Event #5: $109 NLH R+A $15K GTD
Day 1 Started
partypoker US Network Online Series (Oct. 11-18)
Event #5: $109 NLH R+A $15K GTD
Day: 1
The partypoker US Network Online Series Event #5: $109 NLH R+A $15K GTD Starts Tonight
Welcome back to PokerNews coverage of the partypoker US Network Online Series. The third day and fifth event of the series sees a $15,000 GTD NLH R+A on the schedule, featuring a $109 buy-in.
Action is set to start at 7:30 p.m. ET and anybody in the state of New Jersey is able to play across the three platforms of partypoker US, Borgata Poker and BetMGM Poker are eligible to compete.
Unlimited rebuys ($100 each) and late registration is available within the first 15 levels of the tournament, at which point it will close and all players in contention will have the opportunity to add-on for another $100.
All entries and rebuys get players 50,000, while the add-on will put another 75,000 onto all players' stacks who wish to do so.
Blinds are 10 minutes in length for the first 20 levels and then will increase to 12 minutes for the duration of the tournament. A detailed look at the betting structure is provided below.
| Level | Blinds | Ante | Length | Level | Blinds | Ante | Length | Level | Blinds | Ante | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 150/300 | 40 | 10 | 19 | 3,500/7,000 | 875 | 12 | 37 | 60,000/120,000 | 15,000 | 12 |
| 2 | 200/400 | 60 | 10 | 20 | 4,000/8,000 | 1,000 | 12 | 38 | 70,000/140,000 | 17,500 | 12 |
| 3 | 250/500 | 60 | 10 | 21 | 5,000/10,000 | 1,250 | 12 | 39 | 80,000/160,000 | 20,000 | 12 |
| 4 | 300/600 | 75 | 10 | 22 | 6,000/12,000 | 1,500 | 12 | 40 | 90,000/180,000 | 22,500 | 12 |
| 5 | 400/800 | 100 | 10 | 23 | 7,000/14,000 | 1,750 | 12 | 41 | 100,000/200,000 | 25,000 | 12 |
| 6 | 500/1,000 | 125 | 10 | 24 | 8,000/16,000 | 2,000 | 12 | 42 | 120,000/240,000 | 30,000 | 12 |
| 7 | 600/1,200 | 150 | 10 | 25 | 10,000/20,000 | 2,500 | 12 | 43 | 140,000/280,000 | 35,000 | 12 |
| 8 | 700/1,400 | 175 | 10 | 26 | 12,000/24,000 | 3,000 | 12 | 44 | 160,000/320,000 | 40,000 | 12 |
| 9 | 800/1,600 | 200 | 10 | 27 | 14,000/28,000 | 3,500 | 12 | 45 | 180,000/360,000 | 45,000 | 12 |
| 10 | 900/1,800 | 225 | 10 | 28 | 16,000/32,000 | 4,000 | 12 | 46 | 200,000/400,000 | 50,000 | 12 |
| 11 | 1,000/2,000 | 250 | 10 | 29 | 18,000/36,000 | 4,500 | 12 | 47 | 250,000/500,000 | 62,500 | 12 |
| 12 | 1,200/2,400 | 300 | 10 | 30 | 20,000/40,000 | 5,000 | 12 | 48 | 300,000/600,000 | 75,000 | 12 |
| 13 | 1,400/2,800 | 350 | 10 | 31 | 25,000/50,000 | 6,250 | 12 | 49 | 350,000/700,000 | 87,500 | 12 |
| 14 | 1,600/3,200 | 400 | 10 | 32 | 30,000/60,000 | 7,500 | 12 | 50 | 400,000/800,000 | 100,000 | 12 |
| 15 | 1,800/3,600 | 450 | 10 | 33 | 35,000/70,000 | 8,750 | 12 | 51 | 450,000/900,000 | 112,500 | 12 |
| 16 | 2,000/4,000 | 500 | 12 | 34 | 40,000/80,000 | 10,000 | 12 | 52 | 500,000/1,000,000 | 125,000 | 12 |
| 17 | 2,500/5,000 | 625 | 12 | 35 | 45,000/90,000 | 11,250 | 12 | 53 | 600,000/1,200,000 | 150,000 | 12 |
| 18 | 3,000/6,000 | 750 | 12 | 36 | 50,000/100,000 | 12,500 | 12 | 54 | 700,000/1,400,000 | 175,000 | 12 |
Shuffle Up and Deal! (full)
The clock has struck 7:30 p.m. ET and play has begun in Level 1 with blinds of 150/300 and an ante of 40.
Twenty-six players are registered at the start of the event, and registration will remain open for 15 levels, ending at approximately 10:15 p.m. ET.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
50,000 | 50,000 |
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50,000 | 50,000 |
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50,000 | 50,000 |
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50,000 | 50,000 |
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50,000 | 50,000 |
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50,000 | 50,000 |
|
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50,000 | 50,000 |
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50,000 | 50,000 |
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50,000 | 50,000 |
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50,000 | 50,000 |
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50,000 | |
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50,000 | 50,000 |
|
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50,000 | 50,000 |
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50,000 | 50,000 |
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50,000 | 50,000 |
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50,000 | 50,000 |
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50,000 | 50,000 |
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50,000 | 50,000 |
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50,000 | 50,000 |
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50,000 | 50,000 |
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50,000 | 50,000 |
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50,000 | 50,000 |
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50,000 | 50,000 |
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50,000 | 50,000 |
|
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50,000 | 50,000 |
Bracelet Winner Daniel “centrfieldr23” Lupo Discusses partypoker US Network Win
The partypoker US Online Network – which is comprised of partypoker US, Borgata Poker and BetMGM Poker – has been gaining momentum in New Jersey, most recently with last month's WPT Online Borgata Series.
One player who has been doing quite well on the site is bracelet winner Daniel “centrfieldr23” Lupo, 37, of West Milford, New Jersey. You might recall that last summer, Lupo topped a 1,767-entry field to win the WSOP.com Online $500 NLH Turbo Deepstack for $145,274 and a gold bracelet. Earlier this year, he added a ring to his résumé by taking down the WSOP.com Online Circuit Event #3: $320 NLH 6-Max for $32,595 and a month later won the WSOP.com $100,000 GTD Sunday for $50,715.
A couple months ago, Lupo’s success continued when he bested a 305-entry field to win the partypoker US Network Online Series $50K GTD NLH 6-Max Main Event for $14,792.
PokerNews caught up with Lupo, who went to NJIT for Architecture and baseball, to ask him about poker, which he squeezes in between working for an Architecture firm in Bridgewater specializing in single-family residential and smaller commercial projects and his family, which includes three kids ages 2-5 and his supportive wife Laura.
Q&A with Daniel “centrfieldr23” Lupo
PokerNews: When and how did you learn to play poker?
Lupo: I started playing/learning in college during the Rounders and Moneymaker boom with a bunch of the baseball guys. Within a year I found myself hosting games at college, at home on breaks and basically anywhere I could find or make a game. I didn’t play much online early on, regrettably.
What sort of poker do you play these days?
Mostly online MTTs playing like three sessions per week on average with buy-ins typically from $50 to $1k with the occasional $2-$3k buy in for a big event. I average around 500-600 MTTs a month despite not playing full time, I tend to put in a lot of volume when I’m on. The games are mostly NLH and some PLO MTTs, but love when StarsNJ runs a series as they run a fun 8-Game MTT with a bunch of other mixed variants.
What’s it like to play poker while raising young children?
It’s been a constant evolution. I could probably write a book about all the highs and lows and life adjustments I’ve had or chose to make. It gives me a lot of inspiration to succeed while also adding some weight to my losses as it's like 'not only was I way from my kids for all of Sunday afternoon but I lost (insert obnoxious Sunday schedule cost here)'.
What are some of your poker goals?
Try and win everything I play. Actually, my biggest current goal is trying to optimize my MTT game selection. Since quarantine began the schedules have been exploding site to site and while it's been great, with lots of new players and lots of live players playing online it has also drastically increased my average buy-ins and session costs as well as the field size which further increases variance.
I'm trying to optimize the balance of table quantity and expected value vs individual session costs and the variance that comes with it. Having an average buy-in of $250 adds up pretty quickly when it's spread across 60+ entries on a Sunday. My biggest ongoing and long-term goal is to win enough to help my family live comfortably.
How did it feel to take down the partypoker US Network Phased Main Event last month?
I was pretty stoked about the partypoker US win. I love their structure and it was a very tough field when we were deep; I was fortunate to run pretty well and the be able to leverage my chip stack at the final table. I had made a bunch of top 18 runs in their series Main Events but couldn't crack a solid finish lately so this felt a little extra special.
Vanauken Defends and Wins
In Level 2 with blinds of 200/400 and an ante of 60, "chopsuey" raised to 1,000 from early position and was called by "TheRealJanJurik" from the cutoff, along with Eric “alwaysliquid” Vanauken from the big blind.
Once the 
flop appeared, Vanauken led out for 1,840 and both opponents called to see the 
turn.
Vanauken continued for 4,800 and that did the trick as both opponents mucked their hands.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
49,520 | -480 |
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48,505 | 48,505 |
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45,520 | -4,480 |
Level 3 Chip Leaders
The tournament has reached its first break of the evening midway through Level 3 with blinds of 250/500 and an ante of 60. Brian “TopCreature” Sherrier is atop the leader board as and is one of four players that has a six-figure stack.
Forty-eight entries have now been recorded and 47 players remain, with "Bassman99" being the lone player to hit the rail for thus far.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
124,977 | 74,977 |
|
|
106,990 | 56,990 |
|
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101,495 | 51,495 |
|
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100,760 | |
|
|
98,210 | 48,210 |
|
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95,062 | |
|
|
72,759 | 22,759 |
|
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65,930 | |
|
|
60,085 | 11,580 |
|
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56,625 | 6,625 |
|
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55,600 | 5,600 |
|
|
Busted |
Hagerty's Set Forces "Exhale" to Rebuy
In Level 4 with blinds of 300/600 and an ante of 75, "Exhale" moved all in for 25,675 after a 
flop from the hijack and was called by Ryan “simlSgg” Hagerty from the cutoff.
"Exhale": 
Ryan “simlSgg” Hagerty: 
Hagerty was well ahead after flopping a set of threes but the hand was far from over as "Exhale" held an open-ended straight draw.
Unfortunately for "Exhale", the 
turn was no help nor was the 
river and they re-entered the tournament.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
126,801 | 19,811 |
|
|
100,000 | 50,000 |
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"overendwatts" On Wrong Side Of Cooler
In Level 5 with blinds of 400/800 and an ante of 100, "Goofy" raised to 1,840 from under the gun and then called "overendwatts's" 7,250 three-bet from the button.
The flop came 
, "Goofy" check-jammed for 52,160 after "overendwatts" continued for 18,540 and was called.
"Goofy": 
"overendwatts": 
"overendwatts" was ahead until the 
appeared on the turn giving "Goofy" the nut flush.
The meaningless 
completed the board on the river and "Goofy" collected the pot while "overendwatts" re-entered the tournament.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
107,521 | 57,521 |
|
|
50,000 |
Level 6 Top Stacks and Bust Outs
In Level 6 with blinds of 500/1,000 and an ante of 1,250, "E.J.D" has ballooned to over 300,000 and is now the chip leader with 68 entries and 63 players remaining.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
310,890 | |
|
|
222,104 | 97,127 |
|
158,087 | |
|
|
151,248 | 101,248 |
|
|
112,070 | 10,575 |
|
|
108,421 | 900 |
|
95,924 | |
|
|
95,542 | 480 |
|
|
95,200 | -4,800 |
|
|
91,676 | -35,125 |
|
89,630 | |
|
|
Busted | |
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Busted | |
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Busted | |
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Busted |