Main Event
Day 1 Started
2011 PokerStars.net APPT Melbourne
Main Event
Day: 1
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2011 PokerStars.net APPT Melbourne
Buy-in
4,700 AUD
Entries
260
Level
26
Blinds
30,000 / 60,000
Ante
5,000
Melbourne, Australia Welcomes The APPT!
![[user162117]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
The PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour is set to begin in the land down under where, for the first time on the tour, the spotlight will head to the city of Melbourne!
No stranger to hosting some of the biggest sporting events in the world, Melbourne can now solidify its place as the home of poker in Australia with the addition of the APPT in the tour’s fifth season.
The Crown Poker room will play host to some of the best players from all around the world, including two world champions; 2003 World Series of Poker Main Event champion Chris Moneymaker and local hero, 2005 WSOP Main Event winner Joe Hachem.
While this event has usually been played over multiple day one flights when held in Sydney, today the Poker Room will have a jam-packed field with only one day for all the players to try and make a run at becoming the APPT Melbourne Champion.
With a big field expected and those all important ANZ Player of the Year points up for grabs, today is sure to be an action-filled day.
The cards are set to be dealt and the players are anxiously waiting by the rail. So sit tight and tune into all the action kicking off at 12:10 PM local time. Also, feel free to head over to the PokerStars Blog for further coverage of this exciting event!
Time To Go
As the players started to take their seats and wait for play to commence, the clock was paused as APPT Commissioner Danny McDonough set to the mic to address the excited players and crowd. McDonough introduced the inaugral event in the fifth season of the PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour.
As McDonough spoke about the excitement of bringing the event to the city of Melbourne for the first time, the familiar face of Chris Moneymaker stood beside him waiting to spout the immortal words in tournament poker to kick off the event.
With a "Shuffle up and deal!" from Moneymaker, the room erupted in appluase before the players turned their attention to the felt.
Level: 1
Blinds: 50/100
Ante: 0
How Today Will Work
Level 1
: 50/100, 0 ante
Players will be starting Day 1 with a hefty 30,000-chip stack and plenty of time to play, with levels lasting an hour each on Day 1, before changing to 75-minute levels at the commencement of Day 2.
Who's at the Tables?
Level 1
: 50/100, 0 ante
The room is starting to fill up as we reach the halfway mark of the first level with the likes of PokerStars Pros Bryan Huang and Chris MoneyMaker joined by a plethora of local and international talent including Jackie Glazier, Simon Watt, David Gorr and Graeme Putt.
Also spotted around the room include young local stars such as Jonathan Karamalikis, Brendon Rubie, Daniel Nielson, Ben Delaney and James Obst, among many others!
Yet to be spotted is local hero, 2005 World Series of Poker Main Event champion Joe Hachem, along with current ANZ Player of the Year leader Jesse McKenzie. Both players are expected in the field and will presumably take to their seats very soon.
Young Versus Old
Level 1
: 50/100, 0 ante
It hasn't taken long for some big action to take place, with the young Brendon Rubie going head to head with local veteran Peter Aristidou.
Play folded to Arisitdou on the button and he made the call before action came to Rubie in the small blind. Rubie popped it to 1,025 which was enough to get rid of the big blind, before sending the action back to Aristidou. Aristidou made the call and it was on for young and old!
Rubie would check his option on the 
flop and Aristidou would make it 1,200. Rubie called and we would see the 
roll out on the turn. Another check from Rubie and Aristidou would fire again, this time with 2,700. Another call from Rubie would see the 
hit the river. Rubie again checked to his agressor and Aristidou fired another bullet.
Rubie elected to again make the call as Aristidou turned over 
for a pair of nines. Rubie's 
would be enough to take down the pot and move his stack to around 42,000 early on Day 1.
The Players
Here are some the players we have noticed throughout the field so far.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
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30,000 | |
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30,000 | |
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30,000 | |
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30,000 | |
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30,000 | |
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30,000 | |
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30,000 | |
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30,000 | |
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30,000 | |
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30,000 | |
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30,000 | |
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30,000 | |
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30,000 | |
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30,000 | |
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30,000 | |
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30,000 | |
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30,000 | |
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30,000 | |
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30,000 | |
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30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
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|
30,000 | |
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|
30,000 | |
Welcome To Australia Hin and Hach
Level 1
: 50/100, 0 ante
Andrew Hinrichsen and Tony Hachem will be looking for a bit more run good, after both having a hugely successful World Series of Poker. Both represented Australia with deep runs in the Main Event just over a week ago.
While they both flew the Australian flag at the WSOP, when it came down to it they were both seeking the same thing: a victory and as they say, there are no friends at the poker table.
After flying thousands of kilometres to reach their home shores of Australia, Hinrichsen and Hachem will again have to be fierce competitors if they wish to take down this APPT title, with the players sitting at the same table and with just one player between them.
Some jokes have already been made between the two at the table, while we're sure some of the other players around the table are a little intimidated by the two accomplished players and recent almost-champions.
Level: 2
Blinds: 100/200
Ante: 0