$2,200 Warmup
Day 4 Completed
2023 Merit Poker Retro Series
$2,200 Warmup
Day: 4
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 4
2023 Merit Poker Retro Series
Buy-in
$2,200
Prize Pool
$1,488,560
Entries
809
Level
34
Blinds
250,000 / 500,000
Ante
500,000
Entries
25
Players Left
1
Hadi Khadra Triumphs in Merit Poker Retro Series Warmup
Level 34
: Blinds 250,000/500,000, 500,000 ante
The final day of the 2023 Merit Poker Retro Series $2,200 Warm-Up has come to an end at the Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino and Hadi Khadra is the champion after a deal was made during three-handed play.
Khadra takes the top prize while Turkey's Murat Cakir finishes second and Greece's Orestis Kanakopoulos finishes third. Nicolas Chouity and Huseyin Kaba rounded out the top five after a day that started with the final 25 players.
The tournament drew 809 entries and the final 25 returned for their piece of the $1,488,560 prize pool.
2023 Merit Retro Poker Series $2,200 Warmup
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hadi Khadra | Lebanon | $264,400 |
| 2 | Murat Cakir | Turkey | $194,700 |
| 3 | Orestis Kanakopoulos | Greece | $119,700 |
| 4 | Nicolas Chouity | Lebanon | $88,600 |
| 5 | Huseyin Kaba | Turkey | $66,200 |
| 6 | Giorgiy Skhulukhiya | Georgia | $53,600 |
| 7 | Abulmuhsin Aydin | France | $44,300 |
| 8 | Alain Hajj | Lebanon | $35,200 |
| 9 | Afshin Taheri | Iran | $26,500 |
Winner’s Reaction
“It feels great honestly,” Khadra said in a post-win interview with Merit Poker. “After four days of endless playing, mental instability, and all these days it feels good to win it. I played well and made very good decisions. I am glad to where I got to where I am now.”
The turning point of the endgame came when Khadra bluffed Cakir with a big river bet.
“In the late stages a big hand came between myself and Cakir and I bluffed him with king-jack offsuit. It got me a lot of big blinds and gave me the confidence and momentum to get me through it.”
Khadra will go home with the top prize and take a well-deserved break.
“The first thing I’m going to do is not play poker. Go spend time with my girlfriend and my mother. Go on vacation and do everything and relax. Take my head above the clouds for a month or two and get back at it.”
Day 4 Highlights
Day 4 started with 25 players and and Nicolas Chouity came in as the chip leader after Day 3. The live-streamed final table of nine was reached after about six hours of play when Or Nezer hit the rail in tenth place for $19,500.
Afshin Taheri was the first to go in final table play when his suited ace-king was out-flopped by Cakir’s suited queen-nine. The suited ace-king was also trouble for Alain Hajj, who got it all in against the suited ace-eight of Kaba and the pocket threes of Khadra. The board ran out for three hearts and Kaba had the right suit to make a flush for a double, while Khadra’s pocket threes has both players covered and they were good enough to eliminate Hajj in eighth place.
Shortly after Hajj hit the payout window it was Abulmuhsin Aydin that followed with the seventh place finish. Aydin went in with ace-ten on a board with two sevens, but Giorgiy Skhulukhiya had the seven and Aydin couldn’t catch up.
While other players were busting out, Cakir was making his move to the top of the chip counts. He picked up pocket aces and made quads against Chouity, but Chouity had very little with which he could offer value. Kaba also stayed alive when he made his move with pocket jacks against the ace-king of Skhulukhiya. The flop brought a king but the river was a jack to keep Kaba in contention.
Skhulukhiya was next to go in sixth place when he got it in with king-queen against the ace-ten of Cakir. The board ran out with no help and the final five turned towards the home stretch.
Moments later, Kaba bowed out in fifth with jack-ten after Kanakopoulos held him off with king-nine. The final four players battled through a break but the short stack Chouity couldn’t spin it up before he hit the rail in fourth. Chouity’s elimination was another pot for Khadra in a late push that saw him take a big lead.
Moments into three-handed play, Cakir suggested a deal and the players stopped the clock to talk about it. After a short discussion, the tournament ended and Khadra was declared the champion.
Be sure to keep it with the PokerNews team as coverage of the $10,500 High Roller has already kicked off.
We Have an Accord
Level 34
: Blinds 250,000/500,000, 500,000 ante
The final three players have struck a deal and Hadi Khadra will take home the trophy and the top prize.
Stay tuned to PokerNews for a full recap.
"I Don't Need the Title, I Need Money"
Level 34
: Blinds 250,000/500,000, 500,000 ante
"Do you guys want a deal?" Murat Cakir said to the others. "I don't need the title. I need money."
Orestis Kanakopoulos and Hadi Khadra are interested so the final three players have paused the clock to discuss a deal.
Nicolas Chouity Eliminated in 4th Place ($88,600)
Level 34
: Blinds 250,000/500,000, 500,000 ante
Nicolas Chouity raised to 3,000,000 from the button and Hadi Khadra three-bet to 6,000,000 from the small blind. The big blind got out of the way and Chouity called for the rest of his chips to be at risk for around 6,000,000.
Nicolas Chouity: A♦9♣
Hadi Khadra: A♥K♥
The board ran out 3♥5♦6♦A♠6♥ and Khadra held on with Big Slick to send Chouity to the rail in fourth place for $88,600.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
Busted |
Cakir Continues to Clash with Khadra
Level 34
: Blinds 250,000/500,000, 500,000 ante
Murat Cakir raised from the cutoff to 1,000,000 with 10♥8♥ and Hadi Khadra called from the big blind with J♥9♦.
Khadra checked blind on the 8♠10♦3♠ flop and Cakir bet 1,100,000.
Khadra checked once again on the turn and Cakir bet 3,200,000. It was too much for Khadra and he tossed the straight draw into the muck.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
33,600,000 | -4,700,000 |
|
24,500,000 | 600,000 |
Cakir Gets Value on the River
Level 34
: Blinds 250,000/500,000, 500,000 ante
Hadi Khadra limped in from the small blind with 7♠5♣ and Murat Cakir checked his option from the big blind with 8♣3♣.
The flop was 3♠3♦A♠ and Khadra led out for 500,000. Cakir called and the turn was 4♠.
Khadra fired another 1,200,000 and called when Cakir raised to 2,700,000.
The turn was 7♥ and Khadra checked into a bet of 3,500,000 from Cakir. Khadra flicked in a chip to call and Cakir showed the trip treys to take a healthy pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
38,300,000 | -7,000,000 |
|
|
23,900,000 | 8,900,000 |
Khadra Pulls Away
Level 34
: Blinds 250,000/500,000, 500,000 ante
Orestis Kanakopoulos raised to 1,000,000 with Q♥10♣ from the cutoff and Hadi Khadra just called with J♠J♣ in the small blind. The big blind got out of the way and the flop was 3♣6♠6♣.
Hadi Khadra checked before Kanakopoulos bet 600,000. Khadra raised it up to 2,000,000 and Kanakopoulos went into the tank before he three-bet to 4,200,000. Khadra called and the turn was K♥.
Khadra checked the leading pocket jacks and Kanakopoulos bet 3,400,000 with nothing. After a few moments of thought, Khadra called and the river was K♦.
Both players checked the river and Khadra turned over the winning hand to take a commanding chip lead.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
45,300,000 | 8,650,000 |
|
13,700,000 | -6,600,000 |
Khadra Fires the River
Level 34
: Blinds 250,000/500,000, 500,000 ante
Hadi Khadra raised to 1,000,000 from the cutoff with K♦J♣ and Murat Cakir raised to 2,500,000 from the button with A♦9♠. The blinds got out of the way and Khadra called.
The flop was 8♦5♠7♦ and Khadra check-raised a 1,500,000 bet from Cakir to 4,200,000. Cakir called and the turn was Q♦.
Khadra checked again and Cakir checked back to see 8♠ on the river.
Khadra fired 7,000,000 on the river and Cakir decided to give up the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
36,650,000 | 11,900,000 |
|
|
15,000,000 | -9,700,000 |
Huseyin Kaba Eliminated in 5th Place ($66,200)
Level 34
: Blinds 250,000/500,000, 500,000 ante
Huseyin Kaba moved all in for his last 2,025,000 from the small blind and was called by Orestis Kanakopoulos in the big blind to his left.
Huseyin Kaba: J♥10♠
Orestis Kanakopoulos: K♣9♦
The A♣2♥6♦ flop was no help, while the 5♦ turn and 4♥ river confirmed the end of Kaba's tournament run in fifth place.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
20,300,000 | 3,000,000 |
|
Busted |