2013 Carnivale of Poker: Jeff Chang Wins Main; Victor Ramdin Takes down $5K OFC Event

Three-handed Open Face Chinese

The 2013 World Series of Poker has just about reached it’s four-month hiatus until the November Nine, and what an eventful summer it’s been. One story that has been lost in the shuffle a bit is that of the Carnivale of Poker, which returned to the industry after sitting on the shelf for more than a decade. The 21-event series, which is akin to the WSOP Circuit in structure and buy-ins, played out on Mondays and Tuesdays throughout the summer right alongside the WSOP.

Perhaps the most exciting event on the Carnivale of Poker schedule, and certainly the most expensive, was Event #20 $5,000 Open Face Chinese Poker. While many pros had hope the event would be an official WSOP bracelet event—and it very well may be in the future—tournament officials opted to hold it from July 13-14 during the WSOP Main Event. The event ended up attracting 48 runners and created a prize pool of $225,600.

Here’s a sample of those who played:

As you can see, some of the players were unhappy with the event, but it’s important to remember this is the first Chinese Poker tournament the WSOP has held since 1996 when Gregory Grivas won Event #1 $1,500 Chinese Poker for $37,200.

Despite the hiccups, the event concluded with three well-known pros battling it out in Michael “Luca Mike” Schwartz, and Team PokerStars Pros Nacho Barbero and Victor Ramdin. In the end, Ramdin outlasted his two opponents to claim the Carnivale of Poker Medallion and $76,707 first-place prize.

2013 Carnivale of Poker $5,000 Open Face Chinese

2013 Carnivale of Poker: Jeff Chang Wins Main; Victor Ramdin Takes down K OFC Event 101
Team PokerStars Pro Victor Ramdin

Place PlayerPrize
1stVictor Ramdin$76,707
2ndNacho Barbero$47,459
3rdMike Schwartz$31,241
4thMichael Fosco$21,869
5thArtem Litvinov$14,440
6thNarendra Banwari$14,440
7thMichael Stotz$9,722
8thMatthew O’Donnell$9,722

The other headline tournament was the 2013 Carnivale of Poker $1,675 Main Event, which attracted 250 entries and created a prize pool of $375,000. Many of those players exited the WSOP Main Event and jumped right into the Carnivale of Poker, including Grant and Blair Hinkle, the well-known bracelet-winning brothers from Iowa.

Both made the money, with Blair finishing in 26th place and Grant doing quite a bit better, ultimately finishing in fifth place.

In the last hand of the tournament, Jeffrey Chang and Michael Pickett got all the chip in with the former holding the QQ and the latter, who was the shorter of the two, with the A4. The 8K5 flop was no help to Pickett, and while the 4 turn paired his four, he’d need another or an ace to stay alive. Fortunately for Chang, the 7 river was safe as can be and he was awarded the 2013 Carnivale of Poker $1,675 Main Event championship medallion.

2013 Carnivale of Poker $1,675 Main Event

2013 Carnivale of Poker: Jeff Chang Wins Main; Victor Ramdin Takes down K OFC Event 102
2013 Carnivale of Poker Main Event champ Jeffrey Chang

Place PlayerPrize
1stJeffrey Chang$91,879
2ndMichael Pickett$56,790
3rdBryan Zindrick$42,401
4thTam Nguyen$31,871
5thGrant Hinkle$24,105
6thGiacomo Fundaro$18,348
7thTakashi Ogura$14,051
8thVilen Karimov$10,830
9thFrank Rusnak$8,396

*Notable finishes: John Eames (13th - $5,156), Ross Bybee (15th - $5,156), Mike Leah (19th - $3,225), Kyle Frey (20th - $3,225), Scott Clements (22nd - $3,225), Blair Hinkle (26th - $3,225), Erik Olofsson (27th - $3,225)

Below is look at the results from the entire 2013 Carnivale of Poker. You can view our more in-depth recap of the first five events by clicking here.

Date EventEntiresPrizepoolWinnerPrize
6-3-13Event #1 $365 NLHE Rebuy/Re-Entry337$101,100Wesley Chong$24,282
6-4-13Event #2 $580 NLHE258$129,000Tom Brabham$31,617
6-5-13Event #3 $365 Omaha Eight or Better150$45,000Joe Mitchell$11,934
6-10-13Event #4 $365 NLHE270$81,000Drew Scott$19,857
6-11-13Event #5 $580 NLHE166$83,000Adrian Apmann$22,003
6-11-13Event #6 $365 H.O.R.S.E.228$68,400Andrew Rennhack$18,479
6-17-13Event #7 $365 NLHE297$89,100Tam Nguyen$21,403
6-18-13Event #8 $580 NLHE147$73,500John Evans$19,485
6-24-13Event #9 $365 NLHE237$71,100Cody Paulson$17,430
6-25-13Event #10 $580 NLHE199$99,500Ross Bybee$24,391
6-29-13Event #11 $560 NLHE w/ Bounties300$130,500John Sabin$31,335
7-1-13Event #12 $365 NLHE243$72,900Mikhail Veselov$17,878
7-2-13Event #13 NLHE Six-Handed337$168,500Kane Lai$44,669
7-2-13Event #14 $365 Pot-Limit Omaha263$78,900Jordi Alfonso$19,345
7-8-13Event #15 $365 NLHE189$56,700La Sengphet$13,905
7-9-13Event #16 $580 NLHE142$71,000Phillippe Vert$18,824
7-10-13Event #17 $1,125 NLHE105$105,000Manuel Sanchez$27,834
7-11-13Event #18 $1,675 Main Event250$375,000Jeffrey Chang$91,879
7-13-13Event #19 $580 NLHE90$45,000Cord Garcia$14,409
7-13-13Event #20 $5,000 Open Face Chinese Poker48$225,600Victor Ramdin$76,707
7-14-13Event #21 $365 NLHE Turbo73$21,900Sebastian Langrock$7,012

Finally, here are a few notable finishes from the 2013 Carnivale of Poker:

  • Bernard Lee finished third in Event #1 $365 NLHE Rebuy/Re-Entry for $11,010.
  • Mark “Pegasus” Smith finished runner-up in Event #4 $365 NLHE for $12,266, while Neil Channing took fourth in the same event for $6,884.
  • Ross Bybee finished runner-up in Event #8 $580 NLHE for $12,037; Kat Bowen took third for $8,720.
  • Ting Ho finished runner-up in Event #13 NLHE Six-Handed for $17,913.

Would you like to see an Open Face Chinese bracelet event on the WSOP schedule next year? Let us know either on Twitter or in the comments section below.

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Executive Editor U.S.

Executive Editor US, PokerNews Podcast co-host & 2013 WSOP Bracelet Winner.

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