Hung-Sheng Lin is one of Asia’s rising stars. Better known simply as “Shaq”, the reigning Asia Player of the Year has already carried his good form into 2012 after winning the opening event of the APPT Cebu series earlier this week.
However he is off to a slow start today in the Main Event after losing a chunk of chips when he ran into a set. And it potentially could have been a lot worse.
Lin opened with a raise to 275 from middle position and the player in the big blind defended with a call. The flop landed and action checked to Lin. He bet 500 which was quickly matched as the hit the turn.
Again it checked to Lin and he didn’t slow down as he tossed out another 1,150. However this time his opponent responded with a check-raise to 3,200. After a little thought, Lin paid to see the river fall. The big blind tapped the table and Lin quickly checked behind. It was lucky that he did, as the big blind opened a slowly played for a flopped set. Lin slips to 12,500.Hung-sheng Lin, 12500
Search for the name Bobo Chen at PokerNews and it is very likely that you will come accross dozens of live reporting posts documenting his extreme tanking. Well, that continues here today in Cebu as we just watched him tank for almost five minutes on the turn of a board showing , with Chen faced with a bet of 2,400. He decided to fold in the end, which made a few players at the table let out a small sigh.
Over on Darren Judges table there was a flop showing and Judges was first to act against one opponent. The player led out for 1,200 and Judges made the call as the hit the turn. This time both players would check and the would complete the board on the river.
Judges wouldn't check this time, instead firing out a bet worth 1,200 chips. The player opted to call and would then flash a when Judges tabled his .
An early hand has just played out involving Daren Yoon that saw him chop a pot in rather interesting way.
Arriving to see a flop of , Yoon check-raised his opponent’s bet of 325 to make it 1,050 to go. His opponent called and the turn was the . Yoon bet again for 1,700 which was again called, before the river landed the .
Yoon bet for a third time for 3,500 and his opponent thought for some time before making it 10,000. Yoon pretty quickly called and tabled a creative which was only good for half the pot as his opponent showed .
Yoon final tabled this event in Season 4, and will be looking for a repeat performance as he currently sits with 22,000 chips.
Antoine Amourette is no stranger to success on the tournament felt around the world. Amourette's poker resume include a World Poker Tour runner-up finish, along with a 5th place at 2010's APPT Sydney Main Event. He'll be looking for a similiar result here in Cebu, but he'll have to do better than a recent hand we caught him in.
By the time we got the table there was a board showing and Amourette was first to act, leading with a check. His opponent then bet 2,100 and Amourette made the call.
The on the river would both players check and Amourette would reveal his first. His opponent then turned over , enough to send Amourette's card into the muck.
When we came to Kenneth Wong's table there was already a board showing and Wong was busy leading out for a bet of 800 against one opponent. The player opted to call and the dealer dealt out the final care on the felt - the .
Wong would again lead, this time flicking out 1,725. Wong's opponent didn't take long to fire it up another 3,000, an amount that would prove too much for Wong as he sent his cards into the muck.
As we strolled past Team PokerStars Pro Celina Lin's table we noticed she was involved in a hand against one opponent. At this point there was a board showing and Lin led for 2,000 when the action was checked to her. Her opponent called and a completed the board on the river.
This time Lin's opponent would lead, quickly tumbling out a bet of 3,000. Lin thought for quite some time before deciding to make the call.
Opponent:
Lin:
"I wanted to shove, but i thought with the way you played it you could easily have a better flush than me," said Lin to her disgruntled opponent as she raked in the pot.
He's one of only a few Australian poker players in today's field and if he wants to fly the Aussie flag for much longer he will need to do a little better than his day has started.
When we arrived at the table Minh Nguyen was in the hand against one opponent with 2,900 already in the pot and Nguyen's opponent first to act on a flop showing .
Both players decided to checvk and the hit the turn. This time Nguyen's opponent would bet 1,800 and Nguyen would make the call as a was dealt on the river. Nguyen's opponent again bet, this time for 3,000. After a few moments, Nguyen made the call and his opponent turned over for a flopped set. This was enough to see Nguyen slide his cards into the muck as his opponent took down the pot.