Rishabh Vekaria

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This Week in Poker: January 22 – 28

In the PokerGuru feature ‘This Week in Poker,’ we bring you the weekly roundup of the most significant online scores by Indian MTT players along with the top stories from both the live and online poker circuit.

Here are this week’s top stories!

It has been a busy start to the year with January witnessing two back-to-back live stops taking place in Goa, setting just the right undertone for the year. Spartan Poker`s IOPC and a few other international stops promise to keep the action in top gear for the rest of the month!

There were some deep runs made by the small group of Indian pros present at the 2020 Aussie Millions. The series recently closed out another successful edition at the Crown Casino in Melbourne. The star attraction at this marquee series, the A$10,600 Main Event saw three Indians finishing in the money from a massive 820-entry field. The former DPT Main Event champion, Rishabh Vekaria delivered the best performance of them all. On his first international outing, Vekaria stormed into Day 4, placed second in chips, eventually finishing 18th. Vekaria’s outstanding run earned him an A$82,000 (~₹39.94 Lakhs) paycheque, making him our “PokerGuru Star of the Week!”

Giving Vekaria company on Day 4 was Paawan Bansal. The super talented pro has a runner-up finish at the 2018 WSOP The Closer to his name. Bansal ran up a good score at the Main Event, collecting a 32nd place finish, good for A$36,080 (~₹17.58 Lakhs). Rahul Melwani (81st for A$15,580 – ₹7.58 Lakhs) was the third Indian who earned a payout.

Local pro Vincent ‘Wonky’ Wan eventually came put on top to win the Main Event title and the top prize of A$1,318,000 following a three-way deal.

Now, if you’d think that’s intense, Spartan Poker sounded off yet another edition of its flagship India Online Poker Championship (IOPC) with a bang. The series features three Millionaires, and the first of them – IOPC #17 The Millionaire X5 ₹15 Lakhs to Top 5 – brought in a massive 1,882 entries over the weekend. The event awarded a mouth-watering ₹15.05 Lakhs to the top five finishers namely, Kunal ‘kunal’ Kubba, Nikhil ‘Crazy_coyote’ Ramesh, ‘Iceiceice,’ PokerGuru Ambassador Gokul ‘Super Kings’ Raj and Aditya ‘Adiwankenobi’ Wadhwani!

Live-action has exploded in Goa, but there came some worrying news for casino operators this week. The Goa government has set up a special team to inspect and look into the alleged under-reporting of carrying capacity by the offshore casinos. Amid an ongoing mining sector crisis, the government has decided to put the casino policy on hold until the mining issue is resolved.

But there’s been a slew of other developments that get our thumbs-up. Industry leader PokerBaazi is readying up for a ‘Fab February.’ The site has a wide array of attractive promotions lined up next month like the PLO 4-Card Cash Drive, the start of the EndBoss satellites, along with the return of popular MTT series like the PokerBaazi Premier League (PPL), PokerBaazi Monthly Value Series, Grinders Series, and the PokerBaazi Bankroll Builder Series!

After a rocking 2019, fantasy gaming giant Dream11 is gearing up for a successful IPL 2020 season. In preparation, the brand is reportedly about to close a $500 Million (₹3,572 Crores) funding round led by New York-based Hedge Fund, Tiger Global Management.

The international circuit saw several significant announcements. The World Series of Poker (WSOP) confirmed 17 new events for its 51st annual run later this year. The offerings include six new freezeout events, five Value Menu events, a Mystery Bounty event, and a $250K Super High Roller.

WPT anchor Lynn Gilmartin and two-time WSOP Europe bracelet winner Kahle Burns were inducted in the Australian Poker Hall of Fame. At the same time, PokerStars co-founder Isai Scheinberg voluntarily surrendered to U.S. federal authorities. Scheinberg, who’d been slapped with criminal charges during the infamous Black Friday incident in the U.S., was later released on bail.

There was more than enough tournament action to go around. Tournament action continues to flourish Down Under with the first-ever Australian Poker Open presently underway. We also have reports from WPT Russia and WPT Lucky Hearts Poker Open. The Australian Poker Open will continue its run till February 2 and will be immediately followed by the Super High Roller Bowl Australia (Feb 2 – 4). We’ll be seeing an equally action-packed month ahead in Asia, with WPT Philippines (Feb 6 – 17), Triton Super High Roller Series Jeju (Feb 10 – 22), and APL Da Nang (Feb 19 – 28) roaring to take off.

 

Online Railbird Report

The first of the three Millionaire editions lined up as part of the ongoing India Online Poker Championship (IOPC), the IOPC #17 The Millionaire X5, guaranteed the top five finishers ₹15 Lakhs each. The turnout was massive, with 1,882 entries (Day 1A – 665, Day 1B – 464, Day 1C – 753) joining the action across the three starting flights. With a ₹1.50 Crores prize pool collected, the event made millionaires in Kunal ‘kunal’ Kubba, Nikhil ‘Crazy_coyote’ Ramesh, ‘Iceiceice,’ PokerGuru Ambassador Gokul ‘Super Kings’ Raj and Aditya ‘Adiwankenobi’ Wadhwani!

Kunal Kubba
Kunal Kubba

The other notable scores of the week include –

PlayerPrize MoneyEventPoker Site
Kunal ‘kunal’ Kubba₹15.05 LakhsIOPC #17 The Millionaire X5 – ₹15 Lakhs to Top 5Spartan Poker
Bheem Singh ‘TymTravel’ Meena₹8.22 LakhsIOPC #6 The Elite ₹30 Lakhs GTD ₹11,000 RESpartan Poker
Dr House₹8.13 LakhsDestiny 13.0 ₹25 Lakhs GTDSpartan Poker
Akash ‘NIKI LAUDA F1’ Shekhar₹8.03 LakhsWinter Series – 44 Main Event ₹50 Lakhs GTDPokerStars India
‘2cards1guy’ ₹7.82 LakhsIOPC #18 Sunday SuperStack ₹40 Lakhs GTDSpartan Poker
Conclusion1100₹6.46 LakhsIOPC#29 Mega Stack ₹25 Lakhs GTDSpartan Poker
sneakysani₹6.46 LakhsWinter Series-24 Highroller SE ₹30 Lakhs GTDPokerStars India
Nik989₹6.44 LakhsGodfather ₹25 Lakhs GTDAdda52
Anurag ‘NormanBates’ Srivastava₹5.00 LakhsAdda52 Millions AF ₹20 Lakhs GTDAdda52
Nadeem ‘SpadeHunter’ Basha₹4.85 LakhsBSS SuperStack ₹25 Lakhs GTD ₹5,500 REPokerBaazi
Yennefer ₹4.60 LakhsUltron ₹20 Lakhs GTDSpartan Poker
tyrogambit₹4.60 LakhsThe Summit ₹15 Lakhs GTD PokerBaazi
Vidwath ‘phoenix66990’ Shetty₹4.36 LakhsThe Ballers ₹15 Lakhs GTDAdda52
Bhavvye ‘noobpro’ Mittal₹4.20 LakhsThalaiva ₹20 Lakhs GTD ₹2,2009stacks
Priyank ‘Piko1432’ Kothari₹4.15 LakhsG.O.A ₹20 Lakhs GTDPokerBaazi
Parminder ‘Bounceez’ Randhava₹3.86 LakhsIOPC #24 Recharge ₹14 Lakhs GTDSpartan Poker
Sanket ‘aslipapaji’ Jain₹3.10 LakhsThe Endeavour ₹15 Lakhs GTDPokerBaazi
lol this guy₹2.95 LakhsIOPC #20 Big Daddy ₹10 Lakhs GTDSpartan Poker
Aniket ‘Sandystorm’ Pradhan₹2.76 LakhsBig Slick AF ₹15 Lakhs GTDAdda52
rashpr ₹2.74 LakhsMaverick ₹10 Lakhs GTDAdda52
Mayank ‘desithug007’ Gupta₹2.69 LakhsIOPC#5 TGIF ₹12 Lakhs GTDSpartan Poker
Sriharsha ‘Fish2050’ Doddapaneni ₹2.68 LakhsIOPC #12 Mega Freeze ₹10 Lakhs GTD ₹5,500 RESpartan Poker
Rony ‘bisadip176’ Chowdhury₹2.65 LakhsThe Bout ₹10 Lakhs GTDPokerBaazi
Anmol ‘Anzzzzz’ Mehta₹2.64 LakhsIOPC #25 Daily Hi-Fi ₹10 Lakhs GTDSpartan Poker
Raghav ‘thatssosick’ Bansal₹2.63 LakhsIOPC#7 Daily Hi-Fi ₹10 Lakhs GTD Spartan Poker
Suckoonist₹2.60 LakhsIOPC #13 Daily Hi-Fi ₹10 Lakhs GTD ₹2,200 RESpartan Poker
Harshit ‘hashstack’ Chopra₹2.56 LakhsInception ₹10 Lakhs GTDAdda52
Ryan ‘OTB_X_REDBACON’ Cardoso₹2.53 LakhsWinter Series-45 The Big Crunch ₹15 Lakhs GTDPokerStars India
tyche₹2.40 LakhsHitman ₹8 Lakhs GTDAdda52
1ll|1ll1|ll1|₹2.35 LakhsWinter Series 31 Uppercut Progressive KO ₹15 Lakhs GTDPokerStars India
Laksh ‘B00MTilt23’ Pal Singh₹1.91 LakhsWinter Series-17 Night on Stars ₹10 Lakhs GTDPokerStars India
Arjanveer Singh ‘bazzingaa’ Chadha₹1.83 LakhsIOPC #9 ₹5 Lakhs GTD ₹2,200 RESpartan Poker
Jayjit ‘england’ Ray₹1.82 LakhsFri-Yay ₹6 Lakhs GTD ₹4,400 REPokerBaazi
teraflop₹1.45 LakhsOmaha AF ₹5 Lakhs GTD Adda52
Anuj ‘brockLesnar95’ Yadav ₹1.42 LakhsThe Monster 6-Max ₹5 Lakhs GTDPokerBaazi
Elixir₹1.41 LakhsThunder @7:30 PM ₹5 Lakhs GTD9stacks
bootsicles₹1.38 LakhsGrinders #19 Thursday MonsterStack ₹5 Lakhs GTDPokerBaazi
Srihari ‘bangbang999’ Bang₹1.30 LakhsGrinders #33 Main Event ₹5 Lakhs GTDPokerBaazi
Avinash ‘spacecadet’ Tauro₹1.22 LakhsHi-Fi ₹4 Lakhs GTDSpartan Poker
Amaterastu₹1.19 LakhsIOPC #10 Afternoon Hi-Fi ₹4 Lakhs GTD ₹1,100 RE

Spartan Poker
PepperChicken₹1.18 LakhsWinter Series-26 The Classic Progressive KO ₹5 Lakhs GTDPokerStars India
kilpauk₹1.12 LakhsHoldem High ₹7 Lakhs GTD ₹2,750 REAdda52
Neel ‘Worm236’ Joshi₹1.07 LakhsMonday Hustle ₹5 Lakhs GTDPokerStars India
takingcuntrol₹1.06 LakhsSixth Sense ₹6 Lakhs GTDPokerStars India
Apocalypto
₹1.01 LakhsGrinders #24 Friday SuperStack ₹3 Lakhs GTD ₹2,200 REPokerBaazi
Sriharsha ‘ivey2’ Doddapaneni₹94.668Grinders #14 6-Max Wednesday SuperStack ₹3 Lakhs GTDPokerBaazi
Siddharth ‘schemer77’ Karia₹90.823IOPC #3 Afternoon Hi-Fi 4 Lakhs GTDSpartan Poker
Vinay ‘Contemporist’ BK₹89.899Hexagram ₹2.5 Lakhs GTDAdda52
Devvrat 'flopCheck' Arya₹78,795Tuesday MonsterStack ₹3 Lakhs GTDPokerBaazi
Rajat ‘Garammasala’ Sharma₹76.242IOPC #21 ₹3 Lakhs GTDSpartan Poker
Prashant ‘$$$OUL$$$UTRA’ Jain Bhutoria₹74.967Winter Series-33 Progressive KO ₹3 Lakhs GTDPokerStars India
moneymagnet₹73.009Hexagram ₹2.5 Lakhs GTDAdda52
Rajat ‘oshoswami’ Sharma₹73.009Hexagram ₹2.5 Lakhs GTDAdda52
Harsh ‘harsh1327’ Bubna ₹72.924Winter Series-43 Final Day Warm Up ₹3 Lakhs GTDPokerStars India
Parky90₹71.467Hexagram ₹2.5 Lakhs GTD ₹2,000 REAdda52
Parky90₹71.124Hexagram ₹2.5 Lakhs GTDAdda52
Tokio999₹67.628Ultimate PLO ₹2 Lakhs GTD ₹2,200 RESpartan Poker
Ashish ‘rocky3705’ Ahuja₹66.029Grinders #29 Saturday MonsterStack ₹2 Lakhs GTD ₹1,650 REPokerBaazi
Rishabh2005₹65,775Hexagram ₹2.5 Lakhs GTDAdda52
Luxcozii₹65.656Hercules @ 8 PM ₹2 Lakhs GTD9stacks
space ace ₹64.350Ultimate PLO ₹2 Lakhs GTDSpartan Poker
Pratik ‘Pratikp’ Kayal₹60.000BSS PLO ₹2 Lakhs GTD ₹2,200 REPokerBaazi
noelpais₹59.752Hexagram ₹2.5 Lakhs GTDAdda52
Junior-KK₹58.300Ultimate PLO ₹2 Lakhs GTDSpartan Poker
Sanjay ‘Floppednuts’ Kumar ₹57.051Holdem AF ₹2.5 Lakhs GTDAdda52
StillDrawing₹52.664Ultimate PLO ₹2 Lakhs GTD ₹2,200 RESpartan Poker
sandyn39₹52,454Ultimate PLO ₹2 Lakhs GTDSpartan Poker
kattappa2₹50.139Ultimate PLO ₹2 Lakhs GTDSpartan Poker
Infic11 ₹47.589Winter Series-19 Deepstack ₹3 Lakhs GTD PokerStars India
Wabi-$abi₹41,187Deepstack ₹2 Lakhs GTDPokerStars India
VUTUARU₹36.000Warrior Arena ₹1.5 Lakhs GTDPoker Dangal
Nikhil ‘Igotyouu’ Sahani₹31,500Battlefield Tuesday ₹1.5 Lakhs GTDPoker Dangal
Rainik Swarup ‘Destr0ys’ Das₹30.312Winter Series-46 Winter Storm NLHM 6-Max ₹2 Lakhs GTD PokerStars India
jaypy₹24.000Dangal Friday ₹1 Lakh GTDPoker Dangal
Jyotigupta₹22.000Monday Texas ₹1 Lakhs GTDPoker Dangal
cbs786"₹21.000Sunday Bonanza ₹1 Lakh GTD ₹770 REPoker Dangal
Sadanala ‘daredevils’ Swami₹16.500Wow Wednesday ₹75K GTDPoker Dangal
mecktro₹14.075Saturday Hustle ₹50K GTD ₹550 REPoker Dangal

 

PokerBaazi Unveils a Gamut of Offerings As Part of ‘Fab February’

After announcing its most ambitious tournament to-date – EndBoss, PokerBaazi has unveiled its February promotion calendar that will see the launch of the PLO 4-Card Cash Drive, the start of the EndBoss satellites, along with the return of crowd favorites like the PokerBaazi Premier League (PPL), PokerBaazi Monthly Value Series, Grinders Series, and the PokerBaazi Bankroll Builder Series.

Read the complete report here

 

Dream11 Reportedly Close to Raising $500 Million

After a landmark year for India’s fantasy gaming giant Dream11 in 2019, the brand is reportedly close to raising $500 Million (₹3,572 Crores) in a funding round led by Tiger Global Management ahead of the VIVO IPL 2020.

Dream11

Read the complete report here

 

Goa Government Forms Special Team For Inspection of Casinos, Casino Policy on Hold

Concerned at the alleged under-reporting of capacity by the offshore casinos, the Goa government has constituted a special Inspection Authority for inspection of Goa’s casinos. Ports Minister Michael Lobo has also indicated the draft casino policy will be put on hold till the government resolves the ongoing crisis in the mining sector.

Goa Casinos

Read the complete report here

 

PokerStars Co-Founder Isai Scheinberg Voluntarily Surrenders to U.S. Government

The last of the 11 individuals accused of charges related to Black Friday who has yet to resolve his criminal charges, PokerStars co-founder Isai Scheinberg voluntarily surrendered to U.S. Government earlier this month. He was released from police custody on posting a $1 million bail.

Isai Scheinberg
Isai Scheinberg


Read the complete report here

 

WSOP Announces 17 New Events For 2020 Summer Run

The 51st World Series of Poker (WSOP) slated to run from May 26 to July 15, 2020, announced the addition of 17 new events on the schedule including six freezeout events, five Value Menu events, a $1.5K Mystery Bounty event & a $250K Super High Roller.

WSOP announces 17 new events

Read the complete report here

 

Lynn Gilmartin & Kahle Burns Inducted Into Australian Poker Hall of Fame

WPT anchor Lynn Gilmartin and two-time WSOP Europe bracelet winner Kahle Burns have been inducted in the Australian Poker Hall of Fame.

Lynn Gilmartin & Kahle Burns
Lynn Gilmartin & Kahle Burns


Read the complete report here

 

2020 Aussie Millions

The 2020 Aussie Millions ran through a packed schedule of 21 days at the Crown Casino in Melbourne. The stop featured 23 championship events, and the biggest draw was the A$10,600 Main Event that attracted 820 entries across over three starting flights.

Former DPT Main Event champion Rishabh Vekaria was among a group of three Indians who made it to Day 2 of the Main Event. Vekaria, who was chasing his first international title, worked his way up the stacks and stormed into Day 4 second in chips. He sailed his way into the top 20 to eventually collect an 18th place payout of A$82,000 (~₹39.94 Lakhs). Vekaria’s unbeaten run makes him the top earner this week and also our “PokerGuru Star of the Week.”

Rishabh Vekaria
Rishabh Vekaria

 

Paawan Bansal (32nd for A$36,080 – ₹17.58 Lakhs) was the second Indian who posted a score on Day 4, while Rahul Melwani (81st for A$15,580 – ₹7.58 Lakhs) also added to the team`s scorecard.

Paawan Bansal
Paawan Bansal

 

The event eventually crowned a champion in local pro Vincent ‘Wonky’ Wan, who struck a three-way deal with Ngoc Tai Hoang (runner-up) and Gareth Pepper (3rd) to pocket the winner’s cheque of A$1,318,000.

Vincent Wan wins the Aussie Millions Main Event
Vincent Wan wins the Aussie Millions Main Event


Read the complete report here

Kahle Burns (A$100,000 Challenge for A$1,746,360), Daniel Mayoh (A$1,150 PLO High/Lo for A$35,445), and Ari Engel (A$2,500 NLHM for A$141,775) were the other prominent winners at the series this past week.

Kahle Burns
Kahle Burns


Read the complete report here

 

Mike Watson Wins Australian Poker Open Opening Event

The inaugural Australian Poker Open kicked off at The Star Gold Coast on January 25. Battling through a field of 59 entries, Canada’s Mike ‘SirWatts’ Watson won the series-opener, A$10,500 NLHE for A$177,000.

Mike Watson
Mike Watson


Read the complete report here

 

Aleksey Badulin Wins WPT Russia Main Event ($261,572)

The World Poker Tour (WPT) Russia Festival visited Casino Sochi from January 21 to 26. Headlining the nine-tournament stop was the RUB 210,000 buy-in Main Event RUB 95,500,000 GTD that drew 489 players across five starting flights. Aleksey Badulin bested the field and defeated Vlada Stojanovic heads-up to win RUB 11,550,000 ($261,572).

Aleksey Badulin wins the WPT Russia Main Event
Aleksey Badulin wins the WPT Russia Main Event


Read the complete report here

 

2020 Borgata Winter Poker Open

The Borgata Winter Poker Open (BWPO) is presently on the home stretch on its packed schedule of twenty-five featured events. The most prominent winners at the series so far are Zarko Mandic (Event #1 $600 Deepstack Kick-Off $2 Million GTD) and Kareem Marshall (Event #13: $400 Almighty Stack $1 Million GTD) who won $342,967 and $195,903 respectively.

The series-headliner, the $3,500 World Poker Tour (WPT) Championship Event, has logged in a field of 1,065 entries so far. Francis Anderson leads the 595 hopefuls at the start of Day 2.

Francis Anderson
Francis Anderson


Read the complete report here

 

Indian-Origin Jasthi Kumar Wins 4th WSOPC Ring For $16,976

Indian-origin player Jasthi Kumar won his fourth World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) ring after winning Event#9 $400 NLHE at the WSOPC Thunder Valley, besting a field of 214 entries to bank $16,976 (~₹12.09 Lakhs) for the title.

Jasthi Kumar
Jasthi Kumar


Read the complete report here

 

Brian Altman Wins WPT Lucky Hearts Poker Open Main Event

Part of the World Poker Tour (WPT) Season XVIII, the WPT Lucky Hearts Poker Open (LHPO), was hosted at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida. Besting a field of 843 entries, Brian Altman took down the $2 Million GTD $3,500 Main Event for $482,636.

Brian Altman
Brian Altman


Read the complete report here

 

Pat Steele Wins 2020 MSPT Cleveland Poker Open

Topping a field of 611 entries, Pat Steele took down the Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) Season 11 $1,100 Main Event for $124,461. Along with the title win, Steele also became the fifth MSPT Hall of Fame entry for his twenty-fifth MSPT Main Event cash.

Pat Steele
Pat Steele


Read the complete report here

 

Greg Raymer Wins Record Fifth HPT Title at Ameristar East Chicago

The Heartland Poker Tour (HPT) Season XVI $1,650 Main Event attracted 520 contenders from three starting flights. Former World Champion, Greg ‘FossilMan’ Raymer climbed to the top of the field to clinch his career-fifth HPT title. Raymer pocketed $171,411 in prize money and a $3,500 Championship package for the season-ending HPT Season XVI Championship.

Greg “FossilMan” Raymer
Greg “FossilMan” Raymer


Read the complete report here

And with this, we conclude this week’s roundup of the latest news updates and developments from the world of poker. We will return again next week with our weekly report, stay tuned.

Aussie Millions: Vincent Wan Wins Main Event For A$1,318,000

The January 2020 Aussie Millions edition is now in the history books. A day after Kahle Burns took down the A$100K Challenge, the final seven contenders of the A$10,600 Main Event resumed play. The tournament drew 820 hopefuls over three starting flights and driving his momentum to outrun the competition was local pro Vincent’ Wonky’ Wan.

Wan is a regular at the Crown Casino and well-known for winning two six-figure Royal Flush jackpots. An ICM deal between Wan, eventual runner-up Ngoc Tai Hoang and third-place finisher Gareth Pepper saw Wan eventually clinching the title after a marathon heads-up battle that lasted over four-and-half hours.

“It’s destiny boys! Destiny! I’m lost for words. I’m just tripping out at the moment. I was just wanting to min-cash at one point so I’m struggling; I’m just delirious at the moment,” Wan said after winning the Main Event. The A$1,318,000 up top that Wan has earned is his biggest career cash to date. Along with the prize money and the trophy, he has also won the ANTON Jewellery bracelet.

He added, “I can’t believe my luck. Thank you to all the other players. Basically it’s ten years of my life just grinding and working and trying to get here. I can’t believe I did it.”

While a majority of Indian poker community congregated at Goa to play the BPT and IPC series, a small group of pros attended the 23-event series Down Under. Three Indians, Rishabh Vekaria, Paawan Bansal, and Rahul Melwani, in fact, posted a score in the Main Event. Both Vekaria and Bansal had made it as far as Day 4, where Vekaria (18th for A$82,000 – ₹39.94 Lakhs) finished in the top 20 while Bansal (32nd for A$36,080 – ₹17.58 Lakhs) also ran deep. Melwani (81st for A$15,580 – ₹7.58 Lakhs) bowed out on Day 3, shortly after the money bubble burst.

The event paid out 88 places at least A$15,580 from the A$8,200,000 prize pool. Even though defending champion Bryn Kenney failed to cross the money line, the likes of Bryce Yockey (9th for $178,080), Mike Del Vecchio (10th for A$123,000), Manig Loeser (16th for A$82,000), Pete Chen (34th for A$36,080), Indian-origin Ashish Gupta (37th for A$31,160), Steve O’Dwyer (38th for A$31,160), Ben Lamb (39th for A$31,160), Sergio Aido (48th for A$25,420), Jack Salter (77th for A$15,580), and Kahle Burns (85th for A$15,580) earned payouts.

Nick Pupillo (8th for A$178,080) was eliminated on the final table bubble.

Start-of-Day 4 chip leader Nino Ullmann remained at the forefront, coming into the final table with a stack of 5,500,000 with eventual champion Wan starting out in third place.

 

Final Table Chip Counts

  1. Nino Ullmann – 5,500,000
  2. Oliver Weis – 4,475,000
  3. Vincent Wan – 4,150,000
  4. Erik Seidel – 4,050,000
  5. Gareth Pepper – 2,465,000
  6. Nicolas Malo – 1,975,000
  7. Ngoc Tai Hoang – 1,875,000

 

Final Table Recap

The final table lasted all of 414 hands and saw its first elimination a good three hours into play. Nicolas Malo, who had started out as one of the shorter stacks, found his ten-eight dominated by Nino Ullmann’s cowboys. Malo flopped one-pair of eights, but Ullmann’s hit a nut straight to eliminate Malo in seventh place.

Around 90 minutes later, Oliver Weis jammed his last 2.190 Million with king-ten and found a caller in Gareth Pepper who held ace-king. Pepper paired his ace on the board to dispatch Weis in sixth place.

Five-handed play went on for almost five hours before Erik Seidel crashed out in fifth place. The action saw Vincent Wan raising the cutoff for 325,000 on which Seidel 3-bet all in for 2,875,000. Wan made the call showing against Seidel’s . The flop gave Wan a higher pair, and he stayed ahead through the turn and the river, eliminating Seidel.

The play slowed down once again, and it took over an hour before the start of the final table chip leader, Nino Ullmann hit the rail. Ullmann who held called the all-in shove of Ngoc Tai Hoang after the rundown. Hoang showed and with the river improving Hoang to a higher two-pair, Ullmann was eliminated in fourth place.

The three-handed play went on for some time before Wan, Ngoc Tai Hoang, and Gareth Pepper struck an ICM-based deal. Based on the agreement, both Wan and Hoang locked a payout of A$1,318,000, while Pepper locked up A$1,000,000 with the title, the ANTON Jewellery bracelet, and the trophy kept in play.

Soon after play resumed, Wan scored another knockout. Gareth Pepper moved all-in without looking at his cards from the small blind with , and Wan called from the big blind with . The flop gave Wan top pair, and though the turn paired Pepper, the river kept Wan ahead, eliminating Pepper in third place.

Heads-up, Wan was ahead with 13,665,000 in chips to Ngoc Tai Hoang’s 11,045,000. Hoang soon took charge, but Wan kept the fight on. After a marathon duel that went on for nearly four hours, Hoang pulled ahead to take over a 7-to-1 chip lead over Wan. However, Wan got lucky to win three pots in quick succession to surge ahead. Finally, Hoang jammed for 2.2 Million, and Wan called from the big blind.

Ngoc Tai Hoang

Vincent Wan

Wan flopped a pair on the runout, but Hoang had outs to a nut flush draw. The turn and the river were favorable for Wan, who improved to two-pair of jacks and tens, forcing Hoang to concede to a runner-up finish!

Vincent Wan wins the Aussie Millions Main Event
Vincent Wan wins the Aussie Millions Main Event

 

Final Table Results (AUD)

  1. Vincent Wan – A$1,318,000*
  2. Ngoc Tai Hoang – A$1,318,000*
  3. Gareth Pepper – A$1,000,000*
  4. Nino Ullmann – A$480,160
  5. Erik Seidel – A$378,660
  6. Oliver Weis – A$307,820
  7. Nicolas Malo – A$240,080

*denotes 3-way deal

Content & Images Courtesy: PokerNews

Aussie Millions: Rishabh Vekaria & Paawan Bansal Make Top 50 Finish in the Main Event

Undoubtedly, Australia’s most popular live tournament series, the Aussie Millions, has been the epicenter of poker action Down Under since January 4. The 23-event series underway at the Crown Resorts in Melbourne is now just a day away from winding up, and all eyes are on the A$10,600 buy-in Main Event. The tournament ran three starting flights, attracting a giant field of 820 runners – falling just two entries shy of last year`s turnout.

Only 388 players could qualify for Day 2, which ended with 158 bagging chips for Day 3. Thirty-seven of them returned for Day 4 on January 22, and by the time the dust settled on the day, the final table was formed. Germany’s Nino Ullmann (5,500,000) leads the seven-handed final table, which will play down to a new Aussie Millions Champion on January 24.

The Indian poker circuit had two back-to-back live stops playing out in Goa, and this kept the majority of the domestic talent in the country. While there was a motley group of players who played the APT Kick-Off in Vietnam, likewise a few players have made the trip to the Aussie Millions.

The Aussie Millions Main Event, in fact, saw three Indians making Day 2, namely, Rahul Melwani, Rishabh Vekaria, and Paawan Bansal. While all three of them were able to cross the money line, Melwani (81st for A$15,580 – ₹7.58 Lakhs) busted shortly after the bubble.

Vekaria and Bansal were the two Indians who reached Day 4. This is the first international outing for Vekaria, who had famously championed the DPT August ₹35K Main Event last year. The Gujarat-based player who primarily plays cash games made the most of this outing and was one of the frontrunners at the start of Day 4 placed second in chips behind Ullmann with 1,380,000. He eventually sailed his way into the top 20 and finished his run in 18th place to collect an A$82,000 (~₹39.94 Lakhs) place payout.

Bansal, who has an excellent record of live scores dotted with deep runs at the WSOP, Asian and domestic events, had placed 77th in the Aussie Millions Main Event in 2018. Carrying forward a stack of 289,000 to Day 4, Bansal improved upon that effort this time. He eventually placed 32nd to earn A$36,080 (~₹17.58 Lakhs) in prize money.

The final 88 finishers were paid from the A$8,200,000 prize pool, and among those who failed to earn a payout was defending champion Bryn Kenney. Kenney had made it as far as Day 3 but busted well before the bubble round.

The final table will begin at 12.30 PM (local time) on January 24, with the blinds resuming at 25,000/50,000 and a running big blind ante of 50,000.

 

Day 4 Recap

Day 4 of the A$10,600 buy-in Main Event began with 37 runners returning to play. Germany’s Nino Ullmann was in pole position with India’s Rishabh Vekaria in hot pursuit.

Indian-origin player Ashish Gupta was the first elimination on Day 4 and collected a 37th place payout amounting to A$31,160 (~₹15.20 Lakhs) after his pocket queens were coolered by Fabian Quoss’ cowboys.

Around an hour later, Paawan Bansal three-bet all-in for 276,000 from the small blind and was called by big blind Nino Ullman. Bansal tabled against Ullmann’s and the latter’s pocket pair held through the rundown, eliminating Bansal in 32nd place. Bansal pocketed A$36,080 (~₹17.58 Lakhs) for his deep run.

Paawan Bansal
Paawan Bansal

 

On the third level of the night, Rishabh Vekaria lost his tournament life in 18th place. The action saw Michael Sideridis open to 50,000, and Vekaria called on the button. Small blind Ngoc Tai Hoang and big blind Goran Mandic also called. The flop was checked to Vekaria, who bet 70,000. Hoang check-raised it to 250,000, and both Mandic and Sideridis folded. Vekaria asked for a count before moving all-in with . Hoang called with . Hoang had flopped trips, and the turn and the river didn`t further Vekaria`s cause. The Indian challenger banked A$82,000 (~₹39.94 Lakhs) for his efforts.

Rishabh Vekaria
Rishabh Vekaria

 

Some of the other notables who finished ITM on Day 4 include, Bryce Yockey (9th for $178,080), Mike Del Vecchio (10th for A$123,000), Jack Wu (14th for A$82,000), Manig Loeser (16th for A$82,000), Randy Lew (28th for A$41,000) and Pete Chen (34th for A$36,080).

The chips were bagged for the final day after the elimination of Nick Pupillo (8th for A$178,080).

Start-of-day chip leader Ullmann has retained his dominance and will be returning for the final table play with a stack of 5,500,000. Following Ullmann in chips are Oliver Weis (4,475,000) and Vincent Wan (4,150,000). Also in contention is Erik Seidel (4,050,000), who already has an eighth-place finish at the A$50,000 Challenge to his name.

Nino Ullmann
Nino Ullmann

 

Final Table Chip Counts

1. Nino Ullmann – 5,500,000

2. Oliver Weis – 4,475,000

3. Vincent Wan – 4,150,000

4. Erik Seidel – 4,050,000

5. Gareth Pepper – 2,465,000

6. Nicolas Malo – 1,975,000

7. Ngoc Tai Hoang – 1,875,000

 

Content & Images Courtesy: PokerNews

Keep following PokerGuru for all the latest updates from the Aussie Millions 2020!

Heads-Up With Rishabh Vekaria, Winner of DPT July Main Event

Rishabh Vekaria’s (cover image) participation at the recently concluded DPT July edition was a chance occurrence. The Gujarat-based cash game player, while on a trip to Mumbai, had come across the promotion of an online satellite for the DPT series on Facebook and decided to try his luck. It seems that lady luck was very much on his side as not only did Vekaria win the ₹8,500 buy-in Super Satellite on Adda52.com, which offered flights, stay and entry tickets to all the four DPT tournaments, he also went on to cash in three events at the series, ultimately claiming his career-first live title in the biggest event on the schedule, the ₹35K Main Event, for a personal-best ₹30 Lakhs! By the end of it, Vekaria had converted a ₹8,500 investment into a ₹33.48 Lakhs windfall at the series!

Vekaria’s first brush with poker was similar to how most poker players in the country were introduced to the game, through Zynga Poker way back in 2008. Once hooked to the game, Vekaria slowly ventured into the world of online poker and cash games. After grasping the concepts of bankroll management and gaining some idea about the different aspects of the game, he started binge-watching YouTube poker videos to refine his skills.

Despite the inclement weather conditions and the disturbing taxi strike, the last DPT series of the year was able to pull in the crowds, comfortably smashing the steep prize pool guarantees. Vekaria made the most of the opportunity awarded to him, and his blistering run at the series saw the live MTT rookie posting an impressive three scores making him the top earner at the series and definitely one with the highest ROI. He got his first taste of tournament success in the series-opener ₹15K Deep Dive NLH where he finished 24th for ₹38,000. He followed that up with an eighth-place finish in the ₹65K High Roller for ₹3.10 Lakhs. Closing out the series in style, Vekaria famously went on to win the Main Event, overcoming a massive field of 448 entries for a career-best ₹30 Lakhs.

Talking to PokerGuru after his impressive win, Vekaria recounted how he was introduced to poker, his experience at the DPT July edition and much more. You can listen to the conversation in the audio blog below or read the entire transcript in the interview that follows.

 

Hi Rishabh, tell us a little about yourself.

Hi, I am Rishabh Vekaria, 35 years old from Gujarat. We are into building constructions and logistics business since three generations.

 

Can you describe your poker journey elaborately? Since you are primarily a cash game player, how did you learn the game?

So, a friend of mine introduced me to poker on Zynga back in 2008 and I instantly got hooked onto it. I used to play poker for hours on Zynga but never paid attention to the bankroll or stakes I should play or for that matter even the calls and bets I should be making against a player under any particular situation.

So, you know, these guys, Zynga, they used to give free chips every day. We would just play for fun until our chips lasted. The real learning came when I started playing online and live only when I used to go out on holidays. So, since it was real money I was dealing with, I acquired knowledge about bankroll, bet sizing, how to adjust my play with..while playing from different positions. Opening play according to my stack size and a bunch of other stuff to consider.

I have also watched many YouTube videos of tournaments like WSOP Main Event, EPT, etc. to brush my skills. I still keep myself updated with all the tournaments that comes up on YouTube be it any tournament being played around the world.

 

Usually, where and how much poker do you play?

To be honest, I have played a lot in the past, but I haven’t touched cards from last two years since there wasn’t any legit medium online or live where I could play from you know, from the place I live.

 

What enticed you to come for DPT July 2019 since you had no recorded tournament cash till a week back?

I was in Mumbai when I read about DPT on Facebook, and I thought to give it a shot on the online DPT super satty, and I won that tournament which gave me every good reason to visit the series of tournaments.

 

How was your overall experience at the series? What are your views about the structures and the turnout?

It’s been one of the most successful series of tournaments I have played so far. They have really fine-tuned the structure of ₹65K High Roller and ₹35K Main Event, and everyone starts deep, so everyone gets equal chance to show their skills with such deep stacks. I also like the way how the pace and nature of the tournament changes as we move further ahead in the game. The game gets quick, and of high variance when the shorter stacks are desperate to double up, the middle stacks being most attentive and cautious, and the larger stacks would try to eat small stacks. So as soon as the shorter stacks get eliminated, the game changes its nature again, and most of the players get deep again so being a poker player you need to adjust your plays constantly during the game.

 

Take us through the journey of your overall series. What events did you play before Main Event? Also, tell us about your Main Event journey.

Since I had won DPT super satty online, I was lucky to receive a full package which includes flights, stay and entry tickets to all the four tournaments. I played ₹15K Deep Dive and busted at 24th out of 294 players, then I played ₹65K High Roller where I was eighth. I busted at eighth out of 146 entries, and the last one I played was ₹35K Main Event where I emerged as the winner out from 488 entries. For the Main Event, I registered in flight C, and it was my first, and only bullet fired. I had played ₹65K High Roller just a day earlier and busted at eighth and I knew the mistakes that I did, even so, I had to fine-tune my play for the ₹35K Main Event accordingly with respect to my stack sizing because I was really short on my stacks when I busted at 8th in the ₹65K High Roller. So I was, you know, I was constantly visualizing myself on that final table, and I had decided that I am not going to be a short stack if I am on that final table in the ₹35K Main Event. So that mindset of mine made me adjust my play where we are deeper into the tournament.

 

Talk us through your run on Day 2 and Day 3. Any standout moments?

So, to be honest, I don’t remember any particular hand, but there was this one hand which left one of the players shocked actually. I was in the button with seven-nine of spades, and I had opened 2X raise preflop with my stack size being 1.5 Million at that point of time when there were only 33 players left in the game. So, the small blind folded and the big blind had a stack of around 450,000. He decides to 3-bet me with 3x preflop. With my stack size as compared to his, you know, I decide to call his 3-bet. So now the flop opens 7 9 and 10, and I hit the two pair. The villain at the big blind, he decides to check, now since had 3-bet me preflop and I had two pair with me post-flop so I bet roughly about 45% of the pot and the villain jams all-in and I was left with no other option but to call his all in and there he was, he showed two aces and the turn and river, neither hit his card so I won a big pot which left villain shocked, and he kept coming to me while I was still in my play the rest of the day and kept asking me why I called his 3-bet preflop with 7 9 suited and I gave him good enough reason about my move.

 

How were the table dynamics 3-way and heads-up?

When there were only three players left, I had decided not to get in much with Ankur Sehgal, and I turned my focus on Anup Palod. Although I haven’t played with him much, but I believe he is a much more experienced player and favorite one in the circuit so I kind of decided to get involved with him more than Ankur. I knew it was going to be tough if he was heads-up against me. Heads up against Ankur look…looked pretty easy as I have played heads-up cash with some of the best cash game online players. Their job is to only play heads-up, so I just…I like to believe I had a better heads-up experience against Ankur.

Rishabh Vekaria

 

Now that you have popped your live tournament cherry in style, has that motivated to play more tournaments in the future?

I haven’t decided on which stop is going to be the next one, but I do have WSOP 2020 on my mind right now and let’s see how things work out.

 

What in your opinion are must do’s for players looking to learn and improve their game?

Poker is a mind game, more than a game, I think it’s the wisdom that you must achieve in terms of knowing your opponents and their tendencies. You can only know that when you’re on the table and have played with them, watched their play even while you’re not playing that particular hand. Think on why he moved the way he did, know who is adjusting their strategies against different players as you can’t play the same way with all players. Everyone is different.

Online Rankings

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Member Won
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5.Vinay B Vinay B
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6.M L M L
₹1,14,45,592
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₹1,05,83,948
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Member Profit
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₹42,41,254
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₹41,05,805
Member Points
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43,040
36,048
28,827
4.N K N K
28,769
26,548
25,649
24,726
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23,604
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