Queenstown - Latest Post

The writer in me loves a good storyline. When play kicked off today for Day 4 of the 2010 ANZPT Queenstown Main Event, several of those "good storylines" were in play. Could the overnight chip leader, Vesko Zmukic, go wire to wire? How would the Season 2 point races...more

9:51pm: Andrew Watson eliminated in 2nd place -- Julian Cohen wins ANZPT Queenstown Main Event! After Andrew Watson started trending downwards, he didn't seem to be able to stop. On the final hand of the tournament, Watson opened all in from the button for about 450,000. Julian Cohen snap-called with...more

7:01pm: Short dinner break The last four players, who have been at it for almost seven hours now, have been given 30 minutes to find something to eat. 6:54pm: Spilkin's check-raise doesn't get the desired result On a paired flop of 8♥T♦8♦, Michael Spilkin checked to the pre-flop raiser,...more

My cab driver from the airport into the center of Queenstown last Tuesday was a woman named Jackie. Jackie looked to be in her early 40s, had a smile from the moment I walked up to her cab until the moment I got out of it, and was a font...more

6:52pm: Steve Smith bubbles; Day 3 concludes It took more than hour, but we finally have our bubble boy of the 2010 ANZPT Queenstown Main Event. In a blind-versus-blind battle, Steve Smith moved all in for an additional 38,600 from the big blind after Bryan Huang was in from the...more

4:01pm: Break 25 players remain. They're now on a short break. 3:56pm: Macbeth happy for the action Action folded all the way to the small blind at Tim Macbeth's table. That player moved all in for about 25,000. Tim Macbeth snap-called with J♣J♥. The small blind showed A♣3♣ and although...more

On a short Day 2 at the 2010 ANZPT Queenstown Main Event, there didn't expect to be many stories to write about. Three-and-a-half hours of play isn't long enough for sustained skirmishes between players. The short stacks will get it in, sure. Some will double, some will bust, and life...more

4:12pm Play concludes That's it for Day 2. It looks like Team PokerStars Pro Lee Nelson, with a shade more than 115,000 chips, finished play as the chip leader. 50 players will return tomorrow -- 35 from Day 2 here in Queenstown and 15 from Day 2 in Auckland. A...more

2:20pm: Break time The remaining 41 players have been sent on their first and only break of the day. 2:10pm: Hachem frustrated Three pre-flop raises put Tony Hachem in a tough spot. Michael Spilkin (down to 95,000 so far) opened for 1,700. Hachem was next to act and made...more

Leo Tolstoy opens his epic 19th-century novel Anna Karenina by noting that, "All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy after its own fashion." What was true of families in Tolstoy's day is true of poker players today: the happy ones (the winners) are generally alike, but the...more

5:47pm: Play concludes; Zheng leads Day 1B As we suspected, not much changed on the last three hands of the night. The players were content to bag up the chips and try again tomorrow. The Day 1B field looks to be led by Jackson Zheng, who finished with 74,075....more

4:33pm: Last break of the day The remaining 33 players are on a ten-minute break. 4:29pm: A break for Hachem An all-in brought us quickly over to Table 5, where Tony Hachem check-raised a bet of 1,500 all in to about 6,000 on a flop of 5♠6♠2♦. Once Hachem's...more

In many cultures, it's considered good luck if a bird should -- pardon the expression -- crap on you. Nobody will be able to tell you why that's so. Some will say the statistical likelihood of such an event is so low it has to be good. Others will...more

4:44pm: Play resumes The players are back in their seats. This is the last level for today. 27 remain. 4:54pm: Coates runs into Spilkin's straight Any players that might be going out looking for young, single ladies tonight should probably rub Michael Spilkin for good luck before they do...more

2:32pm: Play resumes Cards are back in the air. 2:40pm: Final entrants The late registration for Day 1A is completed. 38 players entered today's field. They'll play three more hours before bagging up the chips. Approximately the same number are expected for tomorrow. All told, the Day 3 field (when...more