From under the gun, Joel Merwick limped in for 300. Action folded over to the hijack seat and he raised to 900. Merwick was the only caller.
The flop came down and Merwick checked. His opponent fired 1,500 and Merwick thought for a bit before raising to 3,500. Another minute went by with the other player in the tank befor ehe put out enough chips to put Merwick all in. Merwick, who final tabled the last WSOP Circuit event in Southern Indiana, made the call and his tournament life was on the line.
Merwick held the for a pair and an open-ended straight draw. His opponent had a better pair with the and a gutter ball.
The turn brought the and the river completed the board with the . Merwick's hand was second best and he packed up his things before making his way to the exit.No back-to-back final table this time for Merwick.
Jonathan Aguiar raised from early position to 775. After everyone folded over to the player in the big blind, he put in a reraise to 2,300. Aguiar flatted and the two players saw the flop come down . The big blind checked and Aguiar fired out 2,450. His opponent made the call.
The turn brought the and Aguiar checked behind after his opponent checked first. The river then completed the board with the and the big blind fired out 3,650. Aguiar paused for a few moments and then made the call, not seeming too thrilled about doing so.
The big blind turned up the for a pair of aces with a ten kicker, but that wasn't going to beat Aguiar's for two pair, having flopped top two. Aguiar won the pot and pushed his stack to 37,000 in chips.
On the flop of , there was a bet of 4,200 laid out in front of one player and 10,400 laid out in front of Jason DeWitt. After a couple of minutes in the tank, DeWitt's opponent folded and the bracelet winner from this year's WSOP was pushed the pot. DeWitt's now up to 44,000 in chips.
A gentleman we don't recognize raised to open the pot, and Andrew Malott called behind him with pocket fours. Two more players came into the pot as well, and it was four-handed to a flop.
The raiser checked, and Malott took the lead with a bet of 2,200, betting his set. The two monkeys in the middle ducked out, but the initial aggressor opted to check-raise all in for about 25,000 total. Malott had started the hand with about 20,000 total, and he quickly called to put himself at risk. His set of fours was well ahead, but he was going to need to sweat the of his opponent.
The turn was a total blank, but the river was a disaster for Malott. Unable to hold his set of fours, he's been four-flushed right out the door.
We're back in action with Level 7. The clock shows that at least 872 players have registered for this event, but the hand-counting process still means we don't have an official number just yet. It might tick a bit higher before things are finalized; figure we have about 880 total players, but we'll have the exact number for you as soon as we can.
In other news, we're three levels (two hours) from our dinner break which will arrive at 7:10 tonight. It will be a 75-minute chow session.
It's official, the WSOP Circuit Main Event here in Hammond attracted a field of 872 players. The field generated a prize pool worth $1,245,680 and first place is worth a whopping $242,909! The top 90 spots will be paid out in the event with a min-cash earning you $2,815. Below is a list of the payouts for the final table. To view all of the payout information, check out the Payouts Page.
Along with the money, the players are playing for a seat to the $10,000 Regional Championship, a place in the National Championship along with leader board points and the Circuit gold championship ring.
Poker tournaments bring everybody out to the table: professionals, amateurs, stars of film and television. It also brings pro athletes out for some gambling, and we've spotted a former American football player in our field today.
Eric Stocz was born in Ohio in 1974, and he was drafted as a tight end by the NFL's Detroit Lions in 1996. He played with them for two years before leaving the game and seeking out other interests to occupy his time. One of those interests, apparently, is poker. Stocz notched his first live cash in 2009, at a Circuit event no less. He was the runner up in a $345-buy-in event, earning four figures and consummating his poker career. Just a few months later, his second cash came with a 1st-place trophy as Stocz took down the Heartland Poker Tour event in Mount Pleasant for more than $100,000.
Stocz is looking to make another run at a Circuit ring here this week, but he's off to a slow start. We caught him with a short stack and involved in a pot that would put him to the test for the last of his chips. Here's what happened:
A player in early position opened to 1,300, and Stocz was the lone caller, matching the bet from the big blind to go heads up to a flop. It came , and Stocz checked. His opponent bet all in, and Stocz shrugged and called all in for his last 4,625 chips, turning over . He was in the lead as his opponent showed up . The turn and river kept Stocz safe, earning him a much-needed double up.
and Merwick checked. His opponent fired 1,500 and Merwick thought for a bit before raising to 3,500. Another minute went by with the other player in the tank befor ehe put out enough chips to put Merwick all in. Merwick, who final tabled the last WSOP Circuit event in Southern Indiana, made the call and his tournament life was on the line.
for a pair and an open-ended straight draw. His opponent had a better pair with the 
and a gutter ball.
and the river completed the board with the 
. Merwick's hand was second best and he packed up his things before making his way to the exit.No back-to-back final table this time for Merwick.
. The big blind checked and Aguiar fired out 2,450. His opponent made the call.
and the big blind fired out 3,650. Aguiar paused for a few moments and then made the call, not seeming too thrilled about doing so.
for a pair of aces with a ten kicker, but that wasn't going to beat Aguiar's 
for two pair, having flopped top two. Aguiar won the pot and pushed his stack to 37,000 in chips.
, there was a bet of 4,200 laid out in front of one player and 10,400 laid out in front of Jason DeWitt. After a couple of minutes in the tank, DeWitt's opponent folded and the bracelet winner from this year's WSOP was pushed the pot. DeWitt's now up to 44,000 in chips.![[user66118]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
flop.
of his opponent.
, and Stocz checked. His opponent bet all in, and Stocz shrugged and called all in for his last 4,625 chips, turning over 
and river 
kept Stocz safe, earning him a much-needed double up.