$100,000 Challenge Day 1 | 2012 Aussie Millions

01-22-2012 19:32 UTC+11

Player	Chips	Progress
Gus Hansen	336,000 -9,000	-9,000

Phil Ivey	236,500 105,000	105,000

Tobias Reinkemeier	201,000 15,000	15,000
Dan Smith	201,000 -7,500	-7,500

Joe Hachem	200,500 500	500

Mikhail Smirnov	155,000 2,000	2,000
Sam Trickett	107,500 3,500	3,500
JC Tran	107,000 27,500	27,500
Daniel Alaei	102,000 -6,000	-6,000

Tony G	100,000

Jason Mercier	92,500 -15,500	-15,500

Sorel Mizzi	90,500 -5,500	-5,500
Nam Le	82,500 -2,000	-2,000

Daniel Cates	81,500 -34,500	-34,500
Erik Seidel	66,000 -8,000	-8,000

Daniel Negreanu	40,500 2,000	2,000

Table	Seat	Player
Feature	1	--empty--
Feature	2	Dan Smith
Feature	3	Sorel Mizzi
Feature	4	JC Tran
Feature	5	Nam Le
Feature	6	Daniel Cates
Feature	7	Phil Ivey
Feature	8	Daniel Negreanu

Outer	1	Sam Trickett
Outer	2	Daniel Alaei
Outer	3	Erik Seidel
Outer	4	Joe Hachem
Outer	5	Tobias Reinkemeier
Outer	6	Mikhail Smirnov
Outer	7	Gus Hansen
Outer	8	Jason Mercier

From under the gun, Daniel Alaei raised to 2,500. Erik Seidel called from the cutoff seat and then Jonathan Karamalikis called out of the big blind. The flop came down {Q-Diamonds} {J-Clubs} {8-Clubs} and Karamalikis checked before Alaei bet 4,500. After Seidel folded, Karamalikis raised all in for 24,000. Alaei snap-called with the {8-Diamonds} {8-Spades} for a set of eights. Karamalikis held the {A-Clubs} {10-Clubs} for a combo draw.

The turn was the {Q-Hearts} and left Karamalikis drawing dead as Alaei filled up. The river completed the board with the {4-Clubs} .

Player	Chips	Progress
Daniel Alaei	108,000 32,000	32,000

Jonathan Karamalikis	Busted

Tags: Jonathan Karamalikis Daniel Alaei Erik Seidel

01-22-2012 19:19 UTC+11

Updated Chip Counts

[user66118]

Player	Chips	Progress
Gus Hansen	345,000 67,000	67,000

Mikhail Smirnov	153,000 3,000	3,000
Jason Mercier	108,000 -46,000	-46,000

Sam Trickett	104,000 4,000	4,000

01-22-2012 19:19 UTC+11

Bloom Doomed

[user66118]

Jason Mercier raised to 2,000 from the button, and he opened the proverbial can of worms. Tony Bloom three-bet to 6,500 from the small blind, and Mikhail Smirnov four-bet to 16,000 in the big. That folded Mercier, and Bloom reraised again. Smirnov put it all in there, and Bloom called off his last 69,500 chips to put himself at risk.

Showdown
Bloom: {J-Hearts} {J-Diamonds}
Smirnov: {A-Spades} {K-Hearts}

The race was on, and Bloom's horse pulled out to an early lead on the {4-Clubs} {4-Diamonds} {5-Hearts} flop. The {A-Diamonds} turn was a serious stumbling block, though, and Smirnov was suddenly one card from the knockout. the river {2-Clubs} secured that, and Bloom has been forced to make his exit. Always gregarious, Bloom shook hands with his table and wished them all luck before departing. He was runner-up in this event last year, but the 2012 edition has not gone quite so well for the "The Lizard".

Player	Chips	Progress
Mikhail Smirnov	150,000 20,000	20,000
Tony Bloom	Busted

Tags: Tony Bloom Mikhail Smirnov

01-22-2012 19:06 UTC+11

Updated Chip Counts

donpeters

Player	Chips	Progress
Joe Hachem	200,000 -25,000	-25,000

Tobias Reinkemeier	186,000 -49,000	-49,000
Daniel Alaei	76,000 -43,000	-43,000

Erik Seidel	74,000 -23,500	-23,500

Daniel Negreanu	38,500 1,500	1,500

Jonathan Karamalikis	20,000 -3,500	-3,500

01-22-2012 18:59 UTC+11

Adjusting to the Structure

donpeters

Level 2 : 500/1,000, 0 ante

With this tournament being played with no antes, just blinds and also the fact that it's pot limit preflop and no limit after the flop, the players have had some adjusting to do. A lot of them have been chatting with one another that the structure is a bit different and weird given that you aren't able to shove preflop in a lot of spots you normally would. For one, there are no antes added to the pot to increase your stack and two, it's pot limit so you can't always shove. Some of the players find this a little bit annoying given that the event's structure is a bit fast-paced like a turbo, but some of the strategy behind playing a turbo event successfully is negated by the pot-limit structure preflop and no antes.

01-22-2012 18:56 UTC+11

Negreanu Shoves Turn On Karamalikis

donpeters

Action folded to Jonathan Karamalikis in the small blind and he raised to 2,500 in attack of Daniel Negreanu's big blind. Negreanu defended with a call and the flop came down {6-Hearts} {5-Spades} {4-Spades} . Karamalikis bet 3,000 and Negreanu called to see the turn.

The {K-Spades} landed on the turn and Karamalikis fired 5,500. Negreanu raised all in for 20,500 and Karamalikis snap-mucked his hand.

Player	Chips	Progress
Daniel Negreanu	37,000 10,000	10,000

Jonathan Karamalikis	23,500 -10,500	-10,500

Tags: Jonathan Karamalikis Daniel Negreanu

01-22-2012 18:52 UTC+11

Another Aussie Battle

donpeters

Joe Hachem check-called a bet of 4,000 on the {Q-Clubs} {J-Diamonds} {6-Hearts} flop from Jonathan Karamalikis before the {9-Clubs} landed on the turn. Hachem check-called again, this time for 7,500. After the {A-Hearts} landed on the river, Hachem checked and Karamalikis bet 14,000. Hachem called.