Action started with Marc Wittkopf opening with a bet of 2,200. His opponent in middle position then raised to 5,300, which he called. The flop came and Wittkopf checked. His opponent then led out for 3,400, which was again called. Both players checked the on the turn, before the fell on the river. Wittkopf counted out 4,700 in chips, which was snap-called.
Wittkopf:
Opponent:
A repeating deuce on the river saved Wittkopf, as he and his opponent chopped the pot. Wittkopf is still looking good, as he sits on 100,000 in chips.
The player in middle position opened with a bet of 2,500, before Patrick Healy raised to 5,200. His opponent called, and both saw the flop come . The other player in the hand checked before Healy moved all in for 25,700 in chips.
Minutes passed before Healy’s opponent asked “Do you want me to call?”
Healy sat there motionless, starring straight down at his chips. His opponent called time on himself, and folded a few seconds later. Healy moves up to 37,000 in chips.
Action started with Jason Lee betting out 2,200 before Charles Caris raised to 5,700. Lee called, and both players saw the flop fall . Lee checked, and Caris instantly moved all in.
Lee led out a sigh of pain before commenting, “You bet any less and I’m shoving.”
A minute passed with Lee constantly talking to himself, deciding whether to call.
“I feel like a donkey. At least my ace would be live,” Lee said.
He eventually called, and was not happy to see Caris table , as he rolled over his . The board ran out the and to see Caris receive a handy double, and drop Lee down to 88,000 in chips.
With just under 15 minutes left in the day, there are three players who will be battling it out to see who finishes as the chip leader for Day 1b. Jie Gao, Jason Lee and Marc Wittkopf have all held the chip lead at one point during the day, and with the three sitting on 90,000 chip stacks, it will be interesting to see who finishes up top.
Another early morning finish has seen Day 1b of the PokerStars.net Australia New Zealand Poker Tour Auckland Main Event come to an end.
SKYCITY Auckland Casino had just the 56 players take their seats for a small Day 1b field. Eyes were on several big names, which have had great success in recent times. 2009 APPT Sydney Main Event Champion Aaron Benton was seated on the same table as 2012 ANZPT Melbourne Main Event Champion Sam Razavi, with reigning ANZ POTY Mishel Anunu directly behind them, on a neighboring table. Unfortunately for these three, their days would end relatively short. Others to also fall today were Didier Guerin, Dean Francis and John Harmon.
When all the chips were finally bagged and tagged, it was Australian tournament regular Charles Caris who just edged out Local Marc Wittkopf for the chip lead at the end of the day. He finished with a 108,900-chip stack to lead his 24-strong field into Day 2. Right on his tail was Marc Wittkopf (108,600), Jie Gao (104,500) and Jason Lee (93,300). All had fantastic second halves to their days, and will be amongst the chip leaders heading into Day 2
Day 1c is set to kick off later today at 12:30 p.m NZST. We’ll be hoping to see 80 runners take to the felt, to surpass the 200-player mark for the entire event. Make sure to join the PokerNews Live Reporting Team, for more exciting action!