2017 Poker Masters

Event #1 $50,000 No-Limit Hold'em
Day: 1
Event Info

2017 Poker Masters

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
ak
Prize
$918,000
Event Info
Buy-in
$50,000
Prize Pool
$2,550,000
Entries
51
Level Info
Level
28
Blinds
60,000 / 120,000
Ante
120,000

Diamond Check Leads to Zach Hyman's Elimination

Level 5 : 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante
Cary Katz during 2017 SHRB
Cary Katz during 2017 SHRB

Cary Katz raised to 5,000 from the hijack and Ben Lamb called from the button. Zach Hyman, who was on his second bullet, then three-bet to 21,000 from the small blind and Katz called. Lamb got out of the way and the flop came down {2-Diamonds}{a-Diamonds}{9-Diamonds}.

"Diamond check," Hyman said before looking back at his cards. Katz, who hear the word "check," then tapped the table for what he thought was a check behind.

The dealer asked Hyman if he had checked, and since he hadn't he opted to bet.

"I'll keep it small," he said before betting 10,000. Katz quickly min-raised to 20,000. "All in," Hyman responded, which committed his stack of approximately 90,000. Katz snap called.

Katz: {a-Spades}{k-Diamonds}
Hyman: {q-Diamonds}{q-Spades}

It was a bad spot for Hyman as Katz had flopped top pair with a better diamond draw. The {6-Diamonds} turn gave Katz the nut flush, and Hyman had no recourse but to exit the tournament area after the meaningless {3-Clubs} was run out on the river.

Player Chips Progress
Cary Katz us
Cary Katz
300,000
145,000
145,000
Zach Hyman us
Zach Hyman
Busted

Tags: Cary KatzZach Hyman

A Complete Guide to the Poker Masters: The Players, Side Bets and More

Level 5 : 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante

PokerGO is working hard to give its subscribers their money's worth. With the reboot of Poker After Dark, the addition of World Poker Tour main event final tables, and the new high roller tournament sensation, Poker Masters, there is plenty of new live streaming poker content to keep the community happy.

To continue reading Kim Yuhl's article, A Complete Guide to the Poker Masters: The Players, Side Bets and More, click here.

Bye-Bye Justin Bonomo

Level 4 : 1,000/1,500, 1,500 ante
Justin Bonomo during the 2017 WSOP.
Justin Bonomo during the 2017 WSOP.

Action folded around to Justin Bonomo on the button and he raised to 4,000. Christian Christner responded by three-betting to 17,500 from the small blind and Bonomo just called to see the {2-Hearts}{j-Clubs}{4-Diamonds} flop.

Christner bet 35,000, and Bonomo called off for his remaining 34,000.

Bonomo: {5-Clubs}{5-Hearts}
Christner: {k-Spades}{q-Clubs}

Bonomo got it in good, and he was looking to hold to ship the double. The {7-Diamonds} turn was safe, but the {q-Diamonds} river was not. Christner paired his queen and Bonomo was sent to the rail.

Player Chips Progress
Christian Christner de
Christian Christner
230,000
60,000
60,000
Justin Bonomo us
Justin Bonomo
Busted
WSOP 3X Winner

Tags: Christian ChristnerJustin Bonomo

Phil Hellmuth Doubles Through Chip Leader 15 Minutes In

Level 4 : 1,000/1,500, 1,500 ante
Phil Hellmuth in the 2017 SHRB
Phil Hellmuth in the 2017 SHRB

Chip leader Jake Schindler raised to 3,500 under the gun and Phil Hellmuth, who had entered the tournament minutes prior, called next to act. Christian Christner came along from the big blind and three players took a flop of {5-Clubs}{4-Hearts}{3-Spades}.

All three players checked, and then both Christner and Schindler checked the {a-Diamonds} turn. Hellmuth took the opportunity to bet 5,000, Christner folded, and Schindler woke up with a check-raise to 18,000.

Hellmuth called the additional 13,000 and the {4-Diamonds} completed the board on the river. Schindler spiked in a tall stack of blue T5,000 chips, and Hellmuth quickly used both hands to slide in all of his chips, which was 103,500.

Schindler's bet was more than that, and he sheepishly showed the {q-Spades}{j-Spades} for a bluff. Hellmuth then tabled the {3-Hearts}{3-Clubs} for a full house and the double.

Player Chips Progress
Phil Hellmuth us
Phil Hellmuth
255,000
130,000
130,000
WSOP Main Event Champion
WSOP 17X Winner
Poker Hall of Famer
Jake Schindler us
Jake Schindler
140,000
-135,000
-135,000
WSOP 1X Winner

Tags: Jake SchindlerPhil Hellmuth

Christian Christner Doubles Through Justin Bonomo

Level 3 : 500/1,500, 1,500 ante
Christian Christner during the 2017 SHRB.
Christian Christner during the 2017 SHRB.

Christian Christner raised to 5,000 under the gun and then called Justin Bonomo's three-bet to 14,000 from the big blind.

The {j-Clubs}{9-Spades}{6-Spades} flop saw Bonomo lead out for 10,000, and Christner called to see the {10-Spades} turn. Bonomo eyed up his opponent's stack of 58,500 and then announced all in. Christner wasted little time in calling off.

Bonomo: {a-Spades}{10-Clubs}
Christner: {j-Hearts}{10-Hearts}

Christner was ahead with two pair, but Bonomo could still win with either an ace or non-jack spade on the river. The dealer burned one last time and put out the {5-Clubs} on the river. It was a blank as far as Bonomo was concerned and he sent over the vast majority of his stack.

Player Chips Progress
Christian Christner de
Christian Christner
170,000
85,000
85,000
Justin Bonomo us
Justin Bonomo
18,000
-85,000
-85,000
WSOP 3X Winner

Tags: Christian ChristnerJustin Bonomo

Rough Start for Dan Smith

Level 1 : 500/1,000, 1,000 ante
Dan Smith in the SHRB.
Dan Smith in the SHRB.

It's been a rough 15 minutes for Dan Smith.

We missed the hand as it played out, but we do know he was left with just 12,000 after losing a big pot to Jake Schindler. The former held pocket aces, but the latter had made a set of queens.

Not long after, with 6,000 in the pot and a flop of {6-Clubs}{q-Spades}{k-Spades}, Smith checked from the big blind and then called when Sean Winter bet 1,500 from the cutoff. Both players then checked the {7-Spades} turn before Smith bet 5,000 on the {2-Hearts} river.

"Alright, I'm gonna slow play," Winter said before tossing in a call. Smith confidently tabled the {q-Clubs}{9-Hearts} for a pair of queens, but it was no good as Winter held kings with the {k-Diamonds}{10-Spades}.

In the very next hand, Winter raised it to 2,500 from the hijack and then called when Smith three-bet all in for just 4,500 from the small blind.

Smith: {a-Diamonds}{a-Clubs}
Winter: {j-Spades}{10-Diamonds}

Once again Smith woke up with aces, and this time they held after the board ran out a safe {7-Hearts}{q-Clubs}{q-Hearts}{4-Spades}{3-Diamonds}.

Player Chips Progress
Jake Schindler us
Jake Schindler
225,000
100,000
100,000
WSOP 1X Winner
Dan Smith us
Dan Smith
9,000
-116,000
-116,000
WSOP 1X Winner
WPT 1X Winner

Tags: Dan SmithJake SchindlerSean Winter

Let the Battle for The Poker Masters Purple Jacket™ Begin!

Poker Masters
Poker Masters

Welcome to Day 1 of the inaugural Poker Masters!

The highly-anticipated five-event series kicks off today inside ARIA with the first of four prelims featuring a $50,000 buy-in. The final event will be a $100,000 Championship Event. The player with the best results (highest total earnings) throughout all five tournaments will be deemed Poker Masters Champion and be awarded The Poker Masters Purple Jacket™.

Among those expected to compete in the Poker Masters 14-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth, 2016 Super High Roller Bowl champ Rainer Kempe, and Fedor Holz, who will be filming a documentary all week giving fans a behind-the-scenes look at his Poker Masters experience.

In addition, Daniel Negreanu is betting on himself to become the Poker Masters’ first-ever winner. “Kid Poker” offered a bet of $50,000 that he would win against any one player, and right now he stands to collect $1 million from the field if he does in fact win.

Other players you’ll likely see in action are Brian Rast, Isaac Haxton, Doug Polk, Dan Smith, Scott Seiver, Bryn Kenney, David Peters, Byron Kaverman, Ben Lamb, Justin Bonomo, Ben Tollerene, Stefan Schillhabel, Christoph Vogelsang, Koray Aldemir, Christian Christner, Dominik Nitsche, Adrian Mateos, Sergio Aido, Igor Kurganov and Charlie Carrel.

Event #1, which will be live streamed on PokerGO on a 30-minute delay, is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. PST with the live stream starting at 5 p.m. PST. Players will start with 125,000 in chips and are allowed a single re-entry. Levels will be 30 minutes with a ten-minute break every three levels. Late registration will remain open through Level 9. The plan for the day is to play down to the final table of nine.

Inspired by the Aria High Rollers, the tournament rules are designed to speed up play and are specifically catered to the regular high-stakes players, including:

  • Seven-handed tables
  • A single ante posted by the big blind
  • A 30-second shot clock, with three 60-second time extensions
  • Players may re-enter once per event through level nine (with no re-entry in the final event)
  • Headphones and sunglasses are not allowed

The PokerNews Live Reporting Team will be providing complete coverage from the tournament floor. Our updates will coincide with the live stream, so don't worry — there will be no spoilers for those watching on PokerGO.