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

10-09-2008 15:38 UTC-12

Clock Paused

[user66118]

The players are on a 10-minute break.

10-09-2008 15:38 UTC-12

Great Call By Erickson

donpeters

Mark Erickson yields a powerful stack now

The board was laid out {9-Diamonds}

with over 15,000 in the middle. Mark Erickson went into the tank before checking his hand over to his opponent. Much to Erickson's dismay, his opponent moved all in for 13,800. This sent Erickson into the tank for another few minutes.

Erickson counted his chips and would only be left with 1,225 if he lost this hand. "I've got a pair in the hole and a straight draw," said Erickson as he stood up to think some more. Finally, Erickson made the call.

Erickson {6-Diamonds}

Opponent

"Ooh, you little!" yelled Erickson when he saw his opponent's hand. The river was then put out... the {J-Spades}

. Erickson clapped his hands together and was congratulated for making a great call by his tablemates.

Erickson exclaimed "That's balls. Don't try and push me around!" as he began to rake in the massive pot. "You guys are in trouble now."

With that pot, Erickson is over 34,000 and among the chip leaders.

Tags: Mark Erickson

10-09-2008 15:34 UTC-12

Dyer Lays One to Rest

[user66118]

From middle position, Grant Levy puts in a raise to 750. The two opponents behind him call, and it's three-handed to the flop.

It shows up {A-Clubs}

. Levy leads out with 1,700 chips. Next to him, one opponent moves all in with his short stack -- a total of 3,875 chips. Jerome Dyer is next to act, and he tanks for a minute before flat calling, putting the decision back on Levy. He goes even deeper into the tank, staring at his opponents and generally looking pained by the situation.

After several minutes, he says, "Tightest fold I'll make all day," as he tosses his cards into the center of the table.

"Top two?" asked one of his tablemates.

"Yep, ace-king," lamented Levy.

With the betting action complete and one player all in, the two remaining hands are turned up. The short-stacked all in player held a copycat {A-Diamonds}

, while Dyer had also flopped two pair with {A-Spades}

.

Levy seemed a little put out by his incorrect read, but the whole table was shocked to see the {8-Hearts}

peel off on the turn, vaulting Dyer into the lead with a full house. The river was the {6-Diamonds}

, a player is eliminated, and Levy can rest easy knowing that a tight fold saved him several thousand chips.

Tags: Grant Levy Jerome Dyer

10-09-2008 15:08 UTC-12

Wong Checks Behind

[user66118]

Damian Wong came in raising from early position, making it 525 to play. Action folded around the table to Lee "Final Table" Nelson in the big blind. He casually flicked in the calling chips, and the two men were off to the flop.

It came {3-Hearts}

. Nelson checked, and Wong sat for a minute, craning his neck. After a moment, he checked behind.

The turn brought the {7-Spades}

. Nelson paused to consider before he laid out a bet of 950. With little hesitation, Wong stacked his chips into one tall column and moved all in for a total of 7,200. Nelson glanced blankly at the board and his own chip stack for a minute or two before releasing his hand, sending 1,500 of his chips over to his opponent.

Tags: Damian Wong Lee Nelson

10-09-2008 15:06 UTC-12

Shane Dye Doubles Up

donpeters

Action folded around to Shane Dye in late position and he opted to move the last of his chips in the middle for about 3,000 total. He announced to his buddy at an adjacent table that he was all in. The small blind was the only player that found a hand to call with.

Dye turned over {A-Hearts}

and the small blind held {10-Hearts}

. Dye was ready to double up, but got a scary flop for his hand when it came {Q-Spades}

. The turn was the {5-Clubs}

and then the river the {2-Clubs}

, keeping Dye's aces best. He is now up to right around 6,000 chips.

Tags: Shane Dye

10-09-2008 15:01 UTC-12

From All Over the World!

donpeters

With this being New Zealand's largest ever poker tournament, players have been drawn in from all over the world to participate. Out of the 306 entrants playing in this year's Main Event, there are at least 20 different countries represented.

The homeland of New Zealand boasts the most competitors with over 150 and over 50 other players came from just across the water in Australia. There are also bunches of players representing Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Netherlands, Singapore, United Kingdom, and United States. With the majority of the field coming from New Zealand, there's a good chance the title will remain on the home turf, but surely each player is gunning for first place!

10-09-2008 14:50 UTC-12

Hachem Eliminates a Player After Some Controversy

donpeters

"You're gonna put me on tilt with this ruling!"

The player who was under the gun limped in for 200 and Joe Hachem raised to 400. He did so by bringing forward four chips and then chopping them in half across the line in two stacks of 200. The dealer told Hachem that it was only a call. Joe demanded the floor be called over after trying to argue that it was a raise. The floor was finally called over and it was ruled that what Hachem did was a raise.

Play proceeded and a few players folded before a player in late position reraised to 1,000. Everyone folded back to Hachem and he made the call.

The flop came {J-Hearts}

and Hachem checked. His opponent bet 2,000 and Hachem check-raised him all in. The player called quickly and showed pocket kings. Hachem held {9-Diamonds}

for a flopped straight.

The turn and river were the {2-Hearts}

and

respectively. Hachem was able to add a few more thousand chips to his stack, increasing his stack to over 22,000.

Tags: Joe Hachem

Level: 4

Blinds: 100/200

Ante: 25

10-09-2008 14:23 UTC-12

Vos Eliminated

donpeters

Mark Vos put in a third raise after an opponent raised from early position and Bryan Huang had reraised. The original raiser then moved in and so did Huang. Vos also found himself all-in and the huge, three way confrontation began.

The original raiser held A-K, as did Vos. Vos had the advantage of being suited with spades, but Huang had them both crushed with pocket aces. Huang also had both players covered in chips.

The board blanked off for the big slicks and Huang's aces held strong. Mark Vos was elimianted and Huang is now sitting with over 33,000 chips.

Tags: Bryan Huang Mark Vos

10-09-2008 14:00 UTC-12

By the Numbers

[user66118]

With registration now closed, a total of 142 players played Day 1b, putting the total number of entrants for this event at 306. Those entries have generated a total prize pool of NZD $856,800.

Thirty-two players will make the money, with the bottom payout level being worth NZD $5,141. The top ten will earn at least NZD $14,565. And the man, or woman, who manages to outlast the other 305 competitors will pocket $257,040 and be crowned champion of the APPT Auckland.

The push is on for Day 2 and beyond.