2021 Mid-States Poker Tour Venetian
Day 1a Started
2021 Mid-States Poker Tour Venetian
2021 Mid-States Poker Tour Venetian
Day: 1a
Welcome to Day 1a of the MSPT Venetian $1,100 Buy-In, $250K GTD Main Event
Today, the Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) kicks off its 12th season with the $1,100 buy-in MSPT Venetian Main Event!
The tournament, the 170th Main Event in MSPT history, featured a $250,000 guarantee and will be live reported throughout by PokerNews. Players will start with 25,000 in chips and levels will be 40 minutes with late registration open until 6:25 p.m. PST during both starting flights.
Today’s Day 1a will begin at 11:10 a.m. PST with Day 1b taking place at the same time on Saturday, January 2. The surviving players from both flights will then return at 11 a.m. PST on Sunday, January 3 to play down to a winner.
It’s expected to be a big turnout, and registration for Day 1a is open now. In the instance of alternates, be sure to follow both @VenetianPoker and @msptpoker on Twitter for updates.
Remember, during the latest Venetian DeepStack Extravaganza, players must wear a mask and sanitize their hands before sitting down. Action is 8-handed at tables featuring Plexiglass dividers, which are wiped down each time a new player comes in. Additionally, dealers are required to sanitize their hands each time they enter and exit a table, and fresh decks of cards are circulated every two hours.
Click here for a look at the current Venetian DeepStack Extravaganza schedule.
MSPT Looks to Continue Momentum
Due to the pandemic, Season 11 of the MSPT was interrupted at the beginning of March. After a six-month hiatus, the tour returned August 28-30 at Grand Falls Casino, which is situated just outside Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The stop proved to be a tremendous hit asthe $1,100 buy-in, $100K GTD Main Event attracted 518 entries, well ahead of the venue’s previous record of 238 runners from 2015.
In January of 2019, the MSPT hosted the annual $1,100 buy-in, $1 million GTD Poker Bowl, a tournament that attracted 1,093 entries. The night before the Kansas City Chiefs dispatched the San Francisco 49ers to win Super Bowl LIV, Bob Whalen claimed $100,682 in prize money after a five-way deal was struck.
Season 11 then wrapped up with two November stops at Venetian. The first was a $1,100 buy-in tournament that attracted 1,123 runners and saw 21-year-old Landon Tice come out on top to win $201,529. The following weekend, Korey Payne bested a 1,239-entry field to win the $1,600 buy-in version for an even bigger payday of $327,773.
The upcoming MSPT Venetian is expected to once again attract a big field, and PokerNews will be on-site to capture all the action.
Level: 1
Blinds: 100/100
Ante: 0
Update Your Own Chip Count Using the PokerNews MyStack App!
Level 1
: 100/100, 0 ante
PokerNews has activated the MyStack App for this event, allowing you to directly adjust your chip counts in our live reporting blog using your iPhone or Android phone.
You can download the app for iPhone or Android now to get started. Then, create a new PokerNews account or update your current one to start updating your status immediately. Your followers can see all the live action that you're involved in.
Click here to download the My Stack app for iPhone, or click here to download the My Stack app for Android.
Notables Sighted Early in the Field
Level 1
: 100/100, 0 ante
Just a few of the players that have taken their seats early on Day 1.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
25,000
25,000
|
25,000 |
|
25,000
25,000
|
25,000 |
|
25,000
25,000
|
25,000 |
|
25,000
25,000
|
25,000 |
|
25,000
25,000
|
25,000 |
|
|
25,000
25,000
|
25,000 |
|
25,000
25,000
|
25,000 |
|
25,000
25,000
|
25,000 |
|
25,000
25,000
|
25,000 |
|
25,000
25,000
|
25,000 |
|
25,000
25,000
|
25,000 |
|
||
|
25,000
25,000
|
25,000 |
|
25,000
25,000
|
25,000 |
|
25,000
25,000
|
25,000 |
Early One for Berk
Level 1
: 100/100, 0 ante
On just the third hand of the day, there was a dead big blind (the player wasn't at their seat), the cutoff min-raised to 200. The player on the button called and Michael Berk did the same from the small blind and it was three-way action to a [10 x4xXx] two-heart flop.
Berk checked, the cutoff bet 200, and the button folded. Berk woke up with a check-raise to 1,100 and the cutoff called to see a 
turn.
Berk kept the pressure on with a big bet of 6,200 and that did the trick as his opponent released.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
26,500
1,500
|
1,500 |
Mai Takes an Early Hit
Level 1
: 100/100, 0 ante
Action was picked up on a flop of 
in a three-way pot.
After Tuan Mai checked his blind and the middl- position player checked behind, the third player put out a bet of 1,600, which was only called by Mai.
Mai then check-called the 3,000 turn bet on the 
turn, but then check-folded after the player continued his aggression with a bet of 7,000 on the 
river.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
18,600
18,600
|
18,600 |
Level: 2
Blinds: 100/200
Ante: 0
Most MSPT Main Event Cashes in History
Level 2
: 100/200, 0 ante
Since its inception in 2009, the MSPT has done a great job keeping track of player stats. As a result, 11 years on they have one of the best player databases in the industry.
On their "Leaderboards" page, the MSPT tracks such things as Career Earnings, Main Event Cashes, Main Event Final Tables, Main Event Titles, Total Cashes, Most Cashes/Final Tables in a Season, Most Final Tables All-Time, and much more. Click here for a look at all the leaderboards.Click here for a look at all the leaderboards.
Here's a look at the top ten MSPT Main Event cashers:
| Place | Player | Hometown | Main Event Cashes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aaron Johnson | Red Wing, Minnesota | 39 |
| 2 | Kou Vang | Maplewood, Minnesota | 32 |
| 3 | Richard Alsup | New Hope, Minnesota | 30 |
| 4 | DJ Buckley | Eden Prairie, Minnesota | 27 |
| 5 | Patrick Steele | Chelsea, Michigan | 26 |
| 6 | Mark Hodge | Fernandina Beach, Florida | 25 |
| 7 | Blake Bohn | Eden Prairie, Minnesota | 25 |
| 8 | Jason Seitz | Shakopee, Minnesota | 22 |
| 9 | Phil Mader | Grand Island, Nebraska | 23 |
| 10 | Rob WazWaz | Minneapolis, Minnesota | 22 |
More Notables In Action Early Today
Level 2
: 100/200, 0 ante
The list of entrants keeps growing and here are a few more that have joined the party.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
25,000
25,000
|
25,000 |
|
25,000
25,000
|
25,000 |
|
25,000
25,000
|
25,000 |
|
25,000
25,000
|
25,000 |
|
25,000
25,000
|
25,000 |
|
25,000
25,000
|
25,000 |