All posts by Steve Schult

Event 5 Day 1F: Shuffle Up and Deal

$150 No Limit Hold’em Re-Entry
Level 1: 25/50
Players Registered: 102

Players are in their seat and cards are in the air for the sixth and final flight of the $150 No Limit Hold’em Re-Entry event.

There is a $150,000 guaranteed prizepool, but the guarantee was met and surpassed during Day 1E. Through the first five starting flights, there are 1,346 entries in the event and a prizepool of $161,000.

Here are the key details about Day 1F:

  • Players start with 10,000 in tournament chips
  • Late Registration is open until the stat of level 7
  • Levels are 30 minutes long
  • The schedule for the day is to play 14 levels
  • There will be 15-minute breaks after every four levels and a 10-minute break after level 12
  • The surviving players from this flight will come back for Day 2 on Wednesday at 1 p.m. where they will merge with the other flights to play down to a winner.

Three Trophies Awarded on Monday at Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown

There have been five trophies awarded throughout the early parts of the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown and three of them were awarded on Monday.

The opening event of the series, the $350 No Limit Hold’em Deep Stack Re-Entry, took an extra day to finish up and Vitor Coelho battled through a long final table to come out on top. It took nine hours on an extra day of play for Coelho to earn $140,476 and the trophy.

The final table of the $1,100 No Limit Hold’em Six-Max was running simultaneously with the re-entry final table and it was a Seminole Hard Rock Poker Ambassador that took it down.

Michael Laake came out on top of a four-way deal that saw him take home $23,660 for his win. Evan Teitelbaum, Ory Hen and Charlemagen Benjamin each took home $17,000 in the deal.

While there were two final tables running, the $350 No Limit Hold’em Black Chip Bounty kicked off at noon. That event drew 140 players and it was Carlos Loving that came out on top of that field.

Loving netted $8,120 along with $100 for each player he eliminated along the way to earning the Hard Rock trophy.

As if that wasn’t enough action, there were three flights of the $150 No Limit Hold’em Re-Entry event that were under way as well. This event has a $150,000 guarantee on the prizepool.

There were 171 players in Day 1A, 257 players in Day 1B and 254 players in Day 1C. 24 made it through 1A, 26 made it through 1B and 21 made it through 1C. 71 players have already secured a seat in Day 2 of this event, but there are three more flights tomorrow.

Tuesday’s action is centered around the three starting flights for the $150 No Limit Hold’em Re-Entry event.

Here is a look at Tuesday’s schedule:

  • 11 a.m. – Day 1D – $150 No Limit Hold’em Re-Entry ($150K GTD Prizepool)
  • 3 p.m. – Day 1E – $150 No Limit Hold’em Re-Entry ($150K GTD Prizepool)
  • 7 p.m. – Day 1F – $150 No Limit Hold’em Re-Entry ($150K GTD Prizepool)

As always, SHRPO.com will have coverage of the day’s action.

Event 5: Day 1A-1C Wraps Up

$150 No Limit Hold’em Re-Entry 

The first three of six starting flights of the $150 No Limit Hold’em re-entry event are in the books. There were 682 players who took their shot over the three flights, but by the day’s end, there were only 71 who had secured a spot in Day 2.

Of all three flights, Mike Corbett bagged the chip lead after bagging 455,500 in Day 1A. Joining him at the top of the counts are Marc Levy, Evan Young and Eric Polirer with 315,000, 265,000 and 230,000 in chips, respectively.

There are three more flights that kick off on Tuesday at 11 a.m., 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. before the field is merged together on Wednesday for Day 2.

A complete chip count list will be published overnight.

Event 6: Carlos Loving Wins Bounty Trophy

2016 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Hollywood
Event #6
$350 No Limit Hold’em Black Chip Bounty 
Total Entries: 140
Prize Pool: $28,000 + $14,000 in Bounty prizepool
April 4, 2016

Carlos Loving Captures Bounty Title
Carlos Loving Captures Bounty Title

After 12 hours of no limit hold’em, Carlos Loving takes down the $350 No Limit Hold’em Black Chip Bounty event, earning the fifth trophy of the series.

Loving topped a field of 140 players to take home $8,120 along with $100 for each bounty he earned along the way. The Tampa native battled Daren Stabinski heads-up for about an hour before taking down the title.

“It feels great to win,” said Loving. “It’s always awesome. I’m very competitive so I want to win every time I play.”

Loving is now a professional poker player, but made the transition to poker after having an extensive engineering background and a successful career as computer engineer. Loving’s engineering experience made the transition to poker easier.

“When I first started playing, I like it and realized that I was pretty good at it,” said Loving. “So I started studying it and when I got into the math of the game, it was pretty easy for me. I started using that in my game and my engineering background helped a lot.”

As the tournament got later, Loving’s stack began to grow and he was the chip leader at the outset of the final table. There was a discussion about giving everyone their bounties back at the final table, but Loving dismissed that notion right away and wanted to continue playing for the bounties.

“Saying no to that was because I was the chip leader,” he said. “I knew that there were short stacks and I knew that if I knocked them out, I gained $100. I knew that it was an advantage for me to put pressure on them, so there was no reason for me to let them take back their $100.”

Even though he was the dissenting voice against a bounty deal at the final table, Loving didn’t pick up many bounties along the way.

Almost all of the money he won was from the first place finish.

“I didn’t accumulate a bounty until I knocked out one person when we were down to 11,” he recalled.

That knockout solidified his chip lead at the final table and he never was short once that last table began. The action was fast for most of the final table and the eliminations quickly piled up, but once Loving was heads-up with Stabinski, things slowed down.

“We were 60 big blinds deep,” said Loving. “So I didn’t want to make any mistakes and try to get it all in preflop with any mediocre hand. I wanted to play postflop a lot. That’s why we were seeing a lot flops and playing small ball poker. It worked out for me.”

Here is a look at the results:

1st: Carlos Loving: $8,120
2nd: Daren Stabinski – $4,760
3rd: Joel Duarte – $2,800
4th: Howard Talesnick – $2,240
5th: Donte Larsen – $1,680
6th: Eric Riley – $1,400
7th: Seth Gilson – $1,120
8th: Shawn Nguyen – $840
9th: Francisco Milanes – $630
10th: Johanssy Joseph – $560
11th: Cesar Fuentes – $560
12th: Wendy Freedman – $560
13th: Ariel Rosello Quintana – $490
14th: Nissin Vaknin – $490
15th: Edward Mroczkowski – $490
16th: Ido Ashkenazi – $420
17th: Joseph Duchman – $420
18th: Robert Marcocchio – $420

Event 6 Final Results

Event 6: Carlos Loving Wins $350 No Limit Hold’em Black Chip Bounty ($8,120)

$350 No Limit Hold’em Black Chip Bounty
Level 22: 6,000/12,000 with a 2,000 ante
Players Remaining: 2 of 140
Average Stack: 700,000

Carlos Loving
Carlos Loving

There is about 150,000 in the pot on the turn with the board reading Kc8s7sQs and Daren Stabinski bets 85,000 out of the big blind.

Loving takes a minute in the tank and then calls. The river is the 4h and Stabinski moves all in for about 340,000. Loving snap-calls.

Stabinski looks visibly unhappy about the call and shows Ad9h. Loving tables Ks4s, good for the king-high flush and he wins the pot and tournament.

Loving earns $8,120 for the win, along with the trophy and Stabinski takes home $4,760 for his runner-up finish.

Daren Stabinski
Daren Stabinski

Carlos Loving – Winner of $350 No Limit Hold’em Black Chip Bounty ($8,120)
Daren Stabinski – Eliminated in 2nd ($4,760)

Event 6: One More for Loving

$350 No Limit Hold’em Black Chip Bounty
Level 22: 6,000/12,000 with a 2,000 ante
Players Remaining: 2 of 140
Average Stack: 700,000

Carlos Loving raises to 25,000 on the button and Daren Stabinski calls out of the big blind. The flop is JcJh9h and both players check.

The turn is the 9d and Stabinski checks again. Loving bets 23,000 and Stabinski calls. The river is the Kd and Stabinski leads out for 70,000.

Loving takes a few moments and calls. Stabinski tables 6h5h, having missed his flush draw and playing the board. Loving drags the pot with his Ks6s.

Carlos Loving – 795,000
Daren Stabinski – 605,000

Event 6: Loving Empties the Clip

$350 No Limit Hold’em Black Chip Bounty
Level 21: 5,000/10,000 with a 1,000 ante
Players Remaining: 2 of 140
Average Stack: 700,000

Heads-up play between Carlos Loving and Daren Stabinski
Heads-up play between Carlos Loving and Daren Stabinski

On a flop of Jh9d8h, Carlos Loving bets 20,000 out of the big blind and Daren Stabinski calls on the button.

The turn is the 5h and Loving bets 55,000. Stabinski calls again and the river is the 10s. Loving bets 200,00 and Stabinski goes into the tank for a couple minutes.

“What a stupid river,” said Stabinski.

Stabinski eventually tosses his hand into the muck and Loving drags the pot to take a small chip advatage.

Carlos Loving – 800,000
Daren Stabinski – 600,000

Event 6: Stabinski Evens it Back Out

$350 No Limit Hold’em Black Chip Bounty
Level 21: 5,000/10,000 with a 1,000 ante
Players Remaining: 2 of 140
Average Stack: 700,000

On a flop of Ac7c6d, Carlos Loving checks and Daren Stabinski bets. Loving check-raises to 60,000 and Stabinski calls.

The turn is the 4h and Loving bets 85,000. Stabinski calls and the river is the 2c. Both players check.

Loving announces king-high and Stabinski shows 3c3d. Loving flashes a three as well before mucking his hand. Stabinski drags the pot and the two are even in chips.

Daren Stabinski – 700,000
Carlos Loving – 700,000

Event 6: Loving Takes One

$350 No Limit Hold’em Black Chip Bounty
Level 21: 5,000/10,000 with a 1,000 ante
Players Remaining: 2 of 140
Average Stack: 700,000

Daren Stabinski raises on the button and Carlos Loving defends his big blind.

The flop is Qd10h2s and Loving checks. Stabinski bets 25,000 and Loving calls. The turn is the 7c and Loving checks again. Stabinski bets again, this time 35,000 and Loving calls.

The river is the 9c and Loving checks for a third time. Stabinski bets 90,000 and Loving doesn’t waste much time in calling.

“You win,” said Stabinski.

Loving shows Ad10d, good for a pair of tens and Stabinski mucks his hand.

Loving takes the pot and opens up a bit of a chip lead over Stabinski.

Carlos Loving – 810,000
Daren Stabinski – 590,000