Thursday, 28th March 2024 17:50
Home / Uncategorized / APPT7 Queenstown: Friendly fire

This tournament does have a bit of a home game vibe with plenty of familiar faces and lots of table banter, but there’s one unwritten rule that applies at the poker table no matter where in the world you might be. And that rule is that there are no friends at a poker table.

Tom Grigg and Ben Richardson are currently sharing a house in Queenstown along with another six online players who have flown out together from Australia. They’ve shared some fun adventures on the ski slopes, enjoyed dining together in the local restaurants and caused some mischief in the bars around Quenstown. Grigg and Richardson are even both members of the same State of Origin poker team back home. But today, they find themselves seated at opposite ends of the same table, which means that the gloves are off.

ben_richardson_appt_queenstown.jpg

Ben Richardson in action at the APPT Queenstown

Some would joke that it’s rude to check-raise a friend on a bluff, but it’s no holds barred at the moment out on Table 6. In a recent pot, Tom Grigg opened the action with a raise from under the gun with Ben Richardson the lone caller. They both checked a flop of 3♦ A♣ 8â™  before Grigg tapped the table again on the 9♦ turn. Richardson plonked out a bet but Grigg responded with a check-raise. It wasn’t enough to scare Richardson before both players tapped the table on the 9â™  river.

“I got nothing,” sighed Grigg as Richardson opened A♥ Q♣ to take it down.

tom_grigg_appt7_queenstown2.jpg

Tom Grigg in the thick of the action in Queenstown

Grigg and Daniel Laidlaw also exchanged some friendly banter after Laidlaw congratulated Grigg on his new Full Tilt Poker sponsorship.

“I reckon you’ve won 83% of the hands we’ve ever played together,” Grigg posed to Laidlaw.

“Well, you should stop raising the button with jack-two suited!” came the reply from Laidlaw.

While the banter is fun, the action is serious. It’s hard playing against your friends who know your game so well, but that’s just another challenge these guys face here in the APPT Queenstown Main Event.

Study Poker with Pokerstars Learn, practice with the PokerStars app