Adam Walter Leaves 20-Degree Weather Behind to Win His First Tournament

2019 Lucky Hearts Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 2
$360 Limit Omaha 8 (Re-Entry)
Entries:  78
Prize Pool:  $23,400
January 10, 2019

Adam Walter
Adam Walter Wins $360 Limit Omaha 8

Adam Walter had never been to the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino before. When asked why he made the trip down from Ohio for the first time, he said, “It’s 20 degrees in Cincinnati right now, and I had a few days, so I said, ‘Let’s get some fun in the sun — some good weather and some poker.'”

It’s only the first day of the Lucky Hearts Poker Open, but Walter has already made the most of it, outlasting a field of 78 players to win the $360 Limit Omaha 8 event and earn $7,908.

Walter entered the final table with a better-than-average chip stack, but he was surrounded by three players with even larger stacks. Still, the seat draw seemed to work in Walter’s favor.

“The table draw was significant for me. I was really happy I was on the left side of Gabe [Ramos]. That was probably the biggest bonus for me because Gabe was on my right, and the two players with big stacks on my left were a little bit tighter.”

Walter scored two of the first six eliminations at the final table, knocking out Harry Eisenberg in ninth and Wayne Brown in fifth, allowing him to keep pace with the other players and ahead of the increasing blinds.

Heads-up play began with Walter and Michael Rosenberg nearly even in chips — they were separated by just two big blinds.

Over the next half hour, Walter was able to increase his lead, eventually building a big pot over a board of Kh7s5c7h6h. Walter bet the river, and Rosenberg tanked for a while before calling with most of his stack and turning over 8d6d5d4d for an eight-high straight with an 8-7 low.

But Walter flipped over QdQh3h2c to scoop the pot with a queen-high heart flush and a 7-6 low, catapulting to a 20-to-1 chip lead and leaving Rosenberg with just 1 1/2 big blinds. Walter would win the tournament — the first of his career — on the next hand.

Walter prefers limit games, and plans to enter Event 3 ($360 H.O.R.S.E.) tomorrow. He’s only here through this first weekend of the Lucky Hearts Poker Open, but it’s already been a memorable trip for Adam Walter.


The final ten players finished in the money, and here are the results:

1st:  Adam Walter  –  $7,908 + LHPO trophy
2nd:  Michael Rosenberg  –  $4,563
3rd:  Michael Dreese  –  $2,855
4th:  Gabriel Ramos  –  $1,931
5th:  Wayne Brown  –  $1,463
6th:  Hyndi Khomutetsky  –  $1,170
7th:  Harvey Freedman  –  $1,053
8th:  Perry Klein  –  $936
9th:  Harry Eisenberg  –  $819
10th:  Eric Von Guttenberg  –  $702