Jonathan Jaffe Defends His LHPO High Roller Title; “Bigger Field, More Money”

2022 Seminole Hard Rock Lucky Hearts Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 28
$25,500 High Roller NLH (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guarantee
Entries:  93
Prize Pool:  $2,297,100
January 24-25, 2022

Jonathan Jaffe
High Roller Champion Jonathan Jaffe

The last time there was a $25,500 High Roller during the Lucky Hearts Poker Open, a field of 41 entries created a prizepool worth $1,012,700. This year, the field was more than twice as large with 93 entries, and the prizepool more than doubled the $1 million guarantee to reach $2,297,100.

But one thing that remained constant is Jonathan Jaffe, who won both events, earning $340,285 in 2020 and $574,085 this year.

When asked to compare the two events, Jaffe said, “Bigger field, more money. I’m happy about that.”

“I definitely ran the best I can ever remember running in a high-roller,” said Jaffe after his victory Tuesday evening. “That’s kind of a peculiar feeling, when you keep winning all-ins from behind and your chips multiply, but you don’t feel like you did something particularly great.”

One of the key moments for Jaffe actually came the night before on the final table bubble, when he got it all in after the flop with 5s5c against Joseph Cheong’s QhQc. Jaffe was two cards away from elimination, but the 5d fell on the turn to save Jaffe’s tournament and catapult him into the chip lead.

As for Cheong, he bounced back from that bad beat and was chipleader for much of the final table. And then, with three players left, he played the biggest pot of the tournament against Jaffe.

Jaffe shoved the turn with a flush draw and a gutshot straight draw, and Cheong called with top pair. The perfect river card fell for Jaffe, completing both of his draws to give him the win and double him up to a comfortable 66 big blinds.

A few minutes after that, Jaffe won a preflop race against Tim Capretta to knock him out in third place, and that gave Jaffe the chip lead in what turned out to be the final hand of the tournament.

Jaffe and Cheong agreed to a heads-up deal, and as chipleader, Jaffe earned the title, the trophy, and the most money ($574,085). Cheong earned $540,000 as the runner-up.

Jaffe is a regular in the big events here at Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood, so what keeps him coming back?

“Proximity,” said Jaffe. “I live 15 minutes away, and I love it. I go home for dinner break, and you just can’t beat that. Right now, this is the place that is hosting so much of the volume of the World Poker Tour, and we get a $25K every time they come here. It’s amazing. It makes me not want to fly out anywhere else, because we have the best poker only 15 minutes away.”


PlaceNameWinnings
1Jonathan Jaffe $574,085*
2Joseph Cheong $540,000*
3Tim Capretta $291,730
4Dan Colpoys $202,145
5Eli Berg $130,935
6Caleb Piderit $98,775
7Sameer Batra $80,400
8Vikenty Shegal $68,915
9Jerry Wong $66,615
10Darren Elias $64,320
11David Mock $62,025
12Chad Eveslage $59,725
13Rainer Kempe $57,430

* Indicates the results of a heads-up deal.

High Roller: Jonathan Jaffe Wins in a Heads-Up Deal with Joseph Cheong

$25,500 High Roller NLH (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guarantee | StructurePayouts
Level 20:  25,000/50,000 with a 50,000 ante
Players Remaining:  2 of 93

Jonathan Jaffe
High Roller Champion Jonathan Jaffe

After the elimination of Tim Capretta in third place, Jonathan Jaffe and Joseph Cheong agreed to a deal. These were their official chip counts:

Jonathan Jaffe  –  5,140,000  (103 bb)
Joseph Cheong  –  4,160,000  (83 bb)

As chipleader, Jaffe was declared the champion and received the trophy, along with the most money. Jaffe is a repeat champion, having won this exact same event at last year’s Lucky Hearts Poker Open.

Here are their final payouts, along with the other final tablists:

1st:  Jonathan Jaffe  –  $574,085 + LHPO Trophy
2nd:  Joseph Cheong  –  $540,000
3rd:  Tim Capretta  –  $291,730
4th:  Dan Colpoys  –  $202,145
5th:  Eli Berg  –  $130,935
6th:  Caleb Piderit  –  $98,775
7th:  Sameer Batra  –  $80,400
8th:  Vikenty Shegal  –  $68,915
9th:  Jerry Wong  –  $66,615

Stay tuned for a recap from this event later tonight.

Joseph Cheong
Runner-Up Joseph Cheong

High Roller: Tim Capretta – 3rd Place ($291,730)

$25,500 High Roller NLH (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guarantee | StructurePayouts
Level 20:  25,000/50,000 with a 50,000 ante
Players Remaining:  2 of 93

Tim Capretta
Tim Capretta

Tim Capretta raised from the button to 110,000, Jonathan Jaffe moved all in from the big blind, and Capretta called all in for about 1,105,000 with 7h7c.

Jaffe turned over AcJh, and Capretta needed his hand to hold to stay alive.

The board came KdJs9c4c10h, and Jaffe paired his jack on the flop to win the pot and eliminate Capretta in third place.

Tim Capretta  –  Eliminated in 3rd Place  ($291,730)

Here are the official chip counts for the start of heads-up play, followed by the final table payouts:

Jonathan Jaffe  –  5,140,000  (103 bb)
Joseph Cheong  –  4,160,000  (83 bb)

1st:  $643,180 + LHPO Trophy
2nd:  $470,905

3rd:  Tim Capretta  –  $291,730
4th:  Dan Colpoys  –  $202,145
5th:  Eli Berg  –  $130,935
6th:  Caleb Piderit  –  $98,775
7th:  Sameer Batra  –  $80,400
8th:  Vikenty Shegal  –  $68,915
9th:  Jerry Wong  –  $66,615

High Roller: Jonathan Jaffe Doubles Thru Joseph Cheong

$25,500 High Roller NLH (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guarantee | StructurePayouts
Level 20:  25,000/50,000 with a 50,000 ante
Players Remaining:  3 of 93

Jonathan Jaffe
Jonathan Jaffe

Joseph Cheong completed the small blind to 50,000, Jonathan Jaffe raised from the big blind to 150,000, and Cheong called.

The flop came AcJd10c, Cheong checked, Jaffe bet 225,000, and Cheong called.

The turn card was the 5d, Cheong checked, and Jaffe thought for a bit before moving all in for 1,260,000. Cheong asked for an exact count before he called with Ad9c for a pair of aces.

Jaffe turned over Qc2c for a club flush draw with a gutshot straight draw, and he needed to improve to stay alive.

Jaffe needed a king or a club, and he got the best of both worlds when the river brought the Kc. Jaffe won the pot with a club flush to double up in chips.

Jonathan Jaffe  –  3,320,000  (66 bb)
Joseph Cheong  –  4,400,000  (88 bb)

With three players remaining from a field of 93, the average chip stack is about 3.1 million (62 big blinds), and the remaining players are all guaranteed at least $291,730 each.

High Roller: Dan Colpoys – 4th Place ($202,145)

$25,500 High Roller NLH (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guarantee | StructurePayouts
Level 20:  25,000/50,000 with a 50,000 ante
Players Remaining:  3 of 93

Dan Colpoys
Dan Colpoys

Tim Capretta raised from UTG/cutoff to 110,000, Joseph Cheong called from the button, and Dan Colpoys moved all in from the small blind for 1,410,000.

Capretta asked for an exact count and tanked for a very long time before he folded.

Cheong quickly called with AhQc, and Colpoys turned over KsJh. Colpoys needed to improve to stay alive.

The board came AcKc3s4d7c, and Cheong won the pot with a flopped pair of aces to eliminate Colpoys in fourth place.

Joseph Cheong  –  4,850,000  (97 bb)
Dan Colpoys  –  Eliminated in 4th Place  ($202,145)

With three players remaining from a field of 93, the average chip stack is about 3.1 million (62 big blinds), and the remaining players are all guaranteed at least $291,730 each.

High Roller: Joseph Cheong vs. Tim Capretta

$25,500 High Roller NLH (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guarantee | StructurePayouts
Level 20:  25,000/50,000 with a 50,000 ante
Players Remaining:  4 of 93

Joseph Cheong
Joseph Cheong

Tim Capretta raised from the small blind to 125,000, and Joseph Cheong called from the big blind.

The flop came 9c5h2h, Capretta bet 125,000, and Cheong called.

The turn card was the 5c, Capretta bet 300,000, and Cheong called.

The river card was the Qs, Capretta checked, Cheong bet 400,000, and Capretta thought for a while before he called.

Cheong showed Kd9h to win the pot with two pair, nines and fives, and Capretta mucked. With this pot, Cheong took over the chip lead once again.

Joseph Cheong  –  3,400,000  (68 bb)
Tim Capretta  –  2,665,000  (53 bb)

With four players remaining from a field of 93, the average chip stack is about 2.33 million (47 big blinds), and the remaining players are all guaranteed at least $202,145 each.

High Roller: Tim Capretta Leads the Final Four at the Break with 3.8 Million

$25,500 High Roller NLH (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guarantee | StructurePayouts
Level 20:  25,000/50,000 with a 50,000 ante
Players Remaining:  4 of 93

Tim Capretta
Tim Capretta

The final four players return from break to begin Level 20, with increased blinds of 25,000-50,000 with a big blind ante of 50,000.

With four players remaining from a field of 93, the average chip stack is about 2.33 million (47 big blinds). Here are the official chip counts from the break, followed by the final table payouts:

Seat 1.  Dan Colpoys  –  1,600,000  (32 bb)
Seat 2.  Jonathan Jaffe  –  1,525,000  (31 bb)
Seat 3.  Tim Capretta  –  3,805,000  (76 bb)
Seat 4.  Joseph Cheong  –  2,370,000  (47 bb)

1st:  $643,180 + LHPO Trophy
2nd:  $470,905
3rd:  $291,730
4th:  $202,145

5th:  Eli Berg  –  $130,935
6th:  Caleb Piderit  –  $98,775
7th:  Sameer Batra  –  $80,400
8th:  Vikenty Shegal  –  $68,915
9th:  Jerry Wong  –  $66,615

High Roller: Eli Berg – 5th Place ($130,935)

$25,500 High Roller NLH (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guarantee | StructurePayouts
Level 19:  20,000/40,000 with a 40,000 ante
Players Remaining:  4 of 93

Eli Berg
Eli Berg

Eli Berg raised from the button to 90,000, Tim Capretta reraised from the small blind to 320,000, and Berg tanked for a while before he four-bet all in.

Capretta quickly called with AsQd, and Berg turned over Kd7d. Berg needed to improve to stay alive.

The board came Jd10h4dAc7c, and Capretta paired his ace on the turn to eliminate Berg in fifth place.

Tim Capretta  –  3,350,000  (84 bb)
Eli Berg  –  Eliminated in 5th Place  ($130,935)

With four players remaining from a field of 93, the average chip stack is about 2.33 million (58 big blinds), and the remaining players are all guaranteed at least $202,145 each.

High Roller: Joseph Cheong Has Taken the Chip Lead

$25,500 High Roller NLH (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guarantee | StructurePayouts
Level 19:  20,000/40,000 with a 40,000 ante
Players Remaining:  5 of 93

Joseph Cheong
Joseph Cheong

With the board showing AhJc5cQd on the turn, Tim Capretta checked from the big blind, Joseph Cheong bet 250,000 from under the gun, and Capretta called.

The river card was the 3d, and both players checked. Capretta showed Jh10c for a pair of jacks, but Cheong turned over KhQc to win the pot with a pair of queens.

Cheong has taken a solid chip lead with 2.8 million (70 bb).

Seat 1.  Dan Colpoys  –  1,250,000  (31 bb)
Seat 2.  Jonathan Jaffe  –  1,870,000  (47 bb)
Seat 3.  Eli Berg  –  1,110,000  (28 bb)
Seat 4.  Tim Capretta  –  2,100,000  (53 bb)
Seat 5.  Joseph Cheong  –  2,800,000  (70 bb)

With five players remaining from a field of 93, the average chip stack is about 1.86 million (47 big blinds), and the remaining players are all guaranteed at least $130,935 each.

High Roller: Caleb Piderit – 6th Place ($98,775)

$25,500 High Roller NLH (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guarantee | StructurePayouts
Level 19:  20,000/40,000 with a 40,000 ante
Players Remaining:  5 of 93

Caleb Piderit
Caleb Piderit

Tim Capretta raised under the gun to 90,000, Caleb Piderit moved all in from the small blind for 580,000, and Capretta asked for a count before he called with 9h9c.

Piderit turned over Ad5d, and needed to improve to stay alive.

The board came 10s10d2s7dQs — Piderit turned a diamond flush draw, but improved no further. Capretta won the pot with his pocket nines to eliminate Piderit in sixth place.

Tim Capretta  –  2,365,000  (59 bb)
Caleb Piderit  –  Eliminated in 6th Place  ($98,775)

With five players remaining from a field of 93, the average chip stack is about 1.86 million (47 big blinds), and the remaining players are all guaranteed at least $130,935 each.

Caleb Piderit
Caleb Piderit earned his entry into this event in a $2,650 satellite, and a min-cash guaranteed the biggest score of his young career. His parents, Eric and Tamra, watched from the rail as he was at the final table.