I have to take a different seat this morning. A bunch of suits are sitting around my usual spot like ugly looking toads on lily pads. Bastards. I switch out a bum bone crushing seat for a less painful one and sit by the window. An advertisement of a toasted sandwich fills my gaze. I think it’s full of kimchi.
Behind the ad, stands the Marriot Hotel, rising towards the sun that kills and caresses in equal measure. I follow the floors until the back of my head touches my spine, and I see a naked form walk towards the window and grab underwear from a maiden.
I order my eyes to switch into ‘binocular’ mode.
I want to know if it’s a man or a woman.
I can’t tell.
Like a Twitcher unable to find the Dunlin, I go back to my work, disappointed not to identify the flesh that briefly entered my crosshairs.
I’m writing up the recap for the HKD 100,000 (USD 12,500) Short-Deck Ante-Only.
Nick Schulman won the event for $271,975.
Typically, players keep on rolling when on fire.
Not Schulman.
As the HKD 500,000 (USD 64,000) Short-Deck, Ante-Only kicks into gear, the man whose first ever ITM finish in a live tournament was $2.1m, joins me for an interview.
That was Schulman’s first experience of Short-Deck, Ante-Only, and that’s the most likely reason the American avoided the meatier version of the event. However, the heftier price tag didn’t put off Ben Lamb, who also cashed in the HKD 100,000 event.
Joining Lamb in the HKD 500,000 version was Jason Koon, Mikita Badziakouski, Gabe Patgorski, Alan Sass, Peter Jetten, Paul Phua, Tom Dwan and Phil Ivey.
Stephen Chidwick, who also broke his virginity in the HKD 100,000 also sat this one out, preferring to wait to play the HKD 500,000 No-Limit Hold’em Six-Max the following day.
All told, the HKD 500,000 buy-in event attracted 44-entrants (including six buy-ins by Alan Sass), and the day swam through 10-levels before coming up for a breather with only nine remaining, and five payout spots.
Let’s have a look at some of the highlights.
Ding! Ding!
Level 2 Ante 1k
Nobody showed up throughout Level 1
The first player to lose all three lives was Wai Kin Yong.
The action was all-in, pre-flop
Yong: JTo
Wei Hsiang Yeu: Q9o
Patgorski: AA
The board ran out AK8Q8, giving Patgorski a boat.
Level 3, Ante 2k
Marius Torbergesen swallowed Ivan Leow’s first entry AA>Q9o.
Devan Tang did the same to Jetten AQ>QQ, after flopping a straight.
Level 4, Ante 2k
Koon sent Marius Toerbergesen and Xuan Tuan either to the cash desk or the pool when his QQ beat the T9 and J9 of his opponents.
Level 6, Ante 4k
Lamb chipped up while forcing Jetten to dig out another 100k stack, and sending Phua to the cash desk after the money went in on a flop of AhTd8h.
Lamb: 8c8s
Jetten: AdTh
Phua: Jc9d
The set held.
Leow forced Badziakouski to re-enter when his AK beat JTo.
Level 7, Ante 5k
Sass dusted off his fourth entry losing AQ to Patgorski’s AK but vowed to return for the fifth time.
Level 8, Ante 6k
You never want to have the worse end of the straight, but that’s what happened to Ivey in a four-way pot involving Sass (QQ), Dwan (K9o), Ivey (T7o) and Lamb (QTo). All the money went in on the J98r flop, Sass and Lamb chopped, sending Ivey packing.
Level 9, Ante 8k
Koon eliminated Phua 88>AJ.
Level 10, Ante 10k
Registration closed.
Rui Cao eliminated Romain Arnaud KTs>AQo after rivering quad tens.
Finally, Leow eliminated Lamb KK>AQ, before taking the overnight chip lead with the following hand:
Leow limped from the late position holding KK, Cao raised to AJo to 95,000 on the button, Leow re-raised to 300,000, and Cao called.
Flop: KdQd9s
Leow checked his top set; Cao also checked.
Turn: Tc
Leow bet 325,000, and Cao, who had made the straight, just called.
River: 9d
Leow checked, Cao bet 700,000, and with everyone expecting to see Leow move all-in, he merely called with the second nut full house to take a healthy lead into the final day, and leave Cao with a stack good enough for a fifth place start.
End of Day Chip Counts
1. Ivan Leow – 3,645,000
2. Devan Tang – 2,430,000
3. Jason Koon – 1,720,000
4. Tom Dwan – 1,275,000
5. Rui Cao – 1,245,000
6. Alan Sass – 800,000
7. Gabe Patgorski – 795,000
8. Chan Wai Leong – 635,000
9. Mikitza Badziakouski – 555,000
The Money
1. HKD 8,470,000 (USD 1,079,630)
2. HKD 5,280,000 (USD 673,016)
3. HKD 3,630,000 (USD 462,698)
4. HKD 2,640,000 (USD 336,508)
5. HKD 1,980,000 (USD 252,378)