On an flop, Terry Ring got his last 10,000 or so in holding for top pair. Unfortunately for the Iowan, Petronack had flopped bottom two with , and his hand held for the elimination. Petronack's hot start has him among the leaders early on.
Ervin Bjerga, who is trying to go back-to-back as Mid-States Poker Tour champ after taking down MSPT Running Aces a couple of weeks ago, busted out with on a king-high board against fellow Running Aces final tablist Ernest Garrett, who flopped a set of jacks.
At another table, Aaron Johnson doubled up with a set of aces that he binked on the turn against an opponent who had flopped a set of fives. We didn't see when the money went in.
Andrew "Elmo" Hamm appears to be the leader with 135,000 after busting a player who held on a queen-high board with two hearts. Hamm had and hit his flush on the turn.
Jeff Petronack opened to 2,000 in early position, and Chad Holloway jammed 15,925 from the button. The small blind called, and Petronack folded.
Small blind:
Holloway:
Holloway had been caught shipping light, and he stood up when he saw how crushed he was. A door card was followed by though, just the ticket for Holloway. The turn and river danced around the small blind.
With an unofficial total of 197 runners, Day 1a of Mid-States Poker Tour Ho-Chunk Gaming certainly looked like a major success. The field is threatening to eclipse the Ho-Chunk record 383 runners the MSPT drew here last March.