Event #11: $10,600 Main Event Day 1b | 2016 Aussie Millions

01-26-2016 00:59 UTC+10

Alex Rocha Leads Day 1b of the Aussie Millions Main Event

Happy_Freaked

Level 7 : 300/600, 100 ante

The second of three starting days of the 2016 Aussie Millions Main Event drew a total of 207 players, putting the total for now on 389, 33 entries ahead of last year's pace. After a long day of poker it was American pro Alex Rocha who came out on top on Day 1b, taking 166,000 chips to the second day of play, right ahead of KC Wong who bagged up 163,000.

Day 1b had strong cast of contenders, including German pro Dominik Nitsche. The man with $5.1 million in live tournament earnings lasted all but six hands, as he ran his set of threes into Pete 'Chewing Gum Pete' Matusik's set of tens. Italian November Niner Federico Butteroni, tennis legend Boris Becker and WSOP Ladies Event winner Kristin Bicknell were also among the players we will not see return on Day 2.

Big One for One Drop champion Antonio Esfandiari made an appearance on Day 1b as well, and he entertained his table filled predominantly with amateur players, with a game of Lodden Thinks. Esfandiari cracked jokes and had a good time, but ultimately he was not rewarded with chips, as he got knocked out.

Brazilian pro Yuri Dzivielevski had a good day and bagged up 76,200, while Vladimir Troyanovskiy took 102,500 to Day 2. Other players that advanced included Dylan Wilkerson, Ronnie Bardah, Oliver Price and former Aussie Millions champions Tyron Krost and Oliver Speidel.

01-25-2016 22:36 UTC+10

A Chop Turned Sour Sends Bicknell Home

Happy_Freaked

Level 6 : 250/500, 75 ante

The action just folded to Kristen Bicknell in the small blind, and she raised to 1,500 on KC Wong's big blind. Wong tanked for a bit before making it 4,800.

The action was now back on the WSOP Ladies Event champion, who paused for quite some time before moving all in for 16,000 chips.

Wong snap-called, and Bicknell looked worried before seeing it wasn't all that bad.

Bicknell:
Wong:

"Red?" Bicknell asked, looking to avoid losing this hand.

The flop brought out and it left Bicknell drawing to a straight flush on the board to stay alive and chop the pot. The turn was the , and the river the , and Bicknell busted out.

Player	Chips	Progress
KC Wong	92,000
Kristen Bicknell	Busted

Tags: Kristen Bicknell

01-25-2016 22:07 UTC+10

Galindo Finds Aces

Happy_Freaked

Level 6 : 250/500, 75 ante

Vladimir Troyanovskiy just raised to 1,100 and a player in position three-bet to 2,700, after which Laurence Hall called from the small blind. Josep Maria Galindo, one of the tournament chip leaders, four-bet to and Troyanovskiy folded right away.

The three-bettor moved all in almost immediately for right around 32,000 and Hall said, "I can't remember whether or not I had aces," before looking back down at his cards.

Hall, easily the most energetic player at the table, laughed and quickly folded, and Galindo took even less time to make the call.

Galindo:
Opponent:

The board ran out and Galindo's aces held up.

"The prettiest card in the deck!" Hall pointed at the , and referred to the tattoo on his forearm. Galindo quietly stacked up the chips and he now sits on around 133,000.

Player	Chips	Progress
Josep Maria Galindo	133,000	18,000

Tags: Josep Maria Galindo Laurence Hall

01-25-2016 20:32 UTC+10

Hachem's Presence Stirs Things Up For Convey and Reinkemeier

Happy_Freaked

Level 5 : 200/400, 50 ante

"Joe sat down and it was as if the cameras brought out the action," Marc Convey joked about the crazy action that transpired after Australian Poker Hall of Fame member Joe Hachem sat down at his table.

Hachem, who didn't get involved in the action himself is being followed around for a documentary, witnessed the following as Tobias Reinkemeier doubled up, and Convey sent two players to the rail.

A player raised to 1,000, followed by a three-bet to 2,700 and a third player who moved all in for 17,000. Reinkemeier called all in for 5,700, and then it was Convey who shoved over the top for 27,000.

The other players involved folded, and Reinekmeier had the best of it with . Convey's hand was second best, and remained that, as the other player held .

"I profited a little bit," Convey said, "And on the next hand there was a lot of action again."

A player raised to 900 and Convey called with on the button, enticing the small blind to call as well. The flop brought out with two diamonds, and Convey said, "After some raising we got it all in."

Convey had flopped a straight against the two pair of his opponent with , and Convey received the remaining 19,000 chips of his opponent after the turn and river brought blanks.

Player	Chips	Progress
Marc Convey	50,000	14,000
Joe Hachem	29,000
Tobias Reinkemeier	18,000	-9,000

Tags: Joe Hachem Marc Convey Tobias Reinkemeier

01-25-2016 17:11 UTC+10

No Bet Too Small For Esfandiari

Happy_Freaked

Level 4 : 150/300, 25 ante

Just two weeks ago, Antonio Esfandiari played in the $100,000 Super High Roller at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, and we wrote about a high-stakes game of Lodden Thinks between Bill Perkins and Dan Colman, with Esfandiari involved as well.

Right now, on Day 1b of the $10,600 Aussie Millions Main Event, Esfandiari's playing at a table without any of his regular prop-betting friends, but the 2012 $1,000,000 Big One for One Drop winner got acquainted with his opponents real fast.

"I got a good question for the next game," a player at the adjacent table yelled. "What percentage did Antonio have of himself when he won the One Drop tournament?"

"That's actually a great question," Antonio smiled, "But I'm not gonna pose that question myself, that would be too arrogant."

"How much was the buy-in of that, $100,000 or $1,000,000?" John Caridad asked.

The players talked about the question for a bit, and Martin Boersma, in Seat 2, offered himself up to be the brain again.

"Alright," Boersma said as he put his phone down. "I got the number locked in."

"How much are we playing for?" Esfandiari asked. "$200 this time?"

"I won a satellite for this tournament, my wife wouldn't let me play for more than $100 per game," Caridad joked.

Caridad, no stranger to big events with a fourth-place finish in the 2010 Bellagio Cup for $237,902, convinced Esfandiari to play for $100 and the betting began.

"Seven," Esfandiari opened up the betting.

"Ten," Caridad responded, and the line quickly shifted up to 22 before the two ended up playing a hand against each other.

"You play a lot of poker?" Caridad then asked Boersma.

"You can't be asking questions mid-bidding," Esfandiari joked, "That's the fun of the game, we both don't have any info!"

"It's about what he thinks, and that's what f***s me," Caridad said, and everyone burst out in laughter.

After Esfandiari raked in the pot, Caridad reopened the bidding with 23, Esfandiari went to 24, and Caridad upped it to 25.

"You're learning," Esfandiari smiled, as he'd clearly been teaching the players at his table how to play this game.

Esfandiari then went to 26, and Caridad bought, meaning he would get every number from zero to 25%.

"You want to double the bet?" Esfandiari then asked Caridad.

"Yeah, we'll make it $200," the all-of-a-sudden-confident Lodden Thinks rookie said, despite the threat of his wife not liking him betting this big.

"You lose, Antonio," Boersma said, as he revealed his number was 20%, and the entire table cheered.

"Beaten at your own game!" one player laughed, while Esfandiari laughed with them.

One player bluntly asked, "So much did you really have of yourself?"

"Only two people know," Esfandiari said without revealing the actual number, as he won the Big One for One Drop for $18,346,673.

After the dust settled, Caridad collected his $200, and Esfandiari said, "Alright boys, let's kick if up!" and he got everyone to laugh again while being serious at the same time.

Player	Chips	Progress
Antonio Esfandiari	25,000

Tags: Antonio Esfandiari Lodden Thinks Martin Boersma

01-25-2016 13:42 UTC+10

Nitsche Lasts Six Hands in the Main Event

Happy_Freaked

Level 2 : 100/200, 0 ante

Dominik Nitsche is one of the most successful young players in the game, having won three World Series of Poker bracelet, LAPT Mar del Plata, WPT Johannesburg and he also has a third-place finish in the World Series of Poker Europe Main Event. In total Nitsche has $5.1 million in career tournament earnings, and he just busted the Main Event after playing just six hands.

"Six hands," Ronnie Bardah said in amazement, looking back on the hand he just witnessed, "He only played six hands in the Main Event."

The Main Event has a $10,600 buy in, and six hands of play meant Nitsche's tournament cost a whopping $1,766 per hand.

Bardah, who was seated on Nitsche left, explained to us what happened and the action went as follows.

A player raised to 300 in early position and Pete Matusik, who goes by Chewing Gum Pete, from Brisbane with $360,000 in live tournament earnings, three ANZPT final tables and a victory in the 2011 ANZPT Gold Coast event for $145,100, three-bet to 1,200.

Nitsche, seated on the button, called and both the big blind and initial raiser called as well, putting on the flop with two spades and one club.

Bardah said, "The dealer thought Nitsche was in the small blind, and he said that the action was on him. Nitsche pointed out that he had the button, and then the other guys said that he thought he had button."

Matusik thought he had the button as well, and after things were cleared up the action was checked to the man from Brisbane.

"Okay, I'll bet," Bardah reenacted Matusik's quote, as he threw out 3,200.

Nitsche raised it up to 8,200 and the other players folded after which Matusik moved all in. The German pro called right away, creating the following showdown.

Nitsche:
Matusik:

The turn was a and the river brought another , sending Nitsche to the rail after losing set over set.

Player	Chips	Progress
Pete Matusik	64,000
Dominik Nitsche	Busted

Tags: Dominik Nitsche

01-25-2016 12:27 UTC+10

Krost's Back For Another Go

Happy_Freaked

Level 1 : 50/100, 0 ante

Australia's Tyron Krost surprised the entire poker world when he took down the Aussie Millions Main Event in 2010 for AU$2 million. Today, Krost is back for another title chase, as he's taken his seat on Day 1b of the Main Event.

Back in 2012, Krost won the Aussie Millions Tournament of Champions, for which he received a "Golden Ticket" that awarded him a $10,000 Aussie Millions seat for the rest of his life. That's right, Krost will forever be on a freeroll in this event.

Krost's lifetime freeroll has not paid dividends yet, but with a few more decades to give it a try, he'll likely make another deep run in this event at some point.

When Krost won the Aussie Millions Main Event, he beat one of the toughest final tables in its history, as this was the payout of that final table.

Place	Name	Payout
1	Tyron Krost	$2,000,000
2	Frederik Jensen	$1,100,000
3	Sorel Mizzi	$715,000
4	Kosta Varoxis	$450,000
5	Peter Jetten	$350,000
6	Steve Friedlander	$250,000
7	Annette Obrestad	$175,000

Player	Chips	Progress
Tyron Krost	30,000	30,000

Tags: Annette Obrestad Frederik Jensen Sorel Mizzi Tyron Krost

01-25-2016 10:32 UTC+10

Welcome to Day 1b of the 2016 Aussie Millions Main Event

donpeters

Welcome to Day 1b of the 2016 Aussie Millions Main Event.

After a field of 180 runners on Day 1a, the Southern Hemisphere's most prestigious poker tournament is off to a great start. Even furthering that fact was the fixation of Australian star poker player James Obst finishing the day with the chip lead after he bagged up 212,100 in chips.

Obst was the only player on Day 1a to eclipse the 200,000-chip mark at the end of play, and his early success in this event only follows the positive energy he's had throughout this year's festival. Early on in the series, Obst scored first place in Event #2: $2,500 H.O.R.S.E. for AU$35,100 when he defeated Jan Suchanek in heads-up play.

Suchanek, who hails from New Zealand, also had a successful Day 1a. He bagged up 104,800 in chips from his 30,000-chip starting stack and finished just outside the top 10. Other notables to bag big on Sunday were Terence Clee (183,000), Andrew Bassat (168,000), and Dylan Honeyman (137,400), and Michael Egan (133,600).

Day 1b will see the cards in the air at 12:30 p.m. local time today, and another exciting field is anticipated. Last year's Day 1b attracted 173 entries, and the field should expect to reach 175-225 this year. Seven levels will be played, with a 15-minute break after each and a 75-minute dinner break scheduled for after Level 4.

One notable we are aware will be in the field will be former professional tennis player Boris Becker.

Stay tuned for coverage right here on PokerNews.