Another Day 1 flight of RunGood Poker Series Council Bluffs led to another hard as 13 players bagged a couple of levels before things were scheduled to end. The 76 who turned out pushed the two-flight total to 144 for the first $1,100 Main Event on the tour.
Tom Leto was the leader with an overwhelming stack of 328,800, far ahead of Day 1a leader Russell Licking's 240,500. Andre "Aces" Allen (229,900) and Thomas Houston (225,400) also finished with piles. RunGood Pro and two-time RunGood champ Ryan Tepen (133,700) also made it through, as did Phil Mader (83,200), Jeff Brin (71,400), and Terry Karn (32,400).
Allen is looking for another RunGood final table after making eighth place at RunGood North Kansas City for $1,595. He won a big race late when he raised to 7,500 at blinds of 600/1,200/200 and called the shove of a player in the big blind who had 35,700. Allen had and won against when the board came .
The last few levels were very good to Tepen, who is looking to add a trophy here to his wins at North Kansas City and RunGood Cup Championship in 2015. He won with all in preflop against , then took another race with against the sixes of former RunGood Council Bluffs champ Henry Gingerich. Then, Tepen flopped trip threes with and held against an opponent with on a flop to reach the hard stop for the night.
Players firing at least once and finding themselves busto included Ray Henson, Jeff Banghart, Greg Jennings, Aaron Johnson, Jamie Kerstetter, and Ryan Phan.
The 26 remaining runners gather Sunday at 11 a.m. to play to a winner who will claim $40,320.
Ryan Phan said he busted the very first hand back from break. As he told it, he three-bet against a raise and a call, and the opener jammed. Phan called off 50,000 or so and was against . Though the flop was clean for him, his opponent hit an ace on the turn.
Dan Hamm got in a raising war postflop on a board, ending with his last 14,000 or so all in. He had three-bet it preflop, and his opponent under the gun put him at risk with . Hamm had him utterly crushed with though, and a turn ended things for him.
Jeff Brin just sat down but almost immediately found himself all in. As Dan Hamm told it, there were a couple of early limps before Brin raised in middle position, and Jim Devaney reraised in the blinds. An early limper tried calling but accidentally reraised, and Jose Mendoza, who had also limped, go it all in. Brin went all in, as did Devaney, and the limper followed suit.
Brin:
Mendoza:
Early position:
Devaney:
Devaney had the lead but it evaporated in short order as flopped. The turn gave Brin even more of a stranglehold, and the sent him the pot, busting three opponents in the process.
The very first $1,100 Main Event of the RunGood Poker Series has one flight in the books, and Day 1b is on tap for today after 68 players showed up for Day 1a, with 13 advancing.
Russell Licking and Justin Gardenhire dominated proceedings on the opening day, with Licking setting the bar to clear at 240,500 if anyone from Day 1b hopes to take the overall chip lead.
Day 1a play reached Level 15 before a hard stop was hit with 13 players, so 14-plus levels are on top once again for Day 1b, with each lasting 40 minutes under the new, longer structure for RunGood Poker Series. Again, players start with 20,000 in chips with 50/100 blinds, working up to 1,500/3,000/500. Unlimited reentry is allowed until the close of dinner break after Level 9.
Cards are scheduled to fly at noon local time at Horseshoe Council Bluffs.
and won against 
when the board came 
. 
all in preflop against 
, then took another race with 
against the sixes of former RunGood Council Bluffs champ Henry Gingerich. Then, Tepen flopped trip threes with 
and held against an opponent with 
on a 
flop to reach the hard stop for the night. 
. Hamm had him utterly crushed with 
though, and a 
turn ended things for him.
flopped. The 
turn gave Brin even more of a stranglehold, and the 
sent him the pot, busting three opponents in the process.
