Irish Open

The launch of a third weekly Super Satellite series starting tonight makes it easier than ever for Titan Poker players to qualify for their seats at the upcoming Irish Open 2012. A freezeout event is staged on Sunday nights; a re-buy event now takes place on Tuesday nights; and a ticket-only Super Satellite is played every Thursday night.

The Irish Open is without a doubt the most exciting tournament on the European poker circuit. It has been running since 1980 and is traditionally held over Easter weekend. This year’s event will be staged with a €3,200 + €300 buy-in at Dublin’s Burlington Hotel from April 6th – April 9th, 2012. Titan Poker’s qualifiers have taken their seats at the Dublin tables in previous years alongside some of the most exciting European players, as well as poker players from around the world.

What does a player who qualifies at Titan Poker get, beside possibly the most exciting land based poker experience of his life? Winning players at the Super Satellite tournaments each receive a winner’s package valued at €4,600. This includes the buy-in to the Irish Open Main Event, as well as 5 nights’ accommodation and breakfast at the Burlington Hotel in Dublin, April 5th – April 10th, 2012; €655 for flights and spending; and €50 for handling fees.

Players can buy-in directly to the Super Satellite tournaments at Titan Poker, or win their seats at one of the many sit ‘n’ go or scheduled satellites being staged around the clock. Entries to Stage 3 qualifiers start at the incredibly low price of €0.33 + €0.03.

Twenty skillful players constituted the Titan Poker delegation at the Irish Open 2011 and veteran player Lorna Lancaster was the last lady standing left in the Irish Open Main Event, finishing in 12th place and taking home €19,400 for her outstanding performance.

Who will play the Irish Open 2012 on Titan Poker’s behalf?

Sam Trickett

Sam started out slowly with an average stack that he managed to stabilize with a couple of good bets. First, during level 10 (blinds 500-1000, ante 50, avg stack 49K) Sam in the BB paid the pre-flop raise of the SB. Flop came A♣7♣A♥, both players checked, the turn was a 5♦ and the SB folded to Sam’s 5200 bet.

After a couple of unplayable hands, Sam in the SB took a small pot with a 7K bet on the river. The board was 3♦4KQ♦8. Then he lost a hand and mucked his cards at showdown – his opponent had K♥J♥ on a A882K board and they had both checked all the way to showdown. He had a 46K stack at the time and half an hour later when I came back to his table he was just leaving. He had pushed all-in for 37K from the button after the cutoff had raised to 4K pre-flop. Sam had pocket 4s vs the other player’s pocket Queens. The flop came QJ2.

Florian with Teddy Sheringham

Florian’s stack saw more upwards movements. He collected a lot of chips with pre-flop all-ins. One of those he did with AK offsuit from MP after the button had raised. Florian’s stack then reached it’s peak for the day – 87K. Shortly after at blinds 1K-2K our pro engaged in the following situation. UTG1 raised to 5500, UTG2 called and Florian moved all-in for 60K from the button. He had K♦J♦. UTG1 folded and UTG2 called. The flop came A♦Q♦2♣4♠5♥ and Florian’s opponent took the pot with pocket 2s. After this hand Florian was left with a 30K stack and moved all-in with A10 off-suit which is how he left the Main Event.

Meanwhile Christophe Benzimra is playing a PLO side event (a 2-day event with a €750+€75 buy-in).

Titan Poker qualifiers Stefano Monciotti from Italy, Lorna Lancaster from Canada and Will Smith from UK are still in the race though!

As for our pros, it’s time for some Chinese poker or an in-depth exploration of the famous Irish pub traditions.

Drinking Irish Style

Irish Pub

Featured Table

Day 2 of the Irish Open has just started. More than half of the entrants were eliminated yesterday and only 287 players out of 615 will be returning to the tables today. Titan Team members Florian Desgouttes and Sam Trickett are returning today with 61,000 and 41,900 in chips  respectively. Sam will be playing on a table with Titan Poker qualifier William Smith who has a starting stack of 22,500 chips.

Other Titan Poker qualifiers still in the field are Narcis Grabriel Nedelcu with a stack of 65,675, Paul Febers with 97,400, Lorna Lancaster with 23,850, Italians Giuseppe D’agnese and Stefano Monciotti  with 24,800 and 67,275 respectively and German Andreas Koester with 39,000.

William Smith

Giuseppe D'agnese

Paul Febers

Stefano Monciotti

Welcome to The Irish Open

It is that great time of the year, when the Irish spring has started and Dublin has welcomed the international poker circuit to the traditional Irish Open tournament once again. Today 615 players started the battle for a share of a €1,968,00 prize pool. The event gathered a colorful field as always: well-known industry veterans Jack McClelland, Liam Flood, Devilfish, football star Teddy Sheringham, pros Roberto Romanello, James Akenhed and many of the like.

Titan Poker has 17 online qualifiers and 3 Team Titan members at this year’s Irish Open – Sam Trickett, Florian Desgouttes and new Team member Cristophe Benzimra.

Action room

We are currently at level 8 with 300/600 blinds, 50 ante, 30K average stack and there are 402 players still at the tables. Sam Trickett was at the table with his friend Joel Ettedgi before the dinner break and accumulated a nice stack of 49K. He didn’t get much action and most of his bets did not lead to a showdown. Sam engaged in a nice hand during level 3 (blinds 75-150) where he raised to 400 from late position and his opponent re-raised to 1200 from the button. The flop came 7 4 10 rainbow, Sam bet 1400 and the button paid. The turn was a J♥. Sam made a continuation bet and his opponent paid to see a river card of 5♠. Sam went all-in and his opponent smooth-called, then mucked his cards to Sam’s set of 4♠.

After the dinner break Sam changed tables and that did not bring him much luck as he lost a big portion of his stack to a couple of dangerous boards. One of them went like this: Sam called from the SB, flop came A♦6♦7♥, check check, river A♠, Sam bets 800, the button calls and the river comes Q♦.

Sam Trickett

The player on the button bets 1400 and Sam folds.

Christophe Benzimra wasn’t really getting any cards or good situations and got eliminated during level 7.

Florian Desgouttes

Florian is sitting at an interesting table with football player Teddy Sheringham. He just knocked out a player by going all-in pre-flop with AQ. The opponent had K♥J♥ and the board ran 2 8 6 5 6 rainbow. Earlier today he engaged in a hand holding Q6  at the SB. Flop came 2♥4 6. His opponent at UTG1 bet 2500 and Florian called. The turn was a 10 and a continuation bet followed from the UTG player. Florian smooth-called to see a river card J.  He paid the next bet of 8500  and won the pot with 6s vs the other player’s pocket fives.

Most of our Titan Poker qualifiers are still at the tables including Dario Amorelli, Narcis Gabriel Nedelcu and Canadian Lorna Lancaster who often qualifies for live events through Titan. More updates on their game to follow on Day2. Stay tuned

Dario Amorelli

Narcis Gabriel Nedelcu

Lorna Lancaster

Irish Open

Congratulations to players “ztk123” from the United Kingdom, “DavaiBabkiBratuh” from Russia, and “MrsTree33” from Canada, all of whom will play on Titan Poker’s behalf at the Irish Open 2011.

Each of these players has won a €4,600 winner’s package which will take them to Dublin, Ireland, in April 2011. It’s not too late to join them!

“ztk123” and “DavaiBabkiBratuh” won their tickets to the Irish Open at the Super Satellite staged last Sunday night.  Titan Poker’s satellite series is ongoing and you still have plenty of time to win your seat to Dublin.

The Irish Poker Open is the most established poker tournament in Europe. You will be joined there by poker players from around the world who are after the big prize and, of course, the prestige.

English poker pro Neil Channing took home €801,400 in the Irish Open 2008 and Swedish pro Christer Johansson won €600,000 in 2009. James Mitchell won the 2010 Irish Open, winning a first prize of €600,000.

Weekly Super Satellites take place at Titan Poker on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.

See you in Dublin!

Offline tournaments

Titan poker is offering a world of opportunities with multiple offline tournament seats for the taking. Super satellites are currently underway for three tournaments across Europe as well as an international contest that will take you to the world’s premier event. If it is Barcelona, London, Dublin or the appeal of the Main Event in Las Vegas that catches your fancy, get playing now to secure your passage.

Take advantage and travel to the first time Les A London Open this February in London’s famous Mayfair district. Winning a £3,500 prize package to this maiden event by winning a weekly satellite will put you in the running for a piece of the £100,000 being offered. Package winners will also be eligible for a £1,000 year long membership at the club.

Get to business in Barcelona, the Catalan capital this March with a €500,000 Guaranteed prize pool up for grabs. The beauty of the ECPokerTour Barcelona is a $25,000 prize package which is being offered to the last Titan Poker player at the tables. This $25,000 package will award the winner with entries + travel expenses + accommodation for the upcoming ECPokerTour events of 2010. It is definitely worthwhile to make the effort of taking home a €4,800 prize package to the ECPokerTour Barcelona, so hit the satellites now.

Dublin is known for its hospitality and its poker. Qualifying satellites from as little as $0.40 are already underway for the prestigious Irish Open. This premier European tournament has been running for many years and is of offering a multimillion Euro prize pool. Win a package worth $7,200 and find yourself at the Burlington Hotel in central Dublin on April Fool’s Day.

The cherry on the top is left for last. Battle it out in the Titan Poker World Challenge and prove yourself as your country’s number one national poker player. As the competition advances into its international stage, you will have the chance to be amongst the 5 best players awarding you with a $13,000 package to Vegas for the Main Event in the summer.

So what are you still doing here? Satellites are continuously running. Check the software for details and good luck.