$800 Main Event Day 1a | 2026 RGPS Passport Tulsa

01-24-2026 03:34 UTC-5

Bunch Doubles; Hinkle Exits

Nick Becker

Level 14 : Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante

Lauren Bunch got it all in preflop for 76,000 from under the gun against Grant Hinkle in the big blind who covered.

Lauren Bunch: A♠K♥ All in
Grant Hinkle: 9♣9♥

It was a fair fight, but Bunch pulled ahead on the 8♦K♣Q♥ flop, pairing her king. The turn landed the 5♠ and the river fell the K♠, earning her the double up.

Shortly after, Hinkle got it all in preflop with K♣Q♣ and ran into the A♠A♣ of Brian Winter. Hinkle couldn't find any help on the 10♠7♠2♣9♠5♥ runout and he was sent to the rail.

Player	Chips	Progress
Brian Winter	266,000 121,000	121,000
Lauren Bunch	161,000 41,000	41,000
Grant Hinkle	Busted

Tags: Grant Hinkle Lauren Bunch

01-24-2026 03:23 UTC-5

Aurentz Takes from Winter

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Nick Becker

Level 14 : Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante

Brian Winter raised to 12,000 in the hijack and Cory Aurentz defended in the big blind.

The flop of 6♠6♣4♠ checked through to the Q♥ turn where Aurentz checked again. Winter bet 12,000 and Aurentz made the call, bringing the 4♦ river.

Aurentz led out with a bet of 35,000, prompting Winter to take some time to think through his decision. Winter eventually opted to give up his hand, which proved to be the right choice when Aurentz showed K♦6♦ for the full house.

Player	Chips	Progress
Cory Aurentz	170,000 111,000	111,000
Brian Winter	145,000 50,000	50,000

Tags: Brian Winter Cory Aurentz

01-24-2026 03:11 UTC-5

Karn Doubles as Bubble Nears

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Nick Becker

Level 14 : Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante

Derrick Plumage raised to 15,000 in the cutoff, Papa Karn flatted on the button, and Jesse Jones three-bet jammed in the small blind having both of his opponents covered. Plumage got out of the way and Karn made the call.

Papa Karn: 7♣7♥ All in
Jesse Jones: 2♣2♦

Karn's pair of sevens remained in the lead all the way as the board ran out 9♦8♣3♦K♠6♥, earning him the double up.

Player	Chips	Progress
Papa Karn	229,000 9,000	9,000
Derrick Plumage	100,000 100,000	100,000
Jesse Jones	63,000 92,000	92,000

Tags: Derrick Plumage Jesse Jones Papa Karn

Level: 14

Blinds: 3,000/6,000

Ante: 6,000

01-24-2026 03:04 UTC-5

Life Outside Poker: Mounir Tajiou Brings No Filter to Life w/ Scotty Nguyen, Michael Mizrachi & Juha Helppi

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Nick Becker

Level 13 : Blinds 3,000/5,000, 5,000 ante

Life Outside Poker is a podcast for PokerNews hosted by Connor Richards that seeks to pull back the curtain on poker players and allow viewers and listeners to get to know them on a personal level.

In the 35th episode, Connor talks with No Filter Poker Series founder Mounir Tajiou about growing up in Sweden, working as a high court judge, playing professional soccer, making a deep run in the 2025 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, and the new No Filter Poker Series, which values fun at the table over poker strategy.

We also hear from 1998 Main Event champion Scotty Nguyen, reigning WSOP champ Michael Mizrachi and Finnish poker legend Juha Helppi about their involvement with the No Filter Poker tour.

Learn More About Life Outside Poker!

01-24-2026 02:52 UTC-5

Hinkle Doubles in Dramatic Fashion

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Nick Becker

Level 13 : Blinds 3,000/5,000, 5,000 ante

Grant Hinkle open-shoved in the hijack for 79,000 and Cory Aurentz reshoved in the small blind to isolate. Jason Gambill folded in the big blind.

Cory Aurentz: Q♠Q♦ All in
Grant Hinkle: 8♠8♥

Hinkle picked up additional outs on the 10♦6♣7♠ flop with a gutshot. The 2♣ turn offered him no help, but he got there when the 9♠ rolled off on the river to keep his tournament hopes alive.

Player	Chips	Progress
Grant Hinkle	168,000 98,000	98,000

Cory Aurentz	59,000 166,000	166,000

Tags: Cory Aurentz Grant Hinkle

01-24-2026 02:40 UTC-5

Ladies for the Lady

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Nick Becker

Level 13 : Blinds 3,000/5,000, 5,000 ante

Jesse Jones raised to 19,000 on the button and Tracey Rudd three-bet jammed for 65,000 in the big blind to put herself at risk. Jones thought for a moment before flicking in the call.

Tracey Rudd: Q♠Q♥ All in
Jesse Jones: K♠5♥

The flop came 2♠10♥A♣ with Rudd's pair of queens still in the lead. The turn landed the J♥ and the K♣ completed the board, improving Rudd to Broadway.

Player	Chips	Progress
Jesse Jones	155,000 175,000	175,000

Tracey Rudd	138,000 13,000	13,000

Tags: Jesse Jones Tracey Rudd

01-24-2026 02:35 UTC-5

Wyatt Ships It with Trips

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Nick Becker

Level 13 : Blinds 3,000/5,000, 5,000 ante

Derrick Plumage raised to 15,000 in the cutoff and Josh Wyatt defended in the big blind.

The flop came J♦A♠A♦ and Wyatt check-raised all in for about 100,000 after Plumage continued with a bet of 23,000.

Plumage quickly folded and Wyatt showed A♥4♥ for trip aces and he dragged in the pot.

Player	Chips	Progress
Derrick Plumage	200,000 25,000	25,000
Josh Wyatt	150,000 20,000	20,000

Tags: Derrick Plumage Josh Wyatt

Level: 13

Blinds: 3,000/5,000

Ante: 5,000

01-24-2026 02:24 UTC-5

88-Year-Old Grandma Spanks Poker Players for $10,000 | PokerNews Podcast #935

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Nick Becker

Level 12 : Blinds 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante

In the 935th episode of the PokerNews Podcast, Chad Holloway, Mike Holtz, and Ben Ludlow talk about Linda “Granny” Hammons, an 88-year-old who discovered her favorite slot machines had been removed so decided to play her first-ever poker tournament. It took place at the Beau Rivage Million Dollar Heater down in Mississippi, and she did quite well while capturing the hearts of the poker community. Bill Phillips from the Gulf Coast Poker event caught up with her in a set-down interview he shared with PokerNews.

From there, the trio looks at the straight flush misclick by Sebastian Huber, Martin Zamani's video of a poker bot farm that had the community up in arms, and a pair of poker cheats caught down at The Lodge in Austin, Texas. Speaking of which, the RunGood Poker Series (RGPS) is headed to the cardroom, and Andrew Neeme is happy to tell you about it.

From there, it's welcoming 8131 Media as the official photography partner of PokerNews, and a preview of this weekend's Daniel “Jungleman” Cates vs. sports bettor "Elf", where PokerNews will be on-site to report all the action.

Finally, learned who won our giveaway for a limited edition deck of cards tied to Lost in the Shuffle, a documentary that explores the history of playing cards through the lens of magic.

Find out all about those stories and more in this week's episode of the PokerNews Podcast! Oh, and be sure to check out the audio version of the PokerNews Podcast that is available on all major podcasting platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and SoundCloud.

A new PokerNews Podcast drops every Thursday at 8a PT / 11a ET / 4p UK time. Remember to subscribe to our YouTube channel so you do not miss an episode!

Click here to listen to the new PN Podcast!