river

ANZPT Canberra Day 3: Levels 16 & 17 (blinds 3,000-6,000, ante 500)

12:55pm: Jarred Graham eliminated

Jarred Graham couldn’t recover from that previous blow and has been bundled out in unlucky 13th place.

Action folded around to Graham in the small blind who moved all in for around 60,000 with [kd][2d] but Khiem Nguyen made the call with one of the worst hands Graham could see – a dominant [ah][2h].

The flop was [ts][as][9s] and Graham was left calling for running spades, but it wasn’t to be as the [5c] turn and [4h] river completed the board. Graham will be disappointed to depart in 13th place as he’ll collect $4,690 for his efforts in Canberra.

Jarred Graham eliminated in 13th place

12:45pm: Level up, blinds 3,000-6,000, ante 500

12:40pm: Broom and Graham dented

Two of our higher profile players have just taken a pair of pretty bad beats to leave them on short stacks.

In a three-bet pot, James Broom and Sammy Huang went to war on a flop of [td][6h][5h]. Huang had led out from the blinds and Broom moved all in. Huang called with [as][kc] for just ace-high as Broom tabled [qs][qs].

“How can you call?” questioned Broom, sensing the impending doom that was about to unfold.

The [9s] turn changed nothing but the [kd] on the river gave Huang the 350,000-chip pot and left Broom with just 60,000.

On the other table, Takahiro Morooka found a fortunate double up when he moved all in for 61,500 with [ac][jc] and Jarred Graham made the call with [as][kh]. The board ran out [js][4d][ah][9d][6h] to give Morooka two pair for the double up. He celebrated excitedly but Graham wasn’t amused as he slips to 70,000.

12:35pm: Ljubicic lucks out

Mario Ljubicic was another of the very short stacks entering play here today, but he’s been unable to find the doube up required to stay alive.

Ljubicic moved all in from under the gun and found two callers in the blinds in Andrew Watson and Leigh Warne. Both live players checked down the board of [qh][8c][6c][5d][qd].

Ljubicic showed [jd][tc] for just jack-high which was no good as Watson took it down with [ac][8d]. Ljubicic heads to the cashier to collect $4,690 for 14th place.

Mario Ljubicic eliminated in 14th place

12:30pm: Gorr grabs gutterball

Aussie Millions champ David Gorr has found a fortunate double up to stay alive. He opened to 11,500 from middle position before Khiem Nguyen moved all in over the top. With about 60,000 behind, Gorr reluctantly made the call with [qc][js] and saw the bad news as Nguyen opened [jc][jh].

“You’re drawing pretty slim,” laughed Gorr as the flop was dealt [4h][8s][ts]. It was a good one for Gorr as he picked up some gutshot straight draw outs. The [2d] turn was a brick but the [9s] on the river landed Gorr the straight for the double up. Gorr is up to 150,000 with Nguyen slipping to 250,000.

12:20pm: Sibaei silenced

Naz Sibaei is the first casualty of the day after he moved his last 25,500 in from middle position and found two callers in Andrew Watson and David Gorr.

The two live players checked down the board of [2h][th][jh][2d][ks] until the river where Watson bet 15,000. Gorr folded and Sibaei opened [as][kh] for top pair, but the king delivered a straight for Watson with his [ac][qs].

Sibaei finishes in 15th place and collects $4,690 for his efforts in Canberra.

Naz Sibaei eliminated in 15th place

12:15pm: Play is underway!

The fifteen final day players have unbagged their chips and are ready to get down to business! Day 3 of the ANZPT Canberra Main Event is underway!

We have 28:01 to play of Level 16 with the blinds at 2,500-5,000 with a 500 ante.

Australians love nothing more than a public holiday. So while the Republican movement continues to rally against the Royal family, they will probably jump at the chance for a Monady morning sleep-in, thanks to the celebration today of the Queen’s Birthday.

The Queen’s Birthday long weekend in June is often noted in the calendar as a time to make a quick holiday interstate (usually minus the volcanic ash), but it’s also a date which is building some tradition here at Casino Canberra. It seems an ideal date for the ANZPT to roll into town, and that history and tradition will be reinforced today with our final table.

We return with fifteen hopefuls, with some talented cats amongst them including Jarred Graham, David Gorr, James Broom and chip leader Khiem Nguyen. Here’s how they will line up:

Table 5
Seat 1: Tristan Bain (Australia) – 263,300
Seat 2: Xiuming “Sammy” Huang (Australia) (PokerStars Qualifier) – 191,400
Seat 3: Brett Chalhoub (Australia) (PokerStars Qualifier) – 119,700
Seat 4: James Broom (Australia) – 203,700
Seat 5: Tony Kambouroglou (Australia) – 255,000
Seat 8: Luke Edwards (Australia) (PokerStars Qualifier) – 233,200
Seat 9: Gioreio Graziani (Australia) – 187,800

Table 6
Seat 1: Jarred Graham (Australia) – 95,500
Seat 2: Naz Sibaei (Australia) – 35,500
Seat 3: Khiem Nguyen (Germany) – 325,600
Seat 4: Andrew Watson (Australia) (PokerStars Player) – 233,900
Seat 5: Leigh Warne (Australia) – 311,600
Seat 6: Mario Ljubicic (Australia) – 39,300
Seat 8: David Gorr (Australia) – 112,500
Seat 9: Takahiro Morooka (Australia) (PokerStars Qualifier) – 77,700

By the end of the day we’ll be doing some crowning of our own as we recognize a new champion of Australian poker. I have it on good authority that the Queen will be celebrating her birthday by railing our live coverage of the ANZPT Canberra Main Event right here on the PokerStars Blog. We hope that you will too!

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ANZPT Canberra Day 2: Levels 11 & 12 (blinds 1,000-2,000, ante 200)

06/12/2011 By: Filed in: 2011 | General | pokerstars | Pokerstarsblog | UB

5:00pm: Gorr takes more from Broom

David Gorr and James Broom have gone at it once again, and again the pot has gone the way of the Aussie Millions champ.

On a flop of [ah][js][4c], Gorr checked to Broom who bet 5,200 before Gorr check-raised to 14,500. Broom took a few moments before making the call as the [6c] hit the turn.

Gorr considered his options before moving all in for around 40,000 chips. Broom sighed and flashed the [4d][2d] before folding. Gorr returned the favour and flashed [jd][6d].

“I knew you were bluffing!” exclaimed Broom. “If you don’t hit, I take it away from you on the turn!”

Broom takes another hit but still holds 190,000 with Gorr battling back to 55,000.

4:45pm: Level up, blinds 1,000-2,000, ante 200

4:40pm: Gorr isn’t chopping

James Broom has quietly got himself up to 200,000 in his usual school ground bully style. He almost considered another wildly aggressive play in a multi-way pot, but thankfully for his stack, he thought better of it.

Broom opened with a raise to 3,500 before a short-stacked player was all in for his last 3,200. Leo Boxell and David Gorr came along in the blinds. The action was checked through to the river on a board of [qc][as][kc][qs][ks].

Boxell led out for 6,000 into the side pot and Gorr quickly called. Broom considered all his options.

“That’s the worst call ever!” exclaimed Broom.

“Is it?” replied Gorr.

“I’m just deciding if I can jam on you two…” pondered Broom out loud, suspecting that both players were just playing for a chop.

Broom eventually folded and Gorr opened [kh][5s] for a full house to rake in the pot.

“I change my mind Dave. That was a great call!” laughed Broom as Gorr moved back up to 40,000. Boxell is in need of a double up with just 15,000 chips.

James Broom bullying his way to the chip lead in Canberra

4:20pm: Jackson runs into aces

Belinda Jackson is the latest casualty after her short stack was in the middle with [ad][jc] but she ran into Peter Davey’s [as][ac].

The board fell [qs][qd][2h][7c][3s] to leave the aces in front and eliminate Jackson from the ANZPT Canberra Main Event.

4:10pm: Putting out the door

Graeme Putt has battled hard with a short stack today but his run has come to an end. Putt moved his last 7,400 in preflop with [jh][9h] but found a caller with [ac][qs]. Putt hit a jack but its timing wasn’t the best as the board ran out [kc][8d][Tc][js][ts] to give his opponent a straight and send Putt to the rail.

3:45pm: Play resumes

The players are back with 45 players still alive in the quest for ANZPT Canberra glory. James Broom is our chip leader with around 160,000 chips with Khiem Nguyen and Scott Kerr not too far behind.

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ANZPT Canberra Day 1b: Level 7 (blinds 300-600, ante 50)

7:50pm: Day 1b, and Wally the Wombat, is in the bag

The clock has ticked down and the players have found some chatter after surviving day one action. It looks like we’ll have around 41 survivors including Team PokerStars Pro Tony Hachem who made it through the day with 18,150.

“He who survives, lives to fight another day,” laughed Hachem after a rough day at the office.

Luke Edwards, Billy Jordanou and Andrew Scarf have bagged up healthy stacks, while Michael Kanaan, Jarred Graham and David Gorr have all survived. However the end-of-day chip leader, once again, is the stalwart of Australian poker, Leo “The Mechanic” Boxell.

Late in the day, Boxell picked up a nice pot when he made a straight to better his opponent’s two pair, and will take 79,925 into battle tomorrow. There was a little controversy to end the day however, as Boxell was adamant that “Wally the Wombat” (his soft toy) should be allowed to be sealed in the bag. The floor staff weren’t convinced.

“He’s allowed in every other casino in Australian and New Zealand!” defended Boxell, “He’s the custodian of the chips!”

Eventually it was ruled that Wally could go in the bag, and with that, our day has come to an end. We’ll be back with a wrap of the day’s action and full chip counts of the field for you shortly.

7:30pm: Chevalier flushed

Danny Chevalier is the latest casualty from the ANZPT Canberra Main Event as he won’t be improving on his third place in the ANZ Player of the Year.

Manny Rodrigues opened to 1,700 before Chevalier moved all in for 7,900. However it was Khiem Nguyen that he had to worry about as he made the call to force a fold from Rodrigues. Chevalier showed [ad][th] but Nguyen had [kc][ks].

The flop of [ac][Qc][9c] put Chevalier into the lead and he stayed there through the [3s] turn, but the [jc] river gave Nguyen a flush for the knockout blow. Nguyen is up to 46,000.

7:20pm: Grujic gathers momentum

Oliver Grujic must’ve caught wind of Jesse McKenzie’s elimination as he’s been inspired to collect a nice pot from Aussie Millions champ David Gorr.

Gorr himself was on the short stack not long ago but managed to get himself up to around 30,000 prior to this hand. We caught the action on the flop of [9c][7h][jh] with Gorr check-calling for 2,300 from the small blind before both players checked the [9s] turn. On the [2h] river Gorr attempted a blocking bet of 1,000 but Grujic was having none of it as he raised to 5,800. Gorr thought for a few moments before making the call, but mucked when Gurjic showed [qh][th] for the rivered flush.

Gorr slips to 23,000 with Grujic up to 50,000 and looking strong.

7:15pm: McKenzie mauled

Jesse McKenzie has been bundled out of the tournament in unfortunate fashion. Facing a raise to 1,500 and a call, McKenzie squeezed all in for 7,300 holding pocket eights. The original raiser folded but the other player called with pocket sixes.

McKenzie was heading towards a double up but the [6][7][7][a][j] board gave his opponent the two-outer six to eliminate McKenzie from the tournament. The ANZ Player of the Year race is open once again with the remaining top five – Oliver Grujic, Danny Chevalier, Octavian Voegele and Leo Boxell all still alive in this tournament.

7:10pm: Rafferty ruled out

Tom Rafferty’s wild ride today has come to an end at the hands of Tony Hachem. Action folded around to Rafferty in the small blind and he moved all in for around 5,000 with [k][2] but Hachem made the call with [ad][3d]. An ace and a three on board gave Hachem two pair to take the pot and eliminate Rafferty. Hachem is back to 18,000.

7:00pm: Hachem hurting

Tony Hachem opened with a raise from under the gun to 1,700 and found a call from Omer Silajdzija in the small blind to see a [8h][7h][8s] flop. Silajdzija checked it over to Hachem who bet 3,200. Silajdzija made the call and the turn brought the [5d]. Both players checked before the river landed a co-ordinated [6d].

Silajdzija tossed out a single, blue 5,000-denomination chip but Hachem jumped out of the way as Silajdzija showed [9d][td] for a rivered straight.

Silajdzija is up to 55,000 with Hachem down to 9,000.

Tony Hachem struggles to get going in the nation’s capital

6:50pm: Play resumes

The players are back with the big screen saying that 51 players are still alive on Day 1b. Yesterday level seven was where we saw all the carnage, so we expect a few more fireworks again today.

Andrew Scarf is amongst the chip leaders with 65,000 while Team PokerStars Pro Tony Hachem battling on around 15,000.

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ANZPT Canberra Day 1a: Level 3 (blinds 100-200)

06/10/2011 By: Filed in: 2011 | General | pokerstars | Pokerstarsblog | UB

3:25pm: More fore Moussa

After being down early in the opening level, Joe Cabret has been working hard to find a spot to double up and get back into contention. Looking down at [ah][kc] it seemed like a good chance as he moved his last 8,000 or so into the middle, but he ran smack bang into the unstoppable George Moussa who held [ah][as].

The flop of [6d][2c][ks] gave Cabret a chance, but the [5s] turn and [4h] river left him heading for the exit. Meanwhile Moussa is up to 50,000 chips.

The unstoppable George Moussa

3:10pm: Newman binks a boat

Michael Newman has landed a double up in a cooler of a hand but he had to do it the hard way. The chips were in on the turn on the board of [kd][qc][9h][4h] with Newman holding [kc][kh] for top set, but his opponent tabled [jh][tc] for the flopped straight.

No problem for Newman as he binked the [4d] on the river to pair the board for a full house for the double up.

2:55pm: Kemp cannot budge Kerr

Scott Kerr already knew that Jai Kemp was a betting machine, however that didn’t stop Kemp from attempting a triple barrel against Kerr.

Kemp fired 1,150 on the flop, 1,950 on the turn and 4,750 on the river on the board of [ac][7s][8c][qs][2h].

Kerr thought for a few moments on the river, but knew he had to make the call down.
“Nice call,” sighed Kemp. “Can you beat a deuce?” he added as he tabled [2s][ts].

Kerr showed [ad][9d] for top pair to take it down and move up to 45,000. Kemp slips to 16,000.

2:35pm: Play resumes

The players are back following the break. 58 players are still alive on Day 1a of the ANZPT Canberra Main Event with Ricky Kroesen the only notable casualty.

George Moussa and Toothpick Tony are the big stacks in the room but there’s a long way to go.

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2011 WSOP Day 8 – The Marked Cards Conspiracy and Last 5 Pros I Pissed Next To

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

I discovered the controversy via BJ Nemeth’s tweet when he posted a photo of the back of the Four of Spades. I was surprised to see a printing error by Bicycle, a reputable playing card manufacturer for over 125 years. Printing cards became a boom in the post-Civil War era, just around the time the earliest ancestors of poker became popular among soldiers on both sides of the war. The first deck of cards I ever had as a kid was a battered blue deck of Bicycle cards, and I learned by Go Fish and Crazy Eights on that very deck.

Photo courtesy of BJ Nemeth
When I moved to Las Vegas, Flipchip asked me if I played Omaha 8. He wanted to warn me that some of the older players often marked low cards, including Aces in O8′s instance. I never played Stud 8 or Omaha 8 in casinos so I never had to worry about being hustled by card markers with extra long fingernails. Over the last decade, I played in card rooms, casinos, and home games across the country (and even a few overseas) and I’ve often encountered less than pristine decks. Were some of those cards marked? Probably. Did I care? Not one bit. If I played hold’em and suspected cards were particularly worn out and marked, I’d use one or both of my palms and fingers as a card capper so no one could see the back of my cards.

Every day, the floor staff removes/replaces sketchy cards out of decks, but a marked cards controversy pops up once a year at the WSOP. Here are a few notable ones….

- During the inaugural HORSE event in 2006, Andy Bloch tore up a damaged/worn card in protest because he was irked Harrah’s didn’t supply the tournament with a new batch of cards, and instead used the cards that had been in circulation the entire WSOP.

- In 2007, the WSOP signed a deal with a new card company — except the cards were so horrendously designed, it was difficult to determine the 6s from the 9s. A group of pros (Daniel Negreau, Johnny Fucking Chan, and Mike Matusow) complained about the cards and they were instantly removed from play as KEM cards were introduced as a suitable replacement.

- I love talking to dealers about how each event is progressing. A couple of them tipped me off to some shenanigans in the 50K HORSE event (I can’t recall the year and I’m too lazy to look it up… 2008 or 09?) when a not-so-well-known Full Tilt red pro was admonished for marking cards.

Marking cards is old, old, old school angle shooting and something you’d hear about during the heyday of crooked games at the end of the19th century, when card players had to watch their backs and not get swindled on riverboats or in frontier saloons.

In the instance, you have to assume Bicycle has slightly lower standards from what they used to be. Souvenir deck of cards don’t have to be up to snuff, but anything used at the WSOP, especially at the final table, has to live up to the highest standards. On Day 8, Bicycle failed. Miserably.

In what appeared to be one of the more bizarre rulings at the WSOP, the final table was switched from the featured TV table on the Mothership stage and moved to an outer table. Why? The blemishes on the cards (every Four of Spades and the majority of lower spades) were only visibly on the TV stage due to the extreme lighting and usage of purple/red hues which made the blemish jump out at Jon “PearlJammer” Turner. He called the floor the moment he noticed the slight discrepancy. Alternate decks were inspected and more problems were discovered. The quick solution was to move the final table away from the Mothership and onto an outer table with less intense and diffused light. The marked cards were unrecognizable to the players, so play continued.

Anyway, Jon Turner began Day 3 of the massive 4,000+ field in the Donkament as the chip leader. He advanced to the final table with the lead, but had slipped to third in chips with five to go when play was suspended. You have to assume by the time the final table resumes, new decks will used.

* * *
Links…

By the way, for a quick overview of Day 8 highlights, head over to RISE Poker to read my Day 8 recap and figure out why the hell Ricky Fohrenbach is wearing a pink wife-beater.

Also, within an hour of each other, I read two great pieces about the Full Tilt payment fiasco. Check out F-Train’s About That River in Egypt and Kim’s Full Tilt Last Out.

Also, don’t forget about Wicked Chops Poker’s More Girls on the Rail.

* * *
Last 5 Pros…

Yes, it’s back by popular demand. Enjoy…

The Last 5 Pros I Pissed Next To….
1. Andrew Robl
2. Eric Buchman
3. Alex Kravchenko
4. Jim Meehan
5. Burt Boutin

That’s it for now. Don’t forget to follow @taopauly on Twitter for daily updates from the floor of the WSOP. Also, if you’re new to the Tao of Poker and like what you’ve read, then I encourage you to support independent writers and buy my book Lost Vegas: The Redneck Riviera, Existentialist Conversations with Strippers, and the World Series of Poker.

Support indie writers by buying Pauly’s book Lost Vegas.

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MPC Red Dragon Main Event Day 3: Levels 24 & 25 (blinds 30,000-60,000, ante 5,000)

9:50pm: Level up, blinds 30,000-60,000, ante 5,000

9:45pm: More Mah

More chips and momentum for Kwan Mah as Haifeng Xue is looking a little frustrated.
Xue opened to 120,000 on the button before Mah three-bet an additional 345,000 from the big blind. Xue called and they saw a flop of [jc][qs][7c].

Mah led out for 600,000 and Xue looked interested but he eventually let it go. Mah now has a 2-to-1 chip lead with 4.4 million to 2.2 million.

9:30pm: Mah moves them all in

After Haifeng Xue got the early advantage in this heads-up match, Kwan Mah has struck back with our first all in.

Xue opened to 120,000 on the button and Mah called to see a [9s][7d][9c] flop. Mah decided to lead out for 150,000 but Xue responded with a raise to 380,000. Mah called and the turn was the [3d]. Mah checked it over to Xue who bet 325,000 but Mah check-raised all in! It was around 2.3 million more and Xue sat in the tank for several minutes before making a reluctant fold.

Neither of these players likes to be pushed around but it’s Mah who moves ahead with 4.1 million to Xue’s 2.5 million.

Kwan Mah has one eye on the Red Dragon trophy!

9:20pm: We’re heads up for the title!

After a quick pause for photos, the players are back and ready to play for the title. Here are the chip counts:

Kwan Mah: 3,352,000
Haifeng Xue: 3,212,000

It’s neck and neck! The players are really deep but these two have shown plenty of aggression throughout the tournament so it may not be a long contest (famous last words!)

9:00pm: Conrad Coetzer eliminated in 3rd place

Conrad Coetzer looked in control in this three-way battle but when he needed a little luck he just couldn’t find it as he becomes our 3rd place finisher.

Coetzer opened with a raise to 90,000 from the button before Kwan Mah three-bet another 180,000 from the small blind. Coetzer called and they saw a flop of [3h][kh][8c].

Mah led out for 400,000 before Coetzer moved all in. Mah made the call and we had ourselves one hell of a big pot!

Coetzer: [ah][9h]
Mah: [ks][jd]

Coetzer had a flush draw and overcard, but he couldn’t shake Mah’s top pair. The turn [jc] improved Mah to two pair and the river [kd] was the nail in the coffin for the South Africa. Coetzer is out in 3rd place for HK$402,300 and suddenly we are heads up!

The players are taking a quick break to setup for heads-up play.

Conrad Coetzer eliminated in 3rd place

8:45pm: Xue straight back to work

The dinner break hasn’t put a stop to the momentum of our chip leader Haifeng Xue. Kwan Mah started things off with a raise to 95,000 from the small blind and Xue defended his big blind to see a flop of [td][js][jd].

Both players checked and the turn brought the [qs]. Mah led out for 150,000 but Xue doubled the price to 300,000. A frustrated Mah let it go and our chip leader showed [kc][9s] for the straight. He’s up to 3.5 million chips.

8:35pm: Play resumes

The three remaining players are back in action following the dinner break and the cards are in the air!

The PokerStars Macau Poker Room is actually pumping this event with four events running simultaneously. The Bounty side event has just made the money, an APPT Melbourne satellite has just kicked off and the High Rollers event is down to the final table, with Nick Wong and Neil Arce still in contention. It’s all happening here in Macau!

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MPC Red Dragon Main Event Day 3: Levels 20 & 21 (blinds 10,000-20,000, ante 2,000)

3:20pm: Chan starts to warm up

We haven’t heard much from overnight chip leader Justin Chan today, as he’s been able to keep his head low and maintain his stack while the players fall around him. However now that play has reached short-handed, we’ve noticed Chan start to open up his game and play a few more pots.

He just collected a nice pot after raising preflop to 40,000 and finding calls in the blinds from Jessica Ngu and Kwan Mah. The flop landed [6d][2h][ks] and action checked to Chan who bet 77,000. Ngu folded but Mah took an eternity before making the call as the [5c] hit the turn.

With Danny McDonagh giving another warning to players about slow play, Mah quickly checked over to Chan who asked what the next payouts were before he bet 155,000. It was enough to take it down as Mah let it go. Chan currently sits with 760,000.

3:00pm: Lee jacked

Matthew Chan opened with a raise to 55,000 from the button before Saejin Lee declared himself all in from the big blind.

Chan quickly called, stood from his chair and slammed [jh][jc] down on the table confidently. He was ahead of Lee’s [9h][9s] and extended that advantage on the [qd][4d][js] flop. The turn was the [9d] and suddenly there were rumbles about potentially another runner-runner quads moment. It wasn’t to be as the [2d] bricked on the river to eliminate Lee in 12th place. Chan is now up to a very comfortable 750,000 chips.

2:50pm: Seet open

Nathanael Seet has been sent to the rail after moving his short stack in preflop with [ks][qd] and finding a call from Haifeng Xue on the button who held [ts][th].

The board ran out [ah][8c][ad][7c][3s] to leave Xue’s pair in front and eliminate Seet from the tournament in 13th place. He makes the next pay jump to HK$62,500.

2:45pm: Level up, blinds 10,000-20,000, ante 2,000

2:40pm: Choi chopped

We’re down to a baker’s dozen as Korean Byung Choi has been eliminated in 14th place. Choi was down to his last 57,000 after losing the earlier clash with Haifeng Xue and he moved them all in preflop with ace-four. Two players called with Jessica Ngu’s ace-seven taking it down when a seven fell on the flop.

The elimination of Byung Choi leaves us with thirteen players remaining

2:35pm: Chung flushed

Andrew Chung shoved his short stack from under the gun with [kh][qh] and found a call from Baton Fung. All looked set for a chop when Fung rolled over [kc][qc] for the same hand but the board surprised all as it arrived [6d][6c][4c][3c][ah].

Fung makes a flush to move up to 500,000 and eliminate Chung in 15th place.

2:30pm: Shorties survive

The short stacks keep surviving with several recent double ups.

Mamoru Takahashi found a double with ace-king against Nathanael Seet’s ace-queen, while Saejin Lee doubled with pocket threes against the king-queen of Haifeng Xue.

Xue was able to recover moments later with a double up of his own with his ace-king holding against the ace-deuce of Byung Choi. Fifteen players still remain.

2:10pm: Fascinating five-bet

An intriguing preflop war has erupted between Yong Kin and South African Conrad Coetzer, with the Malaysian getting the upper hand. Kin started off with a raise to 46,000 from the small blind. Coetzer popped it up another 45,000 from the big blind before Kin four-bet an additional 55,000. Keeping with the pattern Coetzer responded with yet another raise, as he made it another 65,000 on top.

Kin flat-called and then immediately gave the triangle symbol to get the “ALL IN” disk from the dealer to announce his intention on the [6d][3s][5s] flop. Coetzer gave it up and Kin breathed a sigh of relief. He’s up to 600,000 with Coetzer slipping to 250,000.

Yong Kin continues to impress at the Macau Poker Cup

1:55pm: All the Luk

Edward Yam opened with a raise to 42,000 with Tim Luk flat calling in position to see a flop of [4d][5h][2s]. Yam checked and Yum moved all in to put Yam to a decision for around 140,000 chips. After several minutes of thought (he doesn’t like to do anything too quickly!) Yam made the call with [3h][3c] but he found himself trailing a deceptively strong [ac][as].

The turn was the [9d] and river the [8h] to eliminate Yam in 16th place for HK$51,400 in prize money. Luk is having some luck today as he moves up to 700,000.

1:50pm: Gabor gone

Gabor Peteri couldn’t recover from the previous blow at the end of the last level as he becomes out 17th place finisher.

Peteri moved all in with [ad][ts] with Conrad Coetzer doing the damage with [5d][5s]. The board was spread [9c][8s][9s][7d][kh] to leave Yam’s pair to hold. Peteri heads to the cashier as Yam is now up over 300,000.

1:45pm: Play resumes

The remaining 17 players are back and the cards are once again in the air as the Macau Poker Cup Red Dragon Main Event continues!

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MPC Red Dragon Main Event Day 3: Levels 18 – 19 (blinds 6,000-12,000, ante 1,000)

1:35pm: Ten-minute break

1:30pm: What a recovery!

Not long ago Edward Yam was time wasting with a one big blind stack. He’s now up to 250,000 after a remarkable double up through Gabor Peteri.

Yam was all in preflop with [7d][7c] against the [qh][th] of Peteri, and things looked very grim when the flop landed [qs][8h][2h]. Peteri took the lead with a pair and added a flush draw to leave Yam with just one out.

The turn was the [qc] which was actually a good card for Yam as he went from one out, to two outs. He needed it too as the [7h] spiked on the river to the roars of the rail to give Yam a full house for the double up. Peteri is left with 80,000.

1:25pm: Wong gone

Tommy Wong is next to be eliminated in an interesting clash with Kwan Mah. Wong started things off with a limp from under the gun before Mah raised to 40,000. Justin Chan came along before Wong re-raised all in for an additional 77,000. Both Mah and Chan called to see a flop of [2h][7d][qc].

Mah declared himself all in to force a fold from Chan as Wong tabled [kc][qs] for top pair, but Mah held [as][ac] for the rockets! The turn was the [ad] to seal the deal and the river was a meaningless [9c]. Wong collects HK$40,200 for his 18th place finish.

1:20pm: Redraw for final two tables

Albert Lau has become our 19th place finisher. He went with pocket sevens against the ace-king of Jessica Ngu which connected with the board of [ah][4s][8d][2s][9c].

With that the players are now redrawing for the final two tables of play.

1:15pm: Stall tactics

After being crippled in a pot with Nathanael Seet, Edward Yam was left with just small change but he was determined to make it go a long way. Yam has been constantly stalling, and the clock has been called on him by Danny McDonagh twice. Yam at one point held just over one big blind and timed out before reaching a decision – blatant stalling.

Danny McDonagh has said that Yam would now only have one minute to act on every decision.

However moments later Yam did find a triple up with his king-two spiking a pair of kings. He’s back to 40,000 chips.

1:10pm: Khong Lam cut

After having his pocket kings cracked a few minutes ago, Yong Kin has been on a rush as he was responsible for consecutive eliminations.

Kin won another race as he called the 67,000-chip all in bet of Khong Lam. Kin held [3c][3s] while Lam had the overcards with [ad][kh]. The board ran out [tc][ts][8c][qs][9c] to leave Kin’s pair in front and eliminate Lam in 20th place.

1:00pm: Sayonara Suzuki

Takuya Suzuki is next to go after he first lost preflop clash with [ks][qc] against the [as][9d] of fellowJapanese player Mamoru Takahashi, before his last chips were in the middle with pocket sixes against the [ad][qh] of Yong Kin.

The board ran out [jd][th][ah][ts][5s] to pair up the ace of Kin to eliminate Suzuki in 21st place.

12:55pm: Mcadams perishes

Peter Mcadams’ battle with his short stack has come to an end after he pushed all in for his last 100,000 with [9s][7s] but Tim Luk made the call with [ah][jh].

It was all over on the [8h][qh][4h] as Luk flopped the nuts to leave Mcadams drawing stone-cold dead. The [5s] turn and [th] river completed the board to eliminate Mcadams in 22nd place.

12:50pm: Spiderman’s great escape

We gave Kwan Pao Mah this nickname “Spiderman” yesterday for his spider web embroided cap that he wears, but he’s just pulled off an escape act worthy of a super hero to find a remarkable double up and stay alive.

When action folded to Mah on the button he moved his last 135,000 all in however Yong Kin woke up with [ks][kd] in the small blind and snap-called. Mah sheepishly revealed [jd][8c] and stood from the table in resignation.

The flop landed [4c][4h][ts] and Mah was in a world of pain but he picked up outs on the [7c] turn. He’d need a nine on the river to stay alive, and BOOM the [9h] fell to give him an amazing backdoor straight as Kin dropped his head into his hands in dismay.
Mah doubles up to nearly 300,000 with Kin now on the short stack.

Kwan Pao “Spiderman” Mah finds a magical double up

12:40pm: Kings crack aces

We arrived to the table on a dangerous looking flop of [jh][9h][qd] to see two players all in and Edward Yam in the tank. He eventually folded as Saejin Lee opened [kd][kh] only to see Peter Mcadams table [as][ac].

Lee had a straight draw but instead he spiked the [kc] on the turn to take the lead and leave Mcadams shaking his head in disgust. The river was the [9d] and Lee more than doubles to 300,000.

Mcadams was crippled but managed to find a double up next hand when he flopped a straight to stay alive.

12:35pm: Level up, blinds 6,000-12,000, ante 1,000

12:30pm: Slow start

The first twenty minutes or so haven’t seen a lot of action as the players are either sitting really tight or overbet shoving preflop to steal the blinds. Matthew Chan did find a much-needed double up with king-jack when two kings hit the board against Tommy Wong.

Meanwhile Jessica Ngu was a late arrival and only just took her seat. She’s the second biggest stack in the room, so I guess she can afford to miss a few blinds and antes

12:10pm: We’re underway!

The final 23 have taken their seats and unbagged their chips as Day 3 of the Macau Poker Cup Red Dragon Main Event is now underway!

The final countdown!

This is it. The final frontier and a potentially life-changing day for 23 people that are about to walk into the PokerStars Macau Poker Room in the Grand Lisboa Casino. All of them have dreamt of becoming champion but only one can walk away with the title.
The man out in front has done it all before. PokerStars sponsored player Justin Chan claimed glory at the 2010 Macau Millions and today he’s a good chance to become the first player to win two major titles in Asia.

Also today will be the conclusion of the High Rollers Event which last night attracted a massive field of 69 runners which is a tremendous result for PokerStars Macau.

“We fully expected over 200 players to enter the side events on Saturday.” said APPT Senior Events Manager Robin Lim. “But having such a high percentage of those players in the High Rollers event is just fantastic. It really bodes well for APPT Macau in November which has the same buy-in.”

Keep your browser locked onto the PokerStars Blog and give that refresh button a workout as we look to crown a new champion of poker in Asia!

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MPC Red Dragon Main Event Day 2: Level 18 (blinds 5,000-10,000, ante 500)

7:40pm: Day 2 brought to an abrupt end – 23 survive!

With 24:38 showing on the tournament clock, Danny McDonagh announced for each table to finish the hand they were on and that’s it! The 23 remaining players looked around at each other in confusion, but yes, it’s true. They are all safely through to Day 3 of the Macau Poker Cup Red Dragon Main Event.

It was announced that the players will be returning in the same seats that they finished the day, with a redraw once we reach the final two tables tomorrow.

Leading the way will be Justin Chan, who had a day out, despite a late hit, to bag up close to 800,000 for our end-of-day chip lead.

We’ll have confirmation of the chip counts and a complete wrap of the day’s action for you shortly. Meanwhile for those in the Macau region, get yourself down to the Grand Lisboa Casino for tonight’s High Rollers event which kicks off at 8:10pm local time. Already there are over 30 confirmed registrations with hopes for a field close to 50 players.

7:35pm: Tan out

Ivan Tan has been sent crashing to the rail in unfortunate fashion as Gabor Peteri caught a two-outer to stay alive. Peteri had shoved with pocket fives and Tan made the call in the big blind with pocket tens, only to see a five find its way onto the flop. Tan was crippled and eliminated moments later.

7:20pm: Chan drowns slowly on the river

Justin Chan and Haifeng Xue are two players who like to take their time, so when the two tangled in a big pot it took a long time to reach a conclusion, but it was worth the wait.

Chan started things off with a raise to 23,000 which was matched by Xue on the button. They saw a flop of [ad][8h][4c] and Chan’s continuation bet of 35,000 was called by Xue. The turn brought the [td] and Chan checked to Xue who slid out 40,000. Chan took his time before making the call as the [2d] was the river card.

Chan checked again to Xue who broke three stacks of 20k away from his stack and slid them one by one into the middle. Unfortunately with no verbal announcement, his actions were ruled as a string bet, and the bet stood at 20,000. It was back on Chan now who thought for a long time. Facing such a small bet, it appeared his only decisions were raise or call, as there was too much in the middle to fold pretty much anything.

Eventually Chan came out raising as he made it 50,000 to go. Chan has showed down strong cards all day, and a river check-raise is supreme strength but Xue quickly called.
Chan showed [ac][kh] for top pair, top kicker, but he’d been rivered as Xue tabled [ah][2h]. Chan drops to 780,000 with Xue up to 420,000.

7:00pm: Play resumes

26 players are still in contention for the Macau Poker Cup Red Dragon Main Event title with Justin Chan a red-hot favourite after that ridiculously big pot at the end of the last level. He has 1,000,000 chips which is more than double his nearest rival.

The whisper is that we might only be playing for another level or so before we wrap things up for the day. By that stage we should be down to two tables and getting close to the final table.

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MPC Red Dragon Main Event Day 2: Level 18 (blinds 5,000-10,000, ante 500)

7:40pm: Day 2 brought to an abrupt end – 23 survive!

It was announced that the players will be returning in the same seats that they finished the day, with a redraw once we reach the final two tables tomorrow.

Leading the way will be Justin Chan, who had a day out, despite a late hit, to bag up close to 800,000 for our end-of-day chip lead.

7:35pm: Tan out

7:20pm: Chan drowns slowly on the river

Justin Chan and Haifeng Xue are two players who like to take their time, so when the two tangled in a big pot it took a long time to reach a conclusion, but it was worth the wait.

7:00pm: Play resumes

The whisper is that we might only be playing for another level or so before we wrap things up for the day. By that stage we should be down to two tables and getting close to the final table.

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