A short stack opened the action with a raise to 1,100 and Patty Lai threw in a yellow T-5,000 chip, though we don't know how much her three-bet was. Joe Hachem was sitting in the blinds and four-bet to 7,200 and the short stack moved all in for less than that. Lai quickly moved all in as well for 22,200 and Hachem called.
Short Stack:
Lai:
Hachem:
Lai stood up, but quickly sat down again after the flop gave her top set. The on the turn ensured her more than double up and the river completed the board.
On a flop of , Jason Pritchard has his opponent all in for his last 17,000.
Pritchard:
Opponent:
With Pritchard in the lead, the turn of the changed nothing, but it would be the on the river that would see his opponent double up and leave Pritchard down to 6,800 in chips.
We saw Kahle Burns sitting with a mountain of chips that totaled approximately 140,000, and we had to find out how he got them. Burns was kind enough to share one hand that gave him a healthy boost.
According to him, two players limped preflop and then called when he raised. The flop saw both those opponents call a bet of 2,300 from Burns, and then a appeared on the turn. Burns bet 5,500, one of his opponents folded, and the other raised to 12,000. Burns made the call and then he checked the river.
His opponent bet a hefty 22,000, and Burns responded by check-raising all in. His opponent had 50,000 or so behind and decided to conserve it as he laid down his hand to Burns.
It started very innocent as a limped pot when Dejan Boskovic filled up from the small blind and Juicy Li checked her option one seat over. The fireworks started on the flop with Boskovic betting 400 and Li raising to 1,200. Boskovic clicked it back to 3,100 and Li answered with a further reraise to 11,000. Now Boskovic five-bet to 20,000 and called the six-bet shove of Li to put himself at risk for 48,600 chips.
Li:
Boskovic:
The on the turn changed nothing whatsoever, but the on the river gave Boskovic a full house and left Li short-stacked. Moments after the final community card fell, one could hear the loud celebration in the whole tournament area and Li only said "this is so tilting", mucked her next hand and then left to get some fresh air.
George Danzer checked a flop and then called when 2012 WSOP Main Event champ Greg Merson bet 3,600. Danzer proceeded to check-call another bet, this time for 8,500, on the turn, and then both players checked the river.
Merson showed the , but it was no good as Danzer had flopped two pair with the . With that pot, Danzer is up over 100K. The German, who has won three WSOP bracelets in 2014 and is the favorite to win the Player of the Year title, is primed to make a run here in the Main Event.
A player moved all in for what looked like 5,000 chips over on table 33 and Richard Lyndaker found the perfect timing to pick up in late position. All players behind him folded and the player at risk held . It was already all over after the last ace in the deck appeared on the flop and the board completed with the turn and the river.
When it comes to poker, no one is bigger in Australia than Joe Hachem. His victory in the 2005 World Series of Poker Main Event helped spark a poker boom in his home country, and ever since then he's been a local celebrity. As one of the most recognizable faces in poker, Hachem serves as an ambassador for the Crown Casino here in Melbourne.
Hachem, who gave the traditional "shuffle up and deal" yesterday to kick off Day 1a, waited until today to play. We recently spent an orbit observing the Aussie, who was sitting with 37,500 when action began.
Hand #1 (Small Blind): Action folded to Hachem in the small blind and he raised to 850, which inspired the big blind to fold.
Hand #2 (Button): A player in middle position raised to 800 and Hachem folded.
Hand #3 (Cutoff): Action folded to Hachem in the cutoff and he raised to 700. Brian Roberts responded with a three-bet to 2,600 from the small blind, the player in the big folded, and Hachem gave it up.
Hand #4 (Late Position): The under-the-gun player raised and Hachem folded.
Hand #5 (Middle Position): The under-the-gun player raised to 1,050 and Hachem folded.
Hand #6 (Middle Position): Hachem opened for 725 and Jason Pritchard called from the button. The big blind came along and three players saw a flop of , which they all checked. When the appeared on the turn, the big blind checked, Hachem bet 1,000, and Pritchard raised to 2,475. The big blind folded and Hachem, who had the bigger stack, moved all in.
Pritchard, who had about 15,000 behind, seemed uneasy and thought for nearly two minutes before releasing his hand.
Gary Benson opened to 600 and was called in two spots to see a flop. Benson continued for 1,025 and only the big blind called as the turn landed the .
The big blind checked and Benson tossed in 2,250 with his opponent again making the call as the landed on the river and the action was checked through.
The player in seat one at the table of Ami Barer is no more and the reigning Aussie Millions champion was responsible for taking the vast majority of his chips. It all escalated on a flop of with Barer holding for the open-ended straight and flush draw whereas his opponent had for middle pair and the lower flush draw.
Another heart arrived and Barer doubled through, admitting to us that "he got lucky". The player in seat one then departed when he lost with only 10 big blinds remaining and falling to after a preflop all in.