Yuguang Li called the big blind of 200 from middle position and it folded to Carlos Kuo Chang, the small blind who completed. Sebastien Hoyez, the big blind, checked his option and the was dealt.
Chang led for 400, causing Hoyez to fold. Li made the call and the players saw the [ 3c] turn. Chang kept the lead with a 1,200 bet and again Li made the call.
When the came, Chang seemed to struggle a bit getting his bet together and eventually put 1,600 into the pot. Li quickly made the call. Chang turned over and after showing , Li slid his cards to the muck.
It was just announced the tournament is moving from 10-handed play to 9-handed. There was the usual caveat that if there was a rush of late registrants, the staff reserves the right to put a 10th chair back in. That doesn't look likely at this point though.
The action started with a player under the gun opening to 450. Zhong Wang, Oliver Gill and Ashley Warner made the call, before Yujung Choi raised it up to 2,500 from the small blind. Only Wang made the call, as both watched the flop come down .
Choi threw out a continuation bet of 2,500 which was met with a raise to 5,400 in chips. Choi contemplated her decision for a minute, before raising it once more to 12,000. Wang was taken back by the bet, unsure of his next move.
He eventually moved all in for 16,275, and was relieved when Choi didn't snap-call the remainder of his bet. She eventually made the call as both players tabled their cards.
Wang:
Choi:
The board ran out the and to see Wang's kings hold, moving him up to 40,000 in chips. Choi, who had a big stack to start the hand, dropped down to 10,000 in chips.
The preflop action began with Ken Demlakian opening to 325 from middle position. John Gallagher made it 950 to go and it folded to Kitty Kuo in the big blind who made it 2,700. Demlakian immediately made the call, while Gallagher took some time to think before putting his chips in the pot.
The flop came and the action began with Kuo making a bet of 3,800. Demlakian made the call and Gallagher again took some to think. This time instead of calling, he went all in for a total of 12,125. Kuo followed that up with immediate all in of her own and had both of her opponents covered. After a few minutes and a big sigh, Demlakian found the fold.
Kuo was ahead when the hands were tabled:
Kuo:
Gallagher:
The lead didn't last long when the came on the turn, giving Gallagher a straight. As luck would have it, the came on the river resulting in a chopped pot. Demlakian said he folded ace-jack and wondered out loud why he didn't make the call. Kuo shot back with "You want to play poker hoping for runner runner?" Demlakian then responded with "I knew I was behind but I also knew I could draw to the nuts."
So far it's been a pretty entertaining first hour of play.
In his winning hand, Gill bet out 200 on a flop after his opponent checked. The bet was called and both players watched the fall on the turn.
Another check was met with a 500-chip bet from Gill, before there was a raise to 1,800. Gill didn't wait to long, throwing in a raise to 3,800 which was enough to take down the pot.
When we last saw Ken Demlakian, it was at APPT Seoul. There he was aggressive, driving the action from the start. If the following hand is any indication, it looks like he is adopting the same strategy but may need to rethink it a bit.
Demlakian opened for 325 from middle position and was called by a late position player and the player in the big blind. The flop came and the action was checked around.
The big blind checked the turn and Demlakian bet 650. The player in late position called and the big blind folded.
Demlakian fired again for 2,200 on the turn. The player in late position took some time, even staring Demlakian down for a time. He eventually made the call and waited for Demlakian to turn over his hand. Demlakian said, "I missed" and showed and the player in late position turned over .
The table was in awe of the call. If this is any indication this is going to be a tough field.
We just spotted PokerStars Team Pro Bryan Huang seated and active in his very first hand.
With around 3,000 in the pot and the board reading a player in late position checked his option. Huang made a bet of 1,600 which was met with a quick raise to 6,000.
Huang agonized over his decision for a few minutes before eventually mucking his cards and letting his opponent know he had a set.
“Did you have a set as well? Because I had a little one,” said Huang.
“I had one as well and was hoping you did too,” replied the other player in the hand.
Huang still sits on 17,000 in the early parts of today’s play.
So far PokerStars Team Pro Vivian Im is the only member of Team Asia to take a seat in today's event. Macau has been good to Im this year with a 21st-place finish at the Macau Millions in March for HKD$ 22,000 and a 38th-place finish at The Macau Poker Cup Red Dragon for HKD$ 33,500. She obviously wants to do more than go deep in the event and is posed to capture the big prize. She will be up against a tough field that includes her partner, Kim Gap Young, who is also playing today.
![[user250068]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
was dealt.
came, Chang seemed to struggle a bit getting his bet together and eventually put 1,600 into the pot. Li quickly made the call. Chang turned over 
and after showing 
, Li slid his cards to the muck.
.
and 
to see Wang's kings hold, moving him up to 40,000 in chips. Choi, who had a big stack to start the hand, dropped down to 10,000 in chips.
came on the turn, giving Gallagher a straight. As luck would have it, the 
and the action was checked around.
turn and Demlakian bet 650. The player in late position called and the big blind folded.
and the player in late position turned over 
.
a player in late position checked his option. Huang made a bet of 1,600 which was met with a quick raise to 6,000.
