Malta Chilipoker Open 2009 - Results:

Malta Chilipoker Open 2009 - Results, 1st through 5th. Check out our gallery for a few shots taken during the tournament. More info & photos will follow soon.

1st - Umur Hotipoglu € 13,000

2nd - Massimiliano Privitera € 8,670

3rd - Simon Legougue € 5,160

4th - Kenneth Vella € 3,470

5th - Gordon Mifsud € 2,800



Malta Poker Events

Malta Poker Events - Seminar Update

Malta Poker Seminar
The Malta Poker Events’ Poker Seminar came to an end last weekend, on Sunday the 18th April. The event was held over two days at the Mediterranean Conference Centre, Valletta.

The educational event targeted poker players with an active interest in No-Limit Hold’em was coordinated by local organizers – Malta Poker Events – who are currently leading the live poker scene on the Maltese islands with their mix of community building efforts and live poker games at the local casino poker rooms.

The young and dynamic team envisioned the project several months ago, looking for the right mix of knowledgeable speakers, who also possessed the skills to transfer such knowledge to listeners in a fun and entertaining way.

The Malta Poker Seminar was headlined by professional poker player, WSOP Gold Bracelet winner and two-time WPT Champion Ron Rose. Ron, who was also a WPT Boot Camp instructor in Las Vegas, NV, flew in for the event from the USA delivering an entire day of presentations, sharing his experiences playing against other professionals on various televised events with those in attendance. Ron covered many topics during his presentation including poker basics, calculating pot odds, implied odds, betting strategies, mathematics of poker, bluffing, stealing, table image and tournament play – essential tips for those aspiring poker players to improve their game.

At the beginning of the seminar Ron presented the delegates with selected scenarios in which each of the delegates was asked to answer a set of multiple choice questions. This was done to determine the delegates’ pre-seminar poker IQs. After Ron’s presentation was over, the same scenarios were presented again, and the delegates’ post-seminar IQs were compared to their pre-seminar poker IQs. A show of hands gave staggering results, as more than 90% of the seminar delegates saw an improvement in their test scores of anywhere from 10 to 40 percent.

Ron was also supported by Ari Pietarinen, The Pokerspokesman, from Helsinki, Finland. The amicable Finnish speaker is another professional in the poker world, earning a living and supporting his family through the success and consistency he has achieved from playing No Limit Hold’em, the world’s favourite card game. His speech about the “transition from an amateur to a poker pro” was a warm and honest delivery; and through his tales of the ups and downs of “going pro,” Ari painted a realistic picture to those aspiring to follow in his footsteps.

“Responsible Gaming” was also included on the Malta Poker Seminar agenda. Here, Malta Poker Events selected Linda Aklundh as the best possible candidate for this delicate subject. Thanks to her experience in the field of psychotherapy, and the training she has followed through her affiliation with Gamcare, Linda’s presentation sustained everyone’s attention for the full delivery, while she gave specific advice on recognizing symptoms of compulsive gambling, and offering suggestions on ways to help relieve such symptoms before they become harder to resolve.

“Poker Out of the Box,” by Norman Darmanin Demajo from the Time 2 Think Foundation, was a fresh interactive delivery which enthralled the audience at the MCC. The brain-tickling presentation focused on how patterns are formed in human beings’ thought processes. Norman’s reflections were solidified by proving [through practical exercises performed by the delegates] how patterns tend to dampen creativity, resulting in a narrower spectrum of choices in the decision making process. The information was greatly appreciated by the poker players who experienced this first hand when trying one of a number of exercises which Norman prepared for this occasion.

Malcolm Tortell moved in with his presentation entitled “Working with Emotions: Maximise Effectiveness and Minimise Interference in Poker” where he defined “going on tilt” as a scenario in which a player experiences increased emotional activity in a situation where this can be detrimental to his chip stack. Malcolm offered advice on how such emotional interference may be dealt with in practical ways such as breathing exercises, getting in the zone, and other methods.

The Malta Poker Seminar was caught on tape and short clips including interviews with all the speakers will soon be available for viewing in the video gallery section of the Malta Poker Events website.

Malta Poker Events

Ron Rose and Poker Spokesman in Malta

Ron Rose and Ari Pietarinen have landed in Malta. Both Poker pros will be speakers at the Malta Poker Seminar which is being held on Saturday the 18th April and Sunday the 19th April at the Mediterranean Conference Centre.

Meet both speakers tonight at the Portomaso Casino. Speakers will be answering any queries players may have regarding the Malta Poker Seminar and the topics being discussed in the educational poker week-end.

Malta Poker Events

Malta Poker Events - Satellite Update 9.04.09

Another fantastic event at this week’s Malta Poker Events satellite tournament. The event was held on Thursday the 9th April at the Portomaso Casino. With two weeks to go, players are definitely giving the Malta ChiliPoker Openits due importance as one of Malta’s most anticipated Poker events. The satellite tournament attracted 43 Players who competed for 6 prizes which included 4 Malta ChiliPoker Main event Tickets [€330 Buy-in] and 2 tickets for the Malta Poker Seminar, headlined by Poker pro, Ron Rose.

The 5 tables allotted to the satellite were filled with poker players from different walks of life and different nationalities like Malta, Germany, Uk, France, Czech Republic and Austria. The majority of players were male, yet we noticed a positive increase in the number of female players compared to the previous weeks.

The tournament lasted around four and a half hours with almost half the players out of their seats by the first 90 minutes play. Early hands seen in the first stage of the tournament included Anthony Deguara holding AK where he went up against Lina Theuma holding an AQ. Tony pushed with 5900 chips and hit a King on the river sending Lina out of the tournament with her dominated Queen.

Karsten Busch’s all in and final hand got called by Kevin O’neill who held a better hand and a greater than average chip stack at this time. The flop uncovered a queen that gave Kevin a pair of queens which remained the highest valued cards on the felt by the river. This gave Kevin an even stronger position than he held before, turning him into chip leader on his table. O’neill knocked out another player, Andrea Stellato holding AK in his final hand when he went up against Kevin, holding pocket tens, and all in. The players hands didn’t get stronger when combined with the community cards. The deal won Kevin all of Andrea’s chips.

Trevor Borg, a new face at the Malta Poker Events tournaments, pulled a flush on the river against his opponent who held a respectable QQ. Trevor pushed all in as his final last move in the hand which got called winning him his opponent’s pot. Trevor kicked out another player when his AA went up against 88. None of the player’s hands improved and Trevor won yet another sizeable pot, giving him a favourable position at this stage of the tournament.

Trevor Caruana, a regular at the Malta Poker Events games, who won his ticket to this week’s satellite by placing fifth in last week’s game, got trapped by Matthew Barry’s Flush which dominated Trevor’s KJ. Barry claimed all of Trevor’s chips with his move.

Kevin O’neill who was still on a good run so far, encountered a setback when he caught a KQ. Three players were in on this hand, with bets being called by Adrian Sciberras [A7] and Stefan Kaindlstorfer [KJ] who was on two pairs as the flop was showing K2J. A king on the river made the waters more dangerous for Kevin who was now holding a set of Kings against Steffan’s full house. Kevin pushed all in only to be called by Steffan who won the hand beating both players and giving him a much greater advantage as the tournament was halfway through.

Matthew Barry came out victorious in yet another hand when he called Mario Magri’s all in. Mario pushed all in holding a K10, and Barry called with his AJ. Mario, holding a flush draw and gut shot lost the hand as Barry hit two pairs. The paired AJ held their strength, finishing off Mario’s chances to enter the top six positions.

Down to the final table, the average stack was around 11,000 chips with the chip leader holding around 25k. Here, Luke Galea, one of the more focused players throughout the tournament held pocket 10’s as he gave his final push. He got called by Anthony Deguara holding KQ who paired a Queen on the turn, thus eliminating Luke.

Anthony’s hand strength was forced once again onto Chris Sammut, low stacked at the time. Chris went all in holding 97 yet he got called by Anthony Deguara, holding K6. Anthony’s King paired up on the felt winning him all of Chris’s chips

As the action started getting tougher, Anthony Deguara went all in with an A7 and got called by Etienne Do’s A6. None of the players hit on the flop turn or river, yet a pair of Kings and 2 over cards surfaced on the table which saved Etienne Do as the hand resulted in a split pot between the two players.

By this time the blinds had reached 800/1600 and 6 players were left in the game. The game slowed down considerably with far fewer hands being called. All the remaining players were eligible to prizes at this point as the tourney paid out 4 main event tickets as well as 2 Malta Poker Seminar tickets. Two players out at this stage would result in the end of the tourney, so players were playing very carefully in order to secure their seat in the Malta Chili Poker Open.

An all-in by Etienne Do, holding A10 got called by Barry who, also holding A10 called Etienne’s bet. There was the possibility for a flush, yet the pot ended up split between the two players. This was the second time Etienne showed his cards, and his second split pot on the final table.

The next hand saw the table going down to five players when Daniel Briffa went all in with 6400 chips while holding A10. He got called by Etienne Do whose 77 kept their strength when the community cards showed 45K96.

Anthony Deguara, now grinding his way through, came to a turning point in the tournament when he went all in with 3,200 chips. He got called by Etienne Do and Matthew Barry holding KJ and QJ respectively. The felt was Queen High, but Anthony’s pocket Kings held up against the other player’s cards by the river which allowed him to triple up turning him into the second biggest stack on the table.

After several more tight plays on the table, Anthony Deguara went all in with his Hooks [JJ] and got called by Stefan Kaindlstorfer, the chip leader at the time. Stefan was holding JQ which gave him two pairs as there were a J and Q on the felt, yet Anthony’s trips gave him the advantage here giving him chip leader position, now holding over 17000 chips.

Another heads up between Anthony and Stefan saw Stefan go all in with AJ against Anthony’s K6 which hit a King on the flop. Stefan won this hand though as he also paired his Ace on the flop when the table showed a K5A77

The tournament came to a close at the 13th level, with the blinds at 1400/2800. The final hand saw Anthony push all-in when he hit the nuts on the river with a full house holding 45 in big blind position. To his misfortune, Barry [K8] was drawing a dead straight which he hit on the turn as the 4 on the river sent Barry out in 5th place. The final deal showed 54764 on the table.


The Satellite Winners 1st through 4th:
Malta ChiliPoker Open Main Event Tickets [Final 4 positions]
Anthony Deguara
Stefan Kaindlstorfer
Matthew Calascione
Etienne Do

Malta Poker Seminar Tickets [5th and 6th]
Matthew Barry
Daniel Briffa

2 more satellite tournaments will be held next week on Thursday the 16th April at the Portomaso Casino and the Oracle Casino. The events are scheduled to start at 20:30Hrs

Winners wil get the chance to win tickets to the Malta Chilipoker Open, and the Malta Poker Seminar. The Malta Poker Seminar is being held at the Mediterranean Conference Centre on the 18th & 19th April 2009. Professional Poker player Ron Rose will be headlining the event.

The remaining tickets for the Malta Poker Seminar are available from the Portomaso Casino, the Mediterranean Conference Centre and may also be booked through info@maltapokerevents.com

Photography from the satellite tournament may be viewed in the photo gallery at maltapokerevents.com

Win Malta Poker Seminar Tickets on XFM

XFM have 2 tickets to give away to the Malta Poker Seminar taking place on Saturday and Sunday 18th and 19th April.

During the Big Drive Home with Jay and Lee from Monday 13th April, XFM listeners will be asked to SMS and register for the Malta Poker competition. Each listener wishing to enter must text Malta Poker and their full name to 50619400.

A list of entrants will be compiled and during the Big Drive Home on Friday 17th, 2 separate entrants will be called and asked 3 questions about poker.

Should they answer all 3 questions correctly the caller will win a ticket admitting them to the Malta Poker 2 day Seminar worth €145 euros.

Malta Poker Events

Malta Chilipoker Open - Satellite Tournament

Malta Chilipoker Open - Satellite Tournament

Malta Poker Events Satellite tournament taking place on Thursday, the 9th April at the Portomaso Casino, St.Julians, and the Oracle Casino, Bugibba, Malta.

This week we have scheduled 2 tournaments which will be taking place at two separate locations. You may participate at the casino of your preference.

Time: 20:30Hrs
Buy-In: €37+3
1st Prize – Entry to Malta ChiliPoker Open Main Event [Worth €330]
2nd Prize – Entry to Malta ChiliPoker Open Satellite Tournament [Worth €37+3]

We recommend early registration to avoid disappointment.

Malta Poker Events - Malta Chilipoker Open Satellite Update

Malta Poker Events - Malta Chilipoker Open Satellite Update

The fifth Malta Poker Events Satellite tournament attracted 30 players who all shared the same goal: To win a seat to the Malta Chilipoker Open being held at the Portomaso Casino from the 24th till the 26th April 2009.

Payouts for last night’s tournament included three seats to the €330 Malta Chilipoker Open event and three tickets to next week’s satellite.

The players were all seated by 20:30 when the tournament commenced. Various familiar faces plus a host of new ones graced the tables with their different styles and strategies. Some of who were sporting headphones, sunglasses and caps, mimicking their idols as they appear on televised events like the WSOP, WPT and other international events.

Most of the players were Maltese yet there were also some foreign players who participated in the satellite, from which players started dropping out after a few hands were dealt. The 3 table tournament was down to two tables by the beginning of the first break.

Following the intermission, the weakest players began to get blinded out and initiated a series of pushing tactics in order to double up and increase their chances of making it to the final six positions. The tactic worked for a few, yet the majority lost their chips to better stacked players who either trapped the weaker ones, or called, simply because of their relative stack size hitting pairs and trips by the turn or river.

Lawrence Galea bubbled in seventh position against Clive Tong, who paired his Ace [5 kicker] against the KQ held by Lawrence. He was followed by Hubert Micallef whose AQ didn’t hit develop into a stronger hand against Joseph Grech’s pocket 8’s. Hubert won a ticket to next week’s satellite. The next player out was Mario Magri, a 9 to 1 underdog with his Q8 against Trevor Caruana’s A8. Mario also made it into the top six and won himself a seat to next week’s satellite.

The remaining players at this stage were Trevor Caruana, Clive Tong, Joseph Grech and Joseph Camilleri. Here Trevor Caruana, who was relatively short stacked started pushing very aggressively which resulted in him quickly becoming chip leader.

Trevor did not maintain his position though, as Clive, who was the short stack a few hands before, managed to take some of Trevor blinds. In addition, Trevor also started to call several hands against other players, only to fold before the turn in most of them.

A match between Clive and Joseph Grech saw an all in from Clive who hit trips on the flop only to be called by Joe, who hit a full house with his 9,2. Luckily for Clive, the turn and river were 3 and 3 which resulted in a split pot between the two players, who also benefited from Trevor’s 3500 bet after Joe’s call. This was a deciding hand for Clive who luckily survived, giving him a slightly bigger stack than when he entered it.


The game started getting to a close as Trevor’s chip stack started deteriorating. The final hand saw Trevor push once again with his A7 only to be called by Clive. Trevor didn’t hit on the flop, or turn, and when the Ace surfaced on the river, it gave Trevor the higher pair, but it also resulted in a straight for Clive, who won the final hand of last night’s satellite.

Thanks to the great attendance last night, 6 prizes were given out to the players who made it in the top 6 positions.

Prizes were awarded as follows:
1st through 3rd - €330 Malta Chilipoker Main Event winners:
Clive Tong, Joseph Grech & Joseph Camilleri

4th through 6th - Satellite tickets for next week’s tournament:
Trevor Caruana, Mario Magri & Hubert Micallef

Next week’s satellite will be taking place at the Portomaso Casino on Thursday the 9th April. The event is scheduled to start at 20:30Hrs. Early registration is recommended.

For photos of last night’s satellite please visit the Gallery at MaltaPokerEvents.com
You may contact us for more information on info@maltapokerevents.com