Main Event
Day 1a Completed
Main Event
Day 1a Completed
Mid-States Poker Tour regular Mark Hodge won a huge pot as the night wound down at MSPT Running Aces to lead the 34 survivors of Day 1a. The Minnesota native is a fixture on the tour, having even made the trek to Jacksonville for the first event of the year, where he made the final table but finished 10th for $5,231. Hodge also navigated to the final table of MSPT Canterbury, the final event of 2014, where he took home $15,837 for seventh.
Hodge finds himself in prime position to record a third straight final table primarily because he doubled through Joe Barnard on one of the last hands of the night.
In a battle of the blinds, Hodge checked a flop and saw Barnard bet 9,000. Hodge raised to 20,000, and Barnard tossed in a call after some thought. On the turn, Hodge bet 15,000, and Barnard cut out enough chips for a raise before electing to just call. Hodge fired once more with 30,000 on the river, and Barnard shoved after thinking it over for awhile.
Hodge snap-called and tabled for fours full. Barnard winged into the middle in disgust, and he had to send Hodge 152,600. Barnard did manage to bag 59,000 to advance to Day 2.
Others joining Hodge and Barnard for Sunday included James Maxey (228,500), James Gibson (204,000), John Reading (181,500), Darren Ficek (125,000), Jeff Fielder (94,500), Todd Melander (94,000), "DQ" Dan Hendrickson (92,000), "East Coast" Mike Ross (70,600), Terry Ring (67,500), Tony Lazar (42,000), and Jeremy Dresch (41,500).
Of course, with 161 runners in the field, plenty of notables failed to advance. Two-time champions Jason Zarlenga and Matt Kirby, Peixin Liu, Adam Dahlin, Everett Carlton, Mike Schneider, Nick Pupillo, Adam Friedman, and Kou Vang were among those missing the cut. They'll have to come back for Day 1b for a shot at the prize pool. That flight kicks off at 4 p.m. local time on Saturday here in Minnesota, and PokerNews will be back on hand to document the day's play.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Mark Hodge |
413,000
28,000
|
28,000 |
James Maxey |
228,500
8,500
|
8,500 |
James Gibson |
204,000
204,000
|
204,000 |
John Reading |
181,500
4,500
|
4,500 |
|
||
Darren Ficek |
125,000
20,000
|
20,000 |
Jason Bender |
116,000
116,000
|
116,000 |
Ken Heathcote |
114,000
43,000
|
43,000 |
Justyn Huebener |
112,500
-52,500
|
-52,500 |
Paul Sullivan |
109,500
109,500
|
109,500 |
Ernest Garrett |
105,500
105,500
|
105,500 |
Aaron Eggen |
95,000
95,000
|
95,000 |
Jeff Fielder |
94,500
-65,500
|
-65,500 |
Scott Overby |
94,000
94,000
|
94,000 |
Todd Melander |
94,000
-53,000
|
-53,000 |
Dan Hendrickson |
92,000
14,000
|
14,000 |
Greg Olson |
77,000
77,000
|
77,000 |
Paula Phan
|
72,500
-9,900
|
-9,900 |
Mike Ross |
70,500
10,500
|
10,500 |
Bill Brink
|
68,000
68,000
|
68,000 |
Terry Ring |
67,500
29,500
|
29,500 |
Gary Pihlstrom |
62,500
62,500
|
62,500 |
Chuck Costanzo |
60,500
60,500
|
60,500 |
Shane Nelson |
59,500
27,500
|
27,500 |
Joe Barnard |
59,000
-1,000
|
-1,000 |
David Greene |
57,500
57,500
|
57,500 |
In a battle of the blinds, Mark Hodge checked a flop and saw Joe Barnard bet 9,000. Hodge raised to 20,000, and Barnard tossed in a call after some thought. On the turn, Hodge bet 15,000, and Barnard cut out enough chips for a raise before electing to just call. Hodge fired once more with 30,000 on the river, and Barnard shoved after thinking it over for awhile.
Hodge snap-called and tabled for fours full. Barnard winged into the middle in disgust, and the dealer determined Hodge's stack to be 152,600.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Mark Hodge |
385,000
175,000
|
175,000 |
Joe Barnard |
60,000
-105,000
|
-105,000 |
James Maxey raised to 5,500 in middle position and then called the shove of Adam Dahlin, who had about 30,000 in the small blind.
Dahlin:
Maxey:
The flop pulled Dahlin in front, but an turn left him shaking his head in disappointment. Maxey improved to a meaningless two pair on the river.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
James Maxey | 220,000 | |
Adam Dahlin | Busted |
Paula Phan's run at the top was short-lived, as she's below the average stack now.
She just doubled up Todd Melander for 61,100 on a flop with a pot of around 25,000 already built up preflop. Melander held and held against Phan's as the turn came a and the river a .
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Todd Melander |
150,000
79,500
|
79,500 |
Paula Phan
|
82,400
-167,600
|
-167,600 |
Level: 14
Blinds: 1,200/2,400
Ante: 400
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Mark Hodge |
210,000
68,000
|
68,000 |
John Reading |
177,000
82,000
|
82,000 |
|
||
Justyn Huebener |
165,000
15,000
|
15,000 |
Darren Ficek |
105,000
89,500
|
89,500 |
Dan Hendrickson |
78,000
-27,000
|
-27,000 |
Mike Ross |
60,000
-1,700
|
-1,700 |
Tony Lazar |
42,000
-8,000
|
-8,000 |
Jason Zarlenga |
28,000
4,000
|
4,000 |
Everett Carlton | Busted |
Chris Jones jammed his lat 25,000 or so in from the small blind and was called by the big blind.
Jones:
Big blind:
The board rolled out , and Jones hit the rail.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Chris Jones
|
Busted |
Adam Friedman opened for 4,000 in middle position, and Todd Fisher jammed for 18,200 on his left. James Maxey called in the blinds, and Friedman shoved the rest of his 50,000 or so in. Maxey called.
Maxey:
Friedman:
Fisher:
Maxey all but ended things by flopping a boat as hit the board. The fourth nine didn't appear on the last two streets, and Maxey collected the double knockout.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
James Maxey | 175,000 | |
Todd Fisher | Busted | |
Adam Friedman | Busted | |
|