Event #2: $6,400 GTD Heads-Up (64 Max) | partypoker US Network Players Choice Series (Dec.13-20)

Dec 14, 2020

Sewnig Eliminates "mia1223" To Get In the Money

Hill Kerby

Blinds: 500/1,000

All of the chips had gone into the middle postflop between "mia1223" in the big blind and Dan "mj23style" Sewnig, who was on the button. The runout was in the process of finishing to show a board of with a total pot of 90,000, meaning Sewnig barely had his opponent covered.

"mia1223":
Dan "mj23style" Sewnig":

Both players connected with the flop, though "mia1223" saw their two pair run into Sewnig's flopped straight. Nothing changed as the turn and river made the hand official and "mia1223" was eliminated in 19th place while Sewnig has become the most recent player to make it into the money.

Updated counts on the two remaining matches have also been provided.

Dec 14, 2020

Recent Results

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Hill Kerby

Blinds: 500/1,000

Four more matches have recently concluded to bring the field down to 19 with just three matches left in play.

Dec 14, 2020

"Gohednpopoff" Gets Into The Money; "upayformypennys" and "UAUTCU" Join

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Hill Kerby

Blinds: 400/800

A single-raised pot put 3,760 into the middle preflop with "Gohednpopoff" in the big blind and holding a commanding chip lead against the on-the-button "MoltenLight". The flop came and "MoltenLight" got their last 18,333 into the middle with "Gohednpopoff" calling.

"MoltenLight":
"Gohednpopoff":

"MoltenLight" was two cards away from pulling back into contention and the turn gave them just one more card to sweat. Unfortunately, that final card came and sent them to the rail as a result while "Gohednpopoff" won the match and earned their way into the final 16, making it into the money along the way.

"UAUTCU" and "upayformypennys" also recently won their matches as "Selurznug" and "DonkyKing" fell at their expenses.

Dec 14, 2020

A Look Ahead to the WPT Online Poker Open on partypoker US

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Hill Kerby

Last month, the World Poker Tour (WPT) announced its first U.S.-based online Main Tour event, the $3,500 WPT Online Poker Open Main Event, set for a late December running in New Jersey. That one will also carry a guarantee of $1 million.

The WPT Online Poker Open Main Event will be held Dec. 27-29 on partypoker US Network for players in New Jersey.

The ambitious $1 million guarantee signifies how serious the WPT and partypoker are about making this a premier poker tournament worthy of the WPT name.

“The WPT Online Poker Open brings the most prestigious prize in poker to New Jersey and the partypoker US Network,” said WPT CEO Adam Pliska in a presser. “WPT’s continued pivot toward online will continue with another landmark for regulated online poker in the United States.”

Indeed, the WPT has pivoted into a strong series of online offerings, however, all were offered to the dot-com partypoker player pool, a much larger bunch of customers than the prospective New Jersey pool. Drawing the necessary entries to meet the guarantee will require some effort, and the WPT already announced satellites will be available for as little as $5.

Day	Date	Time (EST)	Tournament	Buy-in
Sunday	12/27/20	5:00 PM	WPT ONLINE POKER OPEN MAIN EVENT: $1 MILLION GTD NLH	$3,500
Monday	12/28/20	7:00 PM	WPT ONLINE POKER OPEN MAIN EVENT: DAY 2
Tuesday	12/29/20	7:00 PM	WPT ONLINE POKER OPEN MAIN EVENT: LIVE STREAMED FINAL TABLE
Monday	12/28/20	7:30 PM	Phase 1 into Phase 2 $40K GTD 8-Max NLH	$25.00
Monday	12/28/20	8:00 PM	WPT ONLINE POKER OPEN: $20K GTD 8-MAX NLH	$215
Tuesday	12/29/20	7:30 PM	Phase 1 into Phase 2 $40K GTD 8-Max NLH	$25.00
Tuesday	12/29/20	8:00 PM	WPT ONLINE POKER OPEN: $30K GTD 8-MAX NLH	$535
Wednesday	12/30/20	8:00 PM	WPT ONLINE POKER OPEN: Phase 2 $40K GTD 8-MAX NLH	$215

Dec 14, 2020

Pahuja Runs Into a Bigger Two Pair

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Hill Kerby

Blinds: 300/600

A single-raised pot preflop between Vinny "brownmagic" Pahuja in the big blind and "cenation", who was on the button brought about a flop of with 2,600 in the middle.

Pahuja check-raised a bet of 1,290, making it 3,300 to go, and quickly saw "cenation" three-bet to 10,100. Pahuja called. The turn came and Pahuja checked. "cenation" shoved and Pahjua called all in for less.

Vinny "brownmagic" Pahuja:
"cenation":

Pahuja had flopped bottom two pair but ran it into a flopped top-and-bottom pair. Neither of the two remaining queens came on the river and he was eliminated from the tournament.

Pahuja's elimination is one of an early half-dozen, with the others also listed below. Another early decision was the match of "maniacalmonk", who has quickly punched their ticket into the Sweet 16 and into the money after being the final match to play to completion in Round One.

Dec 14, 2020

Round of 32 Matches (full)

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Hill Kerby

The second round of 32 players is officially underway and matchups have been posted below.

Player 1	Player 2
UAUTCU	selurznug
a_stormy_knight	MeowMeow33
madroc	jchimpo56
redtongue1_	Moose4Life
Dan "mj23style" Sewnig	mia1223
stEWhUNger08	Yankswin27
Eric "alwaysliquid" Vanauken	BigDickRick
cenation	Vinny "brownmagic" Pahuja
MYSTICMOUNTAIN	kevino22
pay4medsch00l	BBMKBB
maniacalmonk	onoreally
Ptkceaser	dadadada
DonkyKing	upayformypennys
ChickenTendies	ScarletRaptor
Angel "chromeking" Lopez	MegaWinner
Gohednpopoff	MoltenLight

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Dec 14, 2020

Lopez Finishes Off His Opponent; Round of 32 Begins

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Hill Kerby

Blinds: 1,000/2,000

In the early minutes after returning from break, Angel "chromeking" Lopez increased his stack to over 90,000 and shoved on the button to put "RobertJordan" all in for their last 9,000. A call was made.

Angel "chromeking" Lopez:
"RobertJordan":

A pair of aces came as the board ran out and Lopez's jack kicker remained best to eliminate "RobertJordan" in 34th place.

Moments later, "maniacalmonk" eliminated "FooQuan" from the tournament in 33rd to bring about the end of Round 1. With 32 players left, Round 2 has begun, and matchups will be posted shortly.

Dec 14, 2020

Get to Know Family Man & Stock Trader Don "dhimp20" Himpele

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Hill Kerby

If you’ve ever played poker either at Borgata or online in New Jersey, there’s a good chance you’ve crossed paths with Don Himpele, who has more than $630K in online lifetime tournament earnings and $89K in live scores on HendonMob.

Himpele, a father of five who has been married for 24 years, graduated from Gettysburg College with a degree in Business and Economics, and for the last 25 years he has worked as a trader on the New York Stock Exchange as a Managing Director for Goldman Sachs and IMC Trading. So how did the professional family man find poker?

“I began playing as a teenager,” he told PokerNews. “My mother was an early influence and taught me many ‘gameplay skills.’ I have combined that and my skills as a trader to make strong decisions on the felt.”

He continued: “I consider myself a recreational player, as family and work obligations don't allow for a robust live game tournament schedule. I do play the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main yearly, and many Parx Big Stax tournaments. I am a regular online tournament player who targets buy-ins usually ranging from $200-$2,000. I play in local cash games – usually $5/$10.”

While he only plays when his schedule allows, it’s worth noting Himpele has been playing for a long time. In fact, one of his favorite poker memories stems all the way back to the 2004 WSOP Main Event.

“My most notable experience was my first WSOP Main Event in 2004 and sitting at ESPN feature TV table with top pros,” he recalled. “Also, I cashed in the 2010 WSOP Main Event after being sponsored by Absolute Poker.”

While his Absolute Poker days are behind him, Himpele does spend a fair amount of time competing on the partypoker US Network, which is comprised of partypoker US, Borgata Poker and BetMGM Poker.

“partypoker US brings a strong level of competition and I particularly like when they run a series as it brings a variety of games and a strong turnout with a commensurate prize pool,” said Himpele. “I have a lot of respect for New Jersey's top pros such as Mike Lavenburg, Mike Gagliano, Katie Stone and David Coleman. I enjoy the challenge of battling against them as a test of skill.”

Dec 14, 2020

Chip Counts on Break

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Hill Kerby

Blinds:800/1,600

The matches between Angel "chromeking" Lopez and "RobertJordan", and "maniacalmonk" and "FooQuan" are the only two left. Lopez has found his way back from 20,000 and has taken the chip lead, while "maniacalmonk" also holds a slight edge over their opponent.

These four remaining players are on a five-minute break and will resume at the top of the hour.

Dec 14, 2020

More Results from Round One

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Hill Kerby

The following players have seen their matches play to completion and 34 players now remain. Just two matches are left, and chip counts from those matches will be posted shortly.

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