APPT Manila Main Event Day 3 | 2008 PokerStars.net APPT Manila

Level: 24

Blinds: 15,000/30,000

Ante: 5,000

11-16-2008 23:36 UTC+8

Check Check

[user67765]

Tae Jun Noh raised to 50,000 from the button. Van Marcus folded his small blind, and the man who loves to play pots, Hyoung Jin Nam is happy to make the call in the big blind.

The board of {K-Clubs}

was checked all the way down with Noh's ace-high unable to overcome the {9-Clubs}

of Nam who collects the pot.

11-16-2008 23:34 UTC+8

Van Marcus has slowly been bleeding chips, with antes and blinds now so large. Thus he decided to try a new tactic after Tae Jun Noh folded the small blind -- he open-raised all in.

Hyoung Jin Nam peeked at his cards. "Oh my God," he complained. "Oh my God! How much is it?" The dealer counted down Marcus' stack as 372,000. Nam leaned backwards in his chair, seemingly pained, then reraised all in (as everyone in media row expected, having been witness to this act several times in the last three days).

Marcus: {K-Hearts}

Nam:

It was Marcus' specialty -- needing to hit a slim draw to say alive in the tournament. The gallery started shouting alternately for an ace or a ten, but neither hit the {8-Clubs}

flop. Marcus walked around to the other side of the table from his seat and leaned over the table, both hands on the rail, awaiting his fate.

We've said it before, but we'll say it again. If you've been following our coverage of this tournament, you know that Van Marcus laughs in the face of slim draws and eats them for breakfast. He is simply invincible in this tournament. We figure that at this stage of the hand, Marcus had Nam right where he wanted him. And we don't expect you to be surprised to learn that the turn was a ten-ball, the {10-Diamonds}

, to give Marcus a commanding lead in the hand. From dominated to dominating. He needed to duck three aces on the river, and did so when it fell {9-Diamonds}

.

We reckon that Van Marcus can never ask for anything "one time" for the rest of his life.

Tags: Van Marcus

11-16-2008 23:21 UTC+8

Nam Wields The Big Stack

[user67765]

Hyoung Jin Nam opened with a standard raise, before Tae Jun Noh bumped it up to 82,000. Van Marcus folded and Nam quickly announced he was all in. Noh thought for a few moments before folding {A-Hearts}

face up.

11-16-2008 23:21 UTC+8

Hour Three of Three-Handed Play

[user67765]

The trophy and cash seem a long way away...

We're now entering our third hour of three-handed play with most of the play being very passive and conservative. Hyoung Jin Nam still holds a commanding lead and is slowly dwindling the stacks of his opponents. However it looks like he's getting anxious to finish the job after he recently commented in jest to TD Danny McDonagh about bumping the blinds up. At the moment the short stacks are not under any real pressure and seem content to sit back and wait for quality cards or spots.

We could be here a while!

11-16-2008 23:19 UTC+8

A Modest Proposal

[user75032]

Media row is currently floating the idea of banning checks and calls. For the rest of this tournament, players would only be allowed to bet or raise. Unfortunately, it's not likely that TD Danny McDonagh will go for it.

Meanwhile, at the final table, another hand was limped between Van Marcus and Hyoung Jin Nam and then checked all the way to showdown. Marcus took down the pot with a rivered pair of nines.

11-16-2008 23:11 UTC+8

Hyoung Jin Nam's Turn

[user75032]

The action sounded familiar, but the names were in different places. This time it was Tae Jun Noh opening for 60,000 from the button and Van Marcus calling from the small blind before Hyoung Jin Nam reraised to 174,000 from the big blind. The result was the same: both other players folded.

11-16-2008 23:11 UTC+8

Finally a Showdown...Almost

[user67765]

Hyoung Jin Nam completed from the small blind and Tae Jun Noh checked his option in the big blind.

The board of {6-Spades}

was checked through until the river where Noh took a 30,000 stab at the pot. Nam made the call but Noh simply tossed his cards into the muck to concede the hand. Nam then queried as to whether he had to show his hand. He did not have to, and chose to exercise that option as he collected the pot without a showdown.

11-16-2008 23:05 UTC+8

A Little Action?

[user75032]

Van Marcus tried a raise to 65,000 from the button. Hyoung Jin Nam called before Tae Jun Noh reraised to 199,000. Neither of his opponents wanted to play for that much, allowing Noh to pick up 130,000 without a flop. He showed king-ten.

11-16-2008 22:54 UTC+8

Noh Knows

[user67765]

Tae Jun Noh raised to 50,000 on the button, Van Marcus folded the small blind but Hyoung Jin Nam made the call in the big blind.

The two Koreans saw a {2-Spades}