Event #1: $500 No-Limit Hold'em Kick-Off | 2020 WSOP.com Online Bracelet Events

07-01-2020 17:14 UTC-7

Mac "mverstandig" VerStandig Looks to Lay Down the Law

Chad Holloway

Level 9 : 140/280, 35 ante

Maurice "Mac" VerStandig isn't a poker pro. While he plays recreationally, including in today's event under the screenname "mverstandig," he's actually the managing partner of the VerStandig Law Firm, LLC, which focuses on representing poker players, advantage gamblers, and other industry professionals in all manner of legal situations.

If you recognize VerStandig's name, it's probably because he's been involved in some of the biggest legal poker cases in recent years, including as the Plaintiff's counsel in the recently-dismissed Mike Postle civil case.

Occasionally, VerStandig will also voluntarily contribute legal articles on PokerNews, including popular ones on topics like "A Poker Player's Guide to Divorce," "One Tequila, Two Tequila, Three Tequila, All-In," and "How Gaming Wins and Losses Can Impact Your Tax Obligations," just to name a few.

In the live tournament poker realm, VerStandig has amassed a modest $11,186 in cashes, including four WSOP-related ones totaling $8,466. He was kind enough to send us a photo of him grinding away in today's tournament.

Player	Chips	Progress
Mac "mverstandig" VerStandig	17,143 17,143	17,143

Tags: Mac VerStandig

07-01-2020 16:51 UTC-7

Lawhun Rivers the Flush

Anthony Thompson

Level 8 : 120/240, 30 ante

Angel "chromeking" Lopez opened for 600 from early position and Jason "LuckDuck" Lawhun called from late position. Action was on "TheNutLow" who three-bet to 1,762 on the button and they were called by Lawhun after Lopez folded.

The flop came and Lawhun check-called "The NutLow's" 3,500 continuation bet to see the appear on the turn.

Both players checked and the completed the board on the river. Lawhun lead out for 4,125 and "TheNutLow" called only to fold after Lawhun showed to win the hand with the spade flush.

Player	Chips	Progress
Jason "LuckDuck" Lawhun	39,607 20,843	20,843
Angel "ChromeKing" Lopez	26,602 11,602	11,602
TheNutLow	18,430 18,430	18,430

07-01-2020 16:49 UTC-7

Ely Doubles Through Eisen

Anthony Thompson

Level 7 : 100/200, 25 ante

After a flop, Ted "olmuggins" Ely was all in from the big blind and was called by Brandon "Horus" Eisen from the hijack.

Ted "olmuggins" Ely:
Brandon "Horus" Eisen:

Ely flopped two-pair that held after the turn followed by the river completed the board to secure his much-needed double.

Player	Chips	Progress
Brandon "Horus" Eisen	19,471
Ted "olmuggins" Ely	11,372 -3,628	-3,628

07-01-2020 16:39 UTC-7

John Allan "Beastro" Hinds Looks to Nab First Piece of WSOP Gold from New Jersey

Chad Holloway

Level 7 : 100/200, 25 ante

While the summer is usually reserved for players coming into Vegas for the World Series of Poker, one of the benefits of the online events is that players from New Jersey can participate without having to travel across the country.

One such player is John Allan Hinds, who is playing from the Garden State under the screenname “Beastro.” In fact, he was kind enough to send us the following photo of him in action (while watching the TV show Survivor).

Hinds is a poker pro with $691,665 in live tournament earnings, including a career-best $262,574 for finishing 20th in the 2015 WSOP Main Event. In 2012, he won a WPT Borgata Poker Open $400 side event for $68,871, and in 2017 also cashed the WSOP Main Event finishing in 255th place for $40,181.

All told, Hinds has 21 WSOP-related cashes totaling $422,061, though he’s still in search of his first victory. He came close last month with five WSOP.com Season Finale Online Circuit cashes – including a sixth-place finish in the $320 Double Stack for $9,174 – but only time will tell if he can get it done here in the July bracelet events.

Player	Chips	Progress
John Allan "Beastro" Hinds	15,000

Tags: John Allan Hinds

07-01-2020 16:35 UTC-7

"King_Tubby" Loses Flip and Rebuys

Anthony Thompson

Level 6 : 80/160, 0 ante

"JACKKASH" opened for 485 from late position and called "King_Tubby" three-bet jam of 2,240 from the big blind.

"JACKKASH":
"King_Tubby":

"JACKKASH" was ahead with their made hand and improved wth the flop.

The turn gave "King_Tubby" some life drawing to broadway but the board completed with the on the river giving "JACKKASH" a full house and "King_Tubby" bought a new 15k stack.

Player	Chips	Progress
JACKKASH	28,765 28,765	28,765
King_Tubby	15,000 15,000	15,000

07-01-2020 16:14 UTC-7

"Eli1995" Finds Life with two Ladies

Anthony Thompson

Level 5 : 60/120, 0 ante

"Eli1995" opened for 360 from middle position and Andrew "GrandpaEd" Neeme three-bet to 890 from the small blind. Timothy "Valuebet" Rhoda called from the big blind and action was back on "Eli1995" who four-bet to 1,920.

Neeme five-bet to 4,200 and Rhoda quickly mucked their hand while "Eli1995" called for less.

"Eli1995":
Andrew "GrandpaEd" Neeme:

"Eli1995" was ahead with their pocket queens and nothing changed after the runout that secured their much-needed double.

Player	Chips	Progress
Andrew "GrandpaEd" Neeme	29,467
Timothy "Valuebet" Rhoda	12,910
Eli1995	5,358

07-01-2020 16:07 UTC-7

Ryan "Adopt_aDogg0" Leng Looks to Continue WSOP Success

Chad Holloway

Level 5 : 60/120, 0 ante

Years ago, when he was living in Illinois, Ryan Leng learned poker from home games with his old hockey team. Now, he’s a World Series of Poker gold bracelet winner and three-time WSOP Circuit ring winner.

Leng, who now resides in Las Vegas, captured his bracelet back in 2018 when he took down Event #51: $1,500 NLH Bounty for $272,765. As for his rings, the first came in 2017 when he won the WSOPC Horseshoe Southern Indiana Event #12: $365 NLH for $10,164, while the second came three months after his bracelet win when he won the WSOP.com Online Circuit Event #8: $1,000 NLH High Roller 6-Handed for $56,202.

Earlier this year, Leng nabbed number three at the WSOPC Rio Las Vegas after taking down Event #7: $400 NLH/PLO Mix 8-Handed for $9,722.

Leng, a renowned poker coach and gamer, has not only shown he has what it takes to win a bracelet, but he’s also proved himself on WSOP.com making him one of the favorites to capture gold this summer.

Leng, who plays under the screenname “Adopt_aDogg0,” is in action here in the 2020 WSOP Kickoff Event. He was even kind enough to send us a photo of him at his grind station.

Player	Chips	Progress
Ryan "Adopt_aDogg0" Leng	29,669

Tags: Ryan Leng

07-01-2020 15:33 UTC-7

Download WSOP.com Today to Get Started!

Chad Holloway

Level 3 : 40/80, 0 ante

This summer, the World Series of Poker (WSOP) will hold 85 gold bracelet events online between WSOP.com and GG Poker.

The former client will cater to players in Nevada and New Jersey (players in Delaware are NOT able to participate), while the latter will serve the international base.

WSOP.com will hold 31 events – one each day for the month of July – while the other 54 will take place on GG Poker.

For players either in Nevada or New Jersey (remember, you must be 21+ to participate), or those planning to travel in, PokerNews put together all the information you need to know and also answered some lingering questions, which you can read here.

Download WSOP.com

The first step in getting set up to play on WSOP.com is to download the client. You can do so for both mobile (Android and iOS) and desktop (Windows 7 or higher and Mac OS X 10.6.8).

To get the correct version of the client, use the links below:

Also, the WSOP.com client can only support playing one table at a time on mobile.

Finally, pot-limit Omaha (PLO) games and tournaments are not compatible on mobile and must be played via a computer.

07-01-2020 15:21 UTC-7

Skydiver1077 Hits the Ground

Chad Holloway

Level 2 : 30/60, 0 ante

"Denzer" opened for 180 from early position and "om167" called next to act. Action then folded around to "Skydiver1077" in the big blind and they moved their short stack of 1,583 into the middle. "Denzer" quickly folded and "om167" opted to make the call.

"Skydiver1077":
"om167":

"Skydiver1077" had the better kicker, but the runout paired "om167's" to give them two pair and the early knockout.

Player	Chips	Progress
Skydiver1077	Busted

Tags: om167 Skydiver1077

07-01-2020 15:12 UTC-7

Idaho's All-Time Money Leader Looking For 3rd Gold Bracelet

Chad Holloway

Level 1 : 25/50, 0 ante

Do you know who Idaho’s all-time tournament money leader is with just shy of $6 million in lifetime earnings? It’s longtime poker pro Kevin MacPhee, who happens to be a two-time World Series of Poker gold bracelet winner.

He captured both his bracelets back in 2015, albeit on different sides of the Atlantic Ocean. First, he won the 2015 WSOP Event #56: $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em Turbo in Las Vegas for $490,800, and four months later followed it up by winning the WSOP Europe Main Event in Germany for €883,000 ($1,001,576).

Prior to those wins, MacPhee had made a name for himself on the European Poker Tour (EPT). In 2010, he won the EPT Berlin for a career-high $1,356,428, and four years later finished runner-up in the EPT London Main Event for $495,861.

MacPhee, who was named the EPT Player’s Choice Award winner in 2010, is in action today under the screenname “ImaLuckSac.” He has 51 WSOP-related cashes dating back to 2008 totaling $2,262,406.

Tags: Kevin MacPhee