November 2007 Archives

There is a special feeling when you first hold a passport in your hand. The pages are blank and begging to be stamped. There is a sense of some official place in the world when you travel overseas and display your passport proudly. There is a feeling of pride when a friend flips through the pages and sees stamps from countries far and wide. It's all, in a word, neat.

The PokerStars Passport is so much better than all of that that it's almost impossible to put it into words. The PokerStars Passport is one of the most valuable prizes in all of poker and PokerStars players have a chance to win it starting tomorrow.

What is it? The winner of the PokerStars Passport gets entries to ten big live tournaments. If you win it, you will start your world travels at the EPT German Open in Dortmund in January 2008. You will finish at the 2009 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in 2009. In between, you can choose any eight big tournaments on the European Poker Tour or Asia Pacific Poker Tour. You can also choose the World Series Main Event as one of your eight stops around the world.

For a prize like that, it's pretty clear that winning it will be a challenge. Here's how PokerStars says it will work: The December Tournament Leader Board will be the used to measure who is most-deserving of the passport. Every player who finishes in the TLB top 1,000 in December will have a chance to win one of four European Poker Tour Grand Final packages. Of the top 1,000, the top 100 will play in a tournament for the coveted PokerStars Passport and other huge prizes.

Winning the PokerStars Passsport is more than a great prize. It's also a chance to play for your fellow PokerStars players. Every time the holder of the passport cashes in one of the big events, 10% of the winnings will go back to PokerStars players for special VIP Club Frequent Flyer Freerolls.

In all, PokerStars is giving away more than a quarter million bucks in live tournament packages and cash prizes. For all the details, see the PokerStars Passport page.

Good luck!

As the holidays approach, you're probably be thinking about what to get all your friends and family. Giving, after all, is better than receiving. Still, that doesn't mean you can't give yourself a gift, too.

How about this? A first-time deposit bonus at PokerStars and a chance at $30,000 worth of exclusive freeroll tournaments? That's what PokerStars is offering for people who make their first real-money deposit.

If you're ready to give yourself the gift that could very well keep on giving, simply use any of PokerStars deposit options and use the code “DEC2007” in the bonus code field of the cashier.

Doing that alone gets you a 100% First Deposit Bonus of up to $50. After that, you will also be able to enter the daily Round 1 freerolls between December 5th and 14th. What's more, everybody who finishes in the money of the daily Round 1 events will get an entry into the December 15th final to compete for a whopping $10,000 prize pool.

For all the information you need on the deposit bonus and freerolls, visit the deposit bonus promotion page at PokerStars.com.

The Asia Pacific Poker Tour may be the youngest of the major poker tours in the world, but it is certainly proving that it is no baby. In just a few short months, the APPT has gone from an infant beginning in Manila to its Grand Final in Sydney. What's more, today, the APPT announced it will guarantee A$1 million to whoever wins the event.

PokerStars, the chief sponsor of the APPT, has already announced its intention to send more than 200 of its players to the APPT Grand Final. Players have already flocked to the daily $2.20 satellites and APPT Sydney Steps tournaments that start as low as $7.50 or 500 Frequent Player Points.

And why wouldn't they?

Not only is it summertime down under, but the prize package is something worth coveting. PokerStars qualifiers get a buy-in to the Grand Final, a hotel room for the duration of the tournament, up to $2,000 in airline fares, and a cruise around Sydney Harbor. What's more, I bet there will be some pretty good Aussie BBQ around to munch on.

For all you need to know about the APPT Grand Final, visit the PokerStars APPT satellite page.

Good luck!

Today is a day in which we recognize DDBeast. Why? Well, he's a man who is not only a big time player at PokerStars, but also has a life for which a lot of people would trade. You don't think so? Well, let's start of by giving you a look at the 21-year-old.



Looks pretty happy, huh? And why wouldn't he be? He lives in one of America's greatest cities, is still in the prime of his life, and has already graduated from college with a degree in economics. In his spare time, he spends time shooting pool, playing soccer, and boxing. With those things in mind, it's probably pretty clear that the man sitting with DDBeast in the photo below is not a life counsellor. It seems DDBeast has already figured out most of the hard stuff.



In fact, the guy above is the guy who handed DDBeast the keys to a brand new Porsche. PokerStars paid for it after DDBeast cashed in three million Frequent Player Points. DDBeast started playing poker on the day he turned 18 years old. Within six months, he was playing semi-professionally. He graduated from college last May and has been playing full time ever since.

What is full time? For DDBeast, it's 8-12 tables of SNGs with the occasional multi-table tournament thrown in for good measure. It took him just about one year to pick up enough FPPs to get a new ride. He puts it mildly when he says, "The Porsche is quite a nice upgrade from my '93 Miata. I'm loving it!"



Not so bad, eh?

If you'd like to trade up on your current wheels, check out more information on the PokerStars VIP Club today.

By Sean Callander

Sydney is the talk of the TV final table here at the Grand Waldo Hotel and Casino in Macau. “Here comes Sydney, baby,” Scotty Nguyen just declared to the packed audience, referring to the PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour Grand Final which kicks-off on December 12 at Star City in Australia’s largest city.

Fittingly, we’ve just crowned a young Sydneysider the champion of the $15,000 APPT Macau High Roller tournament. Eric Assadourian, a 28-year-old from the Harbour City, honed his poker skills in the Star City poker room, and will be front and centre when the $6300 buy-in main event kicks-off in his hometown in two weeks.

Assadourian has just bested a field of 64 of the world’s best players to win the first prize of $US368,640. After 34 hands of heads-up play with Bo Sehlstedt, Assadourian confirmed his status as one of Australia’s best players and a rising star on the world stage when he called the Swede’s all-in bet of 101,000.

Holding an 8:1 chip lead, Assadourian said “let’s gamble” and showed 9h 8d. The flop is 5h Qc 9c, turn 10s and the river Jd gave Assadourian a pair of nines, sparking celebrations with his good mate Kenny Ng, who followed every hand of the final table.

This win continues a remarkable run for Assadourian over the past 18 months. He burst onto the scene to win the 2006 Melbourne Championships main event (worth $A80,000), knocking out Team PokerStars Pro Joe Hachem in third spot along the way.

He then made the trip across the Tasman Sea to Christchurch where he captured two titles, including the main event and $A100,000, in the 2007 New Zealand Poker Championships.

He also final tabled twice at the recent PokerNews Cup in Melbourne (eighth in Australia’s first H.O.R.S.E. tournament and fourth in the $ 200 No Limit Hold'em event).

Assadourian never looked overawed by the field in this $15,000 APPT Macau High Roller event, which included names such as Hachem, fellow Team PokerStars Pros Vanessa Rousso, Emad Tahtouh, Isabelle ‘No Mercy’ Mercier, Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier, Lee ‘Final Table’ Nelson, Masa Kagawa, Terrance Chan, Guillaume Patry, Dan Schreiber and Barry Greenstein.

Other entrants were 1998 WSOP champion Scotty Nguyen, 2007 WSOP $2000 Seven-card Stud champion Jeff Lisandro, John Juanda, APPT Macau: Asian Poker open main event final table participant Liz Lieu, Chad Brown, Gary Benson, Van Marcus, Yosh Nakano, Kirk Morrison and Nick Schulman.

Assadourian entered the final table in fourth chip position, with all the pressure on his good friend, Team PokerStars Emad Tahtouh. Aiming for his breakthrough win, Tahtouh held a massive chip lead over Sehlstedt, David Paul Steicke, US trio Liz Lieu (making her second final table appearance at the APPT Macau: Asian Poker Open), Scott Numoto and John Juanda, and the sole Hong Kong native at the final table Tony Ng.

Tahtouh rarely looked comfortable at the final table and when he bowed out in fifth just before the dinner break, it was game-on for Assadourian.

Sehlstedt was down to just 30,000 in chips early in the heads-up contest, but rallied back to more than 300,000. But displaying an uncanny ability to read the Swede to the river (he didn’t lose a single hand called to showdown), he rallied back and ended it all just as the clock ticked past midnight, just seven hours after the first hand was dealt.

It’s been an incredibly successful five days for poker’s first foray into the People’s Republic of China. Congratulations to all involved in the first PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour, which set a new record for the biggest tournament (352 players) ever held in Asia.

The APPT Grand Final is shaping as a massive climax to the inaugural APPT season, with more than 600 players expected to generate a prize pool in excess of $A3 million.

Thanks for following the action from the Grand Waldo Hotel and Casino, see you in Sydney.

PokerStars.net $15,000 APPT Macau High Roller final results:

1. 1 Eric Assadourian, Australia ($US368,640)


2. Bo Sehlstedt, Sweden ($US184,320)


3. David Paul Steicke, Hong Kong ($US110,592)


4. Tony Ng, Hong Kong ($US82,944)


5. Emad Tahtouh, Australia ($US64,512)


6. John Juanda, USA ($US46,080)


7. Scott Numoto, USA ($US36,864)


8. Liz Lieu, USA ($US27,648)

PokerStars Video Blog
Interview with Eric Assadourian, WInner of the 15k High Roller event

Hand 137: Eric Assadourian eliminates Bo Sehlstedt in 2nd place

Button: Sehlstedt (seat 4) – Sehlstedt pushes all-in for 101,000 with Ac 6d, and Eric again says “let’s gamble” with 9h 8d. The flop is 5h Qc 9c, turn 10s and the river Jd, giving Eric Assadourian victory in this $15,000 APPT Macau High Roller event.

Hand 136: Eric Assadourian

Button: Assadourian (seat 6) – Assadourian raise 36,000 and Sehlstedt folds.

Hand 135: Bo Sehlstedt

Button: Sehlstedt (seat 4) – Sehlstedt pushes all-in but gets no interest from Assdourian.

Hand 134: Eric Assadourian

Button: Assadourian (seat 6) – Assadourian pops it to 30,000 and takes it down.

Hand 133: Eric Assadourian

Button: Sehlstedt (seat 4) – Assadourian gets a walk.

Hand 132: Eric Assadourian

Button: Assadourian (seat 6) – Assadourian takes it down with a pre-flop raise to 32,000. He shows pocket aces, and describes his opponent as “not rock, but concrete”.

Hand 131: Eric Assadourian

Button: Sehlstedt (seat 4) – Assadourian picks up the small blind.

Hand 130: Bo Sehlstedt

Button: Sehlstedt (seat 4) – Assadourian adds the extra 5000 and Sehlstedt checks it. 2s 3c 9d is the flop, and Sehlstedt takes it down with a bet of 16,000.

Hand 129: Eric Assadourian

Button: Sehlstedt (seat 4) – Assadourian scoops the small blind after Sehlstedt folds.

Hand 128: Eric Assadourian

Button: Assadourian (seat 6) – Both players are in for the minimum, the flop is 9d 6c Ac. Check check, another ace (As) hits on the turn and Sehlstedt bets 14,000. Assadourian pops it up to 35,000 and Sehlstedt calls. The river card shows Jc, Sehlstedt checks, Assadourian bets 75,000, Sehlstedt calls but loses a crucial pot when Assadourian shows pocket fives.

Hand 127: Bo Sehlstedt

Button: Sehlstedt (seat 4) – The Swede is first to act and makes it 37,000, with no interest from the Aussie.

Hand 126: Eric Assadourian

Button: Assadourian (seat 6) – Assadourian calls on the button, Sehlstedt raises to 42,000 total and Assadourian calls. We see a flop of 5d 8h 7h, check check and the turn is 8d. Assadourian bets 40,000 after Sehlstedt checks, and there’s no call.

Hand 125: Bo Sehlstedt

Button: Sehlstedt (seat 4) – Sehlstedt’s raise to 37,000 is enough to win the pot.

Hand 124: Eric Assadourian

Button: Assadourian (seat 6) – 40,000 is Eric Assadourian’s bet and Sehlstedt folds.

Hand 123: Eric Assadourian

Button: Sehlstedt (seat 4) – Back at ya, Sehlstedt folds his small blind.

Hand 122: Bo Sehlstedt

Button: Assadourian (seat 6) – Sehlstedt gets a walk in the big blind.

Hand 121: Eric Assadourian

Button: Sehlstedt (seat 4) – The bet of Bo Sehlstedt is 34,000, and Assadourian makes the call. The board shows 6h Ah Js Qd Kh, and Assadourian makes a pair of kings (K 7) on the river to take the pot.

Hand 120: Bo Sehlstedt

Button: Assadourian (seat 6) – Assadourian fills his blind, Sehlstedt makes it an extra 35,000 and he wins it there and then.

Hand 119: Eric Assadourian

Button: Sehlstedt (seat 4) – Assadourian gets a walk in the big blind. Among the players watching this enthralling heads-up battle are Scotty Nguyen and Team PokerStars Pros Joe Hachem and Lee Nelson.

Hand 118: Eric Assadourian

Button: Assadourian (seat 6) – Assadourian calls the extra 6000 and Sehlstedt checks. The flop is all clubs – K 7 10 – Assadourian bets 20,000 and takes this one.

Hand 117: Eric Assadourian

Button: Sehlstedt (seat 4) – Sehlstedt pops it up to 34,000 total, and Assadourian makes the call. Jh 5d 9c is the flop, turn is a 4c and river Ad. Assadourian’s pair of fours are good enough to take it down.

Hand 116: Bo Sehlstedt

Button: Assadourian (seat 6) – Assadourian bets 25,000, Sehlstedt pushes all-in and Assadourian folds. The Swede’s stack is now up to approximately 370,000 to Assadourian’s 550,000.

Hand 115:

Button: Sehlstedt (seat 4) – 32,000 is the raise by Sehlstedt, Assadourian reraises 100,000, Sehlstedt is again all-in and Assadourian covers the extra. Sehlstedt shows Ad Kh, while Assadourian is dominated Kd 10d. The board shows 6h Qh 3s Qs 4d, and Sehlstedt is right back in the game.

Hand 114: Bo Sehlstedt

Button: Assadourian (seat 6) – Assadourian calls the extra 10,000 and Sehlstedt checks his option. The flop is Qh 5d 2c, Sehlstedt raises 18,000 and takes it down.

Hand 113: Eric Assadourian

Button: Sehlstedt (seat 4) – Sehlstedt calls in the small blind, Assadourian raises 35,00 and Sehlstedt folds.

Hand 112: Bo Sehlstedt

Button: Assadourian (seat 6) – Assadourian raises 85,000 (enough to cover Sehlstedt) and Swede says it’s time to gamble with Kd 8c. Assadourian is in the box seat to take it out with Ac 9c. The flop is 4h 10s 2h but the 8d puts Sehlstedt ahead. The 10h on the river puts Sehlstedt almost back where he started (172,000) when the heads-up contest started. He’s doubled-up three times in the past five hands.

Hand 111: Eric Assadourian

Button: Sehlstedt (seat 4) – Sehlstedt now has some chips to pick his mark, and folds the small blind.

Hand 110: Bo Sehlstedt

Button: Assadourian (seat 6) – Assadourian folds, and Sehlstedt picks up the blinds.

Hand 109: Eric Assadourian

Button: Sehlstedt (seat 4) – Sehlstedt folds in the small blind.

Hand 108: Bo Sehlstedt

Button: Assadourian (seat 6) – Sehlstedt is up to 46,000 in chips, Assadourian bets enough to put Sehlstedt all-in and the Swede takes the bait. He shows Kc 8s, against Assadourian’s 9s 8h. The flop is all low (2h 2s 4c), stays low with the 5c on the turn and the river is the 10c and Sehlstedt adds an extra 45,000 to his stack.

Hand 107: Bo Sehlstedt

Button: Sehlstedt (seat 4) – The final hand? Sehlstedt is all-in with As 4d against Assadourian’s 3h 6c. The Australian starts behind in a race for one of the few occasions at this final table. The flop hits both players – 3d 4c Kc – putting Sehlstedt ahead. The turn is a 5d, and the river Jd and we’ll be playing some more.

Hand 106: Eric Assadourian

Button: Assadourian (seat 6) – Assadourian raises 25,000, and Sehlstedt calls. The flop is Kd 7s 4c (check check) 8h, Sehlstedt checks, Assadourian bets 30,000 and Sehlstedt calls. The river is Ad, Sehlstedt checks again, Assadourian bets 75,000 and Sehlstedt calls. Assadourian’s pair of eights are good, and he is now in an almost insurmountable chip lead. Sehlstedt has just 23,000 in chips remaining.

Hand 105: Eric Assadourian

Button: Sehlstedt (seat 4) – This time, Assadourian makes the same bet post-flop and makes it two out of two.

Hand 104: Eric Assadourian

Button: Assadourian (seat 6) – Assadourian raises 15,000 pre-flop and wins the pot.

Hand 103: Bo Sehlstedt

Button: Sehlstedt (seat 4) – The heads-up duel is about to kick-off between reigning NZ poker champion Eric Assadourian of Sydney, Australia and Bo Sehlstedt, one of the most respected poker figures in his homeland of Sweden. Blinds will start at 5000/10,000 (there are 29 minutes left at this level). Assadourian has 772,000 in chips, Sehlstedt has 181,000, but it’s the Swede who takes the first pot.

By Sean Callander

The heads-up battle for the title of PokerStars.net $15,000 APPT Macau High Roller champion will be played between Australia’s Eric Assadourian and Bo Sehlstedt of Sweden.

Assadourian, who’ll be playing on home turf when the APPT Grand Final kicks-off in Sydney on December 12, holds a big chip lead (772,000 to Sehlstedt’s 181,000). As the dominant player at the final table, it’s hard to see the Aussie being toppled but Sehlstedt has played a rock solid game and will have the poker-mad Scandinavian nation cheering him on from afar. The spoils: a $US$368,640 payday for the winner against $US184,320 for runner-up.



Hand 102: David Steicke eliminated by Eric Assadourian in 3rd place ($US$110,592)

Button: Assadourian (seat 6) – Assadourian pops it up to 30,000, Steicke adds an extra 30,000, Assadourian says “I’m all-in” and Steicke calls. The race is As Jd for Assadourian against Steicke’s Ah 9h. The flop is bad for Steicke (4d Jc 7d) but the 8h gives him an inside straight draw. However, his tournament ends when the Jh lands on the river. A great performance by David Paul Steicke, who only rekindled his interest in poker thanks to the APPT’s arrival in Asia. He played in the APPT Seoul main event, and has stamped himself as a quality player with third in this $15,000 APPT Macau High Roller event.

Hand 101: David Steicke

Button: Sehlstedt (seat 4) – It’s a battle of the blinds, but it ends quickly when Steicke sniffs at the pot after a flop of 4s As Kh.

Hand 100: Eric Assadourian

Button: Steicke (seat 8) – Assadourian gets no action in the big blind, and shows two black aces (“I never get a hand,” he says).

Hand 99: Bo Sehlstedt

Button: dead – Sehlstedt gets a walk in the big blind.




Hand 98: Tony Ng eliminated by Eric Assadourian in 4th place ($US110,592)

Button: Assadourian (seat 6) – Assadourian raises to 35,000, Ng is all-in for 16,000 and shows 6d 5s against the Australian’s Ad Kh. Can Tony snag some sixes again? Well, there’s a 5h on the flop (with 10c 9s), but the turn is a Kd and river a 3h. The Hong Kong native is off to the rail, but not before adding his mark on the final table (he should be good value on the TV coverage).

Hand 97: David Steicke

Button: Sehlstedt (seat 4) – Steicke raises the minimum, Ng calls the extra 10,000 and we see a flop of Jd 10d Qc. Ng checks, Steicke bets 30,000, Ng goes all-in and Steicke insta-calls. Ng shows Qd 10c for two-pair, but Steicke has Ah Kd for the nut straight. The turn is Jh and the river 9s. Steicke doubles up through Tony Ng, who has just 17,000 in chips left.

Hand 96: Bo Sehlstedt

Button: Steicke (seat 8) – Sehlstedt makes it 25,000 to go, and all the other cards go into the muck.

Hand 95: Eric Assadourian

Button: Ng (seat 7) – Assadourian pops it to 30,000, and takes the pot.

Hand 94: Bo Sehlstedt

Button: Assadourian (seat 6) – Sehlstedt picks up 19,000 in blinds and antes with a pre-flop bet of 25,000.

Hand 93: Bo Sehlstedt

Button: Sehlstedt (seat 4) – The blinds are in action (Assadourian and Ng) along with Sehlstedt, and the three players check the flop of Qd Jc Qc. The turn is 6c, Sehlstedt bets 16,000 and scoops the pot. Blinds are now at 5000/10,000 with a 100 ante.

Poker Stars Blog Final Table Preview
Alison introduces the final table for the APPT High Roller Event

Hand 92: Eric Assadourian

Button: Steicke (seat 8) – Ng’s raise is to 22,000 under the gun, Assadourian announces all-in and Ng, the entertainment package at this final table, says “c’mon Eric”, and folds.

Hand 91: Split – Sehlstedt/Ng

Button: Ng (seat 7) – Ng makes it 19,000 to go and Sehlstedt calls the extra 11,000. The flop 8d Kh 7s – Ng bets 25,000 and Sehlstedt calls. The turn is Jd, the action goes check check, and the river card is the 9h. It’s checked down, with both players showing a pair of kings and the pot is split for just the second time at this final table.

Hand 90: David Steicke

Button: Assadourian (seat 6) – Steicke gets a free pass.

Hand 89: Tony Ng

Button: Sehlstedt (seat 4) – Action fold to the blinds, Assadourian calls and Ng checks. We see a flop of Js 9h 8c, Ng bets 16,000 and wins it there and then.

Hand 88: Bo Sehlstedt

Button: Steicke (seat 8) – Sehlstedt raises to 25,000 and takes it down.

Hand 87: Bo Sehlstedt

Button: Ng (seat 7) – Sehlstedt wins his first pot since the break with a walk in the big blind.

Hand 86: Eric Assadourian

Button: Assadourian (seat 6) – Sehlstedt makes it 29,000 under the gun, Assadourian bumps it another 30,000 and snares the pot.

Hand 85: Tony Ng

Button: Sehlstedt (seat 4) – Assadourian raises it up to 59,000, Ng announces all-in and Assadourian calls. It’s Ad 5h for Assadourian and As Jd for Tony Ng. The flop hits Ng (Jc 10c 8c, the turn is 3d and Ah on the river to double up Ng to approximately 150,000.

Hand 84: Eric Assadourian

Button: Steicke (seat 8) – Steicke’s raise is his standard 16,000, Assadourian bets an additional 35,000 and makes it four pots in a row.

Hand 83: Eric Assadourian

Button: Ng (seat 7) – Assadourian continues his aggressive betting, coming in for 25,000 and taking the blinds and antes. Assadourian has almost two-thirds of the 920,000-plus chips in play.

Hand 82: Eric Assadourian

Button: Assadourian (seat 6) – It’s a three-way pot with Assadourian and Ng calling, and Steicke checking. As 5c Js is the flop, Ng checks, Steicke checks and Assadourian bets 55,000. Fold, fold, and it’s Eric’s pot.

Hand 81: Eric Assadourian

Button: Sehlstedt (seat 4) – Assadourian kicks it up to 36,000, and takes down the pot.

Hand 80: Bo Sehlstedt

Button: Steicke (seat 8) – Sehlstedt fills the blind, and we see a flop of 8h Qd 10s, check check and the turn is the 8s. Sehlstedt bets 12,000, Assadourian raises an extra 25,000 and Sehlstedt declares all-in. he takes the pot.

Hand 79: Tony Ng

Button: Ng (seat 7) – Action has just resumed at the final table of $15,000 APPT Macau High Roller event, with the chip counts as follows: Eric Assadourian (552,000), Bo Sehlstedt (141,000), David Steicke (171,000) and Tony Ng (100,000). There are just under 20 minutes left at this level (4000/8000 with a 500 ante. Ng raises to 30,000 and takes the first pot after the break.

Australian Eric Assadourian is in the box seat to claim the $US368,640 first prize as the $15,000 APPT Macau High Roller champion. Just four players remain at the final table, which started with a field of eight.

Assadourian leads the chip count from Sweden’s Bo Sehlstedt, locally based player Tony Ng and expat Australian David Steicke.

Players eliminated today were Liz Lieu (eighth), Scott Numoto (seventh), John Juanda (sixth) and the chip leader coming into the final table, Emad Tahtouh (fifth).

Looks like pizza for dinner – as good as anywhere in the world, but it’s the only time we’ve ever seen corn used as an ingredient. Makes a nice change after a LOT of Chinese meals. See you in an hour.

Hand 78: Bo Sehlstedt

Button: Ng (seat 7) – Sehlstedt gets a walk on the last hand before the dinner break.

Hand 77: Eric Assadourian

Button: Sehlstedt (seat 4) – Assadourian raises to 24,000: no callers. He’s now taken four of the last five pots

Hand 76: Eric Assadourian

Button: Steicke (seat 8) – Steicke’s raise is 16,000 and Assadourian calls in the big blind. The flop is 4d 9h 7s, both players check, 5s, both players check, 8d. Assadourian bets 20,000 and we’re all done.

Hand 75: David Steicke

Button: Ng (seat 7) – It’s fold to Steicke in the small blind, who calls. Sehlstedt checks and we see a flop of 3c 8h Ah. Steicke bets 16,000, and the chips are his.

Hand 74: Eric Assadourian

Button: Assadourian (seat 6) – Assadourian pops it up to 21,000 and gets no interest.

Hand 73: Eric Assadourian

Button: Sehlstedt (seat 4) – It’s heads-up between the blinds and the board shows 7s 9c 8h 9h. Assadourian sniffs at the pot and takes it.

Hand 72: David Steicke

Button: Steicke (seat 8) – Steicke raises the min and gets a call from Assadourian. The flop reads Qs 7c 6h, Steicke bets 24,000 and there’s no call from the young Aussie.

Hand 71: Tony Ng

Button: Ng (seat 7) – Assadourian raises to 22,000, Tony Ng pushes all-in for an extra 28,000 with Ac 6c and Assadourian continues his roll with pocket (black) kings. Ng calls for the Kh, but the flop is even better for him – 6d 6s 10d, giving him trips. The 7d on the turn and the 10s gives him a full house and he doubles through.

Hand 70: Eric Assadourian

Button: Assadourian (seat 6) – Assadourian raises 22,000 on the button and there are no callers.

Hand 69: Eric Assadourian

Button: Sehlstedt (seat 4) – There are three player in for the minimum, the flop comes 2s 8d 9c. Sehlstedt bets 17,000, Assadourian makes it 40,000 and Ng folds after initially checking. Sehlstedt calls, and the turn is the Kh. It’s check check, and the river is the Ah. Sehlstedt bets 65,000, and Assadourian makes a great call, taking down a huge pot with a pair of eights.

Hand 68: Bo Sehlstedt

Button: dead – In a battle of the blinds, the board shows 2c9s 4c Ah 3c. It’s a friendly hand, with Sehlstedt’s bet of 13,000 enough for Assadourian to fold.

Hand 67: Emad Tahtouh eliminated by Bo Sehlstedt in 5th place ($US64,512)

Button: Steicke (seat 8) – Tahtouh reaches for chips in the small blind and makes it 22,000, but Sehlstedt is quick to declare all-in (he has the Australian covered). The Swede shows Ah Ks, while Tahtouh has Kh Jh. The flop his Sehlstedt (Ad 7d Qs) but gives Tahtouh a straight draw. The turn is a blank (4c), and the river (6d), giving Sehlstedt the pot and sending the final Team PokerStars player, Emad Tahtouh, to the rail.

Hand 66: David Steicke

Button: Ng (seat 7) – Steicke raises, you guessed it, the minimum to 16,000. However, it’s a strategy that’s working for him as he takes down another pot.

Hand 65: Split – Ng/Steicke

Button: Assadourian (seat 6) – Blinds are now 4000/8000 with a 500 ante. In a battle of the blinds, Ng and Steicke see a flop of 8c Jc Kc, Ng bets 8000, and Steicke pushes all-in and Ng calls, showing Ks 7s, while Steicke has Kd 6d – both showing top pair but Ng’s 7 is in play. The 8d on the turn and 2c means a split pot.

Hand 64: Eric Assadourian

Button: Sehlstedt (seat 4) – In the last hand at this level, Sehlstedt makes it 15,000, Assadourian is again reraising the Swede – this time by an extra 60,000. Sehlstedt again folds, and Assadourian continues his charge.

Hand 63: Eric Assadourian

Button: Tahtouh (seat 3) – We see a flop of 2d 8c 10h with Sehlstedt and Assadourian heads-up. On the turn (Jd), Sehlstedt bets 13,000, Assadourian makes it 40,000 and Sehlstedt calls. In this battle of the big stacks, the river is the 10d, Sehlstedt checks, Assadourian bets 65,000, Sehlstedt calls and the Australian shows trip 10s to extend his chip lead.

Hand 62: David Steicke

Button: Steicke (seat 8) – There’s another short break for TV commitments before Steicke raises to 18,000 and Sehlstedt calls from the big blind. The flop is 2c As Qc, Sehlstedt checks, Steicke bets 10,000 and Sehlstedt sends his cards into the muck.

Hand 61: Emad Tahtouh

Button: Ng (seat 7) – It’s folded around to the button where the Hong Kong native bumps it to 17,000. Tahtouh again takes a stand and announces all-in for an additional 38,000. Ng makes the call with Qs 9s, while Tahtouh is ahead in the race with As 9h. The flop is 4h Ah Jh, but Tahtouh is made to sweat with the Kd hitting on the turn. Could it happen again? No – he makes the nut flush with the Kh and doubles through Tony Ng.

Hand 60: David Steicke

Button: Assadourian (seat 6) – Tahtouh, reeling from that brutal beat, calls. Ng calls and Steicke checks in the big blind and we see the flop. It comes 5d 3h 6s; Ng bets 12,000, Steicke reraises the minimum, Tahtouh and Ng fold and it’s Steicke’s pot.

Hand 59: David Steicke

Button: Sehlstedt (seat 4) – Steicke raises to 12,000 (more than a quarter of his stack), Tahtouh reraises to 35,000 and he just calls. The flop shows 4s 2d 8s, Steicke pushes in his last 13,000 and Tahtouh calls with pocket (red) queens. Steicke shows Ac 9s. The turn is the Js, and river is the 3s, giving Steicke a runner-runner flush to keep him alive.

Hand 58: Eric Assadourian

Button: Tahtouh (seat 3) – This time it’s Assadourian who scoops it up with a walk.

Hand 57: Bo Sehlstedt

Button: Steicke (seat 8) –Sehlstedt has a free pass in the big blind.

Hand 56: Eric Assadourian

Button: Ng (seat 7) – Assadourian raises to 16,000 and gets no love, then shows pocket aces for his trouble!

Hand 55: Emad Tahtouh

Button: Assadourian (seat 6) – Tahtouh pops it to 16,000 and wins the pot.

Hand 54: Bo Sehlstedt

Button: Sehlstedt (seat 4) – Current chip counts are: Emad Tahtouh (112,000), Bo Sehlstedt (305,000), Eric Assadourian (313,000), Tony Ng (167,000) and David Steicke the short stack (63,000). Sehlstedt bumps it to 18,000 and scoops the blinds and antes.

Hand 53: Tony Ng

Button: Tahtouh (seat 3) – Ng pre-flop raise to 18,000 gets the job done as players head off for a 15-minute break. There’s 30 minutes to go at level 17, and we’ll play out level 18 before the dinner break.

Hand 52: Bo Sehlstedt

Button: Steicke (seat 8) – Tahtouh makes the standard three-times the big blind raise to 18,000; this time Sehlstedt calls. We see a flop of 3s 2c 7c, no action, the turn is 6h, Tahtouh checks and Sehlstedt bets out 24,000. He takes it down; Tahtouh is clearly under the pump, he hasn’t taken a raised pot since hand 26.

Hand 51: Tony Ng

Button: Ng (seat 7) – Ng makes it 18,000 and we don’t see a flop.

Hand 50: Eric Assadourian

Button: Ng (seat 7) – Assadourian takes it up to 16,000 pre-flop and hauls in the blinds and antes.

Hand 49: Bo Sehlstedt

Button: Sehlstedt (seat 4) – Sehlstedt raises to 18,000 and takes the pot. After losing three players in the first 30 hands, play has settled down in the last hour although David Steicke is under threat as the short stack.

Hand 48: Eric Assadourian

Button: Tahtouh (seat 3) – Assadourian has a free pass.

Hand 47: Bo Sehlstedt

Button: Steicke (seat 8) – Tahtouh fills his small blind, but Sehlstedt raises an extra 17,000 and Tahtouh folds.

Hand 46: Emad Tahtouh

Button: Ng (seat 7) – Tahtouh gets a walk in the big blind.

Hand 45: David Steicke

Button: Assadourian (seat 6) – Tahtouh limps under-the-gun, Sehlstedt calls and Steicke checks his option. The flop is 9h 5c Ks, all three players check and the turn comes 7h. Steicke is all-in, Tahtouh and Sehlstedt fold.

Hand 44: Bo Sehlstedt

Button: Sehlstedt (seat 4) – Sehlstedt is counting out chips again (19,000) and wins the pot.

Hand 43: Bo Sehlstedt

Button: Tahtouh (seat 3) – Sehlstedt raises to 20,000, Assadourian bumps it to 60,000 and Sehlstedt declares all-in for an additional 140,000. The new chip leader is being put to an acid test by the Swede, and he passes up the opportunity.

Hand 42: Tony Ng

Button: Steicke (seat 8) – Tony Ng raises to 18,000, Steicke calls and we see a flop of t5h 2s 8c. Ng checks, Steicke bets 16,000, Ng says “I’m all-in” and Steicke passes.

Hand 41: Eric Assadourian

Button: Ng (seat 7) – Assadourian does it again, raise to 16,000 and takes the pot.

Hand 40: Eric Assadourian

Button: Ng (seat 7) – There’s a short break while the tournament staff, who’ve done a fantastic job throughout the PokerStars.net APPT Macau: Asian Poker Open, conduct a colour-up. When we return to action, the blinds will be at level 17 (300/6000 with a 1000 ante). Assadourian makes it 16,000 and takes down another pot, he’s won five of the last seven pots.

By Sean Callander

The pattern is continuing with an elimination every 10 hands after Eric Assadourian sent decorated US pro John Juanda packing. The young Australian spiked one of the two aces remaining in the deck to send the short stack to the rail. We’re down to five players, with the field still chasing Emad Tahtouh.

Hand 30: John Juanda eliminated by Eric Assadourian in 6th place ($46,080)

Button: Ng (seat 7) – In a huge pot, Juanda is all-in with Kc Kh against Assadourian’s Kd Ad. The board reads 8d 6c 6h 5c, but the As on the river gives Assadourian the pot and sends Juanda out in sixth position.

Hand 29: Tony Ng

Button: Assadourian (seat 6) – Tony Ng raises 16,000 from the small blind and wins the pot.

Hand 28: Tony Ng

Button: Sehlstedt (seat 4) – Tahtouh and Ng, the winners of the last two pots get involved. The flop reads 10c Js 5d, Tahtouh bets 11,000, Ng raises 35,000 and takes it down.

Hand 27: Tony Ng

Button: Tahtouh (seat 3) – “All right, Hong Kong” Tony Ng declares as he takes down the pot with a pre-flop raise to 11,000. We’ve also noticed that David Steicke is wearing a cap with an interesting saying “The word impossible can only be found in the dictionary for fools”. The highly successful businessman has shown so far he’s no fool at the poker table

Hand 26: Emad Tahtouh

Button: Juanda (seat 1) – Tahtouh’s raise to 12,000 is enough to take it down pre-flop.

Hand 25: Eric Assadourian

Button: Steicke (seat 8) – Assadourian raises to 12,000, and Tahtouh calls from the big blind. The board shows 10d 5h 7h, Tahtouh checks, Assadourian bets 23,000 and Tahtouh calls. The turn is another heart (A), Tahtouh checks and Assadourian bets 55,000. There’s no call from Tahtouh and Assadourian collects a significant pot.

Hand 24: John Juanda

Button: Ng (seat 7) – In the small blind, Steicke announces raise and makes it 12,000 total. Juanda, the short stacks calls, and the flop is Js 6d 10d. Steicke bets 6000, Juanda moves all-in for another 22,000 but Steicke folds.

Hand 23: David Steicke

Button: Assadourian (seat 6) – Tahtouh bets 12,000 pre-flop and Steicke calls in the big blind. The flop comes 9d 6d 6h, Tahtouh raises 12,000 and Steicke reraises 24,000. Tahtouh folds.

Hand 22: Eric Assadourian

Button: Sehlstedt (seat 4) – Assadourian raises to 13,000 in the small blind and takes down the pot.

Hand 21: Bo Sehlstedt

Button: Tahtouh (seat 3) – We’re just back from a short break, with the blinds up to 2000/4000 and a 500 ante. The chip count is John Juanda (39,000), Bo Sehlstedt (152,000), Eric Assadourian (126,500), Tony Ng (124,000), David Steicke (102,500) and Emad Tahtouh (416,000). It’s heads-up between Sehlstedt and Assadourian in the blinds. The board comes Ad Ks 8h Qs, Sehlstedt bets 6000 on the turn and wins the pot.

Chip leader Emad Tahtouh has taken another scalp with the elimination of Californian Scott Numoto at the $15,000 APPT Macau High Roller event final table. Just six players remain in the hunt for the first prize of $US368,640, and the honour of being crowned just the second poker champion on Chinese soil.

Hand 20: Scott Numoto is eliminated by Emad Tahtouh in 7th place ($US36,864)

Button: Numoto (seat 2) – Numoto is all-in, Tahtouh reraises to 130,000 and Sehlstedt folds. It’s Numoto’s As 2s against Tahtouh’s black 10s. The flop is 3d Kc 7c, the turn is Jh and the river Ks, sending Scott Numoto out in seventh placing.

Hand 19: Eric Assadourian

Button: Juanda (seat 1) – Assadourian raises to 11,000, which is the only action in the hand.

Hand 18: Emad Tahtouh

Button: Steicke (seat 8) – Tahtouh opens up for 12,000 under the gun, Numoto shows 2 4 in the big blind and folds.

Hand 17: Bo Sehlstedt

Button: Ng (seat 7) – Sehlstedt is in the action again with a raise of 8500, and Steicke calls. On the flop of 8d Js 8h, Steicke bets 10,000, Sehlstedt announces reraise and makes it 27,000. Steicke calls, and the turn is the Qs. Check-check, and the river shows 5c. Sehlstedt shows Qh 9d, and Steicke Ac Jh, giving the Swede a nice pot.

Hand 16: Tony Ng

Button: Assadourian (seat 6) – Sehlstedt, Steicke and Ng are in for the minimum, the flop comes 10d 8s 8c, it’s checked around and Ng bets 5000 on the turn (9s). Sehlstedt makes the call and the river is 7s. Ng shows a J for the straight and wins the pot.

Hand 15: Scott Numoto

Button: Sehlstedt (seat 4) – Numoto makes it 8000: there are no takers.

Hand 14: Eric Assadourian

Button: Tahtouh (seat 3) – Sehlstedt raises to 9000 in the small blind and gets a call from Assadourian. On a flop of 6s 10c Kd, Sehlstedt checks, the Aussie bets 11,000 and scoops it up.

Hand 13: Emad Tahtouh

Button: Numoto (seat 2) – Steicke raises to 6000, with calls coming from Tahtouh and Sehlstedt. The flop comes Ks 10s 2h, it’s checked around and the turn comes 2d. Tahtouh leads out for 12,000, and both players fold.

Hand 12: John Juanda

Button: Juanda (seat 1) – JJ makes his move with an all-in bet from the button, but gets no takers and wins the pot.

Hand 11: Bo Sehlstedt

Button: Steicke (seat 8) – Same bet, same result: Sehlstedt makes it 8500 and scoops the blinds and antes.

Hand 10: Bo Sehlstedt

Button: Ng (seat 7) – Sehlstedt raises to 8500 and takes it down.

PokerStars Video Blog
Alison chats with Lee Nelson about his new book "Kill Everyone"

By Sean Callander

Liz Lieu has completed a remarkable run at the PokerStars.net APPT Macau: Asian Poker Open to reach the final table of both events. But the Vietnamese-born US player has been the first player eliminated from the final table of the $15,000 APPT Macau High Roller event.

“It sucks, but I’m happy with the way I’ve played this week; it’s been a great tournament,” she said as she walked away from the table and out of the TV studio. We’re down to seven players, and Emad Tahtouh remains a big chip leader.

Hand 9: Liz Lieu eliminated by Tony Ng in 8th position ($US27,648)

Button: Assadourian (seat 6) – Lieu bumps it up to 11,000, Ng gets them all-in with a raise of 50,000. She calls after a long deliberation, and shows As 10h; Ng has Ah Qh – he has Lieu covered. The flop is Js 2c Ks, the turn 10s (giving Ng his straight), and the river 8s, sending Liz Lieu out in eighth position.

Hand 8: Bo Sehlstedt

Button: Lieu (seat 5) – Sehlstedt makes it 8500 and takes his first pot.

Hand 7: Liz Lieu

Button: Sehlstedt (seat 4) – Steicke raises to 6000 and Lieu shoves all-in from the small blind. Assadourian shows A J and folds, and Steicke folds.

Hand 6: Tony Ng

Button: Tahtouh (seat 3) – Ng is first into the pot with a raise of 7000, and Lieu calls in the big blind. She has position after the flop of Ah Qd Jd. She checks, Ng bets another 7000 and Lei folds.

Hand 5: Scott Numoto

Button: Numoto (seat 2) – Steicke is back in action with a raise to 6000, and Numoto again shoves all-in for 43,000. Steicke requests a count but there’s no call.

Hand 4: Scott Numoto

Button: Juanda (seat 1) – Numoto moves all-in from the small blind and takes down his first pot of the final table.

Hand 3: David Paul Steicke

Button: Steicke (seat 8) – Steicke raises 6000, which is enough to take it two out of the first three pots for the Hong Kong-based Australian trader.

Hand 2: Emad Tahtouh

Button: Ng (seat 7) – Tahtouh pops it up to 9000 in middle position, and takes it down.

Hand 1: David Paul Steicke

Button: Assadourian (seat 6) – Blinds are starting at level 14 (1500/3000 with a 500 ante). Steicke fills the small blind against Juanda. The flop is 2h 8s 4s, Steicke checks, Juanda bets 10,500 and Steicke reraises the same amount. Juanda folds and Steicke wins the first pot.

By Sean Callander

Action is just about to kick-off in today’s final table of the $15,000 APPT Macau High Roller event. Just 11 hours have elapsed since we wrapped up play at the Grand Waldo Hotel and Casino on day one, when 65 players paid the $15k entry fee.

Our chip leader, Team PokerStars’ Emad Tahtouh is put an end to his bridesmaid’s tag once and for all today. With a 2.5:1 chip leader over the next stack (that of Hong Kong-based Australian David Paul Streicke), he’s in the ideal position.

“I was really happy with my game yesterday, I’m playing solidly and if it’s ever going to happen, it’s going to happen today,” he said.

Tahtouh was runner-up in the 2006 PokerStars EPT London main event, which earned him £285,900 (or just over $A720,000). And as recently as last month, he was second in the Bad Boys of Poker Invitational at the PokerNews Cup in his hometown of Melbourne.

APPT Macau 2007 High Roller Event: Final Table

One of the toughest challenges will come from fellow Aussie young gun Eric Assadourian, who’s already promised to test Emad’s mettle early in the final table battle. “Mate, you and me, I’m going to test you out,” the Sydneysider said in some verbal sparring as the TV crews completed their promos.

Liz Lieu will be hoping to improve on her seventh place in the PokerStars.net APPT Macau: Asian Poker Open, but with just 48,000 in chips, she’s faces an uphill battle with blinds starting at 1500/3000 and antes at 500 as the second shortest stack.

And sitting in the background is the three-time WSOP bracelet winner John Juanda, who’s already made an indelible mark on this event and will be keen to underline his status as one of the world’s best players. We’re about to get started, should be a cracker.

Seat 1: John Juanda, USA (74,000)

Seat 2: Scott Numoto, USA (47,000)

Seat 3: Emad Tahtouh, Australia (343,500)

Seat 4: Bo Sehlstedt, Sweden (127,000)

Seat 5: Liz Lieu, USA (48,500)

Seat 6: Eric Assadourian, Australia (120,500)

Seat 7: Tony Ng, Hong Kong (57,500)

Seat 8: David Paul Streicke, Hong Kong (142,000)

Who needs to worry about tilt when you win the Sunday Million? It's a question for this week's winner, G0T T!LT? who won nearly a quarter million dollars in this week's Sunday Million. Here's a run-down of all of this week's big Sunday winners.

PokerStars Sunday Warm-Up Final Table Results
Based on finishing order and four-way deal

1. jc_bluej (United Kingdom) $70,000.00
2. £uca (Italy) $42,500.01
3. xThe Chefx (Norway) $42,500.01
4. CASINOICE (Iceland) $43,136.00
5. GoldGame (United States) $20,134.80
6. tobededope (Germany) $15,292.86
7. HammerG (United States) $10,978.26
8. delegator (Norway) $6,903.36
9. Infitilt (United States) $4,026.96


PokerStars Sunday Hundred Grand Final Table Results
Based on finishing order and five-way deal

1. sebure (France) $10,493.93
2. dreaming71 (United States) $12,412.54
3. brehmer (United States) $6,764.57
4. Fun Zulu (Germany) $6,200.57
5. janikola (Norway) $6,212.44
6. drucifer (United States) $1,870.41
7. Waters81 (United States) $1,496.33
8. Coolz102 (United States) $1,215.77
9. Martini Bear (United States) $935.21


PokerStars Sunday Million Final Table Results

1. G0T T!LT? (United States) $248,632.80
2. Tommy2tyme (United States) $126,412.00
3. ScAvvY06 (Germany) $83,688.80
4. HBHCR (Costa Rica) $68,952.00
5. Oly_B (Netherlands) $55,432.00
6. poisson13 (France) $41,912.00
7. turtlestar (Canada) $29,473.60
8. ElFook (Finland) $18,657.60
9. DrEskilstuna (Sweden) $10,816.00

By Sean Callander

The line-up has been decided for tomorrow’s $15,000 APPT Macau High Roller final table after almost 16 hours of play here at the Grand Waldo Hotel and Casino.

A world class field of 65 players assembled just after midday, including many of the stars who played the $2500 buy-in main event over the past three days, plus a handful of players who flew into Macau especially for the event, including Nick Schulman, Kirk Morrison and Team PokerStars Pro Barry Greenstein.

Others to line-up included APPT Macau: Asian Poker Open final table participants Liz Lieu and Team PokerStars duo Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier and Guillaume Patry, fellow Team PokerStars Pros Joe Hachem, Lee ‘Final Table’ Nelson, Vanessa Rousso, Emad Tahtouh, Isabelle ‘No Mercy’ Mercier, Masa Kagawa, Terrance Chan and Dan Schreiber.

Chad Brown, Jeff Lisandro, John Juanda, Gary Benson, Yosh Nakano and the ever-popular Scotty Nguyen also paid the $15k buy-in.

By 11pm, 14 players remained in the hunt for a shot at the final table, which would assure each player a minimum payout of $US27,648 and a shot at the first prize of $US368,640.

However, it took another five hours for the last six players to be eliminated. Eventually, Russian Aliansandr Dzianisan pushed all-in with pocket nines and fell to the pocket queens of Australian Emad Tahtouh when a queen hit on the flop.

Due to the late finish, tomorrow’s final table won’t start until 3pm local time, but keep an eye on www.pokerstarsblog.com for all the latest news and chip counts from the final table.

Chip count and final table line-up (end of day 1)

• Seat 1: John Juanda, USA (74,000)
• Seat 2: Scott Numoto, USA (47,000)
• Seat 3: Emad Tahtouh, Australia (343,500)
• Seat 4: Bo Sehlstedt, Sweden (127,000)
• Seat 5: Liz Lieu, USA (48,500)
• Seat 6: Eric Assadourian, Australia (120,500)
• Seat 7: Tony Ng, Hong Kong (57,500)
• Seat 8: David Paul Streicke, Hong Kong (142,000)

Seat 1: John Juanda, USA (74,000 in chips)Born in Indonesia of Chinese descent, this 36-year-old is rightly considered among one of the greatest players of all-time. Part of a generation of young guns that emerged in the mid-1990s (together with Allen Cunningham, Layne Flack, Daniel Negreanu, Phil Ivey and Kirk Morrison), his tournament earnings are nudging $US7 million. Highlights of his career include the 2001 World Poker Open, three WSOP bracelets ($1500 Triple Draw Lowball Ace-to-Five in 2002; plus the $2500 Pot Limit Omaha and $2500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo Split in 2003). He has made six WPT final tables without winning a title, but collected the inaugural Professional Poker Tour title at Foxwoods in 2004. He also pocketed $1m when he won the Speed Poker title at the 2006 Aussie Millions. Juanda has rarely been out of the top-five in chips throughout this $15,000 APPT Macau High Roller Event.

Seat 2: Scott Numoto, USA (47,000 in chips)

By Sean Callander

We’ve just ticked over the 12-hour mark in the $15,000 APPT Macau High Roller final table at the Grand Waldo Hotel and Casino, with players taking a break as tournament staff color up.

In the past two hours, just two players have been eliminated: the popular Alan Sass in 14th and Phillip Elden in 13th. Players returned with blinds at 1000/2000 and antes at 300.

Since the break, the action has started to pick up with Jim ‘Satch’ Sachinidis bowing out in 12th spot when fellow Australian Gary Benson called Sachinidis’ 4000 pre-flop all-in from the big blind holding the Ac 6d, while Sachinidis showed Kh 10d.

The board came 8c Ad 4s Js As giving Benson trip aces, and eliminating Sachinidis from the tournament.

Next out was Daniel Schreiber, the second last member of Team PokerStars left in the field. Sydneysider Eric Assadourian continued his march towards the final table. Schreiber moved in from the cut-off with K 7, and Assadourian called with A Q. he made trip aces on the flop, thus sending Schreiber on his way.



Approximate chip count

• Emad Tahtouh (Australia) 160,000


• Aliansandr Dzianisan (Russia) 140,000


• Eric Assadourian (Australia) 123,000


• Bo Sehlstedt (Sweden) 112,000


• John Juanda (USA) 95,000


• Tony Ng (Hong Kong) 92,000


• Scott Numoto (USA) 70,000


• Gary Benson (Australia) 49,000


• Liz Lieu (USA) 38,000


• David Paul Steicke (Hong Kong) 20,000

By Sean Callander

The ebb and flow of this $15,000 APPT Macau High Roller Event is certainly in ebb mode as play has slowed to a crawl since the last break.

The 14 players that started level 10 will almost certainly survive the hour as the blinds climb to 800/1600 with a 200 ante.

Some interesting stories are emerging: Liz Lieu has certainly wrapped up the title for MVP at the PokerStars.net APPT Macau: Asian Poker Open. After finishing seventh in yesterday’s main event, the ‘Poker Diva’ is still in the hunt for a final table berth in this event, and currently occupies eighth spot in the chip count.

What a great fillip it would be for poker in Macau, China and Asia to see Tony Ng carry his chip lead to the final table. The Hong Kong player has met all challenges today and looks well placed for a spot in the last eight.



Daniel Schreiber is also strongly positioned to snare another APPT final table slot after he reached the last nine of his ‘home’ event in Seoul.

It’s also shaping up as a great night for the Australian contingent here in Macau, with four of the final 14 players from the land Down Under – they’re going to be tough competition when the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final kicks-off at Star City in Sydney early next month.

Approximate chip count

• Tony Ng (Hong Kong) 123,000


• John Juanda (USA) 117,000


• Aliansandr Dzianisan (Russia) 114,000


• Daniel Schreiber (USA) 101,000


• Alan Sass (USA) 77,000


• Eric Assadourian (Australia) 77,000


• Bo Sehlstedt (Sweden) 64,000


• Liz Lieu (USA) 60,000


• David Paul Steicke (Hong Kong) 50,000


• Scott Numoto (USA) 50,000


• Jim Sachinidis (Australia) 47,000


• Emad Tahtouh (Australia) 43,000


• Gary Benson (Australia) 40,000


• Phillip Elden (USA) 25,000,/li>
  

After all his time on the court, you might think Boris Becker would have had enough aces to satisfy him for life. It appears that is not the case. PokerStars announced today that the winner of six grand slam tennis events has joined its stable of players.

Becker is known worldwide as a champion on the tennis court. Now, after years of playing poker recreationally, he is setting out to get as good on the poker felt as he was on the court.

“When I was still playing professional tennis, I started learning to play poker casually in-between games because it helped me to improve my concentration,” Becker said. “Now I want to develop my poker skills and challenge myself to become really competitive at the highest levels in poker.”



Though it would take a true student of tennis to understand the similarities in the game, Becker has already noted the strategy, psychology, and decision-making under pressure that is required of both endeavors. He has already embarked on a poker training program that will tap his champion's drive. He already has his eye on some of the biggest poker tournaments in the world.

Becker says we can expect to see him first on the European Poker Tour. He's planning to play at EPT Dortmund in his native Germany and the EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo next Spring. The PokerStars blog will have all the news from Becker’s experience on the felt as it happens, plus information on future events he will be taking part in, so keep checking back here for updates.

Congratulations to Boris Becker and PokerStars on a relationship that was almost certainly...love at first sight.

By Sean Callander

Boy, did we pick the wrong time to talk about lucky charms! In the last hour, Graeme Putt (the man with the kiwi) and Kirk Morrison (the man with the beer) have both been eliminated from the PokerStars.net $15,000 APPT Macau High Roller Event.

Kiwi G was a mile ahead of Team PokerStars’ Dan Schreiber when he pushed in his chips with Ac Kh against the Korean-based pro’s Jh 10d.

Putt was even further ahead when the flop came As 8c Kh, but running queens gave Schreiber a straight and sent Putt away, shaking his head at the turn card.

Kirk Morrison’s demise wasn’t near as dramatic. Morrison, who equalled the record of Team PokerStars Pro Daniel Negreanu when he cashed in four consecutive WPT main events leading up to his second-place to Juan Carlo Mortensen in the 2007 WPT Championship, was all-in from the big blind for 1500. Yasuhiro Waki (10s 10h) gets heads-up with Morrison (Jh 7h), and the pocket pair holds-up .

Other eliminations since the last break have included Lee Nelson 21st, Mathias Kuerschner (23rd), Vladimir Poleshchuk (24th) and Jeff Lisandro (25th). The remaining 18 players have just been consolidated into three tables due to the surprising elimination of one of the chip leaders, Team PokerStars Pro Isabelle ‘No Mercy’ Mercier.



In a battle of the blinds, Aliansandr Dianisan raised to 12,500 from the small blind and Mercier moved all-in from the big blind for 45,800. Dianisan insta-called and showed Jacks. Mercier had pocket threes, and stayed behind on a board of Kd 7h 2c Ks 5c. The lucky skull may end up in the bottom of the Pearl River before the night is out!

Emad Tahtouh has strengthened his claims for a final table berth by scooping up the chips of Russia’s Alexander Kuznecov. He did it the hard way though – Kuznecov led the race with Ad Qc to Tahtouh’s Jd 10c before a board of Js 6h 5h 10d Ad gave



Another big mover in the last few minutes is Eric Assadourian, a young Sydney based pro who can’t wait to suit up for the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final at his home casino Star City, from December 7-16.

We’re playing down to eight players tonight (currently at 14 with the blinds about to go to 6000/12,000 with a 2000 ante), all of who will be assured a minimum payout of $US27,648 up to the winner’s cheque of $US368,640.

Approximate chip count:

• John Juanda (USA) 114,000


• Tony Ng (Hong Kong) 105,000


• Emad Tahtouh (Australia) 90,000


• Bo Sehlstedt (Sweden) 75,000


• Aliansandr Dzianisan (Russia) 62,000

By Sean Callander

Half the field of 65 has been eliminated in the PokerStars.net $15,000 APPT Macau High Roller Event at the Grand Waldo Hotel and Casino.

We just lost Scotty Nguyen in 33rd position when his A K ran into Bo Sehlstedt’s pocket aces, ending the 1998 WSOP champion’s involvement in the tournament.

However, scores of fans and local poker aficionados will take home great memories of Scotty – as always, he’s been the consummate professional and has never missed a beat while singing the praises of PokerStars.net and the APPT during his stay in Macau with his wife Julie.

The only other world champion in the field, 2005 WSOP main event winner Joe Hachem has also departed.

The Team PokerStars Pro reraised to 3800 after Scott Numoto bumped it up to 1800 from the cut-off. Numoto called, the flop came 10s 10c 2d and Hachem shoved in his last 11,000 in chips.



Numoto showed Kh 10d for trip 10s, while Hachem showed pocket fours. The 6c on the turn and Js on the river didn’t help Joe, and he was headed out in 32nd spot.

While the dealers are completing a color-up at the end of level 7 (we’ll be at 400/800 with a 100 ante when play resumes), it struck us that the world’s best poker players aren’t a very superstitious bunch.

Over the past three days, we’ve seen all sorts of trinkets and lucky charms in use, but only two stuck out when we just conducted a quick poll.

Graeme Putt’s stuffed kiwi is pretty obvious – as a fiercely patriotic New Zealand, the man known as Kiwi G always has the national symbol of his homeland resting near his stack. He should be signed by the national tourist body, and has probably done more for NZ tourism than Lord of the Rings!



The other player with a mascot is Team PokerStars Pro Isabelle ‘No Mercy’ Mercier. During the break, she told us the small stone skull was a souvenir from Mexico, but it’s yet to bring her much luck – until today.

“I had it at the WSOP this year and had probably my worst WSOP ever. I’m giving it one more chance,” No Mercy said. However, she added that she was in the groove today (her stack is steadily climbing into the top five), so the skull might be working after all.



We also noticed that Kirk Morrison, the ultra-popular pro from Kansas (who actually spent several years living in New Zealand) is one of the few players (pro or amateur) who enjoys a beer at the table. Different strokes for different folks.



Approximate chip count

Tony Ng (Hong Kong) 110,000

John Juanda (USA) 101,000

Bo Sehlstedt (Sweden) 60,000

Aliansandr Dzianisan (Russia) 55,000

Isabelle Mercier (France) 54,000

By Sean Callander

A storm has just swept up the Pearl River Delta into the Grand Waldo Hotel and Casino, and its name is John Juanda.

The 36-year-old, who’s won almost $7 million in tournament poker, is well placed to add more than $US380,000 to his bank balance after dominating levels five and six in the PokerStars.net $15,000 APPT Macau High Roller Event.

His latest victim was legendary casino host Yosh Nakano, another player who made the trip especially to Macau to play in this tournament.

After Nakano raised to 1200, Juanda reraised to 5000 and Nakano pushed all-in with As Js. Juanda’s read was again impeccable as he called with Ad Kh. The board of 6s 9c 2c 3s 7h did not improve either hand, and it was ‘sayonara’ for the Californian-based poker pro.

Juanda was also responsible for ending a miserable day for Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Rousso. After raising to 1000 under-the-gun, Rousso (in the big blind) was the only caller.

It was check-check on the flop of 2s 5d 8c, but Rousso came to life after the turn of 9c, betting 1900. Juanda bumped it up to 4800, and Rousso moved over the top all-in for 11,000.

Juanda called and showed pocket deuces, while Rousso was drawing dead with her Ah 9h.

Another head on Juanda’s wall of victims is Guillaume Patry, who turned in a career best fifth at yesterday’s APPT Macau: Asian Poker Open final table.

Again, Juanda made a faultless call with kings against Patry’s queens, with the board of As 4s 6c 9c 4h ending the Canadian’s hopes of a second final table in as many days.

We’ve also lost the popular choice of many players to take out this event: Team PokerStars Pro Barry Greenstein. It was a slow death for Greenstein, who was wounded by Aussie Van Marcus before being KOed by Alan Sass.



Marcus slashed Greenstein’s stack down to just 14,000, when he pushed all-in for 9700 on a flop of 2d 5d 6c, with Greenstein making the call.

The dual WSOP bracelet winner showed 3h 4d, while Marcus (a PokerStars Supernova and final table participant at the APPT event in Manila) turned over 6d 7d for top pair and a flush draw, which he filled on the turn with the 9d.

Other players to have been eliminated include APPT Seoul main event champion Ziv Bachar, Team PokerStars’ Terrance Chan, American David Machowsky, Franco Mabanta from the Philippines



Approximate chip count

• John Juanda (USA) 106,000


• Tony Ng (Hong Kong) 103,000


• Emad Tahtouh (Australia) 62,000


• Daniel Schreiber (USA) 39,000


• Bo Sehlstedt (Sweden) 36,000

By Sean Callander

The impact of PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour Macau: Asian Poker Open is being felt around the world, but it’s easy to forget that the arrival of poker to the world’s biggest gaming market has made a significant impact locally.

News of the tournament winner was splashed across the front page of the Macau Daily Times and widely reported through the region.

There’s also been plenty of excitement for the team at the Grand Waldo Hotel and Casino, where the arrival of the world’s best poker players and has been greeted with great excitement.

No-one was more excited than 24-year-old Angie Tang, who was one of the dealers at yesterday’s APPT Macau main event final table.

Angie, who’s been dealing at the Grand Waldo for the past three and a half years, didn’t know anything about poker prior to this tournament but is rapidly increasing her knowledge of the game.

“I’d barely heard of poker but after four weeks of training had picked up most of the basics,” Angie said.

Talk about the star pupil: Angie’s poise and professionalism earned her a spot under the TV lights on the final table.

“It was so exciting for me, the players were all great and treated me very kindly. Dealing in front of the cameras and to the biggest stars of poker was a clear highlight of the tournament for me,” she said.

So any plans to swap roles and try her luck on the other side of the table? “I don’t think so – I don’t have the patience needed for long hours at the table and the mind games that go with the game,” Angie said.

She’s currently dealing a sit ‘n’ go near our reporting table, as the players in the $15,000 Macau High Roller Event prepare to take their dinner break.

One player who’s stoked to have survived the last level is Canadian Christopher Piche. He’s just spent the last two hours at table one along side Nick Schulman, Jeff Lisandro, Scotty Nguyen, Liz Lieu, Guillaume Patry (reach the final table of the APPT Macau Main Event), Vanessa Rousso and John Juanda. Good story for the grandkids!



Approximate chip count

• John Juanda (USA) 93,000


• Emad Tahtouh (Australia) 62,000


• Tony Ng (Hong Kong) 58,000


• Yosh Nakano (Japan) 42,000


• Daniel Schreiber (USA) 41,000

PokerStars Video Blog
Alsion interviews players from the 15k event

By Sean Callander

The last time we saw Emad Tahtouh in action, it was taking the 233-metre plunge off the Macau Tower. One of his Team PokerStars colleagues said his swan dive resembled “a giant seagull trying to fly backwards while screaming its lungs out”. (if you haven't seen it yet, catch it at APPTLive video blog 12 Bungee Lovin')

Cruel maybe, but the Australian is soaring like an eagle in the early stages of today’s $15,000 Macau High Roller Event and is the early chip leader.

The Team PokerStars member isn’t having it all his own way though, and told us in the last break he’s picking his marks very carefully on a table that includes fellow Team PokerStars Pros Isabelle Mercier and ‘ElkY’ Grospellier.

“It’s a tough table for sure, and it’s not going to get an easier with a field like this,” Tahtouh said.

After reaching the final table of yesterday’s PokerStars.net APPT Macau: Asian Poker Open main event, ‘ElkY’ was put to the sword by Tahtouh in a dramatic hand just before the end of level four (100/200 with a 25 ante).

On a flop of 6h 9h Qc, Tahtouh led out for 1500 bet and ElkY moved all in over the top for a total of 6225. After some friendly banter between the PokerStars pals, Tahtouh made the call and showed Ac Qd, having ElkY's Kc Qh dominated. Blanks (3d 4s) on the turn and river sent ElkY out in 58th position.

Earlier, Tahtouh hauled in a big pot when he eliminated Cole South. “I had a set of nines and Cole missed his flush draw,” Tahtouh said of the hand which played out on a board of 9h 7s 4d 3h Jc.

Another recent mover is John Juanda. It’s hard to think of a player better suited to sitting at a table in an APPT event. Born in Indonesia but of Chinese descent, Juanda is one of the game’s most decorated pros. It’s almost as if his life has come full-circle to here in Macau for this prestigious and historic event.




We’re down to 48 players of the 65 who started almost five hours ago, with eliminations including Chad Brown (Tony Ng’s bottom set held up against the American’s nut flush draw), Australian duo Richard Holmes and Emanuel Seal, Guido Lunardini (who placed 12th in the main event), APPT Manila and Seoul final table participant, Russia’s Alexander Kuzmin, Denmark’s Tim Overguard and Chen Wing Hui of Hong Kong.

Approximate chip count:

• Emad Tahtouh (Australia) 62,000


• John Juanda (USA) 47,000


• Daniel Schreiber (USA) 41,000


• Tony Ng (Hong Kong) 41,000


• Bo Sehlstedt (Sweden) 32,500

By Sean Callander

Normally at this time of a PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour event, players and staff are packing their bags and saying their goodbyes after the main event has been wrapped up. But not in Macau, today is day one of the 15k High Roller Event starting back to back with the end of the 2500 Main Event.

Last night, we toasted (with Dom Perignon, thanks to PokerStars and Scotty Nguyen) the successful finish of the first PokerStars.net APPT Macau: Asian Poker Open and its champion, Vietnamese-born UK-based Dinh Le.

The 27-year-old Vietnamese concert promoter travelled to Macau with his good friend Tuan, never expecting PokerStars.net APPT glory. Before now his biggest poker tournament was at home in his own lounge room, today DInh leaves Macau as China’s first ever poker champion. In Chinese culture the number 8 is seen to be very lucky and it proved to be on the final hand, with Dinh’s pocket eights too good for the A 10 of Singapore’s Zhong Wei “Ivan” Tan.



“This tournament has been an incredible experience. I am honoured to be part of poker history today and very proud to become Macau’s first poker champion. I am looking forward to competing in Sydney next month and representing Vietnam at the APPT grand final,” Dinh said after his win.

Today we’re back in the Grand Waldo Hotel and Casino poker area for the $15,000 Macau High Roller Event. An amazing field has suited up in pursuit of only the second poker title offered in the People’s Republic of China.

For the APPT High Roller Event Team PokerStars is represented by Joe Hachem, Vanessa Rousso, Emad Tahtouh, Isabelle ‘No Mercy’ Mercier, Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier (fresh from his fifth in the main event), Lee ‘Final Table’ Nelson, Masa Kagawa, Terrance Chan, Guillaume Patry, Dan Schreiber and Barry Greenstein, who flew to Macau from the US especially to play in this event.



The field also includes 1998 WSOP champion Scotty Nguyen, 2007 WSOP $2000 Seven-card Stud champion Jeff Lisandro, three-time WSOP bracelet winner John Juanda, APPT Macau final table participant Liz Lieu, Chad Brown, Gary Benson, Van Marcus and another two players who’ve arrived especially for this $15,000 Macau High Roller Event: Kirk Morrison and Nick Schulman.



The field is currently 64, but tournament director Matt Savage has said he’ll take registrations through the day if any other interested players express interest.

The prize pool is $US921,600, meaning the winner will take home $368,840 and the runner-up $284,320. Eight players will be paid.

Two of the early movers have been Juanda and Schreiber. On a board of 10c 5s 3h 7d, China’s Cailin Jin (the final table bubble in the APPT Macau main event) checked to Juanda who made it 3000 to go. Jin moved all-in for 6900, and Juanda made the call with a set of 10s. Jin tabled pocket aces, and was headed for the rail with the river missed him (4d).

Schreiber just took down a big pot against Japan’s Nobuhiro Yabuuchi, who popped it up to 300 with Schreiber calling.

The flop was 3d 8c Js, Yabuuchi checked, Schreiber bet 500, Yabuuchi check-raised 1500 and Schreiber made it 2500.

After the 9c landed on the turn, Yabuuchi again checked, Schreiber pushed all-in and Yabuuchi folded. Schreiber showed 5h 7c – a big play in a big tournament. There promises to be many more. Stay tuned.

Approximate chip count

• Daniel Schreiber (Canada) 41,000


• John Juanda (US) 33,000


• Bo Sehlstedt (Sweden) 32,500


• Scott Numoto (USA) 31,000


• Scotty Nguyen (USA) 24,000

Less than two months ago, the concept of a No Limit Texas Hold’em poker tournament in the People’s Republic of China was more hope than reality.

But having already achieved milestone after milestone in 2007 with the biggest poker tournament ever held in the Philippines and the first international event scheduled in South Korea, the PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour team pulled up its sleeves and made something out of nothing to break down the metaphorical ‘Great Wall of Poker’.

As the biggest gaming market in the world, it was only fitting that the poker fever swept into Macau like a typhoon swirling in from the South China Sea.

Over the past week, 352 players arrived at the Grand Waldo Hotel and Casino chasing a slice of poker history ever bit as momentous as Johnny Moss’s World Series of Poker victory in 1970 and Chris Moneymaker’s WSOP success in 2003, which spearheaded the online poker boom.

The man who will occupy that most important page of poker history is an unlikely hero. A shy and soft-spoken 27-year-old from south London, Dinh Le, swept to victory and a life-changing first prize of $US222,460.

Le’s hard exterior, which materialised in an often ultra-aggressive style over the three-day event, is tempered by his humble Vietnamese background. He even listed his occupation as a nail technician – not the hardware variety; his family actually run a beauty shop in south London.

And he exemplifies the poker dream that the APPT has already provided for hundreds of players from more than 40 countries around the world.

Dinh Le was making his first live tournament appearance in Macau – his only poker experience comes from a regular weekly game with some friends, who he described as being “three times better players than me”.

Though somewhat to the international Hold'em circuit, he brought plenty of bravado to the APPT Macau: Asian Poker Open, and showed a particular aptitude for his favourite move: bluffing.

Time and time again, vastly more experienced players were left scratching their heads as to the strength (or otherwise) of the two cards that Dinh Le was holding, right down to the final hand with Singapore’s Ivan Tam.

The 26-year-old Tam, who decided to combine a holiday with the chance to play in Macau (he won his way in via a Mega Satellite here at the Grand Waldo last Thursday), decided to take a stand just eight hands into the heads-up duel.

With the blinds at 20,000/40,000, Dinh raised to 240,000 before Tan bumped it up to 720,000. The impetuous Dinh Le, who had already pushed all-in out of turn on the first hand of heads-up play, again threw his hand in the air to indicate he was all-in, and Tan was quick to call.

Dinh Le turned over one of the most successful hands in major tournaments of recent years: pocket eights. It was the hand that steered both Greg Raymer (2004) and Jerry Yang (2007) to their respective World Series of Poker main event victories.

PokerStars Video Blog
Interview with DInh Le winner of the APPT Macau Asian Open



However, Tan was well in the game with As 10c, but the board of 6s 5s Qd 2h Jd completely missed Tan. However, a $US129,536 prize wasn’t a bad souvenir for Tan’s holiday to Macau.

Another tournament first-timer, South Korea’s Sangkyoun Kim, qualified for his trip to Macau via a $11 rebuy tournament on PokerStars, and returned home with a massive profit ($US72,864) on his investment.

Good friends and fellow Seoul residents Guillaume Patry (fourth) and Bertrand ElkY’ Grospellier (fifth) did Team PokerStars proud and again showed that they are among the most exciting and talented young players on the planet.

Young Australian casino dealer William Tam made a great decision to invest some PokerStars $W for his Macau buy-in, and recouped some tasty hard currency – $US40,480 – for his trouble.

Our top female finisher was another player of Asian descent, Liz Lieu, who was a most popular addition to the field. The Poker Diva’s seventh place finish was one of her best ever in a major tournament.

Team PokerStars Pro Joe Hachem was shooting for an unbelievable hat-trick of becoming the first player to win a WSOP main event, WPT title and APPT tournament. He fell short in eighth spot, but as always conducted himself admirably and again underlined himself as one of poker’s most esteemed ambassadors.

Simon Randall, a comedy club owner from the UK, made the most of his brief final table experience and the room beaming after collecting ninth spot and $US16,192.

PokerStars Video Blog
The televised FInal Table sneak preview and behind the scenes



The $2500 buy-in main event may be over, but we’ll be back from midday tomorrow with all the news and stories from the $15,000 No Limit Hold’em tournament, which will feature many of the big names who’ve featured over the past three days, plus Kirk Morrison and Team PokerStars Pro Barry Greenstein, who’ve flown in especially for the tournament.

PokerStars.net APPT Macau: Asian Poker Open final results

1. $222,640 Dinh Le (Vietnam)


2. $129,536 Zhong Wei “Ivan” Tan (Singapore)


3. $72,864 Sangkyoun Kim (South Korea)


4. $56,672 Guillaume Patry (Canada)


5. $48,576 Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier (France)


6. $40,480 William Tam (Australia)


7. $32,384 Liz Lieu (USA)


8. $24,288 Joe Hachem (Australia)


9. $16,192 Simon Randall (United Kingdom)

Hand 105: Dinh Le eliminates Ivan Tan in 2nd place ($129,536)

Button: Le (seat 6) – Dinh Le raises to 240,000 total, and Tan reraises 720,000, Le declares all-in and Tan calls. Le shows 8d 8s, and Tan has As 10c. The flop comes 6s 5s Qd, leaving the eights ahead. The turn is 2h, and only an A or 10 will keep Tan alive in the tournament. The river is the Jd, and it’s all over. Dinh Le is the first PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour: Asian Poker Open champion.

Hand 104: Dinh Le

Button: Tan (seat 9) – Tan calls, Dinh Le checks and the flop reads Kc Qh 3h. Both players check, and a 9s hits on the turn. Dinh Le checks, Tan bets 50,000 and gets a call. The river is 7s, Dinh Le bets 100,000 and Tan mucks his hand.


Hand 103: Dinh Le

Button: Le (seat 6) – Dinh Le announces “raise” and raises an extra 100,000 and wins the pot.

Hand 102: Ivan Tan

Button: Tan (seat 9) – Tan makes it 120,000 from the small blind, and there’s no interest from Dinh Le. Tan has now won four of the six hands in this heads-up duel.

Hand 101: Ivan Tan

Button: Le (seat 6) – Dinh Le fills the blind, and Tan checks. It’s check check on the flop of As 8h 8c, and Tan bets 50,000 after the turn comes 6d. There’s no call from Dinh Le.

Hand 100: Ivan Tan

Button: Tan (seat 9) – Tan raises 140,000 and Dinh folds. Both players have shown that they’re not going to be intimidated despite their relative inexperience playing heads-up.

Hand 99: Dinh Le

Button: Le (seat 6) – Le calls in the small blind, Tan checks and the flop shows Ac 6d 7s. Both players check it down with the turn 8d and river 9d. Dinh’s king high is good enough to scoop the pot.

Hand 98: Ivan Tan

Button: Tan (seat 9) – Tan pops it up an extra 140,000, and Dinh Le calls. The flop lands 9h 9s 4d, Le checks and Tan bets 250,000. Le folds and Tan takes it down.

Hand 97: Dinh Le

Button: Le (seat 6) – Dinh Le raises to 140,000 on the first hand of heads-up play, and Tan calls. We see a flop of 5s 9d 8s, Tan checks and Le bets 255,000 and Tan calls. The turn is Ac, Dinh Le declares all-in out of turn, and a frustrated Tan folds, given Le would have picked up all his options if Tan had bet (according to tournament director Matt Savage). Dinh Le slams down 3 4 for a gutshot straight draw. Chip count reads Le 2.1 million, Tan 1.425 million.

We’re heads-up between Ivan Tan (1.825 million) and Dinh Le (1.7 million) for the PokerStars.net APPT Macau: Asian Poker Open title. After starting with 352 players, just two remain and with stacks almost level, it’s shaping as a tight and tense heads-up battle. The blinds will be at 20,000/40,000 with a 5000 ante when heads-up play starts.

Hand 96: Split – Tan/Le, Sangkyoun Kim eliminated in 3rd place ($72,864)

Button: Tan (seat 9) – Kim is all-in for 155,000, and again there will be side action after Dinh Le (small blind) and Tan (big blind) call. The flop shows 10s Qc 3c. Both players check, and turn is Ah, and again both players check. The river is Kd, and its checked again. The side-pot is split as Dinh Le and Tan show aces, but Kim is eliminated when he shows Kc 6c. Kim, playing in his first major live poker tournament, was looking good on the flop!

Hand 95: Dinh Le

Button: Kim (seat 8) – Dinh Le gets a walk in the big blind.

Hand 94: Sangkyoun Kim

Button: Le (seat 6) – Kim gets his measly stack in the middle, but there’s side action between Dinh Le and Tan. The flops comes 6d 5h 5s, check check, the turn 3d, check, check and the river 3h. Le mucks, Tan shows A Q offsuit, but Kim hangs on with pocket eights, and triples up.

Hand 93: Ivan Tam

Button: Tan (seat 9) – Tan calls from the button, Dinh Le raises another 150,000, then Kim comes over the top all-in for more than 1.3 million, and Tan calls for his last 880,000! Dinh Le folds, Kim shows 5s 5h and Tan 6d 6s. Tan makes a set on the flop but 6h 10h Qh gives Kim a flush draw. The turn of 4s misses both players, as does the Ac. Ivan Tan doubles-up and edges ahead in the chip count, but Kim is smashed down to just 65,000. What a call by Ivan Tan for his tournament life, gutsy play by the 26-year-old.

Hand 92: Dinh Le

Button: Kim (seat 8) – With the chip count reading 1.63 million to Dinh Le, 1.1 million to Kim and 805,000 to Tan, Kim raises to 100,000 and Dinh Le calls. The flop is 8h Ks 6d, Kim c-bets 150,000 but Dinh Le forces into the tank with an all-in bet. Eventually, Kim folds and Dinh le takes the chip lead.

Hand 91: Ivan Tan

Button: Le (seat 6) – We’re back after a short break with the blinds at 20,000/40,000 and ante of 5000. Tan makes it 80,000 in the big blind, and Dinh Le calls. The flop comes 2s Js Kc, and Tan bets 100,000. Dinh Le throws his cards into the muck.

We’re 90 hands into the PokerStars.net APPT Macau: Asian Poker Open and the battle for this historic title has come down to three players – PokerStars’ online qualifier Sangkyoun Kim from South Korea; Dinh Le from England and Ivan Tan of Singapore.

It will be interesting to see how the event unfolds as three relatively inexperienced players exercise the sweet science that is short-handed poker. Sangkyoun Kim and Ivan Tan have clearly struck up a good friendship, and have struck up a chat at every opportunity.

In contrast, Dinh Le is only slowly coming to grips with the spotlight and has been content to slip away out of sight when he can.

And of course, how fitting is it to have three Asian players battling it out for the honour of being the first PokerStars.net APPT Macau: Asian Poker Open champion in the first No-Limit Texas Hold’em poker tournament ever held in the People’s Republic of China.

Hand 90: Dinh Le

Button: Tan (seat 9) – Dinh le opens up with a raise of 140,000, and Kim calls from the big blind. The flop is 10h 8d 4h, Dinh Le shoves in all his chips and Kim says “adios”.

Hand 89: Ivan Tan

Button: Kim (seat 8) – Tan completes his blind and Dinh Le checks. The board of 7c 10c 5s 2d 3c is checked all the way, and Ivan Tan’s king-high is enough to take it down.

Hand 88: Dinh Le

Button: Le (seat 6) – Dinh Le raises 130,000 and there’s no action from either player.

Hand 87: Ivan Tan

Button: Tan (seat 9) – Tan says “100,000” – Dinh Le and Kim say “fold”.

Hand 86: Ivan Tan

Button: Kim (seat 8) – Tan calls from the small blind and Dinh Le checks. The flop is 10h 7h 2d, Tan bets 60,000 and takes down the pot.

Hand 85: Sangkyoun Kim

Button: Le (seat 6) – Kim opens up with raise of 75,000 and Tan calls from the big blind. The flop is Ah 9d 8s. Kim checks, Tan bets 60,000 and Kim calls. The turn is 7d, Kim again checks but this time Tan makes it 200,000 and gets another call. The river is a 4s, and it goes check-check. Kim shows J 9, and his pair of nines is good, ensuring a huge pot.

Hand 84: Dinh Le

Button: Tan (seat 9) – Dinh Le is again in the action, raising to 130,000 from the small blind and taking it down.

Hand 83: Dinh Le

Button: Kim (seat 8) – Dinh Le extends his chip lead with a raise of 100,000 after Tan calls from the small blind. Tan folds.

Hand 82: Guillaume Patry eliminated by Sangkyoun Kim in 4th position ($56,672)

Button: Patry (seat 7) – Patry follows the example of his good friend and former roommate ElkY and pushes all-in for 235,000 and he gets a call from Kim. Patry is again trying his luck with 9 2, but Kim is way ahead with pocket queens. The flop comes As 5s Kc, the turn is 6c and river Jd, ensuring Guillaume Patry fourth position.

After play had limped along for almost 90 minutes since dinner, two players have gone out in as many hands and the three most inexperienced players at the final table are chasing the first prize of $US222,460.

Ivan Tan, who’s here in Macau on holidays with his wife, won his way into the PokerStars.net APPT Macau: Asian Poker Open via a Mega Satellite last Thursday while Sangkyoun Kim won his way here via a $11 rebuy tournament on PokerStars. Both players are ensured a massive return on their investment!

Hand 81: Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier eliminated by Dinh Le in 5th place ($56,672)

Button: Le (seat 6) – ElkY is all-in – again – but finally there’s some action with a call from Dinh Le. It’s ElkY’s Ah 2s versus Dinh Le’s Jh 9d. Both players make a pair on the flop of 2h 9s 10c, turn comes Kh and the river 8h, meaning ElkY is our fifth-place finisher.



Hand 80: Dinh Le

Button: ElkY (seat 4) – Tan makes it 90,000, Dinh Le announces reraise and adds 150,000 more and Tan folds.

Hand 79: Dinh Le

Button: Tan (seat 9) – Dinh Le gets a walk in the big blind.

Hand 78: Dinh Le

Button: Kim (seat 8) – Dinh Le’s raises an extra 50,000 from first position and wins the pot.

Hand 77: Ivan Tan

Button: Patry (seat 7) – Kim raises to 90,000, Tan reraises a further 250,000, and there’s no call from the Korean player.

Hand 76: Ivan Tan

Button: Le (seat 6) – A pre-flop raise ensures Ivan Tan another pot.

Hand 75: ElkY Grospellier

Button: ElkY (seat 4) – ElkY is all-in for 180,000 and collects the blinds and antes, now worth 70,000 each hand (blinds are at 15,000/30,000 with a 5000 ante).

Hand 74: Split – Tan/Patry

Button: Tan (seat 9) – Patry raises 75,000 from first position, and Tan calls. It’s just the second flop since dinner, and comes 5h 9d Jh. Patry bets 155,000, Tan puts Patry all-in and is called. Both players show K Q, and it’s split on a board of 5h 9d Jh 5s 4h.

Hand 73: Dinh Le

Button: Kim (seat 8) – Dinh Le bumps it up to 130,000, and gets it done. Raise, fold, raise, fold, raise, fold has been the pattern since the break.

Hand 72: Guillaume Patry

Button: Patry (seat 7) – Patry gets it all-in (270,000), Tan requests a count but eventually mucks.

Hand 71: ElkY Grospellier

Button: Le (seat 6) – ElkY is all-in for 175,000, but no-one’s interested in the action.

Hand 70:

Button: ElkY (seat 4) – this time it’s Dinh Le raising it up (105,000), and he hauls in the blinds and antes. It’s going to be an enthralling evening, with the three ‘amateurs’ – Kim, Dinh Le and Tan almost level in chips, and the two Team PokerStars players short-stacked.

Hand 69: Sangkyoun Kim

Button: Tan (seat 9) – In a carbon copy of the previous hand, Kim pops it up 80,000 and takes it down.

Hand 68: Sangkyoun Kim

Button: Kim (seat 8) – Kim raises to 80,000, and the blinds fold to give Kim his first pot since eliminating William Tam.

Hand 67: Guillaume Patry

Button: Patry (seat 7) – A raise of 70,000 gets it done for Patry.

Hand 66: Ivan Tan

Button: Le (seat 6) – Tan is straight back into action with a pre-flop raise of 84,000 and takes down another pot.

Hand 65: Ivan Tan

Button: ElkY (seat 4) – Tan raises an extra 80,000 and makes it two out of the last three pots.

Hand 64: ElkY Grospellier

Button: Tan (seat 9) – ElkY gets it all-in but there’s no action from any of the other four players.

Hand 63: Ivan Tan

Button: Kim (seat 8) – Tan pops it up to 48,000 from the small blind, and ElkY folds in the big blind.

Hand 62: William Tam eliminated by Sangkyoun Kim in 6th place ($40,480)

Button: Patry (seat 7) – On the first hand after the dinner break, Tam pushes in all his chips except 3000, gets a call from Kim, and eventually gets it all-in with Qd Jh against Kim’s Ad 6d. The board is 5h 5c 9d 9h 3c, sending William Tam to the rail in sixth position.

It’s break time at the Grand Waldo Hotel and Casino in the first PokerStars.net APPT Macau: Asian Poker Open. Our chip leader is again Dinh Le from England with 1,145,000.

He leads from Ivan Tam of Singapore (945,000), followed by Korean online qualifier Sangkyoun Kim (734,000) Team PokerStars member Guillaume Patry (343,000), fellow Seoul resident and Team PokerStars Pro Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier (244,000) with the short stack Australia’s William Tam (148,000).



Hand 61: Dinh Le

Button: Le (seat 6) – ElkY raises to 55,000, Dinh reraises to 255,000 and ElkY folds. 

Hand 60: Guillaume Patry eliminates Liz Lieu in 7th place ($32,384)

Button: ElkY (seat 4) – Liz Lieu is all-in yet again, and gets an unlikely call from Patry with 7h 2s. Lieu has Ah 6d, and the gods smile on Patry again when the flop comes 8s 3c 7c. The turn is Js, and the river 7d, giving Patry trips and sending Liz Lieu out in seventh place.



Hand 59: Dinh Le

Button: Tam (seat 3) – Tam raises to 70,000, ElkY reraises 182,000 and Dinh moves all-in. Tam folds and ElkY also mucks his card, giving Dinh Le the pot and putting him back in the chip lead.

Hand 58: Ivan Tan

Button: Lieu (seat 2) – Tan is back in action, raising an extra 53,000 but ElkY adds an extra 120,000 to the pot. Tan calls and we see a flop of 8h 5h Qs. ElkY checks, Tan makes it 210,000 and ElkY folds to give the Singapore player a pot worth more than 400,000, consolidating his chip lead.

Hand 57: Ivan Tan

Button: Tan (seat 9) – Tan bumps it up an extra 55,000 to 79,000 total and takes it down.

Hand 56: Dinh Le

Button: Kim (seat 8) – Dinh Le raises to a total of 84,000 and drags the pot.

Hand 55: ElkY Grospellier

Button: Patry (seat 7) – Déjà vu – ElkY raises to 58,000 but this time Tan makes the call. The flop is 6c 2c 2d; Tan checks, ElkY bets 80,000 and claims another pot. He’s been the big mover since Joe Hachem was eliminated, picking up five of the last 10 pots.

Hand 54: ElkY Grospellier

Button: Le (seat 6) – ElkY raises to 58,000 and there are no callers.

Hand 53: Sangkyoun Kim

Button: ElkY (seat 4) – Sangkyoun Kim is first into the pot with a raise of 60,000, and nobody else wants to join him.

Hand 52: Dinh Le

Button: Tam (seat 3) – ElkY completes the blind but Dinh raises an extra 50,000 from the big blind. ElkY calls and the flop is Jd Js 9c. Dinh bets 100,000 and ElkY mucks ’em.

Hand 51: Guillaume Patry

Button: Lieu (seat 2) – Patry raises to 70,000 and induces a fold from the five players behind him.

Hand 50: ElkY Grospellier

Button: Tan (seat 9) – ElkY’s pre-flop raise of 55,000 earns him the last pot before the blinds are increased to 12,000/24,000 with an ante of 4000.

Hand 49: Sangkyoun Kim

Button: Kim (seat 8) – Dinh Le limps in, Kim pops it up to 90,000 and Dinh Le calls. The flops reads Js 9c 10s; Dinh checks, Kim bets 160,000 and closes the gap on chip leader Ivan Tan.

Hand 48: Liz Lieu

Button: Patry (seat 7) – Lieu is again all-in, this time from first position. She again gets the respect: the only three pots the ‘Poker Diva’ has won today have been when she’s shoved all-in.

Hand 47: ElkY Grospellier

Button: Le (seat 6) – ElkY’s in the action again with a raise to 55,000 to make it two out of two.

Hand 46: ElkY Grospellier

Button: dead – ElkY raises it up to 50,000 and hauls in the 51,000 in blinds and antes.

PokerStars Video Blog
Alison speaks with Guillaume Patry and Bertrand ElKy

The Poker Stars video blog team have been working their socks off capturing the Macau Asian Poker Open for the people at home .

Follow along on PokerStars blog or see all the posts in order at: APPTLive

Ivan Tan makes it to the Final Table



APPT - Liz Lieu talks about the second day

The 2005 World Series of Poker champion Joe Hachem has had his hopes of winning the first PokerStars.net APPT Macau: Asian Poker Open title extinguished by Korean online qualifier Sangkyoun Kim.

Hand 45: Sangkyoun Kim eliminates Joe Hachem in 8th place ($24,288)

Button: ElkY (seat 4) –Kim raises to 60,000, Hachem pops it up an extra 90,000, then Kim puts Hachem all-in. The Team PokerStars Pro shows Ad Ac to Kim’s Ah Qs. Kim earns some outs on the flop of Jh 5s Kc; and makes his straight with a 10d on the turn. The river is a meaningless 4h, and Joe Hachem is out in eighth place.

Hand 44: Liz Lieu

Button: Tam (seat 3) – Lieu pushes all-in from the cutoff, for 86,000, Tam has a long think and passes as do ElkY and Joe Hachem

Hand 43: Dinh Le

Button: Lieu (seat 2) – Dinh Le limps in and goes the flop with ElkY from the big blind. The flops comes Qc Qd 9s. Both players check, the turn is 7c, check-check again, and the river is 7h. Dinh shows A K, and ElkY A 5 giving Dinh the pot.

Hand 42: Dinh Le

Button: Tan (seat 9) – Dinh raises an extra 60,000 and takes the pot.

Hand 41: Joe Hachem

Button: Kim (seat 8) – This time, it’s Hachem who pushes all-in but there’s no caller.

Hand 40: Guillaume Patry

Button: Patry (seat 7) – Patry wastes little time getting the remainder of his chips into play; Kim calls and shows 6d 6c (the same hand that ElkY won with in hand 39) while Patry shows Ad 8c. The flop hits Patry (9d Ah 3h), the turn is 4s and river the Js, giving the Canadian some timely life support.

Hand 39: ElkY Grospellier

Button: Le (seat 6) – ElkY pushes all-in for approximately 180,000, Dinh calls, Patry comes over the top all-in and Dinh calls. Patry shows pocket aces (As Ah), ElkY has pocket sixes (6d 6c) and Dinh shows pocket threes (3h 3d). The flop misses everyone (Qh 8s 2c), but a 6s on the turn puts ElkY in front, and hangs on as the 7c lands on the river. It’s a huge turnaround: ElkY triples up to more than 500,000, Dinh has tumbled to 660,000 (losing the chip lead for the first time today) and Patry is down to 134,000. Ivan Tam is our new chip leader.

Hand 38: Liz Lieu

Button: Hachem (seat 5) – Liz Lieu shoves all in for 80,000 from middle position, and takes down her first pot of the final table.

Hand 37: Dinh Le

Button: ElkY (seat 4) – Dinh gets a rare walk in the big blind, claiming the blinds and antes worth 54,000.

Hand 36: Sangkyoun Kim

Button: Tam (seat 3) – Sangkyoun Kim raises to 53,000 total and there’s no interest from the other seven players.

Hand 35: Ivan Tan

Button: Lieu (seat 2) – Dinh Le raises to 45,000, Tan calls and ElkY calls. They see a flop of 4d 8h 8d – check, check, check – and the turn is 4c. Dinh bets 60,000, Tan calls and ElkY gets out of the way. The river is Kh; Dinh bets 120,000 and Tan calls. In the first major setback for the chip leader, Tan showed A J and Dinh 9 10. The Singaporean, here on holidays, sweeps in a pot of more than 500,000.

Hand 34: ElkY Grospellier

Button: Tan (seat 9) – On the first hand after a 10-minute break, ElkY shoves in his remaining 200,000 in chips and gets no love.

Dinh Le’s play has been the highlight of the PokerStars.net APPT Macau: Asian Poker Open final table. The English-based Vietnamese-born player has been the enigma of this $2500 buy-in main event.

He carefully considers every act but when he makes his move, it’s done with real authority: like a Big Cat pouncing on its prey.

The 27-year-old is slowly becoming comfortable with the media coverage being afforded his new-found fame as a key player in the poker history that’s unfolding here in Macau as the race to crown the first tournament poker champion in the history of the People’s Republic of China gets down to eight players.

Hand 33: ElkY Grospellier

Button: Kim (seat 8) – ElkY pops it up to 45,000 and takes the last pot before players head out for a 10-minute break. When we return, play will be at level 22 (10,000/20,000 with 3000 ante).

Hand 32: Sangkyoun Kim

Button: Patry (seat 7) – Sangkyoun Kim raises to 120,000 after Patry’s initial pop to 45,000 and scoops it up.

Hand 31: Ivan Tan

Button: Le (seat 6) – Tan raises an extra 35,000 under the gun and Dinh Le calls from the big blind. The flop reads 8h 2h 4c; Tan bets 80,000 and Dinh Le shows the Ac before folding.

Hand 30: Dinh Le

Button: Hachem (seat 5) – First to act, Kim raises to 40,000 and gets calls from Dinh Le and Patry in the blinds. The flop is 6d 10s 5s; Dinh bets 50,000, Patry calls and Kim folds. The 10c hits on the turn; Dinh checks, Patry bets 120,000, Dinh reraises the minimum and Patry calls. The river is 5c; and Dinh’s last bet of 120,000 is enough to take down a big pot.

Hand 29: Dinh Le

Button: ElkY (seat 4) – Action folds around to Hachem in the small blind; he calls, Dinh Le raises 40,000 and Hachem folds.

Hand 28: William Tam

Button: Tam (seat 3) – Tam raises to 45,000, ElkY pushes all-in from the small blind, Hachem folds and Tam calls. He’s well behind with Ac Qh against ElkY’s Ah Kh. But the flop hits (Qs Ad 4d) is great for Tam; the turn is 6s and the river 3s, allowing the Queenslander to double through.

Hand 27: Guillaume Patry

Button: Lieu (seat 2) – Patry raises to 45,000 and snares the blinds and antes.

Hand 26: Sangkyoun Kim eliminates Simon Randall in 9th place ($ 16,192)

Button: Randall (seat 1) – Sangkyoun Kim raises to 40,000, Randall goes all-in for a total of 144,000 and Kim calls. Randall has As Qd and Kim Kc 10h. The flop (7s Kh 8h) hits Kim, as does the turn (Kd), sending Randall out in ninth place

Hand 25: Joe Hachem

Button: Tan (seat 9) – On a flop of 10d Qc 9h, the short-stack Hachem moves all-in after a pre-flop raise of 45,000. Lieu called, but threw it away after the flop.

Hand 24: Dinh Le

Button: Kim (seat 8) – It’s a five-way pot featuring Tan, Randall, Lieu, Dinh Le and Patry. The flop comes Jd 2s 6c, and it’s checked around to Dinh Le who makes it 56,000 – enough to claim the pot.

Hand 23: Guillaume Patry

Button: Patry (seat 7) – Lieu limps, in, Tam pops it up to 60,000 and Patry comes to life with a reraise to 140,000. Lieu and Tam get out of the way.

Hand 22: Split pot – Randall/Tam

Button: Le (seat 6) – Randall raises 57,000, Tam pushes all-in to make the pot 287,000 total and Randall calls. It’s Ad Kh for Randall and As Ks for Tam! The board reads 7c 6s Kc Qs 7d, giving Randall some anxious moments before the pot is split.

Latest chip count:

• Seat 1: Simon ‘vuka’ Randall (UK) 159,000


• Seat 2: Liz Lieu (United States) 232,000


• Seat 3: William ‘walrus_poker’ Tam (Australia) 293,000


• Seat 4: Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier (France) 455,000


• Seat 5: Joe Hachem (Australia) 130,000


• Seat 6: Dinh ‘Darren’ Le (England) 710,000


• Seat 7: Guillaume ‘TheGrrr…’ Patry (Canada) 575,000


• Seat 8: Sangkyoun Kim (South Korea) 422,000


• Seat 9: Ivan Tan (Singapore) 549,000

Hand 21: Joe Hachem

Button: Hachem (seat 5) – ElkY raises to 35,000, Hachem reraises another 50,000, ElkY folds and the Hachem fan club, led by his younger brother Tony, gives their man a nice round of applause.

Hand 20: Ivan Tan

Button: ElkY (seat 4) – Tan pops it up to 48,000 total and after some initial interest from Dinh Le, takes it down.

Hand 19: Dinh Le

Button: Tam (seat 3) – Dinh Le raises to 53,000 total and gets no callers. In his first major live tournament, he shows he’s not intimidated by the big names around him by showing queen-high.

Hand 11: Sangkyoun Kim; hand 12: ElkY; hand 13: Ivan Tan

Just caught a very quick word from Team PokerStars Pro Barry Greenstein, who’s just flown in from the US after spending Thanksgiving with his family. Barry will join the world-class field for the $15,000 buy-in event, which starts tomorrow. We’ll also be covering that event on the PokerStars Blog.

Hand 14: Dinh Le

Button: Patry (seat 7) – Hachem raises to 32,000, Dinh Le requests a count before adding a further 90,000. Play is folded back to Joe, who shows an ace and folds.

Hand 15: Dinh Le

Button: Kim (seat 8) – Tam raises 35,000 from early position and gets a call from Dinh Le. It’s folded to Randall in the big blind, who calls. Tam checks in the dark, Dinh Le pushes all-in for his huge stack of 700,000-plus. Both players fold and Dinh Le increases his lead.

Hand 16: Bertrand Grospellier

Button: Tan (seat 9) – ElkY raises to 40,000 and gets no interest.

Hand 17: William Tam

Button: Randall (seat 1) – Joe Hachem limps from early position, Lieu completes the small blind but Tam raises an extra 58,000 from the big blind to scoop the chips.

Hand 18: Sangkyoun Kim

Button: Lieu (seat 2) – Dinh Le makes it 47,000 total, Sangkyoun Kim pushes all-in and Dinh Le calls. It’s pocket fives for the Korean against Dinh Le’s Ah Jc. The flop comes Qs 9d 5d, the turn is Kc, and the river an agonising 9c. Sangkyoun Kim couldn’t watch the river land, and was clearly relieved Dinh Le didn’t make his straight – he doubles through to about 500,000.

Players are taking a short five-minute break and when we return, blinds will be up to 8000/16,000 with a 2000 ante.

By Sean Callander

We’re underway here at the Grand Waldo Hotel and Casino in the first APPT Macau: Asian Poker Open $2500 buy-in main event. We started with 352 players, and just nine remain in the chase for this historic title.

Play starts at level 20 with blinds at 6000/12,000 and 2000 antes. The button is starting with William Tam in seat 3, meaning the blinds will start with ElkY Grospellier (small) and Joe Hachem (big).

• Seat 1: Simon ‘vuka’ Randall (UK) 125,000


• Seat 2: Liz Lieu (United States) 384,000


• Seat 3: William ‘walrus_poker’ Tam (Australia) 201,000


• Seat 4: Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier (France) 467,000


• Seat 5: Joe Hachem (Australia) 325,000


• Seat 6: Dinh ‘Darren’ Le (England) 657,000


• Seat 7: Guillaume ‘TheGrrr…’ Patry (Canada) 552,00


• Seat 8: Sangkyoun Kim (South Korea) 261,000


• Seat 9: Ivan Tan (Singapore) 553,000

Hand 1: Dinh Le

Button: Tam (seat 3) – Le raises to 37,000 total and takes down the pot.

Hand 2: William Tam

Button: ElkY (seat 4) – Randall raises to 35,000 before Tam moves all-in for 197,000. Play folds to the Londoner, and he lays them down.

Hand 3: Dinh Le

Button: Hachem (seat 5) – Lieu raises to 28,000 before Dinh Le pops it up to 78,000. Lieu folds and the chip leader makes it two out of the first three pots.

Hand 4: William Tam

Button: Le (seat 6) – Tan bets 30,000, with Patry and Kim in the blinds joining the action. We see our first flop for the final table of 5c 8h 3c. Tam bets 100,000 and scoops the pot.

Hand 5: Joe Hachem

Button: Patry (seat 7) – Team PokerStars claims its first pot of the final table when Joe Hachem raises 68,000 pre-flop to take the blinds and antes.

Hand 6: Simon Randall

Button: Kim (seat 8) – In our first all-in of the final table, the short stack Simon Randall pushes all-in with pocket sixes, and gets a call from Ivan Tan with pocket eights. Randall makes a set on the flop of 2c 6s Kc, then quads when a 6h landed on the river. Randall takes down a nice pot of almost 200,000.

Hand 7: Ivan Tan

Button: Tan (seat 9) – Tan bets 42,000 on the button and Lieu calls from the big blind. The flop reads As 5c 3s, Leiu checks, Tan bets 65,000 and immediately recoups some of the chips he lost in the previous pot.

Hand 8: Guillaume Patry

Button: Randall (seat 1) – Hachem calls and Patry follows into the pot. The flop is 6d 7c 4d, Hachem c-bets 55,000 and Patry moves all-in for almost 450,000. He has Hachem well covered. After about 90 seconds in the tank, Hachem folds.

Hand 9: Dinh Le

Button: Lieu (seat 2) – From early position, Dinh Le bets 70,000 and takes down another pot.

Hand 10: Simon Randall

Button: Tam (seat 3) – Randall’s pre-flop raise to 80,000 is enough to take down the blinds and antes.

By Sean Callander

You’d think Joe Hachem would be use to TV tables and big-time final tables, but the 2005 WSOP champion still had some jitters before taking his seat for today’s PokerStars.net APPT Macau: Asian Poker Open final table.

The Aussie favourite paced the hall in deep thought just outside the TV studio here in the Grand Waldo Hotel and Casino before taking his seat.

But the Team PokerStars Pro was positively calm compared to Jeannie Hachem. Joe’s wife was ringside when he captured the 2006 WPT Five-Diamond Classic, and is hoping that she can bring some luck and make Joe the first player to win a WPT, WSOP main event and APPT title.

Online qualifier Sangkyoun Kim, the 41-year-old from Seoul, South Korea, is positively beaming at the thought of chasing the $US222,460 first prize, but young Brisbane qualifier William Tam looks quite tense sitting between Liz Lieu and ElkY.

Simon Randall, the other PokerStars online qualifier at the final table, is already cracking the one-liners: hardly surprising given the 45-year-old owns a pair of comedy clubs in London.

Some promos are currently being shot by new APPT hostess Erin McNaught (the 2006 Miss Australia), and we should be underway in the next 30 minutes. Keep an eye on our PokerStars Blog for regular updates of the PokerStars.net APPT Macau: Asian Poker Open and the chase for the honour of being the first winner of a No-Limit Texas Hold’em poker tournament in the People’s Republic of China

Chip count (end of day 2)

• Seat 1: Simon ‘vuka’ Randall (UK) 125,000


• Seat 2: Liz Lieu (United States) 384,000


• Seat 3: William ‘walrus_poker’ Tam (Australia) 201,000


• Seat 4: Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier (France) 467,000


• Seat 5: Joe Hachem (Australia) 325,000


• Seat 6: Dinh Le (England) 657,000


• Seat 7: Guillaume ‘TheGrrr…’ Patry (Canada) 552,000


• Seat 8: Sangkyoun Kim (South Korea) 261,000


• Seat 9: Ivan Tan (Singapore) 553,000

PokerStars Video Blog

Ali interviews Joe Hachem after his final table win



Watch Pokerstars pros teach Hong Kong media a thing or two about the game of Poker.

By Sean Callander

A whirlwind last hour has finished with the final nine players decided to contest the final table at the PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour: Asian Poker Open. With 15 players remaining, the short stacks came under attack – first that of veteran Kiwi Graeme Putt (15th), followed by young Aussie Joel Dodds (14th) and Jerry Bucilla (13th), who walked into the pocket aces of Joe Hachem.

Guido Lunardini’s tournament finished when Dinh Le made a pair of jacks after the board missed the Thai’s K Q, and soon after, Claus Valloe’s K 8 ran into the A 10 of Team PokerStars’ Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier. Ace-high was good enough for ‘ElkY’ to eliminate Valloe in 11th place.

Almost immediately after Valloe busted, Cailin Jin fell one short of the final table line-up when his A 5 came up against the pocket queens of Sangkyoun Kim. The flop (Ah 9c As) was sweet for Jin, but one of the two queens in the deck fell on the turn, making Kim’s full house and ensuring his spot in the last nine.

There, he’ll be joined by a dream field that includes Team PokerStars Pros Joe Hachem and ElkY Grospellier, Team PokerStars member Guillaume Patry and US ‘Poker Diva’ Liz Lieu. The field also includes a trio of PokerStars online qualifiers: Sangkyoun Kim from South Korea, knockabout Brit Simon Randall and 21-year-old Brisbane native William Tam. They’ll all be chasing the chip leader, Vietnamese-born Dinh Le. Play resumes at 2pm local time today.

Chip count (end of day 2):

1. Dinh Le (England) 657,000


2. Ivan Tan (Singapore) 553,000


3. Guillaume Patry (Canada) 552,000


4. Bertrand 'ElkY' Grospellier (France) 467,000


5. Liz Lieu (United States) 384,000


6. Joe Hachem (Australia) 325,000


7. Sangkyoun Kim (South Korea) 261,000


8. William Tam (Australia) 201,000


9. Simon Randall (UK) 125,000

Final table profiles and seating assignments for APPT Macau main event



Seat 7: Guillaume Patry (TheGrrr… on PokerStars, 552,000 in chips): A native of Quebec, Canada and actually started his competitive career as part of the Quebec Junior Provincial Ski Team. By high school, Patry had already become the world’s premier Starcraft gamer and also became the first ever non-Korean professional gamer in South Korea. Residing in South Korea since 2000, he reached celebrity status in both the gaming and mainstream media of his adopted homeland. TheGrrr… gradually built his profile online but it wasn’t until this year that he made the step into major live tournaments with appearances at the PokerStars.net APPT events in Manila and Seoul. He was a massive chip leader midway through day two of the APPT Macau: Asian Poker Open main event but rode the roller coaster late in the day before consolidating his spot in the final nine. He is a member of Team PokerStars.



Seat 5: Joe Hachem, Australia (Joehachem on PokerStars, 325,000 in chips): A man who needs little introduction, the 2005 WSOP champion is already a member of one of poker’s most elite clubs as one of five men to have captured a WSOP main event and WPT title after he captured the prestigious WPT Five-Diamond Classic title in 2006. Born in Lebanon, he moved to Australia in the early 1970s where he worked as a chiropractor and mortgage broker. Married with four children, he stunned the poker world by beating a record-breaking 5619-player field in the 2005 WSOP main event. Since then, he has been the catalyst for the massive growth of poker in Australia, and one of the game’s most respected ambassadors. The 41-year-old played in the APPT events in Manila and Seoul, and by reaching the final table in Macau, he is aiming to become the first WSOP/WPT/APPT champion. Joe Hachem is a Team PokerStars Pro.



Seat 1: Simon Randall, UK (Vuka on PokerStars, 125,000 in chips): He might be the short stack, but this affable Englishman will provide plenty of entertainment value at the final table. The owner of two comedy clubs in West London, he brings a stack of poker experience to the PokerStars.net APPT Macau: Asian Poker Open having played for more than 25 years (he joked that he was playing poker before most of the final table participants were born)! An aficionado of Seven-card Stud, he was swept up in the Texas Hold’em boom at the start of the new millennium and has acquired some valuable experience at tournaments such as the PokerStars EPT in London and the 2006 WSOP. The 45-year-old father of two will be cheered on at the final table by his wife Vishna. He earned a ticket to Macau via a $100 Double Shootout on PokerStars.




Seat 4: Bertrand Grospellier, France (ElkY on PokerStars, 467,000 in chips): Better known by his professional computer gamer ID, ElkY, this Frenchman has been living in South Korea as a professional gamer for almost six years and is one of the top-ranked Starcraft players in his adopted homeland. He regularly competes in the Korean Pro Gaming leagues, which are televised nationally. He has since transferred these exceptional skills to poker. He came within a whisker of winning the EPT Scandinavian Open in Copenhagen earlier this year (he collected $US400,000 for finishing runner-up). However, he remains better known for his online exploits on PokerStars, where he was the first person to ever reach “Supernova” and “Supernova Elite” status on PokerStars (having earned 100,000 player points in one month and 1,000,000 player points in 12 months respectively). Bertrand Grospellier is a Team PokerStars Pro.



Seat 9: Zhong Wei ‘Ivan’ Tan, Singapore (553,000 in chips): The great story of the final table, this 26-year-old timed a holiday to Macau with his wife around the APPT Macau: Asian Poker Open with the hope of snaring a seat on the cheap. He lined up in the first Mega Satellite, and hung on to grab the last seat on offer for the main event. He’s now in the running to take home the first prize of $US222,640 – not a bad souvenir to take back to his home in Singapore! A keen poker player, he enjoys the occasional cash game but has little tournament experience and has been thrilled with the opportunity to mix it with the world’s best after gaining a taste of the PokerStars.net APPT in Manila three months ago. He is second in chips heading into the final table.


Seat 6: Dinh Le, Vietnam (657,000 in chips)



Seat 2: Liz Lieu, USA (384,000 in chips): One of the most glamourous and recognisable faces in poker, this 34-year-old poker pro was born in Vietnam, raised in the US and has recently made the move to London. Known as the ‘Poker Diva’, she established her reputation first as a cash-game player mainly in Limit Hold’em before making her mark in the tournament arena at the 2005 WSOP with a fifth in the $1500 No Limit Hold’em event. Two more cashes, including a 12th in the $5000 No Limit Hold’em event, marked her as a player to watch. She carried that form into the 2005 Festa Al Lago at the Bellagio where she was fourth in the $2500 No Limit Hold’em event, then broke through for her first major win in 2006 in the $1000 No Limit Hold’em Tournament at the LA Poker Classic. Incredibly, she won the same event 12 months later (pocketing almost $US150,000).



Seat 8: Sangkyoun Kim, South Korea (261,000 in chips): Inspired by the PokerStars.net APPT’s visit to Seoul in September, this 41-year-old father of two successfully chased a seat for the APPT Macau: Asia Poker Open in an $11 rebuy tournament on PokerStars. He’s been playing poker for about three years, but this is his first live tournament, representing a marvellous achievement to make the final table of a major event at his first attempt. He works in the insurance industry in Seoul, where his workmates and family have been keeping close tabs on his chip count via the PokerStars blog. He also ensures that the Korean-based contingent (which includes Guillaume Patry and ‘ElkY’ Grospellier) is the dominant force at the final table.



Seat 3: William Tam, Australia (walrus_poker on PokerStars, 201,000 in chips): The APPT Grand Final will be held at Sydney’s Star City Casino next month, so it’s appropriate that a casino dealer from a sister property to Star City should make the final table of the APPT Macau; Asian Poker Open. Playing in his first major live tournament, this 21-year-old (he only celebrated this milestone birthday last week) is a dealer at Treasury Casino in Brisbane, Australia. Born in Australia to a Vietnamese mother and a father originally from Hong Kong, he’s been playing poker for several years but only decided to try his luck in Macau after cashing fifth in a Sunday Million warm-up on PokerStars. He ensured a spot at the final table when he doubled through ‘ElkY’ Grospellier late on day two when his pocket jacks held up against the Frenchman’s A Q.

PokerStars kicked off the 2007 Grey Cup Festival in style this week in Toronto, Canada as two teams, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers prepared to square off against the Saskatchewan Rough Riders. The First Annual PokerStars Pigskin Classic, a game of touch football that included 8 Canadian Football League (CFL) players and PokerStars’ own Daniel Negreanu, was one the highlights of the opening day events.

“I thought we’d just come out here and throw the ball around, but these guys were tough,” said Negreanu. “They came prepared with plays, strategy and speed. It was intense, but so much fun, and I got to play with the best of Canada’s foot teams. You can’t beat that.”

After the Pigskin Classic, PokerStars then invited these CFL quarterbacks to try their hand at poker against Daniel and field of over 20 sports reporters covering the Grey Cup in a in its massive tournament style booth at the Toronto Convention Center. First prize for the reporters was a trip to cover PCA in the Bahamas in January or a donation $5,000 to the charity of their choice. Runners up received a seat to the PokerStars Million Dollar CFL Challenge, a fifty seat tournament open to the public at the Grey Cup with first prize being a trip for two and buy-in to PCA.

Winner of the media tournament was Senior Entertainment Reporter Rick Campanelli, of Entertainment Tonight Canada.

“This is amazing! I was short stacked within the first 15 minutes and had to claw my way back all the way through,” said Rick. “I can’t believe I made it all the way to the final and won.”

In addition, to the media tournament, 9 other satellite winners from all over Canada battled over 10,000 players online to make their way to the Grey Cup to compete today. Players like Curt Kristian and Ryan Nadeau, who were featured in their local newspapers, when word got out about their amazing win on PokerStars.net.

Not content with his first place victory and trip to PCA, Rick Campanelli returned on Saturday, November 24th to vie for his buy in to PCA as well. Unfortunately for Rick, he busted out before the final table.

The PokerStars Million Dollar CFL Challenge will conclude on Sunday starting at 12:30PM EST. FVice tenacious Canucks advanced to the final table to play against Daniel Negreanu on Sunday for a chance at PCA stardom! That winner will not only get a trip to PCA but will also be among the 30,000 screaming fans watching the 2007 Grey Cup.

By Sean Callander

Just 15 players remain in contention for the PokerStars.net APPT Macau: Asian Poker Open title as the hours after the dinner break on day two ticks past.

We’re at level 18 (4000/8000 with a 1000 ante), but it’s been slow going in the past two hours minutes with only five players – Dane Sean Jensen, Bradley Fu from Canada, Sweden’s Christoffer Stahle, Ang Pend Lang from Singapore and American Brian Tate eliminated.

Tate’s KO was particularly brutal: on a flop of 7d 8c 3h, Thailand’s Guido Lunardini pushed all-in with 8d 3d, and Tate had no hesitation calling with pocket aces. The turn and river came Js 2s, meaning Lunardini's two pair held up.

Almost unbelievably, Guillaume Patry’s chip lead has disappeared with his stack slashed by half since the break. Dinh Le was the latest to acquire a pile of Patry’s chips when he rivered a straight in a pot worth almost 300,000. Le now leads the field from Alan Tan (all three seated at the same table).

The action is tight and tense, but the crowds on the rail haven’t dissipated. It’s interesting to note that the spectators have included more than a few of the senior figures in the local casino industry.

It’s hard to describe the level of development here on the island of Taipa, situated just across the ‘old’ city of Macau. The opening of the Sands Macau casino in 2004 ushered in a new era, which has continued with the opening of lavish properties like Galaxy Entertainment’s Grand Waldo Hotel (the venue for the PokerStars.net APPT Macau: Asian Poker Open), which was the first one-stop hotel and entertainment resort to open in Macau.

A short distance from the Grand Waldo is the massive Venetian Macao, which opened three months ago. The 32-storey, $1.8 billion property owned by Las Vegas Sands (occupying a massive 10.5 million square feet) is the largest single structure hotel building in Asia and the second-largest building in the world.

Just across the road from the Grand Waldo is a massive vacant block, which will soon be home to the jewel in the crown of the Galaxy empire – the Galaxy World Resort. Stage one opens soon, and will feature three hotels, housed in two towers, comprising 2500 rooms.

As one of the largest in the world, the casino will have a capacity to accommodate up to 700 gaming tables and 4000 slot machines. The mass gaming hall will stretch the entire length of the casino (almost 300 metres). It will be a different looking city when we return for the PokerStars.net APPT Macau: Asian Poker Open next year!

Current chip count (approximate):

1. Alan Tan (Singapore) 475,000


2. Dinh Le (Vietnam) 427,000


3. Guillaume Patry (Canada) 380,000


4. Guido Lunardini (Thailand) 344,000


5. Claus Valloe (Denmark) 235,000

By Sean Callander


The frenetic pace has finally slowed as the field has been reduced to 22 in the PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour: Asian Poker Open.

The tournament has been condensed into four tables to one side of the Grand Waldo casino floor, with railbirds packed around trying to get a glimpse of the action.

Team PokerStars has been reduced to two representatives: 2005 WSOP champion Joe Hachem and Bertrand ‘Elky’ Grospellier. After bowing out on the opening day of the first two APPT events, Hachem has wielded his stack to great impact. He was responsible for the elimination of fellow Aussie James Potter in 30th position.

Hachem’s charge isn’t the only talking point among the Australian contingent in the room, as they’ve just discovered that on their return home, they’ll have a new Prime Minister after today’s Federal Election was won by Kevin Rudd’s Labor Party, ending the 11-year reign of John Howard.

On a momentous day for Australian politics, Hachem is in a great position to claim an equally historic win in the first No-Limit Texas Hold’em poker tournament to be held in the People’s Republic of China.

But to do so, he’s going to have to overcome the man seated to his immediate right: PokerStars’ sponsored player Guillaume ‘Grrrr...’ Patry.

The Korean-based Canadian has taken a huge chip lead in the past 30 minutes. Like ‘Elky’, Patry made the move to Seoul in 2000 where he became the world's premier Starcraft gamer (and the first ever non-Korean professional gamer in South Korea).

Patry, who’s only major tournament experience has been in the three APPT events, has rocketed to more than 700,000 in chips to be almost assured a spot at the final table.

Liz Lieu assured of finishing as the top female after the young Australian Celina Lin busted out just before the dinner break in 24th place. Other recent eliminations include Lance Yuen (Taiwan, 22nd), Chris Levick (23rd, Australia), former chip leaders Tobias Schulze (25th) and Luca Carlone (Italy, 26th) and Swedes Anders Carlsson (28th) and Kenneth Matsson (29th).



Current chip count (approximate)

1. Guillaume Patry (Canada) 706,000


2. Alan Tan (Singapore) 280,000


3. Dinh Le (Vietnam) 274,000


4. Joe Hachem (Australia) 235,000


5. Bradley Fu (Canada) 220,000

PokerStars Video Blog
Alison interviews Emad Tahtou after he busts out day two, a dissapointing finish, today he got his kicks Bungee-jumping from the Macau Tower today.

By Sean Callander

The bubble has burst here at the Grand Waldo Hotel and Casino with Canada’s Winfred Yu confirmed as the 41st-place finisher in the PokerStars.net APPT Macau: Asian Poker Open main event.

A cheer erupted in the room when Denmark’s Sean Jensen sent Yu to the rail, thus ensuring the remaining 40 players a payout of at least $US3238, but all eyes remain focussed on a spot at tomorrow’s final table.

It took just over three hours to slash the field from 77 to 40, with some of the big name eliminations including 1998 world champion Scotty Nguyen.

From middle position, Nguyen moved all-in for his last 30,000 in chips and was called by Swede Markus Duberg from the cutoff. Duberg showed pocket queens, which held up against the Prince of Poker’s Ac Kh.

A popular addition to the APPT Macau field, Scotty departed to warm applause, but not before he’d made a round of the tournament area to wish every player still in the field the best of luck – all class.

Isabelle Mercier’s day two experience was short and sweet. Barely settled into her seat after this morning’s bungy jump off Macau Tower, No Mercy’s pocket kings ran into pocket aces in the first serious showdown of the day. Ouch.

Masa Kagawa was also left with plenty of time to see the sights of Macau when he (and Aussie Paul Gianfriddo) were KOed by Hong Kong’s Nicholas Wong.

The Japanese player had As Jc, Gianfriddo pocket queens and Wong pocket kings, which held firm on a board of 6c 8c Jh Kc 8h. The pot, worth 130,000, was the tournament’s biggest so far.

We also lost APPT Seoul champion Ziv Bachar just before the bubble burst. The 25-year-old Israeli made a brave charge at successive titles only to bow out in 43rd position.



But some heavy hitters remain very well placed to have a major say in who will take home the APPT Macau trophy.

Team PokerStars duo Joe Hachem and ElkY Grospellier are both sitting comfortably inside the top 10 and within reach of chip leader Hosung Kim (180,000).





And a great story is emerging in the form of Celina “id4eva” Lin, a young Australian who was born in Shanghai, China, before moving to Melbourne as a four-year-old.



One of Australia’s emerging online stars, Lin is playing in her first major live tournament. Down to just 8000 in chips late yesterday, she’s rallied to build her stack beyond 100,000. With the first aim of making the money ticked off, she’s now eyeing a spot at the final table.


Current chip count (approximate)

1. Hosung Kim (Korea) 185,000



2. Tobias Schulze (Germany) 170,100



3. Dinh Le (Vietnam) 168,000



4. Pang Leng Ang (Singapore) 135000



5. Bertrand Grospellier (France) 125,000

By Sean Callander

Some players had a quiet night and a lazy breakfast to prepare for day two of the PokerStars.net APPT Macau: Asian Poker Open main event.

Not the fearless members of Team PokerStars – they jump off buildings! Joe Hachem, Isabelle Mercier, Emad Tahtouh and Terrance Chan skipped their Corn Flakes for the short trip to Macau Tower, which measures a dizzying 338m in height from ground level to the highest point.

The views across Macau and the Pearl River Delta are stunning, but the attraction of Macau Tower for thrillseekers is the AJ Hackett bungy jump. At 233 meters, the Macau Tower's tethered "skyjump" from the tower's outer rim is the highest in the world.

Despite some stomach jitters, Team PokerStars took it all in their stride – indeed, the voice of Isabelle could be heard as she rebounded back into the sky shrieking “too easy”.

But the highs of Macau Tower have quickly been forgotten as Hachem and Mercier rushed back to the Grand Waldo Hotel and Casino for the opening hand of day two to join the 77 players chasing the inaugural APPT Macau title.

The draw has thrown up some intriguing tables, with Mercier finding herself at the same table as Masa Kagawa, chip leader Tobias Schulze (179,000) and top Aussie pro Gary Benson.

Meanwhile, Hachem occupies the same table as Hevad Khan, Guillaume Patry and Vietnamese player Dinh Le (second in chips with 169,000).

Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier is leading the Team PokerStars charge – looking gaunt and vampish thanks to a bleach-blonde dye job (think Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and a prop bet to lose 24 kgs, ElkY is playing some inspired poker and is well placed for a shot at the final table.

Other big names still in the hunt are Scotty Nguyen (who’s current stack of 30,000 is by far the largest he’s held so far in this tournament), while Liz Lieu is charging early on day two and has propelled his stack above 50,000.

Keep an eye on www.pokerstarsblog.com for regular updates through out the day as we continue to celebrate the first No-Limit Texas Hold’em poker tournament to be held in the People’s Republic of China.

Current chip count (approximate):

1. Tobias Schulze (Germany) 179,100



2. Dinh Le (Vietnam) 169,100



3. Carlone Luca (Italy) 150,800



4. Bertrand Grospellier (France) 112,300



5. Hosung Kim (Korea) 109,100

By Sean Callander

The chips are being bagged at the end of the opening day’s play at the Grand Waldo Hotel and Casino in the PokerStars.net APPT Macau: Asian Poker Open.

We’ve completed 10 levels, and just 77 players will be back tomorrow: first chasing a spot in the money (top 40) and then a final table berth for a serious shot at the first prize money of $US22,460.

Just minutes before play wrapped up, Tobias Schulze from Germany snatched the chip lead when his jacks held up against his opponent’s K 10 on a board of 7d 3h 4c Ac 10d. He finished the day on 179,000 in chips.

It’s been a good day at the office for Team PokerStars with the list of players still in the hunt including Joe Hachem, Bill Chen, Hevad Khan, Isabelle Mercier and Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier. Sponsored players Scotty Nguyen, Masa Kagawa, Guillaume Patry and James Potter also survived the day.

Other players of note who’ll have to set the alarm for the morning include APPT Seoul champion Ziv Bachar from Israel, highly ranked Aussie pro Gary Benson and Liz Lieu, who’s stack swung wildly through the day before she finished just under the chip average of just over 45,000.

PokerStars Video Blog
Alison interviews Liz Lieu about her excitement about Poker in Asia.





And as we’ve reported throughout the day, players to end the day on the rail included 1990 WSOP champion Mansour Matloubi; Team PokerStars Pros Vanessa Rousso, Lee Nelson and Tuan Lam; Chad Brown; Jeff Lisandro; Van Marcus and John Juanda. We’ll be back tomorrow from noon (local time) for day two.

By Sean Callander

Less than one-third of the 352 players who started the battle for the PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) Macau: Asian Poker Open title remain in the hunt as we tick into level nine (500/1000 with a 100 ante).

A surprising number of the big names have survived, some of who have done it the hard way. Team PokerStars Pro Isabelle Mercier has battled a small stack almost all day but is within sight of the end of a long day.

Likewise, Scotty Nguyen has ridden the proverbial poker roller coaster and is struggling to keep his hopes of pocketing the US222,640 first prize alive.

In contrast, 2005 WSOP champion Joe Hachem is comfortably among the top 10 chip stacks on 60,000 and is holding his own despite currently occupying a seat at the toughest table in the room (including fellow Team PokerStars sponsored players Masa Kagawa, Guillaume Patry and James Potter).

We’re aware of Hachem picking up pocket aces at least three times today, and he was recently paid off when he made a set on the flop against A K.

He’s showing no signs of running out of puff, even though he was called into action to blow out some birthday candles after his wife Jeannie was presented with a birthday cake earlier in the evening (tournament director Matt Savage even led the room in a rendition of Happy Birthday).

Nguyen and Hachem weren’t the only WSOP champions to make the long journey to Macau for this historic event.

Some world champs are better known than others: case in point Mansour Matloubi. The Iranian-born Welshman is best remembered for playing one of the most exciting hands in WSOP main event final table history as he battled Hans ‘Tuna’ Lund for the title way back in 1990.

With more than $1.6 million in the pot (the biggest in tournament history), Matloubi pushed all-in with pocket 10s on a flop of 9 2 4, only to be called by Lund (holding A 9). An ace on the turn made Lund a huge favourite until Matloubi hit his two-outer – a 10. Matloubi went on to win the first prize of $895,000.

Almost two decades later, Matloubi trekked to the Grand Waldo Hotel and Casino for another momentous occasion in poker history.

However, his charge was halted late on day one when he lost a coinflip with Ac Ks to Aaron Schumacher's pocket jacks. Schumacher made a full house when the flop came 7h Js 7s, ending Matloubi’s mission to Macau.

Other recent eliminations have included Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Rousso, who found her pocket nines up against Ad Jh. The board of 3d 3c As Jc 5d did Rousso no favours.

By Sean Callander

It’s hard to imagine two more diverse cities than Las Vegas and Macau. Located in the hot and dry Nevada desert, Vegas is isolated from every other city in the USA while Macau’s population density is among the highest of any city in the world.

The make-up of the gaming mix is also vastly different in the two cities. In Macau, you’ll find the regular casino games like blackjack, roulette, Sic bo, Fan-Tan, keno and slot machines (known as tiger machines). But the most popular game by far is baccarat with VIP high-roller baccarat generating more than 70 per cent of total gaming revenue.

And unlike Vegas, you won’t find a single western-style poker room in Macau – yet. The casinos are also yet to pick up on other aspects of gaming culture; one example being fashion.

The players’ attire at the PokerStars.net APPT Macau: Asian Poker Open is like any other tournament – caps, sunglasses, hoodies and iPods are de rigueur. But once players leave the tournament area, strict security protocol dictates that the hats and glasses have to come off.

David Saab’s sunglasses have been packed away for the night after he pushed in his remaining 6200 in chips with just 9 2. But the popular Aussie, who has impressed in his previous APPT outings, ran into A Q, ending his hopes of a good run in Macau.

You’ll never see Jeff Lisandro wearing sunglasses at the poker table, but he shared Saab’s fate just before the dinner break when he shoved in his last 4100 with 9h 8h. He ran into a set of fives, ending his first APPT experience. However, Lisandro will be back for the $15k event, which starts on Monday.



Another WSOP bracelet winner, John Juanda, was also sent to the rail just before the dinner break. Forced to act due to his short stack, Juanda picked the wrong spot with his Qc 3c when James Potter turned over pocket kings in the big blind.

Potter, a sponsored PokerStars player, said it was an honour for him to sit at the same table as the triple WSOP bracelet winner, but happily declared that “he did it for PokerStars”!

Other players eliminated in the 90 minutes prior to the opening day’s main break were Chad Brown and Tuan Lam, who pushed with his short stack holding pocket sixes but ran into kings.

Just over 30 minutes into level seven (150/300 with a 75 ante), more than half the field has been eliminated and the chip leaders in the race for the $US222,640 first prize are Philippines-based American Renato de Guzman (65,000) and Aussie Joel Dodds (58,000).

By Sean Callander

The hopes of winning the first PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) Macau: Asian Poker Open title have already ended for more than 100 players.

We’re just back from the second break here at the Grand Waldo Hotel and Casino for level five (150/300 with 25 antes), and the field has already been whittled down to 250.

During the break, we caught up briefly with Joe Hachem (who was clawing the eyes out of a glove puppet – don’t ask) who said the dancing lions had brought him some luck in the first four hours of play.

Another player who experienced a taste of local good fortune just before the break was Tuan Lam. One of the most likeable and genuine players you’d ever want to meet, the Vietnamese-born Canadian is still coming to grips with his new-found fame – and wealth – after finishing runner-up in the 2007 WSOP main event and winning a life-changing $US4,840,981.

However, this most humble member of Team PokerStars still has his feet planted firmly on the ground.

“I’m not a great flyer, I hate the thought of having to spend so much time on a plane, especially coming from Canada,” he said.

“I asked my travel agent about a business class seat but she said it would cost $7000. I’d rather keep that money for my family and helping others in Vietnam. Instead, I have a couple of beers and that helps me sleep.”

It looked like Tuan would have time for plenty of ales when he pushed in his last 2100 in chips with A Q, but found himself narrowly ahead of fellow Canadian Michel St. Pierre, who had K Q. A third player in the hand had called Lam's all in, but St. Pierre moved all in over the top, which made the third opponent fold.

Both players made a pair on the flop Kd 7s As giving him top two pair. The turn (3c) and river (9d) missed both players, breathing life into Tuan Lam’s dwindling stack.

However, others haven’t been as fortunate. Team PokerStars’ Dan Schreiber, reigning New Zealand champion Eric Assadourian and polished French pro Fabrice Soulier have been eliminated.

Some familiar names occupy prominent slots on the chip count – behind Ho Sung Kim (55,000) and Christoffer Stahle (45,000) are a trio of Team PokerStars pros: Masa Kagawa (42,000), Hevad Khan (39,000) and Joe Hachem (27,000).

Pokerstars Video Blog
Alison talks to players during break on the first day

By Sean Callander

Poker players love a good prop bet, and the Hong Kong dollars were flying thick and fast as to the number of starters in the PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) Macau: Asian Poker Open main event.

The line seemed to be set around 200-220, so those who took the overs are celebrating with the final number confirmed at 352 players: a remarkable figure for this historic tournament and a credit to everyone involved in the organisation of the event.

We’re into level three (100/200), and already 26 players have been eliminated, including a pair of Team PokerStars Pros, Lee ‘Final Table’ Nelson and Emad Tahtouh.

The 2006 Aussie Millions champion pushed his remaining 2900 in chips with Qc 10s, and received a call from Philippines-based Canadian Mischa Peters, holding Ad 2d with the board reading Qd 9c 6d. Nelson made trip queens on the turn, but Peters completed his flush on the river (4d) to send the Kiwi on his way.

Emad Tahtouh is known as a bit of a lady’s man, but queens proved his downfall in consecutive hands, when his A K was twice bested by pocket dames: the fairer sex delivers another broken heart for the young Australian.



Fellow Aussie Jozef Berec has also been KOed. The runner-up of the APPT Seoul main event, Berec has been in cracking form this year but barely lasted an hour here.

Crippled earlier when his A K was dominated by Christoffer Stahle’s pocket kings, Berec was headed for the rails when kings of his own came up against A 10 on a board of 5 10 A J 6. Stahle is the early chip leader on 44,000.

However, Berec – a sometimes-fiery character at the table– was on his best behaviour once eliminated, fearful of a local rule that has every player in the Grand Waldo on their toes.

Tournament director Matt Savage delivered a stern warning to all players before the start of the main event in regards to the abuse of dealers.

Strict policies are in place to combat dealer abuse, and if an incident is deemed serious enough, a perpetrator could be arrested and jailed by local police. Maybe the law should be extended to card rooms all over the world!!

Early movers on the chip count include Liz Lieu (28,000), Gary Benson (26,000), Chad Brown, David Saab and Joe Hachem (all 21,000).

APPT Video Blog
Alison finds out which players pre-game strategies involve words like "on the rocks".

By Sean Callander

The sense of occasion and history was palpable as 1998 WSOP main event champion Scotty Nguyen gave the order to “shuffle up and deal” here at the Grand Waldo Hotel and Casino in Macau for the first No-Limit Texas Hold’em poker tournament to be held in the People’s Republic of China.

We’re underway in the $2500 PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) Macau: Asian Poker Open main event, which burst to life at noon local time with a display of traditional lion dancing.

It’s said the lion dance is usually performed as a ceremony to exorcise evil spirits and to summon luck and fortune.

The three lions may as well have been seated at one of the tables as they reflect some of the most crucial elements that make a good poker player – the golden lion represents liveliness; the red lion represents courage; and the green lion represents friendship.



Friendship was certainly the order of the night when players descended on the Monkey Bar for last night’s official launch party. However, everyone has their game face on today as a world-class field has assembled for this historic tournament.

The field (which is rumored to be finalized at more than 350 players) includes three world champions: Joe Hachem (who was seated two spots away from his younger brother Tony in an amazing table draw), 1990 winner Mansour Matloubi and Scotty Nguyen.

Two of the world’s best female players, Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Rousso and Liz Lieu, are also seated at the same table, as are 2006 Bluff Magazine Player of the Year Chad Brown, dual WSOP bracelet winner Mel Judah and 2007 WSOP Heads-up champion Daniel Schreiber.


Another tough table features Team PokerStars Pro Tuan Lam (runner-up in the ’07 WSOP main event), Canadian Michel St Pierre (final table APPT Seoul) and a pair of seasoned Aussie pros, David Saab and Ricky Gov.

Other Team PokerStars faces we’ve spotted in the room are Lee ‘Final Table’ Nelson, Hevad Khan, Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier, Isabelle Mercier, Bill Chen, Terrence Chan and Emad Tahtouh. Oh yeah, a surprise entrant seated at table 15 is three-time WSOP bracelet winner John Juanda, and also in the room is 2007 WSOP $2000 Seven-card Stud champion Jeff Lisandro.

But the APPT Macau experience is already over for one of the local players, Hong Kong’s Kut Fu ‘Raymond’ Chow, who was the first player eliminated after just 15 minutes of the first level.

In contrast, Joe Hachem picked up pocket aces twice within the first five minutes and took down two nice pots: “it’s like having 20k to start the day with,” the world champ said of his early stroke of luck. The lions worked for at least one player!

By Sean Callander

As little as six months ago, the thought of a poker tournament in Macau seemed as likely as hitting quads on the flop.

However, the PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour, in conjunction with local organisers First Impression Ltd, has achieved the poker equivalent of parting the Red Sea with the announcement of the PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) Macau: Asian Poker Open.

The enormity of poker’s first step into Macau (and China) is still sinking in. Though, the APPT’s list of achievements for 2007 was already considerable, gaining a foothold in the world’s biggest gambling market is a massive coup.

At today’s official launch, APPT President Jeffrey Haas aptly described the APPT Macau: Asian Poker Open as one of the three most ground breaking moments in the history of tournament poker.

“This event ranks up there with the first World Series of Poker in 1970 and the 2003 WSOP, when Chris Moneymaker’s win played a pivotal role in starting the online poker boom,” Haas said.

The PokerStars.net APPT Macau: Asian Poker Open will also showcase the Grand Waldo Hotel and Casino, one of the newest casinos in this incredibly dynamic city.

Grand Waldo Hotel and Casino General Manager Gary Woollard said the event promises to be a lot of fun. “Poker is enjoying tremendous growth in Asia and we are very excited to be a part of this and to be the first casino to host this event,” he said.

The APPT Macau: Asian Poker Open is setting records well before the first hand has been dealt. Already 330 players from more than different countries have confirmed their seats in the $US2500 buy-in main event. It’s expected the field will max out at 350 players when the order is given to shuffle up and deal at midday tomorrow (local time). Of the 350, more than half of the field will have qualified online with PokerStars.



However, qualifiers hoping to emulate the performance of Brett Parise, who won the first APPT event in Manila after qualifying for free on PokerStars.net, face an uphill battle against a world-class field.

Three world champions – Mansour Matloubi (1990), Scotty Nguyen (1998) and Team PokerStars Pro Joe Hachem (2005) head the entry list.

They’ll be joined in tomorrow’s main event by fellow Team PokerStars Pros Barry Greenstein, Lee Nelson, Isabelle Mercier, Vanessa Rousso, Hevad Khan and Masa Kagawa.

Aside from the lure of the $2500 buy-in main event to crown the first PokerStars.net APPT Macau: Asian Poker Open champion, many of the top pros are staying on for the $15,000 buy-in High Roller Event, which starts on Monday (local time).

We’ll be reporting on both events so keep an eye on www.pokerstarsblog.com for regular updates over the next five days as we celebrate the first No-Limit Texas Hold’em poker tournament to be held in the People’s Republic of China.

Introducing the APPT Video Blog

APPT'sAlison Lightman will be hosting and producing Videoblog segments live from Macau. Vlogs will be posted here, on YouTube and on the APPT site on our APPTlive page.

Episode 1: Welcome to Macau



Episode 2: Behind the Scenes



Episode 3: Lead in to day one

If anyone wondered about the popularity of the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, they can stop now. With less than two months of qualifying under its belt, PokerStars has announced that it has all but sold out of the $12,000 prize packages to the PCA.

The introduction of the ever-popular PCA Steps has pushed the qualifying numbers to the point at which hotel rooms at the host casino, the Atlantis Resort and Casino, are just about full. With that in mind, PokerStars has announced that it is cutting off full-package qualifying as of this coming Sunday, November 25.

PokerStars tournament organizers have announced the final PCA Steps will run at 11:59pm ET on Sunday. The final multi-table satellite will go off at 6pm ET. Winners in those events will receive the full $12,000 package, including lodging and travel expenses.

PokerStars also announced today that, while full packages will no longer be available, players will still have a chance to win seats to the PCA for as long as possible leading up to the event. Those satellites are scheduled to debut in the coming week.

So, if you are looking to win a full prize package to the PCA, it's time to make it happen.

We'll see you in the Bahamas!

Team PokerStars Pro Barry Greenstein is as much a teacher as he is a poker player. From his book "Ace on the River" to his much-chronicled tutelage of son Joe Sebok, Greenstein gives of himself from a spring of poker knowledge in ways that most pros deem either tiresome or antithetical to their goal of winning all the money in the world. To boot, Greenstein is no slouch in his tournament game. I spent most of this year's World Series chasing Robin Hood all over the tournament floor as he played in event after event--some at the same time. [See: Seventeen Steps with Barry Greenstein]

Recently, Greenstein put on a masterclass at PokerStars with the goal of helping people get inside his head a little better and improve their game in the process. Out of 31 World Series cashes, Greenstein has made the money in eleven different disciplines of poker. Add his final table appearance at this year's $50,000 World Series HORSE event, and it's pretty clear why Greenstein and PokerStars chose a HORSE SNG as the masterclass setting.

For 60,000 FPP, seven players sat down to compete for a $7,500 prize pool and a chance to see Greenstein's hole cards at every opportunity he had to show them. Greenstein, meanwhile, offered to discuss his hands with the players and donate anything he won to the Children, Incorporated charity.

The results, while meaningful, may not be as important as what the other players and you can learn from seeing the entirety of the SNG replayed with all the hole cards exposed. Beginning Saturday and lasting for one week, PokerStars will broadcast the replay for all to see. You'll be able to find it under the Tourney/Freeroll tab in the PokerStars lobby.

So as not to spoil it for everybody, I have posted the results below in white font. You can highlight the blank spot below to see who won if you like.

1. Barry Greenstein $3,750.00 (donated to charity)
2. Supa4real $2,250.00
3. The Grinder $1,500.00
4. bd3109
5. Aryamehr
6. Entropy xx
7. xthesteinx
8. -db-

If you are interested in participating in an upcoming Barry Greenstein Masterclass, PokerStars will be running another one in February. Stay tuned for more information.

Now, here's something you don't see everyday.

Sunday in the PokerStars Sunday Hundred Grand, the final table players all convened for the first time and said, "Chop it up." While not unprecedented, a nine-way chop is...well, rare.

In other news, the other two big Sunday events, the Warm-Up and Million, finished without a deal. That gave Glenmorangie a $92,000 payday in the Warm-Up and Balla-B13 a whopping $190,000 in the Million.

Congratulations to everybody who padded their bankrolls on Sunday.

PokerStars Sunday Warm-Up Final Table Results

1. Glenmorangie (Switzerland) $92,502.36
2. sophieday (United States) $46,866.60
3. goleafsgoeh (Canada) $31,197.06
4. danskemann (Norway) $25,090.20
5. tomaso_13 (Sweden) $19,882.80
6. bikocruz (United States) $15,101.46
7. jacstyx (Denmark) $10,840.86
8. wijken (Sweden) $6,816.96
9. Heppy85 (United Kingdom) $3,976.56

PokerStars Sunday Hundred Grand Final Table Results
Results based on finishing order and nine-way deal

1. BoydStreet (United States) $7,107.59
2. beatsone (United States) $7,987.80
3. crafy_pork (United Kingdom) $7,984.51
4. haffers (United Kingdom) $1,849.92
5. squeezemall (United States) $5,210.18
6. prazerk (United Kingdom) $4,672.58
7. maker51 (Denmark) $2,261.01
8. dog1dog2 (United States) $4,438.68
9. FPCatcher (United States) $3,058.40


PokerStars Sunday Million Final Table Results

1. Balla-B13 (United States) $190,880.12
2. head2842 (United States) $99,422.26
3. WeTruck (United States) $71,546.86
4. yesss (United States) $55,750.80
5. pat5star (Canada) $42,609.54
6. wNwNw1 (Finland) $30,530.20
7. Tifton TAO (United States) $21,902.10
8. skg0909 (Korea) $13,274.00
9. G0T T!LT? (United States) $8,229.88

There is something to be said for home field advantage. Just ask Team PokerStars' Pro Noah Boeken.

The Masters Classics of Poker has long been the biggest poker tournament in all of the Netherlands. Held at the Holland Casino in Amsterdam, the tournament hosts some of the best poker players from all over Europe.

This week, Boeken once again showed his live poker prowess.

Up against more than 400 tough poker pros, Boeken went on the attack in his home city. Competing for a prize pool of more than two million euros, Boeken battled all the way to the final table. His fourth place finish earned him nearly 140,000 euros.

It was not the first win he had that week.

"Straight back from my 14th place finish in the EPT Dublin, I arrived at the Amsterdam airport two hours prior to the start of the second tournament of the week," Boeken said.

That event was a 200 euro rebuy no-limit hold'em tourney. He sat down just in time for the first hand. His momentum from Dublin carried him forward. He finished second out of 298 players and picked up what he called "a small 30,000 euro payday."

After that, he went to work on the big evemt. Once he reached the final table, he was seventh place in chips. He said he couldn't get anything going ultimatelt busted in fourth place.

"Looking back at the final, I should be happy with my result," he said. "I didn't start with many chips and in the seven hours I was on this table, I had no other choice than to survive with the cards that where dealt to me. All in all, it's been a great two weeks for me and I hope I can continue my good run in the upcomming tournaments."

Congratulations, Noah, on a great finish.

In a good portion of the poker playing world, the leaves have fallen off the trees, the air is growing colder, and the idea of wearing short sleeves is met with raised eyebrows. However, in the land down under, summer is just getting started and if you're looking for warmer climes in which to get your game on, look no further than the Asia Pacific Poker Tour's Grand Final in Sydney, Australia.

PokerStars is planning to send more than 200 of its players to Australia to compete in the big event which is already looking to have a prize pool of more than $2.7 million.

You now have your chance to win a prize package to the APPT Grand Final in any of the daily $2.20 satellites or APPT Sydney Steps tournaments that start as low as $7.50 or 500 Frequent Player Points. If you win your package, you will get a buy-in to the Grand Final, a hotel room for the duration of the tournament, up to $2,000 in airline fares, and a cruise around Sydney Harbor.

For all you need to know about the APPT Grand Final, visit the PokerStars APPT satellite page.

Good luck. We'll see you in Sydney.

Team PokerStars' John Duthie has done a lot of things in his life. His has been a television director, a $1 millon poker winner, and the creator of the European Poker Tour. Sunday, he flirted with the possibility of adding Sunday Million Winner to his list of career accomplishments. Instead, Duthie busted in tenth place. That left the week's biggest win to Germany's safeel, who chopped the prize money five-handed and walked away with nearly $170,000.

Here's how all the big Sunday tournaments finished up this week.

PokerStars Sunday Warm-Up Final Table Results

1. M.O.P. (Germany) $88,281.72
2. dan2107 (United Kingdom) $44,728.20
3. TosseM (Norway) $29,773.62
4. rdaune (Belgium) $23,945.40
5. antroff (Sweden) $18,975.60
6. MazeOrBowie (United States) $14,412.42
7. alkemizt (Sweden) $10,346.22
8. Trackerdog (United States) $6,505.92
9. chgocubsfan (United States) $3,795.12

PokerStars Sunday Hundred Grand Final Table Results

1. Turob (Slovenia) $17,666.01
2. nolwazi (Denmark) $8,833.01
3. wibbet (Netherlands) $6,183.11
4. ignite5 (United States) $4,416.51
5. gros50 (France) $2,649.91
6. debbc (United Kingdom) $1,766.61
7. wazza193 (Australia) $1,413.29
8. doudou10 (France) $1,148.30
9. zzampano (Germany) $883.31



PokerStars Sunday Million Final Table Results
Based on finishing order and five-way deal

1. safeel (Germany) $167,612.22
2. rickL-UNIT (Netherlands) $77,540.21
3. Zefa (United States) $81,135.65
4. mbeezy02 (United States) $64,932.31
5. ducesarewild (United States) $68,781.17
6. Jensen (Denmark) $30,516.40
7. bottomset (United States) $21,892.20
8. icallseat3 (United States) $13,268.00
9. DrEskilstuna (Sweden) $8,226.16

You ever wonder what a Frequent Player Point looks like?

The FPP is ethereal. It's untouchable. It floats along as little pieces of data. Try to grab one and you can't. It doesn't really exist.

Until it does.

While you're wrapping your head around that concept, let's turn to PokerStars Supernova BCM11. For the early part of his life, his exploits and dreams existed in the tangible world. "Growing up I always wanted to be a professional athlete," he said. "I was getting close to realizing that dream playing soccer."

BCM11 was a high school All-American and his home state's player of the year. It looked like his dream was on track. Then, as he puts it, "Unfortunately, things don't always work out as planned."

'Nuff said.

With his athletic career behind him, BCM11 turned to a different competitive pursuit. "It started out as just something for fun a couple years ago," he said.

Before long, BCM11 had decided he was going to play poker for a living. He said, "Thankfully I found poker as a way to compete on a daily basis."

That's when BCM11's trek through the world of the intangible FPP got pretty interesting. He started playing lots of $220 and $550 heads-up SNGs. Lots of them. Enough that he could set a goal that seemed unreal.

"I set the goal about a year ago to get the Porsche," BCM11 said.

Just a few weeks ago, BCM11 earned his three millionth FPP point. After a few e-mails and a short wait, BCM11's FPPs turned into something tangible. Really tangible. The kind of tangible that sticks out in the driveway.

That's a brand new Porsche Cayenne with BCM11 behind the wheel. It cost him...well, nothing. He traded in his ethereal FPPs for something that most folks couldn't pay for in cash.

So, there you go. That, at least in this case, is what an FPP looks like.

Sorta pretty, isn't it?

With Halloween behind us, we now move into the final two months of Sunday tournaments for 2007. This week, the Sunday tournament action was as hot as ever and many a five-figure payday was dealt out before Sunday was done. Here's a look at all the big tournament results from PokerStars this week.

PokerStars Sunday Warm-Up Final Table Results
Based on finishing order and three-way deal

1. ballsinhand1 (United States) $57,234.67
2. LioneeR (United States) $55,986.75
3. ricestud (United States) $53,381.30
4. ps147 (United Kingdom) $24,507.20
5. BananasJoe (Sweden) $19,420.80
6. lemantio (United States) $14,750.56
7. phatlat (Canada) $10,588.96
8. nanuck1980 (United Kingdom) $6,658.56
9. Bouin (Sweden) $3,884.16

PokerStars Sunday Hundred Grand Final Table Results
Based on finishing order and five-way deal

1. bravo177 (Spain) $13,094.10
2. ChAtBan (United States) $6,447.94
3. kubfan (United States) $6,825.11
4. Chipper1983 (United States) $8,074.03
5. xxViolatorxx (United States) $7,345.87
6. daruwalla (Austria) $1,857.21
7. davy5555 (Ireland) $1,485.77
8. mikeDee33 (United States) $1,207.19
9. Romeo5254 (United States) $928.61


PokerStars High Stakes Showdown Results

1. buck21 (Canada) $20,000

PokerStars Sunday Million Final Table Results
Based on finishing order and four-way deal

1. WhatArunAA (United States) $99,472.00
2. nickym998 (United Kingdom) $136,286.78
3. MarktheShark (United States) $78,446.32
4. Francix (Canada) $88,357.06
5. erras (Sweden) $41,075.16
6. stevenl94 (Canada) $29,430.80
7. Mutleyj9 (United Kingdom) $21,113.40
8. Pappiri (Portugal) $12,796.00
9. bfineman (United States) $7,933.52

EPT Dublin winner Reuben Peters

When Reuben Peters sat down at the table today he was the first player to go all-in. It was the first hand and he pretty much had to. As one of the short stacks he knew he wouldn’t have long to double up and position himself better to make it through the day. As it turned out no one called the all-in. Had they done it might have changed the outcome of EPT Dublin, but it was a fighting spirit that kept the PokerStars qualifier from Colorado alive, and ultimately led him to the moment when he would seemingly defy logic and become the latest EPT champion.

How it looked at the start of the day:

Seat 1: Thierry Van Den Berg, 35, from Holland – PokerStars qualifier – 274,000
Seat 2: Daan Ruiter, 24, Groningen, Holland – 646,000
Seat 3: Reuben Peters, 45, from Colorado, USA – PokerStars qualifier – 176,000
Seat 4: Annette Obrestad, 19, from Norway – 788,000
Seat 5: Anders Pettersson, 20, from Sweden, PokerStars qualifier – 166,000
Seat 6: Casper Hansen, 24, from Denmark. PokerStars qualifier – 360,000
Seat 7: Trond Eidsvig, 22, Aalesund, Norway – 184,000
Seat 8: Michael Durrer, 42, from Germany, PokerStars qualifier – 247,000
Seat 9: Reijo Manninen , 47, from Helsinki, Finland – PokerStars qualifier - 480,000


In certain segments of society there exist people who are different to everyone else. Greeted in awe by the world’s followers these uber-folk are called by their first name and first name only. Ever since the WSOP Europe named its inaugural winner the poker world has known one of its number by the name ‘Annette’, and nothing more.


Annette

It has been a word spoken in reverential terms here in Dublin, even before she looked likely to follow her success in London by winning her first EPT. Miss Obrestad - and that may be the last time her surname is ever used - barged through to the front of the pack on day two and didn’t look back. And today she took an incredible lead all the way into the heads-up match with Reuben.



He had been just one of eight players treated like sparring partners. Deft at using her stack to maximum effect Annette doled out punishment at every turn with five players eventually done and dusted at the hands of the Norwegian.

First it was Casper Hansen. When he found queens he pushed in finding Annette meeting him there with pocket aces. The Danish PokerStars qualifier took €30,630 for ninth place. Thierry van den Berg, another PokerStars qualifier, went next 30 minutes later. He moved in on a flop featuring two aces only to be called by Dutchman Daan Ruiter who held a third. Thierry had tried the bluff and it had blown up in his face. Out with an ‘Oops’, Thierry took away €47,650 for eighth place.

The next twenty minutes saw a further two players exit, both PokerStars qualifiers from a six strong final. First it was the German Michael Durrer. He beat his 12th place finish in Baden last month, but was clobbered by Trond Eidsvig here when he moved in with A-Q only for Trond to show Q-Q. It didn’t finish Michael, but the 20k it left him with went in next hand. Annette added the finishing touches, sending Michael to the wings.

He was followed by Anders Pettersson, a 20-year-old PokerStars qualifier from Sweden, who pushed in with Q-7. Trond called with A-3, the ace being enough. In a little over an hour we were down to five players, with Anders gone in sixth place for €83,380.



By now Annette had a stack of 1.3million, ahead of Daan Ruiter on 770k. But second in chips was no guarantee of safety and when Daan lost a pot to Reijo Manninen, which doubled up the Finnish PokerStars qualifier, his tournament was suddenly in jeopardy. Moving all-in behind a raise from Annette, Daan cringed when his A-T was bettered by her A-J. It was the difference of one rank in the deck, but a huge difference in the tournament. The Dutch railbirds called out their support but the board brought no favours. Daan was out in fifth place for €105,510.

Meanwhile, with all attention focused on the Norwegian wunderkind, Reuben Peters tried hard not to be a piece of the scenery on Annette's road to victory. He moved in shortly before the break, Q-J diamonds against Annette’s A-K. The flop 9-2-8, with two diamonds, gave Reuben options with a gutshot straight and a flush draw. As it turned out he needed neither with the queen on the river doubling him up. Play merged into the break and players stretched their legs, and we’d seen the eventual winner flex a few muscles. But most people had missed it.

Such was the pace it was not long after the break that Trond Eidsvig’s tournament came to an end. Again it was Annette and for a second time she did the deed with aces. Trond left in a slight state of shock, his face pleading for sympathy from someone somewhere and it was easy to understand his confusion. We can only hope the €127,630 for fourth place will settle his shredded nerves.

It had now become even more one-sided. Was it simply a matter of time before Annette finished off Reuben and Reijo and cement her legend into fact? What if Reuben eliminated Reijo? He’d have close to a million chips and be a double up away from seizing the tournament by the throat? It seemed feasible for those wanting to deny one player’s dominance, but it wouldn’t happen.

When PokerStars qualifier Reijo Manninen went it was Annette forcing him to leave. Behind on the showdown, A-3 to Reijo’s A-J, he would depart in third place when the three hit the turn. €178,680 for the Finn.

Annette still had Reuben to beat. He’d seen the turmoil, the players repeatedly thwacked by the 19- year-old girl with a reputation that stretches back to Oslo. Not much was seen or heard of Annette even as she played in full view of the rail this week. Hidden by a fringe, sunglasses and a stack of chips to her chin, she only came out from behind her stack to shake the hand of the vanquished.


The heads up battle begins

The hypothetical plot to topple Annette seemed crushed. Or was it?

Out of synch with events so far Reuben was thrown a lifeline, doubling up when he pushed with bottom two pair and found Annette calling with top pair. It gave Reuben the million chips he would need to have a chance of catching her, a pot which she would later say was a mistake to play.

Then the hand came that would turn the game on its head. Following a Reuben bet Annette re-raised, over 100k more. Reuben called, watching as Annette bet 420k. With a hand that would remain a mystery he moved all-in. Annette couldn’t risk it and folded. Suddenly the switch that no one thought possible just 30 minutes earlier had come about, and it would culminate with a stunning victory just a few minutes later.
The flop read T-6-3. Annette bet 230k before Reuben made the decision to settle it then and there. "All-in."

Eyes were on Annette now. She reached for a bottle of water and took a sip, and another, and a third. After the fifth sip she slowly screwed the top back on the bottle, very slowly, like she was ringing its neck. "Call."

A-T for Reuben, pocket sevens for Annette who made an involuntary 'shh' noise when she showed her cards. A four on the turn - she would need a seven or a five. A three came instead and the EPT Dublin was all over. Annette would have to take second, but PokerStars qualifier Reuben Peters from Colorado USA, was able to breathe a sigh of relief. He’d sealed an incredible and unlikely victory, the latest player to make it to an EPT via the lobby of PokerStars.com and become a champion. He’s now €532,620 richer and has a place in the EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo next year.


Quotes:

Reuben Peters, winner

“Today I was getting horrible cards and Annette just ran over the table. But the blinds weren’t big so there was no panic, I felt like I could take my time.
“I was not supposed to win this. I was down to five big blinds yesterday. I started as one of the short stacks and needed to double up. I got lucky, but it’s good to get lucky in poker.

“When I got some cards I was able to play back her. I’ve played against her many times online in $100 re-buys on PokerStars but that’s the first time I’ve met her face to face. It’s by far my biggest win to date.”

What will he spend the money on?

A vacation and it’ll help pay for my kids education. Charlie, 12 and Martha-Jane, 14.


Annette Obrestad, runner-up

Going into the final, did you think you would win?

“Heads up I thought I could win. But I made a few mistakes. I meant to bet 220k but bet 420k by mistake. I also made a mistake on the two pair hand.”

You impressed a lot of people this week

“I’m not happy though.”

Reuben Peters, PokerStars qualifier from Colorado, USA, wins EPT Dublin and €532,620

8.15pm -- Annette Obrestad, Norway, eliminated in second place for €297,800
On a flop of T-6-3 Annette bet 230k. Reuben moved all-in and Annette called for her tournament life. A-T for Reuben, pocket sevens for Annette who made a curse sound as she turned her cards over. A four on the turn, a three on the river. After a cursory count to make sure, it was all over. PokerStars qualifier Reuben Peters is the new EPT Dublin champion.

8.10pm -- A huge hand that has turned the tournament on its head. Reuben bet 52k which Annette re-raised over 100k more. Reuben called, seeing a king high flop. Now Annette bet 420k, a huge bet which Reuben seized to move all-in. A massive pot which, when Annette folded, flung the chip lead into the grateful hands of Reuben.

8.00pm -- Something strange has begun to happen. A shift in the force has allowed Reuben to add to his stack. Pots that had been going Annette’s way began going the way of Reuben.

7.45pm -- Reuban moves in on a flop of 4-6-9. Annette calls showing top pair 9-J, but it’s Reuben ahead with bottom two pair 4-6. They hold up, doubling him up to close to a million.

7.25pm -- Reijo Manninen, Finland, PokerStars qualifier, is eliminated in third place for €178,680
Reijo moved all-in for close to 200k which Annette called. Interestingly she was behind on the showdown, but she could afford to be. A-3 for Annette, A-J for Reijo. If Reijo was counting on the poker gods he would be waiting in vain. On a flop of K-Q-K he was ahead, as Lee Jones announced to the rail. Then lightening struck. The three hit the turn to flip the hand on its head. to the soundtrack of gasps from the crowd Reijo knew what to do and was walking away from the table before the river brought a blank. After just over three hours of play the EPT Dublin is heads up.

7.15pm -- It's beginning to look like this is rightfully Annette's title and Annette is playing that way. Lee Jones is on the mike: "Annette bets, Reijo folds. Annette bets, Reuben folds."

Reuben Peters – USA – PokerStars qualifier – 675,000
Annette Obrestad – Norway – 2,390,000
Reijo Manninen – Finland – PokerStars qualifier – 250,000
Trond Eidsvig – Norway – 492,000

7.05pm – Trond Eidsvig, Norway, eliminated in fourth place for €127,630
For the second time in this final Annette Obrestad busts a player using pocket aces. Trond had moved all-in with jacks but couldn’t believe it when Annette showed her hand. Eliminated, Trond shook the hands of everyone leaving Annette till last. He smiled in pain, she smiled in joy. Three players remain.

6.55pm -- Reuben raised, was re-raised by Trond and then pushed all-in. While he sat spinning on his chair Trond pulled a few faces over this one. He didn't like it but he folded anyway, showing his A-T in the process.

6.50pm -- Play resumes after the break, with chip counts as follows:

Reuben Peters – USA – PokerStars qualifier – 429,000
Annette Obrestad – Norway – 1,1995,000
Reijo Manninen – Finland – PokerStars qualifier – 399,000
Trond Eidsvig – Norway – 492,000

If you're looking for a little more background information as you follow the progress of an EPT event you might like to check out the EPT database which details results of all EPTs played from all the way back to season one to the present day. Lok up how many times a player has cashed, made a final table or where they stand on the official EPT tournament leader board, the top ten of which looks like this...

Ram Vaswani -- UK -- 2,151 points
Julian Thew -- UK – 2,017 points
Mark Teltscher – UK – 1,817 points
Noah Boeken -- Netherlands – Team PokerStars Pro -- 1,656 points
Luca Pagano -- Italy – Team PokerStars Pro – 1,557
Patric Martensson -- Sweden – 1,517
Bjorn-Erik Glenne -- Norway – 1,436
Roland de Wolfe -- UK – 1,412
Marc Karam -- Canada – 1,401
Gavin Griffin -- USA – 1,361

This week Luca Pagano cashed yet again (his seventh at an EPT) which moved him up the table, and fellow Team PokerStars Pro Noah Boeken did likewise helping him improve. He’s now in fourth place in the standings.

Find out more about individual players and on how the leader board is calculated visit the EPT database here.

6.30pm -- Players pause for a 15 minute break.

6.20pm -- A full half an hour has passed since the last elimination. It was about time we had an all-in. Reuben Peters this time, naturally called by Annette. Q-J of diamonds for the PokerStars qualifier, A-K for Annette. The flop came 9-2-8 with two diamonds, giving Reuben a gutshot straight and flush draw. He didn't get either but found a queen on the river to double him up,

6.00pm -- The Norwegians are here. Age Spets and EPT Dortmund winner Andreas Hoivold have got comfortable on the rail, cheering Annette. Or Trond.

5.50pm -- Daan Ruiter, Holland, eliminated in fifth place for €105,510
In keeping with the hyper-paced action Daan moves in following an Annette raise of 45k. She then called showing A-J to Daan's A-T. A friend of Daan's cheers him on from the rail. "Come on, one time!" he says. Then, for I think the first time this week, Annette speaks: "Shut up!" she says in a way that worked. The flop didn't help Daan, and for the second time he needed running cards. They didn't come and we're suddenly down to four.

5.45pm -- PokerStars qualifier Reijo Manninen doubles up in a huge pot with Daan Ruiter. Moving all in with A-K Daan found a Reijo with aces which take him over the million mark leaving Daan with around 200k.

5.40pm -- Just over an hour played and four players are out. That leaves five with the chips distributed as follows...

Daan Ruiter – Holland -- 770,000
Reuben Peters – USA – PokerStars qualifier – 440,000
Annette Obrestad – Norway – 1,300,000
Trond Eidsvig – Norway – 280,000
Reijo Manninen – Finland – PokerStars qualifier – 560,000

5.30pm – Anders Pettersson, Sweden, PokerStars qualifier, eliminated in sixth place for €83,380
Anders Pettersson, one of six PokerStars qualifiers at this final table moves all in with Q-7, called by Trond Eidsvig with A-3. The flop misses both sending the 20-year-old Pettersson out in sixth place.

5.15pm -- Michael Durrer, Germany, PokerStars qualifier, eliminated in seventh place for €66,370
Trond Eidsvig moves all-in. Next to him is Michael Durrer - he also moves in and the two battle it out. Queens for Tronde, A-Q for Michael who finds no ace to help him out. After initial confusion is seems Michael had Tronde covered to the tune of 20k. Not much to go in with next hand - K-5 against A-Q from Annette. Again, no help. Another PokerStars qualifier sent to the wings.

The calm before the storm

5.10pm -- Thierry van den Berg, Holland, PokerStars qualifier, eliminated in eighth place for €47,650
PokerStars qualifier Thierry moved all-in on a flop featuring two aces only to have his 8-2 bluff exposed by Daan Ruiter who himself had an ace. With an 'oops' Thierry leaves the tournament area to a round of applause, an eighth place finish to go with his fifth place in Baden last month.

5.00pm -- Reijo wons a pot uncontested, Annette wins a pot uncontested and Reuben wins a pot uncontested. The only difference between the three was that Annette won hers with a 200k pre-flop raise. A sledgehammer raise than came with a smile. No takers.

4.50pm – Casper Hansen, Denmark, eliminated in ninth place for €30,630
After a period of quiet, in heavy contrast to the opening hands, Casper Hansen moved all-in behind a raise from Annette Obrestad, which Annette called. Queens for Casper but aces for Annette which held strong as the flop, turn and river were dealt. No help for Casper, and he is our ninth place finisher.

4.20pm -- First hand, first all in. PokerStars qualifier Reuben Peters re-raising but finding no callers. A hand later he does it again and gets the call he needs from fellow qualifier Casper Hansen. Pocket nines for Reuban and Casper shows pocket kings. The nine hit the flop keeping Reuban alive and doubling him up.

4.15pm -- Photos done, play is underway on the final table.

4.10pm -- Players take their seats amidst a flurry of photographers who are eventually chased away by tournament director Thomas Kremser like he was shooing a flock of pigeons. Whilst Thomas is in the tailored splendour of a pressed suit and tie, attention is focused primarily on Annette. Can she win an EPT to follow her WSOP Europe win and assuage any doubters? Perhaps, but eight other players have something similar in mind.

Guinness might be the staple of many a tourist’s itinerary on a Dublin excursion, often at the expense of everything else, but anyone stopping by the Royal Dublin Society this week will have seen another display of world class poker.

While the game’s aristocracy of Andy Black, Johnny Lodden and Team PokerStars Pro Noah Boeken all performed well, PokerStars qualifiers too showed the mettle to compete alongside the best. Among them is Thierry van den Berg who last night looked forward to the final whilst dogged mentally by the hand that cost him a good part of his chips. His stack is still a fighting one though, like those of fellow qualifiers Reijo Manninen from Finland and Denmark’s Casper Hansen. Both find themselves within sight of the winner's post.

It’s not the first time the European Poker Tour has visited the Royal Dublin Society. Two years ago the final table was played here, crossing town after a frenzied two days of action at the Merrion Casino, where late into the night Mats Gavatin defeated Henrik Olander heads-up. Flash forward two years and we’re here again, albeit a few metres away in a different part of the RDS, as the final nine of this year’s EPT Dublin compete to the last. A check for €532,620 is at stake and a seat in the grand final in Monte Carlo next year.

Of course the RDS is no stranger to high profile events, being the first port of call for any event organiser bringing a headline show or exhibition to the capital of the Emerald Isle.

One such highlight, particularly among fans of kitsch, came back in 1981 and again in 1988, when the RDS hosted the Eurovision Song Contest – an annual music competition staged by the European Broadcasting Union, which sees members submit songs to be performed and then voted on by fellow entrants.

Ireland has won seven times in the past, winning the right to host the extravagant show, but recent years has seen the event dogged by criticism. Due either to sour grapes or good taste, many feel politics rather than music has spiked the voting. It may be politics, but it’s shameless politics, and with that comes enough humour to make nearly 600 million people around the world find it worth watching.

Music concerts are a regular fixture here. The EPT is merely the warm up act for 50 Cent, Harry Connick Junior and Amy Winehouse, each of whom are penned in to appear at the RDS which incientally is considered the premier ‘Metal’ venue in Ireland. If music isn’t your thing you might find a Knitting and Stitching Conference more to your tastes, or stick around for the Irish Hairdressers Federation bash. It’s all here.

But for now be content with an EPT final featuring some of Europe’s top pros and the game’s latest phenom Annette Obrestad. It all gets underway at 4pm G.M.T., that's 11am E.T. Here’s the full line up:

Seat 1: Thierry Van Den Berg, 35, from Holland – PokerStars qualifier – 274,000

Thierry, a former chef from Almere, is a regular PokerStars qualifier and won four EPT seats last year on PokerStars, as well as four WSOP seats. He turned his WSOP satellite success this year into a place on a side event final table. He also qualified for EPT Baden in October – and came 5th for €132,900, and now he's on his 2nd EPT final table in less than a month. Thierry, who has a six-year-old daughter, turned pro a year ago.

Seat 2: Daan Ruiter, 24, Groningen, Holland – 646,000



Daan turned pro at the start of EPT Season 4 and immediately got a good result - by coming 25th in Barcelona for €16,700. He is also studying for his Masters degree in real estate at Groningen University. Online he only ever plays cash games but he loves live tournaments – and the chance it gives him to get a read on his opponents. Today's final table appearance in Dublin is his best tournament success so far.

Seat 3: Reuben Peters, 45, from Colorado, USA – PokerStars qualifier – 176,000



Reuben "seaanchor" Peters comes from the US ski resort Telluride where he trades stocks for a living - , and plays $100 online re-buy tournaments for fun. He's a serial PokerStars qualifier. As well as winning numerous WSOP and PCA seats, he also qualified for the EPT3 Grand Final in Monte Carlo in April. In WSOP 2006, he cashed in 65th place for $90,000. Reuben's wife Amy hasn't come to support him in Dublin as she was here just a few weeks ago with some friends – they came to The Police reunion concert in Croke Park.

Seat 4: Annette Obrestad, 19, from Norway – 788,000



The "Annette_15" rumours began surfacing last year, about how a Norwegian teenager was spreading fear and panic on the internet with a super aggressive and highly lucrative style of play. Reputations were destroyed and egos crushed. For many, the first public sighting of this internet phenomenon was at the EPT Grand Final last March, but her early forays into live play were unspectacular. Clearly, she was waiting for the top prize in Europe, which she landed when picking up the WSOP Europe title and a cheque for £1m.

Seat 5: Anders Pettersson, 20, from Sweden, PokerStars qualifier – 166,000



Just after he turned 18, Anders qualified for the Swedish Pokermiljonen televised tournament in Tallin, where he found himself on the same table as Mats Rahmn and Peter Eicchardt. He plays a lot online and has been to a few EPTs - but reaching the EPT Dublin final table is his best result so far.

Seat 6: Casper Hansen, 24, from Denmark. PokerStars qualifier – 360,000



This poker pro from Copenhagen bought in direct to the EPTs in London and Barcelona -without getting any return on his investment. Now he's in Dublin after winning a satellite on PokerStars – and has finally secured the cash position his talent deserves. Of his table image, Casper says: "I like to play relaxed, a bit sloppy, like I can barely count to ten." Are his final table opponents going to fall for that old line?

Seat 7: Trond Eidsvig, 22, Aalesund, Norway – 184,000



Trond, who comes from the tiny village of Ǻlesund on the west coast of Norway, is making his 2nd EPT final table in less than three months after winning €250,800 for 5th place in Barcelona at the start of EPT Season 4. Trond turned professional 18 months ago and played at EPT Dortmund last season but got knocked out early in the second day. Since his Barcelona success, Trond has hit a hot streak in the cash games in the last couple of months.

Seat 8: Michael Durrer, 42, from Germany, PokerStars qualifier – 247,000



After studying business and IT at college, Michael has since devoted himself to a lifetime of gambling. Billiards, sports betting, cards – Michael has done the lot. But a few years ago he broke his leg and, while convalescing, decided to take up poker. He said: "It was only after losing around €20,000 that I decided I'd better start playing properly. I bought books, started studying and now I'm getting results." Michael came 12th at EPT Baden last month for €30,000 but his biggest win to date was €60,000in Enschede in Holland last May.

Seat 9: Reijo Manninen , 47, from Helsinki, Finland – PokerStars qualifier - 480,000



Reijo first took up poker in the early 1970s. He says he then had to give it up again in the 1980s "because no one else was playing" but is now enjoying a comeback with success in a wide variation of games including final tabling in the Sökö (a kind of Scandinavian 5-card stud) championships. He's now enjoying a two-month break from work and is focusing on playing online SNGs on PokerStars. He said: "I don't normally have time to play live tournaments but I'm enjoying EPT Dublin!"

And a reminder of what they're playing for:

1st -- €532,620
2nd -- €297,800
3rd -- €178,680
4th -- €127,630
5th -- €105,510
6th -- €83,380
7th -- €66,370
8th -- €47,650
9th -- €30,630

It’s fair to say that at the start of day three there were a few players expected to make it to the latter stages of today. Big chip stacks can be hard to shift and without a double up or two anything less than an average stack can quickly become fodder for the mammoths lurking in every hand.

Annette Obrestad

Annette Obrestad was one such player most expected to see at the final after her burst of speed late last night. Andy Black too arrived this afternoon with a distinct advantage as chip leader. But whilst Annette makes her first EPT final table appearance tomorrow, it’s Andy Black who this week has peddled in on his bike from home to play, that is left out in the cold - tenth place, missing out on what would have been his second EPT final.


Noah Boeken

Going into the day Team PokerStars Pros Noah Boeken and Luca Pagano both had their sights on the prize. For Luca it would be the chance to better his third place finish back in Barcelona in season one; for Noah the chance to become the first player to win two EPT titles.


Luca Pagano

But it would not to be so for either player. Luca was out first today in 24th place, remarkably the third time he’s finished in that position, whilst Noah lasted longer but fell in 14th place, eliminated by Andy Black who at that time was dominating the table with a stack big enough to jeopardise the integrity of the table legs.


Reijo Manninen

There were extremes, from Black’s lead to Finnish PokerStars qualifier Reijo Manninen’s heroic battle to hold on with his fingernails, spending what appeared to be the whole day as the short stack. In between were PokerStars qualifiers like Thierry van den Berg and Casper Hansen. Both had flirted with the chip lead this week but were now neither out front or lagging behind.

Along the way we lost PokerStars qualifiers Kenneth Hicks Jr., Zaid Kaady, Martin Green and Jan Veit. Arshad Hussein also suffered, eliminated in what was his best EPT performance since the EPT Grand Final in season two, where he finished second to Jeff Williams.

But it was Annette Obrestad, who must be most people favourite to win EPT Dublin tomorrow, who maintained her dominance on 788k, safely amassing a chip lead that will be hard work to defeat tomorrow. Daan Ruiter, almost flying under the radar today, would finish the day in second place with 646k whilst Reijo Manninen, in a late run that started with polite humour, finished the day third in chips on 480k.



A full run down of tomorrow’s final looks like this:

Seat 1 – Thierry van den Berg – Holland – PokerStars qualifier – 274k
Seat 2 – Daan Ruiter – Holland – 646k
Seat 3 – Reuben Peters – USA – PokerStars qualifier -- 176k
Seat 4 – Annette Obrestad – Norway – 788k
Seat 5 – Anders Pettersson – Sweden – PokerStars qualifier – 166k
Seat 6 – Casper Hansen – Denmark – PokerStars qualifier – 360k
Seat 7 – Tronde Eidsvig – Norway – 184k
Seat 8 – Michael Durrer – Germany – PokerStars qualifier – 247k
Seat 9 – Reijo Manninen – Finland – PokerStars qualifier – 480k

It makes for six PokerStars qualifiers in the final nine and the distinct possibility that for only the second time the EPT will have a female winner.

As for Andy Black he proves yet again that he is one of the best tournament players in the world, but his collapse leaves him waiting a little longer to beat his 7th place finish at the Monte Carlo Grand Final earlier this year.



It all starts at 4pm tomorrow.

To catch up on the action of the day:

Day 3 and that old familiar feeling

First to go...

The pack dwindles

Down to two tables

Double EPT winner? Not this time...

At the break

The rise and fall

Ludovic Lacey

Ludovic Lacey is out in 11th place, moving in with A-T which were stopped dead in their tracks by pocket jacks. Playing down to nine rather than eight means just one further elimination is required for a final table. But the bigger story behind all this is the sudden collapse of Andy Black. From sitting at one point with over 700k a short while ago, he now has just 90k after a series of dark hands sent him to the brink.


Andy Black


The new miracle man Reijo Manninen

It started with a hand against Annette who made a full house that cost Andy 100k. Then a blinds war broke out with Anders Pettersson with Andy pushing all-in with K-2 off suit. Pettersson though had found pocket eights and called, doubling up. There would be more.


Anders Pettersson

PokerStars qualifier Reijo Manninen meanwhile was putting together his own story, battling back from just a few blinds to the felt into the hundreds of thousands despite expectations from all on the rail – who had to kept at bay by Tournament Director Thomas Kremser - that he would be out next. His big hand was with pocket eights and it was Andy Black who called with A-K. With no help on the board another chunk of his stack was headed in the opposite direction. Andy’s collapse was almost complete.

But not quite.

In another brutal blow Tronde Eidsvig took a little more from Andy, moving in with over cards and a flush draw on a low flop with Q-9. Andy, finding pocket fours in the hole, called. But the gods had something else in mind sending a fateful nine on the turn, pairing the one in Tronde’s hand.

From 700k to 90k in half an hour. We need one more elimination before we reach our final. In an astonishing turn around it could well be Andy Black who falls short.

At the break Thierry van den Berg is in the mood for talking. After a rough count (read very rough) he has a stack of over 400k and got there thanks to a few good hands and a good read.

“I’m doing really well so I’ll hopefully make the final.”

Thierry van den Berg

It’s looking that way but his table is a tough one, with Annette Obrestad and Andy Black, both with a mountain of chips, sitting either side of him.

“It’s funny” he said. “Three of the players from my table on day one are still here!”


Tournament update:

An approximate chip count of the 13 players left looks something like this:

Andy Black – Ireland – 700k+
Annette Obrestad – Norway – 540k
Thierry van den Berg – Holland – PokerStars qualifier -- 420k
Daan Ruiter -- Holland – 370k
Ludovic Lacay – France -- 230k
Casper Hansen – Denmark – PokerStars qualifier -- 200k
Reuban Peters – USA -- PokerStars qualifier – 190k
Tronde Eidsvig – Norway -- 180k
Michael Durrer – Germany – 170k
Kenneth Hicks Jr – USA – PokerStars qualifier – 130k
Ziad Kaady – USA -- PokerStars qualifier – 100k
Anders Pettersson – Sweden – PokerStars qualifier -- 75k
Reijo Manninen – Finland – PokerStars qualifier -- 40k

Team PokerStars Pros have featured largely in this event. Although Dario Minieri and Katja Thater fell on the first day Noah Boeken and Luca Pagano flew the flag for PokerStars into day three. But Luca was eliminated earlier today in 24th place and now Noah has gone, out in 14th place.

He moved all in with A-T hearing Andy Black calling before Noah had moved the first of his chips across the line. A-J for Andy.

“Oooh, that hurts my feelings” he joked. “It’s okay, the ten is coming.”

Courageous optimism for sure, but the ten failed to show. The last member of Team PokerStars is eliminated and with him the last chance for a double EPT winner. Noah Boeken out in 14th place and €20,420. A handshake from Andy Black and we’re five players from our final table.

Noah Boeken out in 14th place

Johnny Lodden exits in 17th place with fellow Norwegian Annette Obrestad seeing him home - one internet demon to another – tens versus queens. It leaves just 16 players left on two tables:

Table one:
Kenneth Hicks Jr. -- USA
Daan Ruiter -- Holland
Tronde Eidsvig -- Norway
Casper Hansen -- Denmark -- PokerStars qualifier
Ludovic Lacay -- French
Ziad Kaady – USA – PokerStars qualifier
Reuban Peters – USA – PokerStars qualifier
Michael Durrer -- Germany

Table two:
Annette Obrestad -- Norway
Thierry van den Berg – Holland – PokerStars qualifier
Martin Green -- England
Reijo Manninen -- Finland -- PokerStars qualifier
Andy Black -- Ireland
Arshad Hussein -- England
Noah Boeken -- Holland -- Team PokerStars Pro
Anders Pettersson – Sweden – PokerStars qualifier

Tournament update:

A devastated Arshad Hussein is out in 16th place. It’s that girl again. Annette Obrestad called Arshad’s all-in showing A-9. Pocket fives for Arshad who seemed safe enough until the nine hit the river. Out with €15,320.

Arshad Hussein out in 16th place

PokerStars players have been well represented this week but alas another has fallen to the rail in the shape of Jan Veit. Jan, of day one 'Irish hat/ginger beard' fame, was looking to improve on the 14th place he managed in Monte Carlo earlier this year. It was not to be in Dublin but a good performance nonetheless; particularly as he survived nerve wracking moments as the towers of chips on his table cast him in shadows.

Jan Veit

The end for Jan came when he moved all in with A-T against the pocket sevens of Daan Ruiter. Neither ace nor ten came and picking up his miniature sheep card-protector Jan ended another EPT with a bag of cash - in the money and 21st place.

***


Arshad Hussein doubles up

A player with a long history in the EPT is Arshad Hussain following his second place finish at the EPT Grand Final in season two. The Englishman, who started today at the bottom on the pile chip-wise, doubled up in the opening levels, going in blind. Well, whatever works. He still has his work cut out.

***

Csaba Malnai is out in 20th place moving all-in with ace-queen against the tens of Lusovic Lacay who’s hand held up. It leaves 19 players left.

Tournament update:

21st place -- Jan Veit -- Germany -- PokerStars qualifier -- €10,210
20th place -- Csaba Malnai -- Hungary -- €10,210
19th place -- Simon Munoz -- Spain -- €10,210
18th place -- Michiel Brummelhuis -- Holland -- €10,210

Andy Black

One of the most recognisable players on the circuit, Andy Black cuts an imposing jib at any poker table. Beard, beads and Buddhism join forces to make one of the world’s most formidable tournament players. His bag of idiosyncrasies to hand - moving purposefully and quickly at all times; hurrying the game along in a way you’d do if the blinds were about to go up and you were liable to pay; and using one of his two looks - wide eyed and scary looking or broad grinned and friendly. It puts any previous or potential victim at ease, for a short time anyway. He’s good cop bad cop rolled into one.


Kristian Kjondal

Team PokerStars Pro Luca Pagano and Kristian Kjondal just received the bad cop treatment – a three way scrap with both Luca and Kristian all-in and Andy in there with them with the chips and the cards. Kings for Andy, queens for Kristian, sixes for Luca. No solace on the board. It left Andy ahead and responsible for two eliminations in one hand.

“Yes!” he cried whilst Luca tried to console himself with yet another cash finish, his seventh to date on the EPT and his third in 24th place. I imagine that won’t ease the pain one bit.


Luca Pagano during happier times this week
(c) Neil Stoddart


Tournament update:

24th place -- Luca Pagano – Italy -- Team PokerStars Pro -- €10,210
23rd place -- Kristian Kjondal -- Norway -- €10,210
22nd place – Guillaume de la Gorce -- France -- €10,210

During the 2006 World Series, the media room was packed with people from around the world. Writers and producers from countless countries worked side by side to cover what is still the biggest World Series main event in history. One evening, as fatigue and slap-happiness took over, the members of Team PokerStars Blog heard a crew speaking a little louder than usual in French.

"English only in the media room, please!" Team Blog's Paul "Dr. Pauly" McGuire shouted across the room.

The joke was good enough for more than a few laughs. What's more, it solidified a relationship with a team of French and Canadian filmmakers we'd been seeing around the Rio. Over time we learned the crew was making a documentary about Isabelle Mercier. As it was a subject close to our hearts and work, we continued to watch the team work. Before long, we saw their cameras tracking Isabelle, Joe Hachem, Luca Pagano, and Fabrice Soulier.

Now, the fruits of the filmmakers efforts are about to hit screens in Canada. This weekend, Sunday November 4th at 10pm, the film "Poker Face" will debut on CBC. Highlighting the players' efforts to win a World Series bracelet in 2006, the film takes a good hard look at the sometimes glamorous and often gritty world of high stakes tournament poker.

Congratulations to our French-speaking friends for making good on their long hours at the World Series.

Programming note: We have also learned that Team PokerStars' Isabelle Mercier will be featured on a national news broadcast this morning on CBC TV's News Today at 11:30am EST. So, if you need an earlier fix of Isabelle, there's your chance.

Just 24 players remain in the EPT Dublin, who staggered away from Industry Hall yesterday at close to midnight with a relieved look in their eyes. For some it was reward for an intense day at the coal face. For others it was a day of manoeuvring for the big push that starts this afternoon.

By now there’s a certain familiarity in Industry Hall. It’s the fourth day here for some, the journey from the hotel to here has had a few minutes shaved off and Dublin is quickly becoming home. Others just want to hang around, dive into a cash game or explore the bar.

Dublin is world renowned for this flash of hospitality. As Ronnie Wood once said “I go off into Dublin and two days later I'm spotted walking by the Liffey with a whole bunch of new friends.”

I’m not sure I could find the river Liffey from here but I think I know what he means. It’s also said that in Dublin you are more likely to be bought a drink by a stranger than anywhere else in Ireland, although I’m still waiting confirmation on that.

Still, you might be more prone to feeling chipper here if it’s your chip stack measuring something like 300k and you’re guaranteed €10,210 no matter what. In that case everyone is your friend.

We start again at 2pm and play until our final nine players remain. For a recap of starting chip counts today, click here.

The last 24 who return tomorrow...

Andy Black – Ireland – 350,300
Annette Obrestad – Norway – 284,700
Simon Munoz – Spain – 278,100
Casper Hansen – Denmark – PokerStars qualifier – 241,800
Johnny Lodden – Norway – 208,600
Ludovic Lacay – France – 200,700
Thierry Van Den Berg – Holland – PokerStars qualifier -- 200,200
Noah Boeken -- Holland – Team PokerStars Pro -- 158,500
Kenneth Hicks Jr. – USA – PokerStars qualifier -- 149,800
Kristian Kjøndal -- Norway – 144,500
Anders Pettersson – Sweden -- PokerStars qualifier -- 126,800
Daan Ruiter – Holland – 114,700
Michiel Brummelhuis – Holland – 106,400
Reijo Manninen -- Finland – 103,500
Ziad Kaady – USA – PokerStars qualifier – 97,200
Michael Durrer – Germany – PokerStars qualifier – 96,100
Martin Green – UK – PokerStars qualifier – 90,800
Tronde Eidsvig – Norway – 76,700
Jan Veit -- Germany – PokerStars qualifier -- 76,400
Luca Pagano – Italy – Team PokerStars Pro – 55,200
Guillaume de la Gorce – France – 54,600
Reuben Peters – USA -- PokerStars qualifier – 42,200
Csaba Malnai – Hungary – 30,900
Arshad Hussain – UK – 29,900

Talk about third time unlucky. For the third time in his EPT days Dave Colclough was eliminated on the bubble - it’s enough to make you pack it all-in. That was how day 2 of the EPT Dublin ended, the day the big stacks began to make themselves known, and one or two of those make even them look small.

Dave Colclough before he started breaking mirrors

It began with a contrast between the rich and poor. Seth Blackman was poorest of those. The PokerStars qualifier returning today with 5k and made it through a good chunk of the first level of the day before the inevitable came.

But it was a strong PokerStars field with 43 players starting, some of whom with the added discomfort of a tough draw. Team PokerStars Pro Luca Pagano might have felt aggrieved to be alongside Brandon Schaeffer, Johnny Lodden and Alan Smurfit first thing this afternoon but made it through the day regardless. Noah Boeken too, still in the hunt for a second EPT title, made it through the day, hopping from tables with a stack that continued to climb.

There were mixed results for others. Runar Runarsson, the pilot from Iceland was on auto-pilot for a while before the wings fell off. He spent much of the day next to fellow PokerStars qualifier Phidias Georgiou who looked set to repeat his EPT London heroics before crashing out within sight of the money.


Thierry van den Berg

Meanwhile the lead switched between a handful of players. PokerStars qualifier Casper Hansen was one, dethroning the leader at the start of the day Frenchman Ludovic Lacay. At the other end some did their best to hang on. Jan Veit, who immersed himself yesterday with Irish tourist culture of the non-alcoholic kind by playing in a large green top hat, was earmarked to suffer, hanging on with below average chips as the money crawled closer from over the horizon. PokerStars qualifier Thierry van den Berg put in a great performance, as did fellow qualifiers Kenneth Hicks Jr. and Anders Pettersson.


Andy Black earlier today

But the main story of the day was reserved for Annette Obrestad. The 19-year-old WSOP Europe winner had been in the middle of the pack all day. But like a sprinter kicking for home she emerged towards the latter stages, out done only by Andy Black and his huge wall of chips – and all to the amazement of the spectators on the rail.

Stirring stuff. The 24 survivors deserved their round of applause, even if it was at the expense of Dave Colclough. It’s all done. The money will be distributed as play continues tomorrow, but for now it’s time for sleep and a casual guess at who among those left has what it takes to still be here tomorrow night and in good shape to win.

Play continues at 2pm.

And if you need to catch up on the events today:

After Halloween comes day 2

The scenery today

The dangers of doing well

It seems such an easy game

It’s all in the name

From the four corners of the tournament room

The curious case of Annette Obrestad

People of a certain generation may remember the story of Sidd Finch, an undiscovered eccentric baseball player in training with the New York Mets that George Plimpton wrote about that could throw a fastball at 168mph. Unheard of. And this fastball made him a legend. It was all false of course, and it took some time before readers remembered it was April 1st, but the story of incomprehensible talent is not far off that of Annette Obrestad – Annette_15.

Annete Obrestad (taken earlier)

Annette Obrestad is the poker wunderkind and she has her own legendary stories - winning tournaments online without looking at her cards. An ability far beyond her baby faced years to read the game. Of having never deposited money to an account anywhere – building a considerable bankroll by winning freerolls instead. If someone said they’d seen her fly, or walk through the great wall of china they would probably be believed.

Who knows if these stories are true or whether half truths have become something more? But she plays in a way that suggests every word is fact. Except the walking through walls bit. She probably can fly.

Right now she sits alongside Andy Black. Annette is quiet, looks shy and has on different sunglasses to the ones she wore yesterday. Her stack is up to her eye level. She has good posture and she says very little. It all adds to the mystery.

Michael McDonald probably couldn’t care less about the mystery and it seems right to describe his misery fast. He had jacks, Annette had A-Q. The rest of the story is told by his quick march to the door.

“Crazy!” says one spectator. “Unbelievable!” says another, like the hyperbole of a kid’s comic book.

The chips she takes from McDonald have to be shovelled across to her. Andy Black, part the gentleman part because he doesn’t like to wait, helps slide them across to her, then helps her stack them.

Earlier Team PokerStars Pro Luca Pagano bemoaned the draw that brought Annette to his table. He now sits with Johnny Lodden, Dave Colclough and Andreas Hoivold and may think he has the better deal.


Tournament Update:

Stacks are not counted anymore, it’s determined instead by how many hands you need to carry them. Unless someone helps you really do have some work to do.

Dave Colclough has about a handful. He moves all-in, his jaw working a piece of gum, his eyes hidden behind glasses and a cap low over his face. Tony Cascarino has the choice to call but mucks. Jan Viet does the same. It gets to Luca Pagano who takes a long look, takes his headphones off, leans back and smiles...

“Very close... very close... very close...” says Luca. He mucks.

PokerStars qualifier Jan Viet doubles up next hand through Johnny Lodden. His A-K was good against Lodden’s Q-J. 25 players remaining.

Happier days - Jan Veit on day 1b

Jan Viet seemed happier on day one. Back then the German had a large cartoon Irish top hat on his head with a ginger beard attached by elastic beneath the chin. Most people come for the Guiness – Jan found a hat shop. Those were happy days. “Why not” he’d said, “it’s Halloween.”

Quite right too. Now though he looks a little different. Out go the hat and beard, in come a look much more serious than before. The chips have gone too. He’s on 50k which yesterday would have served him well. Now it’s less than half the average stack and on a table with big stack around every corner these are tense times. 32 players left. Eight more finishers will be released from these walls empty handed. It’s a position no one wants to take and it shows in the heavy eyebrows and slow movement.

With four tables left a re-draw means the big guns switch around one more time. Annette Obrestad, the Norwegian legend, even at 18 years of age, is moved to a seat directly to the left of Irishman Andy Black, who crouches behind a tall wall of chips of various denominations. Our man Phidias Georgiou, the Cypriot PokerStars qualifier is on the other side of Black. It’s 30k for Phidias though and he knows these next few hands could be his last.

Team PokerStars Pros Noah Boeken and Luca Pagano remain in the running. Noah shares a table with PokerStars qualifiers Thierry van den Berg and Casper Hansen – both with killer stacks. Another PokerStars sponsored player, Sebastian Ruthenberg is here with them also. Luca has made his way to the Johnny Lodden table where Dave Colclough also waits.

Four tables. All difficult. We’re eight away from the money.

A player's name is spelled wrong , it causes confusion, irritation and no one knows who any one is anymore.

Thousands of players around the world now come to live tournaments like the EPT thanks to companies such as PokerStars.com offering the chance for ordinary players to qualify for events they might not have had the financial means to enter.

Blogs, reports, official tournament lists - it makes for thousands of names written down by hurried staff processing hundreds of players in quick time –from America to Australia, Sweden to South Africa; from countries that rely less on consonants than some and more on letters absent from a standard keyboard than others. Sometimes the consonants get missed. Sometimes they're written in the wrong order.

The text book case of mistaken identity occurred at the World Series of Poker this year when a Swedish player handed over his driving license as identification, trusting that this would do for I.D. It did, and he was duly registered, only it was under the name ‘Sverige Korkort’ –the name he then went by for the duration of the Series. It was the equivalent of being called ‘Department of Motor Vehicles’ in the US or ‘Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency’ in the UK. I suppose you’d add Mr or Miss in there somewhere but we may never know his real name. But we know he can drive.

That’s an extreme case but it’s something that crops up at event after event. Someone mishears a name or a player’s handwriting looks like he slipped and his name disappears forever, or reappears when you least expect it. It’s not deliberate, just the price of bigger fields, bigger prize pools and a higher profile for poker. We’ve come a long way since the days when you kept your name to yourself. I not sure we should go back to that, but at least I could have spelled it.

Tournament update:

Luca Pagano: “I doubled up with aces against kings – I had aces, so was up to 110k.Then I got moved next to Annette and she’s the reincarnation of... I don’t know... I’m down to 70k now.”

Brandon Schaeffer has moved, so has PokerStars qualifier Casper Hansen. Where? Right next to each other. Casper has 125k – Brandon, he has about 100k less.

With chips comes the opportunity to enjoy yourself, but Casper looks the type to enjoy himself anyway – a subscriber to the large sunglasses look and a visor on his head twisted slightly to about 30 degrees off centre. The chain around his neck sparkles and his grin is wide enough to count his teeth. This is his work. He’s in his office now and business is good.

The chip lead also comes with responsibility – it becomes your job to make the lives of those around you feel miserable. Brandon Schaeffer would soon be out, unable to stay afloat and others would experience the same. On my last look Casper was still ahead and smiling – the Dane looking to make a big mark on the EPT.

Tournament update:

Tournament Director Thomas Kremser in on the action as Noah Boeken looks on
(c) Neil Stoddart

Team PokerStars Pro Noah Boeken secured a double up against Antonio Lemos, moving all-in with a queen-high flush. Antonio had taken his time calling, with Tournament Director Thomas Kremser called over to count him down. Just as the minute was up Antonio called, eventually showing A-5.

Selected from the 84 players still in after nine levels, and including 30 PokerStars players:

Casper Hansen – Denmark – PokerStars qualifier – 125,000
Ian Cox – England – 115,700
Ludovic Lacay – France – 112,700
Thierry Van Den Berg – Holland – PokerStars qualifier -- 102,200
Simon Christensson – Sweden – PokerStars qualifier -- 100,900
Guillaume de la Gorce – France – 93,600
Mike Mcdonald – Canada -- 84800
Barry McGrath – Ireland – PokerStars qualifier – 83,100
Kristian Kjøndal – Norway – 82,400
Andrew Black – Ireland – 72,900
Noah Boeken -- Holland -- Team PokerStars Pro – 72,600
Tronde Eidsvig – Norway – 70,300
Andrew Grimason – Ireland – PokerStars qualifier -- 62,300
Dave Colclough – Wales – 57,700
Michael Martin – USA – PokerStars Player – 55,300
Tommi Lindfors – Finland – PokerStars qualifier -- 53,500
Annette Obrestad – Norway – 51,500
Christoffer Egemo Hansen – Denmark – PokerStars qualifier – 49,600
Reijo Manninen – Finland – PokerStars qualifier – 48,500
Raymi Sanchez Thörn – Sweden – 47,100
Henric Stråth -- Sweden -- PokerStars qualifier – 45,700
Phidias Georgiou – Cyprus – PokerStars qualifier – 44,900
Liam Flood – Ireland—43,100
Sebastian Ruthenberg – Germany – PokerStars sponsored player -- 41,900
Runar Runarsson – Iceland – PokerStars qualifier – 40,900
Michael Durrer – Germany – PokerStars qualifier -- 40,700
Roman Yitzhaki – USA – PokerStars player – 40,500
Arshad Hussain – England – 39,100
Anders Pettersson – Sweden – PokerStars qualifier – 34,700
Jonothon Butters – England – PokerStars qualifier – 34,400
Mark Roland – USA – PokerStars qualifier -- 33,600
Tony Cascarino – Ireland – 33,300
Mathieu Gallienne – France – 33,300
Mark Segal -- England 32,500
Johnny Lodden – Norway – 31,700
Jan Sjavik – Norway – 29,700
Paul Testud – France – 29,100
Brandon Schaefer – USA – 28,700
Marcel Baran – Germany – 27,600
Christopher Hamman – USA – PokerStars qualifier – 25,600
Ziad Kaady – USA – PokerStars qualifier -- 23,600
Thor Hansen -- Norway -- 22,600
Mika Paasonen – Finland – PokerStars qualifier – 22,300
Johan Storakers – Sweden – 21,500
Luca Pagano – Italy – Team PokerStars Pro – 20,700
Martin Green – England -- PokerStars qualifier – 20,200
Robert Glavin -- Ireland -- PokerStars qualifier – 19,000
Jacques Zaicik – France – PokerStars qualifier – 17,800
Aleksandr Arutjonov – Estonia – PokerStars qualifier – 17,700
Jan Veit – Germany – PokerStars qualifier – 15,800
Andreas Hoivold – Norway – 15,100
Surinder Sunar – UK – 14,700
Reuben Peters – USA – PokerStars qualifier – 13,900
Ian Woodley – UK – 13,300
Richard Ashby – England – 12,700

“That’s it! I’m swimming back to Cyprus!”

This is Phidias Georgiou with a head flick towards his stack and a faint glimmer of a smile on his face. It’s a self defence mechanism I think because his stack flies high at over 70k. You get the impression after watching Phidias for a short while that this guy will settle for nothing less than the best of himself. But it’s a trait that has served him well.

Talking of flying high, Runar Runarssen sits on Phidias’s right, a miniature Eiffel tower protecting his chips. The pilot from Iceland, whose day job is for a domestic airline, has about 26k but you can see he’s mentally kicking himself over something...

PokerStars qualifier Runar Runarsson

“I just had pocket jacks. The guy next to me raised and this guy... (he gestures to a player at the other end of the table) ...went all-in.” He winces as he tells me. “I just couldn’t call” he said, he face breaking into a grin but showing signs of the agony his mind is dealing with.

He’s no stranger to the highs and the lows of tournament poker. As far as the EPT is concerned he’s normally a regular at Copenhagen but he’s spreading his wings a little with a trip to Dublin. (I promise that’ll be the last reference to flying.) He likes to play live, he said, but is hampered by geography, living as he does just outside the Icelandic capital Reykjavik. He has good reason to play live too, having come second to Will Ma at the €10k Rendez Vous a Paris early this year, taking home a friendly looking $304,967.

Runar cuts a distinguished figure in the poker crowd, easy to spot for his shaved head, flecked with silver, with wide eyes that look like the kind that could spot dust on the other side of the table, taking in everything else along the way.

Eagle eyed and holding steady at 26,000. Chips that is, not feet.

Tournament update:

Team PokerStars Pro Luca Pagano just kept his tournament hopes alive by doubling up. Down to just under 15k Luca bet, finding Ian Cox re-raising behind him, which prompted the Italian to move all-in. Aces for Luca which held up when Cox called with K-Q.

Poker can be touch and already we’ve lost over 50 players today, including...

Jonas Molander -- Sweden
Albert Smith – USA – PokerStars qualifier
Chris Bush – Canada -- PokerStars player
Patric Fredriksson – Sweden -- PokerStars qualifier
Antoon Kleynen -- Holland -- PokerStars qualifier
John Conroy – Ireland
Daniel Ryan – USA -- PokerStars qualifier
Juha Helppi -- Finland
Alexander Fitzgerald – USA --PokerStars qualifier
Mark Bointon – England -- PokerStars qualifier
Michael Hogbom – Sweden -- PokerStars qualifier
Martin Wendt -- Denmark
Ben Grundy – England
Justin Francis -- USA -- PokerStars qualifier
Seth Blackman – USA -- PokerStars qualifier
Stig Top-Rasmussen -- Denmark
Alan Smurfitt -- Ireland
Florian Langmann -- Germany
Katja Thater –Germany -- Team PokerStars Pro

The luck of the re-draw has thrown together some interesting tables, such as that which thrusts Team PokerStars Pro Luca Pagano, Brandon Schaeffer, Johnny Lodden and Alan Smurfit together.

Noah Boeken and Luca Pagano comparing notes

Another member of Team PokerStars Katja Thater sits alongside George McKeever and Sebastian Ruthenberg, whilst our PokerStars qualifier from day one Justin Francis, the native of South Carolina, will have to deal with Surinder Sunar, Tony Cascarino and Ramzi Jelassi if he’s to make it through these opening levels.


Team PokerStars Pro Katja Thater

Seth Blackman has survived these early stages, starting the day with one chip, although he remains on the terminal list and the prognosis is not good. He’s up against EPT Dortmund winner Andreas Hoivold, Marcel Baran and Jan Sjavik who is also staring elimination in the face.


Annette Obrestad

The other Team PokerStars Pro here for day two is Noah Boeken. He is in the running to become a multiple EPT winner but will have to get passed Martin Wendt, Richard Ashby and WSOP Europe winner Annette Obrestad before he gets anywhere near that honour.

Still a way to go. Level eight is under way with blinds at 300/600 with a 75 ante.

All images (c) Neil Stoddart

A new day, a new chance to turn your tournament around. Isn’t that the spirit? Some will think that, but if your chip stack makes more of a riffling noise when it’s tipped out of the plastic bag your sights will be on greater things. Then again if you believe in the romance of poker you might say anyone still permitted sit and pay tournament blinds has a chance of final table glory. Like the old lottery saying - you have to buy the ticket to have any chance of winning.

But luck forms only a part of a poker player’s repertoire – as anyone will say - and a little more is needed to prevail at this level. Enter the realists who might look towards the top of the chip counts, to people like Lusovic Lacay and Liam Flood, or PokerStars qualifiers Michael Martin and Phidias Georgiou, as among those likely to succeed. They are at the top of the pile, but such is the game their fall can come as quickly as the rise of tail end Charlie.

One thing is for certain. If the most valiant of valiant stories is to be written it will involve the man coming to Industry Hall today with the lowest number of chips, and for the sake of 150 that man is PokerStars qualifier Seth Blackman with 5,000, behind fellow PokerStars qualifier Mark Bointon with 5,150.


PokerStars qualifier Seth Blackman

"I think it's pretty obvious..." said Seth, aware that his situation is most acute today. "I'll look for a chance to move all-in and see what happens. I figure I'm only four double ups from the chip lead."

It's the kind of spirit in the face of adversity that makes this game so great.

As the day winds on we’ll find out how much romance is left. We’ll also see just how likely a double EPT winner will be, with Team PokerStars Pro Noah Boeken, Andreas Hoivold and Poker Stars player Brandon Schaeffer still focused on that goal.

Among the collective chips counts on day 2:

Ludovic Lacay – France – 85,225
Liam Flood – Ireland – 75,750
Tronde Eidsvig – Norway – 70,475
Mike Mcdonald – Canada – 67,250
Philip Hardy – Ireland – 62,600
Dave Colclough – Wales – 59,350
Michael Martin – USA – PokerStars player – 57,950
Mark Roland – USA – PokerStars qualifier – 56,625
Phidias Georgiou – Cyprus – PokerStars qualifier -- 55,475
Barry McGrath – Ireland – PokerStars qualifier -- 54,625
Jacques Zaicik – France – PokerStars qualifier -- 48,225
Arshad Hussain – UK – 46,425
Runar Runarsson – Iceland – PokerStars qualifier -- 46,400
Andrew Black – Ireland – 45,675
Simon Christensson – Sweden – PokerStars qualifier – 45,000
Christoffer Egemo Hansen – Denmark – PokerStars qualifier – 43,050Thor Hansen -- Norway – PokerStars qualifier – 42,900
Marcel Baran -- Germany – 40,150
Henric Stråth – Sweden – PokerStars qualifier -- 39,000
Johnny Lodden – Norway – 37,225
Casper Hansen – Denmark – PokerStars qualifier –37,150
Johannes Steindl – Austria – 36,500
Justin Francis -- US – PokerStars qualifier – 35,750
Andrew Grimason – Ireland – PokerStars qualifier – 35,400
Sebastian Ruthenberg – Germany – PokerStars sponsored player – 35,175
Tommi Lindfors – Finland – PokerStars qualifier -- 35,000
Annette Obrestad -- Norway -- 34,925
Andreas Hagan -- Norway – 31,150
Kenneth Hicks Jr. – USA – PokerStars qualifier – 30,950
Tony Cascarino -- Ireland – 30,600
Aleksandr Arutjonov – Estonia – PokerStars qualifier – 30,150
Luca Pagano – Italy – Team PokerStars pro – 27,975
Noah Boeken – Holland – Team PokerStars pro – 27,825
Daniel Ryan – USA -- PokerStars qualifier -- 27,550
Surinder Sunar – UK – 27,250
Michael Durrer -- Germany -- PokerStars qualifier – 27,225
Brandon Schaefer – USA – PokerStars player – 26,725
StigTop-Rasmussen – Denmark -- 26300
Andreas Hoivold – Norway – 25,800
Albert Smith – USA – PokerStars qualifier -- 25,200
Martin Wendt – Denmark – 25,125
Jonothon Butters – UK – PokerStars qualifier -- 24,375
Ziad Kaady – US – PokerStars qualifier – 24,100
Jan Veit -- Germany – PokerStars qualifier – 22,575
Chris Bush – Canada – PokerStars player – 22,225
Roman Yitzhaki – USA – PokerStars player -- 21,525
Anders Pettersson --- Sweden – PokerStars qualifier -- 20,725
Christopher Hamman -- USA -- PokerStars qualifier – 18,875
Florian Langmann – Germany – 18,725
Mark Segal -- UK – 18,500
Mika Paasonen – Finland – PokerStars qualifier – 18,450
George Mckeever – UK – 18,325
Juha Helppi – Finland – 18,100
Paul Testud – France – 17,750
Reijo Manninen -- Finland – PokerStars qualifier -- 17525
Jonas Molander -- Sweden – 16,850
Michael Hogbom – Sweden – PokerStars qualifier – 16,100
Katja Thater – Germany – Team PokerStars Pro – 15,650
Johan Storakers – Sweden – 15,050
Thierry Van Den Berg – Holland – PokerStars qualifier -- 14,250
Ben Grundy – England – 13,750
Robert Glavin – Ireland – PokerStars qualifier -- 13,650
Ramzi Jelassi -- Sweden – 12,075
Richard Ashby – England – 12,000
John Conroy – Ireland -- 11,525
Reuben Peters – USA – PokerStars qualifier – 11,050
Antoon Kleynen – Holland – PokerStars qualifier – 10,950
Alexander Fitzgerald – USA – PokerStars qualifier – 10,800
Alan Smurfitt – Ireland – 10,125
Martin Green – UK – PokerStars qualifier – 9,500
Patric Fredriksson – Sweden – PokerStars qualifier – 5,850
Jan Sjavik – Norway – 5,450
Mark Bointon – UK – PokerStars qualifier – 5,150
Seth Blackman – USA – PokerStars qualifier -- 5,000

It was a tough day for some, a better day for others. Halloween is supposed to bring all sorts of weird creepy things into the world for a day, so the hyper-superstitious may have been a little weary as they settled down for seven levels or elimination – whichever came first.

A typically stronger field for day 1b which found few tables getting an easy ride. The plight of Justin Francis and Tom Bentham was explored in depth before Tom found his tournament hopes quashed in a late hand when it seemed a trip back here for day 2 was all but in the bag. It was not to be.

The same went for Daniel Tarnapol who’s day was divided into two. The first part was his several hours of comfortable chip building. The second part was the two minute hand that saw him out and heading for the hotel, out in level 5.

But anyone finding themselves on the rail was in good company. Past EPT Dublin winners Ram Vaswani and Roland De Wolfe were out in the early stages, so too Thomas Wahlroos. EPT Baden winner Julian Thew was also out, his A-K falling short to his opponent’s pair which was good enough.

The day was beset with exits. Roy Brindley was forced out in the closing stages of the day, so too Patrick Bruel. But it plainer sailing for other, including Team PokerStars Pros Katja Thater and Luca Pagano. They had spent the day together watching as a flurry of others stopped by their table before moving on.

But opening days are always volatile and there will always be dramatic exits. Tomorrow tooas the 75 survivors from today join with the 48 who made it safely through day 1a. Day 2 is just around the corner with the money on the horizon. Cards will take to the air once more at 2pm.

To recap on the events of the day visit the links below:

Trick, cheat, check or bet

The who’s who

The age gap takes its toll

Industry hall and former lives

Leading the way

Back to where we started

We started today with an eye on Tom Bentham and Justin Francis, two PokerStars qualifiers drawn together on an table that featured Tony Cascarino, Liam Flood, Patrick Bruel and Roy Brindley. Now, six levels later and these two warriors are still having their say at a table that hasn’t changed a lot since 2 o’clock this afternoon. Cascarino has moved to another table but in his place has arrived Michael Durrer. It doesn’t get any easier.

Meanwhile Liam Flood sees off Roy Brindley, sending his to the rail with a quiet good luck from his countryman.

So how do things look now? Tom recovered well from initial set-backs, now comfortable and up to 28k he may have expected a short working day like that in London, but has managed to keep his hopes alive to within sight of day 2. The same goes for Justin, a patient player with the dignified look of a retired General. He’s kept pace with the chip average all day at a table that could have caused problems.

Another player goes, this time Patrick Bruel has called a move putting himself all-in. Pocket eights for Patrick to his opponent’s A-K.

“Do you want to take a photo?” he says to a French photographer who moves in to capture the moment of despair - that moment coming at the second the king hit the turn.

“Ah (expletive removed)!” It summed up a disappointing day for the virtuoso, who gathered his belongings, shook the hand of his assassin, and left for the rail.
It’s been a tough table alright, but both Tom Bentham and Justin Francis look set to make it through day 1b.

Tournament update:

Or so I thought. It may have ben my fault for forgetting to respect the gods of ‘speaking too soon.’ Tom is now out, his tournament coming to an abrupt end in one of those hands that no one seemed to capture. He then left quickly in search of consolation.

Another PokerStars qualifiers to have become a surprise casualty is Daniel Tarnopol. The Californian was last seen on his way to the exit after descending rapidly from what appeared a safe perch.