$400 Limit Omaha 8
Structure  |  Payouts
Level 19:  15,000/30,000 Limits
Players Remaining:  7 of 82

Cynthia Yannette moved all in from the button for 14,000, and she was up against Josh Smith (big blind) and Michael Dreese (UTG).

The flop came , Smith bet 15,000, and Dreese called.

The turn card was the , and Smith and Dreese put in 30,000 each.

The river card was the , Smith bet 30,000, and Dreese folded. Smith took the side pot, and then he and Yannette showed their cards for the main pot.

Josh Smith:    (nine-high straight)
Cynthia Yannette:    (trip fives)

With no possible lows, Smith won the pot with his flopped straight to eliminate Yannette in eighth place.

Josh Smith  –  975,000  (33 BB)
Cynthia Yannette  –  Eliminated in 8th Place  ($955)

With seven players remaining from a field of 82 entries, the average chip stack is around 295,000 (10 Big Bets). The remaining players are guaranteed at least $1,125 each.

$400 Limit Omaha 8
Structure  |  Payouts
Level 19:  15,000/30,000 Limits
Players Remaining:  8 of 82

Christian Ivens was forced all in from the big blind for 13,000, and he was up against David Simpson (middle position) and Robert Poolos (cutoff).

The flop came , Simpson checked, Poolos bet 15,000, and Simpson folded. Poolos took the side pot.

For the main pot, Poolos and Ivens turned over their cards:

Robert Poolos:    (two pair, queens and tens)
Christian Ivens:    (two pair, tens and nines)

Ivens needed to improve to stay alive, but the turn was the , the river was the , and Poolos won the pot with his higher two pair to eliminate Ivens in ninth place.

Robert Poolos  –  280,000  (9 BB)
Christian Ivens  –  Eliminated in 9th Place  ($875)

With eight players remaining from a field of 82 entries, the average chip stack is around 255,000 (9 Big Bets). The remaining players are guaranteed at least $955 each.

$400 Limit Omaha 8
Structure  |  Payouts
Level 19:  15,000/30,000 Limits
Players Remaining:  9 of 82

After the elimination of Robert Wirth in 10th place, the final nine players redraw for random seats at the final table. Here is the lineup with approximate chip counts:

Seat 1.  Robert Poolos  –  250,000  (8 BB)
Seat 2.  Jonathan Moschel  –  245,000  (8 BB)
Seat 3.  Cynthia Yannette  –  40,000  (1 BB)
Seat 4.  Christian Ivens  –  13,000  (<1 BB)
Seat 5.  Josh Smith  –  900,000  (30 BB)
Seat 6.  Michael Dreese  –  177,000  (6 BB)
Seat 7.  David Simpson  –  120,000  (4 BB)
Seat 8.  Efthimios Piperakis  –  365,000  (12 BB)
Seat 9.  Jyri Merivirta  –  70,000  (2 BB)

And here are the remaining payouts at stake, followed by recent eliminations:

1st:  $8,705 + LHPO Trophy
2nd:  $5,275
3rd:  $3,280
4th:  $2,220
5th:  $1,690
6th:  $1,355
7th:  $1,125
8th:  $955
9th:  $875

10th:  Robert Wirth  –  $815
11th:  Michael Largent  –  $765

With nine players remaining from a field of 82 entries, the average chip stack is around 228,000 (8 Big Bets).

$400 Limit Omaha 8
Structure  |  Payouts
Level 18:  12,000/24,000 Limits
Players Remaining:  11 of 82

After the elimination of Joel Harwood in 13th place, hand-for-hand play began on the Money Bubble.

It didn’t take long. In the first hand, Phil Hui got his stack all in on the turn against Josh Smith on a board of .

Josh Smith:    (king-high straight)
Phil Hui:    (ace-high flush draw)

With no possible lows, Smith had the nuts on the turn, but Hui’s flush draw kept his hopes alive if he could spike a club on the river.

The river card was the , and Smith won the pot with his straight to burst the Money Bubble and eliminate Hui in 12th place.

Josh Smith  –  540,000  (23 BB)
Phil Hui  –  Eliminated

With 11 players remaining from a field of 82 entries, the average chip stack is around 186,000 (8 Big Bets). The remaining players are now in the money, and here are the payouts they’re playing for:

1st:  $8,705 + LHPO Trophy
2nd:  $5,275
3rd:  $3,280
4th:  $2,220
5th:  $1,690
6th:  $1,355
7th:  $1,125
8th:  $955
9th:  $875
10th:  $815
11th:  $765

$400 Limit Omaha 8
Structure  |  Payouts
Level 17:  10,000/20,000 Limits
Players Remaining:  16 of 82

The players return from break to begin Level 17, with increased limits of 10,000-20,000.

Here are the official chip counts from the break after the redraw to the final two tables:

TABLE 1
Seat 1.  Michael Largent  –  149,000  (7 BB)
Seat 2.  Josh Smith  –  268,000  (13 BB)
Seat 3.  Christian Ivens  –  46,000  (2 BB)
Seat 4.  Ricardo Quintero  –  117,000  (6 BB)
Seat 5.  Robert Poolos  –  213,000  (11 BB)
Seat 6.  Michael Dreese  –  222,000  (11 BB)
Seat 7.  Phil Hui  –  125,000  (6 BB)
Seat 8.  Cynthia Yannette  –  111,000  (6 BB)

TABLE 2
Seat 1.  Jonathan Moschel  –  163,000  (8 BB)
Seat 2.  Efthimios Piperakis  –  259,000  (13 BB)
Seat 3.  Joel Harwood  –  106,000  (5 BB)
Seat 4.  Jyri Merivirta  –  28,000  (1 BB)
Seat 5.  David Simpson  –  92,000  (5 BB)
Seat 6.  Robert Wirth  –  52,000  (3 BB)
Seat 7.  Jiayi Yao  –  32,000  (2 BB)
Seat 8.  Pamela McPeak  –  72,000  (4 BB)

With 16 players remaining from a field of 82 entries, the average chip stack is around 128,000 (6 Big Bets). The final 11 players will finish in the money, with a min-cash worth $765.

$400 Limit Omaha 8
Structure  |  Payouts
Level 13:  4,000/8,000 Limits
Players Remaining:  30 of 82

The players return from break to begin Level 13, with increased limits of 4,000-8,000.

A scan of the field during the break turned up only one player with more than twice the average stack (136K+) — Pamela McPeak, who has 153,500 (19 Big Bets).

With 30 players remaining from a field of 82, the average chip stack is around 68,500 (9 Big Bets). The final 11 players will finish in the money, with a min-cash worth $765.

$400 Limit Omaha 8
Structure  |  Payouts
Level 13:  4,000/8,000 Limits
Players Remaining:  30 of 82

Level 12 comes to an end, and the players take their 45-minute dinner break. Action is scheduled to resume around 6:15 pm.

With 30 players remaining from a field of 82, the average chip stack is around 68,000 (9 Big Bets). The final 11 players will finish in the money, and here are the payouts:

1st:  $8,705 + LHPO Trophy
2nd:  $5,275
3rd:  $3,280
4th:  $2,220
5th:  $1,690
6th:  $1,355
7th:  $1,125
8th:  $955
9th:  $875
10th:  $815
11th:  $765

2026 Seminole Hard Rock Lucky Hearts Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 6
$400 Limit Omaha 8
Entries:  82
Prize Pool:  $27,060
January 8, 2026

Registration closed for the $400 Limit Omaha 8 tournament with 82 entries, creating a prize pool worth $27,060. The last 11 spots will be paid with $765 for a min-cash and $8,705 up top for the Event 6 champ

1st: $8,705 + LHPO Trophy
2nd: $5,275
3rd: $3,280
4th: $2,220
5th: $1,690
6th: $1,355
7th: $1,125
8th: $955
9th: $875
10th: $815
11th: $765

$400 Limit Omaha 8
Structure
Level 4:  600/1,200 Limits
Entries:  57

The Limit Omaha 8 tournament is moving right along and we have a talented group of 57 after 90 minutes of action. They’ll take a break at the top of the hour and come back for two more hours of trying to scoop before we close registration.

David Shmuel is among those in action, looking for his 13th major Hollywood title. Others in the field include Alexander Orlov, Dale Phillips, Ross Lebo, Darin Utley, Joel Harwood, Eric Polirer, and Harold Klein.

$400 Limit Omaha 8
Structure
Level:  300/600 Limits

More Omaha action on the LHPO schedule with Event 6 kicking off at 11 am. This time around we have a $400 Limit Omaha 8 tournament that our friends love so much.

They’ll start with 25K deep stacks and all levels last 30 minutes for the one-day trophy event. Late registration and re-entries are available until the start of Level 9 at 3:30 pm.

• Players begin with 25,000 in chips
• Levels last 30 minutes
• Late registration until start of Level 9 (3:30pm)
• This is a one-day tournament and plays until completion
• Event 6 Structure Sheet