2019 Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open 
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino 
Hollywood, Florida
Event 6
$400 Big O (Re-Entry)
Entries: 78
Prize Pool: $26,520
November 23, 2019 

Gavin Smith recently moved from Portland, Oregon, where Omaha-8 is plentiful, down to Florida, where PLO and Omaha high are more popular. So when Smith saw the Big O tournament on the Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open schedule, he knew he had to play it. Twelve hours later, just a few minutes before midnight, he won it.

“It feels good,” said Smith after his victory. “I have a lot of friends that are winning these trophies, so it feels good to finally be among them.”

“There’s a lot of Omaha high down here,” said Smith about the Florida poker scene, “but there’s not a lot of eight-or-better. And that’s all I’ve been playing in Portland for the last ten years. I’ve never really played high-only; it’s always been eight-or-better. So I feel like I have a slight advantage over the average player down here.”

Smith learned a lot from the Omaha 8 games he played in Oregon. “The group that I play with in Portland includes several mixed-game players and a couple of bracelet winners, and we were fortunate that they taught us as well. It was very helpful.”

At this final table, Smith was wary of Gabriel Ramos, who has already won three Omaha trophies here at Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood this year, plus two more in 2018. And when Ramos had the chip lead at this final table, he seemed headed for his sixth Seminole Hard Rock Omaha trophy.

“[Ramos] was so aggressive that I didn’t have to do anything,” said Smith. “He was the chipleader for a while before me, so everybody was focused on him, which was really nice. I just waited for hands, hoped they held up, and got paid on them.”

The turning point at this final table came with five players remaining. Smith and Ramos got it all in on the turn, with Ramos holding a set of threes for the high, and Smith holding an 8-4 low.

But a five on the river gave Smith a wheel to scoop the entire pot and double up into a huge chip lead, giving him more chips than the other four players combined. As for Ramos, he was knocked down below 20 big blinds and never recovered, eventually finishing fourth.

Now that he’s living in Florida, Smith is getting used to a different poker atmosphere.

“In Portland, there are a lot of local clubs, and they’re fantastic, but every casino down here has a minimum of 30 tables. The poker rooms are huge, which is great. There’s always variety.”

Final Results:

1st:  Gavin Smith  –  $8,125 + RRPO Trophy
2nd:  David Jacobs  –  $5,420
3rd:  Nisim Cohen  –  $3,610
4th:  Gabriel Ramos  –  $2,510
5th:  Scott Franck  –  $1,820
6th:  Marc Rabuse  –  $1,385
7th:  Natan Wager  –  $1,100
8th:  Edmond Tonnellier  –  $920
9th:  Barry Levy  –  $815
10th:  Charles Simon  –  $815

$400 Big O (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 21:  6,000/12,000
Players Remaining:  1 of 78

After getting quartered on a previous hand, David Jacobs got it all in for 19K.

Gavin Smith:  
David Jacobs:  

The board came — Jacobs flopped two different gutshot straight draws and turned a 7-6 low, but it wasn’t good enough. Smith won the high with two pair, jacks and sevens, and he won the low with a 7-5 to eliminate Jacobs in second place and win the Big O title and trophy.

1st:  Gavin Smith  –  $8,125 + RRPO Trophy
2nd:  David Jacobs  –  $5,420
3rd:  Nisim Cohen  –  $3,610
4th:  Gabriel Ramos  –  $2,510
5th:  Scott Franck  –  $1,820
6th:  Marc Rabuse  –  $1,385
7th:  Natan Wager  –  $1,100
8th:  Edmond Tonnellier  –  $920
9th:  Barry Levy  –  $815
10th:  Charles Simon  –  $815

$400 Big O (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 20:  5,000/10,000
Players Remaining:  2 of 78

Gavin Smith raised from the button to 25,000, Nisim Cohen moved all in from the big blind for 40,000, and Smith called.

Gavin Smith:  
Nisim Cohen:  

The board came , and Smith scooped the pot with a full house, sixes full of aces, and a 6-5 low to eliminate Cohen in third place.

Nisim Cohen  –  Eliminated in 3rd Place  ($3,610)

Heads-up play gets underway with the following approximate chip counts:

Gavin Smith  –  750,000  (75 bb)
David Jacobs  –  190,000  (19 bb)

$400 Big O (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 20:  5,000/10,000
Players Remaining:  3 of 78

With four players remaining, there is a three-way all-in situation after a flop of . Nisim Cohen was all in with the shortest stack, followed by Gabriel Ramos with a larger stack, and chipleader Gavin Smith had them both covered.

Gavin Smith:    (pair of jacks, club flush draw, gutshot straight draw)
Gabriel Ramos:    (two pair, jacks and deuces)
Nisim Cohen:    (pair of fives, 5-4 low draw)

The turn card paired the board with the , and the river card was the . Cohen turned trip fives and rivered the only qualifying low (7-5), while Smith rivered a king-high flush for the high.

Smith and Cohen split the main pot, while Smith won the side pot to eliminate Ramos in fourth place.

Gavin Smith  –  640,000  (64 bb)
Nisim Cohen  –  100,000  (10 bb)
Gabriel Ramos  –  Eliminated in 4th Place  ($2,510)

$400 Big O (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 19:  4,000/8,000
Players Remaining:  4 of 78

The final five players return from break to begin Level 19, and these were their updated chip counts:

Seat 1.  Nisim Cohen  –  135,000  (17 bb)
Seat 2.  Gavin Smith  –  500,000  (63 bb)
Seat 3.  David Jacobs  –  124,000  (16 bb)
Seat 4.  Gabriel Ramos  –  127,000  (16 bb)
Seat 5.  Scott Franck  –  46,000  (6 bb)

A few minutes later, Scott Franck got it all in from the button for about 60,000 against Gabriel Ramos in the cutoff.

Gabriel Ramos:  
Scott Franck:  

The board came , and with no qualifying lows, Ramos won the entire pot with a full house, queens full of nines, to eliminate Franck in fifth place.

Gabriel Ramos  –  178,000  (22 bb)
Scott Franck  –  Eliminated in 5th Place  ($1,820)

After his elimination, Franck wanted to point out that not only was this the first time he had ever played Big O, but it was the first time he ever played Omaha hi-lo.

$400 Big O (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 18:  3,000/6,000
Players Remaining:  5 of 78

Gavin Smith (big blind) and Gabriel Ramos (cutoff) put in 35,000 each to get to the turn on a board of .

Smith bet 75,000, Ramos moved all in, and Smith called all in for 215,000.

Gabriel Ramos:    (set of threes, 8-6 low)
Gavin Smith:    (spade flush draw, gutshot straight draw, 8-4 low)

As things stood on the turn, it would be a split pot, but the river brought the to give Smith a wheel (five-high straight). Smith scooped the entire pot to double up into a big chip lead, knocking Ramos down to 20 big blinds.

Gavin Smith  –  500,000  (83 bb)
Gabriel Ramos  –  120,000  (20 bb)

$400 Big O (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 17:  2,500/5,000
Players Remaining:  5 of 78

Three players put in 20K each to see a flop of . Gabriel Ramos bet 40,000 from the small blind, Nisim Cohen folded from under the gun, and Marc Rabuse moved all in button for 75,000. Ramos called, and they turned over their cards.

Gabriel Ramos:    (set of fours)
Marc Rabuse:    (pair of nines, gutshot straight draw)

The turn card was the , and the river card paired the board with the . Ramos won the high with a full house, fours full of nines, and there were no possible lows. Rabuse was eliminated in sixth place.

Gabriel Ramos  –  450,000  (90 bb)
Marc Rabuse  –  Eliminated in 6th Place  ($1,385)

$400 Big O (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 16:  2,000/4,000
Players Remaining:  6 of 78

With the blinds at 1,500-3,000, Gavin Smith raised UTG+1 to 10,000, Gabriel Ramos called from the button, Natan Wager called from the small blind, and Scott Franck called from the big blind.

The flop came , and it checked to Ramos, who bet 31,500. Wager folded, Franck called, and Smith folded.

The turn card was the , Ramos moved all in for 76,500, and Franck called.

Scott Franck:    (heart flush draw, gutshot straight draw)
Gabriel Ramos:    (pair of queens)

The river card paired the board with the , and Ramos won the pot with two pair, queens and sevens, to double up in chips and put him near the chip lead.

Gabriel Ramos  –  256,000  (85 bb)
Scott Franck  –  175,000  (58 bb)

Level 15 came to an end, and Level 16 began with increased blinds of 2,000-4,000.

About 10 minutes into the level, Natan Wager got it all in preflop in a four-way pot with about 92,000 in the pot.

The flop came , Nisim Cohen checked the big blind, David Jacobs checked UTG+1, and Gabriel Ramos pot-bet it from the cutoff to about 92,000. Cohen folded, and Jacobs and Ramos got it all in. All three remaining players showed their cards.

Gabriel Ramos:    (pair of eights, 8-7 low draw)
David Jacobs:    (pair of sixes, 7-6 low draw)
Natan Wager:    (pair of sixes, 7-6 low draw)

The turn card paired the board with the , and the river card was the .

Ramos won the high with two pair, jacks and eights, while Jacobs won the low with a 7-6-5-2-A to Wager’s 7-6-5-3-A. Wager was eliminated in seventh place.

Gabriel Ramos  –  325,000  (81 bb)
David Jacobs  –  165,000  (41 bb)
Natan Wager  –  Eliminated in 7th Place  ($1,100)

$400 Big O (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 15:  1,500/3,000
Players Remaining:  7 of 78

After the elimination of Edmond Tonnellier in eighth place, the final seven players redraw for random seats at the final table.

Here is the updated seat draw with their approximate chip counts:

Seat 1.  Nisim Cohen  –  75,500  (25 bb)
Seat 2.  Gavin Smith  –  96,500  (32 bb)
Seat 3.  David Jacobs  –  175,500  (59 bb)
Seat 4.  Marc Rabuse  –  230,000  (77 bb)
Seat 5.  Gabriel Ramos  –  105,000  (35 bb)
Seat 6.  Natan Wager  –  22,000  (7 bb)
Seat 7.  Scott Franck  –  265,500  (89 bb)

There was about a minute and a half remaining in Level 14, and they played one or two hands before taking a 10-minute break, and the big blinds listed above were calculated at the increased blinds for Level 15.

Here is the remaining prizepool at stake, followed by the players who have finished in the money so far:

1st:  $8,125 + RRPO Trophy
2nd:  $5,420
3rd:  $3,610
4th:  $2,510
5th:  $1,820
6th:  $1,385
7th:  $1,100

8th:  Edmond Tonnellier  –  $920
9th:  Barry Levy  –  $815
10th:  Charles Simon  –  $815

$400 Big O (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 10:  500/1,000
Players Remaining:  32 of 78

We closed registration on the Big O tournament and it was another nice turnout for a non-Hold’em game. Event 6 drew 78 entries to create a prize pool worth $26,520.

The last 10 spots will be paid out with a min-cash taking home $815 and the Big O champ banking $8,125 plus the RRPO trophy and custom-framed winner’s photo courtesy of Image Masters.

2019 Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open 
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino 
Hollywood, Florida
Event 6
$400 Big O (Re-Entry)
Entries: 78
Prize Pool: $26,520
November 23, 2019 

1st: $8,125 + RRPO Trophy
2nd: $5,420
3rd: $3,610
4th: $2,510
5th: $1,820
6th: $1,385
7th: $1,100
8th: $920
9th: $815
10th: $815