Main Event
Day 1a Completed
2015 Mid-States Poker Tour Running Aces
Main Event
Day: 1a
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2015 Mid-States Poker Tour Running Aces
Buy-in
$1,000
Entries
354
Level
27
Blinds
25,000 / 50,000
Ante
5,000
Hodge Bags Huge Day 1a Lead
Level 14
: 1,200/2,400, 400 ante
Mid-States Poker Tour regular Mark Hodge won a huge pot as the night wound down at MSPT Running Aces to lead the 34 survivors of Day 1a. The Minnesota native is a fixture on the tour, having even made the trek to Jacksonville for the first event of the year, where he made the final table but finished 10th for $5,231. Hodge also navigated to the final table of MSPT Canterbury, the final event of 2014, where he took home $15,837 for seventh.
Hodge finds himself in prime position to record a third straight final table primarily because he doubled through Joe Barnard on one of the last hands of the night.
In a battle of the blinds, Hodge checked a 
flop and saw Barnard bet 9,000. Hodge raised to 20,000, and Barnard tossed in a call after some thought. On the 
turn, Hodge bet 15,000, and Barnard cut out enough chips for a raise before electing to just call. Hodge fired once more with 30,000 on the 
river, and Barnard shoved after thinking it over for awhile.
Hodge snap-called and tabled 
for fours full. Barnard winged 
into the middle in disgust, and he had to send Hodge 152,600. Barnard did manage to bag 59,000 to advance to Day 2.
Others joining Hodge and Barnard for Sunday included James Maxey (228,500), James Gibson (204,000), John Reading (181,500), Darren Ficek (125,000), Jeff Fielder (94,500), Todd Melander (94,000), "DQ" Dan Hendrickson (92,000), "East Coast" Mike Ross (70,600), Terry Ring (67,500), Tony Lazar (42,000), and Jeremy Dresch (41,500).
Of course, with 161 runners in the field, plenty of notables failed to advance. Two-time champions Jason Zarlenga and Matt Kirby, Peixin Liu, Adam Dahlin, Everett Carlton, Mike Schneider, Nick Pupillo, Adam Friedman, and Kou Vang were among those missing the cut. They'll have to come back for Day 1b for a shot at the prize pool. That flight kicks off at 4 p.m. local time on Saturday here in Minnesota, and PokerNews will be back on hand to document the day's play.
End-of-Day Chip Counts (full)
Level 14
: 1,200/2,400, 400 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
413,000 | 28,000 |
|
228,500 | 8,500 |
|
204,000 | 204,000 |
|
181,500 | 4,500 |
|
125,000 | 20,000 |
|
116,000 | 116,000 |
|
114,000 | 43,000 |
|
112,500 | -52,500 |
|
109,500 | 109,500 |
|
105,500 | 105,500 |
|
95,000 | 95,000 |
|
94,500 | -65,500 |
|
|
94,000 | 94,000 |
|
94,000 | -53,000 |
|
92,000 | 14,000 |
|
77,000 | 77,000 |
|
|
72,500 | -9,900 |
|
70,500 | 10,500 |
|
|
68,000 | 68,000 |
|
67,500 | 29,500 |
|
|
62,500 | 62,500 |
|
60,500 | 60,500 |
|
59,500 | 27,500 |
|
59,000 | -1,000 |
|
57,500 | 57,500 |
Hodge Takes Massive Chip Lead
Level 14
: 1,200/2,400, 400 ante
In a battle of the blinds, Mark Hodge checked a flop and saw Joe Barnard bet 9,000. Hodge raised to 20,000, and Barnard tossed in a call after some thought. On the turn, Hodge bet 15,000, and Barnard cut out enough chips for a raise before electing to just call. Hodge fired once more with 30,000 on the river, and Barnard shoved after thinking it over for awhile.
Hodge snap-called and tabled for fours full. Barnard winged into the middle in disgust, and the dealer determined Hodge's stack to be 152,600.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
385,000 | 175,000 |
|
|
60,000 | -105,000 |
Turn Sends Dahlin Out
Level 14
: 1,200/2,400, 400 ante
James Maxey raised to 5,500 in middle position and then called the shove of Adam Dahlin, who had about 30,000 in the small blind.
Dahlin: 
Maxey: 
The 
flop pulled Dahlin in front, but an turn left him shaking his head in disappointment. Maxey improved to a meaningless two pair on the 
river.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
220,000 | |
|
Busted |
Melander Doubles Through Phan
Level 14
: 1,200/2,400, 400 ante
Paula Phan's run at the top was short-lived, as she's below the average stack now.
She just doubled up Todd Melander for 61,100 on a 
flop with a pot of around 25,000 already built up preflop. Melander held 
and held against Phan's 
as the turn came a 
and the river a 
.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
150,000 | 79,500 |
|
|
82,400 | -167,600 |
Level: 14
Blinds: 1,200/2,400
Ante: 400
Updated Chip Counts
Level 13
: 1,000/2,000, 300 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
210,000 | 68,000 |
|
|
177,000 | 82,000 |
|
|
165,000 | 15,000 |
|
|
105,000 | 89,500 |
|
|
78,000 | -27,000 |
|
|
60,000 | -1,700 |
|
42,000 | -8,000 |
|
28,000 | 4,000 |
|
Busted |
Jones Can't Find an Ace
Level 13
: 1,000/2,000, 300 ante
Chris Jones jammed his lat 25,000 or so in from the small blind and was called by the big blind.
Jones: 
Big blind: 
The board rolled out 
, and Jones hit the rail.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
Busted |
Maxey Busts Fisher, Friedman
Level 13
: 1,000/2,000, 300 ante
Adam Friedman opened for 4,000 in middle position, and Todd Fisher jammed for 18,200 on his left. James Maxey called in the blinds, and Friedman shoved the rest of his 50,000 or so in. Maxey called.
Maxey: 
Friedman:
Fisher: 
Maxey all but ended things by flopping a boat as 
hit the board. The fourth nine didn't appear on the last two streets, and Maxey collected the double knockout.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
175,000 | |
|
Busted | |
|
Busted |