Samir Nacer bet 18,000 from early position on a flop of K♠J♣8♠ and Antonino Venneri called in the big blind. Kerem Turuskan then moved all in for 82,000 under the gun, Nacer reshoved, and Venneri folded.
Kerem Turuskan: A♠2♠
Samir Nacer: J♥J♠
Nacer was ahead with his set of jacks, while Turuskan was on a flush draw. The 4♣ fell on the turn, while the river was the J♦ to give Nacer quads and send Turuskan to the rail.
Roman Gadzhiev raised to 6,000 in the cutoff and Bulut Celik called on the button, as did the small blind. Yusuf Kocadeg then moved all in for 70,000 in the big blind and Gadzhiev and Celik folded, but the small blind quickly called.
Yusuf Kocadeg: K♥K♠
Opponent: 3♦3♠
The flop came A♠K♣9♥ to give Kocadeg a set as tablemate Ghanim Dashti told him he had folded the other king. The rest of the board ran out 7♥8♠ and Kocadeg doubled up.
Fausto Tantillo raised to 6,000 in middle position and was called by a player in the hijack before Yilu Yuan three-bet to 25,000 in the small blind. Only Tantillo called.
The flop came Q♥10♦3♠ and Yuan continued for 20,000. Tantillo called to see the 3♣ turn as Yuan slowed down and checked.
Tantillo then moved all in for around 110,000 and Yuan snap-called, turning over K♣Q♣ for two pair. Tantillo could only show 10♠9♠ and was sent to the rail once the J♣ completed the board on the river.
It turns out the best way to play pocket jacks is to just make quads, and that’s what helped put Samir Nacer atop the leaderboard after Day 1a of the Merit Poker Dolce Vita Series $2,200 La Notte Degli Assi.
Nacer made quad jacks to bust Kerem Turuskan in the last level of the night on his way to bagging up 703,500. He leads 87 players who survived the day out of 237 total entries.
Ermanno Pacini also ended up as a big stack after he called on the river for his last 150,000 with a pair of tens. His opponent only had ace-high as Pacini doubled up in a more than 600,000-chip pot, ending up with 676,500. Navid Samavati (682,500), “set machine” Guillermo Gordo (586,000), Gurcan Gungoren (567,000), and Danut Chisu (495,000) are also near the top of the leaderboard after the opening flight.
Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts
Place
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Samir Nacer
France
703,500
281
2
Navid Samavati
Iran
682,500
273
3
Ermanno Pacini
Italy
676,500
271
4
Guillermo Cifuentes
Poland
586,000
234
5
Gurcan Gungoren
Turkey
567,000
227
6
Ahmet Akyun
Turkey
536,000
214
7
Danut Chisu
Romania
495,000
198
8
Yilu Yuan
China
476,500
191
9
Kemal Aslan
Turkey
458,500
183
10
Miroslav Rizov
Bulgaria
452,000
181
Other players to advance include Ali Moein (402,000), Bakhos Joumaa (254,000), Maxim Lykov (232,000), Roman Gadzhiev (190,000), Rachid El Yaacoubi (162,500), and Koray Korkmaz (155,500).
Fausto Tantillo nearly made it through the day but ran his flopped pair of tens into Yilu Yuan’s queens to bust near the end of the night, while Chakib M’Hiri, Cheng Zhao, and Samuel Dray also were sent to the rail and will have to try again on a different flight.
Maxim Lykov
There are three more starting flights available. Day 1b begins tomorrow at noon, while Day 1c is on July 31 and features 40-minute levels. There is also a turbo Day 1d flight featuring 25-minute levels. Everyone to advance combines for Day 2 on August 1. Late registration remains open through Level 14 on Day 2, with unlimited reentries allowed.
PokerNews will be back providing live updates tomorrow for what is sure to be another packed poker room at the Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino in North Cyprus.
