$2,200 Warm Up Day 1bc | 2025 Merit Poker Western Series

01-15-2025 15:36 UTC+2

Fourie Over-Bet Shoves Into Three Players

Kai Cocklin

Level 5 : Blinds 600/1,200, 1,200 ante

The action kicked off with Rudolf Fourie making it 3,000 from middle position and Charbel Daou calling on the button. The small blind three-bet to 11,500, which Evgeniy Golenko called in the big blind. Both Fourie and Daou also called.

On the flop of 10♣4♦2♠, the small blind and Golenko checked, then Fourie over-bet shoved for around 90,000. One by one, all three of his opponents folded, and Fourie took the pot.

"You have nothing," said one of the players.

"Nothing?" replied Fourie, as he slowly revealed the 10♦ to the table.

Player	Chips	Progress
Rudolf Fourie	135,000 35,000	35,000
Charbel Daou	100,000 20,000	20,000
Evgeniy Golenko	45,000 65,000	65,000

Tags: Charbel Daou Evgeniy Golenko Rudolf Fourie

Level: 6

Blinds: 800/1,500

Ante: 1,500

01-15-2025 15:44 UTC+2

Selected Chip Counts

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Kai Cocklin

Level 6 : Blinds 800/1,500, 1,500 ante

Player	Chips	Progress
Ashraf Akeh	500,000 110,000	110,000
Luke Marsh	400,000 300,000	300,000

Aylar Lie	170,000 30,000	30,000
Boris Tabiyev	110,000 10,000	10,000
Motokatsu Uhara	90,000 90,000	90,000
Xiaosheng Zheng	80,000 20,000	20,000
Paul Newey	80,000 20,000	20,000
Sandra Cotescu	55,000 45,000	45,000
Shankui Li	45,000 55,000	55,000
Halil Tasyurek	45,000 45,000	45,000

01-15-2025 15:53 UTC+2

Runcan on the Move

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Kai Cocklin

Level 6 : Blinds 800/1,500, 1,500 ante

On a board of 5♦5♥7♥A♦, Paul Runcan had fired 23,000 and the button shoved for around 90,000. Runcan wasted no time in putting in the call.

Button: 8♦5♣ All in
Paul Runcan: Q♠5♠

Both players had flopped trips, but it was Runcan who had the better kicker and was in the driver's seat to take the pot. A 10♣ landed on the river, which meant the button was eliminated, and Runcan's stack shot up to around 300,000.

Player	Chips	Progress
Paul Runcan	300,000 100,000	100,000

Tags: Paul Runcan

01-15-2025 16:00 UTC+2

Joshi Doubles With Aces

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Kai Cocklin

Level 6 : Blinds 800/1,500, 1,500 ante

A full board of 10♣7♦2♠J♥6♦ was already showing on the table with all the chips in the middle, and Sachin Joshi had his A♦A♥ exposed to the table. That must have been the best hand as Yaniv Shushan's stack was being counted down by the dealer and sent over to Joshi, who doubled up to around 220,000.

Shushan may have lost that hand, but still has around 70,000 in his stack to work with at the mid-way point of Level 6.

Player	Chips	Progress
Sachin Joshi	220,000 220,000	220,000
Yaniv Shushan	70,000 15,000	15,000

01-15-2025 16:10 UTC+2

Li's Stack Dwindling

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Kai Cocklin

Level 6 : Blinds 800/1,500, 1,500 ante

With around 10,000 chips already in the pot on a 10♥K♥6♣ board, Shankui Li fired 3,600 and Huseyin Tekerek flicked in the call on the button.

A 3♦ landed on the turn and Li again gathered chips and threw out 9,000. Tekerek waited for a while before he tossed in a raise to 20,000. Li had around 30,000 behind and after thinking it over, he elected to fold.

Player	Chips	Progress
Huseyin Tekerek	120,000
Shankui Li	30,000 15,000	15,000

Tags: Huseyin Tekerek Shankui Li

01-15-2025 16:16 UTC+2

Join PokerNews for the 2025 WSOP in Las Vegas!

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Kai Cocklin

Level 6 : Blinds 800/1,500, 1,500 ante

The PokerNews Live Events team is expanding and looking for passionate poker writers to join our roster of live reporters. We are currently seeking candidates to join our team for the upcoming 2025 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, plus other exciting events this year.

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A passion for poker and its players
Strong communication skills in English (verbal and written)
Able to work independently and be self-motivated
Capable of adapting and multi-tasking in a fast-paced environment
Prior writing experience is great, but we train motivated candidates
21 years of age or older

You'll join a team that travels to worldwide events all year long to bring live updates to our readers. Additionally, PokerNews compensates live reporters for their travel time, accommodations, and living expenses throughout events.

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01-15-2025 16:23 UTC+2

Break Time

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Kai Cocklin

Level 6 : Blinds 800/1,500, 1,500 ante

Players are being sent on a 20-minute break.

When they return, four more levels will be played out before the survivors bag up for the evening.

Level: 7

Blinds: 1,000/1,500

Ante: 1,500

01-15-2025 16:43 UTC+2

Selected Chip Counts

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Kai Cocklin

Level 7 : Blinds 1,000/1,500, 1,500 ante

Player	Chips	Progress
Ashraf Akeh	500,000
Soraya Estrada	475,000 315,000	315,000
Luke Marsh	380,000 20,000	20,000

Paul Runcan	370,000 70,000	70,000
Edward Quinn	350,000 350,000	350,000
Dmitry Gromov	350,000 170,000	170,000

Chady Ojeil	350,000 350,000	350,000
Pouya Ranjehdel	275,000 25,000	25,000
Jianfeng Sun	230,000 230,000	230,000
Gaspare Sposato	220,000 220,000	220,000
Dan Borlan	220,000 220,000	220,000
Gerard Carbo Santamaria	210,000 80,000	80,000
Konstantin Kvashin	210,000 135,000	135,000
Rudolf Fourie	180,000 45,000	45,000