When we arrived at Table 5, Aaron Benton, from the big blind, and Stewart Ballard, from the cutoff, were both committing a raise to see the dealer flip over a flop.
Benton opted to check-call a bet of 800 here and then both players tapped the table on the turn. A landed on the river and this time Benton would bet, firing out 1,100. Ballard made a fairly quick call and the two players went to showdown.
It may be cool outside, but things are starting to heat up inside the SKYCITY Queenstown Casino, especially on the table of Lee Nelson.
Our ears pricked when we overheard Nelson get into a bit of an altercation with the floor staff, so we wandered over to see what was up.
It took a few explanations from Nelson, and a second floor person to be called, before we got our head around what had led to this point. Apparently Seang-hai Ching had tossed out a single 500 chip from early position. His intention was to raise to 375, but with a late position player already calling 150, the action was on Nelson in the big blind who announced raise. It was at this point that this got a little tense, and a tad confusing. Nelson had announced raise, but wanted his option back once he learned that Ching's bet was to be ruled as just a call.
“It changes the whole situation if his bet is just a call and not a raise,” exclaimed Nelson.
However the action stood and Nelson was forced to raise. He made it 800 and Ching called as the third player got out of the way. Both players quickly checked the board to the river where Nelson decided to take a stab at it with a bet of 825. Ching thought for a few moments and made the call.
Nelson opened for not a whole lot, as Ching's were good to take down the pot and end the drama.
Roy McCarthy and Steven Oliver have just rumbled in a big pot on Table 2. We didn't arrive to the action until all the chips were in the middle and a board was already out on the felt. We aren't sure when all the chips went in the middle, but what we do know is that McCarthy's was good enough to trump Oliver's . With that, McCarthy is now sitting behind a very healthy stack, while McCarthy is struggling.
Picking up the action on a flop of , PokerStars Team Online member Roy Bhasin called a bet of 1,100 before the appeared on the turn. The small blind fired out again for 1,250, but this time Bhasin took his time before announcing a raise to 3,500. His opponent quickly called.
The river was the and the small blind led out for a third time, this time for just 1,650. The pot was over 12,000 but Bhasin decided to just flat-call as his was too good for his opponent’s .
Asia Pacific Poker Tour President Danny McDonaugh has just announced to the field that at the moment, with 149 total entries, the top 15 players will be awarded around a $7,000 min-cash. However, wanting to get to a nice round number of 150, McDonaugh has said that the he will offer the next person to enter four night's free accommodation at the luxurious Novotel Queenstown hotel - where all the PokerStars qualifiers are staying. Registration is still open for a short while and we will let you know the official number as soon as possible. For your information, if one more players enters this event, it will be the top 18 players who finish in the money.
Just prior to the break, Team PokerStars Pro Bryan Huang has landed a crucial double up with his getting action from an opponent holding .
The chips were in preflop in the ultimate cooler situation, with Huang surviving the board of .
“It’s been over a year since I had aces versus kings in a live tournament!” chuckled Huang as he headed off to enjoy his break.
When we arrived at Leo Boxell's table, there was a board out on the felt, with Boxell, Stewart Ballard and one other player involved the hand. Boxell's two opponents were in the blinds and checked to Boxell, who bet 2,700. Ballard, from the small blind, let his hand go, while the big blind player made the call.
The completed the board on the river and again the play was checked to Boxell. After just a few moments, Ballard flicked out a 5,000-denomination chip. A call from his opponent would prompt Boxell to turn over , for a rivered straight. Boxell's opponent hesitated to turn his cards over, prompting Boxell to say, "you're not going to turn over a flush on me?" The player didn't do that, instead he slid his cards into the muck and Boxell raked in the pot.
![[user162117]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
flop.
turn. A 
landed on the river and this time Benton would bet, firing out 1,100. Ballard made a fairly quick call and the two players went to showdown.
board to the river where Nelson decided to take a stab at it with a bet of 825. Ching thought for a few moments and made the call.
for not a whole lot, as Ching's 
were good to take down the pot and end the drama.
board was already out on the felt. We aren't sure when all the chips went in the middle, but what we do know is that McCarthy's 
was good enough to trump Oliver's 
. With that, McCarthy is now sitting behind a very healthy stack, while McCarthy is struggling.
, 
appeared on the turn. The small blind fired out again for 1,250, but this time Bhasin took his time before announcing a raise to 3,500. His opponent quickly called.
and the small blind led out for a third time, this time for just 1,650. The pot was over 12,000 but Bhasin decided to just flat-call as his 
getting action from an opponent holding 
