Sometimes he is in Las Vegas, sometimes in Monaco or in Dublin; Paul Testud travels the world in search of tournaments. On the 15^th March he touched down in Lyon for the third Super Satellite of the Partouche Poker Tour, where he created a stir by finishing 10^th and winning himself a ticket for the Main Event in Cannes. In Lyon “Paulo” proved that he is definitely a member of the French poker elite. It is not over yet for this world poker player.

Joseph Joubert said: “amazing things only amaze once, but what is admirable is to be admired more and more”. Around a poker table, Paul Testud is the kind of player one cannot stop looking at. He has luck, craziness, talent, wisdom as well as good humour. In Lyon, at the third Partouche Poker Tour Super Satellite, Paul Testud had a broad smile as he collected his chips. And one could understand why…he was the chipleader by far with a big pot within his reach. Paulo arranged his chips in a huge pyramid while his opponents desperately tried to catch a glimpse of it, all the while keeping an eye on the game. It was a surreal situation, a real treat for the spectators.

“Often a winner and a good loser”

When he loses Paul Testud still keeps his good humour, even if he hardly enjoys it. In Lyon he was the main chipleader, but a bad round strongly compromised his place at the final table and then François Tardieu knocked him out of the race for good: “When there were only 13 players left playing I had a pair of queens, I decided that I should do something. I raised big so that I would not be bothered by ace-king or ace-queen. The person before me went all in so I called it. And you know the rest… he had a pair of aces. Having said that, it would never have happened if in the end there was a prize of 1,000,000 euros. I would never have paid!” After this terrible round, Testud’s chip count was considerably decreased. François Tardieu finished the job with Ace-king against Testud’s Ace-2. But Paulo still left smiling, satisfied with his tournament and his fun night of poker.

“An impressive list of wins”

But Paulo is not only a fun player to watch and he is not just happy to be sitting at a poker table. No, he is in actual fact a giant starved of chips! This lover of 7 Stud, his preferred version, has one of the longest list of wins in France today (even if it is not the actual longest) and it is growing month after month. He has been travelling around the world for nearly 10 years to win his opponents’ chips and has so far won 10 tournaments around the world of different versions of poker. From these wins combined he has made 1,077,131 dollars, or close to 850,000 euros. His best performances were in the United States, notably in Las Vegas. He made 69,985 dollars by winning the Bellagio Cup III in June 2007, came second in the World heads up Championship in May 2007 winning 19,397 dollars and he even won 75,485 dollars in April 2005 by coming 17^th in the Five-Star World poker Classic. Not forgetting of course his many side tournament wins in Europe, which according to him always contain the best poker players in the world. It is not surprising that in our January – February season of “live poker”, he was ranked the 10^th best player in France…

“A poker monster”

However when he is asked what his favourite memory is, he replies: “There are so many! I remember a tournament in Montpellier of 100 players. I had won the tournament and its 30,000 francs prize - a very good memory. I have other funnier memories which are also just as eventful. In Dublin, during the Irish Winter Tour, I had a double pair of Ace-Jack. My opponent had a 3 and 4 and kept playing his 4 (laughs). I continued to attack until I went all in. I did not regret a thing when I saw that he had a four (laughs)”. Out of all his amazing achievements, he has only held onto these anecdotal moments which define the Grand Paulo throughout his long years of poker playing. Paulo is one of a kind, a monster of poker who always impresses. That is why this old veteran of the green table will scare more than one at the Palm Beach in Cannes next September. We are already rushing to be there!

Because the Partouche Poker Tour is always offering you more, a new Super Satellite has been added to the PPT calendar: Andernos. Located in the south west, a few kilometres south of Bordeaux, Casino le Miami will, on the 10^th August, host the seventh and last Super Satellite of the season for no less than 200 players. It’s your last chance!

The PPT will therefore conclude its long tour around France at Andernos, with an exceptional Super Satellite and new side tournaments. Other high quality casinos in the area will also open their doors to players from the 21^st to 7^th August. The casinos are as follows: Andernos, Arcachon, Roche Posay, Salies de Bearn. Make sure you are there and good luck!

After the enormous success of the weekend of poker at Lyon, Lyon has become without a doubt the Texas hold’em capital of France. The two tournaments, at Pharaon and Lyon Vert, were full. The Super Satellite had a record number of 415 participants. The star of the weekend was none other than the backgammon champion François Tardieu, winner of the Pharaon tournament and the Super Satellite the following day. He gave a fantastic performance…

The whole Texas hold’em family was together this weekend at Lyon, with a record number of 415 participants. The structure of the tournament was the same as at the previous PPT stops. Blinds of 25 and 50, 5,000 chips per player to begin with and blinds increasing every 25 minutes. The organisation of the Lyon Vert Super Satellite was quite simply amazing. Set in one of the most beautiful casinos in France the show took place in two magnificent rooms each with different atmospheres. What more could one ask for?

16.00, the players were all there. It was an opportunity to meet some familiar people such as Robert Cohen, François Tardieu, Michel Cohen, Paul Testud or even Alexander Dreyfus and also guests such as Fabrice Tiozzo. With a prestigious venue, great people and perfect organisation, one could not have dreamed of a better start to this long and beautiful night of poker hold’em. Like the previous stops, the tone was competitive to start with. Players were very aggressive and after just a few minutes eliminated players were already wandering the halls. An hour after the tournament started, 50 players had already been knocked out and were waiting for the Side Event for 200 players to start. Due to the incredible crowds, the Side Event raised its limit to 230 players. The winner of the Side Event was Morgan Alarson. Congratulations!

Lyon Vert was also a chance to see the most extravagant poker players in France, such as Fabrice Allion. 18.30, the dinner break interrupted the tournament. 263 players were still in the tournament, but François Tardieu was not leading with only 5,600 chips compared to an average chip count of 8,000. The chip leader was none other than Paul Testud, who qualified in Nice at the Palais de la Méditerranée. He had 22,000 chips and was way ahead of the other ten leading players who each had between 10,000 and 15,000 chips.
The meal revitalised some players, but threw others…After just 8 short minutes of play, 25 players were eliminated. The level of the game and the increase of the blinds from 300 to 600 were to blame, pushing the most vulnerable players to go all in. 21.30, round 10, blinds were 600 and 1,200, the ante was 100 and the average player chip count was 19,951. Three people were in the lead: the indisputable Paul Testud with 84,000 chips, Cédric Torrent of Plouescat with 62,000 chips and Hervé Mulatero of Bandol with 55,000. Paul Testud was ahead due to an amazing move that allowed him to win an important pot of 35,000 chips. He went all in with a 6 and a 2 in his hand against an Ace and a 5 in his opponent’s hand, the flop brought him luck: 3, 4, 5. A straight allowed him a few minutes to relax before returning to the table. At this stage of the tournament, there were only 100 players left.

At 23.00, the frantic pace was replaced by a round of close observation. The players were all keeping one eye on their opponents and their chip counts and another on the screens displaying the tournament statistics. They were waiting for the slightest mistake. Because of the importance of the blinds for some (2,000 and 4,000), it was not surprising to see good hands thrown away. Many spectators crowded around the tables, waiting for players to get knocked out. When an all-in was announced, the spectators quivered at the unveiling of the River. It was a tense atmosphere that one would expect at a big tournament, but it was also friendly. Such is the charm of the Partouche Poker Tour.

00.30, when the speaker announced two players had gone all in, the other 40 stopped playing. A heavy silence descended. The spectators held their breath until they learnt that the 42^nd player had been knocked out. The silence was pierced by a thunder of applauds when a three of a kind of two was acquired at the River. Relief was felt by the 41 happy players who were still in the game. The speaker announced that they were going to Cannes and then there was a break, both events were celebrated wholeheartedly. What a great atmosphere at Lyon! We have never heard so much noise!

From then on, the players were more relaxed. And very quickly, the names of the 8 finalists were known. The biggest excitement was the absence of Paul Testud. He was at the same table as François Tardieu, which was very unnerving and he was knocked out by the Maestro. A real shock that Tardieu won with AK against A2, the table bringing nothing. Tardieu considerably increased his amount of chips. Testud came in 10^th place according to him, followed by Remy Amandola. The 8 Lyon Vert finalists were: Aurélien Angenieux, François Tardieu, Bruno Balvay, Remy Mougel, Laurent Rotger, Yves Enderli, Cédric Torrent and Christian Venturini. The rest of the story you know, François Tardieu won both the Pharaon tournament and the Lyon Vert Super Satellite. He gave a great performance, which was a particularly amazing return after his disappointment in Saint-Amand where he didn’t manage to qualify. The Maestro left Lyon with more than 20,000 euros in his pocket and a place worth 8,500 euros for the Main event in Cannes. What a great weekend…

And as well as Elsa Fayer and François Tardieu, many thanks and congratulations goes to the whole Partouche Poker Tour team, without whom the success of the Super Satellite would not have been possible. Well done also to Maxime Masquelier made it all run smoothly, to the setting up and dismantling team and the technicians who did a colossal amount of work, to the hostesses, to the croupiers, to the catering team, to the directors and to everyone at the Pharaon and the Lyon Vert who gave us two magical evenings, and of course to our fellow journalists. We miss Lyon already…Well done everyone!

54 year old Azeddine Yessad, restaurateur from Grenoble and great amateur card player, has played poker for “some time now”. His love affair with Texas Hold’em reached a peak a year ago in Divonne-les-Bains. He finds this version of poke simple and pleasant to play and it has led him to discover the world of casinos. One year later, he is back in Divonne for the Partouche Poker Tour Super Satellite. Calm, tranquil and patient as usual, Azeddine Yessad dreams about his beautiful victory. These are the words of a wise man:

Hello Azeddine, how have you been since your beautiful victory in the Super Satellite at Divonne?
Very well thank you. I am very happy that I experienced such a great moment. I mad it to the end out of 347 players; that is not bad [smiles]. That Super Satellite was a great event for poker and also for me. I came with about ten friends who suggested I register. Today, I do not regret it one bit. They were eliminated, some even came close to the end, but they will try again in Lyon on the 15th March.

How did you find that Super Satellite?
It was my first tournament and I have to say I am smitten! It was really very nice, comfortable and well organised from beginning to end. The breaks were good and important for the players. The Partouche Poker Tour team always took care of its players, particularly with the dinner buffet that was spectacular. I’ll say it again; it really was a great event for poker and for the players. I met people that I hadn’t seen for ages, and got to know others that I didn’t know before. We had a good laugh, ate well and played well…we really had a lot of fun.

And the level of play?
I found the level of play very high. There were some very tough players, particularly at the final table. For example I found Samir Chaib [his final opponent] very good. He played seriously until the end, except maybe for the last move where he thought I was bluffing, but I wasn’t…After that, he lost a bit of clarity due to tiredness. I on the other hand was exhausted [laughs].

At what moment did you think that this tournament could be yours?
There was not a particular moment. But I said to myself at one specific point that maybe I should concentrate. It is for sure this that helped me get to the end. I remember that I got up to speak to a player behind me and when I came back to the table, I saw that my hand was a queen and an eight of diamonds. But the croupier said to me “too late”, so I folded…the flop was dealt with 3 diamonds including a king and an ace. Three players went all in and I had the best hand. It was a reminder about fate…

Now it is Cannes and its mythical Palm Beach!
I like poker and what I want most is to have fun. I registered for Divonne to have fun and play cards, it was that simple. But it is true that when there were only 100 players left, I said “why not?”. Now I will go to Cannes with the same mentality. That is to say calmly, and then we will see if I play well.

Calmly ok, but there are 2,000,000 euros to be won! What would you do with this much money?
[Dreaming] It is true that it is a lot of money. I would give some of it to the associations that I have supported since I stared. Then I think I would use the rest to travel a lot.

The excitement at Divonne is all over! The second Super Satellite of the season was an event worthy to be part of the largest tournament in the world. Seamless organisation, an outstanding welcome, superb décor and talented players: a perfect location for this long and beautiful evening of Poker to take place. Azeddine Yessad, the winner of the stage, is passionate about cards and football. It is green surfaces that he knows!

The sixth Partouche Poker Tour has made the Alps tremble and the Mont Blanc fade and rightly so; the size of this super satellite is simply enormous. After the success of Saint-Armand-les-Eaux, Divonne-les-Bains has confirmed that the Partouche Poker Tour is the definitely the European poker event of the year. This amazing night of poker was filled with joy, tears, screaming and laughter. What a treat for Texas hold’em amateurs! Divonne-les-Bains also beat the participation record of Saint-Armand with a total of 347 registered players. It could not have started better.

The participants streamed into the room that had been reserved for the Partouche Poker Tour, to Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York”. Each player was invited to take their place around one of the 37 tables. Along the side of the huge room, a giant screen was set up to keep players updated with the tournament’s progress. The croupiers stood by ready, waiting for the master of ceremonies Numa Benhamou to start it all off. No sooner had this been done than the cards were dealt… and the sound of chips clicking echoed around the room. It was 4pm.

“the speed of a derby race”

From the beginning, the tone was set: the players wanted to fight as soon as possible! The blows followed one another and the all in bets flew in every sense of the word. Like at Saint-Amand-les Eaux, the players teased each other, showing off their regional poker skills and their home casino respectively. 275 of the players there had qualified through satellite tournaments and they teased each other continually. A good war, as one says. Between Divonne-les-Bains and Lyon Vert, Palavas and Nice, the matches took on the appearance of a derby race. Poker is more than just a game, it has become a sport! An inter-casino tournament was even born. Each player wanted to prove to the next that their town is the best in terms of poker. It was not rare to hear “look, he is not the only one left from Palavas. It is about honour!” At 5pm, there were only 318 participants left. As for the unhappy losers, they consoled themselves at the 5 cash game tables in the Grand Casino.

At 6pm, certain players had already differentiated themselves from the rest by the size of their all in bets. This was the case with David Tavernier at table 25, Frank Mihalic at table 23, Samir Chaib at table 12 and Thierry Bourdoulous at table 11. The break for dinner began and again Divonne did itself proud with the sumptuousness and refinement of its dishes. A huge buffet was provided for the players with exquisite savoury dishes from the four corners of the world and only good tastes. After the royal feast, the tournament continued. Pepped up, the participants continued their struggle, always more aggressively. With all in bet after all in bet and from bad beats to bad beats, the losers continued to add up until the Prize Pool was displayed on the giant screen. A sign that everyone’s desire, to know who has qualified for Cannes, was approaching quickly.

“Standing Ovation!”

12.30am. The 35th player left to thunderous applause. There was a collective sigh of relief…The final group had been formed. The chip leader, and one of the seven future finalists, Philippe Olivier had 179,000 chips. One would have thought, therefore, that the players would play without raising and that discussions would become shorter. This was not the case. The losers left the tables in dribs and drabs. It was only an hour an a half later at 3am that the seven finalists were known: Yann Reytier, Philippe Olivier, Eddy Glaude, Jonathan Khalifa, Samir Chaib, Azeddine Yessad and Massimo Confortin. And finally it was the eldest of the group, Azeddine Yessad, who emerged brilliantly as the winner to end a fantastic and emotional final. The second Super Satellite drew to a close with applause from a large audience. The standing ovation was not reserved only for the finalists, but also for the Partouche Poker Tour team, lead by its project manager Maxime Masquelier, who worked throughout the night to have the best tournament possible. And it paid off….I am looking forward to the next Super Satellite in Lyon Vert on the 15th March.

* A big thank you to croupier Geoffrey Doco for his priceless help. See you soon Geoffrey!