Main Event Day 1a | 2014 Mid-States Poker Tour Meskwaki Casino

04-05-2014 02:50 UTC-5

Matt Kirby Tops Record Day 1a Field

mnuwwarah

Level 14 : 1,200/2,400, 400 ante

Matt Kirby bagged 345,500 to lead the 30 survivors.

Matt Kirby ended up with 345,500 chips after 14 levels of play to top an MSPT-record 175 runners here on Day 1a at Meskwaki Casino.

A total of 30 players bagged up stacks to bring back for Day 2 on Sunday, and there's a stark divide between the haves and have-nots. Gennady Shimelfarb (322,500), Jeremy Putthoff (322,000), and Ryan Tepen (304,000) bagged the next three largest stacks, well clear of Carlos Monteiro (229,500) in fifth. He in turn has about 70,000 more than Hamid Feiz in sixth.

Kirby was able to fight his way back to the top of the counts after losing one of the biggest pots of the night to Tepen, who opened to 2,500 and got two callers before another player shoved all in for 21,500. Tepen made the call, and the first caller called off his stack for about 15,000. Kirby then shoved with a stack that covered Tepen, and he called off for 91,800.

Tepen:
Kirby:
First short stack:
Second short stack:

The flop brought a king for Kirby, leaving him likely to bust all three of his opponents, but Tepen managed to find the on the river to take down the huge pot and bust two opponents, leaving Kirby with about 20 big blinds.

Kirby was already back to a healthy stack when he lured Travis Lauson in with a classic slowplay. We picked up the action on the turn, when Lauson bet 35,000 with the board reading , and Kirby called on the button. On the river Lauson shoved for about 50,000, and Kirby called instantly. Lauson slowly flipped , knowing he was beat, and Kirby showed for a boat.

That pot left Kirby with about 250,000, and he was able to keep chipping up from there to his final room-leading count.

Other notable survivors today include Grant Hinkle (136,000), David Gutfreund (131,500), Terry Ring (99,500), Lance Harris (98,000), Brett Schwertley (48,000), and Dustin Dirksen (42,000).

Among those who will have to take their chances on Day 1b after failing to advance today: Kou Vang, Leon Morford, Jeff Grimes, Allen Kessler, Blake Bohn, Taylor Tollefson, Travis Lauson, DJ Buckley, James Mackey, Mike Deis, Mark Sandness, Blair Hinkle, Aaron Johnson, and Jeff Bryan.

Be sure to tune in tomorrow for Day 1b as these players and many other built up stacks in preparation for Day 2.

Tags: Allen Kessler Blair Hinkle Blake Bohn Brett Schwertley DJ Buckley Dustin Dirksen Gennady Shimelfarb Grant Hinkle James Mackey Kou Vang Lance Harris Mark Sandness Matt Kirby Mike Deis Ryan Tepen Taylor Tollefson Terry Ring Travis Lauson

04-05-2014 01:15 UTC-5

Kirby Ropes Lauson In

mnuwwarah

Level 13 : 1,000/2,000, 300 ante

Travis Lauson bet 35,000 with the board reading , and Matt Kirby called on the button. On the river Lauson shoved for about 50,000, and Kirby called instantly. Lauson slowly flipped , knowing he was beat, and Kirby showed for a boat.

Player	Chips	Progress
Matt Kirby	250,000	222,000
Travis Lauson	Busted

Tags: Matt Kirby Travis Lauson

04-05-2014 00:39 UTC-5

Shimelfarb Doubles in Huge Pot

mnuwwarah

Level 12 : 800/1,600, 200 ante

Gennady Shimelfarb opened for 4,000 in middle position, and a player three-bet to 12,000 in the cutoff. Shimelfarb made the call, and the two saw a flop. Shimelfarb check-called 8,000, and he checked the turn. The cutoff bet 15,000, and Shimelfarb made it 40,000. The cutoff called. Shimelfarb then pushed all in for 49,900 on the river, and the cutoff thought for a couple of minutes before verbalizing a call.

Shimelfarb tabled for kings full, and his opponent could only tell him that it was a nice hand indeed.

Players are now on a 10-minute break.

Player	Chips	Progress
Gennady Shimelfarb	225,000	203,000

Tags: Gennady Shimelfarb

04-04-2014 23:53 UTC-5

Tepen Drags Biggest Pot Yet

mnuwwarah

Level 11 : 600/1,200, 200 ante

Ryan Tepen won the biggest pot we've seen tonight.

According to Ryan Tepen, he opened to 2,500 and got two callers before another player shoved all in for 21,500. Tepen made the call, and the first caller called off his stack for about 15,000. Matt Kirby then shoved with a stack that covered Tepen, and he called off for 91,800.

Tepen:
Kirby:
First short stack:
Second short stack:

The flop brought a king for Kirby, leaving him likely to bust all three of his opponents, but Tepen managed to find the on the river to take down the huge pot and bust two opponents, leaving Kirby with about 20 big blinds.

Player	Chips	Progress
Ryan Tepen	210,500	500
Matt Kirby	28,000	-90,000

Tags: Matt Kirby Ryan Tepen

04-04-2014 23:12 UTC-5

Harris Takes a Beat

mnuwwarah

Level 10 : 500/1,000, 100 ante

A player opened for 2,700 in middle position, and Casey Johnson pushed all in from the hijack for 16,000. Lance Harris called on the button, and everyone else folded, including the raiser.

"Big hand?" Johnson asked.

Johnson:
Harris:

"Eh, get some sleep tonight," Johnson said as he got out of his seat.

"You're fine," his neighbor assured him.

Sure enough, the dealer spread a flop of .

"See, you're fine!" the player reiterated.

The and completed the board, and Johnson retook his seat with an apology to Harris.

Player	Chips	Progress
Lance Harris	43,200	-1,300
Casey Johnson	37,000	3,400

Tags: Lance Harris Casey Johnson

04-04-2014 22:55 UTC-5

Carpenter Cripples Hinkle

mnuwwarah

Level 10 : 500/1,000, 100 ante

Blair Hinkle lost nearly all of his chips in a race.

Blair Hinkle and Cash Carpenter got all in before the flop, with Hinkle covering Carpenter's 43,100.

Carpenter:
Hinkle:

Hinkle was dead on the turn when the community came , and he was left with just 2,500. He doubled up the next hand with when he rivered a straight against Mark Sandness' , but he still has a very short stack.

Player	Chips	Progress
Cash Carpenter	89,000
Blair Hinkle	6,000	-56,000

Tags: Blair Hinkle Cash Carpenter

04-04-2014 22:36 UTC-5

Record Field

mnuwwarah

Level 10 : 500/1,000, 100 ante

Mid-States Poker Tour Meskwaki set a new record.

According to an MSPT official, today's 175 entrants marks a new record for a Day 1a.

04-04-2014 20:34 UTC-5

Kirby Busts Two

mnuwwarah

Level 7 : 250/500, 50 ante

Matt Kirby opened for 1,200 under the gun, and a player three-bet to 2,100 in middle position. The button shoved for about 15,000, and Kirby moved all in as well. The three-bettor snap-called with about 30,000 total.

Kirby:
Middle position:
Button:

The flop came , giving Kirby and the button heart flush draws. An turn left Kirby with a near-lock, needing to fade only the . The river was safe, and the dealer determined that Kirby had his opponents covered after stacks were counted down.

Player	Chips	Progress
Matt Kirby	66,000	46,000

Tags: Matt Kirby

04-04-2014 18:46 UTC-5

Unlucky 13

mnuwwarah

Level 4 : 100/200, 25 ante

From left: Kou Vang, Blair Hinkle, Mark Sandness

Three very tough players have drawn three very unfortunate seats: Kou Vang ($589,493 in live cashes), Blair Hinkle ($3,515,803), and Mark Sandness ($363,322) are all seated next to each other at Table 13. That's an even bigger beat for their opponents, who have to contend with these three for the time being. Vang is seeking his fourth Mid-States Poker Tour final table of the year, while Sandness looks to add a second win after taking down the first event of the season for just over $90,000.

Tags: Blair Hinkle Kou Vang Mark Sandness

04-04-2014 18:04 UTC-5

Vang Busted

mnuwwarah

Level 3 : 100/200, 0 ante

Kou Vang opened for what appeared to be 500 and saw the player in the hijack three-bet to 1,000. The small blind called, and Vang called. Action checked to the raiser on the flop, and he bet 2,000. The small blind raised to 5,000, and Vang shoved for a bit less. The hijack folded.