APPT Auckland Main Event Day 1a | 2008 PokerStars.net APPT Auckland

10-08-2008 14:46 UTC-12

Distractions

Donnie Peters

Tony Hachem just yelled over to the tournament staff to ask if they could remove some distracting images that he is facing in the poker room. The images in reference are located on banners for the festival. One image is Eric Assadourian and the other is Grant Levy. Both players are just a few tables over playing at the final table in the Omaha tournament.

"How can I play when I am looking at these two?" asked Hachem.

Tags: Eric Assadourian Grant Levy Tony Hachem

10-08-2008 14:39 UTC-12

Saab on the Move

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Donnie Peters

The flop was laid out {K-Spades}

when David Saab, holding {A-Spades}

for the nut flush draw, put his opponent all-in. His opponent made the call and showed {K-?}

. The turn finished things off quickly when the {7-Spades}

landed. Saab shook the hand of his opponent as the meaningless {3-Hearts}

hit the river.

Saab raked in the pot and is now over 12,000.

Tags: David Saab

10-08-2008 14:37 UTC-12

Movin' On Up

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We have leveled up, and antes are now in play, meaning no more free hands for anyone.

Level: 4

Blinds: 100/200

Ante: 25

10-08-2008 14:15 UTC-12

King Edward

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Donnie Peters

We missed the preflop action, but caught the hand after the flop came down {8-Diamonds}

for Edward Sabat and his opponent. After moving his last 5,400 into the middle, Sabat saw his pocket kings up against the pocket nines of his opponent. With over 3,000 already in the middle, this pot could bring Sabat back to where he wanted to be.

The turn gave Sabat a few more cards to worry about when the {6-Spades}

rolled off. The river blanked off with the {Q-Hearts}

, giving Sabat the win. He is now just over the 14,000 chip mark.

Tags: Edward Sabat

10-08-2008 13:59 UTC-12

Sabat Doubles Up Tucker

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Donnie Peters

Despite getting down early on in the day, Edward Sabat has built his chip stack up pretty nicely as of late. Just recently, Sabat was involved in a hand with Koray Tucker on the flop a {J-Spades}

. Sabat called Tucker's final all-in bet and the cards were revealed.

Tucker turned up {K-Spades}

for top pair. Carter Gill was onlooking as he watched his good friend Sabat turn over {J-Clubs}

for top pair as well, but a straight draw to go along with it. "The nine is live, too," mentioned Sabat.

The turn came the {5-Spades}

and the river fell the {3-Diamonds}

. Sabat was unable to improve and dropped back down to 6,000 chips. Tucker moved up to just over 4,000 on the hand.

Tags: Carter Gill Edward Sabat Koray Tucker

10-08-2008 13:55 UTC-12

Emad Doing Work

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Back on Table 1, Chris Holmes comes limping in under the gun. Greg Raymer and Teresa Nousiainen follow suit, and action is on the short-stacked Emad Tahtouh in the small blind. He moves all in for his last 1,725 chips. Holmes re-raises all-in, and ends up isolating himself against the at-risk Tahtouh.

Holmes: {9-Hearts}

Tahtouh:

"Best case scenario," says Tahtouh, as the two men await the community cards. The flop comes out {A-Hearts}

, giving Tahtouh both a straight draw and a flush draw to go with his overcards. The turn seals the deal as the {8-Hearts}

rips off, giving Tahtouh the nut flush. He earns a double up plus a few extra chips, and he now sits with 4,050.

10-08-2008 13:43 UTC-12

Joe Would Have Gotten Action

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During the break, Tony Hachem came over to our table and was lamenting his luck during the first two levels. He said he was dealt both aces and kings and didn't get any action on either hand.

In the second hand of this level, action was on Hachem, and he looked down to see an unfavorable holding. "Danny, you and I need to have a chat, mate," he said to the dealer with a big grin. As he slipped his cards into the muck, he repeated, "You and I need a chat, mate."

Despite his early struggles, Hachem still has close to 9,000 chips to work with.

Tags: Tony Hachem

10-08-2008 13:38 UTC-12