EPT Dublin: From out of nowhere Peters wins in DublinWhen Reuben Peters sat down at the table today he was the first player to go all-in. It was the first hand and he pretty much had to. As one of the short stacks he knew he wouldn't have long to double up and position himself better to make it through the day. As it turned out no one called the all-in. Had they done it might have changed the outcome of EPT Dublin, but it was a fighting spirit that kept the PokerStars qualifier from Colorado alive, and ultimately led him to the moment when he would seemingly defy logic and become the latest EPT champion.
How it looked at the start of the day:
Seat 1: Thierry Van Den Berg, 35, from Holland - PokerStars qualifier - 274,000
Seat 2: Daan Ruiter, 24, Groningen, Holland - 646,000
Seat 3: Reuben Peters, 45, from Colorado, USA - PokerStars qualifier - 176,000
Seat 4: Annette Obrestad, 19, from Norway - 788,000
Seat 5: Anders Pettersson, 20, from Sweden, PokerStars qualifier - 166,000
Seat 6: Casper Hansen, 24, from Denmark. PokerStars qualifier - 360,000
Seat 7: Trond Eidsvig, 22, Aalesund, Norway - 184,000
Seat 8: Michael Durrer, 42, from Germany, PokerStars qualifier - 247,000
Seat 9: Reijo Manninen , 47, from Helsinki, Finland - PokerStars qualifier - 480,000
In certain segments of society there exist people who are different to everyone else. Greeted in awe by the world's followers these uber-folk are called by their first name and first name only. Ever since the WSOP Europe named its inaugural winner the poker world has known one of its number by the name 'Annette', and nothing more.
Annette Obrestad - It has been a word spoken in reverential terms here in Dublin, even before she looked likely to follow her success in London by winning her first EPT. Miss Obrestad - and that may be the last time her surname is ever used - barged through to the front of the pack on day two and didn't look back. And today she took an incredible lead all the way into the heads-up match with Reuben.
He had been just one of eight players treated like sparring partners. Deft at using her stack to maximum effect Annette doled out punishment at every turn with five players eventually done and dusted at the hands of the Norwegian.
First it was Casper Hansen. When he found queens he pushed in finding Annette meeting him there with pocket aces. The Danish PokerStars qualifier took €30,630 for ninth place. Thierry van den Berg, another PokerStars qualifier, went next 30 minutes later. He moved in on a flop featuring two aces only to be called by Dutchman Daan Ruiter who held a third. Thierry had tried the bluff and it had blown up in his face. Out with an 'Oops', Thierry took away €47,650 for eighth place.
The next twenty minutes saw a further two players exit, both PokerStars qualifiers from a six strong final. First it was the German Michael Durrer. He beat his 12th place finish in Baden last month, but was clobbered by Trond Eidsvig here when he moved in with A-Q only for Trond to show Q-Q. It didn't finish Michael, but the 20k it left him with went in next hand. Annette added the finishing touches, sending Michael to the wings.
He was followed by Anders Pettersson, a 20-year-old PokerStars qualifier from Sweden, who pushed in with Q-7. Trond called with A-3, the ace being enough. In a little over an hour we were down to five players, with Anders gone in sixth place for €83,380.
By now Annette had a stack of 1.3million, ahead of Daan Ruiter on 770k. But second in chips was no guarantee of safety and when Daan lost a pot to Reijo Manninen, which doubled up the Finnish PokerStars qualifier, his tournament was suddenly in jeopardy. Moving all-in behind a raise from Annette, Daan cringed when his A-T was bettered by her A-J. It was the difference of one rank in the deck, but a huge difference in the tournament. The Dutch railbirds called out their support but the board brought no favours. Daan was out in fifth place for €105,510.
Meanwhile, with all attention focused on the Norwegian wunderkind, Reuben Peters tried hard not to be a piece of the scenery on Annette's road to victory. He moved in shortly before the break, Q-J diamonds against Annette's A-K. The flop 9-2-8, with two diamonds, gave Reuben options with a gutshot straight and a flush draw. As it turned out he needed neither with the queen on the river doubling him up. Play merged into the break and players stretched their legs, and we'd seen the eventual winner flex a few muscles. But most people had missed it.
Such was the pace it was not long after the break that Trond Eidsvig's tournament came to an end. Again it was Annette and for a second time she did the deed with aces. Trond left in a slight state of shock, his face pleading for sympathy from someone somewhere and it was easy to understand his confusion. We can only hope the €127,630 for fourth place will settle his shredded nerves.
It had now become even more one-sided. Was it simply a matter of time before Annette finished off Reuben and Reijo and cement her legend into fact? What if Reuben eliminated Reijo? He'd have close to a million chips and be a double up away from seizing the tournament by the throat? It seemed feasible for those wanting to deny one player's dominance, but it wouldn't happen.
When PokerStars qualifier Reijo Manninen went it was Annette forcing him to leave. Behind on the showdown, A-3 to Reijo's A-J, he would depart in third place when the three hit the turn. €178,680 for the Finn.
Annette still had Reuben to beat. He'd seen the turmoil, the players repeatedly thwacked by the 19- year-old girl with a reputation that stretches back to Oslo. Not much was seen or heard of Annette even as she played in full view of the rail this week. Hidden by a fringe, sunglasses and a stack of chips to her chin, she only came out from behind her stack to shake the hand of the vanquished.
The heads up battle begins
The hypothetical plot to topple Annette seemed crushed. Or was it?
Out of synch with events so far Reuben was thrown a lifeline, doubling up when he pushed with bottom two pair and found Annette calling with top pair. It gave Reuben the million chips he would need to have a chance of catching her, a pot which she would later say was a mistake to play.
Then the hand came that would turn the game on its head. Following a Reuben bet Annette re-raised, over 100k more. Reuben called, watching as Annette bet 420k. With a hand that would remain a mystery he moved all-in. Annette couldn't risk it and folded. Suddenly the switch that no one thought possible just 30 minutes earlier had come about, and it would culminate with a stunning victory just a few minutes later.
The flop read T-6-3. Annette bet 230k before Reuben made the decision to settle it then and there. "All-in."
Eyes were on Annette now. She reached for a bottle of water and took a sip, and another, and a third. After the fifth sip she slowly screwed the top back on the bottle, very slowly, like she was ringing its neck. "Call."
A-T for Reuben, pocket sevens for Annette who made an involuntary 'shh' noise when she showed her cards. A four on the turn - she would need a seven or a five. A three came instead and the EPT Dublin was all over. Annette would have to take second, but PokerStars qualifier Reuben Peters from Colorado USA, was able to breathe a sigh of relief. He'd sealed an incredible and unlikely victory, the latest player to make it to an EPT via the lobby of PokerStars.com and become a champion. He's now €532,620 richer and has a place in the EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo next year.
Quotes:
Reuben Peters, winner
"Today I was getting horrible cards and Annette just ran over the table. But the blinds weren't big so there was no panic, I felt like I could take my time.
"I was not supposed to win this. I was down to five big blinds yesterday. I started as one of the short stacks and needed to double up. I got lucky, but it's good to get lucky in poker.
"When I got some cards I was able to play back her. I've played against her many times online in $100 re-buys on PokerStars but that's the first time I've met her face to face. It's by far my biggest win to date."
What will he spend the money on?
A vacation and it'll help pay for my kids education. Charlie, 12 and Martha-Jane, 14.
Annette Obrestad, runner-up
Going into the final, did you think you would win?
"Heads up I thought I could win. But I made a few mistakes. I meant to bet 220k but bet 420k by mistake. I also made a mistake on the two pair hand."
You impressed a lot of people this week
"I'm not happy though."
Players: Annette Obrestad vs. Reijo Manninen
Tournament: EPT Dublin, November 3, 2007
Situation: Final Table/Four-Handed
Obrestad open-raises the pot to $30,000 from the button with A2. With the blinds at $6,000/$12,000, the raise is a little less than three times the big blind - more an attempt to steal the blinds than it is for value.
However, Manninen chooses to protect his big blind with Q8. The reason for this call is twofold. First of all it only cost him $18,000, so he is getting better than 2-1 on his money. Secondly, this call protects his big blind. It shows other players at the table his blind is not easy prey. This is very important in the late stages of tournaments as they involve a lot of blind-stealing!
There is now $66,000 in the pot and the flop comes down 8-5-3. Manninen checks and Obrestad makes a three-quarter-pot-sized bet of $43,000. This bet is a standard continuation bet. Obrestad had taken the lead in the betting pre-flop so she continues her aggression after the flop. Once again she is looking for a fold rather than a call.
Manninen does not comply; instead he check-raises the pot to $110,000. This is a very good bet. He knows Obrestad has been opening quite a few pots from the button with most likely less-than-optimal holdings.
He also knows if a player raises before the flop they will most likely make a continuation bet whether they hit or not. So he decides his pair of eights with a queen kicker is currently the best hand and makes a pot-sized raise. Obrestad sees this bet and re-re-raises to $243,000. A prime example of multilevel thinking, this is a very bold move.
She knows Manninen knows she has been raising a lot of hands from late position. She knows he is capable of making a move on a flop that is unlikely to have helped her. This bet is another attempt to get her opponent to muck his hand.
This bet also acts as a semibluff. She doesn't have the best hand currently, but she knows she has four outs to a straight plus one overcard to the board, for a total of eight outs. With position on the button she can also opt to see a free river card if she wants.
Manninen makes the call. He thinks his pair of eights are good but he can't be sure. It will be too expensive to find out on the flop. He decides to just call and play poker on the turn.
The turn comes down 3. This pairs the board and completes the rainbow (no flush draws available). Manninen checks and Obrestad checks behind. Manninen's check is quite simple. He has a good hand but not a great one; he doesn't want to bet out, risk getting raised again and have to play a huge pot out of position with a marginal hand.
The reasons for Obrestad's check are pretty evident too. She's shown lots of aggression and she still has a player calling. When Manninen calls the three-bet raise on the flop, he's saying he has a real hand. Trying to push him off the hand here on the turn could prove to be quite costly to Obrestad so she chooses to check behind and take a free card, hoping to make her straight or a pair of aces.
The river brings down the 4. This is a beautiful card for Obrestad, making her the wheel. Manninen once again checks. He still wants to keep the pot small by checking and calling. He definitely feels he has the best hand now, after the turn went check-check, but he still doesn't want to inflate an already large pot by betting.
Obrestad, now with her straight, is sure she has the best hand. She knows from the flop betting that Manninen has a good hand and she wants to extract the most value with her river bet. She settles on a bet of a little over half the pot: $300,000. This is a great bet. It gives Manninen 3-1 odds on a hand he feels is the best.
Manninen makes the call knowing Obrestad's range of hands is very wide and he could very likely have the best hand here. Much to his chagrin, Obrestad turns over her ace deucey for the rivered wheel and the $1 million-plus pot.
This hand is very interesting for a couple of reasons. The flop shows deep multilevel thinking by both players. It also shows the importance of playing poker with position!
Obrestad was able to take control of the hand before the flop and keep control throughout. She applied increasing pressure and forced Manninen to play scared poker, which is inevitable when playing out of position.
This allowed Obrestad to take a free card on the turn and make her winning straight. Both parties played this hand well. Obrestad was lucky to make her winning straight on the river, true, but she never would have gotten there if she hadn't played her hand extremely well on the flop!
End note: Despite taking this hand, going on to eliminate Manninen and eventually entering heads-up play with a huge chip lead on American Reuben Peters, Obrestad's aggressive strategy still couldn't seal the deal on the EPT Dublin title.
