$1,650 Main Event [Day 1a]
Structure Chip counts Prizepool
Photo Gallery Players Left: 120 out of 363
"Chip Leader Joel 'Strong Play' Dodds"
September 10, 2010
Day 1a In The Bag; Dodds Leads!
After ten levels of play and nearly half a day in the Star City Poker Room, Day 1a of the Sydney Poker Championships Main Event has come to a close!149 hopefuls anted up $1,650 to take part in the second annual Sydney Poker Championships as this bumper day one field set the precedent of a potential 400-player Main Event and possible $150,000 first prize.
Old-school veterans Martin Comer, Billy Jordanou, Emanuel Seal, Antonis Kambouroglou, Sam Youssef and Billy 'The Croc' Argyros, along with local players Michael Tran, Tom Rafferty, Rafe Aman, reigning APPT Sydney Champion Aaron Benton and PokerNews High Rollers Champion Daniel Neilson all took a seat. Unfortunately the above mentioned would also vacate their seat throughout the duration of the day as only 51 players managed to bag and tag their chips.
Of those fifty-one, it is the highly popular cult figure Joel 'Strong Play' Dodds headlining the field with an amassed 150,400 in chips. Snapping on his heels in the six-figure club include Andre Dowling (127,000), Scott 'Punty' Smith (126,900), Matthew Pongrass (126,900) and Sam Khouiss (101,600).
Still in contention for day two Saturday play include recent NPL 500 Champion Terry Tserdanis (96,300), Ricky 'rickwaa' Kroesen (60,200), Tony Hachem (47,300), Grant Levy (22,400) and Graeme 'Kiwi G' Putt (26,600).
Day 1b is expecting to attract a field of at least 200, so make sure to join PokerNetwork tomorrow from 12:30 p.m for the continued live coverage of the 2010 Sydney Poker Championships Main Event live from the Star City Poker Room!
Just Four More Hands
Tournament Director Jason Wicks has just announced to the remaining players that there will be only four more hands for the evening.Four-Bet Victory for Dodds
Rhys Gould opened to 2,600 from early position only to have the player in the cutoff three-bet to 6,100.With the action on Joel Dodds on the button, he made it 14,200 to go to force eventual folds from both Gould and the cutoff.
WIth that pot, Dodds retains his chip lead slightly over Matthew Pongrass.
Levy Slips
Grant Levy opened to 3,100 from late position only to have an opponent in the cutoff move all in for 12,800.With the big blind in the tank, he eventually moved all in for 25,100 to put Levy in a tough spot.
"How much does that crocodile got?" asked Levy.
As the dealer cut down the 25,100 to confirm with Levy, the APPT Sydney Champion uttered, "Really?"
About a minute passed before Levy made the call.
Levy:
Big Blind:
Cutoff:
Although two players were hesitant to tell Levy, they whispered to our PokerNetwork reporter that they both had folded a nine as the board ran out
to see the big blind scoop the pot as Levy slips to 18,500."I don't call that off against a lot of players . . . but this guy" stated Levy as he pointed to the big blind.
Updated Chip Counts
Here is who is sitting on the top of the leaderboard.Joel 'StrongPlay' Dodds - 135,000
Matthew Pongrass - 130,000
Sam Khouiss - 110,000
Terry Tserdanis - 110,000
Scott Smith - 100,000
Just a Reminder
Just a reminder to those following along from home . . . this will be the last level of play for the evening.
Round 10 Blinds: 600/1200 Ante: 100
Smith Kind Of Gets Paid
On a board of
with roughly 55,000 in the pot, Scott Smith moved all in for 47,500.His lone opponent in the hand - Matthew Pongrass - had been taking the passive line in the hand just calling Smith's bets, and with that final cards and final shove, was faced with a decision for a huge chunk of his chips.
Nearly three minutes went by before - following some inaudible banter - Pongrass folded and Smith tabled his
while collecting the pot.As Pongrass slipped to 83,000, he reached into his wallet and pulled out a $50 note to hand to Smith - which by our calculations was agreed on for Smith showing his cards.
Gould Sends One Packing
In the blinds, Rhys Gould saw an opponent move all in from middle position, and once the action was back on him, he made the call.Gould:
Opponent:
The board ran out
to see Gould eliminate an opponent and move to 75,000 in chips.