“It appears James is in a spot of bother.”
Such was the choice of words applied by APPT President Danny McDonagh, here calling the action at the final three tables of the Asia Championship of Poker Main Event.
The first half-hour of play have seen multiple all-ins, including Henry Wang (Chinese Taipei) surviving putting himself at risk on two occasions versus leader Michael Kanaan (Australia), as well as both Tri Ba Huynh (Canada) and Andrew Hinrichsen (Australia) doubling through Raiden Kan (Malaysia).
Things didn’t go so well for James McCarty of Japan, however, when he tried an all-in of his own with pocket sevens versus the ace-king of Macau’s Yue Hin “Gary” Lam. A [Q][J][10] flop gave Lam Broadway, thereby eliciting the understated analysis from McDonagh. Two cards later McCarty was gone in 22nd, earning $173,000 (HKD) for his finish.
Meanwhile, the most dramatic moment thus far in Level 17 came when Tom Alner of the U.K. found himself all in with A♦ Q♥ against Raiden Kan’s Kâ™ K♣ .
“Ace-ball!” yelled an Alner supporter, and sure enough as the dealer began to spread the flop the first card visible was the Aâ™ . Alas for Alner, the second was the K♥ , followed by the 3â™ .
Talk about a spot of bother.
The turn A♣ elicited some chuckles and murmurs, insofar as it provided a means of escape for Alner, however improbable.
Then came the river… the Q♦ !
The players and staff let out an involuntary, collective “whoa!” at that. A runner-runner full house had saved Alner, and after a half-hour of play today we are still at 21.
Martin Harris is Freelance Contributor to the PokerStars Blog.
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