2018 Lucky Hearts Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 11
$570 Six-Max No Limit Hold’em (Freeze-Out)
Entries: 153
Prize Pool: $76,500
January 16, 2018
Event 11 of the 2018 Lucky Hearts Poker Open was a $570 Six-Max No Limit Hold’em (Freeze-Out) tournament. A total of 153 players came to play and created a prize pool of $76,500, with the top 20 places being paid. A deal was agreed upon by the final four players and 26-year-old Chris Tham was the chip leader, making him the official winner.
Hailing from San Francisco, California, Tham is a software engineer that dabbles in poker quite a bit as well. He is primarily a cash-game player, but has also enjoyed recent tournament success. In November, Tham placed third in a WSOP circuit event for $112,503 and has been on the tournament trail since.
Tham commanded a hefty stack for a large portion of the day, and he entered the final table as chip leader with nearly 100 big blinds.
“I ran absurdly well,” said Tham about his victory. “I got like 16 or 17 knockouts today. It’s like I had almost nothing to do with this.”
Luck will always be a factor in poker tournaments, but Tham’s big results of late are proving he has the skill needed for long-term success.
Final Results
1st: Chris Tham – $15,311*+ trophy
2nd: David Moreno – $12,870*
3rd: Wenhao Ying – $9,331*
4th: Brian O’Keefe – $9,027*
5th: Roberto Berrocal – $3,691
6th: Lawrence Whyte – $3,060
7th: Dean Rutledge – $2,658
8th: Wataru Nippa – $2,387
9th: James Salmon – $2,056
10th: Charles Gomez – $1,798
11th: Alberto Fonseca Pinilla $1,798
12th: Peter Vitantonio – $1,798
13th: Ory Hen – $1,549
14th: Kenneth Slater – $1,549
15th: Jacobo Milhem Mugrabi – $1,549
16th: Toby Boas – $1,308
17th: Ryan Galpern – $1,308
18th: Stephan Mehl – $1,308
19th: Scott Efron – $1,071
20th: Jonah Miller – $1,071
$570 Six-Max No Limit Hold’em (Freeze-Out)
$50,000 Guarantee | Structure | Payouts
Level 21: 5,000/10,000 with a 1,000 ante
Players Remaining: 4 of 153
The remaining four players agreed to a deal. Here were their chip counts at the time, followed by their subsequent payouts.
Chris Tham – 849,000 (85 bb)
David Moreno – 523,000 (52 bb)
Wenhao Ying – 241,000 (24 bb)
Brian O’Keefe – 223,000 (22 bb)
As chip leader, Chris Tham is officially the winner of Event 11 of the 2018 Lucky Hearts Poker Open.
Chris Tham – $15,311
David Moreno – $12,870
Wenhao Ying – $9,331
Brian O’Keefe – $9,027
A tournament recap will be posted later tonight.
$570 Six-Max No Limit Hold’em (Freeze-Out)
$50,000 Guarantee | Structure | Payouts
Level 20: 4,000/8,000 with a 1,000 ante
Players Remaining: 4 of 153
Roberto Berrocal raised to 21,000 from the cutoff, and Chris Tham called from the small blind.
The flop came down 
,and Tham check-called 26,000 from Berrocal.
The turn was the 
, Tham checked, Berrocal shoved for about 100,000, and Tham called with 
for the nut flush. Berrocal was drawing dead with 
, rendering the 
river moot.
Berrocal finished in fifth place for $3,691.
Chris Tham – 900,000 (113 bb)
Roberto Berrocal – Eliminated
$570 Six-Max No Limit Hold’em (Freeze-Out)
$50,000 Guarantee | Structure | Payouts
Level 20: 4,000/8,000 with a 1,000 ante
Players Remaining: 5 of 153
Lawrence Whyte raised from the hijack, David Moreno reraised all in with a covering stack from the big blind, and Whyte called all in for about for 140,000.
Whyte: 
Moreno: 
The board ran out 
, no help to Whyte, ending his tournament in sixth place.
David Moreno – 450,000 (56 bb)
Lawrence Whyte – Eliminated
$570 Six-Max No Limit Hold’em (Freeze-Out)
$50,000 Guarantee | Structure | Payouts
Level 20: 4,000/8,000 with a 1,000 ante
Players Remaining: 6 of 153
Brian O’Keefe raised to 20,000 from the hijack, Dean Rutledge reraised all in from the big blind for about 83,000, and O’Keefe called.
O’Keefe: 
Rutledge: 
The board came down 
, no help to Rutledge, ending his tournament in seventh place for $2,658.
Brian O’Keefe – 255,000 (32 bb)
Dean Rutledge – Eliminated
$570 Six-Max No Limit Hold’em (Freeze-Out)
$50,000 Guarantee | Structure | Payouts
Level 19: 3,000/6,000 with a 1,000 ante
Players Remaining: 7 of 153
The seven remaining players have redrawn for new seats around the unofficial final table for Event 11. Here’s the lineup:
Seat 1: Roberto Berrocal – 167,000 (28 bb)
Seat 2: David Moreno – 250,000 (42 bb)
Seat 3: Dean Rutledge – 102,000 (17 bb)
Seat 4: Chris Tham – 587,000 (98 bb)
Seat 5: Lawrence Whyte – 191,000 (32 bb)
Seat 6: Brian O’Keefe – 200,000 (33 bb)
Seat 7: Wenhao Ying – 346,000 (58 bb)
And here are the remaining payouts:
1st: $20,562 + trophy
2nd: $13,338
3rd: $7,860
4th: $4,781
5th: $3,691
6th: $3,060
7th: $2,658
$570 Six-Max No Limit Hold’em (Freeze-Out)
$50,000 Guarantee | Structure | Payouts
Level 19: 3,000/6,000 with a 1,000 ante
Players Remaining: 8 of 153
Wataru Nippa opened to 15,000 under the gun, and Chris Tham three-bet shoved for about 140,000 effective in the big blind. Nippa called all in for that amount, putting himself at risk.
Nippa:
Tham: 
The 
flop left Nippa drawing almost dead, and the 
turn ended his day one card early. The river was the meaningless 
, and Tham won the pot with eights full.
Nippa was eliminated in eighth place, earning $2,387.
Chris Tham – 585,000 (98 bb)
Wataru Nippa – Eliminated
$570 Six-Max No Limit Hold’em (Freeze-Out)
$50,000 Guarantee | Structure | Payouts
Level 14:1,000/2,000 with a 300 ante
Players Remaining: 21 of 153
Stu Patterson was all in from under the gun for about 18,000 with , racing with James Salmon’s 
in the hijack.
The flop came down 
, giving Patterson the lead with a pair of queens. However, the 
turn and river completed the board to give Salmon a flush to eliminate Patterson.
James Salmon – 102,000 (51 bb)
Stu Patterson – Eliminated
With that, 21 players remain and play is now on the money bubble.
$570 Six-Max No Limit Hold’em (Freeze-Out)
$50,000 Guarantee | Structure | Payouts
Level 11: 500/1,000 with a 100 ante
Players Remaining: 36 of 153
Mike Wang opened to 2,300 under the gun, and Chris Tham defended his big blind.
The flop was 
. Tham checked, Wang continued for 3,200, and Tham called.
The turn was the , and Tham checked again. Wang moved all in for 25,500, and Tham called to put him at risk.
Wang: 
(combo draw)
Tham: 
(aces up)
The river was the blank 
, and Tham won the pot with aces up. Wang was eliminated.
Chris Tham – 125,000 (125 bb)
Mike Wang – Eliminated