$10,300 Main Event
Day 1b Started
2018 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure
$10,300 Main Event
Day: 1b
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2018 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure
Buy-in
$10,300
Prize Pool
$5,645,400
Entries
582
Level
32
Blinds
100,000 / 200,000
Ante
25,000
Final Starting Day of the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event Kicks off at Noon!
On Monday, 178 players came out for Day 1a of the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event. Of that group, 101 survived making it through to Day 2, which will kick off on Wednesday. Today marks the final starting flight for the $10,300 Main Event and is sure to bring in even more players. Affif Prado was the one to bag up the most chips after the first eight levels of play on Monday, bringing with him 137,500 chips into Day 2.
The $10,300 buy-in represents a steep jump from last year's buy-in, which was $5,000. It was Christian Harder who won that event, taking home $429,664 for his first-place finish, besting Cliff Josephy heads up to take down the title. Harder topped the field of 738 entrants last year. The former champ is still alive in the event and was able to bag up 18,300 chips heading into Day 2 after the first day of play. Josephy however, hit the felt rather early on Day 1a, saying on Twitter that he had bluffed away most of his chips.
Here's a look at some of the previous winners and prizes for the PCA Main Event:
| Year | Entrants | Prize Pool | Champion | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 221 | $1,657,500 | Gus Hansen | $455,780 |
| 2005 | 461 | $3,487,200 | John Gale | $890,600 |
| 2006 | 724 | $5,647,200 | Steve Paul-Ambrose | $1,388,600 |
| 2007 | 937 | $7,063,842 | Ryan Daut | $1,535,255 |
| 2008 | 1,136 | $8,562,976 | Bertrand Grospellier | $2,000,000 |
| 2009 | 1,347 | $12,674,000 | Poorya Nazari | $3,000,000 |
| 2010 | 1,529 | $14,831,300 | Harrison Gimbel | $2,200,000 |
| 2011 | 1,560 | $15,132,000 | Galen Hall | $2,300,000 |
| 2012 | 1,072 | $10,398,400 | John Dibella | $1,775,000 |
| 2013 | 987 | $9,573,900 | Dimitar Danchev | $1,859,000 |
| 2014 | 1,031 | $10,070,000 | Dominik Panka | $1,423,096 |
| 2015 | 816 | $7,915,200 | Kevin Schulz | $1,491,580 |
| 2016 | 928 | $4,500,800 | Mike Watson | $728,325 |
| 2017 | 738 | $3,376,712 | Christian Harder | $429,664 |
This event is set to take place over the course of six days, with today marking the second day. Day 1 flights will consist of eight one-hour levels with a 20-minute break after every two levels. Late registration will remain open until the start of Day 2, and thereafter, all levels will be 90 minutes long. Players will begin with 30,000 starting chips and blinds will start at 50/100.
PokerNews will be here with all the action and live updates throughout the course of the Main Event as well as some of the other high rollers and side events, so make sure to stay tuned so you don't miss a thing.
Level: 1
Blinds: 50/100
Ante: 0
Familiar Faces in the Field
Level 1
: 50/100, 0 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 |
Negreanu Calls His Shot
Level 1
: 50/100, 0 ante
"I'm going to have... 108,575 by the end of the day," Daniel Negreanu said as we walked by his table. "Do you believe me?"
One player at the table nodded in agreement before another player at the table piped up.
"I'd bet you," the player says.
"You don't think so?" Negreanu responded.
"The 25s don't play," the player said laughing, referring to the end of the night color of up of the green T25 chips.
"Damn it!" Negreanu said laughing as well.
"I'll give you whatever odds you want," the player said.
After their banter, a different player opened from the cutoff with a raise to 225. Negreanu was in the small blind and he cut out a raise.
"I'll make it however much this is," he said, three-betting to 1,025. The other player folded and that allowed Negreanu to take down the pot. It was a small one for Negreanu and he'll have to do a lot more work to reach his end of night prediction of 108,575.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
30,500 | 500 |
Ricky Guan Starts Off Hot
Level 1
: 50/100, 0 ante
The player in the small blind opened with a raise before Ricky Guan three-bet to 900 from the big blind. The player called and the two headed to a flop.
The flop came down 
and the small blind checked over to Guan who bet 700. The small blind player then raised, making it 1,700. Guan called.
On the 
turn, the small blind continued with a bet of 2,000. Guan called once more.
The river was the 
and the small blind player slowed down and checked. Guan fired off a bet of 6,300 and the small blind player didn't take too long to call. Guan showed 
for trips. The player in the small blind flashed his 
but mucked his other card, and that allowed Guan to take down the big pot early here on Day 1b.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
42,000 |
Brazil's Guilherme Furlan Freerolling the PCA
Level 1
: 50/100, 0 ante
Back in December, on the final day of the BSOP Millions, PokerStars held a Mega Freeroll contest in which all players needed to do was sign up and the wear a yellow BSOP shirt to the tournament. Those who did would be eligible to win a randomly-selected package to the PCA.
The freeroll saw 313 players sign up, and it was recreational player Guilherme Furlan who won the opportunity to play the PCA. Today marks the first time he's ever played poker outside of Brazil.
"My goodness, I do not know how it's going to be, I'm very happy," Furlan said after winning the BSOP Mega Freeroll. "Let's go, see what happens there. I'm going to join friends who I know have been playing for a long time to give me advice, to try to evolve my game, to study hard and to do my best there. "
He continued: "Playing against these guys will be an unimaginable sensation for me. It is the dream of any recreational player, one day to play against the pros, in a big tournament like this, back in the Bahamas. The feeling at this moment is wonderful, I can not even believe that this is happening."
While Furlan will contend with poker pro Danny Noseworthy today over at Table 2, the good news is the rest of the table is full of PokerStars qualifiers. Only time will tell if Furlan can follow in the footsteps of fellow Brazilian Affif Prado, who bagged up the Day 1A chip lead.
More Studs in Action
Level 1
: 50/100, 0 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 |
[Removed:244] Takes from 2017 GPI Player of the Year Adrian Mateos
Level 1
: 50/100, 0 ante
2017 GPI Player of the Year and three-time WSOP bracelet winner Adrian Mateos raised to 250 from the button and Austria's [Removed:244] three-bet to 1,050 from the small blind.
Mateos made the call and the two saw a flop of 
. Lehner led out for 550 and then called when Mateos popped him to 1,700.
Both players then checked the turn as well as the 
river.
Lehner revealed the 
for aces and deuces with top kicker, and it was good as Mateos chucked his hand to the muck.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
27,500 | -2,500 |
Victor Ramdin Headed Back in Right Direction
Level 1
: 50/100, 0 ante
With around 1,500 in the pot and a board reading 
, PokerStars qualifier Povilas Astasauskas, who hails from Lithuania, checked from middle position and Victor Ramdin bet 1,350 from the button.
Astasauskas made the call and then both players checked the 
river. Astasauskas hesitantly showed the 
for nut no pair, and then Ramdin rolled over the 
for a pair of nines and the win.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
27,800 | 2,800 |