Main Event
Day 1b Completed
2019 Heartland Poker Tour Golden Gates Casino
Main Event
Day: 1b
Berger Bags Huge Chip Lead on Day 1b of HPT Golden Gates
Level 15
: 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
Ten hours of play and 15 levels are complete and all chips have been bagged for Day 1b of HPT Golden Gates $1,100 Main Event. After Day 1a drew 82 entries, today’s flight saw 128 join the fun with 18 players remaining when play concluded.
The big story for the day was David Berger, who bagged a whopping 628,000 to finish as the clear chip leader, head and shoulders above the rest of the field. Berger had chipped up to around 300,000 and was already one of the chip leaders when play resumed from the final break of the night before winning two massive pots with pocket aces, holding against top pair with a straight draw and later against ace-king in an all-in preflop situation. From there, he continued to build until play finished for the night.
Second in chips is Michael Sherry, who also led a charge at the end of the evening, building his stack from around 200,000 to its finishing point in the last two levels of the evening. Sherry bagged a stack of 357,500, also above Day 1a chip leader Greg Geller’s 336,000. Other players to finish in the top five include 2015 WSOP Main Event third place finisher Neil Blumenfield (320,500), Keith McCarthy (283,000), and Joel Verbeck (246,500).
There were also a handful of notable players who did not advance, including Ben Keeline, Matt Grisham, Brian Leitch, Chris Moon, and 2019 WSOP Main Event 39th place finisher Dapo Ajayi.
In total, 35 players have advanced to Day 2 on Sunday. Two more starting flights remain, with the next one upcoming Friday at noon local time. Come back to PokerNews for more coverage as the tournament continues.
Play Finished
Level 15
: 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
Play is complete for Day 1b with 18 players finishing from a total of 128 entries. Here is the complete list of chip counts for players who advanced with a recap of the day's action soon to follow.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
628,000 | 72,500 |
|
357,500 | |
|
320,500 | 52,500 |
|
283,000 | 35,000 |
|
246,500 | |
|
239,000 | 35,000 |
|
|
223,000 | 144,500 |
|
202,000 | 20,000 |
|
199,500 | -22,500 |
|
190,500 | 20,500 |
|
167,500 | 40,500 |
|
149,000 | -40,800 |
|
134,000 | |
|
128,000 | -135,000 |
|
125,500 | 63,500 |
|
106,000 | -29,000 |
|
|
73,500 | 3,500 |
|
67,500 | -53,200 |
Sherry Gets a Little More on Last Hand of Night
Level 15
: 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
On the last hand of the night, Michael Sherry opened to 11,000 from the button and received a call from Joel Verbeck who defended his big blind. Both players checked the flop 
and Verbeck fired 12,000 on the turn 
. Sherry raised to 25,00 and Verbeck called.
The river came 
and both players checked.
Sherry tabled 
for a full house while Verbeck showed a missed combo draw with 
, resulting in Sherry adding to his stack before putting his chips into a bag for the night.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
357,500 | 33,500 |
|
|
246,500 | -65,500 |
Two More Hands; Sloan Eliminated
Level 15
: 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
The tournament director has instructed the dealers on the remaining two tables to deal two more hands. Meanwhile, Shane Sloan was recently eliminated.
According to Christopher Ritsema, he lost a pot with nines to the ace-king of Rex Clinkscales before shoving his last few chips in with an ace and running into ace-queen. Details on chip counts from the aftermath will be provided shortly upon the completion of play for the day.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
Busted |
Ramadanis Cold Four-Bet Shoves
Level 15
: 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
Matt Krier opened the action with a raise to 10,000 from early position. Action then folded around to Matt Livingston who three-bet from the hijack to 37,000. Andreas Ramadanis was in the cutoff and announced he was all in for a total of 132,800.
Krier thought for a few moments before folding and with action back on Livingston, he went deep into the tank, thinking for about three minutes before folding as Ramadanis took down the pot preflop and added a chunk to his stack in the process.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
204,000 | -6,000 |
|
|
189,800 | 135,300 |
|
|
182,000 | 80,000 |
Berger Delivers Cooler To Gresham, Eclipses Half-Million Mark
Level 15
: 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
Matt Grisham was seen giving a fist bump to another player at the table on his way out of the room while David Berger was raking in another massive pot.
"Aces to ace-king all-in preflop," said the tournament director. Berger filled in the details with a little support from a few other players at the table.
Berger opened to 11,000 and Grisham three-bet to 30,000. Berger four-bet to 60,000 and Grisham came over the top for around 150,000. Berger called.
Matt Grisham: 
David Berger: 
The flop came 
with two diamonds to give Grisham a little hope at a backdoor flush. However, the turn sealed the deal and the 
river put Grisham's night to an end around 30 minutes before the end of Day 1.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
555,500 | 111,500 |
|
|
Busted |
Sherry Firing On New Table
Level 15
: 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
With the elimination of the 21st place player, the field has condensed to two tables. Michael Sherry wasted no time getting in on the action.
Joel Verbeck opened to 8,000 from early position and Matt Livingston called from middle position. Action folded around to Sherry in the big blind and he three-bet to 24,000. Both Verbeck and Livingston called and the flop came 
. Sherry fired 50,000 into the middle and both players folded.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
324,000 | 39,900 |
|
|
312,000 | 84,000 |
|
|
210,000 | -80,000 |
Level: 15
Blinds: 2,000/4,000
Ante: 4,000
More Photos from Day 1b at HPT Black Hawk
