All posts by Steve Schult

Event 15: Recent Eliminations

$1,100 Six-Max Big Stack NLH (Single Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed | Payouts
Level 16: 3,000/5,000 with a 5,000 big blind ante
Players Remaining: 16 of 237

With 16 players remaining, everybody is guaranteed a cash of at least $2,675. Here is a look at the recent eliminations before that point:

17th: Aaron Mermelstein – $2,255
18th: Mario Prats Garcia – $2,255
19th: Alex Condon – $1,945
20th: Scott Watson – $1,945
21st: Jeff Fielder – $1,945
22nd: Shannon Shorr – $1,945
23rd: Toby Boas – $1,945
24th: Maris Konnkova – $1,945
25th: John Spadavecchia – $1,720
26th: James Salmon – $1,720
27th: Soika Conka – $1,720
28th: Kharlin Sued – $1,720
29th: Tomas Soderstrom – $1,720

Event 15: Kristen Bicknell Doubles Through Daniel Strelitz

$1,100 Six-Max Big Stack NLH (Single Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed | Payouts
Level 16: 3,000/5,000 with a 5,000 big blind ante
Players Remaining: 16 of 237

Kristin Bicknell

Kristen Bicknell moved all in from the cutoff for about 20,000 and was called by Daniel Strelitz out of the big blind.

Strelitz showed Qh7d and was in the lead against Bicknell’s JcTs.

The board ran out 9d8s6dQsJd and Bicknell turned the nut straight to leave Strelitz drawing dead to the river.

Kristen Bicknell – 40,000
Daniel Strelitz – 52,000

Event 15: Olivier Busquet Doubles in Consecutive Hands

$1,100 Six-Max Big Stack NLH (Single Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed | Payouts
Level 15: 2,000/4,000 with a 4,000 big blind ante
Players Remaining: 18 of 237

Olivier Busquet

Olivier Busquet moved all in from under the gun for 16,000 and was called by the player on the button.

Busquet showed Td9s and was up against the button’s QcJc.

The flop was Tc9c3d, giving Busquet top two pair, but his opponent flopped the proverbial world with a straight flush draw. The turn was the 7s and the river was the 9h.

Busquet dodged it all and filled up on the river to double up. On the next hand, he got his stack all in against the same opponent, this time from the big blind against the cutoff.

Busquet showed AhTc and was up against Ax4x.

The board ran out 8s7s2sQd5d and Busquet scored another double up shortly after they redrew to three tables.

Olivier Busquet – 86,000

Event 15: Daniel Strelitz Pressures Olivier Busquet

$1,100 Six-Max Big Stack NLH (Single Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed | Payouts
Level 15: 2,000/4,000 with a 4,000 big blind ante
Players Remaining: 22 of 237

Daniel Strelitz raised to 8,000 from middle position and Olivier Busquet defended his big blind.

The flop was AdKh9c and Busquet checked. Strelitz bet 8,000 and Busquet called.

They both checked the 2c turn card and the 5d came on the river. Busquet checked again and Strelitz bet enough to put Busquet all in for his last 30,000. Busquet thought for a few moments before letting his hand go.

Strelitz mucked his hand and won the pot. He’s one of the bigger stacks in the field with a three-table redraw looming.

Daniel Strelitz – 270,000
Olivier Busquet – 30,000

Event 16: Mark Dube vs. Ryan Bambrick

$360 Pot-Limit Omaha Six-Max 
Structure | Payouts
Level 10: 500/1,000
Players Remaining: 29 of 114

Mark Dube

It was a battle of the blinds between Ryan Bambrick in the small blind and Mark Dube in the big blind.

On a flop of 8h5s2s, Bambrick bet 3,600 and Dube called. They both checked the Ks turn and the Jc came on the river.

Bambrick bet 5,500 and Dube called. Bambrick announced he had a set and showed JsJcTx7x and Dube won the pot with Qs9s7s4x, good for the second nut flush.

Dube took the pot and crossed the 100,000-chip threshold, becoming one of the biggest stacks left in the tournament.

Mark Dube – 103,000
Ryan Bambrick – 39,000

Event 16: Prize Pool of $34,200 and $9,140 for First

$360 Pot-Limit Omaha Six-Max 
Structure
Level 9: 400/800
Total Entries: 114

With the players back from their first break of the day, level 9 is underway and registration is closed for the $360 pot-limit Omaha six-max event.

The field drew 114 entries, which generated a prize pool of $34,200 and the top 19 spots will get paid, with a top prize of $9,140.

Full prize pool and payouts:

2018 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open 
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino 
Hollywood, Florida
Event #16 
$360 Pot-Limit Omaha Six-Max 
Entries: 114
Prize Pool: $34,200 
August 8, 2018

1st: $9,140 + Trophy
2nd: $5,940
3rd: $3,980
4th: $2,750
5th: $1,960
6th: $1,440
7th-8th: $1,095
9th-10th: $865
11th-12th: $705
13th-14th: $595
15th-16th: $525
17th-18th: $480
19th: $460

 

Gabriel Ramos Wins Second Hard Rock Trophy in Second Split Pot Victory

2018 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open 
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event #12
$360 Big O 
Entries: 93
Prize Pool: $27,900 
August 7, 2018 

Gabriel Ramos scores second Hard Rock trophy in $360 Big O

On Monday night, Gabriel Ramos was driving back home after busting the $360 pot-limit Omaha in ninth place. He was disappointed with his finish and was determined to do better on Tuesday.

He did just that.

Ramos won his second Hard Rock trophy in the early hours of Wednesday morning. The North Carolina native defeated a 93-entry field in the $360 Big O, winning his second Hard Rock title and $8,371.

“I drove 40 minutes home and the whole way I was saying to myself ‘I’m going to come back and win this Big O no matter what it takes,'” said Ramos after his victory.

Ramos came to South Florida after a strong showing at the World Series of Poker. He cashed four times, including a runner-up finish for $130,850 in the $1,500 mixed omaha hi-lo event, which featured limit Omaha hi-lo, pot-limit Omaha hi-lo and Big O.

After competing with and beating some of the best in the world, Ramos came to South Florida with his confidence at an all-time high.

“I felt pretty confident about my game here,” said Ramos. “[I][was] just laser-focused the whole time.”

As they trimmed the final table from eight down to just Ramos, the cream rose to the top, with Ramos having to get past local pro Zachary Milchman, who also finished second in a WSOP bracelet event, and John Holley, a seasoned pro that was fresh off a victory in the Seniors event 24 hours earlier.

The talent that Ramos got through only made the victory sweeter.

“Four-handed we had some pretty good players,” said Ramos. “So, it was nice to beat them out. I actually got to knock somebody out with my favorite holdings, queen-six. On a queen-queen-six flop, I had queen-six for a boat.”

Ramos knocked out Stephanie Chung in fourth place with that boat. It was the icing on the cake of a run of cards that saw Ramos run away with the chip lead four-handed. A chip lead that he attributes to his deep run at the WSOP in the mixed Omaha hi-lo event.

“We played a final table for almost a day and a half, so there was a lot of great experience there,” said Ramos. “I opened up my range a lot more four-handed. Before that, they probably looked at me as a tighter player and wasn’t capable of having certain holdings.”

Ramos’ first Hard Rock victory came in the $300 OE event at last April’s Hard Rock Poker Showdown. It’s clear that the hi-lo split pot games are his specialty.

“I put in a lot of work throughout the year,” said Ramos about his hi-lo game. “Definitely a lot of discipline and making really good folds. Good folds at the right time that put yourself in a position to chip up big when you have a big hand.”

The 93-entry field paid out the top 12 spots. Here are a look at the results:

1st: Gabriel Ramos – $8,371
2nd: Zachary Milchman – $4,952
3rd: John Holley – $3,501
4th: Stephanie Chung – $2,581
5th: Michael Lee – $1,911
6th: Sylvain Bouchard – $1,465
7th: William Marsh – $1,144
8th: Stephen Esposito – $907
9th: Pete Walsworth – $767
10th: Claudangelo Beaudouin – $767
11th: Nathan Woodside – $767
12th: Christopher Gallaher – $767

Event 12: Gabriel Ramos Wins $360 Big O ($8,371), Zack Milchman – 2nd ($4,952)

$360 Big O
Structure | Payouts
Level 23: 10,000/20,000
Players Remaining: 1 of 93

Gabriel Ramos

Zack Milchman raised to 55,000 on the button and Gabriel Ramos three-bet to 125,000 out of the big blind. Milchman called and the flop was Td8s7d.

Ramos bet 80,000 and Milchman moved all in for about 250,000. Ramos snap-called.

Ramos showed Ad2dThJc4d and Milchman tabled Ac2h3h3dTc.

The turn was the Js and the river was the 9d. Ramos scooped the entire pot and Milchman was eliminated in second.

Milchman earned $4,952 for his runner-up finish and Ramos earned $8,371 for the win.

Gabriel Ramos – $360 Big O Champion
Zack Milchman – Eliminated 

Zack Milchman

Event 12: John Holley – 3rd Place ($3,501)

$360 Big O
Structure | Payouts
Level 23: 10,000/20,000
Players Remaining: 2 of 93

John Holley

John Holley raised to 70,000 on the button and Zack Milchman re-potted to 230,000 out of the small blind. Holley called and was all in for 90,000.

Holley showed Ad8h8d5s6c and was up against Milchman’s AcQsQcJs3h.

The board ran out Ts4c3dJh9h and Milchman scooped the pot to eliminate Holley in third place for $3,501.

Milchman goes into heads-up play at a slight chip disadvantage against Gabriel Ramos.

Zack Milchman – 395,000
John Holley – Eliminated 

Event 12: Zack Milchman Doubles Through John Holley

$360 Big O
Structure | Payouts
Level 23: 10,000/20,000
Players Remaining: 3 of 93

John Holley raised on the button to 40,000 and Zack Milchman moved all in out of the small blind for 120,000. Holley called.

“I don’t even have a good hand, but I’m calling because I’m tired,” said Holley, before showing AxQxQxTx5x.

Milchman tabled AsAhKsKc4s and was in the lead.

The board ran out Ac3s3h8dTh and Milchman doubled up with aces full.

Zack Milchman – 260,000
John Holley – 90,000