donpeters
Trung Tran from an earlier event
Trung Tran raised to 3,600 from the under-the-gun position. Big-stacked Dory Zayner called from the small blind. The dealer spread the , , and across the felt for the first three community cards.
Zayneh checked and Tran bet 4,900. Then, last year's champ moved all in, covering Tran. Tran called off his last 19,000 with , having Zayner's dominated.
The turn came the and the river the . Tran's king kicker played and he doubled up to 49,000. Zayner is still the chip leader with 176,000 chips.
[user66118]
Just as we experienced last night, we are at the stage of the evening where the pace of play slows considerably. Virtually no pots are being hotly-contested all the way to the river right now. The vast majority of the hands are being won with a single preflop raise or a single bet on the flop. The big stacks seem to be asserting themselves, while the medium stacks have really shut down, content to fold their way into Day 2, it seems.
The real matter of import is the plight of the short stacks. It will be interesting to see if those without many chips try to limp into tomorrow, or if they seek a spot to get all in for a double-up-or-relax-tomorrow shot.
donpeters
From under the gun, Lee Nelson raised to 2,600 and Harris Pavlou called out of the big blind.
Flop:
Pavlou checked and Nelson bet 4,500. Pavlou raised all in for around 28,000 total. Nelson made the call.
Showdown:
Nelson:
Pavlou:
The turn was a card that Nelson didn't want to see, the , giving Pavlou a flush. The river gave Nelson another ace for trips, but he was already drawing dead on the turn. Pavlou doubled to 68,000 while Nelson dropped to 83,000.
[user67765]
Augusto Silva opened with a raise to 4,300 in early position and the action folded to Blain Robertson in the small blind who moved all in for 13,375. Ben Delaney in the big blind then announced he was all in for 63,300. Silva agonized over his decision before finally folding.
Robertson:
Delaney:
The flop landed and Delaney lets out a roar of "YEAHHH!" as he spiked his ace. Robertson would need a ten to stay alive but the on the turn and on the river didn't help and he was sent to the rail as Delaney happily raked in a pot worth over 80,000 chips.
[user66118]
Chip leader Dory Zayneh opened the pot with a raise to 3,000. Richard Blaas then moved all in, well-covered by the big stack. Zayneh asked for a full count, and the dealer broke down the stack, announcing the total of 34,425. Zayneh quickly called, turning over . Blaas was in bad shape, tabling .
The board ran out . Blaas found an ace to snatch the pot, doubling up to just about 70,000. Zayneh is hardly crippled though, still leading the pack with 190,000.
Following the hand, a few of the players, including Tino Lechich and Luke Santo, were a bit peeved at the way Zayneh handled the all in. They asked why Zayneh didn't just snap-call, having a massive stack. Zayneh explained, "That's how I like to play," further defending his play by saying he prefers to have the chips counted out before the hand, rather than have to get a count after being beaten out of a pot.
The way Zayneh is carving up his tables today, whether or not he asks for a count should be the least of his opponents' concern.
donpeters
With the start of this level, there's only one hour of play left. Yesterday finsihed off with 47 players remaining and as of right now, there are 88 left in today's flight.
[user66118]
On the turn, we find Mark Casale and Christopher Evans looking at a board of . Casale has the betting lead, and he puts out 3,300 chips. Evans moves all in for an additional 13,775, and Casale makes the call.
Showdown:
Evans:
Casale:
With one card left, Casale is drawing slim. The on the river gives both players a flush, but it is Evans who has the best of it with the ace. He doubles up to 35,000, bringing Casale down to his level with 33,000.
[user67765]
Van Marcus Eliminated
Jovo Scekic limped from early position before Van Marcus moved all in for his last 9,500 as he shouted to his entourage on the rail for support. The action folded to Ali Khalil on the button who reraised all in for his entire 75,000 chip stack. The blinds folded and Scekic stepped out of the way as Marcus slammed down on the felt in delight to be in great shape for a double up against Khalil's .
The flop was a dry but the turn spiced things up when the hit to give Khalil outs to a flush. However the river was the putting a straight on board as both players chopped up the pot!
"You sucked out on me!" cried Khalil, but he got his man a few moments later in a similar situation.
Marcus had moved all in from middle position once again, and again Khalil moved all in from the cutoff. The tabled folded and the players showed their cards:
Marcus:
Khalil:
The board ran out and although Marcus picked up outs with a flush draw on the turn, the river bricked and Marcus is sent to the exit late on Day 1b.
Khalil is now sitting with an impressive 85,000 chips.
donpeters
As previously mentioned, this year's field is slightly smaller than last year's. A total of 410 entrants combined from Day 1a and 1b took to war on the felt in hopes of becoming the 2008 PokerNews Cup Main Event champion, creating a prizepool of $820,000 AUD. If you manage squeak into the money, you'll be guaranteed $4,100 AUD. Here are the payouts for the top nine spots.
1st Place - $250,000 AUD
2nd Place - 120,000
3rd Place - 73,100
4th Place - 49,200
5th Place - 41,000
6th Place - 32,800
7th Place - 24,600
8th Place - 16,400
9th Place - 12,000
, 
, and 
across the felt for the first three community cards.
, having Zayner's 
dominated.
and the river the 
. Tran's king kicker played and he doubled up to 49,000. Zayner is still the chip leader with 176,000 chips.
![[user66118]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
, giving Pavlou a flush. The river gave Nelson another ace for trips, but he was already drawing dead on the turn. Pavlou doubled to 68,000 while Nelson dropped to 83,000.
and Delaney lets out a roar of "YEAHHH!" as he spiked his ace. Robertson would need a ten to stay alive but the 
on the turn and 
. Blaas found an ace to snatch the pot, doubling up to just about 70,000. Zayneh is hardly crippled though, still leading the pack with 190,000.
. Casale has the betting lead, and he puts out 3,300 chips. Evans moves all in for an additional 13,775, and Casale makes the call.
putting a straight on board as both players chopped up the pot!
and although Marcus picked up outs with a flush draw on the turn, the river bricked and Marcus is sent to the exit late on Day 1b.
