$10,000 Main Event Day 1b | 2014 World Series of Poker Asia-Pacific

10-13-2014 10:22 UTC+10

Day 1b is Here; Many Big Names Expected to Play

[user80015]

Welcome back to Crown Melbourne and the 2014 World Series of Poker Asia-Pacific for Day 1b of Event 9: AU$10,000 Main Event.

Yesterday saw 129 players take a seat in the Day 1a field as the likes of Jonathan Dimmig, Mohsin Charania, Didier Guerin, Dan Shak, Mike Leah, Daniel Neilson and Roland Israelashvili all were unable to find themselves part of the 70 surviving players as Tobias Reinkemeier bagged the chip lead with 171,925. The likes of Jesse Sylvia, Jackie Glazier, Xuan Liu, Jonathan Little, Jeff Lisandro and a late-arriving Phil Hellmuth all managed to survive.

Today is expected to see an increase in field size with many of the International pros like Daniel Negreanu, Antonio Esfandiari, Jeff Gross, Brian Rast, Mike Watson, Brandon Shack-Harris and three-time 2014 WSOP bracelet winner George Danzer all expected to play today and registration open into tomorrow.

The PokerNews Live Reporting Team will be providing continuous live updates once play kicks off at 12:30 p.m. local time, so make sure to stay tuned to PokerNews for all your WSOP Asia-Pacific Main Event updates.

10-13-2014 13:55 UTC+10

An Orbit with Brazilian November Niner Bruno Politano

Chad Holloway

Level 2 : 100/200, 0 ante

In less than a month Brazilian Bruno Politano will be heading to Las Vegas to compete for $10 million. That's because he's a member of this year's World Series of Poker Main Event November Nine. He currently sits last in chips, though he has the biggest short stack since the November Nine's inception.

Politano is the only member of this year's November Nine to make the trip to the WSOP APAC, and he's excited to be getting some valuable experience. Two days ago Politano made the final table of Event #7: AU$2,200 Six-Handed No-Limit Hold'em alongside Phil Hellmuth. Neither won that event — they finished sixth and fourth respectively — but it was certainly the highlight of the trip for the Brazilian, who is in today's field hoping for even more WSOP success.

We decided to spend an entire orbit with Politano, who was sitting with 35,500 at a seven-handed table that included 2010 WSOP champ Jonathan Duhamel.

Hand #1 (Early Position): The under-the-gun player raised to 600 and Politano called. Both the cutoff and big blind called and four players took a flop of . The big blind checked, the original raiser continued for 1,550, and everyone, including Politano, folded.

Hand #2 (Under the Gun): Politano opened for 450 and took down the blinds.

Hand #3 (Big Blind): The under-the-gun player opened for 450 and a player in early position called. Politano defended his big blind and three players watched the flop come down . Politano checked, the under-the-gun play bet 1,125, and the early-position player folded. Politano then woke up with a check-raise to 2,550, his opponent called, and the dealer burned and turned the .

Politano fired out 3,325, and that did the trick as his opponent folded the .

"You wouldn't be German would you?" the player asked Politano, clearly referencing his aggressive style.

Hand #4 (Small Blind): Duhamel raised to 500 from the hijack and took down the pot.

Hand #5 (Button): The player in the cutoff raised to 500 and Politano folded.

Hand #6 (Cutoff): Action folds to Politano and he released his hand.

Hand #7 (Hijack): Action folds to Politano and he raises to 450. The player on the button responded with a three-bet to 1,125, and after the blinds folded, Politano called to see a flop of . Politano check-called a bet of 1,725 and then both players checked the turn. When the completed the board on the river, Politano led out for 4,525 and his opponent folded.

Politano was very active in this orbit, and one can't help but wonder if this will be indicative of his style of play come November.

Player	Chips	Progress
Bruno Politano	42,000 12,000	12,000

Tags: Bruno Politano

10-13-2014 15:07 UTC+10

Teng Eliminates Pham and Takes Big Chip Lead

[user80015]

Level 3 : 150/300, 0 ante

On the final hand before the break a big pot developed with the board reading .

Victor Teng checked and Tien Pham bet 3,500 with Jonathan Duhamel calling. Teng then opted to check-raise to 15,000 as Pham called all in for slightly less before Duhamel folded.

Pham tabled his for a straight, but it would be Teng's that would see him eliminated Pham while simultaneously moving his stack to 112,000 - good enough for the big chip lead.

Player	Chips	Progress
Victor Teng	112,000 54,000	54,000
Jonathan Duhamel	37,000 -3,000	-3,000

Tien Pham	Busted

Tags: Jonathan Duhamel Tien Pham Victor Teng

10-13-2014 15:33 UTC+10

O'Grady Bad Beats Rousso

Christian Zetzsche

Level 3 : 150/300, 0 ante

Michael O'Grady raised to 700 from under the gun and got one caller before Vanessa Rousso three-bet to 2,600 from middle position. The action folded back to O'Grady and made it 10,000 to go, which scared off the cold-caller. Rousso moved all in for just above 15,000 in chips and O'Grady called.

Rousso:
O'Grady:

The flop was a disaster for Rousso and she needed one of the two remaining kings or running diamonds to double up. The on the turn left two outs and the on the river shipped the pot to O'Grady.

Player	Chips	Progress
Michael O'Grady	106,000 19,000	19,000
Vanessa Rousso	Busted

Tags: Michael O'Grady Vanessa Rousso

10-13-2014 15:54 UTC+10

Zhou Finds 7-2 and Busts

[user80015]

Level 3 : 150/300, 0 ante

Following a hijack raise to 600, Steven Zhou moved all in for 5,450 from the small blind. The original raiser contemplated for a few moments before making the call.

Zhou:
Opponent:

The board ran out and Zhou headed to the rail.

Player	Chips	Progress
Steven Zhou	Busted

Tags: Steven Zhou

10-13-2014 16:13 UTC+10

Madsen Spikes Double

[user80015]

Level 3 : 150/300, 0 ante

Jeff Madsen opened to 600 from middle position and Yu Kurita three-bet the button to 2,400. Once the blinds folded, Madsen deliberated for a few moments before dropping in the majority of his chips to amount to a four-bet of 11,600. Kurita pushed all in and Madsen made the call for his 12,500 total.

Kurita:
Madsen:

With Madsen trailing, the flop didn't connect with his holdings, but when the landed on the turn he took the lead.

The river landed the and the American doubled to over 25,000 as Kurita slipped to roughly 47,000 in chips.

Player	Chips	Progress
Yu Kurita	47,000 -12,300	-12,300
Jeff Madsen	25,450 12,675	12,675

Tags: Jeff Madsen Yu Kurita

10-13-2014 17:13 UTC+10

Esfandiari Rivered by Kassela to the Rail

[user80015]

Level 4 : 150/300, 25 ante

Catching the action on the board of , Frank Kassela bet out 5,000 and Antonio Esfandiari moved all in for 18,075. Kassela quickly called and Esfandiari was at risk.

Kassela:
Esfandiari:

With Esfandiari in the lead, the river landed the to end his tournament after Kassela four-flushed him while moving to 56,000 in chips.

Player	Chips	Progress
Frank Kassela	56,000 32,000	32,000

Antonio Esfandiari	Busted

Tags: Frank Kassela Antonio Esfandiari

10-13-2014 17:31 UTC+10

An Orbit with 2005 World Series of Poker Champ & Crown Ambassador Joe Hachem

Chad Holloway

Level 4 : 150/300, 25 ante

When it comes to poker, no one is bigger in Australia than Joe Hachem. His victory in the 2005 World Series of Poker Main Event helped spark a poker boom in his home country, and ever since then he's been a local celebrity. As one of the most recognizable faces in poker, Hachem serves as an ambassador for the Crown Casino here in Melbourne.

Hachem, who gave the traditional "shuffle up and deal" yesterday to kick off Day 1a, waited until today to play. We recently spent an orbit observing the Aussie, who was sitting with 37,500 when action began.

Hand #1 (Small Blind): Action folded to Hachem in the small blind and he raised to 850, which inspired the big blind to fold.

Hand #2 (Button): A player in middle position raised to 800 and Hachem folded.

Hand #3 (Cutoff): Action folded to Hachem in the cutoff and he raised to 700. Brian Roberts responded with a three-bet to 2,600 from the small blind, the player in the big folded, and Hachem gave it up.

Hand #4 (Late Position): The under-the-gun player raised and Hachem folded.

Hand #5 (Middle Position): The under-the-gun player raised to 1,050 and Hachem folded.

Hand #6 (Middle Position): Hachem opened for 725 and Jason Pritchard called from the button. The big blind came along and three players saw a flop of , which they all checked. When the appeared on the turn, the big blind checked, Hachem bet 1,000, and Pritchard raised to 2,475. The big blind folded and Hachem, who had the bigger stack, moved all in.

Pritchard, who had about 15,000 behind, seemed uneasy and thought for nearly two minutes before releasing his hand.

Hand #7 (Early Position): Hachem folded.

Hand #8 (Early Position): See Hand #7.

Player	Chips	Progress
Joe Hachem	42,000 4,500	4,500

Tags: Joe Hachem orbit Jason Pritchard

10-13-2014 17:47 UTC+10

Boskovic Wins a Very Juicy Pot

Christian Zetzsche

Level 4 : 150/300, 25 ante

It started very innocent as a limped pot when Dejan Boskovic filled up from the small blind and Juicy Li checked her option one seat over. The fireworks started on the flop with Boskovic betting 400 and Li raising to 1,200. Boskovic clicked it back to 3,100 and Li answered with a further reraise to 11,000. Now Boskovic five-bet to 20,000 and called the six-bet shove of Li to put himself at risk for 48,600 chips.

Li:
Boskovic:

The on the turn changed nothing whatsoever, but the on the river gave Boskovic a full house and left Li short-stacked. Moments after the final community card fell, one could hear the loud celebration in the whole tournament area and Li only said "this is so tilting", mucked her next hand and then left to get some fresh air.

Player	Chips	Progress
Dejan Boskovic	100,000 100,000	100,000
Juicy Li	10,000 -38,000	-38,000

Tags: Dejan Boskovic Juicy Li

10-13-2014 17:54 UTC+10

How'd He Get All Those Chips?

Chad Holloway

Level 4 : 150/300, 25 ante

We saw Kahle Burns sitting with a mountain of chips that totaled approximately 140,000, and we had to find out how he got them. Burns was kind enough to share one hand that gave him a healthy boost.

According to him, two players limped preflop and then called when he raised. The flop saw both those opponents call a bet of 2,300 from Burns, and then a appeared on the turn. Burns bet 5,500, one of his opponents folded, and the other raised to 12,000. Burns made the call and then he checked the river.

His opponent bet a hefty 22,000, and Burns responded by check-raising all in. His opponent had 50,000 or so behind and decided to conserve it as he laid down his hand to Burns.

Player	Chips	Progress
Kahle Burns	140,000 61,000	61,000

Tags: Kahle Burns