2021 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 3
$400 H.O.R.S.E. (Freeze-Out)
Entries: 82
Prize Pool:  $27,880
July 23, 2021

Event 3 of the 2021 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open was a $400 H.O.R.S.E. (Freeze-Out). A field of 82 players came to play and in the end, a heads-up deal was reached between Avery Bloom and “Miami” John Cernuto. As the chip leader, Bloom was the official Event 3 winner.

The 27-year-old Bloom plays mostly online poker, but has transitioned to playing live more after moving to Miami from Atlanta.

“I’ve started to play live a little more and have been liking it more,” Bloom said afterward. “I like the action, so this is what I’ve been doing lately and plan to do a lot more of it.”

For Bloom, he finds what is probably the least popular of the five-game rotation as his favorite game in the mix.

“I love Razz. Not many people seem to like it much, so I feel that I have a good edge there.”

In addition to his victory tonight, Bloom also bagged an above-average stack in the opening event, locking up a pair of cashes in the first two days of the 2021 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open.

*denotes heads-up deal

$400 H.O.R.S.E. (Freeze-Out)
Structure | Payouts
Level 20:  12,000/24,000 Limits
Players Remaining:  2 of 82

Before heads-up play began between Avery Bloom and “Miami” John Cernuto, they agreed to basically an even chop.

Here were the chip counts at the time:

Avery Bloom – 514,000 (21 BB)
“Miami”John Cernuto – 471,000 (20 BB)

Here were the resulting payouts:

Avery Bloom – $6,903
“Miami” John Cernuto – $6,802

As the chip leader, Avery Bloom is the official winner of Event 3 of the 2021 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open!

A recap of the event will be posted later tonight.

$400 H.O.R.S.E. (Freeze-Out)
Structure | Payouts
Level 20:  12,000/24,000 Limits
Players Remaining:  2 of 82

Razz

Dominic Granteed was the shortest stack of the remaining three players and after playing three-handed for about 20 minutes, Granteed committed his stack in Razz against Avery Bloom.

Both players made tens, but Bloom’s ten-five bested Granteed’s ten-nine to end his run in third place.

Avery Bloom – 514,000 (21 BB)
“Miami”John Cernuto – 471,000 (20 BB)
Dominic Granteed – Eliminated in 3rd Place ($3,715)

$400 H.O.R.S.E. (Freeze-Out)
Structure | Payouts
Level 20:  12,000/24,000 Limits
Players Remaining:  3 of 82

Hold’em

Following a flop of , Avery Bloom bet from the small blind and Hal Klein raised from the big blind. Bloom made it three bets and Klein called.

The turn was the , Bloom bet and Klein called.

The river was the and both checked.

Bloom showed for a pair of sevens, Klein mucked and Bloom collected the pot.

Down to 14,000, Klein got his stack in the following hand from the small blind against “Miami” John Cernuto.

Klein:
Cernuto:

The board ran out , giving Cernuto tens and eights to eliminate Klein in fourth place.

John Cernuto – 450,000 (19 BB)
Avery Bloom – 310,000 (13 BB)
Dominic Granteed – 225,000 (9 BB)
Hal Klein – Eliminated in 4th Place ($2,615)

$400 H.O.R.S.E. (Freeze-Out)
Structure | Payouts
Level 19:  10,000/20,000 Limits
Players Remaining:  4 of 82

Stud 8

Cory Zeidman made trip eights with an 8-7 low, but ran into Dominic Granteed’s six-high straight.

Dominic Granteed – 225,000 (11 BB)
Cory Zeidman – Eliminated in 5th Place ($1,910)

$400 H.O.R.S.E. (Freeze-Out)
Structure | Payouts
Level 18:  8,000/16,000 Limits
Players Remaining:  5 of 82

Omaha 8

Avery Bloom limped from the button, Evan Haskell committed his remaining ~10,000-ish from the small blind, Hal Klein came along from the big blind and so did Bloom.

The flop was and Klein check-called a bet from Bloom.

The turn was the and both checked.

The river was the , Klein bet, Bloom raised and Klein called.

Bloom tabled for eights full of aces, besting Klein’s for trip kings to win the sidepot.

Haskell, meanwhile, showed a defeated and was out in sixth place.

Avery Bloom – 205,000 (10 BB)
Hal Klein – 200,000 (10 BB)
Evan Haskell – Eliminated in 6th Place ($1,450)

$400 H.O.R.S.E. (Freeze-Out)
Structure | Payouts
Level 18:  8,000/16,000 Limits
Players Remaining:  6 of 82

Omaha 8

In a multi-wat pot, Patti Norris was all in for roughly 10,000 in the big blind.

The flop was and “Miami”John Cernuto bet from the small blind. Hal Klein raised from the button and Cernuto called.

The turn was the , both checked, the river was the and Cernuto chased out Klein with a river bet.

Cernuto tabled for quad queens, Norris showed a defeated and she was eliminated in seventh place.

John Cernuto – 200,000 (10 BB)
Patti Norris – Eliminated in 7th Place ($1,150)

$400 H.O.R.S.E. (Freeze-Out)
Structure | Payouts
Level 17:  6,000/12,000 Limits
Players Remaining:  7 of 82

Hold’em

Scott Baumstein was in the small blind and got his short stack of about 30,000 in against Hal Klein in the big blind.

Baumstein:
Klein:

The board came down , giving Klein eights and gives to eliminate Baumstein in eighth place.

Hal Klein – 270,000 (22.5 BB)
Scott Baumstein – Eliminated in 8th Place ($950)

$400 H.O.R.S.E. (Freeze-Out)
Structure | Payouts
Level 17:  6,000/12,000 Limits
Players Remaining:  8 of 82

Hold’em

Aaron Kupin raised from middle position, “Miami” John Cernuto three-bet from the hijack, Avery Bloom called from the small blind and Kupin four-bet all in for 31,000 total. Both Cernuto and Bloom called.

The flop was , Bloom checked, Cernuto bet and Bloom folded.

Cernuto showed for a pair of queens,  leading Kupin’s .

The turn and river completed the board, no help to Kupin, ending his tournament in ninth place.

John Cernuto – 150,000 (12.5 BB)
Aaron Kupin – Eliminated in 9th Place ($820)

$400 H.O.R.S.E. (Freeze-Out)
Structure | Payouts
Level 17:  6,000/12,000 Limits
Players Remaining:  9 of 82

The final nine players have redrawn for random seats at the final table. Here are the seating assignments, approximate chip counts and how many big bets (BB) in each stack

Seat 1: Hal Klein – 256,000 (21 BB)
Seat 2: Cory Zeidman – 250,000 (21 BB)
Seat 3: Aaron Kupin – 31,000 (3 BB)
Seat 4: John Cernuto – 96,000 (8 BB)
Seat 5: Patti Norris – 22,000 (2 BB)
Seat 6: Dominic Granteed – 90,000 (7.5 BB)
Seat 7: Avery Bloom – 110,000 (9 BB)
Seat 8: Evan Haskell – 110,000 (9 BB)
Seat 9: Scott Baumstein – 30,000 (2.5 BB)

Remaining Payouts
1st: $8,225 + SHRPO Trophy
2nd: $5,480
3rd: $3,715
4th: $2,615
5th: $1,910
6th: $1,450
7th: $1,150
8th: $950
9th: $820

In-The-Money Eliminations
10th:  Joseph Sweeney – $820
11th: John Holley – $373
12th: David Reno – $372