The Festival Series – Malta 2023: Trip Report Part 2

See Part 1 to find out about my first two days at The Festival Series, Malta.

Day 3: 8-Game Tournament, More Cash Action

Portomaso Casino has a regular Saturday 8-game tournament when there are no festivals on, with an affordable buy-in of €40. This means that, along with other locals, I have had the chance to practice my live 8-game tournament skills more often than most poker players. Also, last Summer I was fortunate enough to be in Las Vegas and able to buy into the $1,500 8-game event, where I busted just short of the money and felt good about how I played against a tough field. At one point I even witnessed a Phil Hellmuth blow-up when he was busted at the next table by Josh Arieh! Phil came over to my table to tell Brandon Shack-Harris all about his misfortune.

With all this experience relative to European fields, I was excited to be able to play an 8-game event in this series. The low buy-in of €110+€15 was enticing enough that there were several players who entered an 8-game event for the first time. It took me a little while to get going, but once in the zone, I was building my stack without any real resistance. There was even a hand of Razz where I had the bring-in with a Queen showing all the other 5 players at the table were holding 6 or lower, and I managed to receive a walk! The player to my right had been on his phone checking something and when it came to his turn to act, he quickly checked his cards and folded without looking up to see what else was going on…

The event attracted an impressive number of 93 entrants, and I was happy to make it to the final table.

Also at the final table was Scott Kenyon, sporting the same mixed games t-shirt as me from Bad Beat Clothing! My table mate from the Sviten Special tournament and Day 1’s cash game, Barrie Dear, was also present, as was German national and Maltese resident, Simon Ruckert. In fact, Bad Beat Clothing was also represented by Simon, who was sporting the “Mixed Games Rock” t-shirt that he had received at the Cardplayer Lifestyle Mixed Games Festival in Malta in Autumn 2022!

The big stack at the final table was held by Lithuanian Jonas Jurksaitis. Jonas had an aggressive style and was running well when players stood up to him. He had already ended the run of a few players before the final table and this continued. Simon’s tournament was ended in a hand of Limit Hold ‘Em when he had check-raised all in on the turn with the top pair and a 6 high flush draw against the second pair, ten high flush draw of Jonas. The club on the river sealed Simon’s fate.

I eventually found myself three-handed, meaning we would play three hands of each game before moving on to the next. This tournament ran the order of games in a different way to that adopted by the World Series of Poker, with No Limit Hold Em and Pot Limit Omaha one after the other. Starting the three-handed play with around 187k in chips I soon built it up to 487k in fixed-limit games. Then came the round of No Limit Hold Em, where I found no playable hands. On the second hand of Pot Limit Omaha, I found myself on the button with 362k in chips and AAJT, with three clubs. I raised, Jonas set me all in from the small blind and then winced when I told him I had aces. He needn’t have worried – he had a good double-suited hand and took the pot down, and me out of the tournament, with a flush. If I had won that pot, I felt I would have had a great chance to take down the tournament going into six rounds of fixed-limit games, but I was happy with how I had played and a nice cash for third place. And Jonas, who completed the victory shortly after, was a worthy winner for sure.

After the final table ended, I went out for a celebratory beer with Simon Ruckert then returned to the casino to sit down to play some mixed games cash. This time I managed to make a profit of €165 so it was a decent day’s work at the Festival Series for me!

During the day, I found out that another elderly family member, who had been staying with us in Gozo the previous month, had been taken ill and admitted to hospital back home in England. Another worry to add to the rollercoaster of emotions that would play out this week. This lady has since been discharged from the hospital, thankfully.

Day 4: HORSE Play

Before entering the HORSE tournament that would take place on Day 4, I checked in with my wife to make sure she didn’t need me to end my time on the Maltese mainland early and come home to help her cope with the mounting family issues. Ann is extremely supportive of my poker journey and reassured me that she was happy with me continuing the hunt for a poker trophy.

I registered for the €225+€25 HORSE tournament feeling a blend of optimism after my previous day’s good run and worry about family members struggling with health issues. There was a further factor at play that had an emotional impact: my football team, Sheffield Wednesday, were due to play the second leg of a League One play-off semi-final in England. The Owls have been a constant feature throughout my life, I was a season ticket holder for several years and watched them at more than 70 away grounds. The regular season ended with the club notching up 96 points, a record both for the club and for any team that didn’t achieve automatic promotion in the English game. The first leg of the play-off semi-final had just about ended our hopes of promotion, with Peterborough United registering a 4-0 win on their home ground. This left a mountain for Wednesday’s team to overcome in the home leg at Hillsborough.

Back to the poker.

This poker tournament had a tougher, 67-player field, than the 8 Game event, the higher buy-in was probably too much for No Limit Hold Em players fancying a crack at something different. The previous day I had played well, and carried that form into this tournament, making good reads and gradually building my stack throughout the day. Some run good played a part in all this of course! But I faced some tough opponents and stood up to them with no fear and played all the way according to my reads, which were consistently accurate. I probably missed one value bet: must make sure I don’t make that mistake again…

Down to fourteen players and with eleven to be paid I was seated with a World Series of Poker bracelet winner, from a HORSE event no less, on my immediate right.

Jens was playing the bubble very aggressively while the rest of the table was tight and mostly passive.

Around this time the football match I referred to above kicked off and I followed it by streaming the game on an app on my mobile phone. An early goal for my team lifted my optimism a little: could we overcome a 4-goal deficit? Surely not!

The aggressive style Jens adopted looked like building him a stack for a while, but he started to run into some strong hands, and this gradually chipped away at his stack. He departed the tournament a little short of the money and wished good luck to everyone at the table. Jens is a resident of Malta these days and is always a gentleman: he takes his losses and gains at the table with the same smile on his face and is a pleasure to spend time at the tables with.  

Sheffield Wednesday (The Owls) managed to score a second goal before halftime and my heart took another leap. It was a strange mix of emotions, but I had to stay focused on the tournament despite the excitement of the football match and the worry of two family members in hospital.

I had a player on my left who was extremely hard to shake off hands. This was something I had noticed very quickly when I was moved to this table, and it had restricted my ability to attack pots without the best hand. I nevertheless tried to take down a pot in a hand of Seven Card Stud where I had the highest upcard showing (K) and he called with a 3. My hole cards were also high – A9 – but I didn’t improve on fourth street when both of us picked up an 8. I decided to keep up the pressure with another bet. We were on the exact bubble at this point, and I thought he might give up: but he called again. At this point I think his range is exactly one small pair – probably split 3s – and surely, he will fold to a bigger bet size on fifth street. He was given a 6, and me a ten, but my bet was met with yet another stubborn call. Time to get creative…

As the dealer put out sixth street, I got to my feet to look across the table at my opponent’s upcards. We both picked up nothing in particular – I think his card was a deuce, mine a seven. If I bet now and then bet seventh street, I believe he will call along with his pair of 3s. I checked he checked behind. Seventh street cards out, I sat and looked at my card – unimproved with a Queen – and confidently bet out. My opponent looked at his card, shook his head, tanked for a while… and folded. The act I put on was an attempt to convince him I had hit at least a pair, and if I had, that was going to be higher than his threes.

That pot put me in a very comfortable position.

Meanwhile, at Hillsborough, The Owls managed to find a third goal halfway through the second half.

Play continued in a very cagey fashion, but the money bubble finally burst.

Time was passing in the football match… six minutes of added time were announced. The opposition players took turns sitting on the ground and need treatment. It looked like my team was going to go out 4-3 on aggregate. But with all the time-wasting, the six minutes became eight, and with the last kick of the game, the equaliser was scored! I gave a loud cheer, and the players at the other tournaments in the room must have thought someone had hit a lucky river!

By now the other players at my table were aware of the football match that was distracting me and were all happy for me. Just as the match went into extra time, the final table bubble burst and we were moved to a different room.

Find out about how the final table went – along with the result of the football match – in Part 3 of this trip report.