High Rollers Event Day 2 | 2008 PokerStars.net APPT Macau

09-08-2008 22:10 UTC+8

Full Ring Is Fun

[user67765]

As we feared, the decision to go to a full ten-handed table has reduced this tournament from a crawl to a slow death. Raise and take it has become the norm, and short stacks such as Johnny Chan sit back and wait for premium cards with the blinds and antes making very little dent.

The crowd is becoming restless...

09-08-2008 22:01 UTC+8

Another Hit for Marcus

[user75032]

Van Marcus continues to bleed chips. Sitting in the big blind, he called a raise to 7,000 that was made by Nam Le. Both players checked the {5-Diamonds}

flop. When the turn came {10-Spades}

, Marcus checked to Le who put out a feeler bet of 10,500. Marcus folded, and it was a good thing for him -- Le showed {10-Hearts}

for a full house.

Marcus now has only 52,000.

Tags: Nam Le Van Marcus

09-08-2008 21:55 UTC+8

What's The Bubble Worth?

[user67765]

Usually the bubble is the slowest period of any poker tournament. No one wants to be known as the "bubble boy", but today it means a whole lot more than just any other poker tournament.

The next player eliminated will go home empty-handed which will effectively cost them a minimum of US$25,641 -- the payday for a 9th place finish.

They will also get a day off tomorrow while everyone else will return to the final table set which is going to be filmed for TV broadcast. The opportunity to be featured on TV all around the world is very important in terms of profile, promotion and endorsements for some of these players.

Finally they lose the chance at glory, a major international title and first place prize of $474,358 -- enough money to keep any bubble boy awake at night!

Being eliminated at this point of the tournament would be a devastating blow -- and it is going to happen to someone here, sometime soon!

09-08-2008 21:45 UTC+8

Final Ten Redraw

[user67765]

Here is the redraw for the ten-handed final table:

Seat 1: Eric Assadourian
Seat 2: Nam Le
Seat 3: Quinn Do
Seat 4: David Steicke
Seat 5: Wei Will Ma
Seat 6: Johnny Chan
Seat 7: Charles Chua
Seat 8: Ivan Tan
Seat 9: Andrew Scott
Seat 10: Van Marcus

09-08-2008 21:32 UTC+8

We're Going Ten-Handed

[user67765]

With the elimination of Steven Silverman in 11th place, the remaining players have all agreed to form one table of ten. As already discussed this means we avoid any hand-for-hand play, however the short stacks can now sit tight and wait since the blinds will only come around half as often.

The players are redrawing and there will be a high-card for the button.

09-08-2008 21:30 UTC+8

Silverman Crippled, Then Eliminated

[user75032]

Disaster has struck for Steven Silverman. After Ivan Tan opened in the cutoff for 7,100, Silverman pushed all in for about 57,000. Tan snap-called with {A-Spades}

and was up against Silverman's {7-Diamonds}

. The board ran out {8-Hearts}

and when the stacks were counted down, Silverman had Tan covered by just 2,200 chips.

On the very next hand, Silverman was in the small blind for 1,200. After posting the 400-chip ante, he moved all in for his last 600 without looking at his cards. Andrew Scott made it 8,000 to go from the cutoff and took his shot at Silverman with {A-Spades}

. Silverman had two live cards with {7-Hearts}

but missed the board completely. He's out.

Tags: Andrew Scott Steven Silverman

09-08-2008 21:19 UTC+8

5 x 2 = 10?

[user67765]

Usually at around this stage of a deep-stacked tournament the discussion emerges over whether we should play one table of ten or two tables of five -- once we lose one more player of course!

This tournament is an eight-handed tournament, and therefore it is scheduled to be run as two tables of five players. A short-handed table usually encourages more action, but in this situation since we will be on the money bubble at that point, we will have to enter hand-for-hand play which slows everything down (if it's possible to get any slower!).

Johnny Chan has pitched the idea of changing the format to one ten-handed table to avoid having to require any hand-for-hand play. His table agreed and when they pitched it to tournament director Danny McDonagh, the answer was that it was fine as long as everyone involved agreed to it.

The other table is now having a discussion about the situation. David Steicke seemed open to the idea but said "Sure, but let's wait...we might lose two players in one hand!" -- Steicke might be the only one capable of making that happen!

09-08-2008 21:18 UTC+8

Marcus Can't Shake Scott

[user75032]

At this late stage of Day 2, every pot is worth fighting for. Andrew Scott and Van Marcus tangled in a limped pot with a flop of {K-Clubs}

. Scott fired out for 3,400 and was raised to 9,000 by Marcus. He made the call.

Both players checked the {K-Hearts}

on the turn. When the river fell {9-Hearts}

, Scott checked and Marcus bet 16,000.

"Van, Van, Van," said Scott, clearly in a tough spot. He finally called, asking, "Do you have a pocket pair?"

Marcus shook his head no. "Your deuce is good." Scott turned over {5-Hearts}

to take the pot. Marcus, after a few recent losses, is down to 65,000 in chips.

Tags: Andrew Scott Van Marcus

09-08-2008 21:07 UTC+8

Silverman, Dominated Again, Squeaks Out a Chop

[user75032]

For the second time in fifteen minutes, Steven Silverman moved all in with an ace and Van Marcus called him with a bigger ace. This time Silverman had {A-Diamonds}

and Marcus had {A-Spades}

. They chopped on a board of {3-Diamonds}

, and we went back to waiting.

Tags: Steven Silverman Van Marcus

Level: 12

Blinds: 1,200/2,400

Ante: 400