Jim Psaros has defeated Emanuel Seal to win the $183,000 first prize at the Australia New Zealand Poker Tour Main Event in Sydney, and the World Poker Tour upset the Asian Poker Tour applecart with a ill-timed return to the Philippines. The World Poker Tour (WPT) has announced plans to return to the Philippines in August. Everyone is delighted. Jim Psaros Poker, venetian macau casino slot machines, celadon city slots yellow, us gambling sites online. 18+, T&C Apply, New Customers Only. Ultimate Poker Tour. Sports & Recreation. UPT Newcastle Championships. Jedi Upholstery. Furniture Repair & Upholstery Service. Jim 'The Doctor' Psaros topped a field of 445 entrants to win the 2015 ANZPT Sydney Main Event. Live Events 2 2020 WSOP Main Event partypoker US Network Online Series. The Midas Touch Poker Sports Club offers 12 tables of Live Poker Games (Holdem, Omaha, Badugi), and organizes regular Daily & Nightly Tournaments. The Poker Room is located in the City of Pasig. The room is smoke free and is open to a public for people above 21 years old. Update (15/10/16): Poker room is.
Matt Rook Flight 2 Chip Leader
Posted Wed, 08 Mar 2017 11:50pm
That's all she wrote folks! After 13 levels of poker and a field that began with 202 runners, today's second flight of the APL Million Main Event has finished with 50 players remaining - headed by Matt Rook!
Rook built a big stack early and showed relentless aggression to keep his tablemates at bay before winning another hefty pot towards the end of the day at the expense of Christine Hia to soar above 300,000 in chips - the only player of the evening to do so.
Today's 50 will join 21 survivors from Tuesday and however many progress on Thursday and Friday to battle it out on Saturday as we look to make it to the money.
In the meantime, the top 5 chip stacks from Flight 2 were:
Matt Rook - 365,000
Yifan Zhao - 291,000
Hao Li - 265,000
Simon Shaw - 246,500
Terrence Zhang - 230,000
Hia busts as Rook takes chip lead
Posted Wed, 08 Mar 2017 11:38pm
Perhaps it was the lure of Adele on Saturday night that made Christine Hia limp with for 3,000, then shove over Matt Rook's 16,000 3-bet.
Rook called with the Ladies but couldn't believe his luck as Hia flopped a straight on the board. Her joy didn't last long though. The on the turn filled Rook up and although Hia had outs to the Royal, the on the river rubbed it in as Rook made quads!
He storms into the chip lead with 355,000!
Miscount!
Posted Wed, 08 Mar 2017 11:21pm
There has been a miscount on one of the remaining six tables and the clock has been paused while the video is checked to see who belongs to which chips. We expect play to resume soon!Tafea necks Scarf
Posted Wed, 08 Mar 2017 11:18pm
In a battle of the blinds, Karl Tafea raised to 6,000 and Andrew Scarf defended his blind.
The flop came and Tafea check-called a bet of 8,000 from Scarf. When the landed on the turn, Tafea checked again and Scarf bet 25,000. Tafea then announced he was all-in for 20,000 on top, with Scarf making the call.
Scarf turned over for turned top pair but Tafea had flopped the straight holding to score a nice double and move to 140,000.
Scarf drops to 65,000.
A good night for the Grahams
Posted Wed, 08 Mar 2017 10:54pm
With a poker resume that includes a WSOP bracelet, a Sydney Championships Main Event title and of course a long history playing high stakes PLO, it's fair to say that Jarred Graham is widely recognised as one of Australia's top players. He's certainly living up to that reputation in tonight's $5K Challenge with a stack of 70,000.
However, his wife Connie isn't doing too badly herself. A regular alongside Jarred on both the global and international poker scene, we just caught Mrs Graham calling a short stack shove holding against her opponent's when when the board ran out 9-high she was up to 140,000 and looking strong.
Final level
Posted Wed, 08 Mar 2017 10:54pm
We're into the final level of the day's play, with 61 players remaining.
The clock will be stopped with 10 minutes remaining at which point each table will play 3 more hands for the night before chips are bagged and tagged.
Who's stacked?
Posted Wed, 08 Mar 2017 10:16pm
There are plenty of players starting to make their move. Here are the main contenders so far ...
Mel Judah - 230,000
Simon Shaw - 210,000
Frank Ferraro - 200,000
Matt Rook - 190,000
Sebastian Cassarino - 170,000
Terrence Zhang - 160,000
Andrew Scarf - 145,000
Chris Aprile - 145,000
Kahlia Thompson - 140,000
Connie Graham - 140,000
We're back!
Posted Wed, 08 Mar 2017 10:03pm
Players are back from their final break of the night.
There are 71 remaining as we enter our last two levels.
Break time!
Posted Wed, 08 Mar 2017 9:50pm
Players are on a 10-minute break with two levels remaining before the end of the day's play.Namrood doubles through Blight
Posted Wed, 08 Mar 2017 9:49pm
Rined Namrood opened to 4,000 and Craig Blight called, as did the small blind and the big blind.
The flop fell and Namrood continued for 8,000. Blight called while the blinds folded. The turn was the and this time Namrood checked for Blight to be 10,500. Namrood then shoves for his remaining 25,000.
Blight made the call but mucked when Namrood showed . He falls to 70,000 while Namrood moves to 80,000.
Easy game, this poker
Posted Wed, 08 Mar 2017 9:25pm
Pennie Nguyen opened to 8,000 in late position only for a player to shove for his remaining 28,000.
Nguyen made the call with and found herself needing help against the of her opponent. Never fear, that help wasn't far away as the flop fell !
Her opponent still had outs to survive but the turn and river didn't help as he was sent home with his tail between his legs.
Nguyen, meanwhile, moves to 115,000.
Blind rise
Posted Wed, 08 Mar 2017 9:10pm
Blinds are up to 1,000/2,000 with a 300 ante.
There are 82 players remaining in today's flight from a starting field of 202.
Anyone for Adele?
Posted Wed, 08 Mar 2017 9:05pm
Christine Hia is facing a dilemna. The two-time WSOP Circuit ring champion has tickets to Adele in Sydney this Saturday night but should she progress that far in the APL Million Main Event she won't be able to attend.
Hia came over to us moments ago to let us know that she still didn't know what to do should she make it to Day 2. Our incredibly informed response based on our many hours of watching poker was, 'Just because you make it to Day 2 doesn't mean you'll make it through the day.'
'Good point,' Hia replied as she wandered happily back to her seat.
She currently has around 55,000 and would no doubt love to hear from anyone that may be interested in Adele tickets.
Connie climbing
Posted Wed, 08 Mar 2017 8:33pm
Connie Graham opened to 4,200 in middle position and Jim Psaros called on the button. The small blind then shoved for 24,500.
Graham shoves over the top and Psaros folded.
It was a classic race with Graham holding against Graham's . The board ran out as Graham eliminates one to move to 80,000.
Back to it
Posted Wed, 08 Mar 2017 8:22pm
Players are back from their dinner break.
The blinds are currently 800/1,600 with a 200 ante. There are 102 players remaining and the average is 59,411
Dinner break
Posted Wed, 08 Mar 2017 7:39pm
Players are now on a 45-minute dinner break.Zhou gets caught
Posted Wed, 08 Mar 2017 7:38pm
Yifan Zhou has been up and down like a yo-yo today - the inevitable consequence of enddless aggression. However, he just lost a decent stack of chips after getting caught going to the barrel one too many times.
On a board, Zhao fired 12,500 and Geoff Henshaw called. The river was the and Zhao announced he was all-in. Henshaw just shrugged and said 'I call' as he rolled over for quads while Zhao sheepishly showed !
Zhao still has 85,000 while Henshaw moves to 70,000.
Ferraro wins monster with the rockets
Posted Wed, 08 Mar 2017 7:22pm
Frank Ferraro has joined the big stacks after a huge confrontation with an unlucky Rick Carballo.
The hand in question began with Ferraro opening to 2,500 and Carballo 3-betting to 5,000. Ferraro then 40bet to 12,500 with Carballo making the call.
The flop fell and Ferraro checked to Carballo who bet 28,000. Ferraro announced he was all-in and Carballo called - rolling over only to see what he half-suspected as Ferraro showed .
The turn and river bricked to send Carballo to the rail as Ferraro soars up the chip counts.
Frank Ferraro - 170,000
Rick Carballo - Busted
The big stacks
Posted Wed, 08 Mar 2017 6:45pm
Matt Rook - 200,000Pennie Nguyen - 120,000
Terrence Zhang - 110,000
Le Pham - 110,000
Sebastian Cassarino - 90,000
Blight confusing them
Posted Wed, 08 Mar 2017 6:11pm
Craig Blight is always among the most active players at whatever table he sits at and that regular involvement can make it tough for his opponents to put him on a hand.
So it was when we caught the action on a board with Blight facing a 3,000 bet and deep in thought. His opponent looked quite pleased and wasted no time in snapping off Blight's re-raise to 8,000.
His opponent showed for a rivered two pair but that wasn't enough to take down the pot with Blight showing for the second nuts. Could Blight be embarking on a similar run to that which saw him finish runner-up in a $3,000 WSOP event in Las Vegas last year?
He is up to 80,000.
Scarf makes his move
Posted Wed, 08 Mar 2017 5:42pm
We sauntered past Andrew Scarf's table just in time to hear a bit of excitement with what was left of his stack in the middle and the player to his right having made the call.
With the board showing , his opponent confidently showed but it wasn't enough to best Scarf's as he scored a much needed double to move to 37,000.
Field update
Posted Wed, 08 Mar 2017 5:42pm
We're currently midway through Level 7 wiuth 148 of the 201 starting players today remaining.Back To It!
Posted Wed, 08 Mar 2017 5:30pm
Players are back now in the APL Millions at the Star Poker Festival.
Blinds are 400/800 with an 800 ante.
We have three levels to go before the long break. Registration is open until then. Currently 201 entrants and 149 remaining!
Break time!
Posted Wed, 08 Mar 2017 5:13pm
Players are now on a 10-minute breakNo action for Connie
Posted Wed, 08 Mar 2017 5:12pm
Jymmi Briggs opened to 1,200 from UTG and received a call from Connie Graham on the button as well as from both blinds.
The flop fell and it was checked around to Graham who bet 1,300. Everyone folded with Graham flashing as she raked in the small pot.
She is still going along nicely however with a stack of 60,000.
No action for Connie
Posted Wed, 08 Mar 2017 5:12pm
Jymmi Briggs opened to 1,200 from UTG and received a call from Connie Graham on the button as well as from both blinds.
The flop fell and it was checked around to Graham who bet 1,300. Everyone folded with Graham flashing as she raked in the small pot.
She is still going along nicely however with a stack of 60,000.
Matarese accepts donations
Posted Wed, 08 Mar 2017 5:04pm
Rino Matarese couldn't believe his luck after opening on the button and finding a 3-bet from the blinds. Happy to trap, Matarese made the call to see a flop.
His opponent then check-raised Matarese's 10,000 bet to 20,000 before Matarese shoved . His opponent called with and when the board ran out Matarese scored the knockout to move to 120,000.
The river roast
Posted Wed, 08 Mar 2017 4:27pm
Michael Tran, or as some know him, 'the other Michael Tran', got his final 15,000 chips into the middle on the turn of a board with his way out in front of the of david Beckleman.
But his good mood didn't last long. The on the river ended Tran's day early while Beckleman moves to 50,000 with that hand.
Neumann nails it
Posted Wed, 08 Mar 2017 4:09pm
Yifan Zhou opened UTG and found calls from David Neumann in middle position and Roni Naiem on the button.
On the flop, Zhou continued for 2,150 with Neumann making the call. Naiem then shoves for his remaining 13,000, sending Zhou deep into the tank. he eventually folded but Neumann quickly called with to have Naiem in big trouble. No help arrived as Naiem hit the rail, with Neumann moving up to 60,000.
Zhou is still looking strong though with 115,000.
Psaros soars
Posted Wed, 08 Mar 2017 3:50pm
Jim Psaros opened to 800 and found one caller in the blinds as they took a flop. Psaros continued for 1,200 only for his opponent to bump it up to 2,500. Psaros called.
On the turn it was checked to Psaros who bet 4,000. His opponent then re-raised to 8,000 and Psaros again called. The river was the and this time his opponent snap-called a bet of 11,500 from Psaros.
His opponent turned over for top pair but it wasn't enough to beat Psaros who filled up on the river holding . The Doctor is up to 75,000 early!
The double century!
Posted Wed, 08 Mar 2017 3:30pm
The number of players registered in today's flight of the APL Million Main Event has just cracked 200!
It follows the 111 that took their seats yesterday and the field sizes are only expected to get bigger over the next two days with a field of well over 1,000 likely for this event.
Chippies!
Posted Wed, 08 Mar 2017 3:22pm
| Shaun Zammit | 69,000 |
| Sammi 'Our Horse' Saha | 58,000 |
| Christine Hia | 48,000 |
| Adam Carlton | 39,000 |
| Craig Blight | 37,000 |
| Michael Mayer | 33,000 |
| David 'Tim' Tam | 32,500 |
| Andrew Scarf | 32,000 |
| Michael O'Grady | 31,500 |
| Sammy Lucisano | 31,000 |
| Jim Psaros | 30,000 |
| Jimmy Briggs Jr | 30,000 |
| Le Pham | 28,000 |
| Connie 'Three Stripes' Graham | 27,000 |
| Rick Solomon | 26,000 |
| Ashleigh Quach | 26,000 |
| Alix Khouiss | 22,000 |
We are back
Posted Wed, 08 Mar 2017 2:55pm
Players are now back from their first break.
The 198 runners in the field are now playing 150/300 with a 25 ante
Break it up!
Posted Wed, 08 Mar 2017 2:45pm
Players are now on their first 10-minute break of the day.Hia rising
Posted Wed, 08 Mar 2017 2:33pm
'That's so embarrassing,' Christine Hia laughed after winning a handy pot at the expense of Sebastian Cassarino.
The hand in question came after four players took a flop, which saw Cassarino lead for 800 and Hia re-raise to 2,400 with Cassarino making the call. The turn brought the and this time Cassarino check-called a bet of 4,500. On the river, both players checked with Hia showing for the flopped set.
'I'm so used to checking back the river,' Hia explained. Nevertheless, she is now up to 43,000 while Cassarino drops back to 28,000.
Ride That Horsie
Posted Wed, 08 Mar 2017 2:16pm
The Star Poker Live Reporting Team have picked our horse for Day 1 Flight 2 of the APL Million Main Event here at the Star Poker Festival!
We are in a rare patch of good form at the moment after yesterday's horse, Tammy Cargill made it through to Day 2 with a very healthy 82,500 in chips.
That means our last two horses that have made it through have both been women. Logically, you would assume that using this form we would have picked another female today. We don't believe in silly things like 'form' when picking horses. We much prefer to pick on instinct. With that in mind with give you the horse for today... Mr Sammi Salha!
Salha (pictured) is backing up today after being the bubble boy in last night's Teams Event. On top of that, when we saw him today he had just list a massive pot where he had a full house and his opponent had a bigger full house. Even so he still had a smile on his face. We like and respect the resilience to keep on smiling so we are jumping on the Salha bandwagon.
Let's go Sammi! Run your stack up for us!
Sammi Salha - 22,000
Blinds Up!
Posted Wed, 08 Mar 2017 1:59pm
We are now onto level three here in the Main Event.
Blinds are now 150/300 and we will have a ten minute break after this level.
187 and Rising
Posted Wed, 08 Mar 2017 1:57pm
We currently have 187 players who have taken their seat in Day 1 Flight 2 of the APL Millions here at the 2017 Star Poker Festival.
This has already blitzed the 111 runners we had yesterday.
However, with registration open until the end of the 3rd break (just after 7pm this evening) we will expect to see that number grow substantially more.
The Five Thousand Effect
Posted Wed, 08 Mar 2017 1:54pm
One of the important things when playing a tournament with multiple day ones is deciding which day one you should play.
A good strategy is to try and play the day that you think the least pros will be playing. For that reason many people would have chosen today as a good day. The Star Poker Festival $5k Challenge, a Re Entry event with a $5,000 buy in, starts today and many pros are expected to line up for that event so cannot play the main event today.
However as we have seen by the noteables, a lot of pros use the same theory and have lined up today to avoid their big buy in counterparts.
There are quality players in these fields every day. One of the must important times to run good in a poker tournament is with your table draw!
There's always an Ace when you've got Kings
Posted Wed, 08 Mar 2017 1:47pm
Glenn Marsom opened to 600 UTG and was 3-bet to 2,200 from the small blind by Sebastian Cassarino. Marsom made the call as they duo took an flop.
Cassarino fired out 4,000 with Marsom shaking his head as he open-folded .
Cassarino is off to a good start as he pushes his stack to 40,000.
Good Start for Zammit
Posted Wed, 08 Mar 2017 1:38pm
Shaun Zammit has just picked up a nice pot to pad his stack nice and early in this tournament.
We picked up the action on the river. With the board reading .
Zammit's opponent had bet into him on every street and this didn't change when he fired out another 7,000 on the river.
Zammit made the call and his opponent showed Ace King which was good for nothing over than 'The most overplayed hand of the tournament so far' Award.
Zammit flipped over and raked in a nice pot.
Zammit had a good run finishing 95th in the WSOP Sydney event held here in the Star Poker Room. He will be hoping to go even further this week!
Shaun Zammit - 42,000
More players to watch
Posted Wed, 08 Mar 2017 1:27pm
We have also just seem Michael O'Grady, Craig Blight and Jim Psaros take their seatsNotables
Posted Wed, 08 Mar 2017 1:28pm
We are already seeing a fair few notable players roll into the Star Poker Room
| Adam Carlton | 30,000 |
| Shaun Zammit | 42,000 |
| Christine Hia | 30,000 |
| David 'Tim' Tam | 30,000 |
| Sammy Lucisano | 30,000 |
| Rick Solomon | 30,000 |
| Ashleigh Quach | 30,000 |
| Andrew Scarf | 30,000 |
| Michael Mayer | 30,000 |
| Sam Khoueis | 30,000 |
| Alix Khoueis | 30,000 |
| Xiuming 'Superman' Huang | 30,000 |
| Connie 'Three Stripes' Graham | 30,000 |
New level
Posted Wed, 08 Mar 2017 1:18pm
Blinds are up for the first time today to 100/200.Easy come, easy go!
Posted Wed, 08 Mar 2017 1:28pm
If nothing else, Tiffany Sullivan will have a good story to tell from her time at the APL Millions Main Event after lasting just a single hand.
In an epically brutal bad beat, Tiffay called pre-flop with after an UTG raise from Anthony Lougheed to 300 and an UTG+1 3-bet from John Hunter to 800. On a flop, UTG+1 continued for 1,000 with Sullivan re-raising to 2,000. Lougheed then 3-bet to 4,500 with both players making the call.
The on the turn slowed play down as it was checked around, but the river saw Sullivan bet 6,000. Lougheed then re-raised to 17,000, Hunter folded and Sullivan got the rest of her stack in the middle - only for Lougheed to give her the bad news as he showed for rivered quads!
So after just one hand, Sullivan hits the rail and Hunter drops to 25,000 while Lougheed more than doubles to 65,000!
Strap yourself in!
Posted Wed, 08 Mar 2017 12:19pm
Get ready as we are about to go live in Day 1 Flight 2 of the APL Million here at the 2017 Star Poker Festival.
Stay tuned to the Star Poker Live reporting team as we see who will be joining the 21 survivors from yesterday's flght.
Play kicks off at 12:30pm and we will be playing 13 levels today.
8.30pm: And we have a winner
On a board of Jh-Qh-Qc, Emanuel Seal went all-in for his remaining 1.7m in chips, having steadily fallen behind Jim Psaros over the previous 45 minutes. Psaros weighed up the situation and decided to call, tabling Kh-5h. Seal turned over 8h-4h. The turn was a 2s, the river a 5c, the river card music to Psaros’ ears (and his entourage).
Congratulations to Emanuel ‘Curly’ Seal for a hard-fought 2nd place, and to Dimitrios ‘Jim’ Psaros (pictured) in being crowned ANZPT Sydney Main Event winner.
Thanks for following along throughout the series. We look forward to being back with you at the Sydney Championships from the Star. We’ll be posting the final payouts on pokermedia.com.au and you can check starpoker.net.au for further details.
8.15pm: You take it, no you take it…
It’s a tough head’s up battle with neither gent wanting to lay down. Apparently a new deal has been done where each player with receive $175,000 with the winner getting an extra $8,000 and the trophy. Jim Psaros has around 5.2m in chips while Emanual Seal has 3.7m.
7.40pm: Curly claws back
In pre-flop action, Emanuel Seal (pictured) raised two 225k, Jim Psaros made it at total of 625k which Seal called. The flop came A-7-K. Psaros checked, Seal went all-in and Psaros snap-called. Seal turned over A-6 to Psaros A-9. Psaros stayed ahead as the turn came 10 but on the river a 6 fell to make Seal a two pair. Seal is now 5.5m in chips, Psaros 3.4m.
7.05pm: Back and forth
Both gents are making small raises and folding most recently. In one hand though, on a flop of 7h-8c-3c, Emanuel Seal fired 250k which Jim Psaros called. The turn came, As, Psaros checked, Seal bet 350k, Psaros called. The river came 2d, Psaros checked again, Seal bet 500k which Psaros called. Seal turned over 8s-2s for two pair to Psaros 8-9. Seal takes a few chips back this time, moving to 3.4m while Psaros has 5.5m.
6.50pm: First blood
The final two players have returned and it’s first blood to Jim Psaros who takes down a big pot. In pre-flop betting, Jim made it 675k which Emanuel Seal snap-called. The flop came Q-6-A. Psaros checked, Seal fired 700k, which Psaros called. The turn came 6 and both players checked. The river came a 5 to which Psaros bet 1.2m. Curly considered things and folded. Curly sits on 3.8m while Psaros is up to 5.1m in chips.
6.30pm: Heads-up
The heads-up battle between Emanuel Seal and Jim Psaros has begun. Psaros has 5m in chips while Curly has just under 4m.
After one more hand ends, the gents are now on a 15-minute break.
6.20pm: Sekuloski battles well to finish in 3rd place – $90,000
On a board of 4-2-7-8 Denis Sekuloski (pictured) bet 140k, Emanuel Seal pushed all-in over the top and was snap-called by Sekuloski, turning over K-K. Seal tabled 2-2 for trips and the 9 on the river couldn’t help Sekuloski who busts out in 3rd place.
6.00pm: Getting to the flop
The three remaining players are raising and re-raising each other but not letting it get out of hand. We’ve seen a few flops and the occasional turn card but the raises have brought about folds each time. The chips have therefore flowed across the table, with approximate chip counts:
| Jim | Psaros | 4,100,000 |
| Emanuel | Seal | 3,200,000 |
| Denis | Sekuloski | 1,600,000 |
5.40pm: Chip Counts
| Emanuel | Seal | 3,800,000 |
| Jim | Psaros | 3,500,000 |
| Denis | Sekuloski | 1,600,000 |
5.30pm: Roach out in 4th place – $62,000
And just like we lose another player. Murray Roach (pictured) was all-in with A8 against Emanuel Seal’s JJ. Seal stayed ahead, sending Roach out in 4th place.
A deal has also been done between the final three players, flatting the payouts to approximately $200,000, $158,000 and $90,000.
5.25pm: Hsu crashes out in 5th place – $48,000
Jim Psaros Poker Players
Li-ta Hsu (pictured) was under the gun and shoved for his remaining 500k. Jim Psaros in the big blind woke up with Aces and called the bet. Hsu turned over A-J and got no help from the board, sending him to the rail in 5th place.
5.15pm: Roller-coaster for Hsu
We’re now into level 28 where blinds are creeping up to 40,000/80,000 with an ante of 10,000. In a recent big hand on a board of 6-Q-3-K, Emanuel Seal went all-in for his remaining 980k which Hsu called. Seal tabled Q-6 to Hsu’s 6-3, both holding two pair. The 7 on the river was of little consequence so Seal’s bigger two pair takes it down. He’s up to almost 3m in chips while Hsu drops back to 500k.
5.05pm: Getting prickly
Is some pre-flop betting where Denis Sekuloski raised to 125k, Jim Psaros re-raised to 375, Sekuloski called. The flop came 5h-7s-9h. Psaros bet 545k to which Sekuloski went into the tank. Murray Roach eventually called time on him and within the last second, Sekuloski called. The turn came 4s and Psaros went all-in for his remaining 500k. Psaros had stated in the banter with his opponent that he’d go all-in on the turn so hurry up and make a decision, “I don’t lie unless I have to,” he said . Psaros then started to walk away, being called back by Star Poker staff to stay with his cards. Psaros replied, “I was just going to go play craps for a while because it’ll take that long for him to make a decision.” Sekuloski eventually folded, commending Psaros on his play.
Psaros is back up to 2.3m in chips while Sekuloski drops to 1.5m.
4.45pm: Chips moving about
There’s been some movement with chips moving from Jim Psaros around the table. Psaros doubled Li-ta Hsw earlier then lost another big pot to Denis Sekuloski. Sekuloski then lost a pot to Hsu, then Sekuloski lost another to Curly Seal. In that hand there was some initial pre-flop betting which got checked down to the river, with the board Ah-2h-8s-4d-8h. Sekuloski had talked up that he thought he was good but after a tester bet from Sekuloski of 60k, Seal made it 310k which Sekuloski eventually called. Seal had made his flush, tabling Jh-9h. Sekuloski said, “my mistake, I should have fired on the turn.” To which Seal replied, “Yep, then I would have gone away.”
Approximate chip counts are:
| Li-ta | Hsu | 3,000,000 |
| Denis | Sekuloski | 2,200,000 |
| Emanuel | Seal | 1,650,000 |
| Murray | Roach | 1,100,000 |
| Jim | Psaros | 950,000 |
4.30pm: Hsu continues his winning ways
Li-ta Hsu has taken the slight chip lead with all players having reasonably even stacks. Hsu was able to take a few chips off Denis Sekuloski when he pushed him off a hand with a bluff. Approximate chip counts are now:
| Li-ta | Hsu | 2,200,000 |
| Jim | Psaros | 1,950,000 |
| Denis | Sekuloski | 1,850,000 |
| Murray | Roach | 1,450,000 |
| Emanuel | Seal | 1,450,000 |
4.15pm: Hsu doubles
Li-ta Hsu has had the smallest stack but has built it to be the tallest. It will now have more substance after Jim Psaros lead out for 135k pre-flop, Hsu went all-in for another 675k which Psaros called. Hsu tabled K-7 to Psaros’s A-Q. The board ran out 10-7-5-3-10 to put Hsu ahead. He’s now dented Psaros’ stack a little and now approaches 1.4m in chips.
4.00pm: Play in underway
Players have returned from their break to face level 27 where blinds are 30,000/60,000 with an ante of 10,000.
3.45pm: Break time
Players are on a 15-minute break. Approximate chip counts are:
| Jim | Psaros | 2,900,000 |
| Denis | Sekuloski | 2,350,000 |
| Murray | Roach | 1,800,000 |
| Emanuel | Seal | 1,250,000 |
| Li-ta | Hsu | 600,000 |
3.20: Chip counts
Levels are now 75 minutes long and with about 25 minutes left in this level the approximate chip counts are:
Jim Psaros Poker Tour
| Jim | Psaros | 3,050,000 |
| Denis | Sekuloski | 1,950,000 |
| Murray | Roach | 1,900,000 |
| Emanuel | Seal | 1,100,000 |
| Li-ta | Hsu | 900,000 |
3pm: Bang, Bang, Ma out in 6th place – $38,750
And just like that we lose another player. Zhi Ma (pictured) had his tournament life on the line against Denis Sekuloski yet again. Ma tabled As-Ks while Sekuloski had Q-Q. The board didn’t help Ma with either his spades or over cards and his busted in 6th place.
2.55pm: Rafferty out in 7th place – $29,500
In pre-flop action, Denis Sekuloski raised to 200k, Tom Rafferty (pictured) with only 190k left announced all-in, while Curly Seal folded. Sekuloski tabled 4-4 (a bit of a joke at the table as he’s twice had pocket fours and made a pair of fours in an early hand) while Rafferty had Q-10. The board ran out 7-8-9-4-10 to keep the fours lucky for Sekuloski, sending Rafferty out in 7th place.
2.45pm: Chand busted in 8th place – $23,000
Shaneel Chand (pictured) pushed all-in pre-flop for his remaining 180k which was called by Zhi Ma. Chand tabled 2-2, Ma A-J. The board ran out J-9-9-7-K to send Chand to the rail in 8th place.
Approximate chip counts are:
| Jim | Psaros | 2,950,000 |
| Murray | Roach | 1,750,000 |
| Denis | Sekuloski | 1,700,000 |
| Li-ta | Hsu | 900,000 |
| Emanuel | Seal | 820,000 |
| Zhi | Ma | 500,000 |
| Tom | Rafferty | 250,000 |
2.30pm: Liew out in 9th place – $17,000
With Jim Psaros, Li-ta Hsu and Denis Sekuloski getting into the hand pre-flop, Chung Liew (pictured) in the big blind went all-in for his remaining 80k. All gents saw a flop of As-4c-10c. Psaros checks, Hsu makes it 100k, Sekuloski calls while Psaros folds. The guys then check down to the river with the two cards coming 9-2. Sekuloski turned over 4-5, Liew A-6 while Hsu had A-8, winning the hand with his 8 kicker. Liew hits the rail in 9th position.
2.25pm: Big call by Curly
In pre-flop action, Emanuel Seal lead out for 100k when it came to Danis Sekuloski in the big-blind. He asked Curly how much he had left (780k) and proceeded to go all-in (with 1.5m). Curly thought for some time before making the call, turning over J-J. Sekuloski had 10-10 with the Jacks holding up as the board blanked out.
2.15pm: Rafferty with another decision
On a board of 6s-7c-As-8s-7s Murrary Roach fired 300k into a pot of about 300k. Tom Rafferty appologised to the table in advance stating his decision will take a little time. He eventually called. Roach tabled 6d-6c for trips and Rafferty mucked, not having the flush!
2.05pm: Pick your spot
Tom Rafferty found himself all-in for his remaining 480k with Shaneel Chand. Rafferty had 9-9 v Chand’s A-9. The board blanked out for Chand with J-K-7-10-K to take Rafferty to 800k while Chand drops to 300k in chips.
2:00pm: Play is underway
Play has started midway through level 25 where blinds are 20,000/40,000 and an ante of 5000. Chung Liew did remarkably well to hang on last night but will need to double up pretty quickly to stay in the race.
1.50pm: Welcome
Welcome back to The Star where the final table of the ANZPT $2300 Main Event will be played out today. The starting chip counts are as follows:
| Jim | Psaros | 2,640,000 |
| Denis | Sekuloski | 1,580,000 |
| Murray | Roach | 1,495,000 |
| Emanuel | Seal | 840,000 |
| Zhi | Ma | 625,000 |
| Li-ta | Hsu | 605,000 |
| Shaneel | Chand | 595,000 |
| Tom | Rafferty | 400,000 |
| Chung | Liew | 155,000 |
Play will commence at 2pm on Monday, March 23.