Scandinavian Poker

CAMBRIDGE, ENGLAND-There might be a Scandi out there wondering who at the Scandi Masters won the crown. Hate to tell you....PartyPoker and Off the Wall Productions won't let you know until October when it is aired on Scandinavian Channel 5 television. I can tell you the final table began at 1 p.m. and ended around 8:30 p.m. and that once poker play had officially ended, Brocket Hall released the alcohol...mostly beer and wine, but Aki Pyysing had stashed some Scotch Whisky and was willing to share. We had been dry since the beginning of the week. Private cash games of Chinese poker and Hold'em broke out, Scandinavian rap music blasted about, and things otherwise just got quite drinky. The celebration was still going strong when I left Brocket at 5:3o a.m.

In all despite jet lag and the overall Scandi language barrier, I enjoyed the tournament held in a British mansion with a scandalous past.

P.S. I just found out that parts of The Omen II (scenes of the American Ambassadors residence) were filmed at Brocket.

WELWYN, ENGLAND-Dark clouds hang low and a hard wind blows at Brocket Hall today. A large storm is moving in from the west threatening heavy ran and flooding to coastal towns, but inside it is quiet, except for the sound of clanking chips at the final table. Meet the six contenders who are playing for the Scandinavian Poker Masters crown.

Albert Kirk Iversen from Copenhagen said his heat was very aggressive with a lot of raising and re-raising.

The final table wasn’t in sight after the lunch break because he had been raising a lot and quickly lost a third of his chips.

“They all read me and I had to fold,” he said.

Iversen said he simply got very lucky towards the end raising with marginal hands.

“I got re-raised all in by short stacks and got lucky,” he said.

The first lucky hand was against bracelet winner Mats Rahmn. Iversen raised 30,000 with A-5 offsuit, Rhamn went all in for 90,000 with a pair of kings. Iversen won after the flop revealed an ace.

Later Iversen raised 30,000 with Q-9 suited against Martin Petersen who held K-Q. Petersen went all in and Iversen called and got his nine.

From Malmöe, Sweden, Rickard Johansson played in the WSOP main event this year, but hopes to be more successful at the Masters final table.

He said the strong players in his heat came forward quickly.

“It was pretty early that four of us took command,” he said. “Some of them had a pretty early out. The only really good player was Aki Pyysing, but he lost before moving to the TV table.”

Once at the televised table play went fast because many of the players were low stacked. Johansson was chip leader most of the time, and wasn’t about to let that change when he was heads up against Lars Kjestrup.

Johansson had K-10 and raised 47,000 against Kjestrup who went all in. Johansson called.

“I decided to take the shot. If I had a tell, I was going to call him,” he said.

Kjestrup was empty with 7-9 off suit when Johansson hit the king on the flop. Johansson said by then the game was pretty much over. He had accomplished his goal.

“I’m a real competitive guy so there is no second place for me,” he said. “I am not aiming for second. It was do or die.”

Chris Bjorin is originally from Sweden, but currently resides in London.

He went heads up with a low stack against Kaspar Kjeldsen who had 65 percent of the chips.

“I played a bit conservative,” he said. “I got some good cards and the Danish [Kjeldsen] knocked most of the players out. I got lucky when we were heads up.”

He said the tournament, set up in shoot out fashion, was challenging.

“To win the heat shoot out style you have to be a strong player,” he said. “You have to play a lot of hands; you can’t just sit and wait.”

He’s been playing Holdem for 20 years, but prefers to play Stud or Omaha.

WELWYN, ENGLAND-Well the Scandinavian Masters Crown is safe. In Heat 6 today David Ulliot, better known as Devilfish, was the first to bust out of his heat today. Wasting no time, Devilfish along with his pristine, silently submissive China doll girlfriend left Brocket immediately before anyone could find him.

WELWYN, ENGLAND-From Holstebro, Denmark, Pernille Ravin was one of the two ladies invited to play in the Ken Lennaard Invitational (KLI) at Brocket Hall. She placed third in her heat barely missing the opportunity to continue onto the final table.

“I was really close,” she said, “and I was really lucky.”

She went all in six times and was ahead five of those times. The final blow happened when Juha Helppi’s A-K beat her A-9 knocking her out of the tournament. It was her birthday, and she had wished for a win, but it would have to wait. In the Scandinavian Masters, Ravin busted out quickly. She said she couldn't get the previous day's loss out of her head.

As the dealer pulled her chips to Peter Hedlund two players got up from the table to give her a hug.

“I was satisfied with my play,” she said. “I played really well, but when you make even a little mistake it is fatal.”

She said being the only girl at the table is more challenging.

“In the beginning I really have to try to get respect from the boys. I don’t want them to bully me around so I start to re-raise and re-re-raise,” she said. “That’s when it’s satisfying for me because I got the respect that I wanted.”