$3,500 Main Event
Day 1b Started
2023 BetMGM Poker Championship
$3,500 Main Event
Day: 1b
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 1b
2023 BetMGM Poker Championship
Buy-in
$3,500
Prize Pool
$3,283,200
Entries
1,026
Level
33
Blinds
200,000 / 400,000
Ante
400,000
Entries
541
Players Left
157
Day 1b of BetMGM Main Event Kicks Off at Noon; Record Field Predicted
Welcome back for Day 1b of the 2023 BetMGM Poker Championship $3,500 Main Event at the beautiful ARIA Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.
485 total entries fired in yesterday’s flight, including 63 of which qualified by playing online on BetMGM Poker and scoring a seat. This generated a prize pool of $1,552,000 which is well on the way to smashing the $2,000,000 guarantee for this event. As this is the final starting flight, it is projected to be the larger field, and there are still BetMGM qualifiers who have not entered the ring.
The chip stack to beat is now Jing Wang who bagged a massive 667,000 after hitting a huge hand in the last level of the night. Other notables who bagged include Jonathan Jaffe (213,000), Anuj Agarwal (453,500), and Stephen Song (285,000).
Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts
| Place | Name | Country | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jing Wang | 667,500 | 267 | |
| 2 | Anuj Agarwal | United States | 453,500 | 181 |
| 3 | Paul Gunness | United States | 362,000 | 145 |
| 4 | Leo Taffe | United States | 350,500 | 140 |
| 5 | Brett Bassock | United States | 329,000 | 132 |
| 6 | Ivan Galinec | Croatia | 317,000 | 127 |
| 7 | Joshua Boulton | United States | 315,000 | 126 |
| 8 | Stephen Song | United States | 285,500 | 114 |
| 9 | Alexandre Vuilleumier | Switzerland | 284,000 | 114 |
| 10 | Fernando Garcia | Spain | 280,500 | 112 |
As with 1a, 1b will play nine-handed and will follow the same structure, with players starting with 40,000 in chips and Level 1 will begin with blinds at 100/200 with a 200 big blind ante. Players will play ten 60-minute levels, with a 15-minute break every two levels. The tournament permits one reentry per flight, with late registration closing after Level 8 (approx. 9 p.m.)
NOTE: All pre-purchased seats will have their chips in play from the beginning.
Make sure to follow along here on PokerNews so you don't miss any of the action!
Level: 1
Blinds: 100/200
Ante: 200
Shuffle Up and Deal!
Level 1
: Blinds 100/200, 200 ante
Cards are in the air and chips are flying as Day 1b of the 2023 BetMGM Poker Championship $3,500 Main Event has officially begun!
Update Your Chip Counts with the MyStack App
Level 1
: Blinds 100/200, 200 ante
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Liu Forces Fold from Pinhasi's Aces
Level 1
: Blinds 100/200, 200 ante
On a heads-up turn of Q♥4♠7♥K♦, Yue Liu checked to Idah Pinhasi who then bet 5,500 into the pot of 8,000. But then Liu put in a big check-raise to 16,000 and put the pressure back on Idah, who thought about it for a second before making the call.
The river fell the 3♣ and Liu jammed for around 23,000, around the same stack as Ponhasi, who went into the tank.
"Wow, do you have king-queen?" he asked Liu, who said nothing.
After another 30 seconds or so, Pinhasi tossed A♥A♣ into the muck and Liu admitted he did have king-queen as he was pushed the big pot in Level 1.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
62,000
62,000
|
62,000 |
|
21,000
21,000
|
21,000 |
Notables in the Field
Level 1
: Blinds 100/200, 200 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
40,000
40,000
|
40,000 |
|
||
|
40,000
40,000
|
40,000 |
|
||
|
40,000 | |
|
||
|
40,000
40,000
|
40,000 |
|
||
|
40,000 | |
|
|
||
|
40,000
40,000
|
40,000 |
|
40,000
40,000
|
40,000 |
|
||
|
40,000 | |
|
40,000 | |
Botez Coolered on First Hand of the Day
Level 1
: Blinds 100/200, 200 ante
Waking up with ace-king for your first hand of a tournament is a great feeling...until you run into aces.
Not to be deterred, Botez is hopping back into the event but will need to navigate ten levels on her final bullet.
Hey! It’s @alexandrabotez and I am taking over @BetMGMPoker Twitter today! I just got cooler’d on my first hand so… https://t.co/aYERdehOjV
— BetMGM Poker (@BetMGMPoker)
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
40,000 |
Turner Tables a Monster
Level 1
: Blinds 100/200, 200 ante
After checking through the turn, Dann Turner decided to bet 4,400 on the river 7♣9♦8♥K♦8♦ and the action was over to his opponent on the button.
After thinking for a couple moments, he flicked in a chip to make the call but was then shown K♠K♣ for the top full house by Turner. The button player was a bit shocked to see such a monster hand, as well as the other member of the table who all had surprised looks on their faces as the pot was pushed to Turner.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
46,000
46,000
|
46,000 |
|
|
||
Afriat Wins a Small One; Botez Gets Jammed On
Level 1
: Blinds 100/200, 200 ante
Eric Afriat opened to 400 and was called by the small blind and Matthew Hunt from the big blind.
Action checked to Afriat on the J♣5♥3♠ flop and he bet 1,000 which folded out his opponents.
As the hand played out, Alexandra Botez found herself facing a five-bet jam. Botez had a four-bet of 6,000 out in front of her and the big blind moved all in. After some thinking time, Botez folded.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
50,000
10,000
|
10,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
38,000
-2,000
|
-2,000 |
|
|
34,000
-6,000
|
-6,000 |