By Landon Blackhall

As the players take the opportunity to stretch their legs during the first break of the day, we grabbed a quick chat with Karl Krautschneider.

He'll always hold a special place in ANZPT history as the tour's inaugural champion after a three-day battle at SKYCITY Adelaide back in January.

"After the win in Adelaide I had a month's holiday over in Thailand," he said. "And I only managed to get here after winning a last chance satellite!"

It would appear at first glance that Krautschneider would be a marked man after his win at the inaugural event of the ANZPT, however he's not worried - in fact, he thinks the win in Adelaide earned him a lot more respect at the tables.

He went on to tell us about his start to the ANZPT Sydney Main Event. "I've had a tough table so far; there are a number of young kids on my table who are pretty aggressive. I've had 10s, Jacks, Queens, a good run of cards, but not too many chances to take down some of the bigger pots. I'm sitting on 22,000 but there's plenty of time to build that up."

Of course, one of the hot topics when it comes to poker here at Star City is the rivalry between players from Sydney and Melbourne. Krautschneider was quick to point out Sydney's weaknesses and reckons they're more fearful when a Melbourne player is sitting at their table.

"There's always been a big competition between us. Melbourne players are a lot more patient, educated and know when to pick their spots. Sydney players are more 'cowboyish'; they're gung-ho and raise with pretty much anything, but they lose their money faster!"

Watch it Karl, the numbers are in favour of the home town here at Star City.