Brian Woods Earns First Title and $34,653 In $150 No Limit Hold’em Re-Entry

2016 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Hollywood
Event #5
$150 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry) 

Total Entries: 1,841
Total Prize Pool: $220,920

Brian Woods Outlasts Massive Field to Win the $150 No Limit Hold'em Re-Entry
Brian Woods Outlasts Massive Field to Win the $150 No Limit Hold’em Re-Entry

Brian Woods’ tournament resume isn’t very extensive, but the poker dealer from Jacksonville, FL prefers quality scores over quantity.

Woods added his second career tournament cash to his resume on Wednesday evening, but made it count by outlasting a massive field of 1,841 players and earning the win in a four-way chop.

Woods took home the lion’s share of the chop and went home with $34,653 in the $150 No Limit Hold’em Re-Entry event.

“It hasn’t sunk in yet, honestly,” said Woods after his win. “I feel like I played well. I feel like I won some good flips. I feel good, man.”

Woods’ only other recorded tournament cash was a final table at an earlier series in Jacksonville. He made that final table as well and finished fifth for over $13,000. Woods is more of a cash game player and also deals poker full time, but after a final table a few months ago, he decided to give tournaments another shot.

“I just started playing more tournaments,” said Woods. “I mostly just play cash. Coming out of that Jacksonville series, I felt a lot like, just for the value of buying in for $150, you got to take a shot.”

Woods took his shot and made it with the win. He was only scheduled to play this event, but with another five-figure score under his belt, he’s thinking about changing plans.

“To be completely honest with you, I wasn’t planning on it,” said Woods about playing a full slate of events. “But I definitely feel like I should give it a shot. I’m running hot right now.”

Woods was born in Chicago, but was raised in New Orleans. He moved out to Jacksonville after some family members retired in the area. He moved out there to be closer to his family and started dealing poker games in the area.

At the outset of the final table, Woods was the runaway chip leader. The rumblings of a chop started during nine-handed play. After running the ICM numbers, Woods was the main reason a deal wasn’t reached. He wanted more money than what was being offered, but he wasn’t afraid to continue playing.

“I play fearless,” said the 31-year-old. “So my style is conducive to playing it out because I feel like a lot of guys will tighten up a little bit. When they first offered it, I thought I wouldn’t take anything less than $40,000. I thought with the chips that I had, I thought I could for sure win.”

They continued to play until they were down to the final four players. The blinds were getting big, stacks were getting shallower, and the money jumps were getting bigger. After running the numbers again, Woods agreed to a deal.

“Once we got down to four, I saw how close in chips we were at that point,” said Woods. “At this point, I guess I’ll take $34,000. With the structure and the blinds the way they were, you were just one flip away from fourth place money.”

Here is a look at the final table results:

1st: Brian Woods – $34,653
2nd: Jay Moron – $30,180
3rd: Jonathan Ounjian – $28,880
4th: Michael Goldfarb – $21,725
5th: Ricardo Eyzaguirre – $9,610
6th: Eric Riley – $7,401
7th: Matthew Wilkins – $5,633
8th: Roy Paulena – $4,131
9th: Anthony Perrotta – $2,960

Download Final Results (PDF)

Event 5: Brian Woods Wins in Four-Way Deal ($34,653)

$150 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 33: 150,000/300,000 with a 50,000 ante
Players Remaining: 4 of 1,841

Brian Woods
Brian Woods

The final four players remaining have agreed to a deal. Brian Woods, Jonathan Ounjian, Michael Goldfarb, and Jay Moron chop up the remaining prizepool.

Woods gets credit for the win since he was the chip leader with four players left.

He took home $34,653. Moron took second place and earned $30,180. Ounjian finished third and won $28,880, while Goldfarb finished fourth and netted $21,725.

Jay Moron
Jay Moron
Jonathan Ounjian
Jonathan Ounjian
Michael Goldfarb
Michael Goldfarb

Event 5: Ricardo Eyzaguirre Eliminated in 5th Place ($9,610)

$150 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 33: 150,000/300,000 with a 50,000 ante
Players Remaining: 4 of 1,841

Ricardo Eyzaguirre
Ricardo Eyzaguirre

Ricardo Eyzaguirre moved all in out of the small blind for about 500,000 and Brian Woods called out of the big blind.

Woods showed AcJd and was in the lead against Eyzaguirre’s Qd5h. The board ran out Ts6d2h3cAh and Woods won the pot with a pair of aces.

Eyzaguirre took home $9,610 for his fifth place finish and Woods is near the top of the chip counts as four-handed play begins.

Brian Woods – 6,200,000 (21 bb)
Ricardo Eyzaguirre – Eliminated 

Event 5: Eric Riley Eliminated in 6th Place ($7,401)

$150 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 32: 100,000/200,000 with a 25,000 ante
Players Remaining: 5 of 1,841

Eric Riley
Eric Riley

Brian Woods raised from under the gun and Eric Riley moved all in for about 1,000,000 on the button. Woods called and it was a race for Riley’s tournament life.

Riley showed 7s7h and was up against Woods’ Qc9c.

The board ran out QhTs5s6d8h and Woods flopped a queen to eliminate Riley in sixth place. Riley earned $7,401 for his finish.

Brian Woods – 4,300,000 (21 bb)
Eric Riley – Eliminated 

Event 5: Jonathan Ounjian Doubles Through Brian Woods

$150 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 32: 100,000/200,000 with a 25,000 ante
Players Remaining: 6 of 1,841

Brian Woods raised out of the small blind and Jonathan Ounjian moved all in out of the big blind for 2,000,000. Woods called and the cards were tabled.

Woods showed AdQd and had Ounjian’s Ac7d dominated. The flop was AhKc3s, giving Ounjian some chop outs with another three.

The turn was the Jd, keeping Woods in the lead, but the river was the 7h and Ounjian spiked two pair on the river to double up.

Jonathan Ounjian – 4,000,000 (20 bb)
Brian Woods – 2,800,000 (14 bb)

Event 5: Matthew Wilkins Eliminated in 7th Place ($5,633)

$150 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 32: 100,000/200,000 with a 25,000 ante
Players Remaining: 6 of 1,841

Matthew Wilkins
Matthew Wilkins

Matthew Wilkins moved all in from the hijack for 480,000 and Michael Goldfarb called out of the big blind.

Wilkins tabled AcTs and was in the lead against Goldfarb’s 8h2c.

The board ran out 7d6h3sJs2s and Goldfarb rivered a deuce to win the pot, eliminate Wilkins, and leave the table six-handed.

Michael Goldfarb – 3,350,000 (17 bb)
Matthew Wilkins – Eliminated 

Event 5: Michael Goldfarb Doubles Through Jay Moron

$150 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 31: 75,000/150,000 with a 25,000 ante
Players Remaining: 7 of 1,841

Jay Moron raised on the button and Michael Goldfarb moved all in for 1,225,000 out of the big blind. Moron called.

Moron showed Ax4x and needed to hit an ace against Goldfarb’s KcKd.

The board ran out Tc6c2h8c3s and Goldfarb doubled up.

Michael Goldfarb – 2,600,000 (17 bb)
Jay Moron – 6,000,000 (40 bb)

Event 5: Roy Paulena Eliminated in 8th Place ($4,131)

$150 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 31: 75,000/150,000 with a 25,000 ante
Players Remaining: 7 of 1,841

Roy Paulena
Roy Paulena

Roy Paulena moved all in on the button for 1,400,000 and Jay Moron called out of the small blind.

Paulena showed 6c6d and was in bad shape against Moron’s AsAc. The board ran out Jd8c4d4hKs and Paulena hit the rail in eighth place. He took home $4,131 and Moron took the chip lead.

Jay Moron – 7,100,000 (47 bb)
Roy Paulena – Eliminated 

Event 5: Anthony Perrotta Eliminated in 9th Place ($2,960)

$150 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 31: 75,000/150,000 with a 25,000 ante
Players Remaining: 8 of 1,841

Anthony Perrotta
Anthony Perrotta

Anthony Perrotta moved all in from under the gun for 325,000 and Jay Moron called out of the big blind.

Moron showed KdQc and had Perrotta’s KsTh dominated. The board ran out 7c2s2dAs4d and Moron’s hand held up to eliminate Perrotta in ninth place.

Perrotta took home $2,960 for his efforts and Moron moved up the chip counts.

Jay Moron – 3,225,000 (21 bb)
Anthony Perrotta – Eliminated 

Event 5: Eric Riley Doubles Through Anthony Perrotta

$150 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 30: 60,000/120,000 with a 20,000 ante
Players Remaining: 9 of 1,841

Anthony Perrotta and Eric Riley got Riley’s last 1,080,000 into the middle preflop. Perrotta is in early position and showed AsAd. He had Riley’s KsKc in bad shape.

The board ran out Td8c6hKh7d and Riley spiked a king on the turn to double up through Perrotta. The players head out on a 10-minute break at the completion of the hand.

Eric Riley – 2,300,000 (19 bb)
Anthony Perrotta – 350,000 (3 bb)