Event #53: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better
Day 1 Completed
Event #53: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better
Day 1 Completed
When Bryce Yockey plays poker, he's sitting on a big stack. That almost became an axiom. Regardless of the buy-in and game, Yockey has been showcasing his versatility for several years and capped it off in 2017. He first made the Millionaire Maker final table and then topped it by claiming his first WSOP title in the $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo Championship.
Now wearing the bracelet winner badge, Yockey returned to the game that he conquered last year in the exclusive competition. This time, he's headlining the smaller buy-in version but the Event #53: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better attracted a large field of 935 entries. While it isn't easy to take the spotlight with that many tables in operation, Yockey still found a way to get a ton of attention and eventually parked in second place on the provisional leaderboard.
Yockey had a healthy stack through all our checkpoints, but his biggest surge came in the last level of the day. He was seen in a monster pot, battling against Stuart Rutter. With nearly 15,000 already lying in front of each player, Yockey check-shoved over Rutter's 14,000-bet with a high board featuring two queens. Rutter tanked for several minutes and his hand was eventually declared dead.
Yockey had almost 160,000 at that point which would surely lock him for the lead, but he gave up some of it before bagging and finished just shy of the lead with 131,900 as Brad Albrinck reported a 137,100-chip stack. Another player who impressed on Day 1 was Dustin Pattinson with 129,100.
There was another notable contender for the overnight pole position: three-time bracelet winner Eli Elezra. His story was similar to Yockey's as Elezra lost some of his chips towards the end of the day, settling for 102,600.
Among the 191 players who advanced through to Day 2 were both Phil Hellmuth (67,400) and Daniel Negreanu (81,100). Hellmuth managed to cruise through the field even though he was a target of Rutter's constant mocking, which escalated into a one-level penalty for the Englishman.
While there are still many notable players remaining, one of them stands out in particular: defending champion Nathan Gamble arrived at 11 a.m. for the first hand of the day and finished with 42,000, just above the tournament average. If Gamble pulls off a tremendous back-to-back winning story, he'd take home $244,370.
First things first, there is a bubble to burst before any considerations of potential champions as there are two more days to spend on the trail. But the touchstone of all events looms just around the corner as 141 players will take home pieces of the $1,262,250 prize pool.
Some of those who won't pick up a payout slip include Erik Seidel, Mike Wattel, Frank Kassela, Mike Leah and Scott Bohlman as they were all eliminated during the day.
The action recommences on Wednesday, June 27 at 12 p.m. so come back to follow the PokerNews live coverage of the popular four-card split-pot game.
Room | Table | Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Amazon | 401 | 1 | DID NOT REPORT 1 | United States | 7,100 | 6 |
Amazon | 401 | 2 | David Dille | United States | 53,900 | 45 |
Amazon | 401 | 3 | Yew Kan | Macau | 49,200 | 41 |
Amazon | 401 | 4 | Nick Guagenti | United States | 30,100 | 25 |
Amazon | 401 | 5 | Peter Neff | United States | 28,700 | 24 |
Amazon | 401 | 6 | Adam Coats | United States | 72,400 | 60 |
Amazon | 401 | 7 | Mike Matusow | United States | 76,800 | 64 |
Amazon | 401 | 8 | Daniel Navarro | United States | 4,500 | 4 |
Amazon | 401 | 9 | Jeosafat Cruz | United States | 9,900 | 8 |
Amazon | 402 | 2 | Michael Fiorelli | United States | 27,800 | 23 |
Amazon | 402 | 3 | Dustin Pattinson | United States | 129,100 | 108 |
Amazon | 402 | 4 | Eduardo Lezcano | United States | 22,800 | 19 |
Amazon | 402 | 5 | Joshua Pender | United States | 40,700 | 34 |
Amazon | 402 | 6 | Eli Elezra | United States | 102,600 | 86 |
Amazon | 402 | 7 | David Hunt | United States | 51,100 | 43 |
Amazon | 402 | 8 | Andrew O'Flaherty | Ireland | 11,100 | 9 |
Amazon | 402 | 9 | Andrew Yeh | United States | 57,000 | 48 |
Amazon | 403 | 1 | Craig Chait | United States | 25,800 | 22 |
Amazon | 403 | 2 | Yuri Dzivielevski | Brazil | 15,600 | 13 |
Amazon | 403 | 3 | Ben Tang | United States | 18,800 | 16 |
Amazon | 403 | 4 | Bill Mince | United States | 22,600 | 19 |
Amazon | 403 | 5 | Wendy Weissman | United States | 21,300 | 18 |
Amazon | 403 | 6 | Daniel Vitiello | United States | 39,100 | 33 |
Amazon | 403 | 7 | Ryan Jones | United States | 53,000 | 44 |
Amazon | 403 | 8 | Rylen Sanehisa | United States | 12,700 | 11 |
Amazon | 403 | 9 | Victor Ramdin | United States | 32,500 | 27 |
Amazon | 404 | 1 | Dylan Linde | United States | 36,000 | 30 |
Amazon | 404 | 2 | David Brookshire | United States | 38,100 | 32 |
Amazon | 404 | 3 | John Monnette | United States | 23,700 | 20 |
Amazon | 404 | 4 | Philipp Eirisch | Germany | 22,600 | 19 |
Amazon | 404 | 5 | Timothy Vukson | Canada | 15,000 | 13 |
Amazon | 404 | 6 | Angela Jordison | United States | 21,200 | 18 |
Amazon | 404 | 7 | Allyn Shulman | United States | 31,400 | 26 |
Amazon | 404 | 8 | Barry Leventhal | United States | 31,000 | 26 |
Amazon | 404 | 9 | Justin Clark | United States | 27,300 | 23 |
Amazon | 405 | 1 | Daniel Negreanu | Canada | 81,100 | 68 |
Amazon | 405 | 2 | Jonathan Depa | United States | 38,600 | 32 |
Amazon | 405 | 3 | John Hegi | United States | 39,800 | 33 |
Amazon | 405 | 4 | Josh Shafer | United States | 54,200 | 45 |
Amazon | 405 | 5 | Hsiao Liu | United States | 77,000 | 64 |
Amazon | 405 | 6 | Eric Posner | United States | 36,800 | 31 |
Amazon | 405 | 7 | David Shane | United States | 39,900 | 33 |
Amazon | 405 | 8 | Vincent Masino | United States | 6,600 | 6 |
Amazon | 405 | 9 | J Smith | United States | 12,700 | 11 |
Amazon | 406 | 1 | Cal Kimes | United States | 26,200 | 22 |
Amazon | 406 | 2 | Matthew Lansdon | United States | 29,100 | 24 |
Amazon | 406 | 4 | Kyle Emerson | United States | 11,500 | 10 |
Amazon | 406 | 5 | Michael Kechkaylo | United States | 25,800 | 22 |
Amazon | 406 | 6 | Sebastian Langrock | Germany | 14,500 | 12 |
Amazon | 406 | 7 | Paul Johnson | United States | 25,700 | 21 |
Amazon | 406 | 8 | Kyle Miaso | United States | 85,800 | 72 |
Amazon | 406 | 9 | Adam Hendrix | United States | 57,200 | 48 |
Amazon | 407 | 1 | Roy Thung | United States | 11,300 | 9 |
Amazon | 407 | 2 | Brendan Taylor | United States | 73,900 | 62 |
Amazon | 407 | 3 | Benjamin Miner | United States | 20,100 | 17 |
Amazon | 407 | 4 | John Zaleski | United States | 31,400 | 26 |
Amazon | 407 | 5 | Matthew Honig | United States | 30,000 | 25 |
Amazon | 407 | 6 | Paul Siem | United States | 57,700 | 48 |
Amazon | 407 | 7 | Jose Paz-Gutierrez | Bolivia | 35,100 | 29 |
Amazon | 407 | 8 | Corey Hochman | United States | 34,500 | 29 |
Amazon | 407 | 9 | Garrett Garvin | United States | 12,300 | 10 |
Amazon | 408 | 1 | William Migely | United States | 52,000 | 43 |
Amazon | 408 | 2 | Alex Livingston | Canada | 66,500 | 55 |
Amazon | 408 | 3 | Lex Nerenberg | United States | 34,800 | 29 |
Amazon | 408 | 4 | Sergey Altbregin | Russia | 38,100 | 32 |
Amazon | 408 | 5 | Brandon Noe | United States | 31,000 | 26 |
Amazon | 408 | 6 | Jesse David | United States | 58,200 | 49 |
Amazon | 408 | 7 | Zachary Hench | United States | 23,900 | 20 |
Amazon | 408 | 8 | Bryan Andrews | United States | 42,900 | 36 |
Amazon | 408 | 9 | Jameson Painter | United States | 25,300 | 21 |
Amazon | 409 | 1 | Jordan Siegel | United States | 26,600 | 22 |
Amazon | 409 | 2 | Troy Acton | United States | 19,100 | 16 |
Amazon | 409 | 3 | Thomas Cazayous | United Kingdom | 81,400 | 68 |
Amazon | 409 | 5 | Chris Bjorin | Sweden | 20,900 | 17 |
Amazon | 409 | 6 | Tyson Potrebenko | Canada | 29,800 | 25 |
Amazon | 409 | 7 | Michael Gross | United States | 59,600 | 50 |
Amazon | 409 | 8 | Jarred Solomon | South Africa | 45,600 | 38 |
Amazon | 409 | 9 | Erle Mankin | United States | 68,000 | 57 |
Amazon | 410 | 1 | Veerachai Vongxaiburana | United States | 31,900 | 27 |
Amazon | 410 | 2 | Igor Sharaskin | Russia | 52,500 | 44 |
Amazon | 410 | 3 | Sergio Benso | Italy | 55,700 | 46 |
Amazon | 410 | 4 | Gregory Joslyn | United States | 15,200 | 13 |
Amazon | 410 | 5 | Aaron Sias | United States | 27,400 | 23 |
Amazon | 410 | 6 | Shiva Dudani | United States | 24,200 | 20 |
Amazon | 410 | 7 | Quinn Do | United States | 83,600 | 70 |
Amazon | 410 | 8 | Danny Smith | United States | 10,700 | 9 |
Amazon | 410 | 9 | John Dacruz | United States | 37,200 | 31 |
Amazon | 411 | 1 | David Ernst | United States | 13,900 | 12 |
Amazon | 411 | 2 | Justine Roders | United States | 24,800 | 21 |
Amazon | 411 | 3 | Joseph Couden | United States | 70,000 | 58 |
Amazon | 411 | 4 | Ted Weinstock | United States | 24,500 | 20 |
Amazon | 411 | 5 | Aditya Agarwal | India | 10,300 | 9 |
Amazon | 411 | 6 | Gary Benson | Australia | 18,900 | 16 |
Amazon | 411 | 7 | Nathan Gamble | United States | 42,000 | 35 |
Amazon | 411 | 8 | Joseph Cheong | United States | 27,600 | 23 |
Amazon | 411 | 9 | Stuart Rutter | United Kingdom | 6,800 | 6 |
Amazon | 412 | 1 | David Badolato | United States | 11,900 | 10 |
Amazon | 412 | 2 | Jean-Paul Pasqualini | France | 74,200 | 62 |
Amazon | 412 | 3 | Benjamin Zamani | United States | 54,000 | 45 |
Amazon | 412 | 4 | Timothy Burt | United States | 22,200 | 19 |
Amazon | 412 | 5 | Kevin Gerhart | United States | 62,200 | 52 |
Amazon | 412 | 6 | Peter Malbasha | Ireland | 26,500 | 22 |
Amazon | 412 | 7 | Cai Zhen | United States | 9,400 | 8 |
Amazon | 412 | 8 | Robert Campbell | United States | 48,500 | 40 |
Amazon | 412 | 9 | John Racener | United States | 40,100 | 33 |
Amazon | 413 | 2 | Shirley Rosario | United States | 30,800 | 26 |
Amazon | 413 | 3 | Matthew Smith | United States | 63,000 | 53 |
Amazon | 413 | 4 | Tom West | United States | 21,200 | 18 |
Amazon | 413 | 5 | Samuel Ngai | Canada | 31,500 | 26 |
Amazon | 413 | 6 | Jason Stockfish | United States | 71,100 | 59 |
Amazon | 413 | 7 | Todd Witteles | United States | 21,500 | 18 |
Amazon | 413 | 8 | Michael Six | United States | 17,800 | 15 |
Amazon | 413 | 9 | Raz Alon | Israel | 16,200 | 14 |
Amazon | 414 | 1 | Lee Watkinson | United States | 65,000 | 54 |
Amazon | 414 | 2 | Warren Colman | United Kingdom | 48,500 | 40 |
Amazon | 414 | 3 | Amnon Filippi | United States | 39,100 | 33 |
Amazon | 414 | 4 | Quentin Krueger | Canada | 27,600 | 23 |
Amazon | 414 | 5 | Roland Israelashvili | United States | 26,700 | 22 |
Amazon | 414 | 6 | Brian Norton | United States | 43,600 | 36 |
Amazon | 414 | 7 | Richard Cowperthwait | United States | 10,800 | 9 |
Amazon | 414 | 8 | Jason Faircloth | United States | 17,600 | 15 |
Amazon | 414 | 9 | Randy Ohel | United States | 55,800 | 47 |
Amazon | 415 | 1 | Mark Scacewater | United States | 13,400 | 11 |
Amazon | 415 | 2 | Andrew Rapley | Canada | 10,300 | 9 |
Amazon | 415 | 3 | Brian Hastings | United States | 33,700 | 28 |
Amazon | 415 | 4 | David Levi | United States | 16,500 | 14 |
Amazon | 415 | 5 | Bruce Rogoff | United States | 63,700 | 53 |
Amazon | 415 | 6 | Corey Emery | United States | 22,700 | 19 |
Amazon | 415 | 7 | Matthew Ezrol | United States | 24,200 | 20 |
Amazon | 415 | 8 | Pablo Cobo | Spain | 17,500 | 15 |
Amazon | 415 | 9 | Phil Hellmuth | United States | 67,400 | 56 |
Amazon | 417 | 2 | Taylor Cox | United States | 12,400 | 10 |
Amazon | 417 | 3 | Anton Grinkevich | United States | 19,300 | 16 |
Amazon | 417 | 4 | Joseph Silverman | United States | 48,600 | 41 |
Amazon | 417 | 5 | Jeffrey Amasaki | United States | 8,200 | 7 |
Amazon | 417 | 6 | John Corron | United States | 7,200 | 6 |
Amazon | 417 | 7 | Jeffrey Landherr | United States | 57,200 | 48 |
Amazon | 417 | 8 | Brad Albrinck | United States | 137,100 | 114 |
Amazon | 417 | 9 | Tony Ma | United States | 19,200 | 16 |
Amazon | 418 | 1 | Christopher Carey | United States | 42,100 | 35 |
Amazon | 418 | 2 | Todd Rohulich | United States | 13,600 | 11 |
Amazon | 418 | 3 | Karl Westheimer | United States | 8,100 | 7 |
Amazon | 418 | 4 | Robert McLaughlin | United States | 32,300 | 27 |
Amazon | 418 | 5 | Lee Armstrong | Australia | 70,700 | 59 |
Amazon | 418 | 6 | Bryce Yockey | United States | 131,900 | 110 |
Amazon | 418 | 7 | Anton Smirnov | Russia | 62,600 | 52 |
Amazon | 418 | 8 | David Greene | United States | 30,400 | 25 |
Amazon | 418 | 9 | Andrew Muirhead | United States | 29,400 | 25 |
Amazon | 419 | 1 | Abdel Hamid | United States | 54,700 | 46 |
Amazon | 419 | 2 | Noah Goldman | United States | 18,100 | 15 |
Amazon | 419 | 3 | Peter Walsworth | United States | 16,900 | 14 |
Amazon | 419 | 4 | Antoine Labat | France | 76,000 | 63 |
Amazon | 419 | 5 | Kim Kallman | Finland | 48,800 | 41 |
Amazon | 419 | 6 | Blake Kelso | United States | 7,600 | 6 |
Amazon | 419 | 7 | Sue Smith | United States | 1 | 0 |
Amazon | 419 | 8 | Peter Levine | United States | 23,600 | 20 |
Amazon | 419 | 9 | Donna Cooper | United States | 50,600 | 42 |
Amazon | 420 | 1 | Cody Crouch | United States | 19,000 | 16 |
Amazon | 420 | 2 | Edward Han | United States | 75,400 | 63 |
Amazon | 420 | 3 | Andreas Klatt | Germany | 15,300 | 13 |
Amazon | 420 | 4 | Jeffrey Cook | United States | 46,000 | 38 |
Amazon | 420 | 5 | Kate Hoang | United States | 24,800 | 21 |
Amazon | 420 | 6 | Chris Ferguson | United States | 52,700 | 44 |
Amazon | 420 | 7 | Prince Docnes | United States | 27,100 | 23 |
Amazon | 420 | 8 | Brandon Cantu | United States | 1 | 0 |
Amazon | 420 | 9 | Michael Pickett | United States | 22,900 | 19 |
Amazon | 421 | 2 | Gregory Kolo | United States | 20,000 | 17 |
Amazon | 421 | 3 | James Buckner | United States | 7,000 | 6 |
Amazon | 421 | 4 | Jeff Williams | United States | 69,960 | 58 |
Amazon | 421 | 5 | Gerald Cohen | United States | 8,500 | 7 |
Amazon | 421 | 6 | Christopher Conrad | United States | 52,200 | 44 |
Amazon | 421 | 7 | Paul Sokoloff | Canada | 38,800 | 32 |
Amazon | 421 | 8 | Howard Simon | United States | 17,600 | 15 |
Amazon | 421 | 9 | Steven Wolansky | United States | 20,900 | 17 |
Amazon | 422 | 1 | Sergey Selin | Russia | 60,100 | 50 |
Amazon | 422 | 2 | Sloane Martin | France | 21,300 | 18 |
Amazon | 422 | 3 | Gregory Jamison | United States | 71,200 | 59 |
Amazon | 422 | 4 | Michael Terlizzi | United States | 57,700 | 48 |
Amazon | 422 | 5 | Ivan Starostin | United States | 44,400 | 37 |
Amazon | 422 | 7 | Peter Charalambous | United Kingdom | 13,000 | 11 |
Amazon | 422 | 8 | Alan Fidelo | United States | 36,200 | 30 |
Amazon | 422 | 9 | Alexander Kuzmin | Russia | 44,500 | 37 |
Amazon | 423 | 1 | Aaron Wallace | United States | 9,800 | 8 |
Amazon | 423 | 2 | Timothy Tallon | United States | 4,200 | 4 |
Amazon | 423 | 3 | Mihails Morozovs | Latvia | 53,500 | 45 |
Amazon | 423 | 4 | Dorian Grant | United States | 27,100 | 23 |
Amazon | 423 | 5 | Paul Jackson | United Kingdom | 21,400 | 18 |
Amazon | 423 | 6 | Barry Werthmann | United States | 23,400 | 20 |
Amazon | 423 | 7 | Michael Colecchia | United States | 8,900 | 7 |
Amazon | 423 | 8 | Bruno Fitoussi | France | 70,200 | 59 |
Amazon | 423 | 9 | Jeremy Harkin | United States | 38,400 | 32 |
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Brad Albrinck |
137,100
137,100
|
137,100 |
Bryce Yockey |
131,900
-26,100
|
-26,100 |
|
||
Dustin Pattinson |
129,100
129,100
|
129,100 |
Eli Elezra |
102,600
-30,400
|
-30,400 |
|
||
Kyle Miaso |
85,800
85,800
|
85,800 |
Quinn Do |
83,600
83,600
|
83,600 |
|
||
Thomas Cazayous |
81,400
81,400
|
81,400 |
|
||
Daniel Negreanu |
81,100
34,600
|
34,600 |
|
||
Hsiao Liu |
77,000
77,000
|
77,000 |
Mike Matusow |
76,800
12,800
|
12,800 |
|
||
Antoine Labat |
76,000
76,000
|
76,000 |
Edward Han | 75,400 | |
Jean-Paul Pasqualini |
74,200
74,200
|
74,200 |
Brendan Taylor |
73,900
73,900
|
73,900 |
|
||
Adam Coats |
72,400
72,400
|
72,400 |
Gregory Jamison |
71,200
71,200
|
71,200 |
Jason Stockfish |
71,100
-13,900
|
-13,900 |
Lee Armstrong |
70,700
70,700
|
70,700 |
Bruno Fitoussi |
70,200
24,200
|
24,200 |
Joseph Couden
|
70,000
70,000
|
70,000 |
Jeff Williams |
69,960
69,960
|
69,960 |
Erle Mankin |
68,000
68,000
|
68,000 |
Phil Hellmuth |
67,400
-600
|
-600 |
|
||
Alex Livingston |
66,500
66,500
|
66,500 |
|
||
Lee Watkinson |
65,000
30,000
|
30,000 |
|
We picked up the action on the river with a lot of chips already lying in front of Bryce Yockey and Stuart Rutter, who was in position. There were chunks of 2,500, then 3,200 and 8,000 apiece when they made it to the final betting round on the board.
Yockey checked to Rutter who fired 14,000 and Yockey check-raised all in for 20,000 effectively. Rutter spent a few minutes thinking until somebody at the table called a clock. Rutter was given 25 seconds and a five-second verbal countdown to make his decision.
He protested that it wasn't enough considering the high board and a weird spot. Nonetheless, he had to act within the given time and he failed to do so, so his hand was declared dead. Yockey took down the massive pot without showing anything and climbed to 158,000. He's presumably the current tournament chip leader.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Bryce Yockey |
158,000
112,000
|
112,000 |
|
||
Stuart Rutter |
6,000
-19,000
|
-19,000 |
There were 6,500 chips in the pot and the flop was out when we got to the table. The big blind checked, Phil Hellmuth bet the pot from under the gun, a player in middle position called, and the big blind folded.
The turn brought the and both players checked.
The hit the river and they checked again. Hellmuth flipped over for flopped jacks up that got counterfeited by running nines, but his hand was still good enough to win the pot. His opponent mucked and Hellmuth took the chips.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Phil Hellmuth |
68,000
1,000
|
1,000 |
|
There was a substantial pot already brewing and the board read when we got to the table. Erik Seidel shoved for what looked like about 20,000 and Bryce Yockey called. Seidel had the larger of the two stacks by a very narrow margin.
Erik Seidel:
Bryce Yockey:
Seidel had draws to the nut flush, king-high straight, and second-nut low, but needed help against Yockey's two pair and nut-low draw. The on the river changed nothing and Yockey took the pot to leave the legendary eight-time bracelet winner running on fumes.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Bryce Yockey |
65,000
19,000
|
19,000 |
|
||
Erik Seidel |
1,000
-46,300
|
-46,300 |
|
Mike Wattel risked his remaining chips on the flop of in what started as a three-way pot. Wattel eventually needed to beat just one player but his trailed against .
Wattel needed either a five or running cards to scoop the pot but he had a live low draw. The and , however, didn't give him anything and Wattel left the tournament short of advancing into Day 2.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Mike Wattel | Busted | |
|
Randy Ohel raced preflop against a short stack who potted and then called off for 4,200 total when Ohel three-bet.
Ohel had and hit heavily on the runout. His rival finished with an inferior flush as he had .
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Randy Ohel |
31,200
10,300
|
10,300 |
|
Eli Elezra has been guarding a huge stack for a while and he keeps adding to his piles in the last level. Elezra just seized another chunk in the following hand.
He was in the small blind, facing a raise to 3,500 from a short-stacked player in late position. Igor Sharaskin called on the button and Elezra came along.
The flop saw Elezra check to the opener who moved all in for his last 500. Sharaskin and Elezra both called and they checked the turn and the river.
Elezra announced ace-jack, turning up and neither of his opponents could beat that. Elezra moved up to 133,000 with the average stack showing just over 31,000 at the moment.
With around 40-minutes left to play on Day 1, Elezra is a hot contender for the overnight chip lead.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Eli Elezra |
133,000
28,000
|
28,000 |
|