Event #11: $400 NLH Ultra Deepstack | 2021 WSOP.com Online Bracelet Events

07-11-2021 12:57 UTC-7

Event #11: $400 NLH Ultra Deepstack to Award Bracelet Today

Jeff McMillan

Sunday is the day for Event #11: $400 NLH Ultra Deepstack which promises to be a huge tournament with plenty of action.

This tournament features a buy in of just $400. The unique thing about this tournament is that each buy in will get a stack of 50,000 chips, creating many more chips flying around the virtual tables.

Players will have the option for two re-buys, which have a thirty-second-time limit, so players should make sure they have enough funds in their WSOP.com account prior to the tournament's start. Tournament tickets may not be used for re-entry.

Levels are 15 minutes long and registration is open for 3 hours and 55 minutes. This is a single-day event meaning the entire tournament will be played out online and the winner will take home a WSOP Gold Bracelet.

This is the eleventh of 66 bracelet events being held on WSOP.com (33 events) and GG Poker (holding the remaining 33 events). All events will begin at 3 p.m. PST. Satellites are running on-site for as little as $1.

2021 WSOP.com Online Series Schedule

Date	Tournament
July 11	#11: $400 No-Limit Hold'em Ultra Deepstack
July 12	#12: $500 No-Limit Hold'em Turbo Deepstack
July 13	#13: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em Freezeout
July 14	#14: $500 No-Limit Hold'em
July 15	#15: $5,300 No-Limit Hold'em High Roller Freezeout
July 16	#16: $600 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 6-Handed
July 17	#17: $400 No-Limit Hold'em 8-Max
July 18	#18: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em North American Open
July 19	#19: $888 Pot-Limit Omaha Crazy Eights 8-Handed
July 20	#20: $3,200 No-Limit Hold'em High Roller
July 21	#21: $600 Pot-Limit Omaha Six-Handed
July 22	#22: $600 No-Limit Hold'em Knockout
July 23	#23: $500 No-Limit Hold'em Turbo
July 24	#24: $400 No-Limit Hold'em Monsterstack
July 25	#25: $7,777 No-Limit Hold'em Lucky 7s High Roller
July 25	#26: $500 No-Limit Hold'em The Big 500 Encore
July 26	#27: $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship
July 27	#28: $3,200 No-Limit Hold'em High Roller Championship
July 28	#29: $800 No-Limit Hold'em 8-Max Turbo Deepstack Championship
July 29	#30: $600 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Max Championship
July 30	#31: $500 No-Limit Hold'em Summer Saver
July 31	#32: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em Championship
Aug. 1	#33: $500 No-Limit Hold'em Grand Finale ($1M Guaranteed)

Stay tuned to PokerNews for all the action as Event #7: $777 No-Limit Hold'em gets underway!

07-11-2021 15:11 UTC-7

Update Your Stack With MyStack!

Chad Holloway

Level 1 : 20/40, 0 ante

PokerNews has activated the MyStack App for this event, allowing you to directly adjust your chip counts in our live reporting blog using your iPhone or Android phone. But it's more than just chip counts! You can include notes about big hands, your photo, and even your Table and Seat assignments so your friends can find you.

Download the app for iPhone or Android now to get started. Then, create a new PokerNews account or update your current one to start updating your status immediately.

Click here to download the My Stack app for iPhone, or click here to download the My Stack app for Android.

07-11-2021 15:38 UTC-7

Gershon “jets613” Distenfeld Looking for More WSOP.com Success

Chad Holloway

Level 3 : 50/100, 0 ante

Last December, Gershon “jets613” Distenfeld, who is in today's field, was one of the finalists at the 2020 WSOP Demostic Main Event final table. He was a fan favorite because the 45-year-old pledged to donate 100% of winnings (minus any taxes) to charities of his family's choice, and he wound up finishing in eighth place for $125,885.

A professional in the finance space, Distenfeld said he simply plays poker for the challenge and competition.

“The charities I have chosen thus far encompass many of my and my wife Aviva’s personal areas of interest which include organizations with proven track records in helping those less fortunate and more vulnerable improve their lives," he said at the time.

Here's a partial list of the charities Distenfeld benefitted with his finish:

Minds Matter – Helping driven, low-income students succeed in college, create their future and change the world.
NCSY Relief Missions – Harnessing teen volunteers to address disaster relief and food insecurity. I named this program after my parents of blessed memory.
Yachad - Dedicated to enhancing the life opportunities of Jewish individuals with developmental disabilities or other learning challenges.
Project S.A.R.A.H. (Stop Abusive Relationships At Home) - working to overcome cultural, legal and religious barriers confronting victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse.

Distenfeld, 45, was born in Queens, New York but now resides in Bergenfield, New Jersey with his wife of nearly 21 years, Aviva. Together they have three daughters Shoshana (19), Talia (15), Esti (13), and one son, Aryeh (4). He graduated from Yeshiva University with a BS in Finance in 1997.

A recreational player, Distenfeld works for AllianceBernstein as co-head of Fixed Income and Director of Credit. His position has led to him being a frequent guest on Bloomberg TV and CNBC. In fact, the day after making the final table he was able to share the news to a mainstream audience by making an announcement on Bloomberg Surveillance Simulcast (at the 1:14:20 mark).

“I mainly started watching on TV in the Moneymaker era,” said Distenfeld, a passionate fan of the New York Jets and New York Rangers. “Eventually started reading/studying a lot and finally began to play in casinos. I gravitated towards tournaments over cash games. I have been going to the WSOP for a week in June for most of the past several years where I’ve played in some of the events, but this is my first Main Event.”

For Distenfeld, part of poker’s allure was the fact that he could use many of his professional skills in the game.

“I’ve studied behavioral finance a lot which has impacted how I approach the financial markets,” he explained. “I have brought that same discipline to the poker tables. Often, it isn’t how smart you are that determines your success. It’s capitalizing on the biases of others that makes you a consistent winner.”

Click here for more on Gershon Distenfeld

Player	Chips	Progress
Gershon “jets613” Distenfeld	93,214 93,214	93,214

Tags: Gershon Distenfeld

07-11-2021 16:20 UTC-7

Freedman Busts but Jumps Back into Action

Chad Holloway

Level 5 : 100/200, 0 ante

Wendy "Cardthartic" Freedman moved all in for 916 from the cutoff and Keith "btu2apulp" Sanders called from the big blind.

Wendy "Cardthartic" Freedman:
Keith "btu2apulp" Sanders:

The flop gave Sanders top pair but Freedman did pick up a gutshot straight draw. Unfortunately for her, neither the turn nor river completed it.

Freedman was felted on the hand but opted to re-enter for a fresh 50,000 stack.

Player	Chips	Progress
Wendy "Cardthartic" Freedman	50,000 50,000	50,000

Tags: Wendy Freedman

07-11-2021 16:47 UTC-7

Eric "8Bracelets" Vanauken Looking for First Piece of WSOP Gold

Chad Holloway

Level 7 : 150/300, 30 ante

When it comes to licensed, regulated online poker in the United States, one of the major players is New Jersey's Eric "8Bracelets" Vanauken.

For the 44-year-old Vanauken, who is married with three kids ages 8, 11, and 20, he’s never really had a nine-to-five job. Instead, he fancies himself a real estate broker engaging in flips and investments while playing poker on the side of course.

“I first learned playing $4/$8 limit at Foxwoods in early 2000 and now play now $20/$40 and $30/$60 when I can find a game, or settle on $1/$2 or $2/$5 NLH," he said. "I have played the WSOP Main Event two times with no luck busting on Day 2 both times.”

Additionally, Vanauken grinds a decent amount on the virtual tables under the screen name “alwaysliquid,” which stems from the movie Wall Street when Gordon Gekko tells Bud Fox about how money never sleeps and you need to always be liquid.

“Since New Jersey went legal I play on Borgata and WSOP. I used to play PokerStars but had an issue with them over a year ago and have since boycotted them. I do very well on Borgata. I even shipped the Mega Thursday [not long ago] on my phone from an Applebee’s parking lot as I had no WiFi at home due to power outage.”

As for his recent online successes, Vanauken was pleased but wanted to remain humble.

“I am humbled to be able to compete with all of the great players in New Jersey,” he said. “I’m proud that all of my studying and grinding has been producing favorable results in the past few years, taking me from an average breakeven player to a profitable one. At the same time, I try to maintain being humble with this great game and what it has provided for me and my family.”

Proudest Poker Accomplishments

For Vanauken, the scores rank up there among his proudest poker accomplishments, which includes beating a poker legend.

“In 2013, I beat Joe McKeehen for the Borgata Limit Championship,” Vanauken said. “I think that was the last limit event held at Borgata.”

Other highlights on his poker résumé include finishing sixth in the 2018 WSOP Circuit at Canada’s Playground Poker Club and finishing runner-up in a pair of WSOP Circuit online events back in March.

“So close to a ring but the two cashes of $35k and $20k within a few days definitely eased the quarantine pain,” Vanauken said.

Vanauken is in action today looking for his first piece of WSOP hardware.

Player	Chips	Progress
Eric "8Bracelets" Vanauken	9,375

Tags: Eric Vanauken

07-11-2021 17:26 UTC-7

Distenfeld Done and Dusted

Chad Holloway

Level 9 : 200/400, 40 ante

Last level, with the blinds still at 150/300, Gershon “jets613” Distenfeld was sitting with 93,00 when Robert "Nvrstsfied" Natividad raised to 700 from the lojack. Distenfeld called from the cutoff with the and David "goldwatch" Weisberger came along from the big blind to make It three-way action to the flop.

Weisberger checked, Natividad bet 1,726, and only Distenfeld called to see the turn.

Natividad checked and Distenfeld bet 3,150 with the nuts. Natividad then check-raised to 14,700 and Distenfeld just called. A paired the board on the river and Natividad jammed for around 35,000. Distenfeld called only to see Natividad roll over for a full house.

Distenfeld took a big hit on that hand and wound up going but before the end of the level.

Player	Chips	Progress
Gershon “jets613” Distenfeld	Busted

Tags: Gershon Distenfeld

07-11-2021 17:59 UTC-7

Daniel “centrfieldr” Lupo Eyes Up Second Gold Bracelet

Chad Holloway

Level 12 : 400/800, 80 ante

One player who has been doing quite well on playing online in recent years is bracelet winner Daniel “centrfieldr” Lupo, 37, of West Milford, New Jersey. You might recall in 2019, Lupo topped a 1,767-entry field to win the WSOP.com Online $500 NLH Turbo Deepstack for $145,274 and a gold bracelet. Last year, he added a ring to his résumé by taking down the WSOP.com Online Circuit Event #3: $320 NLH 6-Max for $32,595 and a month later won the WSOP.com $100,000 GTD Sunday for $50,715.

PokerNews caught up with Lupo, who went to NJIT for Architecture and baseball, to ask him about poker, which he squeezes in between working for an Architecture firm in Bridgewater specializing in single-family residential and smaller commercial projects and his family, which includes three kids ages 2-5 and his supportive wife Laura.

PokerNews: When and how did you learn to play poker?

Lupo: I started playing/learning in college during the Rounders and Moneymaker boom with a bunch of the baseball guys. Within a year I found myself hosting games at college, at home on breaks and basically anywhere I could find or make a game. I didn’t play much online early on, regrettably.

What sort of poker do you play these days?

Mostly online MTTs playing like three sessions per week on average with buy-ins typically from $50 to $1k with the occasional $2-$3k buy in for a big event. I average around 500-600 MTTs a month despite not playing full time, I tend to put in a lot of volume when I’m on. The games are mostly NLH and some PLO MTTs, but love when StarsNJ runs a series as they run a fun 8-Game MTT with a bunch of other mixed variants.

What’s it like to play poker while raising young children?

It’s been a constant evolution. I could probably write a book about all the highs and lows and life adjustments I’ve had or chose to make. It gives me a lot of inspiration to succeed while also adding some weight to my losses as it's like 'not only was I way from my kids for all of Sunday afternoon but I lost (insert obnoxious Sunday schedule cost here)'.

Daniel Lupo and his family. (Photo c/o Daniel Lupo)

What are some of your poker goals?

Try and win everything I play. Actually, my biggest current goal is trying to optimize my MTT game selection. Since quarantine began the schedules have been exploding site to site and while it's been great, with lots of new players and lots of live players playing online it has also drastically increased my average buy-ins and session costs as well as the field size which further increases variance.

I'm trying to optimize the balance of table quantity and expected value vs individual session costs and the variance that comes with it. Having an average buy-in of $250 adds up pretty quickly when it's spread across 60+ entries on a Sunday. My biggest ongoing and long-term goal is to win enough to help my family live comfortably.

Lupo is in action today looking to make a run at his second gold bracelet.

Player	Chips	Progress
Daniel “centrfieldr” Lupo	61,270 61,270	61,270

Tags: Daniel Lupo

07-11-2021 18:30 UTC-7

Gale Set Up in Six-Figure Pot

Chad Holloway

Level 13 : 500/1,000, 100 ante

"Yurrrr" raised to 2,000 from the cutoff and "TLLDOB" called from the button. Lee "smallmytable" Gale came along from the small blind and "mprez22" called from the big to make it four-way action to a flop of .

Three checks saw "TLLDOB" bet 4,450 and Gale check-raised to 12,580 from the small blind. The other two players folded, "TLLDOB" three-bet to 36,125, and Gale moved in for 70,394 total. "TLLDOB" called and the hands were turned up.

Lee "smallmytable" Gale:
"TLLDOB":

Gale had flopped top two pair but was behind the bottom set of "TLLDOB". Neither the turn nor river changed a thing and "TLLDOB" collected the six-figure pot.

Gale re-entered after the hand.

Player	Chips	Progress
TLLDOB	154,189
Lee "smallmytable" Gale	50,000 -30,557	-30,557

Tags: Lee Gale

07-11-2021 20:13 UTC-7

Daniel "spicoli24" Sepiol on the Rise

Chad Holloway

Level 20 : 2,000/4,000, 400 ante

Daniel "spicoli24" Sepiol, who is building a stack here in Event 11, has been a fixture on the Midwest poker circuits for a few years, spending much time on the felt on the Mid States Poker Tour, Heartland Poker Tour, and World Series of Poker Circuit, to name a few places the Indiana native has frequented. 2021 has served as a leaping pad for Sepiol to take a big step towards the next level, and his results leading up to the WSOP.com Online Bracelet Series speak for themselves.

Sepiol's first taste of success came in March during the 2021 MSPT Iowa Riverside $1,100 Main Event. Sepiol took down his first MSPT title, along with a career-high score of $162,781 for beating a field of 862 entrants. June was another lucrative month for Sepiol, as he earned $105,450 in a heads-up chop with Michael Newman in the Venetian Deep Stack Championship Series Event #45: $1,100 Ultimate Stack. He capped off his stellar month with a 45th-place finish in the Wynn Millions $10,000 NLH for $51,650.

Sepiol now sets his sights on the WSOP.com Online Bracelet Series, looking to continue his plethora of success in 2021. Will he continue the breakout year in his transition to the virtual felt? In today's MonsterStack event, he sits just above starting stack, and we'll be keeping our eyes on his performances all summer long.

Player	Chips	Progress
Daniel "spicoli24" Sepiol	253,299 -14,409	-14,409

Tags: Dan Sepiol

07-11-2021 21:32 UTC-7

"modogrinder1" and Moreschi Bubble Event #11

Chad Holloway

Level 24 : 5,000/10,000, 1,000 ante

During hand-for-hand play, "modogrinder1" moved all in for 2,475 under the gun and Vincent "veepoh" Pontrello raised to 20,000 next to act. That cleared the field and the hands were turned up.

Vincent "veepoh" Pontrello:
"modogrinder1":

The board ran out and "modogrinder1" was eliminated in 250th place, just two spots short of the money.

Meanwhile, Stephen "argyle123" Moreschi was also eliminated on the same hand at another table meaning his elimination in 249th place officially burst the bubble.

Player	Chips	Progress
Vincent "veepoh" Pontrello	711,089
modogrinder1	Busted
Stephen "argyle123" Moreschi	Busted

Tags: Stephen Moreschi Vincent Pontrello