Thursday, 28th March 2024 20:36
Home / Uncategorized / EPT12 Prague: Exit stage left

Nobody likes getting knocked out of a poker tournament, of that I think we can all agree. But there are many different ways to handle this fact of life. Not all of them are dignified. Of that I think we can all agree.

There’s the ‘fist bang’ of frustration, typically when a player gets outdrawn on the river and they just can’t keep the anguish in. There’s various variations on that theme, all of which turn heads and raise eyebrows from those in the vicinity. They soon turn and continue what they were doing, the outcry just a mere passing blip on their conciousness.

At the other end of the spectrum is Mr Nice Guy, he – or she – is out but can deal with it and makes sure to wish those at the table good luck as they go on their way. Again there are various extremes of this and Friend of PokerStars Jaime Staples just did something rarely witnessed when he suffered the ignominy of elimination.

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Jaime Staples, EPT and Europe first timer
As we discovered yesterday this is not only Staples’ first EPT event but also his first time in Europe. He’d traversed the choppy waters of Day 1 and made it to Day 2 with a stack only slightly above starting (31,200) but Day 2 had not been kind to him.

The Canadian was nursing a stack of just over 10 big blinds when we arrived at his table and was weighing up a big decision. Bjorn Wiesler had shoved all-in from early position for about 15 big blinds and Staples was in the tank, trying to work out if now was the time to commit his meagre chip stack. After 30 seconds or so he decided it was, he moved his chips across the line, and when everyone else folded it was time for a showdown.

Staples: 6♣ 6♥
Wiesler: A♦ Q♣

The 9♦ Kâ™  J♥ flop wsn’t exactly ‘clean’ as far as Staples was concerned, it meant Wiesler still had a 41% chance of winning the hand and after the A♣ came on the turn it was Staples who needed help. The 4♣ river wasn’t what he was looking for and it meant it was the end of the road for Staples in his first EPT Main Event. He made a point of going round the table and shaking hands with everyone at the table.

The last person he got to was Wiesler and as he shook his hand he said: “Nice playing with you, use them well,” you wouldn’t have guessed that Staples had just been knocked out as he was smiling and happy as he exited the tournament room. He wasn’t upset to have lost, he was happy to have had the opportunity to be in a position to lose.

You can follow all the Main Event action on this page.

If you like moving pictures then you’ll be happy to hear that #EPTLive coverage of the Main Event has begun. Watch that here.

And side event coverage – lots of it – can be found here. Whilst the results of the events that have already finished are being collated here.

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