Yani Fangayen built up his stack by busting an all-in opponent who couldn't get there with his ace-high against the pocket eights of Fangayen. Fangayen estimated that he had about 45,000 chips after the hand.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
45,000 |
Level: 6
Blinds: 300/600
Ante: 600
Matt Kramer three-bet jammed a short stack from the big blind and his opponent called after opening on the button.
Kramer: 
Opponent: 
It looked like elimination for Kramer but the board ran out 
and he secured a double-up to 12,000 with a Broadway straight.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
12,000 |
Joe Nguyen opened for the second hand in a row, this time in the cutoff for 900. Only the small blind called.
Nguyen fired with a 1,100 bet on the 
flop and got a call from his opponent. Nguyen kept barreling for 1,900 when checked to on the 
turn and his opponent folded.
Nguyen is off to a good start early in the day and looked to have about 60,000 chips.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
60,000 | 60,000 |
Level: 5
Blinds: 200/400
Ante: 400
Players took a 15-minute break from the action at the end of Level 4.
Lay Saelee raised to 800 in middle position and got four callers, including Arish Nat in the big blind.
The flop of 
checked through and Saelee continued with a bet of 600 on the 
turn.
Nat responded with a check-raise on the double-paired board and got a fold from everyone in the hand.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
25,000 | 25,000 |
The RunGood Poker Series (RGPS) was born out of RunGoodGear, a premier poker clothing company founded in 2012. From its humble beginnings, which included president Tana Karnchanakphan (AKA Tana Karn), distributing RunGood shirts out of a backpack at the World Series of Poker (WSOP), the RGPS tour launched in 2014 and had established itself as a major force in the mid-major market. In fact, it won “Mid-Major Tour/Circuit” in back-to-back years at the Global Poker Awards (2018 & 2019).
The RGPS is a two-time Global Poker Award-winning tour for “Mid-Major Tour/Circuit”. The tour usually hosts weeklong festivals comprised of affordable side events culminating in traditionally $575-$675 Main Events, which run Friday-Sunday.
Each season of the RGPS, which currently awards championship rings but has previously awarded medallions, championship belts, and even cowboy boots, comes with a fun theme. Some of the themes from past seasons include “Showbound”, “Game Seven”, “RunGood Cup”, “Old West”, a charity-themed season with Operation Gratitude, and their post-pandemic “Comeback Tour”.
They have also formed a partnership with PokerGO to send players to an end-of-year, 64-player tournament to be filmed at PokerGO Studios in Las Vegas.
The RGPS holds stops throughout the year across the country. In the past, they’ve hosted two themed seasons each year – the first taking place in the first half of the year before the WSOP, and the other in the second half of the year after the WSOP.
Over the years, PokerNews has offered live updates from many RGPS tournaments and continues to do so.
The RGPS tour launched in 2014 with three stops starting with its inaugural stop at Downstream Casino & Resort in Quapaw, Oklahoma. Bernard Lee topped a 344-entry field, including Ross Bybee in heads-up play, to win the $675 Main Event for $47,555.
Bybee redeemed himself at the next stop at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa when he bested a 317-entry field to win the $675 Main Event for $26,440 after a four-way deal. A month later, the RGPS returned to Downstream and hosted another $675 Main Event, which attracted 262 runners and saw Mark Martin come out on top to claim a $36,218 first-place prize.
In 2015, the tour expanded to seven stops after adding Horseshoe Council Bluffs and an RGPS Cup Championship in New Orleans. The following year, six stops were held including a pair in North Kansas City, while a total of seven stops took place in 2017.
In 2018, Horseshoe Bossier City joined the tour, as did the first-ever RGPS Global Championship Cruise, which was won by Shawn Sparks for $21,417. That year saw 13 stops, but in 2019 that jumped to 17 thanks to Horseshoe Tunica joining the fray.
In 2020, a new stop Jamul Casino in San Diego was held before the global pandemic put the tour on hiatus. It took a year, but the RGPS stormed back in 2021 with a “Comeback Tour” and resumed making its mark in the mid-major market, including at new stops at Florida’s Seminole Hard Rock Coconut Creek and California’s Thunder Valley.
As of August 2021, Daniel Lowery sits atop both the RGPS all-time money list ($188,794) and most titles (7). Lowery also tops the list for most RGPS cashes with 40, as well as most top 10 finishers with 22.
Justin Gardenhire sits behind him with $186,669 in earnings, 5 titles, 20 top 10 finishes, and 33 cashes. Meanwhile, Blair Hinkle has established himself as a force on the tour with $141,296 in earnings from three titles.
Other players with three titles to their credit are Preston McEwen, James Devaney, Derrick Contreras, Eric Bunch, Julie Anna Cornelius, Rodney Spriggs, Michael Albert, John Heckenkamp, and Ross Bybee.
See more RGPS stats and results on The Hendon Mob. In addition to following live updates on PokerNews, you can follow @RGPokerSeries on Twitter or visit rungoodgear.com.
Level: 4
Blinds: 200/300
Ante: 300
Leonard Boltasiu raised to 1,200 in the big blind and got a call from an in-position opponent. Boltasiu continued with a bet of 2,100 on the 
flop and his opponent called, and called again when Boltasiu bet on the 
turn.
Boltasiu slowed down and checked the 
river and his opponent fired for 6,000. Boltasiu called. His opponent tabled his hand but quickly mucked when Boltasiu showed the winner with pocket tens. Shorty after the hand he told PokerNews his stack was around three-times starting stack at approximately 60,000.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
60,000 | 60,000 |
