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7:40pm: Another double for Loeser
Level 11 - Blinds: 6,000/12,000 (ante 2,000)
Manig Loeser's tournament continues as the German player just scored another double up! This time it was against Devan Tang. He raised to 24,000 from the button with [Kc][Ks], Loeser shoved for 144,000 from the big blind with [Ah][Qh] and Tang quickly called. The [Qd][7c][7s][9h][As] board meant Loeser hit the river to survive.
He's up to 300,000 whilst Tang drops to 810,000. --NW
7:40pm: Kempe and Yaroshevskyy depart
Level 11 - Blinds: 6,000/12,000 (ante 200)
The High Roller's down to 20 remaining after Shan Huang, Rainer Kemper and Igor Yaroshevskyy busted. We don't have Kemper or Huang's exit but Yaroshevskyy busted to Timothy Adams.
The Russian was down to 72,000 when he made his move from the hijack. Adams got a count and called from the button.
Yaroshevskyy: [jd][7d]
Adams: [ah][th]
The board ran [6c][qs][ts][8d][7c] to make Adams a winning pair. He moved up to 660,000. --MC
7:35pm: Bleiker takes a big one off Sammartino
Level 11 - Blinds: 6,000/12,000 (ante 2,000)
Felix Bleiker raised to 27,000 from middle position and Dario Sammartino called from the big blind. The flop came down [ks][5c][7h] and Bleiker bet 26,000. Sammartino called and a [jd] came on the turn.
This time Bleiker bumped the bet up to 111,000 and Sammartino called again. A [td] completed the board and Bleiker put out a final bet of 116,000. Sammartino thought until he ran out of his time. Then he bought some more time and thought again. Sammartino finally called, but mucked after Bleiker showed [5s][5h] for a set of fives.
Bleiker chipped up to 1.3 million while Sammartino dipped to 240,000. --AV
7:30pm: What a value bet!
Level 11 - Blinds: 6,000/12,000 (ante 200)
"What a value bet!" said an admiring Shan Huang about Isaac Haxton. "Crazy!"
Bjorn Li opened from the button Haxton defended his big blind. The flop came [3h][2d][8s] and Li continued for 22,000. Haxton check-called then led for 24,000 and 17,000 on the [4d][6d] turn and rover. Li called both bets but mucked upon seeing Haxton's [kh][4h]. Li dropped to 505,000 and Haxton grew to around 400,00. --MC
7:20pm: Lin spikes the river
Level 11 - Blinds: 6,000/12,000 (ante 2,000)
Qiang Lin banged his fist on the table as the river card landed. My view of the board was obscured by this so I wasn't sure if it was in celebration or anger. He'd shoved for 159,000 on the turn of a [7d][Th][9d][Ts] board. There was already 350,000 in the pot at this point and it was Simon Burns who had the decision. He asked for a count, processed that information and then called. Burns opened [Qh][Qd] and was ahead of Lin's [Ah][9c]. So, Lin had outs and the river was indeed one of them as the [As] landed to save him.
He's up to 700,000 and Burns is down to 212,000. --NW
7:20pm: Another double for Loeser
Level 11 - Blinds: 6,000/12,000 (ante 2,000)
Manig Loeser scored a few double ups last level after being left with just a couple of big blinds, and now he's starting level 11 off the same way.
Loeser was back down to 98,000 and moved it all-in from the button. Yin Nam Bjon Li called from the big blind and showed [qs][9h] to Loeser's [kh][8c].
The [5c][jc][5s][2s][3s] board didn't connect with any player and Loeser's king took down the pot. Loeser doubled to about 150,000, but he's still short. Can he keep the double up streak going? --AV
7:05pm: New level, full counts
Level 11 - Blinds: 6,000/12,000 (ante 2,000)
| Name | Country | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| John Juanda | Indonesia | 1,265,000 |
| Jason Koon | USA | 1,130,000 |
| Mikita Badziakouski | Belarus | 1,120,000 |
| Felix Bleiker | Switzerland | 1,030,000 |
| Dmitry Yurasov | Russia | 900,000 |
| Adrian Mateos | Spain | 724,000 |
| Dario Sammartino | Italy | 580,000 |
| Simon Burns | UK | 562,000 |
| Timothy Adams | Canada | 485,000 |
| Xiaoyang Luo | China | 407,000 |
| Igor Yaroshevskyy | Russia | 390,000 |
| Daniel Dvoress | Canada | 375,000 |
| Qiang Lin | China | 370,000 |
| Devan Tang | Hong Kong | 360,000 |
| John Andress | USA | 340,000 |
| Isaac Haxton | USA | 295,000 |
| Shan Huang | China | 270,000 |
| Justin Bonomo | USA | 245,000 |
| Rainer Kemper | Germany | 203,000 |
| Manig Loeser | Germany | 105,000 |
6:51pm: Break time
Level 10 - Blinds: 5,000/10,000 (ante 1,000)
The 23 remaining players are now on a 15 minute break. --NW
6:50pm: Three and out for Greenwood
Level 10 - Blinds: 5,000/10,000 (ante 1,000)
Sam Greenwood fired three times at this tournament, but unfortunately for him all three were a swing and a miss. He just busted to Bjorn Li when he three-bet shoved for roughly 20 big blinds with [Ts][9s] from the small blind. Li had opened with [Ah][Th] from the button and called off the extra.
The board ran [7c][As][5s][Ad][4d] and that was that for Greenwood. --NW
6:40pm: The champ departs
Level 10 - Blinds: 5,000/10,000 (ante 1,000)
The tournament has reached the final three tables after reigning champion David Peters busted in 25th place. He couldn't win his third all-in showdown in a short period of time.
A preflop rising war saw himself and Mikita Badziakouski both all-in with very similar sized stacks.
Badziakouski: [qc][qs]
Peters: [7c][7h]
The board ran [jh][2c][jc][kd][3c] to see the queens hold. After a countdown, Badziakouski's 448,000 only covered Peters by 5,000. --MC
6:35pm: A loss, a triple and a double for Loeser
Level 10 - Blinds: 5,000/10,000 (ante 1,000)
Manig Loeser is now back over 10 big blinds after a series of all-ins. The first all-in saw Loeser doubled up another player and drop to just under two big blinds.
Shan Huang moved all-in for 125,000 from the small blind that hand and Loeser called from the big blind. Huang turned over [as][8s] while Loeser showed [kc][5c]. Loeser did hit a king on the river of a [6d][js][2s][5s][ks] board, but Huang had already hit the nut flush on the turn.
Huang doubled to 250,000 while Loeser was left with just 18,000.
Those chips went in the following hand. Yin Nam Bjon Li opened that hand to 22,000 from under the gun and John Juanda also called from the big blind.
Bjon Li bet 20,000 after the [kc][2h][3s] flop hit the board and Juanda folded. It was an exclusively all-in situation now and Loeser showed [td][2d] for bottom pair, while Bjon Li tabled ace-high with [ac][jc]. An [8d] came on the turn followed by a [9s] on the river and Loeser tripled to 60,000 and then got another double up a few hands later.
Anson Tsang raised to 20,000 from middle position that hand and Loeser moved all-in from the cutoff. Action folded back around to Tsang and he called. Tsang turned over [kh][th] while Loeser showed [qs][qc].
The [5s][3s][9s][jd][6h] board kept Loeser in the lead and he doubled up to about 130,000. --AV
6:30pm: Peters doubles again
Level 10 - Blinds: 5,000/10,000 (ante 1,000)
It's been a good orbit for David Peters as he just doubled up again. It was Dmitry Yurasov who opened proceedings this time. He made it 22,000 to go from the cutoff, Rainer Kempe flat called on the button and Peters shoved for 198,000 from the big blind. It was too much for Yurasov but Kempe asked for a count and then called.
Peters: [Ad][4d]
Kempe: [Kh][Qs]
A [Jh][3h][7d][2d][2c] board kept Peters in front, he's now up to 412,000 and Kempe is down to 272,000. --NW
6:25pm: Queens keep the king alive
Level 10 - Blinds: 5,000/10,000 (ante 1,000)
Defending champion David Peters has given himself a fighting chance of defending his title after he doubled through Dmitry Yurasov.
He moved all-in for 85,000 from the hijack and was called by Yurasov in the big blind.
Yurasov: [ac][6h]
Peters: [qh][qs]
The board ran [ks][5h][ts][tc][7h] to see the queens hold.
Not long after, at the same table, birthday boy David Stecike wasn't afforded the same present as Peters as he busted. --MC
6:15pm: Koon versus Tang
Level 10 - Blinds: 5,000/10,000 (ante 1,000)
Devan Tang hopped into this event at the last minute and he's been involved in a lot of pots in the 90 minutes of poker that he's played. As I passed by his table I saw that he was heads-up with Jason Koon and the two of them had reached the turn of a [Qh][2s][6c][Ts] board. The action was on Koon and he bet 75,000. Call from Tang.
Both players checked the [Ah] river and Tang's [Kd][Kh] won against Koon's drawtastic [8s][7s]. After that hand Koon is down to 990,000 and Tang is up to 490,000. --NW
6:10pm: Newey and Petrangelo out
Level 10 - Blinds: 5,000/10,000 (ante 1,000)
Nick Petrangelo was spotted leaving the tournament area and his chair was left lonely and empty. Just a few moments later, another player at Petrangelo's table busted: Paul Newey.
Newey was down to 53,000 and moved it all-in from middle position. Then he got a few callers. First It was Timothy Adams from the cutoff, then Xiaoyang Luo called from the button and Felix Bleiker did the same from the small blind.
The pot didn't grow anymore since the three players checked down every street of the [8s][4c][5c][4h][kd] board. After the final check, Newey turned over [td][9h]. It was the worst hand of the bunch. Adams turned over [qc][jc] and Luo showed [qc][jc]. Bleiker's [2d][2c] were the strongest and took down the pot.
Newey was out while Bleiker chipped up to about 675,000. --AV
6:05pm: Million chip men trip over each other
Level 10 - Blinds: 5,000/10,000 (ante 1,000)
Jason Koon and John Juanda are the two biggest stacks in the room and played out a half-million chip pot that saw the latter leapfrog the former. Both have a over a million still though.
There were heads up to the turn where the board read [ac][4h][8d]. Koon bet 38,000 from the small blind and was raised to 102,000 by Juanda in the cutoff. He came back with a three-bet to 230,000 and was called before the [7h] river was checked through.
Koon opened [8c][6c] for trips but lost out (due to kickers issues) when Juanda tabled [kh][8h]. Juanda rose too 1.3 million and Koon dropped to 1.012 million. --MC
5:55pm: One up, one down for Peters
Level 10 - Blinds: 5,000/10,000 (ante 1,000)
Dmitry Yurasov raised to 18,000 from the hijack in the first one and Peters called from the small blind. Peters checked the [ks][th][8c] flop and Yurasov made it 15,000 to go. Peters called and then bet 20,000 after the [ts] came on the turn.
Yurasov called and a [5d] completed the board. Peters upped the bet to 80,000 and Yurasov thought. Yurasov had about 180,000 behind. He used a time bank chip and thought some more. Yurasov then folded and Peters took the pot, chipping up to about 460,000.
Erik Seidel raised to 18,000 from the cutoff the following hand an David Peters called from the button. Simon Burns then three-bet to 60,000 from the big blind and both players called. The three of them then checked the [jc][4h][8c] flop and a [2s] came on the turn.
Burns made the bet 110,000 and this time both players folded. --AV
5:45pm: Tang doubles through Loeser
Level 9 - Blinds: 4,000/8,000 (ante 1,000)
After a raise to 18,000 from Ike Haxton, Devan Tang moved all-in for 231,000 total. Manig Loeser wanted a count and he then matched Tang's bet. Haxton got out the way and the players flipped their cards. It was a race with Tang's [9][9d] up against Loeser's [Ac][Kc]. The [9h][Qs][Qc] flop left Loeser needing running cards and they didn't arrive on the [2h][As] turn and river.
That left Loeser with just 30,000 and he doubled up through Tang on the next hand with pocket aces against pocket threes. So Loeser now has 76,000 and Tang is up to 400,000. --NW
5:40pm: The five in deep
Level 9 - Blinds: 4,000/8,000 (ante 1,000)
Of the 40 unique entrants, only five re-entered at least once. They are:
James Chen - 3 bullets
Sam Greenwood - 3 bullets
JC Alvarado - 2 bullets
Steve O`Dwyer -2 bullets
Dan Smith - 2 bullets
O'Dwyer and Smith are both out so have no way of recouping the HKD$500,000 they were in for. The other three are still in but Chen and Greenwood have to make it to fifth or better to make a profit. --MC
5:35pm: Smith out
Level 9 - Blinds: 4,000/8,000 (ante 1,000)
Dan Smith has been eliminated from the High Roller. Again.
Smith fell last level when Daniel Dvoress hit a flush with [ah][jh] to Smith's [ks][qc], and then he rebought before the break. Now he's out again. Smith lost most of his chips this level after he doubled up JC Alvarado, and then Timothy Adams dealt the final blow.
Smith was down to just about 10,000 and put them all-in from the button. Timothy Adams raised from the small blind --enough to cover Martin Jacobson, who was on the big blind-- and Jacobson thought for a bit before folding.
Smith turned over [ac][5h] and he was flipping against Adams's [2d][2s]. The [js][kc][tc][3c][6h] board didn't bring Smith what he needed and he hit the rail. --AV
5:30pm: Money talk
Level 9 - Blinds: 4,000/8,000 (ante 1,000)
The prize pool has just been announced to the players. The top seven will get paid, with the winner collecting HK$3.56 million ($456,232). Below is how the HK$11,289,600 prize pool will be divided.
| Place | Name | Country | Prize (HKD) | USD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $3,560,000 | $456,232 | ||
| 2 | $2,570,000 | $329,358 | ||
| 3 | $1,637,000 | $209,790 | ||
| 4 | $1,240,000 | $158,912 | ||
| 5 | $960,000 | $123,029 | ||
| 6 | $732,600 | $93,886 | ||
| 7 | $590,000 | $75,611 |
5:25pm: Andress eliminates Watson
Level 9 - Blinds: 4,000/8,000 (ante 1,000)
Mike Watson lost a classic race versus John Andress to hit the rail. The latter moved up to around 550,000. All the chips went in preflop.
Watson: [ts][th]
Andress: [ah][qh]
The board ran [ac][8s][kd][5s][7s] to pair Andress' ace. --MC
5:15pm: Mateos carries his form, busts O'Dwyer
Level 9 - Blinds: 4,000/8,000 (ante 1,000)
Adrian Mateos bounced in his chair after knocking out Steve O'Dwyer. The multi-tabling Spaniard is having a good day.
Steve O'Dwyer three-bet all-in for 173,000 and was successfully isolated by Mateos who four-bet shoved from the small blind.
Mateos: [ac][kc]
O'Dwyer: [ad][5d]
The board ran [td][3h][as][3s][8s] and Mateos passed 400,000. --MC
5:05pm: A boost for Bleiker
Level 9 - Blinds: 4,000/8,000 (ante 1,000)
Felix Bleiker is up to 420,000 after winning a pot against Hiroshi Nishiyama. I picked up the action on the turn of a [Jd][Kd][6d][Tc] turn to see Bleiker betting 69,000. Nishiyama called and the [Ah] completed the board. It was an interesting river card and Bleiker used a time bank chip before betting again. It was 55,000 for Nishiyama to call and call he did. Bleiker showed [Kh][Kc] for a set of kings and it was good against Nishiyama's [Ad][6s].
Although it was a big pot, looking at the hands, then on a different day all the chips might have gone in on the flop. Regardless, after that hand Bleiker is up to 420,000 and Nishiyama is down to 190,000. --NW
5:00pm: Pausing the mini
Level 8 - Blinds: 4,000/8,000 (ante 1,000)
Right before the break started, Adrian Mateos and Anson Tsang were heads-up in the Mini High Roller. Now they've both taken a seat in the normal High Roller, but the Mini High Roller isn't over yet.
Mateos and Tsang decided to pause that tournament, where they're playing for HKD$2.325m (2nd is HKD$1.57m), so they'd both be able to register in time for the High Roller. The two have now taken a seat with their new stacks while the Mini High Roller takes a hiatus.
Late registration is now closed and we'll have our final numbers and prize pool soon. Stay tuned. --AV
4:55pm: Yurasov doubles through Seidel
Level 9 - Blinds: 4,000/8,000 (ante 1,000)
Dmitry Yurasov made a great start to freezeout life by doubling his 113,000 stack through Erik Seidel. They were on the button and in the big blind, the chips going in preflop.
Seidel: [ah][2h]
Yurasov: [ad][kh]
The board ran [9h][ts][jh][as][qs] to make the Russian broadway. Seidel dropped to 350,000. --MC
4:33pm: Break time; re-entry period about to close
Level 8 - Blinds: 3,000/6,000 (ante 500)
No more entries will be allowed once level 9 gets underway. We'll bring you all the details on total number on entries and re-entries after the break. --MC
4:32pm: Third time lucky for Greenwood
Level 8 - Blinds: 3,000/6,000 (ante 500)
We already reported that Sam Greenwood's on his third bullet and he just found himself in another all-in encounter. This time he was on the right side of it and eliminated Dietrich Fast.
The latter opened to 13,000 from under the gun and then four-bet jammed for 175,000 after Greenwood three-bet to 38,000 from the cutoff. Call.
Fast: [qh][qd]
Greenwood: [ks][kc]
The board ran [jc][8c][4d][kd][7s] and Greenwood moved up to 370,000. --MC
4:30pm: Koon KOs Yotsushika
Level 8 - Blinds: 3,000/6,000 (ante 500)
"I had a feeling something was gonna happen," Jason Koon said as he raked in a large pot. Koon had recently taken a seat at the table and his premonition manifested in the form of pocket aces and an elimination.
Jason Koon raised to 14,000 from the hijack that hand and Kazuhiko Yotsushika three-bet to 52,000. Koon threw in a re-raise to 105,000 and then Yotsushika moved all-in.
Koon snap-called and turned over [ad][as] while Yotsushika tabled [6d][6c]. The [5c][ts][jd][5h][8d] board didn't bring any help for Yotsushika. Koon had Yotsushika covered and Yotsushika was eliminated from the tournament. Koon on the other hand chipped up to about 1.17 million.
"Merry Christmas Jason," John Juanda told Koon after the hand. --AV
4:25pm: Aces for Petrangelo
Level 8 - Blinds: 3,000/6,000 (ante 500)
Here's a fun hand involving Nick Petrangelo and Xiaoyang Luo. From under-the-gun Petrangelo raised to 12,500 and Luo made it 37,000 from the hijack. It folded back to Petrangelo and he now had a decision. He had [Ac][Ad] and elected to get a little sneaky by just calling.
The flop wasn't exactly ideal for aces, as it came [9h][Jc][Kh], Petrangelo checked, Luo bet 32,000 and Petrangelo check-raised all-in. Luo didn't need long to make up his mind to call and he showed [As][Ah]! Would you believe it, it was aces against aces. The [Js][2h] turn and river meant the pot was chopped. --NW
4:15pm: Sammartino surprised
Level 8 - Blinds: 3,000/6,000 (ante 500)
Dario Sammartino had the look of surprise upon his face when his opponent, Hiroshi Nishiyama, opened what he did to scoop their heads up pot.
Sammartino raised from middle position and Nishiyama called from the small blind. The flop came [6s][2h][2d] and Nishiyama check-called 12,500 before the [ts] turn was checked through. On the [kh] river Sammartino bet 50,000 when he was checked to for a third time and confidently opened [ks][th] when he was called. It was no good though as Nishiyama opened [9c][2s] for trips. He moved up to 300,000 and Sammrtino dropped t0 215,000. --MC
4:10pm: Dvoress takes out Smith
Level 8 - Blinds: 3,000/6,000 (ante 500)
Daniel Dvoress had just called a raise to 12,500 from the button and then Dan Smith moved all-in for 96,000 from the small blind. The original raiser folded, but Dvoress called.
Smith turned over [ks][qc] and Dvoress tabled [ah][jh]. Dvoress was in the lead and then improved to a flush on the [2h][3d][4h][8h][2s] board. Smith hit the rail while Dvoress chipped up to about 550,000.
"You coming back?" Shan Huang asked Smith. Smith nodded and re-entered soon after. --AV
4:05pm: Loeser wins
Level 8 - Blinds: 3,000/6,000 (ante 500)
Earlier today Manig Loeser survived with A-Q against Nick Petrangelo's A-K when the board double paired. He's since moved tables and needed no such luck against Kazuhiko Yotsushika to secure a double up that's taken him back to starting stack.
Loeser held pocket nines and opened to 15,000 from the cutoff, Yotsushika three-bet to 35,000 from the small blind with pocket fours, Loeser shoved for 126,000 and Yotsushika called it off. The [6c][8h][8c][2h][3s] run out kept Loeser in front and he survived. After that hand Yotsushika is down to 290,000.
Steve O'Dwyer was at that table but busted - no details I'm afraid - he's since bought back in though, taking the total number of entries to 42. --NW
4pm: Kempe shoves on Badziakouski
Level 8 - Blinds: 3,000/6,000 (ante 500)
Start of day chip leader Mikita Badziakouski has dropped to 485,000 after he folded to Rainer Kempe on the turn. The latter rose to around 370,000.
Isaac Haxton opened to 13,000 from under the gun and was called by Badziakouski in the next seat before Kempe squeezed to 48,000 from the cutoff. Haxton folded but Badziakouski called to a [ts][4h][4s] flop where he check-called 32,000. The [2h] fell on the turn and Kempe shoved for 230,000 and Badziakouski check-folded, looking a little annoyed at himself. --MC
3:55pm: Alvarado arrives
Level 8 - Blinds: 3,000/6,000 (ante 500)
Players keep on trickling in and JC Alvarado has joined the fray. Alvarado recently took a seat next to Timothy Adams, Koray Aldemir, Jordan Westmorland and Kai Kwong Man.
Alvarado also went on to win his first hand there. That started off when action folded to Alvarado on the hijack and he raised to 14,000. Kai Kwong Man called from the big blind and the flop came [2s][9h][9s].
Man bet 10,000 and Alvarado called, bringing a [tc] on the river. This time Man checked and Alvarado put the price at 28,000. Man folded and Alvarado took down the pot. --AV
3:45pm: Juanda eliminates Chen
Level 8 - Blinds: 3,000/6,000 (ante 500)
If poker ever goes south for Dan Smith he's got an open invite to join the blog team. The American filled in the blanks for us in a big pot that just occurred between John Juanda and James Chen.
We only saw the action from the flop onwards but Smith informed us that the pre-flop action was thus. Juanda raised to 12,000 from the button, Kazuhiko Yotsushika called from the small blind and Chen then three-bet to 50,000 from the big blind. The pre-flop raising wasn't over yet though as Juanda made it 112,000 to play. Chen was the only caller and his call left him around 40,000 back.
On the [7c][4d][9c] flop Chen checked to Juanda and he bet enough to set Chen all-in. There was no snap call from Chen, his initial 30 seconds expired and a time bank chip went into the pot. He did eventually call though and he opened [Ad][Qs]. He was behind to Juanda's [6c][6d] though and the pair held up on the [8c][8d] turn and river. Chen exited - although he's got 45 minutes to re-enter - and Juanda is up to 850,000. --NW
3:40pm: Smith battles Chen
Level 8 - Blinds: 3,000/6,000 (ante 500)
James Chen opened to 9,000 from under the gun and was called by Dan Smith in the next seat. Before the flop was dealt, Chen told Smith he had around 100,000 behind. "It'll be 250 after this hand!" joked Smith.
The flop spread [2s][9h][6s] and Chen continued for 10,500 and called after Smith raised to 25,500. The [9c][ah] turn and river were checked through and Smith mucked to drop to 77,000 after Chen opened [as][js]. --MC
3:30pm: Li shoves, survives
Level 7 - Blinds: 2,000/4,000 (ante 500)
Day 1 of this event was played at a fairly sedate pace, big stacks relative to the blinds made for lots of small and medium pots. Today there's already been a flurry of action in the opening level as the blinds begin to bite a bit more.
Bjorn Li was the latest player to request the all-in triangle. He shoved from the big blind for 102,000 over the top of a 9,000 raise and a call. Jordan Westmorland was the original raiser, he quickly folded but Igor Yaroshevskyy wasn't so quick to release his cards. He needed a count, but after a brief dwell he also folded. Pot to Li then, Westmorland was down to under 50,000 earlier but he's since recovered and is now playing around 100,000. --NW
3:30pm: Recent additions
Level 7 - Blinds: 2,000/4,000 (ante 500)
Late registration is still open and the most recent additions to the field include: Felix Bleiker, Martin Jacobson and Dmitry Yurasov. --AV
3:25pm: Seidel takes time and chips from Badziakouski
Level 7 - Blinds: 2,000/4,000 (ante 500)
There was more than 30,000 in the pot by the time Mikita Badziakouski and Erik Seidel got to the turn of a [8s][6c][qh][kc] board.
Badziakouski was on the big blind and bet 32,000. Seidel was on the hijack and made it 125,000 to go. Badziakouski thought and called, bringing a [7s] on the turn. Badziakouski checkedand Seidel fired off a bet of 185,000.
Badziakouski thought until his time nearly ran out, then he used a time bank chip and thought some more. The extra seconds started ticking down and Badziakouski folded. The pot put Seidel up to around 570,000 while Badziakouski sitting with about 640,000. --AV
3:20pm: A shot in the arm for Westmorland
Level 7 - Blinds: 2,000/4,000 (ante 500)
Jordan Westmorland's stack has been on the slide this afternoon, but he won a small one off Timothy Adams to halt that trend for now.
He was in the big blind and check-called a 24,000 button turn bet from Adams. The board rested as [9h][kd][qc][3d][qd] and Adams checked back and then mucked upon seeing Westmorland's [qh][8h] for rivered trips. Adams dropped to 312,000 and Westmorland rose to 130,000. --MC
3:15pm: Straight talking
Level 7 - Blinds: 2,000/4,000 (ante 500)
Some players stay completely silent during the hands they play, Shan Huang not so much. It's brilliant, he's brilliant and if we could we'd just watch him for the entire tournament. He just tangled in a hand against Dan Smith in which he raised to 9,000 from early position and Smith called from the small blind. As Smith was considering his options Huang said. "Whatever you do, don't fold."
The flop fell [Tc][4s][3d]. Smith checked and Huang bet 8,000. "Oh shit I already told you I had ace-queen right?" said Huang to Smith and this got a good laugh from the table. "Ace-queen isn't looking so good on this board," joked Smith as he called. "I need a queen," said Huang to the dealer, but he didn't get his wish as the [5h] fell on the turn. The action checked through and Huang was again vocal about his need for a queen. The [2s] completed the board and Huang intimated he was disappointed about not hitting the queen and then said. "Oh wow I made a straight man." The river didn't put Smith off betting though and he fired out 16,000. "Perhaps you have the six, I muck my pocket kings," said Huang as he folded.
He's down to 135,000 after that hand. --NW
3:10pm: Making a stand with aces
Level 7 - Blinds: 2,00/4,000 (ante 500)
It looked as if Kazuhiko Yotsushika was being pushed around by both neighbours and he had to make a stand. He did make a stand but he had his biggest mate - pocket aces - backing him up.
Before that though, he made a fold in a big hand versus John Juanda. The two players were heads up to the river of a [3d][qs][5c][kc][8s] board and Yotsushika had already called a 45,000 turn bet before facing an all-in bet on the river. He had 143,000 and elected to keep hold of them, for one more hand at least. Juanda's stack rose to 696,000.
The very next hand he opened to 10,000 from the cutoff before James Chen three-bet to 25,000 from the next seat. Yotsushika came back with a four-bet to 60,000 and a quick call all-in when Chen jammed.
Yotsushika: [ad][ac]
Chen: [th][td]
The board ran [6h][7d][7c][jh][5c] and Chen dropped to 185,000. --MC
3:05pm: Fresh faces
Level 7 - Blinds: 2,000/4,000 (ante 500)
While there aren't a lot of Germans in the field, there has been a fair amount of Sam Greenwood. Greenwood brought in twice yesterday and didn't manage to make it through.
That didn't stop him though and he's back for the start of day 2 with his third bullet. Will the third time be a charm? While Greenwood is a repeat high roller, there are a few fresh faces in the field. Igor Yaroshevskyy recently took a seat next to Timothy Adams and Manig Loeser also joined the field. Koray Aldemir also showed up for day 2 along with Hiroshi Nishiyama, Simon Burns, Nazahiko Yotsushika and Kai Kwong Man. --AV
2:55pm: The house of Koon
Level 7 - Blinds: 2,000/4,000 (ante 500)
Jordan Westmorland's had a horrific start to the day. He's down to just 49,000 - from a start of day 237,000 - after losing a pot to Jason Koon. I picked up the action on the turn of a [Ks][Kh][6d][Ts] board, Westmorland check-called a bet of 18,500 and the [6c] completed the board. After Westmorland checked Koon would bet again. He placed 31,000 into the pot and Westmorland made the call. Koon showed [9d][6h] for sixes full of kings and Westmorland mucked. --NW
2:50pm: Where are the Germans?
Level 7 - Blinds: 2,000/4,000 (ante 500)
John Juanda and Dan Smith were having a conversation about the Germans. And by the Germans I mean the German players who frequent the high roller tournaments. They're in the the room but watching rather than playing. Steffen Sontheimer, Stefan Schillhablel, Koray Aldemir and Christian Christner are all on Dominik Nitsche's rail, watching the latter at the final table of the Main Event. "They're watching Dom and I think they might be tired from playing a lot of poker," said Smith to Juanda.
Rainer Kempe has just sat down to play though, he's eating an ice cream waffle cone, the structural integrity of which is questionable. Manig Loeser is another German who'll be playing imminently, he's gone to the desk to buy-in. --NW
2:45pm: Those pesky Germans
Level 7 - Blinds: 2,000/4,000 (ante 500)
Jordan Westmorland hasn't had much luck against Germans these past couple of days. Dominik Nitsche knocked him out of the Main Event and today he came off worse in an early battle versus Super High Roller champion Dietrich Fast.
The river had been dealt to leave a [7d][jh][5d][tc][2s] board at rest. Westmorland had 90,000 chips out in front of him as a bet but folded after Fast moved all-in for around 160,000. He dropped to 115,000 and Fast rose to nearly 300,000. --MC
2:33pm: Shuffle up and deal!
Level 7 - Blinds: 2,00/4,000 (ante 500)
The number of entries has already jumped up to 29 (across 4 tables now) with Kai Man, Hiroshi Nishiyama, Kazuhiko Yotsushiika and Nick Petrangelo buying in from the start. Sam Greeenwood's been seen lurking too, will he try for a third time? --MC
2:10pm: Welcome back to Day 2 of the High Roller
Level 7 - Blinds: 2,00/4,000 (ante 500)
As the final six of the ACOP Main Event play to a winner at the feature table not far from us, cards will be back in the air at 2:30pm local time for Day 2 of the High Roller. It promises to be an exciting day here inside the PokerStars LIVE! card-room at the City of Dreams, Macau.
Registration is open until 4:45pm (in two levels and a break's time) and we expect many players to enter during that period. That's because Day 1 only attracted 24 entries despite there being many usual suspects in the room. They'll still be able to sit down behind 62.5 big blinds as the the starting stack is 250,000.
Mikita Badziakouski had the best of it on Day 1, leading the 19 survivors and bagging up 664,500 after six levels. Here's the day 2 seat draw in full:
| First name | Last Name | Table | Seat | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dario | Sammartino | 1 | 2 | 181500 |
| Mikita | Badziakouski | 1 | 3 | 669500 |
| Jason | Koon | 1 | 5 | 385500 |
| Justin | Bonomo | 1 | 6 | 450500 |
| Paul | Newey | 1 | 8 | 122500 |
| Bjorn | Li | 2 | 1 | 121000 |
| Erik | Seidel | 2 | 3 | 428000 |
| Steve | O`Dwyer | 2 | 5 | 150000 |
| Isaac | Haxton | 2 | 7 | 385000 |
| Dan | Smith | 3 | 1 | 214000 |
| David | Peters | 3 | 2 | 364500 |
| Shan | Huang | 3 | 4 | 170000 |
| John | Juanda | 3 | 6 | 596000 |
| James | Chen | 3 | 8 | 303500 |
| Dietrich | Fast | 4 | 1 | 194500 |
| John | Andress | 4 | 3 | 167500 |
| Mike | Watson | 4 | 5 | 409500 |
| Jordan | Westmorland | 4 | 7 | 237000 |
| Daniel | Dvoress | 4 | 8 | 441000 |
PokerStars Blog reporting team on the HK$250,000 ACOP High Roller: Marc Convey, Alex Villegas and Nick Wright. Photography by Kenneth Lim Photography.