Benny Glaser Shares What Makes EPT Monte Carlo a Favorite Poker Stop
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Much better known for his non-Hold’em mixed game prowess, Benny Glaser has been showing lately that he’s also comfortable with his no-limit hold’em game. The U.K. poker pro recently finished second in the Unibet Irish Poker Open €2k high roller, an event he won in November, and also cashed 21st in the €1,150 Main Event there.
Here at the PokerStars and Monte-Carlo®Casino European Poker Tour, Glaser is playing more no-limit hold'em tournaments, today finishing 45th out of 1,425 entries in the €1,100 French National Championship. In his final hand, he got his remaining stack in with ace-king suited but couldn't find help versus James Romero's pocket jacks, settling for a modest cash of €3,950.
The Draw to Monte Carlo
PokerNews talked with Glaser during a break of the tournament to get his thoughts on the event and the festival. Despite the rather high expenses required to stay in Monte Carlo, there's plenty that keeps Glaser coming back to this particular stop.
“It’s probably my favorite or second favorite EPT stop, behind Barcelona, maybe like third or fourth overall for the year. I really like Monte Carlo, I think it’s a really cool city.”
"I really like Monte Carlo, I think it’s a really cool city.”
In addition to a beautiful locale on the French Riviera, nestled on the coast of France and minutes from Italy, Monte Carlo offers fields that Glaser finds appealing, even though his Day 2 table draw in the €1,100 featured some tough competition in James Romero and Jack Sinclair.
“There’s a lot of fun players that you wouldn’t get to play with otherwise, like lots of French and Italian guys that don’t normally play the rest of the year, and fields are good.”
He put in simple terms for us just what he means by “fun” players: “They like to play hands… and I like to play hands against them.”
Mixed vs. Hold'em
Generally thought of as a mixed-game specialist with three non-hold'em WSOP bracelets to his credit, Glaser enjoys the hold'em events but still prefers other variants.
“I wish there were more mixed games to play,” Glaser admitted to PokerNews’ Sasha Salinger, “But obviously these no-limit hold’em fields are good. I still feel good about my no-limit hold’em game. I play a lot and still study a lot."
If he had his way, there would be a no-limit single draw 2-7 event on the schedule, a game that is rarely spread outside of the annual WSOP.
“They like to play hands… and I like to play hands against them.”
“I think it’s a really interesting game… It’s kind of known to be like the purest forms of poker; there’s a lot of skill involved, there’s a lot of room for creativity, and I think it’s really fun.”
Following his Monaco trip, Glaser is looking forward to five days off before embarking on what will be “a long few months.” He’ll be playing the SCOOP online for two weeks from his home in England before shipping out to Las Vegas for the duration of the WSOP, where you can be sure he’ll be back to playing his fair share of non-hold’em events.
You can follow all of the remaining action of the EPT Monte Carlo right here as our live reporting team brings updates, and watch the PokerNews interview with Glaser below.
Images c/o PokerStars/Neil Stoddart (lead image) and Danny Maxwell
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