Interesting hands of IFP’s European Nations Cup
IFP’s new ‘Match Poker’ technology allowed for the first time ever to collect data from four 3-hour+ sessions of play containing 51, 65, 71, and 72 hands respectively (259 hands in total). Here are some interesting hands we’d like to share with you.
Read between the lines
Here’s the frequency of how many times each team scored above average (blue) and how many times they scored below average (red). Perhaps this is the clearest visual representation of why Ireland became champions!
The Quad 6 Hand
Hand 128 | J9 | QT | 66 | 99 | K7 | T5 | TOTAL | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Netherlands | -25 | 10300 | 10075 | -250 | 0 | 0 | 20100 | 14 |
France | -25 | -50 | 5175 | -1000 | 0 | 0 | 4100 | 13 |
Russia | -50 | -50 | 5400 | -2200 | 0 | 0 | 3100 | 12 |
Hungary | -25 | -150 | 4700 | -1925 | 0 | 0 | 2600 | 11 |
Poland | -25 | -50 | 1150 | -475 | 0 | 0 | 600 | 10 |
Cyprus | -150 | -150 | 350 | 200 | 0 | 0 | 250 | 9 |
Estonia | -25 | -50 | 10075 | -10000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
Ireland | -125 | -50 | 1075 | -1075 | 0 | 0 | -175 | 7 |
UK | -25 | -50 | 2175 | -2675 | 0 | 0 | -575 | 6 |
Serbia | -25 | -125 | 2275 | -5000 | 0 | 0 | -2875 | 5 |
Lithuania | -150 | -50 | -125 | -4625 | 0 | 0 | -4950 | 4 |
Bosnia | -25 | -50 | -150 | -5225 | 0 | 0 | -5450 | 3 |
Spain | -25 | -50 | 2750 | -10000 | 0 | 0 | -7325 | 2 |
Denmark | -25 | -50 | 675 | -10000 | 0 | 0 | -9400 | 1 |
The Netherlands destroyed the field in this hand, achieving two separate double-ups against the 99 (no other team got beyond the flop with the QT in Seat 2). One double-up would’ve been enough, however, since they also minimized the damage when they held the 99 in Seat 4. Cyprus was the only team to win with the 99 (re-raising pre-flop to take a small pot) but slow-played their quad 6s to death! Estonia’s uber-aggressive play in both spots evened itself out, and it was Denmark and Spain who lost out most with the 99s without managing to compensate with their 6s. Two other interesting points to note from this hand – Cyprus might have gained a point over Poland if they hadn’t got involved in the blinds (half the other teams simply folded both spots). The UK (Ross Boatman) also gained a point over Serbia by folding a 3k river-bet and making the correct laydown.
The KK v AT Hand
Hand 150 | Qd6d | 44 | AT | A7 | Tc2c | KK | TOTAL | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lithuania | -650 | 10075 | 825 | -50 | 0 | 1650 | 11850 | 14 |
Russia | 0 | 11200 | -700 | -50 | 0 | 1075 | 11525 | 13 |
Hungary | 0 | 10075 | -975 | -50 | -250 | 900 | 9700 | 12 |
Estonia | 0 | 7350 | -25 | -50 | 0 | -175 | 7100 | 11 |
UK | 0 | 3275 | -1500 | -250 | 0 | -150 | 1375 | 10 |
Ireland | 0 | -1400 | -25 | -50 | 0 | 900 | -575 | 9 |
Netherlands | -150 | -2000 | -700 | -150 | 0 | 2250 | -750 | 8 |
Spain | 0 | -150 | -250 | -50 | 0 | -800 | -800 | 7 |
Serbia | 0 | -700 | -25 | -50 | 0 | -925 | -925 | 6 |
Cyprus | 0 | -150 | -2400 | -125 | 0 | 1050 | -1625 | 5 |
Bosnia | 0 | -350 | -25 | -50 | 0 | -3200 | -3625 | 4 |
France | -10000 | -250 | -25 | -50 | 0 | 2725 | -7600 | 3 |
Denmark | -175 | 2700 | -1950 | -50 | 0 | -10000 | -9475 | 2 |
Poland | -50 | -150 | -725 | -5250 | 0 | -10000 | -16175 | 1 |
With an A23 flop (2 diamonds), Th on the turn and 5h on the river you might expect this hand to go to the KK half the time (pre-flop) and half the time to the AT (post-flop). NOT TRUE!!! Lithuania were the only team to win with the AT here – amazing stuff!
The Final Hand of the Tournament
After 258 hands | ||
---|---|---|
1 | Ireland[C] | 2011 |
2 | Russia [Q] | 1993.5 |
3 | Spain [Q] | 1986.5 |
4 | UK [Q] | 1973.5 |
5 | Estonia [Q] | 1970 |
6 | Cyprus | 1949.5 |
7 | Denmark | 1947.5 |
8 | Poland | 1946.5 |
9 | France | 1944 |
10 | Serbia | 1907.5 |
11 | Bosnia | 1879.5 |
12 | Lithuania | 1871 |
13 | Hungary | 1868.5 |
14 | Netherlands | 1841.5 |
Of course the teams didn’t know if it was close or a forgone conclusion at this point – they only knew how things stood at the beginning of the session. And with just the last hand to be dealt 5 of the teams were safely through, plus the European Championship decided. However, that final qualifying spot for the IFP Nations Cup Finals was still up for grabs with just 5.5 points separating 6th-9th place. If ever there is a lesson to be learned in sport, to keep fighting to the end, this is it!
Hand 259 | 54 | Q5 | 72 | 84 | K2 | 86 | TOTAL | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cyprus | -50 | 175 | 0 | 0 | 450 | 675 | 1250 | 14 |
Poland | -50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 150 | 100 | 13 |
Spain | -50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 125 | 75 | 12 |
Russia | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -25 | 0 | 10 |
Denmark | -50 | 0 | 0 | 75 | 0 | -25 | 0 | 10 |
Netherlands | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -25 | 0 | 10 |
UK | -150 | 75 | 0 | 0 | 75 | -25 | -25 | 8 |
Ireland | -50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -25 | -75 | 6 |
Estonia | -50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -25 | -75 | 6 |
France | -50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -25 | -75 | 6 |
Bosnia | -150 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -25 | -175 | 4 |
Serbia | -125 | -125 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50 | -200 | 3 |
Hungary | -150 | 75 | 0 | 200 | -625 | 150 | -350 | 2 |
Lithuania | -50 | 0 | 0 | -375 | 0 | -25 | -450 | 1 |
Exhausted and fatigued from close to 15 hours play over the two days, all six French players folded their final hand. Poland and Denmark also only contested the hand in just one spot each (achieving a 2nd and 5th respectively), but Cyprus kept their heads down and won this “nothing hand” in three spots (with Q5, K2 and 86). The hosts kept their 6th place and haven’t stopped partying since.