WSOP Circuit Horseshoe Council Bluffs Winners
Here's a look at the preliminary ring winners thus far at the WSOP Circuit Horseshoe Council Bluffs stop.
2012-13 World Series of Poker Circuit Event - Horseshoe Council Bluffs
Main Event
Day: 1
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2012-13 World Series of Poker Circuit Event - Horseshoe Council Bluffs
Prize Pool
$550,800
Entries
367
Level
32
Blinds
40,000 / 80,000
Ante
10,000
"I'll Buy You a Drink"
Level 4
: 100/200, 0 ante
In one of the last hands before the break, a player in early position opened for 400 and Rex Clinkscales called from the button. The big blind then three-bet to 1,250, only Clinkscales called, and the flop fell 
.
The big blind continued for 1,250, and Clinkscales came out with a raise to 3,775. The big blind thought long and hard, but ultimately decided to fold.
"Show the bluff," Mark "P0ker H0" Kroon instructed Clinkscales.
"$5.00," Clinkscales responded.
"I'll buy you a drink."
"What kind of drink?"
"Anything you want," Kroon responded. Clinkscales liked that and promptly tabled the 
.
"I'm still going to get the most expensive drink I can find," Clinkscales said with a smile. We recommend he get some Southern Comfort 100 Proof.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
21,500
21,500
|
21,500 |
Small's Stack Grows Big
Level 4
: 100/200, 0 ante
Some preflop action at Table 28 resulted in a large pot. A middle-position player raised to 500, the cutoff and button called, and Sean Small raised to 1,800 from the small blind. The initial raiser and button came along, while the cutoff folded.
Small fired out 3,000 on a 
flop. The initial raiser folded and the button called. Both players checked the 
turn. After the hit the river, Small thought for a bit before firing a near-pot-sized bet of 11,100. The button tanked for a few minutes before folding, and Small mucked his cards.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
40,000
12,000
|
12,000 |
Various Chip Counts From Around the Room
Level 4
: 100/200, 0 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
44,000
-2,000
|
-2,000 |
|
||
|
40,000 | |
|
24,000
4,000
|
4,000 |
|
23,000
3,000
|
3,000 |
|
21,000
1,000
|
1,000 |
|
20,000 | |
|
||
|
20,000 | |
|
20,000 | |
|
19,000
-1,000
|
-1,000 |
|
18,000
-2,000
|
-2,000 |
|
|
||
|
18,000 | |
|
15,000 | |
|
|
14,500 | |
|
3,500 | |
|
|
Busted | |
Level: 5
Blinds: 100/200
Ante: 25
Schwertley Adds to Already-Large Stack
Level 5
: 100/200, 25 ante
Two middle-position players were heads up and looking at a board of 
. The first player, sitting on an average stack, had bet 5,000. Circuit regular Brett Schwertley, playing in his hometown, casually tossed out 20,000, enough to put his opponent all in. His opponent thought for a bit and folded, and Schwertley, who has nearly $400,000 in tournament cashes, added to one of the biggest stacks in the room, which totals around 57,000.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
57,000
57,000
|
57,000 |
Woodke Tips the Clinkscales
Level 5
: 100/200, 25 ante
Well, Mark "P0ker H0" Kroon's prediction didn't come true as he was not the one to eliminate Rex Clinkscales. That honor went to Drew Woodke.
It happened when Clinkscales limped from the cutoff and Woodke did the same from the small blind with the 
. The 
flop contained two clubs, and Woodke led out for 525. Clinkscales raised to 1,025 and then called off for 4,000 or so after Woodke three-bet all in. Clinkscales got it in with 
, but a 
on the turn gave Woodke the lead. The river was of no consequence and Clinkscales exited the tournament floor.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
Busted |
Jovan Sudar Takes Down Turbo Title
Level 5
: 100/200, 25 ante
There's nothing like a one-day turbo tournament to get the blood going, which is what 148 players found out on Friday, April 12. To tell you about that event, we refer you to the WSOP's man on the ground, Lukas Willems, who wrote an informative tournament recap.
“Turbo” might not adequately describe Event 2, a $365 No-Limit Hold’em Turbo tournament, at Horseshoe Casino in Council Bluffs Friday. At 12 p.m. the event’s champion, Jovan Sudar, laid claim to just one WSOP Circuit gold ring, an accomplishment he achieved in the 2009-2010 WSOP Circuit $5,150 Main Event at this same venue. By 11 p.m., he joined an elite club of two-time champions.
That’s right, the148-player field narrowed to just one remaining following only 11 hours of play.
Sudar, who’s no stranger to success, was awarded $12,434, his second WSOP Circuit gold ring and 50 points toward the Casino Championship.
“Actually this is more exciting [than winning my first ring],” Sudar said. “You realize how hard it is to win this ring. You can call it first-time luck, but to win it a second time is even [more difficult]. I give props to other people who have three, four or five rings because I realize how hard it is [to win them].”
The weight the ring holds is made even more apparent by the fact Sudar’s second — and more special — gold ring championship awarded slightly more than $12,000 in prizes while his first awarded slightly more than $95,000.
If he finds winning rings to be difficult, he certainly had the rail fooled Friday. The final table began shortly before 10 p.m., and by 11 p.m. he held all the chips in play. He outlasted the likes of Brandon Fish (8th) and James Coquette (7th) and his heads-up battle with David Sutton stretched only a few hands.
Sudar took the last six months to himself to concentrate on business. He works marketing for an Omaha-based apartment and also helps his father with a cleaning business. Admittedly, he’s only played three tournaments this year, but says if he does “well” at the 2012-2013 series in Council Bluffs, he’ll travel the Circuit fulltime in 2013-2014.
With 10 days of tournament play still remaining and a win already under his belt, many may already think Sudar has done well.
“[Doing] well means making the final table in the Main Event,” Sudar said. “ My goal is to be the [Casino Champion] so I get a freeroll to the [WSOP National Championship Presented by Southern Comfort 100 Proof].”
WSOP Circuit Horseshoe Council Bluffs Ring Event #2 NLHE Turbo
| Buy-in | Entrants | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|
| $300+$65 | 148 | $40,400 |
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Jovan Sudar | Omaha, NE | $12,434 |
| 2nd | David Sutton | Racine, WI | $7,684 |
| 3rd | Philip Sinnott | Melrose, IA | $5,546 |
| 4th | Gary Nelson | Atlantic, IA | $4,075 |
| 5th | Michael Nosek | Wheaton, IL | $3,047 |
| 6th | Joshua Mancuso | Baton Rouge, LA | $2,316 |
| 7th | James Choquette | Austin, TX | $1,791 |
| 8th | Brandon Fish | Kearney, NE | $1,407 |
| 9th | Robert Ward | Saint Charles, MO | $1,123 |
Fish Chipping Up
Level 5
: 100/200, 25 ante
Brandon Fish, owner of a World Series of Poker Circuit ring from the $365 No Limit Hold'em Re-Entry event in Atlantic City last year, raised to 500 from early position and was called by only the big blind. The two players saw a flop of 
. The early-position player checked, Fish bet 575, and his opponent called. After an 
turn, Fish's opponent once again checked to him and he bet 775 this time. The early-position player called and a 
hit the river. The check, bet, call pattern continued and Fish got 1,600 more from his opponent when he showed his 
.
Fish has increased his starting stack to around 30,000.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
30,000
10,000
|
10,000 |
Get to Know "P0ker H0"
Level 5
: 100/200, 25 ante
Mark "P0ker H0" Kroon owns Players Bar in his hometown of Madison, Wisconsin, where many locals like Phil Hellmuth and Phil Galfond have honed their poker skills. Kroon became an online pro in 2004 after he met Anne Duke on a trip to Aruba.
In a recent interview Kroon was asked how he got his nickname "P0ker H0." He responded:
"When I first started playing online poker, I used to play this game online where you could drive NASCAR, and you’d do it against other people. This one guy was called 'Crashing Ho' and he’d wreck everybody every time he raced. I thought his name was kind of clever, so when you first sign in [to an online poker site] you’re kind of locked into that name, and it was just unbelievable because everybody started to recognize it. UB started to sell 'H0' shirts. I think my name gave me a lot more prestige to do things online that a lot of people couldn’t do, as far as getting away with pushing people around."
Kroon, no stranger to the WSOP Circuit, won a ring in a $345 No Limit Hold'em - Turbo event at Palm Beach Kennel Club on Feb. 27, 2012 for $13,847. Three weeks later he followed up that impressive feat with a win at the Poker Springs Madness Tournament in Las Vegas for $6,787.