Dermot Dinan blogs: We're off to a crackin' start in Liverpool!

A crackin’ start!
The Liverpool Winter Festival started yesterday evening. Allan , Joe and I were met at the Circus Casino by General Manager Kevin Proctor at about 6:30 pm who told us that his phone had been ringing off the hook with enquiries for Friday’s Main Event.

I had earlier asked Allan how many entries he thought there might be for the £30 semi – freezeout tonight and he declared 60 would be a very good number, as this would generate about 5 seats or so into the Main Event at £500+£50 a ‘pop’. Kevin meanwhile was confidently predicting 80 + runners and he was nearer the mark with an entry field of 90 players by the time 8:30pm rolled around.

Just to recap, a semi-freezeout is a neat combo of a re-buy and a once only buy-in (freeze-out) multi tournament. In this case, following a £33 registration for 4000 chips, you are allowed one re-buy at any time for another 4k of chips , and a further add-on and 4k after 2 hrs of play. So the most anyone can do in is £93. That’s 4 pints a lager and a chippie meal, eh?

After the dust had settled and the rebuy and add-ons had finished, £5,970 had been collected. This meant that 10 seats in Friday’s £500+£50 Main Event were on offer plus £470 cash for the 11th placed finisher…. But more of that later.
The first all-in arrived on my table in hand 2 …. AK outflopped JJ for a quick double up for seat 7 – that player seemed to be involved in almost every hand after that! I won my first pot of the night by checking my seat 5 BB after seat 2 had smooth called. My 69s was smacked squarely with a 7 8 3 … he bet a strange (to me) less than 1/3rd of the pot which I called and the 5 came on the turn. He moved all-in for about 2k and I called …. He showed 77 but didn’t manage to house up. I started to feel a bit more settled after that!

Martin Bosch (from Alta, Norway – close to the Arctic circle!) was unlucky to walk into AA with his QQ but he took it well, rebought and came back strongly.
Level 2 and 100/200 blinds, I look down at AKs and make it 600 and get 2 callers … flop comes K 9 7 and seat 7 pushed all-in, 2nd caller folds and hoping he didn’t have K9 I called …. He showed K 10 and got no help…. I’m above chip average for the first time so I’m feeling ok.

Just before the break and the end of additional chips, I’ve got AA in mid- position and raise to 600 and get a call from Dennis in seat 1 who’s been very busy of late, and is in the BB…flop is A Q 8 and he bets 1k … I set him in for 2400 and he calls … he shows Q8 and is dead in the water.
74 players remained after the break and my add-on took my stack to 17k with the average at 9k … ok so far but a long way to go.

Levels 3 thru 5 seemed to pass very quickly without too much happening except for the eventual loss of Martin who having been dealt a blow holding QQ once before, found the ‘Sisters’ again only this time they left him crippled. A showdown of 5 5 vs. 8 8 summed his night up really as no help came to the aid of his underpair.
Next up was Level 6 Blinds 600/1200 46 remain DD stack 21k Average 21 k
I met a young man named Jamie McCormack around about this time on a short break. I knew Joe was doing well at the time, on about 35 k + and was chatting to Jamie about the football (Get in you Blue Boys !!! ).

I casually asked him how he was doing and when he replied “ Not too bad thanks … I’ve got about 52 k in chips“ I realized he had to be close to the lead which he confirmed, not in an arrogant manner but as a matter of fact. Jamie told me he is from Blackpool, aged about 20,and has been playing poker for 2 ½ years or so. What struck me about this young man was how composed he was at the table and in conversation. It came as no surprise that he comfortably made a Main Event seat by the way. I wish him well for Friday and the future.

OK. Level 8 and it’s getting hot out there !
32 remain Average 25 k DD 17k Blinds 1k/2k
Norwegian Joe has gone … he rather fell on his sword with AK to AA … having asked a serious question with a good sized raise, Joe was quickly re-raised for all 40k+ of his chips…. I know Joe is not happy with his call in this spot and it is easy to see the case for getting away from this one but y’know, poker makes us all do strange stuff now and again.
I’m trying to hang on but am between two stacks of 80k + and with the blinds increasing every 20 mins now I need to pick a spot.

Level 9 27 remain Average 31k DD 22k
Blinds 2k / 4k
There is panic in the air and I can feel it … people are moving with ‘any old ace’ and the big stacks are mopping up.
I have AJ and small blind makes it 8k to go …. I think I have enough chips to make him think hard for a while and those blinds are coming around again soon. When it’s me to speak I’m ready and announce all-in for 22k … Babu as he is affectionately known (no really !) is thinking that I haven’t played many hands but 14k is still about 1/3rd of his stack …. After an age he calls and “On Their Backs” he shows KK …. Ouch ! Flop K 9 7 Turn 3 River K!

Out in 27 th and soon after ‘Team 10Kings’ member LK was cut adrift in 21st place.
Sorry to say that it seems there was no Norwegian representative successful in today’s attempt to qualify but …. The have a strong contigent of players already confirmed entries for Main Event.

Incidentally the final twelve players each put £20 into the kitty as a sweetener for the 12th placed finisher,which I thought was very democratic and Liverpudlian-like … d’you know worrameeeen like ?
My man of the LIVE satellite: Mark Blake (Wales) – keep an eye on him for the Main Event. The structure suits him perfectly, he’s in-form and a very disciplined player.

Liverpool Winter Festival Day 1 is over and we're looking forward to new tournaments over the next few days.