StarlingC soars to victory in May 6 Women's
Sunday

May is here! And the new month brings the Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) on PokerStars for players of various bankrolls. There are 40 tournaments over the next two weeks, and each one has three buy-in levels so everyone can play in their own comfort zones. With $30 million in guaranteed prize money and satellites running around the clock, there are many incentives to get in on the action.

All of the SCOOP information can be found at this link, including a leaderboard and list of all satellites for each event.

While playing or following along with that action, the Women's Sunday was in its usual spot today. The $10K guarantee and the promise of $50 Team Pro bounties for a $55 buy-in brought a solid group of players to the tables today. The final registration numbers were:

Total players: 242
Prize pool: $12,100.00
Paid finishers: 36

There were several Team PokerStars Pros in the field, but two of them exited within moments of each other. Ana Marquez busted in 166th place, and Celina Lin tweeted her elimination in 164th place:

Lost 99 to AK in the @PokerStarsWomen Sunday :( Try again next week! #timetoflipgood #winaflip

Sandra Naujoks headed out in 145th place, and Team Online's Adrienne "talonchick" Rowsome registered late and busted late, going out of the tournament in 91st place.

The money bubble burst as the three-hour mark approached, as SADE31 exited on the bubble in 37th place and Lili LaFae took home $90.75 for her 36th place finish. Play moved forward as players like iculook, Aussteiger13, and luzzzy hit the virtual rail.

The final table bubble came on rather quickly. Moments after bezgarantiy was eliminated on one of the two remaining tables, a-nadine moved all-in on the other one. Dntcalmefish called with [Jh][Js], while a-nadine was on the line with [Ah][Tc]. The board of [6c][2s][Ts][7h][8h] wasn't enough to save a-nadine, who left in tenth place with $193.60.

$TurboPandi leads at the start

The final table began with these starting stacks and at the beginning of Level 18, with blinds of 1,250/2,500 and a 250 ante:

Seat 1: StarlingC (115,117 in chips)
Seat 2: $TurboPandi (169,499 in chips)
Seat 3: nutbreakerLL (101,282 in chips)
Seat 4: lankorio (15,670 in chips)
Seat 5: simobe28 (22,794 in chips)
Seat 6: dntcalmefish (123,781 in chips)
Seat 7: 4Lisa (29,801 in chips)
Seat 8: rosemarie209 (123,729 in chips)
Seat 9: Kispocok91 (24,327 in chips)

On the second hand of action, Kispocok91 made a push for 23,877 from middle position. Lankorio called all-in for 12,720 from the big blind with [Ac][Kc], and Kispocok91 showed [9d][9s]. The better hand only improved to a flush on the [4s][8s][Ts][Th][6s] board and eliminated lankorio in ninth place with $229.90.

Double-ups were in order, and that trend started with 4Lisa doubling through dntcalmefish and simobe28 doing the same through StarlingC. Kispocok91 did it through nutbreakerLL as well.

When StarlingC doubled back through 4Lisa, the latter had a tough time recovering. In fact, it was only a few hands later when 4Lisa pushed her 6,608 chips all-in with [Ad][2c], and dntcalmefish called from the big blind with [9d][3c]. But the board came [Tc][9s][2h][Jc][Qh], giving dntcalmefish the pair of nines and leaving 4Lisa out in eighth place with $302.50.

The very next hand saw simobe28 push all-in with less than 9K chips with [2c][2s], and Kispocok91 had a dominating [Th][Td]. The board of [4d][6s][Jh][Qd][Qh] changed nothing, and simobe28 had to leave in seventh place with $423.50.

After rosemarie209 doubled through nutbreakerLL, the latter participated in some split pots before moving all-in again with [Ad][5c]. Dntcalmefish had [Kd][Qd] and hit the flop of [Qh][Kc][3s]. The two pair stood up to the [9d] turn and [Jd] river, which eliminated nutbreakerLL in sixth place with $544.50.

Rosemarie209 leaps ahead

Things then took a nasty turn for dntcalmefish. After losing some chips and the lead, the all-in move was made by dntcalmefish holding [Kc][Jc], but rosemarie209 called with [Ah][Qh]. The ace-high hand held up to the [Th][6d][2s][5s][9s] board, and dntcalmefish bowed out in fifth place with $701.80.

When $TurboPandi was ready to risk it all with [Tc][Jd], rosemarie209 was there with [Ad][4s] and a supportive board of [9d][7h][As][6c][7s]. That left $TurboPandi out in fourth place with $1,028.50.

StarlingC doubled through rosemarie209 more than once during three-handed play, but this one put the former in the chip lead:

RSS readers click through to see replay

The very next hand saw Kispocok91 push all-in with [Kc][Td], but rosemarie209 quickly called with [Ks][Kd], which only improved to two pair on the [2h][2s][4c][Qc][6h] board. Kispocok91 had to leave in third place with $1,367.30.

Mexico vs. UK heads-up

The last two players standing began their heads-up battle as follows:

Seat 1: StarlingC (331,334 in chips)
Seat 8: rosemarie209 (394,666 in chips)

StarlingC was the aggressor and chipped up into the lead rather quickly. It only took a few rounds for rosemarie209 to risk all of her 280K chips with [3h][3d], and StarlingC snap-called with [Js][Jh]. The board came [9d][2d][9c][5c][Qd], and rosemarie209 had to accept second place and the $1,815.000 in cash that went with it.

StarlingC of Mexico won this week's Women's Sunday and $2,474.45 in cash. Congratulations!

Women's Sunday Results for 05/06/12:

1st place: StarlingC ($2,474.45)
2nd place: rosemarie209 ($1,815.00)
3rd place: Kispocok91 ($1,367.30)
4th place: $TurboPandi ($1,028.50)
5th place: dntcalmefish ($701.80)
6th place: nutbreakerLL ($544.50)
7th place: simobe28 ($423.50)
8th place: 4Lisa ($302.50)
9th place: lankorio ($229.90)

There are many ways to get in on the Women's Sunday action. Take a look at the home page for information on daily satellites. And join us on Facebook for news and monthly freerolls, and Twitter for the latest information. See you next week!

Add to del.icio.us

Digg this

Post to Furl

Add to reddit

Add to myYahoo!

ANZPT Perth: Carlsson shows the "skillz"

After almost eight hours of play on our final table, we have crowned the ANZPT Perth Main Event champion as Mat "Skillz" Carlsson joins the likes of Tony Hachem and Grant Levy, but also becomes the first local to keep the ANZPT Perth title on home soil.

Carlsson brought the right mix of aggression, solid play and some big cards to navigate his way through a strong final table lineup to capture the trophy and $78,275 in prize money.

Earlier in the day it was John Shin racing out of the blocks as he assumed the role of table captain. Paul Satzke copped the brunt of that barrage but managed to outlast Lucas Mierzwa who was unlucky to be our 9th place finisher when his ace-king fell to the ace-queen of Anthony Aston.

Satzke was next to go, his pocket threes unable to hold against Didier Guerin's creative [8d][4d] as the boys from Canberra/NSW were looking dangerous. But it was John Shin who was surprisingly next to fall. He was crippled with top two pair against Anthony Marenko's turned gutshot straight, before running king-jack into David Lloyd's pocket jacks to depart in 7th place.

At this point, Mat Carlsson started to take control with some strong three and four-betting preflop. Perhaps it was good cards, or just good spots, but he soon showed down a run of monster big pairs that had everyone rattled.

Carlsson first woke up with pocket aces when Didier Guerin shoved his king-ten to see him bundled out in 6th place. That was quickly followed by David Lloyd's elimination in 5th place when he pushed his king-queen into Carlsson's pocket kings.

Incredibly, Carlsson founds pocket kings again just moments later, as Jon Curtis was on the ropes with ace-queen, but an ace on the river broke Carlsson's momentum and brought Curtis back into contention.

Anthony Marenko made a flush to double through Anthony Aston, before overnight chip leader Jon Curtis bowed out in 4th. Again it was a rather brutal elimination, with Curtis flopping a straight against Marenko's two pair. The dealer must've been sponsored by PokerStars as Marenko caught a four-outer on the turn to improve to a full house and leave Curtis on the rail.

Three-handed play was an interesting battle with chips passing around the table and each player finding moments to shine. Anthony Aston doubled up with king-deuce against jacks, before Mat Carlsson's pocket deuces survived to make a flush against pocket sixes.

Eventually something had to give and it was Anthony Aston who three-bet shoved his [td][9d] into the pocket kings Anthony Marenko. Aston flopped a straight draw but couldn't connect to exit in third place. It's back-to-back third place finishes in the ANZPT for Aston which is enough for him to take the lead in the ANZ Player of the Year race.

Anthony Marenko held a narrow chip lead entering heads-up play, and generally had the better of Mat Carlsson until a key hand saw the players go to war on a flop of [3d][qd][4s]. Marenko held top pair with [qc][5d] but Carlsson held [qs][3h] for two pair which held through the turn and river.

Soon after the final hand would go down when Marenko shoved his [ks][2d] but Carlsson called with black sevens. The board bricked out and Mat Carlsson was crowned the ANZPT Perth champion! Portraying a strong, stoic image for the last few days, Carlsson showed plenty of well-timed aggression, and found plenty of big pairs on this final table, to navigate his way to the title and $78,275 in prize money.

Final table results
1st Mat Carlsson (Australia) - $78,275
2nd Anthony Marenko (Australia) - $49,600
3rd Anthony Aston (Australia) - $27,590
4th Jon Curtis (Australia) - $21,545
5th David Lloyd (Australia) - $17,050
6th Didier Guerin (Australia) - $13,950
7th John Shin (Australia) - $11,160
8th Paul Satzke (Australia) - $8,835
9th Lucas Mierzwa (Australia) - $6,510

Click here for the full ANZPT Perth payouts

It's been a fun week in Perth but all good things must come to an end. We'd like to thank Deb Wyatt and the fantastic team in the Burswood poker room for their efforts during the week. They are a great crew who provide wonderful hospitality. In fact, several of our final table players wrote in their bios about how much they appreciated the staff and customer service here in Perth, so that speaks volumes.

The next event on the local calendar is the Winter Poker Championships in Canberra on the long weekend in June which is an ANZ POTY qualifying event. Hopefully we'll see you there! Until then, so long from Perth!

Add to del.icio.us

Digg this

Post to Furl

Add to reddit

Add to myYahoo!

SCOOP 2012: $30 million in guaranteed events
underway

Annnnnd, they're off! The 2012 Spring Championship of Online Poker is underway.

Just yesterday, the Kentucky Derby, one of the world's most prestigious horse racing events dominated the sports world. It lasted just around two minutes. Its purse was $2,180,000.

By comparison, just a couple of minutes ago, the PokerStars Spring Championship of Online Poker kicked off. It will last for two weeks. Its overall purse is guaranteed to reach $30,000,000. I mean, nothing against the Kentucky Derby, but it's not really that difficult to figure out which of these big events is more exciting. And I can almost guarantee none of the SCOOP players will be put down if they get injured.

Event #1 of 2012 SCOOP kicks off

What's more, the world of the Kentucky Derby is pretty exclusive, and outside of wearing a silly hat or drinking mint juleps all day, it's pretty hard to be a part of the excitement. With SCOOP, it's pretty easy. It has buy-ins and satellites that are accessible for almost any bankroll.

The very first SCOOP event is now running with three different buy-ins and more than 15,000 people playing in early action. Registration is still open for that tournament and every other event over the next two weeks.

Here are some helpful links to guide you through SCOOP.

The PokerStars Blog will have wrap-ups of every SCOOP final table over the next couple of weeks. We'll also be featuring select winners' stories along the way. You could end up with your face on the front page if you play your cards right.

Good luck this week to all the SCOOP players. Run hard!

Add to del.icio.us

Digg this

Post to Furl

Add to reddit

Add to myYahoo!

PokerStars' 80 billionth hand makes funex700
brightest star in Spain

The Hubble Telescope, the giant marvel of space-watching technology, can see 80 billion galaxies in the observable universe. When it looks through its giant eye, it sees things we can't see and translates that ridiculously large number into something we can understand. Eighty billion. It's almost an almost impossible number to conceive, but for one PokerStars player, it's a number he'll never forget.

Today, funex700, a PokerStars player from Spain, won PokerStars' 80 billionth hand at a .10/.25 no-limit hold'em table. The pot earned him $179.88. The Road to 100 Billion promotion means funex700 won an additional $22,940. Everybody else at his table won at least $10,000 just for being there.

It was the middle of the afternoon in Madrid when the PokerStars hand counter rocketed toward 80 billion. Lighting struck at funex700's table where his tablemates broke down in almost blubbering appreciation. Here's just a sample of the chat:

Starfighte86: OMG
PatrickStoia: yes
Starfighte86: this is so wonderful
Starfighte86: i could cry :D

The wait for the deal seemed interminable. Players watched their internet signals to make sure they weren't disconnecting. Finally, the PokerStars host pressed the big green button and made it rain.

Indeed, all it took was runner-runner two pair with [5d][As] on the [Qc][4s][Th][Ah][5c] board to change funex700's day in a big way. If he had been waiting for PokerStars 80 billionth hand in a live poker room with one dealer, it would've taken 2,537 years. On PokerStars, it took just a little more than ten years.

funex700 wins PokerStars' 80 billionth hand

We said all of that to say this: it's widely believed that there are many, many more galaxies beyond what the Hubble Telescope can actually see. Just like that, there are billions and billions more hands to come on the PokerStars Road to 100 Billion. The next stop is 85 billion. It's not light years away. It's coming soon to a PokerStars promotion near you.

Stay tuned and keep your eyes peeled on the PokerStars Blog. We aren't the Hubble Telescope, but we like to think we're pretty enlightening.

Once again, congratulations to funex700 on his big win. See you in another five billion?

Add to del.icio.us

Digg this

Post to Furl

Add to reddit

Add to myYahoo!

Baumstein still leads at IPT Grand Final

After nine hours of play on Saturday, the field of 212 who started Day 2 is down to 44 players who move forward to today's Day 3 and have a shot at cashing at the Italian Poker Tour's San Remo Grand Final.

The United States' Scott Baumstein is the chip leader with 777,500 chips, followed by French player Philippe Clerc with 598,500. Baumstein has held the chip lead since the end of Day 1B.

Scott Baumstein

Russian player Igor Kurganov is in third place with 515,000 chips.

Among the remianing Italian players, Desiderio Boncioli is on top with 460,000 chips. Seven PokerStars qualifiers are still in action for Day 3. Leading them is Francesco Filippo Crisafulli with 246,500 chips.

Day 2 had its share of causalities. Among the 168 people who hit the rail were PokerStars Team Pros Pier Paolo Fabretti and Salvatore Bonavena, and Team PokerStars Online's Luca Moschitta.

Today the 44 remaining players will play into the money.

With a ?810,920 prize pool and a ?200,000 first prize, the best is yet to come.

Add to del.icio.us

Digg this

Post to Furl

Add to reddit

Add to myYahoo!

ANZPT Perth Final Table: Level 26 (blinds
30,000-60,000, ante 10,000)

9:45pm: Carlsson calls him down

There's a large crowd here for this heads-up battle with the railbird three deep around the entire final table area. It's providing a great atmosphere, although our access to the table is being squeezed by the minute.

We barrelled through the crowd to catch the action developing on a board of [qd][ah][th][8h]. Mat Carlsson checked, and then called a bet of 225,000 before the [tc] paired the board on the river.

Carlsson checked and Anthony Marenko bet 400,000. Carlsson thought for a few minutes before making the call. Marenko tabled [kc][2c] for just king-high as Carlsson's [qs][7d] pair of queens was enough to take it down.

Moments later Carlsson won another nice pot with a dominant king to move up to 4.3 million to Marenko's 1.1 million.

9:30pm: Marenko fighting back

With a raise to 150,000 from Anthony Marenko on the button, Mat Carlsson made the call to take a [4s][ah][5h]. Then things got busy.

Carlsson checked, Marenko bet 160,000, Carlsson check-raised to 380,000 but Marenko came back with a re-raise to 780,000. Carlsson gave it up as Marenko fights his way back to two million, with Carlsson in front with 3.4 million.

9:20pm: Carlsson back in front

We've just seen the biggest pot of the tournament with the swing going the way of Mat Carlsson.

Carlsson raised the button and Anthony Marenko called from the big blind to see a flop of [3d][qd][4s]. Marenko led out with a bet of 325,000 but Carlsson quickly announced himself all in. Marenko didn't waste time in calling as the title was up for grabs!

Marenko: [qc][5d]
Carlsson: [qs][3d]

Carlsson had flopped two pair as Marenko also held top pair. The [2s] on the turn brought an open-ended straight draw, but the river blanked the [9s]. Marenko is now behind for the first time in this heads-up match, slipping to 1.6 million, as Carlsson is in front with 3.8 million.

Mat Carlsson now has one eye on the trophy

9:15pm: Play resumes

Our two players are back in action with the chip counts as follows:

Anthony Marenko - 4,040,000
Mat Carlsson - 1,455,000

Add to del.icio.us

Digg this

Post to Furl

Add to reddit

Add to myYahoo!

ANZPT Perth Final Table: Levels 24-25 (blinds
25,000-50,000, ante 5,000)

8:50pm: The choir is finding some voice

In a limped pot, Anthony Marenko checked the flop of [8s][7s][3c] over to Mat Carlsson who tossed out 80,000. Marenko responded with a check-raise to 250,000 but Carlsson came back with a re-raise of his own to 680,000.

After a bit of thought, Marenko announced himself all in to force a fold from Carlsson. Marenko's railbirds roared with delight as he moves up to 4.3 million to Carlsson's 1.2 million.

8:45pm: Kicker problems

Mat Carlsson has been limping his button while Anthony Marenko likes to raise to three times the big blind. It's two different heads-up strategies but at the moment, it appears to be favouring Marenko.

In a recent pot, he opened to 150,000 and Carlsson called before both players checked the flop and turn on the [ts][ah][5c][ac] board. On the [6d] river, Carlsson led out for 80,000 and Marenko called.

Carlsson showed [jd][td] but he'd been out-kicked by Marenko's [qs][tc].

8:30pm: Marenko draws first blood

First big pot of the heads-up battle has gone the way of Anthony Marenko. He opened the button to 150,000 and Mat Carlsson called to see a flop of [9s][7s][4d].

Carlsson check-called for 250,000 before both checked the [th] turn. The river was the [3d] and Carlsson checked to Marenko who bet 300,000. A some quick thought, Carlsson made the call but mucked when Carlsson showed [qh][9h] for a pair of nines.
Carlsson slips to two million with Marenko up to 3.4 million.

8:25pm: Heads-up chip counts

After a quick break the two players are back to battle it out for the ANZPT Perth trophy. Here's the counts as head-up play recommences:

Anthony Marenko - 2,940,000
Mat Carlsson - 2,450,000

Who will join Australian greats Tony Hachem and Grant Levy as an ANZPT Perth champion? The cards are back in the air!

8:10pm: Anthony Aston eliminated in 3rd place

Anthony Marenko opened with a raise to 110,000 from the button before Anthony Aston moved all in for 940,000 from the small blind. Mat Carlsson folded his big blind but Marenko quickly called.

Marenko: [kd][ks]
Aston: [td][9d]

Yet another big pair on this final table, and despite flopping an open-ended straight draw, Aston wasn't able to crack the pair on the board of [5c][jc][qh][tc][6c]. Back-to-back ANZPT third place finishes for Aston as he adds another $27,590 to his rapidly expanding bankroll.

Anthony Aston eliminated in 3rd place

7:50pm: Level up, blinds 25,000-50,000, ante 5,000

7:45pm: Lucky ducks for Carlsson

Mat Carlsson moved all in from the button for 935,000 and Anthony Marenko made the call in the small blind. Carlsson showed [2c][2d] and was already up on his feet when Marenko showed [6s][6d].

However incredibly the board ran out [ac][3c][7c][3s][tc] to give Carlsson, in the words of "Pands", our Burswood MC, a "two-high flush". Almost. Whatever you want to call it, the chips were pushed to Carlsson for a double up to 1.9 million with Carlsson back in the pack with around two million.

7:40pm: Short-stacked survival

The two short stacks have both landed double ups to stay alive in the battle for the ANZPT Perth title.

Mat Carlsson was all in for his last 850,000 with [kc][qc] and managed to spike a king to get past Anthony Marenko's [ac][tc] on the board of [8h][7d][9d][kd][4h].

However next hand he gave those chips across to Anthony Aston.

Aston moved all in from the small blind with [ad][kd] and Carlsson called with [ac][qh] in the big blind. Where are these guys finding these cards? The board ran out [ks][ts][9s][4d][2c] to see Aston double up to 1.55 million with Carlsson back to one million.

7:30pm: Marenko takes one from Carlsson

Anthony Marenko has increased his chip advantage after winning a healthy pot on the river against Mat Carlsson.

Carlsson raised the button to 105,000 and Marenko called in the small blind to see a flop of [8d][6s][td]. Marenko check-called for 160,000 before tapping the table again on the [ks] turn. Carlsson fired a second barrel worth 260,000 and again Marenko matched the bet.

The river brought the [9h] and Marenko decided that was good enough to lead out with a bet of 420,000. After a few minutes of thought, Carlsson released.

Carlsson is down to 900,000 with Marenko motoring along with 3.6 million.

7:20pm: King-ball saves Aston

Anthony Aston was desperately seeking a double up, and he found it when he shoved all in for 495,000 from the small blind with [ks][2h]. Mat Carlsson woke up with (yet another) big pair and instantly called with [jd][jc], but fell behind when the board ran out [4c][kh][3c][qh][ts].

Aston stays alive and doubles to over one million with Carlsson back to around 1.5 million.

7:10pm: Jon Curtis eliminated in 4th place

Anthony Marenko and Jon Curtis saw a flop of [kd][9d][jd] and that's where things got busy. Marenko bet 200,000 before Curtis moved all in for an additional 740,000.

"I think I'm going to have to call you Jon," sighed Marenko before committing his chips. He opened [kh][js] for top two pair, but Curtis held [qh][th] for a flopped straight.

Marenko was looking for running diamond to chop, or a king or jack to take the lead. The dealer burned and turned the [ks] on the turn to the roar of the rail as Marenko improved to an unbeatable full house. The [3c] hit the river to see Curtis depart in 4th place for a collect of $21,545.

Jon Curtis eliminated in 4th place

7:00pm: Marenko flush with chips

Anthony Aston and Anthony Marenko didn't waste any time following the break before they went to war. The flop was [4s][8s][8d] and after a series of raises, Marenko called it off with [ks][5s] for a flush draw as Aston showed [6c][6h] for two pair.

Marenko binked his flush on the [3s] and the [qs] river was a little cream on top. Marenko doubles to 1.8 million with Aston now down to just 400,000, or ten big blinds.

6:50pm: Play resumes

The four remaining players are back on the felt following the break with the ANZPT title almost within reach. All players have a few chips now, so it really is anyone's game!

Add to del.icio.us

Digg this

Post to Furl

Add to reddit

Add to myYahoo!

ANZPT Perth Final Table: Level 24 (blinds
20,000-40,000, ante 5,000)

6:50pm: Play resumes

The four remaining players are back on the felt following the break with the ANZPT title almost within reach. All players have a few chips now, so it really is anyone's game!

Add to del.icio.us

Digg this

Post to Furl

Add to reddit

Add to myYahoo!

ANZPT Perth Final Table: Levels 22-23 (blinds
15,000-30,000, ante 4,000)

5:50pm: A battle of the Anthonys

Anthony Marenko opened with a raise from the button before Anthony Aston moved all in from the small blind. Marenko insta-called and stood from his chair as he opened [ad][ac]. Aston was a little stiff to run into such a monster with his [as][ks].

Aston has outs to a chop on the river, but the [5s][3d][qd][4h][jd] board left Marenko to double up to 1.25 million. Aston slips to about the same amount.

5:40pm: Level up, blinds 15,000-30,000, ante 4,000

5:30pm: Carlsson cuts Guerin

Didier Guerin opened with a raise to 50,000 and found calls in the blinds from Mat Carlsson and David Lloyd. The three took a flop of [2s][ac][jh] and action checked around. The turn brought the [qh] and Carlsson led out for 78,000. Lloyd folded but Guerin made the call.

The river was a repeat [qs] and Carlsson checked to Guerin who slid out a bet of 201,000. Carlsson took a moment to consider his decision before announcing "call".

Guerin cringed as he knew his [jd][tc] was no good as Carlsson took it down with [ad][7d]. Carlsson is up to 2 million to be back in the lead, with Guerin short on 320,000.

5:15pm: Aston builds a bigger house

Anthony Aston has won a monstrous pot in a bit of a cooler hand against Anthony Marenko to double through.

David Lloyd opened to 65,000 before Marenko three-bet to 120,000. Aston over-called and Lloyd came along to see an interesting [jh][as][ac] flop fall. Lloyd checked and Marenko slid out 160,000. Aston called once again as Lloyd escaped before the [8d] appeared on the turn.

Marenko checked and Aston deliberated before betting 222,000 with around 300,000 more behind. It was Marenko's turn to tank before he slid out 600,000 to put his opponent all in. Aston waved his arms and immediately announced a call, opening [js][jc] for a full house. Marenko couldn't believe it, as his [8h][8s] left him with just one out.
It wasn't to be, as the [6h] rolled off to see Aston double to 1.7 million with Marenko slipping to 700,000.

4:55pm: Carlsson showing the skillz

Mat Carlsson has turned up the heat following the break with some aggressive play leading to a couple of nice pots.

The latest one was preflop with a cold four-bet from the big blind. Anthony Marenko opened with a raise before Anthony Aston three-bet to 122,000 in the cutoff. Action folded to Carlsson in the big blind and he four-bet to another 177,000 on top. Marenko quickly folded with Aston thinking for a moment before also releasing.

Carlsson is now up to 1.75 million and looking strong.

4:40pm: Play resumes

The six remaining players are back in action with Anthony Marenko holding the chip lead with over 1.5 million. Didier Guerin finds himself now on the short stack for the first time all tournament, but he still has a little over 25 big blinds.

Add to del.icio.us

Digg this

Post to Furl

Add to reddit

Add to myYahoo!

ANZPT Perth Final Table: Levels 20-21 (blinds
10,000-20,000, ante 2,000)

4:30pm: Ten-minute break

4:29pm: John Shin eliminated in 7th place

On the second-last hand of the level, Mat Carlsson was in the tank and John Shin and Didier Guerin looked to walk away from the table to take their break a little early. Shin looked at the clock, and knowing that he couldn't afford to miss any hands with his short stack, he chirped, "There might be one more hand."

He was right, and unfortunately it would be the last of his tournament.

Didier Guerin opened to 40,000 before John Shin moved all in from the cutoff for around 140,000. David Lloyd was on the button and he also announced himself all in to isolate himself against the short stack. Guerin folded and the cards were tabled.

Shin: [ks][jh]
Lloyd: [js][jd]

The board ran out [qd][5c][4h][8s][th] to leave Lloyd's pair in front and eliminate Shin in 7th place for $11,160 in prize money.

John Shin eliminated in 7th place

4:15pm: Straight to the top

A huge pot has just gone the way of Anthony Marenko to leave John Shin hurting.

Marenko opened from early position and Shin made the call in the blinds to take a flop of [th][4c][kh]. Shin check-called for 60,000, before the [qc] was the money card on the turn. Shin checked, Marenko bet 180,000 before Shin announced himself all in. Marenko snap-called with [jh][9d] for the straight as Shin threw his head back in dismay as he revealed [ks][qh] for two pair.

The river was the [4h] and Markenko doubles up to 1.35 million with Shin slipping to just 170,000 in change.

4:00pm: Two pair for Marenko

Anthony Marenko was introduced this morning as being the tallest player on the final table. Well he's hoping to grow a chip stack to match that height after winning a nice pot recently against John Shin.

After the flop was checked, Marenko bet 75,000 on the turn on the [js][kd][qh][2h] board. Shin called but the [9c] slowed each player as they checked it down.

Marenko showed [qd][jd] for two pair to take it down. He's up to 570,000 with Shin at 850,000.

3:40pm: Ace-high monsterpotten for Aston

ANZPT Sydney third place finisher, Anthony Aston is now into the chip lead after surviving a couple of sizeable bullets from David Lloyd.

Lloyd check-raised the flop, barrelled 220,000 on the turn before checking the river on a board of [9c][4c][2h][td][7d]. Aston had called him down and quickly tapped the table behind on the river.

Lloyd showed [ac][8c] for a busted flush draw as Aston had made a nice read with [ah][kd] to win the pot with ace-king-high. Aston is up to 1.35 million with Lloyd now short on 350,000.

3:30pm: Level up, blinds 10,000-20,000, ante 2,000

3:25pm: Paul Satzke eliminated in 8th place

Didier Guerin opened to 36,000 before Paul Satzke moved all in for 119,000. Play folded back to Guerin who painfully splashed out calling chips.

Guerin: [8d][4d]
Satzke: [3h][3d]

We could see why Guerin was hesitant after he opened his cards, but he would've been pretty happy to be racing.

The flop was [2d][jc][6d] to give Guerin a flush draw, but it was the [4s] on the turn which gave Guerin the lead. The river was the [5d] to give Satzke a straight but five diamonds gave Guerin the flush for the win.

Satzke collects $8,835 for 8th place finish here in Perth.

Paul Satzke eliminated in 8th place

3:20pm: Chips for Aston

Mat Carlsson opened with an under-the-gun raise and Anthony Aston was the lone caller in position to see a flop of [qs][6c][6s].

Carlsson led out for 66,000 and Aston called before both checked the [jh] turn. The river was the [7d] and Carlsson checked again to Aston who bet a tasty 56,000. Carlsson took the bait and mucked when Aston showed [qd][jd] for two pair.

Aston is now up to 900,000 and looking dangerous as Carlsson slips to 880,000.

3:10pm: Check three times, then raise

We've seen another interesting hand at this final table, although it took until the river for the fireworks to erupt. Four players saw a board of [3d][3c][ad][7h][kh] and after action had checked to this point, we weren't expecting to see much action.

Didier Guerin was the preflop raiser and he took a stab for 75,000. Mat Carlsson folded and John Shin called in the small blind. Action was then on David Lloyd in the big blind and he made a surprising check-raise to 200,000 after tapping the table three times prior. Guerin couldn't figure it out and paid to see as Shin shrugged and folded.

Lloyd showed [3h][9h] for trips which was good as Guerin mucked. Lloyd is back up to 750,000 with Guerin dropping to 500,000.

2:55pm: Lucas Mierzwa eliminated in 9th place

Anthony Aston and Lucas Mierzwa went to war preflop in a battle of button versus small blind. Aston held [ac][qs] on the button but Mierzwa had him dominated with [ah][kc] in the small blind.

Both players had similar stacks, so it was all or nothing right here. Unfortunately for Mierzwa, he got unlucky as the board ran out [9h][jc][qc][7s][8c] to see Aston pair his kicker.

Aston is up to 600,000 as Mierzwa collects $6,510 for 9th place.

Lucas Mierzwa eliminated in 9th place

2:50pm: Shin overpowers Satzke

Wow, Josh Shin has come out of the gates with all guns blazing. It's great to see someone take control of the table so early, and it's paying off after he's collected a nice pot from Paul Satzke.

Satzke opened to 45,000 and picked up calls from Shin and David Lloyd in position to see a flop of [7c][7s][jd].

Satzke led out for 60,000 but Shin popped it to 130,000 to force Lloyd out of the way. Satzke verbalized a reraise to 230,000, but before the chips could be brought into the middle, Shin was all in. Satzke only had another 145,000 more behind, but he still couldn't find a call as he folded his cards. With that, Shin is back to the top with a stack of 1.1 million as Satzke is now in a world of hurt as the short stack.

2:45pm: Shin gives some back

Picking up the action on the turn on a board of [js][8h][jd][kh], John Shin fired 52,000 fromt he small blind. Mat Carlsson made the call and the river landed the [7h]. Keeping up the aggression, Shin bet another 66,000 but Carlsson took a moment before looking him up.

Shin tabled [ad][5h] for ace-high as Carlsson was good with his [ac][8s]. This puts Carlsson into the lead with about 1.05 million with Shin slipping to 750,000.

2:35pm: Shin doesn't waste any time

The players didn't waste any time in getting busy as four of them paid 40,000 apiece on the first hand of the day. John Shin was the preflop aggressor and he led out for 62,000 from under the gun on a flop of [ts][7d][td]. David Lloyd was the only caller as the [4h] hit the turn.

Shin reached for chips before tapping the table as Lloyd bet 75,000. Shin check-raised to 155,000 which forced a fold from Lloyd.

An interesting start as Shin gets to 900,000 with Lloyd dropping to 435,000.

2:30pm: We're underway!

The microphone has been handed to Burswood poker room manager Deb Wyatt who has given the final instructions to shuffle up and deal.

The clock has been wound back to the start of Level 20 with the blinds at 8,000-16,000 with a 2,000 ante, so should give the short stacks a little more play.

2:15pm: Please hold, your call is important to us

The players are unbagging their chips and then have to satisfy the usual media and photography obligations that come with being on a major final table, including having their biographies announced to the audience on the rail. The price of fame!

So there is a slight delay but we should be underway in a few minutes.

2:10pm: The biggest sporting events come to Perth

Move over V8 Supercars and step aside Australian Rules Football (go Roos!). There's a bigger event in the city of Perth today and its happening right here in the Burswood poker room. It's the final table of the ANZPT Perth Main Event and we're about to crown a new champion of Australian poker.

It should be an exciting day on the felt with some aggressive young players and a nice dose of locals which should give the rail plenty to cheer about.

Stay tuned to the PokerStars blog for our live coverage throughout the day!

Add to del.icio.us

Digg this

Post to Furl

Add to reddit

Add to myYahoo!