The WPT tournament in Barcelona started around 5pm. A friendly hour for me that isn’t a morning person... It started pretty well, I sit at my table, and I hear a lot of French. They weren’t  the greatest of players and the only danger was the player directly to my right: Roland de Wolfe.

I observe the table for a few orbits, and then this hand comes out of nowhere.

Blinds 25/50, everyone starts with 15,000.

A very loose player calls in middle position. Three other call behind him. The small blinde (Roland) Calls, and I decide to raise with ATo to 400 from the big blind. Everyone passes... except Roland of course. He hesitates a bit and calls. Knowing he’s a strong player that doesn’t like to play out of position I put him on a medium pocket pair (55/99) or suited connectors, like QJs or JTs.

The flop comes 9d7d4c (I have no diamond). He checks, I make a continuation bet of 850 to get rid of him, and he calls...

The Turn brins a T, so know I have top pair. Roland checks, and I check behind for pot control (I only have a pair no need to play a huge pot)

The river is an 8, roland bets 800, about a third of the pot. All the medium pairs have now got a set, jacks have made a straight, QJ the nut straight, and most suited connectors make two pairs (in which case this could be a blocking bet to stop me from betting big on a bluff). I decide against wasting 800 and fold.

After this I proceed to fold for a while, when this hands come up. A French player calls 150 in middle position, the next player calls, I make it 900 with Ac9c on the button. Both players call.

Flop is 5c7c8d. Both players check. The first one has a stack of roughly 11,000 and the second one 7,500. I cover both of these.

I bet out 1500 with my gutshot and flush draw. Both call. I think the second one has a lower flush draw, butI have trouble putting the first one on a range.

Turn is the 4h. There is now a four card straight on the board.

Both player check! Impossible for them to check a 6 with so many dangerous draws out there. I decide to bet 9000 which is basically all in. The first one thinks about it and passes AA, the second one folds also.

I know have a few chips, and try to open up my game, in spite of a bunch of trash hands (j5 82... etc)

I come back on day two with 19000 chips, and apart from a pair of Kings that allows me to steal a raise and his two callers, I do not see anything all day. Not that I get bored, because Michel Abbecassis is at ma table and makes a superb call, all in  with 2nde paire on a flushy flop!

Blinds 400/800-100. My stack is back to 10,000. I finally find QTo on the cutoff, and move all in. I can increase my stack by 20% if no one calls, but I get action from the small blind that holds A5o. I don’t know what he thought, but it was an inspired call because he won and took me out of the tournament.

Thankfully Sir Cuts avenged me... Congrats to Ludovic Lacay, he finishes 2 with class! Next I’m off to Dublin where they will see what I am made of!

Arnaud Mattern