We are running out of Monte Carlo hands for Monte Carlo Monday, but the good news is that for whatever reason, many poker stops take place in locations that begin with an M. Monte Carlo, Montenegro, Madrid, Macau, and Malta. For whatever reason, I have never cashed in a poker tournament that took place in a location that begins with a T, W or F, although I suppose I could go with Triton Tuesday/Thursday or WSOP Wednesday.
Macau and Malta were two popular tournament destinations that, for regulatory and popularity reasons respectively, got taken off the poker calendar. Macau looked like it was coming back, until the WPT’s planned return to Macau was cancelled at the last minute, but EPT Malta returned just last week. I always thought Malta was similar to Prague: a good mid/high-stakes stop in Europe where you stay at a pretty nice Hilton and play poker in a pretty nice casino. In Prague, the biggest buy-in tournament is usually €50,000, and during the original Malta stops, it was €25,000. The fields in Malta have been pretty good, but they got ambitious with the super high rollers and tried to run a €100,000 that only got 13 runners. If you cannot get 40 players for a €10,000 mystery bounty, there is no reason to run a €100,000, but the fields in the Main Event and PokerStars Open were nice, and it looks like Malta will maintain its spot on the calendar.
Madrid was a one-off Triton stop that won’t come back because of regulatory reasons, which is too bad, because Madrid is a beautiful city, and Triton put us up in the nicest hotel I’ve ever stayed at while playing a poker tournament. (The Mandarin Oriental Ritz— if you are ever in Madrid and are looking for a €1,000/night hotel to stay at, I’d recommend staying there.) Also, if you are reading this and regularly stay at hotels that expensive, you should upgrade to being a paid subscriber; click the button below. Today’s hand comes from Event #7, €75,000. Normally, this is one of the toughest tournaments at a Triton stop. Many VIPs are willing to play a €100,000 Main Event, because it has a deep structure and is prestigious and the winner gets a Jacob & Co. watch to pair with their trophy. The €75,000 usually has the same structure as a €30,000. If you’re a pro who sells action and might fire the same amount of their own money into a €75,000 and a €30,000, you are happy to play both, but even for a wealthy VIP, firing an extra €45,000 per bullet is something they might want to pass on, especially when the alternative is having a day off in a city like Madrid. Of all the NLHE tournaments I played in Madrid, the €75,000 was the tournament that I sold for the lowest markup. I only fired one bullet and had built up a pretty nice stack as we were approaching the money, when I got coolered in a big pot that I did not think I could get away from, but in hindsight, I might have been able to.
Triton Madrid Event #7 €75,000 NLHE
(6k/12k/12k) (SB/BB/BBA). 63 Entries, 23 remain, 8 cash. 200k Starting Stack.
Ben Heath1 (1M) makes it 24k UTG/8, it folds to me (472k) with A♣️J♣️ CO I call, Michael Soyza (228k) folds on the button , Bruno Volkmann (63k) folds the SB, Jason Koon (1M) folds the BB.
Flop (78k) A♦️J♥️T♠️: Ben checks, I bet 45k, Ben calls.
Turn (168k) 9♥️: Ben checks, I bet 110k, Ben shoves, I call all in for 403k, I lose to K♦️Q♦️.
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