessandro Longobardi: 200,000

19:44

Last Break

The players are on their last break of the day. Join us in around 15 minutes.

19:35

Akenhead Helps Himself To Another Pot

Dario De Paz opens to 4,000 from middle position and just as he has done on at least half a dozen occasions over the last few orbits Akenhead three-bets him to 10,500. But instead of folding De Paz makes the call and it is heads up to the flop.

De Paz checks to Akenhead and the Brit fires a continuation bet of 10,800 and De Paz quickly calls by dropping the required chips into the pot from a large height. The turn is the and when De Paz checks Akenhead checks behind.

The river is the and De Paz checks again. Akenhead enters his customary pose before firing a bet of 16,500. De Paz quickly folds and says, “Nice hand,” but Akenhead does not reply almost certainly because he is listening to his iPod.

Akenhead seems to have the measure of his table right now and looks like he is in the zone, a dangerous combo we can tell you.

19:15

Mathew Frankland Heads For The Rail

A very disappointed Mathew Frankland is heading back to his hotel room after busting out at the hands of Jason Wheeler. The pair had clashed a couple of times over the past few levels with Wheeler being in Frankland’s big blind but they won’t be clashing any more.

The details of the hand elude us and Frankland didn’t look in the mood to talk about how the hand went down but we arrived to see Frankland rising from the table his beaten by the as the board had run out .

Frankland, a PartyPoker qualifier, started the day with just 14,200 chips, peaked at around 190,000 and now is busto. Good game sir.

18:42

Mike Sexton Doubles Up

PartyPoker Pro Mike Sexton has doubled up to around 56,000 after his pocket nines held up against the of Alessandro Longobardi.

Longobardi raised to 4,200 from early position then called, after 40 seconds deliberation, when Sexton moved all in for 27,500 from the big blind. The gave Longobardi even more outs but they failed to appear as the turn and river were the and respectively and Sexton survives.

Here Dany Willis speaks to the legend:

18:34

Akenhead Bossing His Table

The action folds to James Akenhead in the hijack and he makes it 4,300 to play. Rocco Palumbo is in the cutoff and he three-bets to 10,500. The button and both blinds fold but Akenhead is not in the mood for folding and he four-bets to 24,600 in total, which is enough to get the job done because Palumbo mucks his hand.

18:22

Party Players In Action

18:00

Coffee Please

It is the end of the level so that means the players are on a 15-minute break. Mine’s a coffee one sugar please. Thanks.

17:58

Popp Pops

Just a few minutes after reporting Alexander Popp was sat with 85,000 we now have to update that and inform you that he has busted out. We were there to see him moving a short stack in with and him getting called by the of Rinat Bogdanov.

The final board read and with that Popp us eliminated from the WPT Venice Main Event.

You could be following in Popp’s footsteps and have the experience of playing in one of the most prestigious events on the poker calendar. Download PartyPoker now and get winning your seat to a future World Poker Tour event.

17:39

PartyPoker Watch

Day 2 of WPT Venice would see four PartyPoker online qualifiers return and unbag chips, joining PartyPoker pros Tony G, Mike Sexton, and Kara Scott at the tables.

Sergey Vasiliev would bow out midway through the day but the other three PartyPoker online qualifiers are still alive and kicking, with Mathew Frankland turning his tiny 14,000 stack to start the day into a top ten chip stack for much of Day 2:

• Mathew Frankland: 190,000
• Alexander Popp: 85,000
• Kevin Green: 45,000

As far as the PartyPoker pros, Tony G would make an early exit but Kara Scott and Mike Sexton continue to grind away:

• Kara Scott: 87,000
• Mike Sexton: 25,000

17:25

De Paz And Akenhead Lock Horns

Joining the action on a board reading Dario de Paz fireds a bet from early position worth 12,000 into James Akenhead to really test the Brit’s resolve. It seems 12,000 is a fair asking price because Akenhead makes the call.

The dealer puts the onto the river and de Paz wastes no time at all making it 37,000 to play. This really gets Akenhead thinking and he sits and studies the board and his opponent for well over a minute before taking another peek at his holecards and flicking them towards the muck.

17:14

Frankland Claws Some Back

We just paid a visit to Mathew Frankland’s table where he told us he had lost some of his stack running a “house into a house.” He had also lost some more chips to Jason Wheeler just as we arrived but he won some back from Jeremie Sochet and Max Pescatori.

From under the gun Frankland raises to 3,300 and Sochet calls on the button. The small blind folds but Pescatori calls from the big blind.

Flop: – Pescatori checks, Frankland continues with a bet of 5,200 and neither opponent is prepared to pay that price and Frankland picks up the pot and is now armed with around 130,000 chips.

16:56

Bjerkmann Adds To Stack

Marcel Bjerkmann looks like he is attempting to break the world record for the length of time a poker player being massaged at the table, but it is doing him some good because he is up amongst the chip leaders with a stack of 252,000 chips.

Massimo Mosele opened to 3,300 from the button and Bjerkmann opted to defend his small blind with a three-bet to 8,300. Mosele called and the dealer got to work putting out the flop. Bjerkmann fired a continuation bet of 6,400 and after just 25-30 seconds he called time on his opponent. Mosele sat focussing on the board and by the time the floor had reached his table he had mucked his hand.

Bjerkmann is now up to 252,000.

16:43

Scott Doubles Through Pollack

PartyPoker Pro Kara Scott has just doubled through Benjamin Pollack to find herself with 95,000 chips. Pollack opened the betting, Scott three-bet with and Pollack moved all in with his . Soctt called and when the board ran out Scott doubled up and Pollack was left with around 38,000.

Shortly afterwards he was sent to the rail after losing to Fabrizio Ortolmo and he will not be repeating his final table appearance from WPT Prague here in Venice.

16:34

Wheeler Flies Past 100,000 Chips

Jason Wheeler makes a standard raise on the button and Viachelsav Goryachev defends his big blind. The flop is and Goryachev makes the first play with a check raise to 8,500 after Wheeler had bet 3,500.

On the turn we see the and Goryachev leads for 10,000, Wheeler raises to 28,000 and Goryachev calls. The final card is the and Goryachev checks to Wheeler who moves all-in and Goryachev folds.

Wheeler climbs to around 138,000 and is definitely a threat here in Venice.

16:06

Break Time

The players have gone on a 15-minute break.

16:03

PartyPoker Qualifier Down

Andrea Dato raises to 2,500 on the button and PartyPoker qualifier Sergey Valisyev moves all-in for around 26,000 in the big blind.

“Where are you from?” Dato asks.

Vasilyev tells him he is Russian and Dato makes the call.

Dato:
Vasilyev:

Board:

Dato now has 210,000 and is now sharing a table with Filippo Candio

15:52

Kourdourli Bust

Nesrine Kourdourli has been sent to the rail after running her straight into Fabrizio Ortolmo’s pocket queen. The five community cards were void of drama and Kourdourli heads for the rail early than she would have planned to.

15:43

Delfonco Depleted

Francesco Delfonco’s Main Event has come to an abrupt end despite getting his money in as a substantial favourite. His found itself all in against the of Rocco Palumbo but the board ran out and the lesser hand became the best to send Delfonco home early.

15:37

A Look Back At WPT Venice Day 1

15:32

Bjerkmann’s Queen Hold, He Aoars To Second Place

Marcel Bjerkmann is now second in chips with a stack of 230,000 thanks in part having his queens hold against Sergey Samsonenko’s . The money went in preflop and when the board ran out it was game over for Samsonenko and Bjerkmann had a little celebration with the Revive Touch massage therapist.

15:23

Wheeler Rolls On

The action folds to Jason Wheeler in the hijack and he opens the betting with a raise to 2,500 from the hijack. Next to act is Viachelaw Goryachev and he looks Wheeler up and down before making the call.

Flop: – Wheeler leads out with a 3,500 continuation bet and he is instantly called by his opponent.

Turn: – Wheeler now checks and his opponent senses weakness and bets 12,500. Unfortunately his senses have let him down because Wheeler immediately check raises to 41,000 and Goryachev snap-folds.

15:12

Islamay Takes On Candio Head On

Giacomo Valenti raises to 2,800 from Seat 5 and after one player folds Filippo Candio three-bets to 7,000 in the cutoff. The button folds but Enion Islamay in the small blind has other ideas. He pauses for close to a minute before four-betting to 11,200. Valenti quickly gets out of the way but Candio checks how many chips Islamay has behind and then calls.

Flop: – Islamay bets 6,000 and Cadino instantly calls by throwing a red 5,000 and a yellow 1,000 chips into the middle of the felt.

Turn: – The turn is greeted with a rather quick 37,000 all in bet from Islamay and this seems to puzzle Candio who winces, licks his lips and stares at his opponent. Eventually he comes to the decision he is not prepared to pay 37,000 and he folds his hand.

14:56

Dorey’s Story Ends Here

William Dorey, better known as Muzowned online, has been eliminated from the WPT Venice Grand Prix after losing his stack in two hands. We missed the first hand but Fabrizio Ortolmo was helping himself to plenty of chips having turned a set of tens and rivering a boat.

The next hand Andrea Dato opened to 2,500 from middle position and he called off his remaining chips from the cutoff. Mike Sexton called from the big blind and the dealer put out the flop. Sexton checked, Dato bet 1,200 and Sexton folded.

Dato:
Dorey:

The turn was the and when the river was the it was game over for Muzowned but the journey has just begun for Dato who is nicely stacked with 155,000 chips.

14:42

Dynamo To Perform Live

The sensation that is Dynamo is performing a show tonight for all WPT players and staff. The show is taking place at Ca Zanardi, just 10 minutes from the casino, at 2145-2315.

There will be free pasta and risotto with drink provided until midnight! Do not miss it!

14:22

Break Time

The players are now on a 15-minute break.

14:16

Frankland Doubles Again!

Although he started the day with just 14,000 chips Mathew Frankland now has a much healthier stack of 165,000! He told us that he got his money in with pocket tens against ace-queen and won the flip by flopping another set of tens.

Nice hand sir. The PartyPoker qualifier is now back in business.

14:10

Qualify For A Future WPT With PartyPoker

Download PartyPoker now and win yourself a package to the upcoming WPT Vienna Main Event. Packages include the Main Event buy-in, flights, accommodation and spending money!

14:08

Kings No Good For Kourdourli

Nesrine Kourdourli has just had pocket kings cracked by a lowly pair of four, much to the annoyance of Tony G.

We missed the preflop action but the camera crews were waiting for Tony G to act. Umberto Calabrse was all in and Kourdourli had bet 40,000 chips. After a minute, including saying something about a banana Tony G folded and the cards were shown down.

Kourdourli:
Calabrese:

The flop kept the kings well in front but the on the turn turned the hand on its head. The completed the hand and as Calabrese starting stack his chips Tony G said, “Look at that. That’s how easy it is. I can’t believe it.”

13:56

Apicella Crippled

Vicenzo Apicella has been left with just one big blind after his kings were smashed by Andrea Carini’s queens.

Carini opened to 2,200, Apicella responded with a three-bet to 5,300 and then called when Carini moved all in for 22,000 exactly. Carini turned over and was in big trouble against the of his opponent.

The dealer spread the flop into the centre of the table and Apicella looked disgusted to say the least. The turn was no help and neither was the and the pot slid its way to Carini.

13:39

Marsh Shoves On Pollack

The action folds to Benjamin Pollack in middle position and he min-raises t 2,000. Next to act is David Marsh and he announced all-in before moving his 14,000 or so into the middle. Everyone folds back to Pollack but the price is too much and he lets the dealer take his hand.

13:35

Mathew Frankland Triples Up

PartyPoker qualifier Mathew Frankland started the day with around 14,000 chips but now has three times that thanks to a touch of good fortune. He got his stack in with a pair of tens and found himself up against a pair of nines and pocket aces!

Just as it looked like he would be heading for an early exited up popped a ten on the flop to gift him a set and the win. He’s now up to 44,000 and has a little more breathing room.

13:24

Like London Buses

Although poker is a game played by both sexes but female poker players on the live circuit are still quite a rare breed. However, over on Table 5 there are not one, not two but three ladies keeping Roberto Romanello and chip leader Filippo Candio company.

So if you’re passing Table 5, which is highly unlikely we know, say hello to Irene Baroni, Carla Solinas and Giorgio Tabet.

13:22

A Couple of Tough Tables Out There

With the field thinning we have a number of tables that are starting to look a little on the tough side. Over on Table 3 there is Marvin Rettenmaier, Jason Wheeler, and Guillaume Darcourt whilst Table 1 is the home to Benjamin Pollack and two PartyPoker pro is the shape of Kara Scott and Tony G.

13:19

Speranza Number Two Gets Unwanted Action

Having just seen his brother raise from under the gun and pick up the blinds and antes just a hand or two previously, Alessandro Speranza tried his luck and made it 2,200 from the same position. To his direct left is Nicolas Levi and he three-bets to 5,100. The action folds around to Gianluca Speranza on the button and he stares down Levi before deciding to not pull the trigger and he folds.

The small and big blinds both fall and after 20-30 seconds of Hollywooding so does A.Speranza.

13:15

No Customers For Speranza

Gianluca Speranza has a wild and crazy image but that cunted for nothing just now as he raised just over the minimum to 2,100 from under the gun and all he picked up were the blinds and antes.

He’s got a much tougher table today that includes the likes of his brother Alessandro, Nicolas Levi, Andras Kovacs, PartyPoker Pro Mike Sexton and Dario Alioto.

Hello and welcome back to the WPT Venice Grand Prix Main Event where at 1300CET the 88 surviving players from Day 1 will return to their seats for another day of high octane poker.

The man everyone has to catch when the cards are back in the air is Filippo Candio who somehow turned his 30,000 starting stack into a colossal stack of 227,900, over 55,000 more than his nearest rival Gabriele Lepore on 172,000.

Other big stacks include Andrea Dato on 121,700 who you may recall finished fourth in the WPT Venice Main Event back in December, Andreyy Gulyy (107,600) who bubbled WPT Prague at the start of December and Danilo Donnini (105,200).

There are also a few well-known faces still in contention too so keep your eye out for the likes of Mustapha Kanit, Nicolas Levi, Dario Alioto, Tony G, James Akenhead, Guillaume Darcourt, Roberto Romanello, Kara Scott, Mike Sexton and Marvin Rettenmaier.

Play gets underway at 1300 CET and will continue until around 2100 when the tournament will be paused and everyone will vacate the casino and take a trip a few buildings down to be mesmerised by the magician that is better known as Dynamo.

During play yesterday Mike Sexton declared that Antonio Esfandiari is no longer the best magician in poker, here’s the video.

Mike Sexton meets Dynamo Magic of poker at WPT Venice and sends a message to Antonio “The Magician” Esfandiari.