This is an archive of previous coverage. Click through for the latest from the tournament floor.
APPT10 Macau: Day 2 ends suspended on bubble but Hanyang Peng leadsDay 2 of APPT10 Macau began amid warnings of a typhoon hitting this part of town, but ended with conditions so clement that a bubble could hover over the tournament room, unpopped.
That was the story of the day at the PokerStars LIVE card room at the City of Dreams, which began with 219 still in contention for at least a HK$47,150 min-cash and ended with absolutely nobody certain to have that locked up.
With 63 due to be paid, 64 were still involved at the end of eight hours. It means that we return tomorrow when the first order of business will be to burst that wretched bubble. It's going to be an uneasy night for a few of them.
In a unique inversion of normal practice, most people will therefore be examining the overnight chip counts bottom up, trying to identify the players most likely to go home in a fug of disappointment. I'm not sure I've ever seen a day end on the stone bubble before. But it's our tradition here to celebrate the big stacks, and to that end let's raise a glass to Hanyang Peng, who bagged 610,000.
He got a huge chunk of those when he knocked out the Day 1A chip-leader Deok-Yeong Lee late on, and then did some bubble abuse to get up to that level. He leads Juicy Li, the Day 1B chip leader, who stuck around and got her stack to 509,000 by the end.
It shouldn't be too long until we have the full official counts. They'll be on the Blog as soon as we have them.
Although the promised typhoon didn't actually end up hitting outside, the conditions were pretty vicious inside the casino. The Team PokerStars Pro Celina Lin was one of the first players to perish today, leaving Chen An Lin as the only Red Spade still in contention. He has 99,000 at the close of play.
And there are familiar names who also fell on either side of the same red line. In the "Out" camp, Kitty Kuo, Alan Lau, Devan Tang and Wayne Wei Yi Zhang are among those who were eliminated. But Han Yu (424,500), Wei Zhu (384,500) and Alex Ward (234,500) are still alive.
Read all the blow-by-blow coverage below and then check back very soon for the full counts. Then let's all go bubble hunting tomorrow at 2pm. Bring your pins. (Take a look at the payouts page to remind yourself what everyone is hoping for.)
DAY 2 FULL COVERAGE:
10:30pm: Stone bubble survivors
Level 16: Blinds 2,500-5,000 (ante: 500)
In what will be one of the last hands of the night, Yifan Zhang faded elimination on the stone bubble here in the dying stages of Day 2.
He got his last 69,500 all in pre-flop against Yu Han. Cards weren't flipped up until hands on every other table was finished as it was on the direct money bubble.
Players from neighbouring tables gathered around to sweat the action as Zhang flipped over [ah][ac] and Han showed [9c][9d].
"No nine!" Zhang shouted just before the river with the board reading [8d][8h][8s][kc].
The deck obliged and the [qs] completed the board to see Zhang double up and the other players rushing back to their seats.
10:10pm Hand for hand after Hsu sends one home
Level 16: Blinds 2,500-5,000 (ante: 500)
Leon Hsu just eliminated an unlucky player two shy of the money after he moved all in from under the gun for 75,000. It folded around to the man on the button and he called off for slightly less to put himself at risk.
Hsu had [ad][kd] and was dominating [ks][qs]. The gap only widened on the [7c][td][8d] flop and by the [2d] turn Hsu had made a flush and locked up the pot. The inconsequential [4d] river rolled off to signal the beginning of hand for hand play now that we're on the stone bubble. -- BK
9:50pm: Cagey play
Level 16: Blinds 2,500-5,000 (ante: 500)
By international bubble standards, play is still pretty brisk here with players still happy to play pots. But by Macau standards, this is now pretty sluggish. We've only lost one player in 20 minutes. That's pretty much never happened at any other time in this tournament, including the first 20 minutes of Day 1.
Tatiana Barausova is out. She was eliminated in something like 70th place.
They still need to lose three more players in 35 minutes to burst the bubble. -- HS
9:35pm: Last level
Level 16: Blinds 2,500-5,000 (ante: 500)
This is the last level of the day and 67 players remain. When three more players are eliminated, we'll go hand for hand on the stone bubble. That may or may not be tonight. -- HS
| LEVEL | SMALL BLIND | BIG BLIND | ANTE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | 2,500 | 5,000 | 500 |
9:25pm: Peng pins Lee to the ropes
Level 15: Blinds 2,000-4,000 (ante: 500)
Hanyang Peng has just won a huge pot from Deok-Yeong Lee, eliminating the Day 1A chip leader and taking control of the tournament here on Day 2.
I didn't see the pre-flop action, but Lee made a move on a flop of [3h][2s][9s] with [ac][3c] but was soon to see very bad news. Peng had [9h][9d] and wasn't going anywhere. The turn brought the [6c] and the river [7s].
Lee was given a red, 25,000 denomination chip at the mid-point of Day 1, way earlier than anybody else and the result of a colour-up at his table when they were unusually low on chips. That red chip was the only example of its kind for about a full day, and Lee never wagered it. However, he has now had to give it up, along with all his other chips, to Peng.
Peng has more than 500,000 now. -- HS
9:20pm: Lou's instincts pay off
Level 15: Blinds 2,000-4,000 (ante: 500)
Yijun Lou worked his way out of danger in the hand just gone with a big preflop laydown.
Lou raised to 15,000 from the cutoff before Team PokerStars Pro Chen An Lin played back at him from the small blind. Lin pushed forward around half of his stack with a raise to approximately 45,000 and Lou had a decision on his hands.
"If you went all in I would call" Lou said as he weighed up his options.
In the end Lou flipped up [js][jd] and threw it to the dealer which seemed hard to believe for some of his tablemates. Lin set Lou's mind at lead, however, as he showed [ah][ac] and let Lou know he'd made a good fold. -- BK
9:00pm: Han on the hunt
Level 15: Blinds 2,000-4,000 (ante: 500)
Yu Han continues to eliminate the poor players on his table and in turn stack mountains of chips.
It was Christopher Soyza that first put chips in the pot with a preflop raise to 9,000 before a tablemate moved all in for 52,000. Han made the call from the big blind with [8h][8c], and with Soyza's hand in the muck Han saw he was a strong favourite against [2s][2d].
The cards fell [9d][qs][7d][ts][6d] to see Han's pocket eights hold and another players eliminated as we approach the bubble. -- BK
8:50pm: Lin loses a lot; Gallagher eliminated
Level 15: Blinds 2,000-4,000 (ante: 500)
Well the bubble might be fast approaching but that doesn't seem to be stopping the action.
We just caught a three-way all in which saw the last remaining Team PokerStars Pro Chen An Lin lose a big portion of his stack, and John Gallagher sent to the rail.
It folded around to Lin on the button and he announced all in with enough to cover both players in the blinds. The small blind called off for his tournament life and Gallagher did the same from the big blind before the cards went on their backs.
Lin: [kh][ts]
Gallagher: [jc][jc]
Small blind: [ah][qs]
The [qc][4s][7s] flop meant the small blind jumped into the lead and he held it through the [3s] turn and [qd] river.
While the small blind collected the pot, Gallagher found the exit and Lin nursed a remaining stack of 48,000. -- BK
8:45pm: Yun on the up
Level 15: Blinds 2,000-4,000 (ante: 500)
I'm a big fan of Hyunshik Yun. He is one of comparatively few players in this tournament prepared to stack his chips in precise piles of 20, which makes counting them easy. And it needs to be easy because he has the most in the room. At most recent count, he had slightly more than 450,000, which puts him a whisker ahead of Yun Han.
Yun also just made a pretty good value bet on a board of [7d][3s][2h][th][qc]. I hadn't seen any of the action to the river, but there was a big pot already in the middle and Yun's opponent checked to him. Yun grabbed a fistful of yellow 5,000-denomination chips and plonked them over the line, the kind of bet that looked every inch the kind of chip-leader's play designed solely to push a smaller stack off a pot.
But Yun's opponent called and Yun showed his [2s][2c] for a flopped set, paid off in full. -- HS
8:30pm: Three down, two survive
Level 15: Blinds 2,000-4,000 (ante: 500)
We expect a slow down as the money bubble approaches, but at least five players were all in within the first orbit of the restart. One of those was Raymond Dye, who was seen wandering from the card room, eliminated, but two of the others managed to cling on.
Xiao Li shoved over an open raise and got folds around the table. And Liming Zhang did the same over the other side of the room. Everyone got out of his way too.
The other two, well, they're out--but at least did so out of our sight. -- HS
8:30pm: Bubble racing
Level 15: Blinds 2,000-4,000 (ante: 500)
There are two hours left in the day and 17 players need to be eliminated before we burst the bubble. The race is on. -- HS
| LEVEL | SMALL BLIND | BIG BLIND | ANTE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | 2,000 | 4,000 | 500 |
8:20pm: Scheduled break
Only 80 remain here on Day 2 and those players have just began a 10-minute break.
Stay with us as we edge closer to the bubble. -- BK
8:15pm: Light four-bet from Soyza
Level 14: Blinds 1,500-3,000 (ante: 500)
Christopher Soyza opened to 7,000 from the hijack seat before Alex Ward repopped him to 17,500.
Soyza wasn't done, however, cutting out 40,000 in chips for a four-bet.
Ward thought about it but threw his hand away and Soyza tabled [jc][ts]. -- BK
8:00pm: Sharfuddin sends Zhang home
Level 14: Blinds 1,500-3,000 (ante: 500)
Chenxu Zhang has had a tumultuous day and it just came to an end at the hands of Rashid Sharfuddin.
When we got to the table the cards were all out and stacks were in the middle. In front of Zhang was [as][qc] and Sharfuddin held [th][td]. The board was laid out [9c][2s][ts][qs][tc] with Sharfuddin's quad tens way the best of it.
Zhang lingered in her seat despite having no chips left while Sharfuddin stacked up over 120,000. -- BK
7:45pm: Stack attack
Level 14: Blinds 1,500-3,000 (ante: 500)
The tournament information screen shows 85 players left, which leaves us 22 from the money. The biggest stacks in the room appear to be as follows:
Yu Han - 410,000
Hyunshik Yun - 360,000
Yijun Lou - 280,000
Juicy Li - 240,000
Alex Ward - 220,000
Here are a few others:
Geng Liu - 210,000
Deok-Yeong Lee - 210,000
Jipeng Li - 200,000
Ming Zheng - 180,000
Constantine Paparestis - 140,000
Chen An Lin - 130,000
Thomas Shelley - 120,000
Kitty Kuo, meanwhile, appears to be out. -- HS
| LEVEL | SMALL BLIND | BIG BLIND | ANTE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | 1,500 | 3,000 | 500 |
7:15pm: Li on Li
Level 13: Blinds 1,200-2,400 (ante: 400)
Juicy Li's stack just took a hit and she is down below 200,000 for probably the first time since last night. Her namesake Jiping Li did the damage this time, scoring a near double up himself.
Jiping opened to 5,100 from mid-position and Juicy called from the cutoff. The two of them took a flop of [6h][6d][6s] and Jiping checked the flop of the beast. No checking for Juicy. She continued the theme with a bet of 6,000.
That's when Jiping found his strong arm again. He check-raised to 16,000. (Why all the sixes?) Juicy called.
The [2c] came on the turn and Jiping now bet 17,000. Juicy called again. After the [4d] came on the river, Jiping now bet 41,000, leaving himself only about 30,000 back. Juicy went into the tank for a while, but eventually called.
But she mucked very quickly upon seeing Jiping's [as][ac]. -- HS
7:10pm: Blind on blind burns Barausova
Level 13: Blinds 1,200-2,400 (ante: 400)
The action folded around to Tatiana Barausova in the small blind and she moved all in with more than enough to cover the player in the big blind. He quickly called it off for his tournament life and two revealed their hands.
Barausova: [tc][6d]
Big blind: [as][qh]
Barausova had been caught out making a light move and she couldn't manage to overcome the odds as the board ran out [6h][qd][4c][4s][7d].
Losing 37,000 in that hand Barausova still sits with 73,000 in chips. -- BK
7:00pm: Soyza stung by a straight
Level 13: Blinds 1,200-2,400 (ante: 400)
There were three active players when we arrived at the table to see the board reading [8d][3h][9s][7s].
Christopher Soyza was first to act and he checked his option. Next to act led for 28,000 and after the third party ditched his hand, Soyza made the call. The [jc] completed the board and Soyza checked again.
Much to Soyza's bewilderment his opponent checked and showed [jd][td] for a straight - well ahead of Soyza's [qc][9d].
"He checked back the river with the second nuts?" Soyza asked tablemate Alex Ward with a baffled expression. -- BK
6:55pm: The force is with Han
Level 13: Blinds 1,200-2,400 (ante: 400)
Yu Han just made a brilliant hero call to send an opponent packing, picking off the aggressor with nothing but king high. It turned out that his adversary also only had king high, but Han's kicker--a ten--played.
The details are not precise but, as related by Alex Ward, Han called a check raise on the flop of [qc][5c][qs] (it was 4,000, then 12,000, then call) and then both checked an off-suit deuce on the turn.
An off-suit three fell on the river and the now-departed player shoved for about 50,000, an over pot-sized bet. Han called with [kc][tc] and it was, remarkably, better than the [kx][9x] he was shown.
Han is now stacking a mighty pile of chips and accepting the applause of his table-mates. -- HS
6:45pm: Bullets for Boucher
Level 13: Blinds 1,200-2,400 (ante: 400)
Matthew Boucher just ended up on the right end of a cold deck and scored himself a double up.
He picked up [ah][ad] and got his stack of 40,600 in preflop against the man on his direct left holding [ks][kh].
There was no hint of danger as the cards fell [7d][4h][2c][jd][9c] to see Boucher's aces hold and him not only surviving but now with a healthy stack. -- BK
6:35pm: Liu right with top pair
Level 13: Blinds 1,200-2,400 (ante: 400)
Geng Liu is now a force in this event, with around 200,000 chips. He just played a pretty weird hand against Zheng Shen, which resulted in the elimination of the latter.
There was about 30,000 in the pot and a flop of [6h][as][qc] exposed and Liu bet 24,100. Shen pretty much clicked it back, raising to 50,000 and leaving only about 30,000 behind.
Liu didn't seem to know what that bet meant. One suspects he'd have been able to deal with a shove or a call, but the min-raise is lesser-spotted in these parts. He thought so long that eventually the clock was called, but Liu eventually called himself.
That meant they saw the [6c] on the turn, and both checked. And then the [2c] came on the river. Liu checked again, but here came the delayed shove. The dealer established that it would cost Liu 33,000 to call.
With so much in the pot, it would have been a tough fold. He didn't do that. He called and Shen pretty much wanted to muck immediately. Liu showed his [ad][js] and then Shen did muck. But it was a called all-in, and that wasn't allowed.
He flipped [kc][tc] for a busted straight draw and headed home. -- HS
| LEVEL | SMALL BLIND | BIG BLIND | ANTE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | 1,200 | 2,400 | 400 |
6:10pm: Break time
Level 12: Blinds 1,000-2,000 (ante: 300)
That's the end of Level 12, and Day 2 is now half-way old. There are 108 players left. -- HS
6:05pm: Goh go!
Level 12: Blinds 1,000-2,000 (ante: 300)
Alex Ward started something he probably ended up glad to be out of. He opened to 4,500 from under the gun and picked up a call from Jerry Goh. Han Yu, with a 200,000+ stack, squeezed to 14,900, which is when Ward decided he was better off out of it.
Goh, however, wanted to play for more. He four-bet to 35,000 and Yu called.
They saw the flop of [8s][ks][6s] and Goh jammed for about 75,000. An anguished Yu apologised to the table for delaying his decision, but folded. -- HS
6:00pm: Chop chop for Chenxu and Chen An
Level 12: Blinds 1,000-2,000 (ante: 300)
On a flop of [as][4c][4s] Team PokerStars Pro Chen An Lin checked his option from the big blind and Chenxu Zhang made a bet of 6,000 from the button.
Lin called and the dealer turned the [jh] Both players checked through to the [8h] river where the Team Pro checked for a final time. Zhang fired for 12,000 and Lin quickly called to see the two were chopping the pot. -- BK
Lin: [ac][7s]
Zhang: [ad][5d]
5:45pm: Boucher bullied
Level 12: Blinds 1,000-2,000 (ante: 300)
American Matthew Boucher was just put to a decision for most of his stack after a big turn bet from his table-mate.
The board read [2c][4c][6s][3c] and there was just shy of 50,000 in chips in the pot when Boucher's opponent slid a hefty 35,000 in chips out in front of him.
Boucher eyed his own stack, roughly 38,000, and pondered what to do. In the end he couldn't continue and tossed his cards into the muck. -- BK
5:30pm: Lu eliminated
Level 12: Blinds 1,000-2,000 (ante: 300)
The dream is over for Di Lu after a pre-flop encounter with Yubin Zheng.
The two got all the money in pre-flop and Lu needed to improve to stay alive.
Lu: [kc][jc]
Zheng: [ah][9h]
Finding a gut shot straight draw on the [6d][ac][ts] flop it wasn't enough as the [2c] turn and [as] river saw Lu exiting the tournament area. -- BK
5:20pm: Bell tolls for Ting Ting
Level 12: Blinds 1,000-2,000 (ante: 300)
Ask not for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee, Ting Ting Du.
There was not very much he could do about this, on balance, finding pocket queens with a stack of about 55,000, or 25 big blinds. It just so happened that John Gallagher had aces.
They got it in in a weird way. Du opened to 5,000 from under the gun and Gallagher, a few seats along, raised to 10,500. Everyone else cleared out putting it back on Du and he four-bet to 20,200, leaving 30,000 behind.
Gallagher shoved, covering Du. Du called and the showed their cards. Specifically, Du had [qh][qd] and Gallagher had [ac][ah]. After a dry flop, the [as] on the turn sealed it. -- HS
| LEVEL | SMALL BLIND | BIG BLIND | ANTE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | 1,000 | 2,000 | 300 |
5:05pm: Go your side, Juicy Li
Level 11: Blinds 900-1,800 (ante: 200)
The long-anticipated showdown between Kitty Kuo and Juicy Li just took place on Table 6, with Kuo facing the prospect of elimination against the tournament chip leader, but just about clinging on.
Kuo opened the pot, making it 4,300 to go from mid-position. Everyone else folded around to Li's big blind and she called. So it was those two only to a flop of [kc][2d][th] and Li checked. Kuo continued, betting 5,600, but seemed a little surprised when Li check-raised to 15,600.
Kuo and Li were also embroiled at this point in an unconscious battle as to who could riffle their huge pile of 100-denomination chips the fastest, blurring them between artfully painted nails. It was a dead heat. Those two are absolute masters at it.
Kuo called, which took them to the [3c] on the turn and Li immediately led out, for 23,000. Kuo seemed to sense she was now playing for her tournament. She counted out the calling chips, then counted how many she would be left with if she put them over the line. Establishing that she had about 32,000 behind, she eventually decided just to call. (Li, remember, started the hand with about 300,000.)
The [kd] came on the river and the predictable happened: Li moved all in, covering Kuo by about 200,000. Kuo must have known it was coming, but still took a long while to ponder her decision, asking her adversary a few questions to which the answers were inaudible. The chip-riffling had stopped, however.
Eventually Kuo did call and saw what might have been bad news. Li turned over [ah][ks]. However Kuo was going nowhere. She revealed her [ac][kh] and they chopped it up. -- HS
5:00pm: Killer Kwok
Level 11: Blinds 900-1,800 (ante: 300)
We arrived at the table to see a bloated pot and the board reading [9d][6c][ah][jh]. The only active players were Yiu Kwok and Ken Wong, and it appeared that Kwok had check-raised Wong's bet from 12,500 up to 36,000.
Time had been called and with a tournament official by the table, Wong was informed he had only a minute to decide.
"10 seconds" came the call from the official as Wong looked back at his cards.
Wong flashed an ace and surrendered his hand as Kwok raked in a healthy pot. -- BK
4:50pm: Pushing 300
Level 11: Blinds 900-1,800 (ante: 300)
The tournament board shows that 125 players are left in this one, meaning we've already lost nearly 100 players today. The field condensing means the stacks are growing and the rich continue to get richer.
At this stage is still seems as though Juicy Li leads the way. She has right about 300,000. But there are some other sizeable holdings in front of the following:
Fan Wu: 290,000
Juncong Cao: 270,000
Alex Ward: 205,000
Constantine Paparestis: 194,000
Deok-Yeong Lee: 190,000
4:40pm: Ward wipes out Cardyn
Level 11: Blinds 900-1,800 (ante: 300)
Nicolas Cardyn was just sent reeling after a harsh run out against tablemate Alex Ward.
The hand began with Magnus Karlsson opening to 4,100 before Cardyn moved all in over the top for 13,800. Ward was next to act and he smooth called the jam before Karlsson opted to do the same.
The [tc][qc][qd] flop was revealed and Karlsson checked to Ward who bet 7,000 into the empty side pot. Karlsson relinquished the hand and both Ward and Cardyn tabled their hands.
Cardyn: [ac][qs]
Ward: [ks][kh]
Cardyn was ahead of Ward's kings with flopped trips and he looked good to double up. That was until the dealer turned the [kd] and the table let out a collective gasp. With the [js] river completing the board Cardyn was sent packing and Ward eclipsed the 200,000-chip mark. -- BK
4:35pm: Gang with 3x3
Level 11: Blinds 900-1,800 (ante: 300)
Wu Gang just flopped a set of threes and got paid off by two opponents, including a deflated Hanoch Rieder. Gang opened to 4,000 from under the gun and Rieder, in the hijack, was one of three players who called (the button and small blind also came along).
The flop came [ad][9h][3s] and after two checks, Rieder bet 5,300. He got two calls. They all checked the [tc] turn, but then Gang bet 11,000 at the [8d] river and both opponents called.
The small blind showed [ac][qh] with a small expectation that he might win this. But that's when Gang flipped his [3c][3h], allowing Rieder to muck in exasperation. -- HS
4:25pm: Lau lives
Level 11: Blinds 900-1,800 (ante: 200)
Alan Lau is still in the running after winning a flip for his tournament life.
The reigning Asia Player of the Year moved all in preflop for his last 17,500 in chips and was called by Ro Park. Lau held [6h][6c] and needed to hold against Park's [ah][kh].
Lau did exactly that as the cards fell [8s][8d][7s][4h][6s] and he doubled up. -- BK
4:15pm: Kuo can't beat Li
Level 11: Blinds 900-1,800 (ante: 200)
There are four women on Juicy Li's table, including one of the other best-known faces in world poker: Kitty Kuo. Kuo just tried to thin the list to three when she called a shove from Xiao Ling Li, but ended up losing to a dominant ace.
Li limped from under the gun and Kuo raised to 7,000 from one seat to her left. Action passed back to Li, who shoved for 23,400 and Kuo snapped. Kuo showed [ac][tc] but Li's [as][qc] started strong and could not be caught through a board of [ad][9d][3d][3h][7h]. -- HS
| LEVEL | SMALL BLIND | BIG BLIND | ANTE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 900 | 1,800 | 200 |
4:00pm: Take a break
It's time for the first break of the day.
Our remaining 163 players well return to the action in 10 minutes. -- BK
3:45pm: The Macau home game
Level 10: Blinds 700-1,400 (ante: 100)
Chen An Lin, the Team PokerStars Pro from Chinese Taipei, started the day with 64,400. But he has about 100,000 more than that now, and is clearly enjoying his time on Table 3, even though he has the dangerous Devan Tang a few seats around.
Lin has other friends at the table, and they're playing as though it's a home game with buoyant conversation the order of the day. On a recent hand, Lin opened to 3,400 from the cutoff and Yuan Li, in the big blind, started giving his opponent some kind of needle about attempting to steal his blind. (I don't speak Chinese, but the gist was clear.)
Li was therefore delighted when John Gallagher, one seat to Lin's left, actually put out a three-bet, making it 8,500 to play. Tang folded his small blind, which put the decision back on Li. And he did actually seem to have a decision. He took long enough pondering it that Tang called the clock.
The floor supervisor began to make his way over, but Li opted to fold, flashing his cards in the direction of the dealer and Tang as if to prove that he did have a legitimate reason to delay the action.
It put the decision back on Lin, but the Team Pro didn't waste much time in sliding his tower of yellow 5,000-denomination chips forward. The four-bet covered Gallagher.
The British player, who had sat silently throughout, remained mute as he folded. -- HS
3:35pm: Pastoll pushing players around
Level 10: Blinds 700-1,400 (ante: 200)
Edward Pastoll just won himself a nice pot after a confrontation with Yiu Wah Kwok and Yang Liu.
Pastoll kicked things off with a raise to 3,100 before Kwok made it 8,200 to go. It folded to Liu who cold called from the big blind, and with Pastoll sticking around the three of them went to a flop of [qd][th][qs].
The action was checked around and the dealer turned the [9s]. Liu took the betting lead, firing 7,800 into his two opponents. It was then back on Pastoll who counted down his stack before putting in a raise to 18,300.
Kwok quickly mucked and despite thinking about it, Liu did the same as Pastoll added the newly acquired chips to his 34,000 behind. -- BK
3:20pm: Lim lives
Level 10: Blinds 700-1,400 (ante: 200)
Chin Wei Lim is still in the game after finding a double up through Tian Tang.
The hand began with Nicolas Cardyn opening to 3,000 from early position and Tang calling next-to-act. It folded around to Lim on the button and he pushed all in for 16,900.
Cardyn quickly folded but Tang took his time considering his options. Tang didn't look happy about it but he threw in calling chips and players tabled their hands.
Lim: [4s][4c]
Tang: [jc][9c]
The [3d][4d][8d] flop was a welcome sight for Lim as he found middle set and guaranteed himself at worst a chop. The board wouldn't run out diamonds on the [2s] turn and [qs] river and Lim doubled through. -- BK
3:20pm: Paparestis and the pocket pairs
Level 10: Blinds 700-1,400 (ante: 200)
Constantine Paparestis was in the middle of relating a story about finding kings early on in today's action, three-betting an opponent and then picking off his shove, when he had to sit down and play another hand. Paparestis already had about 180,000 when this truncated conversation took place.
It was worth his while to sit down, though. He was on the button and this time found [jh][jd]. What's more, Peng Hua, a few seats around, had opened to 3,000. Paparestis three-bet to 8,100 and Hua shoved for his last 24,000 (approx). Paparestis called.
There was a backdoor draw for Hua's [as][9s] on the flop of [8h][7h][2s]. But he was drawing to only two aces after the [3h] turn. The [td] on the river sealed it for the British player and Paparestis took his chip stack just a shade over 200,000, which is right up there.
"There's a long way to go," he told his table-mates, who started to suggest he may be heading deep in this tournament. -- HS
3pm: Eight hours scheduled
Level 10: Blinds 700-1,400 (ante: 200)
We're into Level 10, where blinds are 700-1,400 with a 200 ante. Tournament officials have announced that we will play eight levels today, with no dinner break, giving us another very amiable 10:30pm finish. The bubble may or may not burst in that time. It's going to be very close. -- HS
| LEVEL | SMALL BLIND | BIG BLIND | ANTE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 700 | 1,400 | 200 |
2:55pm: Liu laughs his way home
Level 9: Blinds 600-1,200 (ante: 100)
There's a refreshing devil-may-care attitude to a lot of the play in these parts. Mingqin Liu was just knocked out and chuckled his way away from the table, pausing only to congratulate the player who eliminated him.
That man was Fei Gao, who found [ac][as] when Liu had shoved all-in with [jh][js]. Liu actually seemed delighted that he might be able to pull off an out-draw--they love an outdraw here--but it didn't happen, and off he went. -- HS
2:50pm: Zhang triples; Wu wounded
Level 9: Blinds 600-1,200 (ante: 100)
Chenting Zhang just tripled up, which is a pretty good result given he only had [kh][qc].
Zhang open-shoved for 23,800 from early position and the table chip-leader, Fan Wu, called on the button from a stack of about 170,000. But after the small blind got out of the way, Kan He re-shoved for about 70,000 and that was too expensive for Wu. He folded.
Zhang now showed his king-queen and was racing against He's [th][tc]. The board helped the overcards. It ran [kc][jc][8c][5h][js] and Zhang got his triple up, earning him about 72,000 now. He has about 45,000, while Wu has 145,000 still.
Wu tried to climb straight back on the horse and got involved in a small pot against Ming Zheng on the next hand. Zheng opened to 2,600 and Wu three bet from the cutoff, making it 6,600. Zheng called.
They took a flop of [tc][6h][5c] and Zheng continued with a bet of 7,000. Fan folded. -- HS
2:45pm: Lau locks up a double
Level 9: Blinds 600-1,200 (ante: 100)
Not only is reigning Asia Player of the Year Alan King Lun Lau here for Day 2 but he also just scored himself a double up through Kun Tian.
It folded to Lau in late position and he moved in for his last 12,500. Tian called from the SB and Lau saw he was in good shape to survive.
Lau: [kh][kd]
Tian: [as][qd]
The board ran out [7d][jd][9s][ts][9c] with Lau's pocket kings holding and knocking Tian back to 28,000. -- BK
2:40pm: Lin gets one through
Level 9: Blinds 600-1,200 (ante: 100)
Celina Lin returned today as one of only two Team PokerStars Pros (joining Chen An Lin) and she's still alive after moving all in pre-flop.
The action began when Jeonghun Hong raised to 3,000 and it folded around to Lin on the button.
Lin announced she was all in and the dealer cut down 23,900 in chips. Hong looked back at his cards and deliberated momentarily before giving it up. -- BK
2:30pm: Kings no good for Zhang
Level 9: Blinds 600-1,200 (ante: 100)
Chenxu Zhang started today with 79,600 but she just lost close to a quarter of it after clashing with Inge Forsmo.
Zhang raised to 2,600 preflop and after two others called, Forsmo came along from the big blind. The flop landed [ac][2d][qs] and Zhang continued into three opponents with a bet of 5,500. She was met with two folds and then Forsmo called to see a [4s] turn.
Zhang barrelled for another 12,500 and Forsmo decided to move all in, sliding his remaining 23,000 into the middle. Despite the small remainder to call off Zhang asked the dealer to spread the pot and gave Forsmo a stare down.
Ultimately Zhang counted out a call and committed the chips to see she had only two outs to end Forsmo's run.
Zhang: [ks][kc]
Forsmo: [as][8s]
The [5s] river completed the board and Forsmo doubled up while Zhang was knocked back to around 60,000 in chips. -- BK
2:25pm: Albiges into triple figures
Level 9: Blinds 600-1,200 (ante: 100)
A significant double up here for Benoit Albiges, who is now beyond 100,000 for the first time in the tournament. The man who paid him off, Bin Hui, seemed bitterly disappointed that he couldn't fold his two pair when it looked like he knew he was beaten, but Hui still has about 60,000 left.
There was already about 30,000 in the pot when I arrived, and a board out to the turn. It read: [ks][7h][qs][jh]. Albiges checked, Hui bet 13,400 and Albiges check-raised all in for 56,000.
Hui contemplated his decision for a long while, but threw in a call with his [kd][jd]. However Albiges had the other two jacks--[js][jc]--for a turned set.
The river was a blank and Albiges began raking a stack of more than 120,000. -- HS
2:20pm: Action flop
Level 9: Blinds 600-1,200 (ante: 100)
There's no getting away from this one within the first 20 minutes of play. Or, for that matter, at any stage of the game. Yauheni Zenkivich, of Belarus, got all his chips in (about 43,000) on a flop of [9s][7h][8h] and found a willing opponent in Xi Luo, of China.
There was good reason for both of them. Luo had flopped middle set with [8d][8s] but Zenkivich had it beat with his [jd][td], a flopped straight. Luo had outs to a full house or quads but the [kc] on the turn and the [6s] on the river didn't help.
Zenkivich is up to around 90,000. Luo has about 25,000 left. -- HS
2:10pm: Ace plays for Angel
Level 9: Blinds 600-1,200 (ante: 100)
Angel Sheung Sheung Wong could hardly contain her delight as she doubled up with [ad][jh] against Jiayi Jin's [qc][js] on a board of [7h][8s][jc][th][kc]. She needed to check that she hadn't somehow been out-drawn, but the ace played and she survives. Five players have not been so lucky. The number of players on the tournament information screen has already begun its downward spiral. -- HS
2:05pm: Double at the double
Level 9: Blinds 600-1,200 (ante: 100)
A quick double up for Hong Kong's Hon Cheong Lee, although he had to do it the hard way. He found [qh][qs] on one of the first hands of the day, but was in a world of hurt when he was called by Liu Li and his [ks][kc]. But a board of [qd][8h][8s][6h][2c] soon emerged, keeping Lee alive, with about 70,000 now. Li drops to about 50,000. -- HS
2:00pm: It's go time!
Level 9: Blinds 600-1,200 (ante: 100)
PokerStars LIVE Macau's Fred Leung just took to the microphone to wish players luck and tell the dealers to get the cards in the air.
The 219 poker hopefuls returning today will be chasing a top prize of HK$2,694,000.
Let's go! -- BK
1:55pm: Typhoon warning
Level 9: Blinds 600-1,200 (ante: 100)
According to a sign in the lobby of the Hard Rock Hotel, "Typhoon Warning Level 1 Has Been Hoisted". They got the level wrong--we're heading into Level 9--but I'd say the rest is pretty much accurate.
It's Day 2 of the APPT10 Macau main event, and 219 players are returning to play at least another eight one-hour levels. Knowing the way they play around here, "typhoon warning" is about right.
Sixty-three players will be paid, and we should burst the bubble today. That will then leave us the prospect of filling the final table tomorrow, before playing to a champion on Sunday. Stick around. This one is going to be a frenzy. -- HS
12:45pm: Preparing for Day 2
Day 2 of APPT10 Macau gets under way at 2pm local time. Can Juicy Li continue her sensational run from yesterday? Or will she be hauled back into the pack. Follow live updates here.
PokerStars Blog reporting team in Macau: Brad Kain and Howard Swains. Photos by Long Guan of Kenneth Lim Photography.
