2019 World Series of Poker Circuit Thunder Valley

$1,700 Main Event
Day: 1b
Event Info

2019 World Series of Poker Circuit Thunder Valley

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
109
Prize
$130,667
Event Info
Buy-in
$1,700
Prize Pool
$627,210
Entries
414
Level Info
Level
31
Blinds
60,000 / 120,000
Ante
120,000
Players Info - Day 1b
Entries
273
Players Left
65

Lyons Gets a Hero Fold

Level 8 : 300/600, 600 ante

As time was expiring in the previous level, the hijack saw action folded to him and opened to 1,100. Pat Lyons was next to act, three-betting to 5,300 out of the cutoff. Action folded back to the hijack and he thought for a bit.

"Here, I'll make it look like this for you," Lyons said as took five T1,000 chips into his hand and exchanged them for the T5,000 chip he had on the felt. Shortly after, the hijack called.

The flop fell {8-Hearts}{3-Diamonds}{2-Diamonds} and the hijack checked. There was a remark about Lyons putting in the rest of his stack, which was just over a pot-sized bet.

"I gotta make it look good, this hand is being reported," Lyons said, grinning as he bet 8,200. The hijack went into the tank, looking back at his own stack which was around the same size as Lyons'.

"You can't imagine I'm going to fold for that much," said Lyons.

The hijack responded as he looked to his direct left at Lyons, who was leaning back in his chair: "I'm not sure you would fold anyways. I'm just hoping you have pocket jacks and my queens are good. How's that?"

"Good," Lyons said, meeting his opponent's stare while again beginning to wear a grin.

The hijack went back into the tank for over two minutes, apologizing to the table for taking so long. Eventually, he folded.

A few players talked about the hand and the hijack again confirmed he had two queens. Somebody told Lyons he should have shown the bluff.

"I can't show it because I wasn't bluffing," responded Lyons. He was then asked if the hijack made a good fold.

"It was a good fold. I had the board beat." After all that, Lyons now finds himself back to just below starting stack.

Player Chips Progress
Pat Lyons us
Pat Lyons
25,600
-2,900
-2,900
WSOP 1X Winner
WPT 1X Winner

Tags: Pat Lyons

Jed Hoffman Wins Event #6: $400 NLH Six-Handed for 4th Career Ring

Level 8 : 300/600, 600 ante
Jed Hoffman
Jed Hoffman

The PokerNews Live Reporting Team is at Thunder Valley to live report action from both the $1,700 Main Event and $3,250 High Roller, but those are just a couple of the dozen gold ring events at the stop. As such, we thought we’d profile some of the preliminary tournaments and those who struck it big.

In Event #6: $400 NLH Six-Handed, 101 entries generated a $33,330 prize pool paid out to the top 16 players. Among those to cash but fall short of the final table were Adam Demersseman (10th - $878), Harry Sellers (11th - $709), Vikenty Shegal (12th - $709), Arish Nat (13th - $591), Jeffrey Salmon (14th - $591), Brett Murray (15th - $591), and Ian Waldron (16th - $591).

Coming out on top was Jed Hoffman, who not only won $9,522 but also captured his fourth WSOP Circuit gold ring.

“It feels good. $10,000 and four rings,” Hoffman said after his win. Because of his work as a developer, Hoffman doesn’t get to travel much for poker.

“I can’t really chase it geographically so it’s cool to come to these series that are close to Reno,” Hoffman explained.

Final Table Results

PlacePlayerHometownPrize
1Jed HoffmanReno, Nevada$9,522
2Michael HarveySan Francisco, California$5,886
3Roger BaileyModesto, California$3,987
4Ryan AwwadAnn Arbor, Michigan$2,776
5Vincent AmayunSan Bruno, California$1,987
6Rickey EvansVacaville, California$1,464

Tags: Jed Hoffman

Mulleady Scores Huge Double; Chips Up Further Afterward

Level 8 : 300/600, 600 ante

There was around 9,000 in the pot on a board of {j-Hearts}{j-Spades}{5-Diamonds}{10-Spades} and action was thee ways between players in the big blind and cutoff as well as Alan Mulleady, who was on the button.

The big blind checked and the cutoff bet 4,500. Mulleady called. The big blind then check-raised to 10,000. With action back on the cutoff, he asked Mulleady to see his stack before going back into the tank for about 40 seconds. He then called. Action was then on Mulleady again and he quickly went all in. The big blind did his best tryout for the big screen, taking another minute to call before the cutoff quickly folded.

Alan Mulleady: {k-Hearts}{j-Clubs}
Big Blind: {j-Diamonds}{10-Clubs}

Mulleady's second-nut trips were in desperate need of help after being up against his opponent's nut full house. A slew of gasps then ensued as the river fell {k-Clubs} to fill Mulleady up to a higher full house. He covered his opponent and in a shocked manner, told him he was unlucky as he got up from the table. The big blind was truly exceptional in taking the beat, responding to tell Mulleady that there was nothing he could do and that his hand was better when all the cards fell and wishing him luck.

A few moments later, Mulleady was seen betting 3,000 on the turn with a board of {k-Clubs}{q-Hearts}{10-Spades}{6-Spades} into his opponent on the button after a limped pot preflop. His opponent called. The river came {3-Spades} and Mulleady bet another 6,000. His opponent took close to a minute to think over his decisions before tossing in two chips to call.

Mulleady tabled {k-Spades}{4-Spades} for a flush and his opponent mucked, earning a second consecutive pot and bringing him close a six-figure stack.

Player Chips Progress
Alan Mulleady us
Alan Mulleady
97,300
97,300
97,300

Tags: Alan Mulleady

"Don't Show Me a Bluff...That's a Bluff."

Level 8 : 300/600, 600 ante
Rob Anderson
Rob Anderson

Dann Turner bet 5,500 from the cutoff into two opponents on a {6-Clubs}{9-Clubs}{8-Spades}{6-Hearts} board. The bet prompted one opponent to fold, but Rob Anderson made the call from middle position.

The river brought the {3-Diamonds}, and Anderson led out with an all-in bet for his last 15,000. The move sent Turner deep into the tank.

Turner wondered out loud about the chances of Anderson catching threes full on the river, and took a few minutes to mull over his next move. The clock was eventually called, and Turner made the fold with time running out.

"Show me a bluff!" said Turner. "No, don't show me a bluff." Anderson then tabled {5-Diamonds}{5-Hearts}. "That's a bluff," said Turner as Anderson collected the pot.

Meanwhile, seated in between Anderson and Turner is Austin Yoo, who has one of the bigger stacks in the room at 92,000.

Player Chips Progress
Austin Yoo kr
Austin Yoo
92,000
92,000
92,000
Rob Anderson us
Rob Anderson
46,000
46,000
46,000
Dann Turner us
Dann Turner
23,000
23,000
23,000
WSOP 1X Winner

Tags: Austin YooDann TurnerRob Anderson

Wendling Goes Giddy Up To Dust Lyons

Level 8 : 300/600, 600 ante

Pat Lyons got his last 10,000 or so all in preflop from the big blind with action from William Wendling, who was in middle position.

Pat Lyons: {3-Spades}{3-Diamonds}
William Wendling: {k-Diamonds}{k-Clubs}

The board ran out {a-Hearts}{5-Clubs}{9-Clubs}{10-Hearts}{q-Spades} and Lyons found himself dry on chips.

"I can lose that one," he said, remarking about running one pair into another while being short-stacked. "Nice hand," he said, adding that he would be firing another bullet before the end of the registration period.

Player Chips Progress
William Wendling us
William Wendling
48,000
48,000
48,000
Pat Lyons us
Pat Lyons
Busted
WSOP 1X Winner
WPT 1X Winner

Tags: Pat LyonsWilliam Wendling

Level: 9

Blinds: 400/800

Ante: 800

Assorted Chip Counts

Level 9 : 400/800, 800 ante
Player Chips Progress
Jeff Dewitt us
Jeff Dewitt
121,300
65,500
65,500
Roman Shainiuk us
Roman Shainiuk
110,000
65,600
65,600
Ian Steinman us
Ian Steinman
73,500
8,300
8,300
WSOP 1X Winner
Billy Le us
Billy Le
61,000
-2,500
-2,500
Careen Foster us
Careen Foster
52,000
18,500
18,500
Jason Scott us
Jason Scott
51,000
21,200
21,200
Brett Murray us
Brett Murray
51,000
26,000
26,000
Joe Elpayaa us
Joe Elpayaa
43,200
43,200
43,200
Kelly Minkin us
Kelly Minkin
37,600
1,500
1,500
Craig Varnell us
Craig Varnell
29,000
7,700
7,700
WSOP 1X Winner
WPT 1X Winner
JC Tran us
JC Tran
15,500
-30,600
-30,600
WSOP 2X Winner
Annalee Nguyen us
Annalee Nguyen
11,400
-26,900
-26,900
Farhad Sinaei us
Farhad Sinaei
11,000
-19,000
-19,000
Mike Heshmati us
Mike Heshmati
6,200
-24,800
-24,800
Scott Sanders us
Scott Sanders
Busted

Haley Keeps Climbing

Level 9 : 400/800, 800 ante

William Haley bet 6,000 in a three-way pot on a {a-Spades}{3-Spades}{4-Hearts} flop. Both Jarod Minghini and Tony Hoang folded, and Haley turned over {a-Hearts}{3-Hearts}, showing the table his flopped two pair.

Those three players are seated at one of the toughest tables in the room at the moment, with Craig Varnell and Jesse Cohen also competing.

Player Chips Progress
William Haley us
William Haley
77,000
7,000
7,000
Jarod Minghini us
Jarod Minghini
58,500
58,500
58,500
Tony Hoang ca
Tony Hoang
57,000
-21,000
-21,000

Tags: Tony HoangJesse CohenJarod MinghiniCraig Varnell

Chai Wins Sans Showdown

Level 9 : 400/800, 800 ante

Action folded around to the player in the hijack and he opened to 2,500. Paul Chai was in the cutoff and called. All remaining players folded and the two went to a flop of {5-Hearts}{k-Spades}{2-Diamonds}. Both players checked.

The turn came {q-Spades} and Chai's opponent checked to him again. He made a bet of 3,800 and got a fold, earning him the pot. Since chipping up a few hours ago, he has been maintaining his stack at around the 80,000-mark and remains above average in the counts as a result.

Player Chips Progress
Paul Chai us
Paul Chai
80,400
-4,100
-4,100

Tags: Jarod MinghiniPaul Chai

Varnell Gets a Squeeze Through

Level 9 : 400/800, 800 ante

The player on the button opened the actin with a raise to 2,800. Moments later, the small blind announced a call. Craig Varnell was in the big blind and took just a few seconds himself before reaching forward to cut out his stack of 27,200, receiving a green "All In" button from the dealer to go out with his chips.

The hijack thought for a bit and decided to fold. The cutoff quickly followed suit and Varnell saw the pot shipped his way.

Player Chips Progress
Craig Varnell us
Craig Varnell
33,600
4,600
4,600
WSOP 1X Winner
WPT 1X Winner

Tags: Craig Varnell