Main Event
Day 1a Completed
2015 Mid-States Poker Tour FireKeepers Casino
Main Event
Day: 1a
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2015 Mid-States Poker Tour FireKeepers Casino
Buy-in
$1,000
Entries
614
Level
30
Blinds
50,000 / 100,000
Ante
10,000
Newman Leads Day 1a; Pupillo Bags a Heap
Level 14
: 1,200/2,400, 400 ante
They say chips flow to the left in poker. They certainly did for Brian Newman on Day 1a of Mid-States Poker Tour FireKeepers Casino, as he got full value out of a positional advantage against a fellow big stack en route to bagging 438,500 for a wide lead over second-place finisher and former MSPT Player of the Year Patrick Steele, who ended with 312,500.
The event drew a very solid turnout of 156 runners, far ahead of the 122 the tour drew for Day 1a last time it was in Battle Creek, Mich. Of those, 30 survived the 14 levels of play, including MSPT team pro Nick Pupillo (227,500), David Gutfreund (119,000), Adam Friedman (118,500), defending champ Ryan Dykhouse (97,500), and Nick Jivkov (71,000), who already has one MSPT title on his résumé.
Newman spent the critical later levels of the night seated to the left of one-time chip leader Brian Stevens. That positional advantage fueled his late surge as he clashed repeatedly with Stevens. First, Stevens min-raised in the small blind to 4,000 and saw Newman make it 9,000. Stevens called, seeing a 
flop. He check-called 10,000, and both players checked the 
turn. Stevens fired 25,000 on the 
river, but the bluff proved to be ill-timed as Newman snapped it off with the 
and was shown the 
.
Then, on a completed board of 
during that same level, Stevens bet 30,000, only to have Newman shove all in for about 110,000 more. Stevens folded, and Newman showed the 
for the monster bluff. He eventually finished Stevens off in the final level of the night with 
on a 
flop against 
.
Pupillo, the subject of a recent PokerNewsfeature piece, has been on a tear recently, coming off of a victory in HPT Ameristar East Chicago for more than $120,000. He won a huge late flip in a five-bet pot with the 
when he held against the 
unimproved.
Some players who did not advance included Steve Anderson, Jose Serratos, Bruce "Hammer" Swart, Howard Hankin, Dash Dudley, Tom Midena, and Allen "Chainsaw" Kessler.
There's a quick turnaround to Day 1b, which begins at noon on Friday, so come back to PokerNews for more live updates.
End-of-Day Counts (full)
Level 14
: 1,200/2,400, 400 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
438,500 | 128,500 |
|
312,500 | |
|
237,500 | 42,500 |
|
227,500 | 27,500 |
|
145,000 | 145,000 |
|
144,500 | 144,500 |
|
119,000 | 25,000 |
|
118,500 | -41,500 |
|
97,500 | 15,500 |
|
|
92,000 | 11,200 |
|
89,500 | 89,500 |
|
|
85,000 | 85,000 |
|
84,000 | -16,000 |
|
|
76,000 | 76,000 |
|
|
75,000 | 75,000 |
|
|
74,500 | 74,500 |
|
71,000 | 13,500 |
|
70,000 | 70,000 |
|
64,500 | 64,500 |
|
|
63,500 | 63,500 |
|
|
54,500 | 54,500 |
|
|
54,000 | 33,500 |
|
|
52,000 | 52,000 |
|
|
48,500 | 48,500 |
|
|
46,500 | 46,500 |
Leader to Zero
Level 14
: 1,200/2,400, 400 ante
Brian Stevens' stack was the envy of the room a few short hours ago, but he just couldn't get anything done against Brian Newman. On a flop, Stevens lost the last of his stack to his rival when he bet-three-bet all in and got snap-called by Newman's . Stevens has and did not improve.
Players are bagging up for the night.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
Busted |
Pupillo Wins Huge Late Flip
Level 14
: 1,200/2,400, 400 ante
A player on the button opened for a raise and saw Nick Pupillo three-bet to 14,000 in the small blind. The player on the button came back with 36,400. Pupillo counted down his stack and then announced he was all in. That put his opponent at risk for around 85,000.
"Can't fold now," the player muttered, though he still thought about 30 seconds before calling.
Pupillo:
Opponent:
The board came down in Pupillo's favor: 
.
"F***," the player with ace-queen said. "Good hand, boss."
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
200,000 | 50,000 |
Friedman Gets Value
Level 14
: 1,200/2,400, 400 ante
Cutoff Adam Friedman check-called 6,600 on a 
flop against Ted Choe. Both players checked the 
, and Friedman bet 9,900 on the river. Choe softly verbalized a call, and Friedman announced a set and tabled 
. It was good.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
160,000 | 4,500 |
|
|
80,800 | -31,500 |
Level: 14
Blinds: 1,200/2,400
Ante: 400
Stevens Stops the Bleeding
Level 13
: 1,000/2,000, 300 ante
Brian Stevens righted the ship a bit after a 
flop when a player in middle position shoved for about 30,000, falling right into Stevens' waiting calling chips as he had 
. His opponent had 
, and a 
runout shipped Stevens the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
142,000 | 32,000 |
Newman Shows Huge Bluff
Level 13
: 1,000/2,000, 300 ante
We found Brian Stevens locking horns with nemesis Brian Newman again, this time with both in early position. Stevens had bet 30,000 on a board of , and Newman shoved all in, putting Stevens at risk for 110,000 more. Stevens tanked awhile, staring at the board and stretching out his fingers before opting to fold.
Newman instantly flipped .
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
310,000 | 107,000 |
|
|
110,000 | -48,500 |
Friedman's Lives Get There
Level 13
: 1,000/2,000, 300 ante
Adam Friedman opened for 4,200 in middle position, and the cutoff shoved for 13,900.
"Don't worry, you're ahead," Friedman said as he called.
Friedman: 
Cutoff: 
Friedman saw a nice flop, the 
, giving him a straight draw. The turn improved him with a pair, and the river bricked off.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
155,500 | 1,500 |