$2500 APPT Seoul Main Event Day 1 | 2007 Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) - Seoul

09-28-2007 22:20 UTC+9

Play Resumes

[user40108]

The cards are in the air. The current plan is to play 3 more levels this evening. This of course, could change at the discretion of tournament officials.

09-28-2007 21:20 UTC+9

Players Take a 60 Minute Dinner Break

[user40108]

Play will resume in roughly one hour.

09-28-2007 21:17 UTC+9

Action folds around to Joe Hachem in late position. He put in a standard raise. Alex Fitzgerald, playing form the big blind, re-raised Hachem. Hachem quickly moved all in for 11,575. Fitzgerald made the call and the players showed:

Hachem: {A-Diamonds}

Fitzgerald: {A-Spades}

Hachem winced a bit at the realization of his situation. He was dominated by a bigger ace and would need help to stay alive. His expression improved rapidly however as the flop came down {Q-Diamonds}

. Hachem had flopped the nuts and his opponent could not win. The turn and river were meaningless and the '06 World Champ is now working with about 25,000 chips.

09-28-2007 21:07 UTC+9

Roger Spets Sends Another Player Home

[user40108]

Action folded to Roger Spets in middle position who raised to 1,100. A late position player moved all in for 13,000 total. Spets made the call. The players showed:

Spets: {Q-Spades}

Opponent:

Spets loved the flop as it came down {Q-Hearts}

. The turn card came the {10-Clubs}

giving his opponent some hope. That hope was quickly smothered however when the dealer laid the {5-Spades}

down on the river. Spets eliminated yet another player and increased his chip count to roughly 50,000.

Tags: Roger Spets

09-28-2007 20:48 UTC+9

Isabelle Mercier Triples Up

[user40108]

We caught up to this hand on the flop. With the board reading {Q-Clubs}

, Gareth Edwards bet 1,500 from the big blind. Isabelle Mercier raised to 6,000 and Ming-Kit Cheung called. Edwards re-raised all in for 11,000 total and both Mercier and Cheung called. Mercier and Cheung were heads up on the side. The turn card came the {9-Spades}

. Mercier, who had Cheung covered, moved all in for about 30,000. Cheung thought for quite sometime before eventually folding. With action complete, the players showed:

Edwards: {J-Clubs}

Mercier:

The river brings the {Q-Hearts}

giving Mercier the nut full house and the pot. She is now a force with about 55,000 chips. Gareth Edwards was eliminated in the hand.

09-28-2007 20:39 UTC+9

Tony Purchase Loses a Big Coinflip

[user40108]

Tony Purchase and Sid Kin got into a pre-flop raising war that resulted in Kin finding himself all in. Purchase had him slightly covered and the players tabled their hands. Purchase showed {A-Hearts}

and Kin flipped up the {J-Hearts}

.

The flop was excellent for Kin as it came {J-Spades}

although he wasn't out of the woods just yet as Purchase picked up a straight draw. The turn came the {9-Spades}

and river was the {10-Hearts}

. Kin won the 24,000 chip pot with jacks-full and left Purchase with a very short stack of 2,600 chips.

Tags: Sid Kin Tony Purchase

09-28-2007 20:24 UTC+9

Player Profile - Isabelle Mercier

[user38334]

Home: Victoriaville, Quebec, Canada

Age: 32

Career highlights: Fifth, 2006 WSOP $5000 No Limit Hold’em

When it comes to style and substance among the top female players, it’s hard to top this French-Canadian star – appropriately nicknamed “No Mercy”. After obtaining a law degree in Canada, Mercier went from being a lawyer to a blackjack dealer, poker dealer and eventually moved to Paris where she became the poker room manager of the Aviation Club de France.

She first began to make her mark on the other side of the felt when she won the 2004 WPT Ladies Night Out event over a field that included Wendeen Eolis, Cyndy Violette and Clonie Gowen (during which host Mike Sexton coined her nickname).

As a result of her win, Mercier won a $25,000 seat into the season-ending WPT Championship at the Bellagio, where she finished in the top 30.
Since then, Mercier has amassed an impressive tournament resume, highlighted by her final table appearance in the $5000 No Limit Hold’em event at the 2006 WSOP. Battling against the likes of Phil Hellmuth Jr., Gene Todd, Marcel Luske and Vinny Vinh, Mercier finished fifth to pocket a handsome $175,404.

Other highlights of her consistent tournament career include seventh in the 2006 PokerStars EPT French Open in Deauville and 10th in the 2005 PokerStars EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo. Having won more than $600,000 throughout the course of her career, Mercier is firmly entrenched in the world’s top 20 female players in tournament earnings.

Isabelle Mercier is a member of Team PokerStars, and is currently just above average with 17,000 in chips.

Tags: Isabelle Mercier

Level: 6

Blinds: 200/400

Ante: 50

09-28-2007 20:16 UTC+9

James Kwon Back In the Game

[user38334]

After surrendering his early lead, James Kwon has taken his stack to just over 40,000.

German player Gregor Nachtigall made a string raise pre-flop and was told he could only call the big blind. James checked his option and the flop came {9-Diamonds}

. James checks, Gregor bets 600 and James makes the call. The turn card is the {4-Diamonds}

. James checks, Gregor bets 3000 and James makes the call.

The river card is the {3-Diamonds}

and James leads out for 14,000 and Gregor insta-calls, opening {A-Hearts}

but James has {3-Clubs}

for a set of threes.

Tags: James Kwon

09-28-2007 20:11 UTC+9

Masa Kagawa Doubles Up

[user40108]

Action folded around to the player on the button who moved all in for 26,000. Masa Kagawa peeked at his hole cards and then instantly called. The players showed:

Kagawa: {A-Clubs}

Button:

The button got no help from the community cards as the board ran out {Q-Clubs}

. Kagawa made the nut flush and doubled up to 33,000 chips.

Tags: Masa Kagawa