Team Titan

Team Titan’s two professional players are recognized throughout the poker world as being the rising stars of the sport. German poker newssite PokerOlymp has nominated both of them for its prestigious 2011 readers’ choice awards. Register your votes for Sam Trickett and Marvin Rettenmaier today.

Vote for Marvin Rettenmaier as Best German Poker Player of the Year!

Vote for Sam Trickett as Best International Poker Player of the Year!

Hurry up because the voting closes on December 26, 2011.

Last year, PokerOlymp selected Marvin as its Poker Newcomer of the Year.

Sam was recognized in September as the Best Cash Player at the second annual British Poker Awards.

Marvin Rettenmaier

Hello and welcome to the 5th edition of EPT PokerStars.com Prague in the prestigious Hilton Prague Hotel. Yesterday, a total of 234 participated in Day 1A of the tournament and many more are expected for Day 1B.

Marvin Rettenmaier from Team Titan unfortunately didn’t get through yesterday. Even though he had mostly a remarkable day, he was eliminated at the very end of the action and will not continue in the tournament. 

 
Level 1 – Blinds 50/100

Marvin Rettenmaier started the tournament in the middle of the first level of the day. He joined his compatriot Philip Gruissem and French player Ilan Rouah at their table and just before the level changed, Marvin took down a big pot. Our German Team Titan pro raised under the gun to 250 and his direct neighbor Ilan Rouah called.

On the flop 8♦7♠2♣ Marvin made a continuation bet of 425. The Frenchman 3-bet to 1,625. Marvin took a while before firing a 3,625 bet. Ilan made the call.

Marvin bet 4,125 on the turn, the 3♠, and Rouah paid him.

Marvin bet a last time on the river, the 5♥. Ilan Rouah asked “How much is the bet ?” The dealer made the count and Rouah finally called the 5,425 bet.

Marvin Rettenmaier showed 7♥8♥ and Rouah mucked his cards. A little bit later Rouah told us he had Aces.

Marvin ended the level with 42K.

Level 2 – Blinds 75/150

UTG +2 player raised to 350, the hi-jack called and Marvin Rettenmaier called from the big blind. The flop fell 10-7-6 rainbow and everybody checked. The turn brought a 3 and one more time we had no action.

River: 6
Marvin bet 825 and UTG +2 player 3-bet to 2,025. The hi-jack gave up and Marvin made the call.

Marvin: 10♠7♠
UTG +2: 66 for a quads

This one could have been much worse for our Team Titan player.

A few hands later, Marvin got lucky against Philip Gruissem. Marvin opened to 375 and Philip made the call.

Marvin check-called 525 on the flop 7♠A♠5♠ and 1,125 on the turn A♥.

The 5 doubled on the river and both players checked. Marvin showed A♣2♣ for a full-house and his opponent flashed his hand before mucking: K♠Q♠

Philip just flopped the nuts but Marvin ran good on that one.

Marvin lost two hands which didn’t go until the end against Ilan Rouah who was already short-stacked and won the last confrontation in the level before the break. In middle position, a German player opened to 375. Rettenmaier and Rouah made the call from the cut-off and the button.

Flop 2♣7♥6♣
Marvin bet 1,225 and Rouah paid.

Same action on the turn, the K♥ for 1,225.

Marvin bet 2,650 on the river, the J♥, and obtained the fold of his French adversary.

Marvin finished the 2nd level with 44.5K while the average was 31K.

Level 3 – Blinds 100/200

Marvin Rettenmaier raised to 450, a player 3-bet to 1,100 and Marvin 4-bet to 2,900. His opponent decided to complete to see the flop.

When the cards fell 5♦5♣8♥ Marvin bet 3,125. His opponent 3-bet to 6,725 but Marvin wasn’t in the mood to let his opponent win the pot and 4-bet to 11,775.  After a long time thinking and stretching his arms and speaking to himself, Marvin’s opponent gave it up. Marvin was up to 55K.

Marvin openend to 450 in middle position and Philip Gruissem raised to 1,525 from the cut-off. Marvin Rettenmaier 4-bet to 3,825 and succeeded in making his compatriot fold his hand. Marvin showed a 5 to his friend just to make it more funny.

After two hours of playing Marvin Rettenmaier was sitting behind a healthy 56.5K stack while the average was 31.2K.

Level 4 – Blinds 100/200 ante 25 

Romanian pro player Toni Judet joined the table short-stacked with 16K looking for action.

UTG +2 player raised to 425, a mid-position player made the call as did Marvin from the button, Rouah in small blind and Judet in big one.

Flop: 4♥A♠5♥
Rouah and Judet checked, UTG +2 player bet 825. Marvin raised to 1,825. Rouah 4-bet to 3,675. The initial raiser and Marvin paid. 

Turn: J♦
Ilan Rouah moved all-in for around 6K and UTG +2 shoved for 16K. Marvin decided to give up and we took a look at the hands.

Rouah: 2♠3♣
UTG +2: A♥2♥

River: 3♣ and the two players split the pot.

Level 5 – Blinds 150/300 ante 25

American Kenney Bryn ($1.8 million overall wins in tournament play) arrived at the table, forming what is undoubtedly one of the most difficult table of Day 1A.

Marvin Rettenmaier called the pre-flop raise of 800 from Bryn. The big blind put his 800 in as well.

On the flop 9-7-3, Byrn bet 1.4K and only Marvin called.

Turn: A
Bryn bet 2.5K and was paid by the German member of Team Titan.

River: 9
Bryn check-called the 4.6K bet from Marvin and mucked his hand after Marvin showed A♦J♦

In the middle of the level, Marvin Rettenmaier climbed to 63K. The average is 34K. 206 players are left from 234 registrated at the beginning of the day.

Relaxing time for Marvin

Then Marvin Rettenmaier had dinner at the table and asked for a massage. He stayed really quiet until the end of the level and the next hour at blinds 200/400 ante 50.

An Italian player in early position raised to 825 under the gun, Marvin Rettenmaier and Ilan Rouah called from the cut-off & the button.

On the flop 9♦A♠2♦ the initial raiser and Marvin checked. Rouah fired a 2,100 bet probably thinking to take the pot down but the pre-flop raiser made
the call. After two minutes Marvin re-raised to 6,425. Rouah instantly folded and the Italian paid.

Turn: 10♦
The Italian checked and folded after Marvin had bet 5,625.

Marvin Rettenmaier finished the level with 70K.

Level 7 – Blinds 250/500 ante 50 - Average 39K for 180 players left

Marvin Rettenmaier lost a big coin flip directly after the break against the table’s Italian player. Marvin raised to 1,200 and the Italian player moved all-in for 19.5K. Marvin called with A♣Q♣. His opponent showed 33 and the final board was 9-7-4-9-6 which means that our German Team Titan member was back down to 50.5K.

Marvin was eliminated one hour later. First he lost on 10 K pre-flop.
He raised to 1,225 in middle position. Ilan Rouah made the call and a Czech player who just arrived few minutes before at the table 3-bet to 4K. Marvin 4-bet to 8,625 and succeeded to discard Rouah but not the Czech player who moved all-in. Rettenmaier gave up after a long hesitation.

Marvin raised pre-flop twice in a row and took the blinds. He concluded the level with 42K. The average was 47K for 149 left.

Level 8 – 300/600 ante 75

Famous Russian player Vitaly Lunkin (2 WSOP bracelets and $4.2 millions in overall wins) arrived at the table and unfortunately after 30 minutes eliminated Marvin Rettenmaier.

First Marvin lost a small pot. A Czech player raised at the button to 1,600 and Marvin 3-bet in small blind. The Czech player made the call to see the flop falling A♥K♥7♣. Marvin bet 3,625 and his opponent called. When Marvin checked on the turn, the 10♦, Marvin folded and was down to 34.5K.

The last hand:
Marvin opened to 1,325 in mid-position, Rouah called and Lunkin completed from the big blind.

On the flop 4♦5♥9♦ Vitaly Lunkin checked, Marvin Rettenmaier bet 2,625 and Ilan Rouah 3-bet to 5,625. Lunkin chose to make it more expensive raising to 10,525. Marvin Rettenmaier moved all-in. Ilan Rouah folded and Lunkin immediately called.

Lunkin had flopped a set of 9 and Marvin held K♥K♦.

The turn and the river didn’t change anything and Marvin Rettenmaier was brutaly eliminated from the tournament.

The three French players of Team Titan, Yann Brosolo, Florian Desgouttes and Christophe Benzimra, start their participation in EPT Prague on Day 1B at noon. As we did yesterday, we will play 8 levels without a dinner break. Shuffle-up and deal!

Christophe Benzimra and Florian Desgouttes

Hello everyone and welcome to Prague, the beautiful capital of the Czech Republic. The casino of the Corinthia Hotel is hosting the WPT Prague and Day 1B of the Main Event started at 14:00 with 340 players. Yesterday 231 played Day 1A. With a total playing field of  571 players, WPT Prague sets a new record for the largest WPT staged  in Europe.

This is a re-entry tournament which means that the players who were eliminated had the right to buy-in a second time on Day 1B. The structure of this €3,500 NLH re-entry event is the WPT standard structure: 30,000 chips – 1 hour levels with blinds 50/100 to start.

Team Titan pro players Floria Desgouttes (France), Christophe Benzimra (France) and Marvin Rettenmaier (Germany) took their seats to participate in the action on Day 1B.

Level 1 – Blinds 50/100

Christophe Benzimra started the day quietly, playing a solid and controlled game. A player raised to 300 and another one made the call in middle position. Christophe 3-bet to 1,000 with A♣K♦. Then the small blind decided to 4-bet to 2,800. Christophe paid.

Flop: Q♥4♦2♥
Small blind player opened to 2,000 and Christophe raised to 5,025. He obtained a quick fold from his opponent.

Christophe played other small pots without showdowns and ended the first hour of play with 34K.

Florian Desgouttes was eliminated early in the tournament. Just before the change of level, Florian raised to 250 in middle position with A♠4♠. The whole table checked until the big blind who re-raised to 625. Florian made the call.

On the flop, 9♣10♠6♦, the big blind opened to 1,000 and Florian made it more expensive: 2,125 chips. Call from his opponent.

Turn: K♠
The big blind check-raised to 8,000 after the 3,500 bet from Florian. The French Titan pro completed.

On the river came the J♣ and the small blind checked again. Florian moved all-in for around 15K and his opponent tanked for a while before calling. Florian mucked his hand and his adversary didn’t show his hand but commented that he didn’t have the nuts. He probably held pocket Kings for a set.

Florian was down to 2.5K when he played his last hand. Florian Desgouttes raised to 250 and a really active player 3-bet to 800 in middle position. Florian 4-bet all-in and his opponent paid.

Florian showed 10♦7♦ and his opponent A♦K♠

The dealer delivered the next board K♣6♦5♦4♣9♠ and Florian Desgouttes quit the tournament area.

Marvin Rettenmaier

Marvin Rettenmaier registered late and took his place alongside Italian player Mario Adinolfi, Ukrainian pro Eugene Katchalov, and the Frenchman Xavier Detournel. He finished the first level with 28K.

Level 2 – Blinds 75/150

UTG+1 player raised to 400 and Christophe from the button, the small blind and the big blind called.

On the flop Q♦J♠3♠ everybody checked.

When the turn K♠ came, everyone checked until Christophe who bet 900. The small blind player 3-bet to 2K and just Christophe made the call.

River: 5♠ and the 2 players checked.

Christophe Benzimra won the hand showing A♣10♠ against the 3♦3♣ of his opponent.

Christophe finished the level with 36K and Marvin with 31K.

Level 3 – Blinds 100/200

Edward Kam raised 500 from the button. Christophe Benzimra 3-bet to 1,800 in small blind. Kam decided to 4-bet to 4,000 and Christophe just paid with K♣K♥

Flop: Q♥7♥2♠
Christophe checked, Edward Kam bet 6.5K and Christophe made it more expensive raising to 17K. His opponent moved all-in and Christophe instantly called.

Bad news for our French Titan pro when he saw the hand of Kam, Q♣Q♠

But the turn delivered a magical K♦ which brought a higher set to Benzimra who eliminated Kam after a blank completed the board.

Christophe Benzimra was up to 73K at the end of this third level.

During the same time Marvin Rettenmaier was really active but didn’t succeed to win a big pot. He finished the level with 26K.

Level 4 – Blinds 100/200 ante 25

On a flop A♣2♥K♥. Italian Mario Adinolfi checked (BB), Marvin (UTG) opened to 825 and Eugene Katchalov called. Adinolfi paid as well.

Turn: Q♠
Adinolfi and Marvin Rettenmaier checked. Katchalov bet 2.2K and both Adinolfi and Marvin paid.

River: 3♠
The three players checked and Katchalov showed AJ for the winning hand and Marvin Rettenmaier was down to 22K at the middle of the level. At the middle of the level, 315 players were left from the 340 entrants for an average of 32K.

A player raised to 400 in middle position. Christophe 3-bet to 1,100 with A♥K♥ but the player on the button 4-bet to 2,500 chips. Christophe called and the two players checked the flop Q♦8♦8♥

Then on the turn, the 2♥, Christophe Benzimra bet 3,700 and was called by his opponent.

Finally on the river, the 8♣, Christophe put his opponent under pressure betting exactly his stack (16K). After 3 minutes thinking, he finally folded pocket Kings face-up.

Christophe was up to 80K but lost a hand to finish the level with 74K.

Marvin Rettenmaier had a bad day and was eliminated at the end of the level. First he lost a strange and funny hand against the “crazy” Italian Mario Adinolfi.

Adinolfi raised to 500 in early position and Marvin 3-bet to 1,400 UTG +2. The Italian called. The flop came K-9-8 and after a check from Adinolfi, Marvin bet 1,625. The Italian decided to pay.

Both players checked on the turn, the 10, and on the river the Italian check-called the bet of 2,825 from Marvin.

Showdown:

Marvin: J 6
Adinolfi: 10-3 !!!

A few minutes later, the same Adinolfi eliminated our German Titan pro.

An Italian player raised to 650 in hijack position and Adinolfi 3-bet from the cut-off to 2,000. Marvin Rettenmaier, at the button, moved all-in for around 12K and Adinolfi made the call A♥10♣

Marvin held 9♣9♦

The dealer offered a 10 to the Italian player straight on the flop and Marvin Rettenmaier was eliminated.

Marvin Rettenmaier

62 players returned to play the 4th day of the European Poker Tour (EPT) London Main Event and Marvin Rettenmaier, our German Team Titan pro player started the day with a stack of 365.3K when the average was 330K.

Level 18 – Blinds 3K/ 6K ante 500

Marvin Rettenmaier was really active at the beginning of the level, 3-betting and 4-betting few times. He realized a small profit during the first 45 minutes before losing a big pot.

Marvin raised to 14K and a Romanian player 3-bet him to 38K in small blind. Marvin made the call.

Flop: 10♦ 8♠ 6♦
The small blind bet 37K and Marvin called.

Turn: 10♣
The Romanian player check-raised all-in for 206K after Marvin had bet 42.5K.

Marvin Rettenmaier had to give up and mucked his cards. He was down to 230K and had the same amount at the end of the level.

53 players left for an average of 391K.

Level 19 – Blinds 4K/ 8K ante 1 K

Marvin Rettenmaier 3-bet to 38K from the cut-off after a first raise of 18K from the hi-jack player, a young Dutchman. The young player took a while before folding.

Marvin was up to 245K.

Then few minutes later the same player opened to 18K in small blind. Marvin Rettenmaier made it 58K in big blind. His opponent quickly moved all-in and Marvin made the call.

Showdown:

Dutchman: A♥ 2♠
Rettenmaier: A♠ :9♦

Board: A♣ 6♠ 3♣ 9♥ 2♦

Marvin Rettenmaier was up to a healthy 480K when 50 players were left for an average of 414K at the middle of the level.

Marvin Rettenmaier

A few hands later, he took another pot against the Dutchman 3-betting him again. Marvin succeeded in making his opponent give up one more time. Marvin showed AK.

Unfortunately, at the very end of the level, Marvin Rettenmaier was eliminated in a big set-up against French player Basile Yaïche. The two players know each other very well since last February when Marvin won the French Poker Series in Paris.
His last opponent (Heads-up) was Basile Yaïche. They respect themselves a lot but this confrontation was unavoidable.

Marvin Rettenmaier raised to 17K under the gun. Basile Yaïche made it 42K at the button. Marvin Rettenmaier pushed a stack of chips for a bet of 98K total. The French player moved all-in for more than 600K (more than Marvin’s stack). Marvin quickly called with A♣ K♣ but Yaïche held the best poker hand, A♥ A♠

Final Board: K♥ 3♣ 9♥ 8♠ 2♥ and Marvin Rettenmaier stood up and went to congratulate his opponent before leaving the poker area a bit shocked after this sudden end.

Once again a Team Titan Pro player succeeded in finishing in the money at a big event. We’re still waiting to see Sam Trickett play the final table of the Partouche Poker Tour in Cannes in November.

Marvin Rettenmaier

Day 3 of the 2011 PokerStars.com EPT London Main Event started with 159 players remaining. Marvin Rettenmaier from Team Titan began the day with 301.3K for an average of 130K.

 Level 14 – Blinds 1 200/ 2 400 ante 300

Marvin started the day winning a coin flip for 30K with AJ versus pocket nines. Marvin hit an As and was up to 340K.

After 45 minutes of play in the day, Marvin’s table broke and our German Titan was moved to the other side of the poker room where he joined Canadian Bill Chen and French player Basile Yaïche.

Marvin Rettenmaier lost a few hands and ended the level with 310K.

125 players left for an average of 165,800 chips.
 

Level 15 – 1 500/ 3 000 ante 400

Marvin Rettenmaier had a bad start in this level, losing two hands in 5 minutes.

In the first hand, Marvin raised to 6.2K in early position and Basile Yaïche 3-bet him to 18K from the small blind. Marvin made the call.

On the flop: K♦10♣7♥ both players checked.

Same action on the turn, the 10d

On the river, 8♠ Basile Yaïche check-called the 16.8K bet of Marvin and won the hand with 82. Marvin Rettenmaier mucked his hand.

In the second hand, Marvin Rettenmaier raised 7.8K from the small blind and the big blind called.

On the flop: 9♠6♦4♦ Marvin bet 6.7K and was called.

Turn: K♥
Marvin fired another bet for 13.2 K and it was paid again.

On the river, the 5♣, Marvin bet 26.6  and his opponent moved all-in for more than 80K. Marvin had to give up his pocket Jacks.

He was down to about 200K and when the bubble burst, Marvin had exactly 203.4K for an average of 199.3K and 104 players left.

Marvin Rettenmaier succeeded in making the money in a big tournament. Congratulations !

Titan Pro Player Marvin Rettenmaier

Level 16 and 17

Marvin Rettenmaier played a lot of hands but didn’t see that many showdowns and during these last two levels he won a significant pot against the very aggressive French player Basile Yaïche.

Marvin, UTG +1, raised to 10.5K and Yaïch called from the big blind.

The flop came Q♥5♠4♥ and the French player checked and Marvin bet 8.5K. Yaïche 3-bet to 29K.

Turn: 2♥
Yaïche bet 43K and Marvin called.

Finally on the river Q♠ both players hesitated to bet and finally checked.

Yaïche showed A♠A♦ but Marvin had the best hand with a straight with A♣3♥

After a short 3rd day, Marvin Rettenmaier advances to Day 4 with a 365K stack.

There are 62 players left in the tournament for an average of 334K, and they are guaranteed to win a minimum of £11,000.

Doyle Brunson and Christophe Benzimra

417 players came back to play the EPT PokerStars London Main Event Day 2 among them were Team Titan’s Marvin Rettenmaier and Christophe Benzimra with respectively 40K and 12.7K, while the average stack was 52K.

Level 9 – Blinds 400/800 ante 100 

Christophe Benzrimra started the day really nicely. On the third hand of the day, the UTG player opened to 1,800 and Christophe moved all-in for 12.3K. French player Jean-Philippe Rohr, who had 2K left, put his last chips in. The UTG player tanked for a while and finally gave up. Christophe with AK was huge favorite against the 8-10 offsuit of his compatriot.

Final Board: K-J-7-J-6 and Christophe was up to 17K.

A while later he won a pre-flop confrontation with pocket jacks against pocket sevens. Christophe kept his advantage and was up to 32K.

In the same level, Christophe raised to 2,100 in middle position and Scott Seever 3-bet to 5.9K in small blind position. Christophe made the call.

Flop: 9♥ 3♠ 2♠
Seever opened and Christophe quickly moved all-in. Seever called and both players showed their hands.

Christophe Benzimra Q♦ Q♥
Scot Seever A♠ K♠

The turn came the 9♣  the river the 2♥ and Christophe was up to 69K after this good hand.

Marvin Rettenmeier

Marvin Rettenmaier was pretty active during the first level. He 3-bet and 4-bet pre-flop a few times and stole the blinds and won a nice hand against the famous Swedish player Chris Bjorin. Marvin raised to 1,700 and Bjorin called from the small blind.

Flop: 2♣ 2♥ 4♥

Bjorin checked and Marvin bet 1,400 chips. Bjorin decided to make it just a little bit more expensive and raised to 3K. Marvin called.

Turn: A♦
Chris Bjorin bet 3K and Marvin called.

River: K♣
Bjorin made 3.5K and Marvin 3-bet to 13.4K. Bjorin snap-called and mucked when he saw the 3♦ 5♣ of our German Titan pro player.

Marvin was up to 69K.

So at the end of the first level of the day Christophe and Marvin had 69K each with an average of 60K for 335 players left.

Level 10 – Blinds 500/ 1000 ante 100

A player opened to 1,700 at the hi-jack position. Marvin 3-bet from the button to 5,800. His opponent made it 13.2K and Marvin pushed 21.4 K total. His opponent moved all-in for about 60K after two minutes. Rettenmaier made the call and turned KK but was behind the Aces of his adversary.

The board was miraculous for Marvin: 9-10-J-J and BOOM Queen on the river for a straight. His opponent was eliminated and Marvin almost doubled up to reach 130K.

Later in the same level Marvin called a raise from the UTG player for 2.1 K. The cut-off player paid as well.

Flop: 8♥ 5♦ 2♣ 2♥
UTG bet 4.6 K, Marvin raised to 11.8 K and the cut-off player folded. The action came back to the UTG player who 4-bet to 25.4K. Marvin Rettenmaier called.

Turn: 9♣
UTG bet 16K and Marvin called.

On the river, 4♠,  UTG player bet 18K and Marvn called a last time.

Both players announced they hit a set on the flop. But Marvin won this big one with 88 versus 55.

A few hands later, Marvin busted out English woman Vicky Coren for 20K with AQ against A-10 preflop.

Christophe Benzimra

Christophe Benzimra also eliminated a short stack, the Romanian Tony Judet for 10K. Benzimra held A♥ J♦ and Judet K♣ Q♠

Flop: K♦ 10♦ 3♦ 4♦ 7♣  and Christophe was back up to 70K.

Christophe Benzimra won small pots and ended the level with 74K while Marvin had 245K for an average of 68.6K and 298 players remaining.

Level 11 – Blinds 600/ 1 200 ante 100

Marvin Rettenmaier opened to 2,600 in middle position and Liya Garasimova 3-bet to 6,800 from the small blind. Rettenmaier called.

The flop fell Q♣ 6♠ 10♥ and Garasimova made her continuation-bet for 6.6K. Marvin raised to 17.6K and she called.

On the turn, 3♦, Garasimova checked and Marvin shoved. The Russian girl thought for 3 minutes and decided to call.

Marvin showed 10♠10♣ and Garasimova had A♦A♥

The river is the 3♥ and Marvin was up to a little bit more than 300K at the end of the level.

Christophe Benzimra maintained his stack and made a small profit at the end of the level. He finished it with 76K in front of him.

Average 85.3K and 243 players left.

Level 12 & 13 – Blinds 800/ 1 600 ante 200 & 1 000/ 2 000 ante 300 – Christophe Benzimra eliminated

Christophe Benzimra was really pleased to see a legend coming to seat just to his right: Doyle Brunson himself.
Unfortunately the French pro player busted during this level. First, Christophe lost a pre-flop all-in with 99 against 10-10 for around 35K and was down to 27K.

Then he played his last hand. A player raised to 3K in early position and a second one called. Christophe moved all-in with AJ in the small blind. The initial raiser folded but the second one entered into a deep reflexion and decided to pay with pockets Deuces.

Board: K-10-4-10-8 and unfortunately Christophe was out of the tournament.

Happy day for Marvin Rettenmaier

At the next table, the cut-off player raised to 4K and Marvin called from big blind.

Flop: A♦ 9♥ Q♣
Marvin check-called 5.3K

Then on the turn 10♦ both players checked and on the river 2s Marvin bet 11.4K and obtainrf a quick fold from his opponent.

Marvin Rettenmaier had A9 and was up to 320K.

The German Titan player ended Day 2 with a confortable stack of 301.3K for an average of 120K and 171 players are remaining.

Teammates Marvin Rettenmaier and Christophe Benzimra

The PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) London 2011 Main Event attracted a total of 280 players on Day 1a and 411 players took their seats on Day 1b. Among the players who sat down at the tables on Day 1b were Team Titan’s Marvin Rettenmaier and Christophe Benzimra.

The tournament is taking place in the Hilton Metropole of London City and the structure is the usual one for EPT events. On Day 1, players start with 30,000 chips and there are one-hour levels.

Level 1- Blinds 50/100 and level 2 (75/150):

French Titan Pro Christophe Benzimra made quite a good start. After one hour he had a little bit more than the starting stack. At the middle of Level 2, Christophe raised in middle position to 375 and another player reraised to 800 in the blinds. Christophe called.

Flop: J♦ 9♥ 8♥
Christophe called the continuation bet of his opponent for 1,000.

On the turn, 8♣, Christophe’s opponent check-called 2,100.

The river brought a 10 and both players decided to check.

Christophe Benzimra showed 7♠ 5♠ and the low straight was enough to take the best on the 10-9 of his adversary.

Marvin Rettenmaier arrived in the middle of this second level and at the end of it he had 27K while Christophe ended it with 37K.

Marvin Rettenmaier between Negreanu and Annette Obrestadt

Level 3 – Blinds 100/200

Christophe climbed to 43K without resistance and without showdowns.

A player raised to 525 in early position and another one made the call. Christophe, at the button with J♠ 4♠ paid and the small blind as well.

Flop Q♣ 9♥ 8♥
Everybody checked and Christophe fired a 1,700 chips bet. An Italian player called.

Q♠ on the turn and both men checked.

And on the river, 10♥ the Italian bet 4,500 and Christophe thought for a minute before paying.

The Italian player showed 10♠ 10♦ and hit the full house while Christophe was hitting a straight. Not enough for the French player who dropped back to 35K.

A few minutes later, Christophe raised to 600 and found one caller in big blind.

Flop 5♣ 8♥ J♥
The big blind checked and Christophe opened to 775. His opponent made it 2,175 and Christophe called.

On the turn, K♥ we heard a clear “Check” “Check” from the two players and on the river 6♣, the big blind bet 4.5K. Christophe called and showed 6♥ 4♥ for the winning hand.

Marvin Rettenmaier lost a big pot against the famous Canadian pro player Daniel Negreanu with AQ.
Negreanu raised to 450 in middle position and Marvin called just after.

Flop: Q-9-8
Negreanu checked and Marvin opened to 600 and was called by the Canadian.

Turn: 7
Negreanu check-called 1,400 this time.
River: 3
Same action but for 3.1K.

Marvin Rettenmaier showed his hand but lost to the pocket Aces of Negreanu.

At the end of the level, Marvin was down to 18K and Christophe had 42K while the average was 31K for 390 players remaining.

Rettenmaier versus Negreanu

Level 4 – 100/200 ante 25

A player in middle position raised to 450 and Daniel Negreanu called. Marvin in cut-off position reraised to 1,325 and the two other players decided to pay.

Flop: 9♥ 10♠ J♦
The initial raiser checked,Negreanu bet 2.4K and Marvin called. The initial raiser gave up at that point.

Turn 7♥
Negreanu bet 5.2K and our German Titan Pro called.

Finally, on the river 6♣, Negreanu shoved for around 9K and Marvin snap-called with K♥ Q♥ and won the hand to reach 40K.
Negreanu showed A♠ J♠ and stayed in the tournament with a stack of about 5K.

Christophe Benzimra had to change tables and didn’t play a lot of hands in this level and finished it with 41K. At his new table, he joined Isaac Haxton and the German Marc Gork.

Level 5 – 150/300 ante 25

Christophe Benzimra lost a huge hand at the beginning and was down to 22K.

Christophe raised pre-flop and the player in small blind made the call.

Flop: A♠ 8♥ 6♠
Christophe bet 1,375 and his opponent 3-bet to 4,400. Christophe paid the difference.

On the turn 6♣, the small blind made a bet and Christophe moved all-in. His opponent called and we saw the hands.

Christophe: A-K
Small Blind: A-6

The river Q♦ unfortunately didn’t change anything for the French pro.

Then Christophe didn’t connect a flop and didn’t see a good starting hand for hours. He finished the level with 20K. Marvin had 37K when the average was 35.2K with 350 players left.
 

Christophe in front and Marvin

Level 6 – Blinds 200/400 ante 50

Marvin went to lay down in one of the rooms of the hotel. He was feeling bad and prefered to have a little break and come back for the last levels. 

Christophe didn’t play a single hand for one hour and had 15K just before starting the last two levels.

330 players left for an average of 37.4K.

Level 7 and 8:

Christophe Benzimra succeeded, thanks to a lot of patience, to survive. He finished the day with 12.7K.

Marvin Rettenmaier came back before the hand and qualified for Day 2 with 40K.

255 players qualified for Day 2 from this second starting day of EPT London 2011.

Christophe Benzimra In The Money

Team Titan’s French poker pro Christophe Benzimra finished in 34th place at the prestigious WPT Grand Prix de Paris, staged at the famous Aviation Club de France on the Champs-Elysées in Paris.

His prize was €11,110. Team Titan’s Marvin Rettenmaier was chipleader during an early stage of the tournament but did not finish in the money.

312 players paid the €7,500 buy-in to participate in the prestigious WPT Grand Prix de Paris Main Event. Marvin Rettenmaier and Yann Brosolo from Team Titan didn’t finish in the money even though Rettenmaier started  the tournament very well finishing Day 1B among the chipleaders. He was also leading the field for a good part of Day 2.

Marvin declared after his elimination: “I reached the point of the tournament where you need to win some flips to be able to play for the win. Unfortunately, I lost these crucial  flips so I am logically (but unfortunately) out. But next time will be mine ” 

Other poker stars were in Paris to try to take down the title of WPT champion, among them Jason Mercier, Juha Helppi, Martin Jacobson, Freddy Deeb, Davidi Kitaï, Sorel Mizzi, Arnaud Mattern, Antoine Saout and Anton Makiievski (November Nine). 

Christophe Benzimra, who won the EPT Warsow in 2009 showed a good result after 3 days of a high level fight. Unfortunately the French pro from Team Titan had to leave the tournament when his pocket Queens was beaten by Russian Dimitry Stelmak’s pocket Kings. Stelmak eventually finished 8th in the tournament and won  €66,665,

Christophe Benzimra

French pro Titan, Christophe BenzimraMarvin Rettenmaier

Marvin Rettenmaier

Marvin Rettenmaier

Team Titan’s Marvin Rettenmaier has jumped to 3^rd place on Bluff Magazine’s 2011 Player of the Year (POY) charts. He currently has 823.92 POY points, while Eugene Katchalov is in first place with 924.38 points and Bertrand Grospellier is in second with 892 points.

According to Bluff Magazine, Marvin’s “cashes left and right” and his 6th place finish in the Merit Cyprus $5,500 buy-in Main Event will up his score, but not enough to get into the top two spots. Marvin’s win in a Cyprus $300 re-buy event may also improve his point total.

Bluff Magazine ranks players according to a formula that “takes into consideration alternate scoring methodologies for shootouts, re-buys, short-handed and heads-up tournaments. Players receive points if they cash in any open tournament which meets the field size criteria. Only a player’s top ten finishes through the calendar year will count towards the Player of the Year standings.”

As per an article posted on the magazine’s website yesterday, “Rettenmaier has hit the maximum number of cashes for the rankings.” The top money earner this year, Erik Seidel, only has seven qualifying scores and is ranked in 7^th place with 761.51 POY points.

Team Titan’s Sam Trickett is currenly ranked 68^th with 382.88 POY points.

Alexander Debus

Level 19 – Blinds 5,000/ 10,000 ante 1,000

During this first level of play on Day 5, Marvin Rettenmaier received many good hands but couldn’t win a single big pot with them. “I had Aces, Kings and AK but there was no action. I could have a million with a little bit of luck”.

He finished the level with 182K.

The first hour for his compatriot Alexander Debus was a nightmare, and he ended up losing almost half of his starting stack.

Alexander opened with 20K in hi-jack position. The cut-off player and the small blind paid.

Flop: 2♦4♠8♥
The small blind checked and was imitated by Debus and the cut-off player.

Turn: K♠
Small blind player checked, Debus bet 32K and only the cut-off made the call.

The river came the A♣ and Debus led 56K. His opponent hesitated few seconds before calling.

Alexander Debus showed KJ but his opponent held KQ for a better kicker and won the pot. 

Debus completed the level 19 with 270K.

Marvin Rettenmaier

Level 20 – Blinds 6 K/12 K ante 2 K

Marvin Rettenmaier played less than 30 minutes in this level before being eliminated. The cut-off player raised and Marvin moved all-in from the small blind. His opponent called and we saw the hands.

Marvin Rettenmaier: K♥5♥
Cut-off player: 6♠6♣

The pocket 6s held and Marvin Rettenmaier was eliminated in 266th position and won $40,654 for his deep run in this fantastic event.

Alexander Debus climbed to 550K after a confrontation against Tony Hachem, the brother of the 2005 world champion Joe Hachem.

Alexander raised to 24K from the button with K♦10♦ and his Australian opponent made the call from the big blind.

Flop: 2♠3♥K♠
Tony Hachem check-raised all-in after the 32K-bet of Debus. The German qualifier from Titan Poker called.

Hachem showed K♥7♥ and Debus was favorite to win the hand. The turn was an As and the river a 9 and Debus took it down.

Level 21 – Blinds 8 K/16 K ante 2 K

Alexander Debus increased his stack to 850K

Alexander Debus won a first hand defending his big blind with A9 suited after a raise from the button player.

On a flop: A-Q-8 Alexander Debus check-called the continuation-bet of his opponent.

Then both players checked the turn, another 8.

And finally on the river, a 2, Debus bet on the river 85K and his opponent folded.

A few hands later the button player moved all-in for 125K and Debus made the call in small blind with A6 offsuited. His opponent held QJ.

The final board came A-2-3-4-3

Alexander reached the dinner-break with 865K.

Titan qualifier Alexander Debus

Level 22 – Blinds 10 K/20 K ante 3 K

Alexander Debus bet 42K from the hi-jack and the cut-off 3-bet to 110K. Debus made the call.

Flop: 2♥10♦4♠
Alexander Debus check-called the bet of 132K of his opponent. 

Turn: 5♣
Same action but for 198K.

Both players checked the river and Alexander showed pocket 7s. The cut-off mucked his hand and the German player was up to 1.4 million. Then Debus lost a big pot against Frenchman Stéphane Albertini.

Debus raised to 40K and Albertini made the call from the cut-off.

Flop: J♣K♥8♦
Debus bet 58K and Albertini paid the bet.

Turn: 3♦
Debus bet 125K and the Frenchman again made the call.

River: 10♥ and the action was paralyzed. Check-check.

Debus lost the pot when Albertini showed J♠9♠

Alexander Debus was down to 620K when the average was 1.2 million with 148 players left.

Tte German player ended the day with 535K with an average of 1,450,000 chips and 142 players remaining.