There are two types of declarative memories. The first is known as the semantic memory, or memory of knowledge, and this is where we store memories related to philosophy, and education, such as how to play poker. Then there are episodic memories – these hang out in the limbic brain and are highly emotional in such as your first kick-in, the first time you pull on your plonker, and that moment when you turn a $109 online satellite into $620,000.
It’s not often that an article on a tournament result focuses on the player who finished third, but that’s what’s going to happen because what did happen, doesn’t happen very often.
Charlie Godwin had earned $141,466 playing live tournaments before parlaying a $109 online satellite into an entry into the $100,000 Super High Roller during the WPT World Online Championships.
She must have been pinching herself after booking a place on the final table against the likes of Isaac Haxton, Linus Loeliger and Michael Addamo. And imagine how she felt when four-handed, she saw Sergi Reixach hit the rail hard in a hand against Haxton, netting her a $250,000 pay jump.
Incredible.
Godwin eventually departed in third, and after agreeing upon a heads-up deal, that netting both Addamo and Haxton $1.2m in earnings, Addamo netted the final $30,000 and the title.
But this one’s all about Godwin.
Final Table Results
Michael Addamo – $1,284,114*
Isaac Haxton – $1,216,286*
Charlie Godwin – $620,000
Sergi Reixach – $374,000
Linus Loelieger – $276,000
Christoph Vogelsang – $229,600
Daniel Dvoress – Zip
*Indicates a heads-up deal
Artur Martirosian Wins The WPT World Online Championships Player of the Year Leaderboard
While Godwin was giant slaying in the $100,000, the title of WPT Online Championship Player of the Championship was being decided in the $10k Mini High Roller.
Going into that one, Scott Margereson and Artur Martirosian were the only people who could win the POY award, and both made the final table. Margereson finished in sixth, and the Russian went on to win the thing for $239,500, a victory that netted him an additional $50,000 for winning the leaderboard.
It’s time to take a gander at the weekend action at GGPoker as well as a snifter at the Stadium Series action over at PokerStars.
We begin at the grand racecourse of GGPoker, and all binoculars were on Stephen Chidwick, who won two events ($5k and $10k) and also finished runner-up in a $10k (those $10k events were Short-Deck events).
Chidwick wasn’t the only star sitting under the $10k parasols who bagged a brace, Isaac Haxton booked two wins in $10k Short Deck events to add to his considerable reputation at the highest stakes.
Seth Davies picked up a win and a second in $10k events, and Sam Greenwood earned a win, second and third. Sergi Reixach played the bridesmaid role with three runner-up finishes across the $10k Short Deck games.
Here are those results in full.
Sunday 19 July
High Rollers Blade PLO $5k
62-entrants
Results
Andras Nemeth – $91,508.28
Maximilian Lehmanski – $57,587.79
Andjelko Andrejevic – $43,568.06
Hun Wei Lee – $32,961.41
Ronny Kaiser – $24,936.96
Magibpsilo – $18,866.05
Jesus Cortes – $14,273.11
SpeedyDouble – $10,798.34
Bryns High Rollers $10k
11-entrants
Results
Jake Schindler – $69,355
Sergi Reixach – $37,345
High Rollers Short Deck $10k
22-entrants
Results
Isaac Haxton – $97,018.52*
Chi Zhang – $81,932.41*
Sam Greenwood – $34,449.07 *Indicates a heads-up deal.
High Rollers Short Deck $10k
18-entrants
Results
Sam Greenwood – $99,493.51*
Stephen Chidwick – $75,106.49* *Indicates a heads-up deal.
Monday 20 July
High Rollers Short Deck $10k
12-entrants
Results
Seth Davies – $75,660
Sam Greenwood – $40,740
High Rollers Short Deck $10k
11-entrants
Results
Isaac Haxton – $69,355
Sergi Reixach – $37,345
Tuesday 21 July
High Rollers Short Deck $10k
10-entrants
Results
Stephen Chidwick – $63,050
Sergi Reixach – $33,950
High Rollers Short Deck $10k
19-entrants
Results
Daniel Dvoress – $73,194.61*
Seth Davies – $81,353.92* *Indicates a heads-up deal
High Rollers Blade Prime $5k
31-entrants
Results
Stephen Chidwick – $47,979.90*
Pascal Lefrancois – $60,894.64*
Wiktor Malinowski – $25,471.
Steve O’Dwyer – $15,654.46 *Indicates a heads-up deal
Lex Veldhuis Wins a PokerStars Stadium Series Title
Triton commentator and broadcaster, Lex Veldhuis, reminded everyone of his silky skills at the poker table after taking down the 243-entrant $2,100 No Limit Hold’em event during the Stadium Series on PokerStars.
Final table incumbents moored their yachts, not parked bikes, to participate in this one. Mike ‘SirWatts’ Watson (2nd), Ivan ‘Negriin’ Luca (5th), Pablo ‘pabritz’ Brito Silva (6th), and Aliaksei “ale6ka” Boika (7th) squeezed into the elevator with he Twitch phenom. ‘MiracleQ’ finished ninth. In Aug he competed in a $1m Spin & Go, finishing second for $100k).
Veldhuis enchanted more than 26,000 people while bagging a personal-best $96,143.60, beating his previous best score of $91,695 after finishing runner-up to ‘GODofHU’ in a $2,100 No Limit Hold’em during the PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) in September.
As Veldhuis inches closer to his first six-figure online score Triton may have to go looking for his replacement if he keeps this up.
In other Stadium Series results, the former PocketFives World #1, Michael ‘munchenHB’ Telker, took down the $530, $1m GTD No Limit Hold’em for $157,004. The former Super Tuesday winner, Alisson ‘heyalisson’ Piekazewicz conquered a field of 1,347 entrants in a $1,050 No Limit Hold’em event for $185,376 after cutting a deal with Luan ‘Pseduo Fruto’ Piekazewicz
Isaac Haxton
Isaac Haxton ravaged the High Roller Club games on partypoker on Sunday. The partypoker ambassador made two final tables, winning the biggest one of the lot and bubbling the Mix-Max.
Haxton took down the 46-entrant, $25,500 High Roller Club Main Event beating Sergi Reixach, heads-up, to win the first prize of $437,000, before finishing 7/229 in the $5,200 Big Game.
Wiktor Malinowski, Viktor Blom and Sergi Reixach also made two final tables in the three events. Malinowski finished fourth in the $25k, and eighth in the Big Game; Blom finished sixth in the $25k and seventh in the $10k Mix-Max; Reixach added an eighth-place finish in the Mix-Max to the runner-up finish in the $25k.
Haxton wasn’t the only partypoker pro heralded in the poker news columns this week. Patrick’ pleno1′ Leonard excelled in May leading PocketFives to award him with the monthly PLB title.
Amongst Leonard’s highlights were two Spring Championships of Online Poker (SCOOP) titles, and a runner-up in GGPoker’s massive $25k event during the World Series of Poker Super Circuit. The WSOPC win earned him a whopping $1.6m to sail past the $11m mark in all-time online multi-table tournament (MTT) earnings.
It’s Leonard’s first PLB title since October 2014, and he currently sits third in the PocketFives World Rankings.
Here are the High Roller Club Results for Sunday.
High Roller Club: $25,500 Main Event
46-entrants
Results
Isaac Haxton – $437,000
Sergi Reixach – $287,500
Pascal Lefrancois – $184,000
Wiktor Malinowski – $103,500
George Wolff – $80,500
Viktor Blom – $57,500
High Roller Club: $5,200 The Big Game
229-entrants
Results
Pablo Brito Silva – $216,635.69
Andrew Pantling – $157,244.08
Nick Schulman – $112,089.53
Chad Eveslage – $82,871.88
Dzmitry Urbanovich – $58,435.30
Mark Davis – $44,623.32
Isaac Haxton – $32,936.26
Wiktor Malinowski – $24,436.58
High Roller Club: $10,300 Mix-Max Second Chance
65-entrants
Results
Thomas Muehloecker – $224,840.20
Mikita Badziakouski – $146.250
Dan Shak – $78,000
Christoph Vogelsang – $58,500
Daniel Dvoress – $42,250
Dario Sammartino – $29,250
Viktor Blom – $23,636.60
Sergi Reixach – $23,636.60
If you have spent the past month knocking back Kingfishers from the carcasses of coconuts while grinding the World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) Online Series at GGPoker, then there will be a funereal gloominess about you, today.
It’s over, for now.
While I am positive that this event will clone itself like a sea anemone, GGPoker continues to melt high roller hearts, WSOP or no WSOP.
The final event of the WSOPC created one of the most substantial prizes on the Internet this week. Of the 9,291-entrants who made the perilous journey through the misty mountains of Day 1 of the $1,000 buy-in, $5m GTD WSOPC Main Event, 1.494 made it through to Day 2, by which time the $9,291,000 prize pool dwarfed the $5m guarantee.
The winner hailed from Germany.
‘schimmelgodx’ collected $1,271,217.69 after beating ‘Biereux’ in heads-up action. Juan Pardo Dominguez went deeper than any other high roller, finishing fourth for $430,022.47, and these stars of the top strata followed him: Artur Martirosian (12th), Alexandros Kolonias (19th), Joao Vieira (31st), and Daniel Dvoress (32nd).
Here are the results
Results
schimmelgodx – $1,271,217.69
Biereux – $885,746.81
Igutu – $617,164.03
Juan Pardo Dominguez – $430,022.47
TepuseenFD – $299,627.33
CoRoNaTi – $208,771.57
MaillouL – $145,466.38
wy77 – $101,356.30
Before, during and after this magnificent moment, GGPoker kept churning out the high roller action like London horizons churn out cumulus.
Isaac Haxton took down the most significant chunk of change, topping a 60-entrant field in a $25,000 No Limit Hold’em event for $456,764.45, after beating Linus Loeliger, heads-up. There were also wins for Matthias Eibinger at the $10,000 level, and victories for Dario Sammartino, Laurynas Levinskas, Alex Foxen, Adrian Mateos, Jake Schindler, Mikita Badziakouski, and Kristen Bicknell at the $5,000 level. Andras Nemeth won the only high buy-in Pot-Limit Omaha event, taking down a $5,000.
Here are the Results:
$25,000 No Limit Hold’em
60-entrants
Results
Isaac Haxton – $456,764.45
Linus Loeliger – $287,450.12
Deepdarkwood – $217,470.47
Sub-Zero – $164,527.25
Alexandros Kolonias – $124,473.13
Ali Imsirovic – $94,170.11
Artur Martirosian – $71,244.43
George Wolff – $53,900.04
$10,000 No Limit Hold’em
84-entrants
Results
Matthias Eibinger – $198,735.16
Dario Sammartino – $151,387.06
pDNA – $115,319.62
Linus Loeliger – $87,845.13
Jake Schindler – $66,916.34
Nator – $50,973.72
Isaac Baron – $38,829.45
Timothy Adams – $29,578.46
George Wolff – $26,767.56
$5,000 Pot Limit Omaha
38-entrants
Results
Andras Nemeth – $76,998.40
Andreas Torbergsen – $45,494.62
coronita – $28,636.32
Magicmaster69 – $18,024.96
20BigWhale20 – $11,345.70
$5,000 No Limit Hold’em
112-entrants
Results
Dario Sammartino – $121,843.29
Samuel Vousden – $91,774.30
Alex Foxen – $69,080.73
Pascal Hartmann – $52,015.71
Matthias Eibinger – $39,166.26
Alexnadros Kolonias – $29,490.99
Timothy Adams – $22,205.83
cliffbooth – $16,720.33
Trashdawg – $14,748.26
$5,000 No Limit Hold’em
58-entrants
Results
Laurynas Levinskas – $95,443.37
Trashdawg – $58,329.65
David Peters – $42,108.05
Jake Schindler – $30,397.70
Kristen Bicknell – $21,944.04
Pascal Hartmann – $15,841.36
Jonathan Van Fleet – $11,435.83
$5,000 No Limit Hold’em
22-entrants
Results
Alex Foxen – $54,601.25
Tonythetiger – $33,029.35
Ali Imsirovic – $16,869.39
$5,000 No Limit Hold’em
67-entrants
Results
Adrian Mateos – $68,710.30*
Nick Petrangelo – $77,308.85*
Luuk Gieles – $45,737.48
Dan Smith – $35,761.27
Sam Greenwood – $27,961.06
HogFish333 – $21,862.21
George Wolff – $17,093.65
Artur Martirosian – $13,365.19
David Peters – $10,449.99
*Indicates a heads-up deal
$5,000 No Limit Hold’em
65-entrants
Results
Jake Schindler – $95,936.10
Adrian Mateos – $60,374.30
Ali Imsirovic – $45,676.19
Dan Smith – $34,556.31
Porsche911sp – $26,143.59
Sergi Reixach – $19,778.92
BigWhale20 – $14,963.75
Sam Greenwood – $11,320.84
$5,000 No Limit Hold’em
66-entrants
Results
Mikita Badziakouski – $97,412.04
Rui Ferreira – $61,303.13
Vamossuerte – $46,378.90
Adrian Mateos – $35,087.95
Alexandros Kolonias – $26,545.80
TheProfessional – $20,083.21
Jake Schindler – $15,193.96
Pascal Hartmann – $11,495.01
$5,000 No Limit Hold’em
44-entrants
Results
TheProfessional – $89,156.02
Jake Schindler – $52,677.99
AndyAtTheBike – $33,157.85
Pascal Hartmann – $20,871.01
Fedor Holz – $13,137.13
$5,000 No Limit Hold’em
122-entrants
Results
Kristen Bicknell – $88,387.40*
Alex Foxen – $99,929.86*
Isaac Baron – $108,820.35*
Ami Barer – $55,909.17
Michael Addamo – $42,529.38
DanBiz – $32,351.51
Dnegking – $24,609.33
Adiemeerci – $18,719.99
Andras Nemeth – $14,240.05
*Indicates a threeway deal
PokerStars Spring Championship of Online Poker
The final day of the PokerStars Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) saw Steve ‘Mr. Tim Caum’ O’Dwyer come close to winning his third title of the series.
O’Dwyer finished runner-up to the partypoker pro Joao ‘IneedMassari’ Simão in Event #120: $2,100 No Limit Hold’em Sunday Warm-Up Special Edition.
The event attracted 418-entrants, and the former PocketFives World #1 earned $150,546.78 for his victory. O’Dwyer collected $112,819.20 for his second-place finish.
O’Dwyer won a $25,000 No Limit Hold’em event for $521,598, and a $10,300 event for $241,956 – the first time he has earned SCOOP honours a year after winning a World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) title for the first time.
Isaac Haxton Wins Super High Roller Bowl V – Photo by Poker Central
Isaac Haxton has won the Super High Roller Bowl (SHRB) V, the $3.67m first prize, and a long overdue place in poker’s major title record books.
It’s a fantastic achievement for the 33-year-old poker pro, who has fought tooth and nail in the highest stakes poker games for as long as anyone in the modern game.
The 36-entrant SHRB V took place over three days. Rick Salomon led 27-survivors at the end of Day 1, and Haxton ended Day 2 knowing he had a quarter of the chips in play and position on the second biggest stack belonging to Stephen Chidwick. Final Table Lay of the Land
1. Ali Imsirovic – 875,000
2. Stephen Chidwick – 2,405,000
3. Isaac Haxton – 2,415,000
4. Igor Kurganov – 1,550,000
5. Talal Shakerchi – 995,000
6. Alex Foxen – 1,590,000
7. Adrian Mateos – 975,000
Let’s take a look at how Haxton took this one down.
Ali Imsirovic Eliminated in 7th Place ($540,000)
The Poker Masters Champion opened to 40,000 on the button, Stephen Chidwick called in the small blind, before Isaac Haxton squeezed to 230,000 from the big blind. Imsirovic wasted little time in moving all-in, Chidwick folded, and Haxton called. Imsirovic was ahead with JcJh v A5cc, but the Kh9c7c flop handed Haxton a flush draw. The Tc complete that loose end on the turn, while also handing Imsirovic a flush draw, but the deck wasn’t as kind – the 9d ended the action, and Imsirovic moved to the rail for a consolatory hug from his father.
Igor Kurganov Eliminated in 6th Place ($756,000)
The action checked to Stephen Chidwick who bet 65,000 from his position in the middle of the pack and Igor Kurganov moved all-in for 350,000 on the button. Talal Shakerchi, who was next to act, also moved all-in for 1,560,000, and Chidwick folded. The Hedge Fund manager was light years ahead with TT versus 77, and despite flopping a gutshot straight draw, Kurganov couldn’t find the luck he needed to remain in the tournament.
Isaac Haxton – 2,755,000
Adrian Mateos – 2,455,000
Talal Shakerchi – 2,035,000
Stephen Chidwick – 1,910,000
Alex Foxen – 1,650,000
Adrian Mateos Eliminated in 5th Place ($972,000)
Adrian Mateos was first to act and opened to 110,000, and when the action folded to Alex Foxen in the big blind he three-bet to 455,000. Back on Mateos and the Spaniard moved all-in for 1,910,000 and Foxen called. We were at the races with Foxen’s AK searching for luck against the pocket nines of Mateos, and the deck delivered a King on the flop to give Foxen the winning hand, sending Mateos home.
Alex Foxen – 6,440,000
Isaac Haxton – 2,160,000
Talal Shakerchi – 1,285,000
Stephen Chidwick – 920,000
Talal Shakerchi Eliminated in 4th Place ($1,118,000)
First, to act, Isaac Haxton opened to 140,000 UTG, Talal Shakerchi moved all-in for 1,285,000, and Haxton made the call. The partypoker pro was ahead with 99 >ATo, and it stayed that way to send the only non-professional at the final table back to his hotel room.
Stephen Chidwick Eliminated in 3rd Place ($1,512,000)
Shakerchi had still not left the casino by the time his compatriot, Stephen Chidwick tangled with Isaac Haxton in a bout of gymnastics that ended up with the pair all-in pre-flop with Chidwick at risk of elimination. It was another classic flip with Chidwick’s AQ needing to get lucky against JJ, and a set for Haxton on the flop reduced the odds dramatically. The 2d on the turn left Chidwick drawing dead, and Haxton would take on the Global Poker Index (GPI) #1, Alex Foxen, for all the beans with a 4,965,000 v 5,840,000 chip deficit.
Heads Up
Alex Foxen opened to 150,000 holding AdJc, Isaac Haxton three-bet to 630,000 holding pocket eights, and Foxen called. The dealer fanned a Kc7s5h flop over the table, and Haxton bet 750,000; Foxen called. Both players tapped the felt at the sight of the 6s on the turn, before deja vu on the 5s river, and Haxton took the lead with his pocket eights.
Haxton – 7,220,000
Foxen – 3,585,000
Foxen opened to 15,000 holding the crappy looking Qd2s, and Isaac Haxton called with K6dd. The flop of AsTd8d handed Haxton a flush draw, and he rightly called after Foxen had bet 235,000. The turn was the 3d completing the flush, and Foxen, who now had a flush draw, bet 515,000; Haxton called. The river was the 6h, Haxton checked for the third time, and then moved all-in when Foxen wagered 1,400,000 on a bluff. Foxen folded.
Haxton – 9,340,000
Foxen – 1,465,000
Isaac Haxton limped from the button for 60,000, Alex Foxen raised to 225,000, Haxton moved all-in for 9,400,000 and Foxen called for his remaining 1,330,000. Foxen was ahead with A8dd facing KsJh, and the AcQc6c strengthened his lead. The Kh gave Haxton a pair, and the Js on the river handed him two-pairs and the victory he has no doubt dreamt of his entire poker career.
Ike Haxton: Mr Consistency
Haxton debuted in the live tournament scene spectacularly when finishing runner-up to Ryan Daut in the 2007 World Poker Tour (WPT) Championship in the Bahamas, banking $861,789.
A decade has passed, and Haxton has grown that $861,789 into a big fat looking $23,654,395 good enough for a 13th place standing in the All-Time Live Tournament Money Earned Leaderboard, overtaking Mikita Badziakouski, Sam Trickett, Brian Rast, Phil Hellmuth Jr, Jason Koon, Scott Seiver and Jake Schindler.
The $3,672,000 Haxton pocketed for his SHRB V win is his most substantial score to date, eclipsing the $2,525,841 he collected after losing to Phil Ivey in the AUD 250,000 Challenge at the 2014 Aussie Millions.
Haxton has now earned $8,194,991 playing live tournaments in 2018, and only seven people have won more. Haxton’s previous best annual score was $3,724,936 in 2014.
What’s incredible about this man is his consistency.
It’s only his seventh live tournament win, and his first major, with three of those victories coming in the past 12-months, but of his 106 cashes, 52 of them have seen Haxton rise to the position of six or above – an astonishing number, and it’s not hard to envisage a parallel universe where Haxton’s play gets the luck it deserves, rewriting the history books completely.
Here are the final table results: Final Table Results
1. Isaac Haxton – $3,672,000
2. Alex Foxen – $2,160,000
3. Stephen Chidwick – $1,512,000
4. Talal Shakerchi – $1,188,000
5. Adrian Mateos – $972,000
6. Igor Kurganov – $756,000
7. Ali Imsirovic – $540,000
The Bahamas is going to get a tad busy in November.
Tiger Woods, the Phil Ivey of golf, is in town, leading 16 of the world’s best 23 players in The Hero World Challenge, and partypoker LIVE has set up camp in the Baha Mar Resort, Nassau, for their annual Caribbean Poker Party (CPP).
The first two flights of the $25,500 MILLIONS World are in the books. The event created as a direct response by PokerStars to build a $25,000 buy-in, PokerStars Player’s No-Limit Hold’em Championship, pulled in 77-entrants on Day 1A, and 205-entrants on Day 1B, for a combined 282-runners. Late registration is open for the first four levels of Day 2, and as they are more than 100-players shy of the $10m Guarantee, one suspects the CPP begins with a healthy dose of free money.
Here are the top five chip stacks going into Day 2.
1. Geraldo Cesar – 4,315,000
2. Chance Kornuth – 3,840,000
3. Calvin Anderson – 3,700,000
4. Isaac Haxton – 3,660,000
5. Andreas Eiler – 3,645,000
Also on the CPP roster is a $50,000 Super High Roller and a $250,000 Super-Duper High Roller.
Two players who made it through to Day 2 of the $25,500 MILLIONS World are Sam Soverel (1,200,000) and David Peters (900,000), and if you have a few bucks to spare, it may be worth a punt if you can find a book on the event.
Soverel and Peters were the stars of the ARIA Poker Room’s recent Fall Madness. The series consisted of seven events, three of which had buy-ins of $25k+
Event #1: $10,500 Pot-Limit Omaha (Anthony Alberto – $128,800)
Event #2: $10,500 No-Limit Hold’em (Jared Jaffee – $132,000)
Event #3: $10,500 No-Limit Hold’em Short-Deck (Sam Soverel – $81,000)
Event #4: $26,000 No-Limit Hold’em (Stephen Chidwick – $283,500)
Event #5: $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em Short-Deck (Sam Soverel – $102,600)
Event #6: $52,000 No-Limit Hold’em (Matthias Eibinger – $575,000)
Event #7: $103,000 No-Limit Hold’em (David Peters – $1,104,000)
Here are the updated High Roller of the Year Top 5 Spots.
1. Sam Soverel – 1,560
2. David Peters – 1,325
3. Cary Katz – 1,255
4. Justin Bonomo – 1,025
5. Dan Smith – 1,025
Remember, the HR Series only includes tournaments held at ARIA or ARIA’s partner casinos, and the top five will avoid the Super High Roller Bowl (SHRB) lottery should they choose to pay the $300,000 buy-in, which I am sure they all will.
Finally, the World Poker Tour (WPT) and partypoker LIVE completed the first joint event of their new four-year deal. WPT Montreal took place at the Playground Poker Club, and despite not having a High Roller in the schedule, several of the mob put up a decent showing – Sorel Mizzi finished third, Mike Leah finished 18th, and that man David Peters was at it again finishing 83rd.
The Best of the Rest
Moving from the live arena to the digital one, and Fedor Holz will stream his involvement in the $5,300 partypoker MILLIONS Online Main Event on Twitch. The $20m GTD event promises to be the most significant ever held online and runs 25 Nov through 5 Dec. Holz is a member of the No-Limit Gaming stream team, a poker/esports streaming team created by the former Triton Poker Series Macau Six-Handed Champion, Stefan Schillhabel.
PokerStars has extended their online High Roller schedule. While the buy-ins might not feature in the $25k+ realm you are used to reading about here; they are the highest buy-ins that you will find week-in-week-out in any online poker room.
Here are the events for Mon, Wed & Sat.
$530, $150k GTD Bounty Builder High Roller
$530, $50k GTD Daily 500
$530, $50k GTD Daily Supersonic
$1,050, $100k GTD Daily Warm Up
$1,050, $100k – $225k Daily Themed $1k
$1,050, $100k Daily Cooldown
On Tue, Thu & Sun there is also a $530 Omania High Roller.
Each Sunday, the Daily Themed $1k turns into a $2,100 Sunday High Roller, the buy-in for the Sunday Cooldown inches north to $2,100, and the Supersonic moves up to $1,050.
In other news, Philipp Gruissem appeared on The Chip Race podcast this week. The two-time WPTAlpha8 winner talked about the effect that ego played during his meteoric rise to fame, drugs, and effective altruism.
Check it out here.
Dan Smith is donating 5% of anything that he makes in the $25,000 MILLION World and $250,000 Super-Duper High Roller at the partypoker CPP. The recent WPT DeepStacks Joberg winner Maria Ho immediately declared she would join him.
One area Smith might want to take a look at is smoking. There are 9 million deaths directly contributed to smoking, and Smith recently asked on Twitter if there were any two packs a day poker players? It turns out that Doyle Brunson used to eat two packs a day for breakfast.
Dietrich Fast is one of the players who recently took advantage of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) by removing his content from Hendon Mob. Poker stat fanatics were undoubtedly angry about the WPT Champions’ decision, including an old guy from Scotland.
Meanwhile in scotland, edingburgh. Im crossing a street and an older guys ran me over. He mumbeled im sorry and i just gave him a look. He continued with „i said i am sorry fucking cunt.“ now im in love with scotland
And we end with a song.
Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday Erik Seidel. Happy birthday to you.
And that’s this week’s Pinnacle.
70-days until Christmas.
The greatest day on earth (unless you’re a poker player).
What are we going to do until then?
Here are the events that await the High Roller fraternity in what’s left of October and the entirety of November.
ARIA Resort & Casino, Las Vegas
We begin at the ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, the home of high stakes poker in North America, and before I tell you what’s coming up, let’s take a look at what’s been happening.
The ARIA have had one $25k+ event this month.
On the 6 October, Isaac Haxton topped a field of 23-entrants to win the $238,782 first prize in a $26,000 buy-in event. It’s Haxton’s second win in four weeks, after taking down the $10,500 No-Limit Hold’em Short-Deck event in the Poker Masters, conquering a field of 55-entrants to win the $176,000 first prize. Remarkably, for a man who has earned close to $20m playing live tournaments, these two victories are his first in the ARIA. ITM Results
1. Isaac Haxton – $238,782
2. Stephen Chidwick – $186,718
3. Jake Schindler – $92,000
4. Justin Bonomo – $57,500
Four more events await the top ARIA brass.
Sat 3 Nov: $26,000 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller
Sun 4 Nov: $26,000 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller
Mon 5 Nov: $52,000 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller
Tue 6 Nov: $103,000 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller
World Series of Poker Europe, Rozvadov, Czech Republic
The 2018 World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) is currently underway at the King’s Casino in Rozvadov, Czech Republic, and Leon Tsoukernik and the team will be expecting a deluge of high rollers to compete in three premium events.
Here they are:
Wed 24 – Thu 25, October
€25,500, €1m GTD High Roller.
Fri 27 – Sun 28, October
€100,000, €5m GTD Super High Roller
Tue 30 – Wed 31, October
€25,500, High Roller
Last year, Niall Farrell bestest a field of 113-entrants to win the €745,287 first prize on the first €25k High Roller. Dan Shak took down the second €25k event, beating 21-entrants to earn €210,112. Dominik Nitsche topped a field of 132-entrants in the €111,111 High Roller for One Drop event earning a career-high €3,487,463.
partypoker Caribbean Poker Party, Baha Mar, Nassau, Bahamas
If you want to get away from the cold, wind and rain in November, then partypoker are giving you the perfect opportunity.
For the first time, the partypoker Caribbean Poker Party (CPP) will take place at the Baha Mar in Nassau, Bahamas, and there are two significant events in the offing.
Fri 9 – Tue 13, November
$25,500, $10m GTD No-Limit Hold’em MILLIONS World
Wed 14 – Fri 16, November
$250,000 No-Limit Hold’em Super High Roller Championship
MILLIONS World is partypoker’s attempt to have a stab at what PokerStars is doing with the Player’s No-Limit Hold’em Championship (PSPC). The $10m Guarantee is sure to attract the tails of the elite, and partypoker will do everything in their power to promote the event via online and live satellites, as well as the PP Live Dollars scheme. The $250,000 buy-in event makes an appearance for the first time and is one of the most significant buy-in events of the year with only the World Series of Poker (WSOP), Super High Roller Bowl (SHRB) and Triton Poker Series holding bigger events.
The last time partypoker was in the Caribbean, Punta Cana hosted the CPP, and Chris Hunichen vanquished 43-entrants to win the $400,000 first prize in the $25,500 MILLIONS Super High Roller.
Master Classics of Poker, Holland Casino, Amsterdam
Sat 24 – Sun 25, November
€25,500 No-Limit Hold’em Super High Roller
Finally, the Master Classics of Poker includes a €25,500 Super High Roller in their itinerary. It’s a first for the prestigious festival. Last year, the High Roller was a €10,300 buy-in, and Joris Ruys defeated a field of 65-entrants, to earn the €206,242 first prize.
‘Leicester’.
‘Definitely’.
‘Vacuum’.
‘Rhythm’.
Words that for the life of me I cannot spell correctly.
I have a new one to add to the collection.
‘Imsirovic’.
It doesn’t matter how my brain soaks it up; my fingers still want to type ‘Ismirovic.’
It’s a problem I need to fix pronto because something tells me I am going to be banging his name out on my keyboard more frequently in the next 18-months.
Five down.
Two to go.
Ali Imsirovic is in with a shout of winning a Purple Jacket after taking down Event #5: $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em at the 2018 Poker Masters.
The event pulled in 66 entrants.
After the end of Day 1, here was the final table.
Final Table
Seat 1: Brian Rast – 1,200,000
Seat 2: Jake Schindler – 2,725,000
Seat 3: Ali Imsirovic – 1,615,000
Seat 4: Daniel Negreanu – 215,000
Seat 5: Jason Koon – 905,000
Seat 6: Ben Yu – 1,695,000
Jake Schindler, Jason Koon and Daniel Negreanu are together again after the trio made the final table of Event #3: $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em. Ben Yu was also making his second final table after finishing third in Event #4: $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha.
The Run-In
Daniel Negreanu Eliminated in 6th Place.
He began things with a few grains of rice in his bowl, so it was no surprise when Daniel Negreanu registered as the first elimination.
Ben Yu opened to 100,000 from late position holding pocket eights, and Negreanu called from the big blind holding 52cc, leaving 10,000 chips behind (the rest went in on the flop), and despite flopping a five, there was no bad beat in the jukebox, and Negreanu was out for $99,000.
Jason Koon Eliminated in 5th Place.
Only Justin Bonomo ($24.9m) and Mikita Badziakouski ($12.4m) have won more money than Jason Koon this year ($11.5m), but his name would not end up engraved in this trophy.
Ali Imsirovic put in a raise with AKo in late position, and Koon moved all-in from the small blind holding ATo, and you all know that these little struggles don’t end up well for ATo. This hand was no exception. Imsirovic flopped the top two pairs, and Koon never recovered. His consolation prize was $132,000.
Brian Rast Doubles Through Ben Yu
Brian Rast opened to 115,000 from the first position holding A2cc, and Ben Yu looked him up from the big blind holding 7d5s. The flop of Ah6d2s handed Rast a two-pair hand, but Yu must have had a plan because he check-called a 110,000 Rast c-bet holding a bag of bones.
The dealer burned and turned the 4c on the Fourth Street, and now Yu had something to chew. Rast fired 250,000, Yu check-raised all-in with his straight draw, and Rast made the call. An uncontroversial river card later, the man had doubled into the chip lead.
Chip Counts
Brian Rast – 3,815,000
Ali Imsirovic – 2,120,000
Ben Yu – 1,310,000
Jake Schindler – 1,010,000
Jake Schindler Eliminated in 4th Place.
The action folded around to Schindler in the small blind. He peeked at his cards and saw the unremarkable looking 8c6d staring back at him. Schindler moved all-in for 440,000, and Imsirovic called in the big blind with Ac9s. The flop missed both, and a much-needed Ad arrived on the turn for Imsirovic, because Schindler did find a pair of eights on the river.
Schindler walked away with $165,000.
Imsirovic Doubles Through Rast
And then we had a pivotal moment in the competition.
Imsirovic limped on the button holding pocket jacks, Yu called in the small blind holding K8hh, and Rast moved all-in from the big blind, holding Ac5s. Imsirovic called, and Yu folded. The board ran out KsQc4s2h7h and Imsirovic was the new chip leader.
Brian Rast Eliminated in 3rd Place.
Nobody has won more money playing live tournaments in the ARIA than Brian Rast, and he added to that significant lump by banking another $214,500 after hitting the rail in third.
Ben Yu moved all-in with Ah2s, and Rast took him on with pocket sevens. An ace on the river sent new hope into the lungs of Yu, and Rast became the short-stack.
Then Imsirovic moved his big stack into the middle on the button holding pocket sixes, and Rast called in the big blind with Ac3d. The aces and wheel combos stayed in the deck, and Rast was out, giving Imsirovic a big chip lead going into his heads-up encounter with Yu.
Heads-Up
Ali Imsirovic – 5,895,000
Ben Yu – 2,360,000
The finale lasted as long as a plastic bag containing half-opened tins of fish left too close to Bagpuss and his buddies.
Imsirovic limped on the button holding pocket fives, and then called when Yu moved all-in holding Ac6d. The flop of Kh8d5d handed Imsirovic a set, and the 2h turn card left Yu drawing dead.
It was all over.
Imsirovic had won his third title of the year. Final Table Results
Ali Imsirovic – $462,000 (300)
Ben Yu – $330,000 (210)
Brian Rast – $214,500 (150)
Jake Schindler – $165,000 (120)
Jason Koon – $132,000 (90)
Daniel Negreanu – $99,000 (60)
Poker Masters Leaderboard
– Brandon Adams – 510 points
– Isaac Haxton – 480
– Ben Yu – 360
– Ali Imsirovic – 360
– David Peters – 300
– Keith Lehr – 300
– Jake Schindler – 270
– Jonathan Depa – 270
– Jason Koon – 240
Results to Date
Event #1: $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em – David Peters ($193,200)
Event #2: $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em – Brandon Adams ($400,000)
Event #3: $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha – Keith Lehr ($333,000)
Event #4: $10,000 Short-Deck – Isaac Haxton ($176,000)
The skinny redhead burns; the scent of sulphur sends Puff the Magic Dragon flying through your nostrils, and before you know it a discarded match on a hike through the Californian hills leads to horse owners trotting them down a billowing freeway in a bid to save them from becoming toast.
Wildfire.
It spreads rapidly, given the right circumstances.
Short-Deck No-Limit Hold’em Poker, anyone?
Born in the private Asian cash games, and given centre stage at the Triton Poker Series events in Montenegro and Jeju, Short-Deck is fast becoming as cool as squid ink eyeballs.
PokerStars are about to add it to their lobby.
America’s Cardroom, the same.
And yesterday, for the first time since Homo Sapiens left Africa to look for a football to kick about, the game showed up in a Western live arena.
The 2018 Poker Masters is now four events old.
The latest, Event #4: $10,000 Short Deck Poker, gave players three bullets worth 100,000 each, and for most of them, a new concept to master.
The event attracted 55 entrants, and there were six left at the end of Day 1.
Final Table Standings
Seat 1: Dominik Nitsche – 4,980,000
Seat 2: Ryan Tosoc – 3,025,000
Seat 3: Maurice Hawkins – 1,025,000
Seat 4: Cary Katz – 830,000
Seat 5: Isaac Haxton – 1,775,000
Seat 6: Andrew Robl – 4,865,000
I’m pulling my finger from my mouth and holding it in the air when I say only Cary Katz and Andrew Robl have experienced this format of poker.
Let’s take a look at the highlights.
The Run-In Hawkins Becomes a Contender.
Maurice Hawkins tripled up when all-in holding pocket kings against the QTdd of Ryan Tosoc, and the Tc9s of the chip leader Dominik Nitsche. The Cowboys managed to run through a five card town lined with Gattling guns without receiving a single shot, and Hawkins emerged the other end as a contender.
Dominik Nitsche Eliminated in 6th Place.
Oh boy, the beauty of Short-Deck.
Nitsche went from the chip leader to first to bust after clashing with Isaac Haxton in the following hand.
Nitsche moved all-in for 1,440,000, holding pocket jacks, and Haxton made the call with pocket tens. Unbeknown to the pair, Andrew Robl had folded a ten, leaving Haxton with a single out heading to the flop, but he didn’t need it. The dealer burned and turned the allotted number of cards, handing Haxton a straight, and we had a new chip leader, and only five players remaining. Nitsche earned $33,000 for his endeavours.
Hawkins Doubles
Hawkins looked down to see the rockets and raised to 800,000. Ryan Tosoc made the call holding T9ss. The dealer put the Td9d6h flop onto the felt to give Tosoc the lead with the two pair hand. Tosoc moved all-in, and Hawkins made the call and was at risk of finding something else to do. Then the dealer placed the 6c down on the fourth-street, giving Hawkins a stronger two pair hand, and the double up.
Cary Katz Eliminated in 5th Place.
Katz limped into the action holding KQhh. Sitting in the next pew was Haxton, who moved all-in, and Katz called what little he had left. Haxton turned over AdTc, and despite Katz taking the lead after flopping a second queen, Haxton turned an ace and rivered a ten to bust the man who brought the game to the ARIA from his recent trip to Jeju.
A Double Decker For Tosoc.
Tired of the taste of metal in his mouth, Tosoc reminded his tablemates that he was a force to be reckoned with after doubling up twice, firstly through Robl: AT>AQ, and then Haxton AJ>KQ.
Andrew Robl Eliminated in 4th Place.
Then we lost the most experienced Short-Deck proponent at the final table in Andrew Robl.
The first blow came when Robl saw a Kd8h6c flop with both him and Hawkins searching for a straight with Robl holding 9d7s, and Hawkins sitting behind T7cc. The turn card was the 9h filling Hawkins up, and both players checked. The river card was the, Ah, to give Robl a weaker straight (the ace plays like a five). Hawkins checked, Robl bet 900,000, Hawkins raised to 2,400,000, Robl called and looked as sick as a walnut left in bathwater overnight when he saw the nut hand.
That hand saw Robl drop to 400,000 in chips.
Robl would double against Haxton when his K7hh turned a boat against AT, and then his luck ran out when he moved all-in holding T9o and Tosoc also moved all-in holding QJo. The battle of the short stacks went the way of Tosoc who flopped trips and turned a full house to seal the deal. Robl walked away with $55,000.
Chip Counts
Maurice Hawkins – 7,840,000
Ryan Tosoc – 4,995,000
Isaac Haxton – 3,665,000
Haxton Doubles Through Tosoc.
Haxton limped into the hand holding pocket queens, and then called after Tosoc jammed AK. Broadway decided to shut down for five cards, and Haxton gathered up a chip stack capable of winning this thing.
Ryan Tosoc Eliminated in 3rd Place.
Tosoc moved all-in for 490,000 holding ATo, and Haxton made the call with AJo, and there were no flags of victory for Tosoc once the dealer had done his job.
We were heads-up.
Tosoc banked $77,000 for his troubles.
Heads-Up
Haxton won the first four hands to take a 2:1 chip lead.
Hawkins fought back like a tiger to take the lead.
Then Haxton doubled up.
Hawkins limped into the pot holding pocket queens, and then called after Haxton moved all-in holding AJo. A second ace appeared on the turn smelling all fresh and fancy, and Haxton took a big lead.
Then it was Hawkins’ time to double up, after the pair both turned a straight in a limped pot, only for Haxton to find himself staring up at a loftier hand.
And then it was over.
Hawkins looked down to see 97dd and moved all-in. Haxton peeled back the top of his cards, saw an ace and a queen, and thought, ‘What the hell.’ The dealer planted the Ad8h8c onto the flop, improving Haxton’s lead, but giving Hawkins a straight draw. The Kc reduced Hawkins’ odds. The Qh gave him zero odds. It was all over. Ike Haxton was our champion.
Final Table Results
Isaac Haxton – $176,000 (300)
Maurice Hawkins – $115,500 (210)
Ryan Tosoc – $77,000 (150)
Andrew Robl – $55,000 (120)
Cary Katz – $44,000 (90)
Dominik Nitsche – $33,000 (60)
Only 18 people in poker’s history have won more live tournament dollars than the $19,313,033 that has passed through Ike Haxton’s bank accounts, and yet, despite making more final tables than an Ikea table maker, this victory was only the fifth of his illustrious career.
It was also the first time he has ever played Short Deck.
Let’s hope this success gives him the confidence to try the more significant buy-in events on future Triton Poker Series events.
Here is the current state of affairs with three tournaments remaining.
Poker Masters Leaderboard
– Brandon Adams – 510 points
– Isaac Haxton – 480
– David Peters – 300
– Keith Lehr – 300
– Jared Jaffee – 210
– Jonathan Depa – 210
– Brian Green – 210
– Cary Katz – 210
– Maurice Hawkins – 210
Look.
This shit is serious.
Diego Maradona has agreed to become the manager of the Mexican second-division club, Dorados, home of one of the most powerful drug cartels in the world (yes, they don’t just exist on Netflix), and people are playing poker in Las Vegas blissfully unaware.
“It’s going to be like carrying an elephant on my shoulders,” Maradona said about the challenge he faces at his new club.
From the Hand of God to a few men and women desperately wanting the right Hands from God.
I hope nobody puts him in a box after losing a few games.
An elephant?
Ok, it’s not going to be that difficult to win the 2018 Poker Masters, maybe, a racoon?
Let’s recap.
The winner of the 2018 Poker Masters is the person accumulating the most points through a seven-event series. Before last night we were two down with five remaining.
David Peters won Event #1: $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em (NLHE) beating 69 entrants to claim the $193,200 first prize, and maximum 300 points.
Brandon Adams won Event #2: $25,000 NLHE beating 50 entrants to win the $400,000 first prize, and maximum 300 points.
Poker Masters Leaderboard After The First Two Events
Brandon Adams – 420
David Peters – 300
Brian Green – 210
Jared Jaffee – 210
Rainer Kempe – 150
Jake Schindler – 150
Moving swiftly on.
Event #3: $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO)
Event #3 was a new event for Poker Masters.
Some would ask why did they include the four-card variant, considering the US Poker Open is a mixed game event, and the 37 entrant number may force them to reconsider.
Until then.
Day 1 ended like this:
Final Table
Seat 1: Dan Shak – 781,000
Seat 2: Ben Yu – 832,000
Seat 3: Jonathan Depa – 1,413,000
Seat 4: Brandon Adams – 1,138,000
Seat 5: Keith Lehr – 712,000
Seat 6: Isaac Haxton – 675,000
Haxton was making his second final table, after coming sixth in Event #1, and Adams was making his third successive final table, finishing fourth and first in the previous two.
Let’s take a look at the run-in.
The Run-In
The first big hand of the day involved the two biggest stacks, and the result was a new chip leader.
Jonathan Depa opened to 30,000 from the cutoff, and Brandon Adams made the call in position. The flop was KsQc7s, Depa checked, Adams bet 50,000, and Depa made the call. The turn was the 5h, and once again the action fell to Adams. This time, the series leader bet 190,000, and Depa made the call. The 4s hit the fifth street, and Depa check-called a 240,000 bet from Adams.
Depa showed Ts9s8d6s for a flush, but Adams held AsAdQs8s for the nut flush.
Adams – 1,702,000
Depa – 903,000
Isaac Haxton doubled through Keith Lehr, and then through Ben Yu, only for Yu to gain revenge on Haxton in the following hand to leave him with five big blinds.
Haxton called from the button, and Yu checked his option from the big blind. The action checked through to the turn on a board of AsQd8s7c; Yu bet 140,000; Haxton called. The action card was the 5h on the river. Yu bet 300,000, and Haxton called. Yu showed QsQh3d2d for a flopped set, and Haxton mucked his hand.
Then the partypoker ambassador doubled through Depa, to leave him short, only for the Omaha specialist to triple up shortly after, and then we had our first casualty.
Dan Shak Eliminated in 5th Place.
Shak opened to 140,000 from under the gun, Depa raised to 480,000, and Shak made the call for his tournament life.
Depa: KhKd4s2s
Shak: 9d7d3c2c
Board: QhQs9sAd4c
No hope for Shak and the businessman was out, earning $55,000.
Then we lost the man of the moment.
Brandon Adams Eliminated in 5th Place.
Yu opened to 175,000 from the button, and Adams called from the big blind. The dealer laid the Td5d5h flop down in a brick-like fashion, Yu bet 125,000 once checked to, Adams moved all-in, and Yu called.
On your backs gentlemen.
Yu: AcQsQh4h
Adams: JsTh9d8d
Yu had the lead with queens up. Adams had to get lucky. He didn’t. The 4s on the turn and the 4c on the river didn’t change the outcome of the hand, and Adams was out in fifth earning $74,000.
Isaac Haxton Eliminated in 4th Place.
Keith Lehr tripled up in an all-in threeway showdown against Depa and Haxton. The partypoker pro was ahead pre-flop holding pocket aces, but Lehr’s AhTh7s7c flopped a set of sevens to take the hand and send Haxton down to the bottom of the barrel.
And then Depa filled it with water and sealed the lid.
Haxton opened to 280,000 on the button, and Depa made the call from the big blind. The flop rained down Qs6s5d, Depa put Haxton all-in, and he made the call.
Depa: JcTc7d4d
Haxton: AcQh9s3c
Haxton was ahead with top pair.
Turn: Jh
Depa hit a pair but was still behind.
River: Ts
Depa secured a two-pair hand, sending Haxton to the cashier desk to collect his $92,500 prize.
And then we were heads-up.
Ben Yu Eliminated in 3rd Place.
Yu opened to 280,000 on the button, and Lehr called in the big blind. The flop was a soaking wet JcTh9s; Lehr checked, Yu moved all-in, and Lehr bit his hand off.
Lehr: Qs9d8c6s
Yu: As7s7c6d
Lehr had flopped the straight. The Jh and 8d didn’t help Yu improve, and he was out, earning $148,000.
Heads-Up
Jonathan Depa: 2,800,000
Keith Lehr: 2,750,000
The bubbles hadn’t settled on either player’s sparkling water when Lehr struck a near fatal blow.
Depa opened to 240,000 on the button, and Lehr called. The flop was a rainbow looking Kd9s2h, and Lehr check-called a 225,000 Depa bet. All four suits hit the board after the dealer planted the 6d into the felt. Lehr checked his option, Depa bet 675,000, Lehr moved all-in, and Depa made the call.
Lehr: QdTc9d6h
Depa: 6s6c4s3d
Depa was ahead with a set of sixes, but Lehr was right in the mix with two pairs and a flush draw. The dealer flicked over the 5d to give Lehr his flush, and knock Depa down to less than two big blinds.
Depa stuck them in the middle on the next hand and got more back.
Then he did it again.
It didn’t work the third time.
Depa called on the button, and Lehr checked. The dealer placed the final flop of Js3d2h onto the felt, Lehr bet 240,000, Depa raised to 720,000, Lehr put him all-in, and Depa called.
Lehr: KsJh8d5d
Depa: 7h4h3s2s
Once again, Depa was ahead with Lehr holding the top pair, and Depa holding the bottom two pairs. Then everything changed. The dealer sent the 8c into play to give Lehr a higher two-pair hand, and the useless 5s on the river changed nothing. Lehr was our Event #3 champion. Final Table Results
Keith Lehr – $333,333 (300 points)
Jonathan Depa – $222,000 (210 points)
Ben Yu – $148,000 (150 points)
Isaac Haxton – $92,500 (120 points)
Brandon Adams – $74,000 (90 points)
Dan Shak – $55,500 (60 points)
The win takes Lehr over the $3m mark in live tournament earnings. It’s his sixth live tournament victory of a career that stretches back to 2002 including two World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets, and a World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) gold ring.
Poker Masters Leaderboard
– Brandon Adams – 510 points
– David Peters – 300
– Keith Lehr – 300
– Jared Jaffee – 210
– Jonathan Depa – 210
– Brian Green – 210
– Isaac Haxton – 180
