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

09-01-2008 19:21 UTC+8

Demetriou Doubles

Harry Demetriou is one of the international visitors to Macau though he has been battling with a short stack for most of the day. However, he was recently able to find a double up holding {A-Hearts}

against an opponent's {K-Diamonds}

.

The flop was the nuts for Demetriou when it landed {3-Hearts}

, leaving his opponent drawing dead. The turn was the {5-Spades}

and river the {J-Diamonds}

and Demetriou found some breathing room and is now sitting with 4,000 chips.

Tags: Harry Demetriou

09-01-2008 19:22 UTC+8

The tournament has gone smoothly so far, but there have been a few hiccups along the way. The chairs at the poker tables do not roll; they are four-legged black wooden chairs upholstered in a black fabric with thin gold stripes. They are also somewhat fragile. We have already witnessed two players in the field break chairs by leaning backwards on them. There was even an issue in media row -- ESPN's Gary Wise broke his chair just by sitting down.

09-01-2008 19:28 UTC+8

Vongxaiburana Eliminates Schweinsberg

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

In a battle of the blinds, Andrew Schweinsberg opened with a raise to 400 from the small blind, before Veerachai Vongxaiburana made it 2,400 from the big blind. Schweinsberg deliberated before moving all in for an additional 6,675 and Vongxaiburana made the call.

Vongxaiburana: {10-Diamonds}

Schweinsberg: {5-Hearts}

The board fell {4-Spades}

, giving Vongxaiburana a set and the pot to jump to a tournament-leading 54,000 chips and also sent Schweinsberg to the rail.

Tags: Andrew Schweinsberg Veerachai Vongxaiburana

09-01-2008 19:36 UTC+8

Only Online?

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Two unknown players took a flop of {3-Hearts}

. The player in the small blind shoved all in and his opponent called with {A-Clubs}

for top pair, top kicker. Pretty standard so far. However the player with his tournament life on the line revealed {10-Hearts}

-- no pair, no draw.

Then things got interesting -- the turn was the {6-Clubs}

and river the {7-Clubs}

giving the player a running straight to stay alive in the tournament.

His opponent stood and yelled in jest, "Oh my god! This is PokerStars! It's rigged!"

09-01-2008 19:41 UTC+8

Big Slick Works for Kim

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Wooka Kim just found another double-up. She made it 1,200 to go from under the gun and was called in two spots. When the flop came down {K-Spades}

, she fired out a continuation bet of 3,200. Both players called. The turn was a seeming blank, the {4-Clubs}

. Kim moved all in for about 5,000, getting one fold and one call.

Kim: {A-Hearts}

Opponent:

The river was a blank, allowing Kim to double up. She now has about 22,000.

Tags: Wooka Kim

09-01-2008 19:51 UTC+8

No Fear with an Overpair

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

At a press conference this morning, Joe Hachem remarked that, as a general rule, when Asian poker players sense weakness from an opponent, they have no fear about putting that opponent to the test. On a flop of {8-Spades}

, Sam Faqiryar recently put Yadong Liu to the test by check-raising Liu's 4,000-chip flop bet to 14,000, enough to put Liu all in. It was the wrong time to do so; Liu snap-called and tabled {10-Clubs}

, a hand that was a commanding favorite over Faqiryar's {A-Clubs}

. The board ran out {Q-Hearts}

to allow Liu to double up to 37,000 at Faqiryar's expense.

Tags: Sam Faqiryar Yadong Liu

09-01-2008 19:59 UTC+8

Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Michael "Timex" McDonald recently doubled up to 46,000, but then gave some back almost immediately thereafter. He raised preflop to 1,100 and was called by Steven Djingga and Guray Turkay. The flop came down {K-Spades}