The WSOP Circuit Horseshoe Council Bluff Ring Winners
Here's a slideshow of those players who've won rings here in Council Bluffs over the last week and a half.
2012-13 World Series of Poker Circuit Event - Horseshoe Council Bluffs
Main Event
Day: 2
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
Woodke Cut Down
Level 16
: 1,200/2,400, 400 ante
We didn't catch the hand, but Drew Woodke passed out desk with his backpack on and simply said, "Eights into nines." With that, Woodke walked off into the sunset, er, bright lights of the casino floor.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
Busted |
Chippies
Level 16
: 1,200/2,400, 400 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
350,000
95,000
|
95,000 |
|
345,000
20,000
|
20,000 |
|
325,000
35,500
|
35,500 |
|
205,000
70,000
|
70,000 |
|
175,000
-90,000
|
-90,000 |
|
175,000
141,800
|
141,800 |
|
165,000
65,000
|
65,000 |
|
165,000
61,400
|
61,400 |
|
155,000
26,000
|
26,000 |
|
145,000
80,000
|
80,000 |
|
145,000
28,000
|
28,000 |
|
130,000
10,000
|
10,000 |
|
120,000
-5,000
|
-5,000 |
|
||
|
90,000
-20,000
|
-20,000 |
|
|
86,000
46,000
|
46,000 |
|
85,000
-5,000
|
-5,000 |
|
80,000
-10,000
|
-10,000 |
|
72,000
12,000
|
12,000 |
|
69,000
5,500
|
5,500 |
|
65,000
-10,000
|
-10,000 |
|
55,000
-75,000
|
-75,000 |
|
55,000
-55,000
|
-55,000 |
|
52,000
-3,000
|
-3,000 |
|
45,000
-9,900
|
-9,900 |
|
|
||
|
40,000
-30,000
|
-30,000 |
Bjerno Overcomes Tough Final Tables to Win Second Gold Ring
Level 16
: 1,200/2,400, 400 ante
There are two ways to alleviate the pressure of qualifying for the National Championship—either win a WSOP Circuit Main Event or win the Casino Championship at a stop. Nathan Bjerno did the latter at the Bicycle Casino back in January where he won his first ring in a $580 no-limit hold’em event and then finished eighth in the Main Event.
Incredibly, Bjerno is the chip leader in this Main Event with 65 players remaining!
On Friday night, Bjerno managed to capture his second gold ring after defeating a stacked final table in the WSOP Circuit Horseshoe Council Bluffs Event #9 $580 NLHE. Bjerno began the final table second-to-last in chips, but he managed to persevere as players like Tripp Kirk, who was looking to become the third three-time champion crowned during the Council Bluff series, and bracelet winner Michael Raimon were eliminated in fifth and eighth place respectively.
Bjerno, a 25-year-old from Corona, California, managed to take over the chip lead and ended up facing off against Ting Ho, the girlfriend of WSOP Circuit phenom Rex Clinkscales (who finished 16th in the event), in heads-up play. It was there Bjerno picked up pocket kings and got it all in against Ho’s flush draw. The turn and river blanked, and just like that Bjerno was the last player standing.
“I haven’t been much of a live player,” Bjerno said. “[The Casino Championship at the Bike] really sparked my interest in traveling and I’ve started following the Circuit a bit more. My motivation has been chasing more scores.”
“This tournament was extremely tough, actually,” Bjerno added. “When we got down to it there was a bunch of notables — really strong players … I was the short stack here and you never know what’s going to happen. Tournament poker is ridiculous.”
WSOP Circuit Horseshoe Council Bluffs Ring Event #9 NLHE
| Buy-in | Entrants | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|
| $500+$80 | 203 | $101,500 |
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Nathan Bjerno | Chino Hills, CA | $26,390 |
| 2nd | Ting Ho | Irvine, CA | $16,302 |
| 3rd | Sterling Savill | Dover, FL | $11,771 |
| 4th | Joshua Reichard | Beloit, WI | $8,645 |
| 5th | Tripp Kirk | Atlanta, GA | $6,458 |
| 6th | Joshua Mancuso | Baton Rouge, LA | $4,908 |
| 7th | Douglas Lang | Delmar, NY | $3,791 |
| 8th | Michael Raimon | Bradenton, FL | $2,977 |
| 9th | Quang Pham | Omaha, NE | $2,375 |
Level: 17
Blinds: 1,500/3,000
Ante: 500
Unlucky Draw for Hinkles
Level 17
: 1,500/3,000, 500 ante
Blair and Grant Hinkle are staring at some familiar faces for the time being.
The brothers have been seated together at Table 40 for some time, and they figure to stay that way, as four more tables remain to be broken before theirs. Plus, the Hinkles are known for taking chips rather than losing them, and both are above the average stack at this point.
Blair, in Seat 5, has around 120,000 chips. He's displayed his tournament prowess in the biggest events both live and online, as he counts a World Series of Poker bracelet, a WSOP Circuit ring, and a Full Tilt Online Poker Series XIX Main Event among his career wins. In total, he's racked up more than $1.5M in live cashes and another $1.5M in online cashes. After chopping the FTOPS Main Event for $1,162,950 just before Black Friday, Blair had more than a million dollars stuck in limbo when he was unable to cash out any of the money.
Grant, in Seat 1, is more of a live tournament player. Most notably, he defeated James Akenhead heads up in a $1,500 No Limit Hold'em event for a first prize of $831,279. That final table also included Chris Ferguson (finished third), Theo Tran (fourth) and David Bach (eighth). Hinkle bested a field of nearly 4,000 players. His unusually loose style seemed to throw his opponents off, and they were never able to get a handle on his play. Good fortune helped him seal the deal, when he shoved with 
and made quads against Akenhead's 
. Here's his interview with PokerNews after the big win.
If the brothers from Missouri can both final table this tournament, things will undoubtedly get even more interesting.
Nicholson's Day is Done
Level 17
: 1,500/3,000, 500 ante
David Nicholson, who was recently featured in PokerNews' popular Circuit Grinder series, has been eliminated from the tournament. We didn't catch the hand, but Nicholson's Twitter shed some light on his demise.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
Busted |
Tran and Sharpe Exchange Blows
Level 17
: 1,500/3,000, 500 ante
We found Scott Sharpe and Henry Tran heads up before the flop, as Sharpe contemplated Tran's reraise of his under-the-gun open. Sharpe eventually called, and the players watch 
fall on the flop. Tran, from the big blind, fired 14,000 and Sharpe folded.
Everyone folded to Tran's small blind on the next hand, and he raised it up. Sharpe called, and the flop was 
. Tran checked, Sharpe bet 7,500, and Tran called. Tran checked after the 
turned, and Sharpe continued the aggression, betting 20,000. Tran let out a frustrated sigh before folding.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
290,000
-35,000
|
-35,000 |
|
|
100,000
45,000
|
45,000 |
Former WSOP Circuit Main Event Champ Flushed
Level 17
: 1,500/3,000, 500 ante
In November of last year, Cary Marshall won the World Series of Poker Circuit Harveys Lake Tahoe Main Event for $139,260 after beating a 422-player field. Marshall was hoping for another title win here today, but his hopes were recently crushed by Cord Garcia.
It happened when Arkadiy Tsinis opened for 6,300 from early position and Marshall, who was next to act, moved all in for 35,200. Action folded around to Garcia in the big blind and he moved all in over the top, which prompted Tsinis to fold.
Garcia: 
Marshall: 
According to the PokerNews Odds Calculator, Marshall had just a 23.82% chance of surviving the hand. That jumped to 55.56% when the 
flop paired his nine, though it did give Garcia a flush draw. The turn made Marshall a 70.45% favorite, but then the 
spiked on the river to give Cord a flush and the knockout.
Meanwhile, Brett Schwertley has also been eliminated from the tournament.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
135,000
55,000
|
55,000 |
|
Busted | |
|
|
Busted |
Phillips Chips Up
Level 17
: 1,500/3,000, 500 ante
Deborah Phillips continues her ascent up the chip counts.
We found her facing a 24,000-chip turn bet on a board of 
. She thought long and hard for about three minutes before she finally called. Her opponent, who was in the small blind, checked when the hit the river. Phillips checked as well and showed her 
. Her opponent shook his head and showed 
.
Phillips is among the chip leaders with 245000.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
245,000
40,000
|
40,000 |