The Australian dollar has been on the decline recently.

We wouldn’t blame you for thinking that’d mean an absence of Aussies at this ACOP series in Macau, but that’s evidently not the case as the field here is riddled with players from Down Under.

At the start of the day there were 15 Australians still in the hunt – most of whom have stellar results on both the live circuit and the virtual felt.

WSOP Main Event champion Joe Hachem, fellow WSOP bracelet winners Jarred Graham and Sam Higgs, Aussie Millions champion Manny Stavropoulos, APPT Seoul High Roller winner Stevan Chew and ANZPT Melbourne champion Martin Kozlov are all on the tournament floor this afternoon.

Martin Kozlov at the table todayThe top three leading the way for the Australian contingent at the start of play were Matthew Wakeman (128,200), Billy ‘The Croc’ Argyros (112,700) and Andrew Hinrichsen (86,000).

Wakeman kicked off Day 2 in seventh place on the chip leader board. Mostly known for his online success, Wakeman is currently ranked second in Australia and eleventh worldwide according to PocketFives. He’s already had a great year, taking down WCOOP Event 36: $215 NLH 1R1A in September for $82,080. Wakeman’s biggest score, however, came in 2013 when he won the PokerStars Super Tuesday for $97,660.

The Australian with the second-most chips starting today is poker veteran Billy ‘The Croc’ Argyros. With cashes dating back to 1989 Argyros is one of the most recognisable faces in Australian poker. His biggest cash to date came back in 2008 when he final tabled the WSOP Pot Limit Omaha championship. He would ultimately finish fourth for a $268, 605 payday. Since then he emerged victorious in the 2013 APPT Melbourne Main Event.

Billy ‘The Croc’ ArgyrosAnd closing out the Australian podium for today’s frontrunners is Andrew Hinrichsen. He started the day in 20th spot. Hinrichsen has over $1.1 million in live career earnings to his name, a good portion of which was earned back in 2011. That year saw the Aussie prove triumphant in a WSOPE Cannes event for $197,748 and make a deep run in the WSOP Main Event, finishing 23rd for $302,005.

By the latest reports these three all appear to still be going strong. You can follow their progress and all the action at the live reporting section on the top of the Main ACOP page. Stay tuned for more stories from here at PokerStars LIVE Macau and updates on the player counts and prize pool information.

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