2020 Lucky Hearts Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 7
$1,700 Purple Chip Bounty (Single Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed
Entries:  109
Prize Pool:  $111,725
Bounty Prize Pool:  $54,500
January 12-13, 2020

Two years ago, Manny Tarich final tabled the Purple Chip Bounty event at the Lucky Hearts Poker Open, finishing fifth. (This event’s name comes from the purple $500 chip that players receive for knocking out another player.) Last year, he made the final table again, getting heads-up but falling short of the trophy once again.

This year, Tarich finally got the job done and won the tournament to claim his own bounty. “It’s awesome,” said Tarich. “I’m glad to finally get the monkey off my back.”

Tarich could have claimed victory earlier, but he shut down a five-player deal even though, as chipleader at the time, it would have given him the title and the trophy.

“I don’t do this for a living,” said Tarich, “so for me it’s pure competition. I used to play a lot of sports, and I was a very competitive person. For me, the win is more important than the money. Normally I won’t chop, because I like to play to win.”

There was a lot of respect given to third-place finisher Viktor Kovachev, who was openly praised by the other players at the table with four left.

At one point, Tarich was openly contemplating making a call against Kovachev for six big blinds on the river knowing he was beat. “I almost want to call just to see what you have,” said Tarich at the time, “even though I know I’m going to lose the hand.”

Tarich didn’t make that call, but did fairly well picking his spots against Kovachev, giving up smaller pots to win bigger ones. He eventually knocked out Kovachev in third place when they got it all in preflop and Tarich’s flopped a king against Kovachev’s .

“I got quite lucky to hit the king against his jacks to knock [Kovachev] out,” said Tarich. “But the whole final table was solid players, and I was lucky to win.”

After Kovachev was eliminated, Tarich and Jason Nablo took some time to discuss a deal, and Tarich finally relented, agreeing to an even chop, though Tarich got to claim Nablo’s bounty along with his own.

Tarich said we aren’t likely to see him much the rest of this series, as he has commitments to work and family. “I have a great family at home,” said Tarich, who has several children, “and I’m very lucky my wife is patient to let me spend 13 hours on a Sunday playing poker.”

But Tarich will definitely be back here at Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood before too long.

“I only play at the Hard Rock,” said Tarich. “I stopped playing at other casinos. The staff here is amazing, and I’ve been coming here since it was the original casino next door. Everyone knows me even if I’m here once every couple of months. I won’t play anywhere else.”

Final Results:

1st:  Manny Tarich  –  $27,093*
2nd:  Jason Nablo  –  $27,092*
3rd:  Viktor Kovachev  –  $12,401
4th:  Artem Zverkhovskyy  –  $8,100
5th:  Dominick Sannino  –  $6,257
6th:  Stanley Lee  –  $5,139
7th:  Chauncey Monk  –  $4,357
8th:  Jose Parra  –  $3,799
9th:  Truyen Nguyen  –  $3,352
10th:  Thiago Palmieri Camilo  –  $2,961
11th:  Leif Force  –  $2,961
12th:  Guy Naimi  –  $2,961
13th:  Vito Recchimurzo  –  $2,626
14th:  Filipp Khavin  –  $2,626

* Denotes a heads-up deal.

$1,700 Purple Chip Bounty (Single Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 20:  6,000/12,000 with a 12,000 ante
Players Remaining:  1 of 109

After the elimination of Viktor Kovachev in third place, Manny Tarich and Jason Nablo agreed to a deal for the remaining prizepool. These were their official chip counts:

Manny Tarich  –  1,368,000  (114 bb)
Jason Nablo  –  812,000  (68 bb)

They agreed to split the prize money evenly, but Tarich would receive both of their $500 bounties. Here are the official results:

1st:  Manny Tarich  –  $27,093*
2nd:  Jason Nablo  –  $27,092*
3rd:  Viktor Kovachev  –  $12,401
4th:  Artem Zverkhovskyy  –  $8,100
5th:  Dominick Sannino  –  $6,257
6th:  Stanley Lee  –  $5,139
7th:  Chauncey Monk  –  $4,357
8th:  Jose Parra  –  $3,799
9th:  Truyen Nguyen  –  $3,352
10th:  Thiago Palmieri Camilo  –  $2,961
11th:  Leif Force  –  $2,961
12th:  Guy Naimi  –  $2,961
13th:  Vito Recchimurzo  –  $2,626
14th:  Filipp Khavin  –  $2,626

Stay tuned for a recap from this event.

* Denotes a heads-up deal.

$1,700 Purple Chip Bounty (Single Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 20:  6,000/12,000 with a 12,000 ante
Players Remaining:  2 of 109

Manny Tarich completed the small blind to 12,000, Viktor Kovachev raised from the big blind to 65,000, and Tarich asked for a rough count of Kovachev’s stack before reraising to 162,000. Kovachev four-bet all in for about 350,000, and Tarich called with .

Kovachev turned over , and needed his hand to hold to stay alive.

The board came , and Tarich paired his king on the flop to win the pot and eliminate Kovachev in third place.

Viktor Kovachev  –  Eliminated in 3rd Place  ($12,401)

Manny Tarich  –  1,368,000  (114 bb)
Jason Nablo  –  812,000  (68 bb)

$1,700 Purple Chip Bounty (Single Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 20:  6,000/12,000 with a 12,000 ante
Players Remaining:  3 of 109

Artem Zverkhovskyy moved all in from the small blind for 97,000, and Manny Tarich called from the big blind with .

Zverkhovskyy turned over , and he needed to improve to stay alive.

The board came , and Tarich flopped trip aces to win the pot and eliminate Zverkhovskyy in fourth place.

Artem Zverkhovskyy  –  Eliminated in 4th Place  ($8,100)

Seat 1.  Manny Tarich  –  1,065,000  (89 bb)
Seat 2.  Viktor Kovachev  –  295,000  (25 bb)
Seat 3.  Jason Nablo  –  820,000  (68 bb)

With three players remaining, the average chip stack is about 727,000 (61 big blinds), and the next player to bust will receive $12,401.

$1,700 Purple Chip Bounty (Single Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 20:  6,000/12,000 with a 12,000 ante
Players Remaining:  4 of 109

After a flop of , Artem Zverkhovskyy checked from UTG/cutoff, Manny Tarich bet 32,000 from the button, and Zverkhovskyy called.

The turn card was the , and both players checked.

The river card was the , Zverkhovskyy checked, Tarich bet 88,000, and Zverkhovskyy called. Tarich showed to win the pot with a rivered set of deuces, and Zverkhovskyy mucked.

Manny Tarich  –  830,000  (83 bb)
Artem Zverkhovskyy  –  200,000  (20 bb)

Eventually, Level 19 came to an end, and the players took a 10-minute break. Here are their official chip counts with the blinds increasing to 6,000-12,000 with a 12,000 ante:

Seat 1.  Manny Tarich  –  912,000  (76 bb)
Seat 2.  Viktor Kovachev  –  309,000  (26 bb)
Seat 3.  Jason Nablo  –  824,000  (69 bb)
Seat 4.  Artem Zverkhovskyy  –  135,000  (11 bb)

With four players remaining, the average chip stack is about 545,000 (45 big blinds), and the next player to bust will receive $8,100.