Main Event
Day 1a Completed
Main Event
Day 1a Completed
Day 1a of the Mid-States Poker Tour's annual visit to Grand Falls Casino just outside of Sioux Falls, South Dakota ended with 23 runners surviving out of 110 entrants. A familiar name lurks in second place after 14 levels: Mark Hodge, who has already racked up six cashes on the tour this year for more than $50,000. The Minnesota native bagged 145,000, second only to Alan Curl's 241,500.
That's not the only place Hodge finds himself in second. MSPT Team Pro Blake Bohn has built a solid lead with 3,000 Player of the Year points after taking down MSPT Meskwaki, but Hodge sits well within striking distance at 2,590. Last year, the winner of this tournament got 1,200 points. With Bohn not returning to defend his MSPT Grand Falls title, Hodge has a golden opportunity to take the lead.
Hodge needed a stroke of good luck to bag up. In the penultimate level of the night (1,000/2,000/3,000), Hodge saw a flop of with position on two opponents. Todd Melander fired a continuation-bet of 8,000, and Hodge called. The big blind made it 22,000, and only Hodge continued. On the turn, the big blind bet 27,000 and called Hodge's shove of 28,500 more with the . Hodge held the and needed help. He called for a four or six, and the did indeed arrive.
Others set to join Hodge and Curl for Sunday's Day 2 included Judd Greenagel (133,500), Matt Alexander (133,500), Max Bergquist (131,500), Peixin Liu (116,500), Phil Mader (102,500), Taylor Tollefson (66,000), Larry Ormson (58,500), and Melander (53,500).
Alexander's willingness to give action pays off when he flops a big hand, as he did when he got an opponent to commit stacks on a flop with . Alexander had flopped trips in the big blind with , and he easily held for a pot of over 50,000 at 500/1,000/100 blinds.
Players culled during the course of Day 1a play will have two more bullets available for Saturday's Day 1b, which starts at 4 p.m. Among them: Duane Gerleman, Mike Ross, Mark Fink, "DQ" Dan Hendrickson, Mike Lang, "Red Bull" Robbie Thompson, Aaron Johnson, and Alexander's fellow team pro Matt Kirby.
As always, PokerNews will be back for more live coverage.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Alan Curl | 241,500 | 241,500 |
Mark Hodge | 145,000 | -26,000 |
Judd Greenagel | 133,500 | -11,500 |
Matt Alexander
|
133,500 | -6,500 |
Max Bergquist | 131,500 | -3,500 |
Ryan Skluzak | 120,000 | -5,000 |
Peixin Liu | 116,500 | -13,500 |
Brian Davis | 105,500 | -8,500 |
Phil Mader | 102,500 | 7,500 |
Kim Rasmussen | 98,500 | 98,500 |
Scott Knoll
|
93,500 | 93,500 |
Henry Terwee | 87,500 | 87,500 |
Trevis Devericks | 86,000 | -1,000 |
Mike Headland
|
75,500 | 25,500 |
Gale Fennema | 69,000 | 69,000 |
Lynette Unzelman
|
67,000 | 67,000 |
Taylor Tollefson | 66,000 | 22,000 |
Dennis Dykes | 63,000 | 63,000 |
Gary Ewald | 62,000 | 62,000 |
Tom Sundling | 58,500 | -41,500 |
Larry Ormson | 58,500 | 11,500 |
Todd Melander | 53,500 | -42,200 |
John Miller | 43,000 | 43,000 |
Aaron Johnson put his last 24,400 in with but ran into an opponent holding . A flop effectively ended Johnson's hopes.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Aaron Johnson | Busted |
We found Taylor Tollefson in the cutoff tanking for his tournament life on a board of . Max Bergquist had forced in for about 44,000, and Tollefson mucked about a minute after we arrived. Bergquist quickly flipped and dragged the pot.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Max Bergquist | 135,000 | 45,000 |
Taylor Tollefson | 44,000 | 17,000 |
Play is moving extremely slowly at the moment, with very few pots seeing meaningful action.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Judd Greenagel | 145,000 | 82,000 |
Peixin Liu | 130,000 | 84,600 |
Brian Davis | 114,000 | -3,000 |
Phil Mader | 95,000 | 64,300 |
Max Bergquist | 90,000 | 45,000 |
Aaron Johnson | 24,600 | -58,000 |
Level: 14
Blinds: 1,200/2,400
Ante: 400
Aaron Johnson opened for 4,500 and got a call from the cutoff before Trevis Devericks jammed for 37,300. The big blind called, and everyone else folded.
Devericks:
Big blind:
The board ran out , and Devericks doubled up.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Trevis Devericks | 87,000 | 26,000 |
Todd Melander bet 8,000 on a flop, and Mark Hodge called from the cutoff. The big blind, who had checked, fired out a check-raise to 22,000. Melander folded with a sigh and Hodge called. A fell on fourth, and the big blind bet 27,000. Hodge shoved for 28,500 more, and the big blind called.
Big blind:
Hodge:
Hodge called for a six or four to pair the board, and he got exactly that as the fell.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Mark Hodge | 171,000 | 131,000 |