Main Event

Five players in on a limped pot and head to the flop T♥ 3♦ 5♦ . Action folds around to the button who bets 3,000, and finds two callers to the turn 7♥ . All three check to the river 2♦ . Big blind JRV bets 14,000, button calls. JRV wins the pot with 4♦ 6♦ straight over A♠ T♣ .

Blinds are up, the field has now doubled to 12 players over two tables. Plenty of time to jump in with registration closing at the start of Level 9.

Under the gun opens 4,500, button calls, then faces a three-bet jam of 38,500 from the big blind Robert Chracchiola. Initial raiser calls, button folds, cards turn up. Utg has A♣ J♥ . Chracchiola dominates with A♦ Q♦ , both players find the board 4♥ 5♣ 3♦ J♦ 2♦ with Chracchiola’s flush the better spread.

Robert Chracchiola- 82,500 (41 bb)

From the big blind, JRV three-bets all in preflop, initial raiser Michael on utg and small blind Joshua Figuerres calls. Michael and Figuerres check down the board J♥ 7♥ 3♦ Q♥ 3♠ . Michael has K♦ T♦ air, Figuerres 2♠ 2♥ . JRV A♣ 9♦ . Pocket twos take it.

Three players al in preflop opens with Ray Ferolino raising 5,000, small blind three-bets 15,000, big blind calls, Ferolino four-bets all in, big blind calls again.

Rey Ferolino A♦ A♣ Small blind T♣ T♥ Big blind 9♦ 9♥

The board runs 3♥ K♥ 4♠ J♠ J♣ . Ferolino doubles up and boots one in the process.

Robert Chracciola defends the small blind by calling cutoff Joshua Gutierrez’s raise, then both head to the flop 5♥ 8♥ 8♦ . Chracciola check-calls another 10,000 bet by Gutierrez. On the turn 8♠ , Gutierrez double barrels 23,000, Chracciola toughens up with a check-raise of 46,000, Gutierrez calls. On the river 2♠ , Chracciola leads 40,000, Guttierrez raises all in for 165,000, Chracciola calls for his tournament life and shows 2♥ 2♦ full house. Gutierrez has him beat with K♣ K♦ higher full house.

Event now enters the bubble round.

Robert Chracciola defends the big blind on a 4,500 raise by utg+2 then go to a flop A♣ 7♣ 9♥ . Initial raiser c-bets 7,500, Chracciola check-raises 20,000. The turn 5♦ , Chracciola bets 68,000, utg+2 shoves 87,000, Chracciola calls.

Robert Chracciola A♥ 7♠ two pair Utg+2 6♥ 8♠ straight

The river A♣ is the money card for Chracciola to improve to a full house and ship it.

Cutoff raises 7,500 and finds three callers to the flop 4♠ 8♦ 3♠ . Big blind Anthony Bryan shoves 37,000, cutoff calls, two others fold. Bryan has A♠ 2♠ flush draw, cutoff A♠ 8♦ , the turn Q♠ ensures the win for Bryan.

Mac Mantoy opens 4,500 from utg+2 and goes to the flop 4♣ 6♥ 2♥ with two callers. All check to the turn 3♦ . Mantoy bets 2,000, hijack shoves a massive 90,700, big blind folds, Mantoy risks his lesser stack and flips over A♥ J♥ draw. Hijack turns over Q♦ 9♦ bluff. The river 8♠ secures a double up for Mantoy.

Kristian Cortes calls utg’s 2,000 raise and both go to the flop 2♣ J♦ 9♣ . Utg bets 2,000, Cortes answers with a 5,000 raise and is called. On the 3♦ turn, utg bets 5,000, Cortes raises all in, ug calls. Cortes has A♣ 4♣ flush draw, utg K♣ T♣ lower flush draw, the river 9♦ makes ace-high good for a double up to Cortes.

Another pot for Gal Hans who opens 500 from utg, button three-bets 1,100, the blinds call, and Hans makes it a four way to the flop 2♦ T♣ 4♦ . Action is checked to the button aggressor who c-bet 2,000, blinds fold, Hans calls. No bets land on the turn 7♥ to bring the river 6♠ . Hans takes a stab with a 1,600 bet, gets the call, then wins the pot with 8♦ 9♦ straight on the river.

Lojack Robert Chracciola opens 10,000, big blind Eric Alcantara three-bets all in for 145,000, Chracciola call with less and turns over K♦ K♠ . Alcantara flips A♣ Q♠ . The board runs 9♦ K♣ 3♠ Q♥ T♦ . Chracciola soars to 222,000, Alcantara plunges to 10 bb.

Several hands after, Alcantara goes all in from cutoff holding Q♦ J♠ runs into Anthony Bryan’s A♦ K♦ . Though live, no help comes on the board Q♠ 9♦ 3♣ 7♣ A♣ .

Following a raise and a call, button Robert Chracchiola three-bets all in for 24,800, big blind joins in for 45,400, initial raiser and caller both fold. Chracchiola flips over K♠ K♦ , big blind has A♥ Q♦ . Big blind connects on the board 2♥ Q♠ 3♥ 8♥ 3♣ but still not enough to beat cowboys. Chracchiola doubles up.

Day 1A registration closes at 41 entries. 17 players remaining. They play down to ITM of 6 players.

Action folds around to the small blind who opens 2,500, big blind Honer Vargas defends, both see a flop T♠ 5♣ J♣ . Vargas bets 5,000, small blind check-calls leading to an action packed turn 6♠ . Vargas bets 10,000, small blind check-raises all in for 36,500, Vargas calls and flips over T♣ T♦ set. Small blind has A♠ A♦ . The river 5♠ is not the out for aces to bust to Vargas.

Three players limp in, Michael on the button riases 4,000, and the three limpers call. Michael proceeds to bet 6,000 on the flop 9♥ 6♥ T♠ and only utg calls. The turn 2♣ utg bets 10,000, button calls. Both check the river 3♣ . Utg opens Q♦ 9♦ , Michael outkicks with A♥ 9♠ .

14 players remaining as they hunt down ITM round with only 6 advancing.

Utg+2 limps, next to act Jonele Oswa raises 1,300, small blind three-bets 3,000, only Oswa calls and head to the flop T♣ 3♦ K♠ . Oswa leads out 2,000 and is called. The turn 9♥ , Oswa bets 3,000, small blind jams, Oswa calls and flips over K♥ T♦ two pair ahead of small blind’s A♣ A♠ . The river 7♣ secures the win for Oswa as one player goes bust.

Getting close to ITIM with 8 players remaining. Event bags up at 6 remaining.

Cutoff Adrian Jaime ipens 1,000 then calls big blinds 4,300 three-bet. At the flop Q♣ 5♠ 2♠ , big blind shoves 12,300, Jaime calls. Both players open air, Jaime A♠ 9♦ , big blind J♣ T♥ . With the turn and river 9♣ Q♦ , Jaime ships it and cleans one out.

Five players in on a limped pot and see a flop 9♦ T♣ 5♥ . R.Nikanor bets 1,500, only cutoff Jessie Dy calls. Big bets land on the turn J♠ with Nikanor betting 2,500, Dy raises to 5,500, Nikanor folds.

The first deal has been tabled. Only four players so far but that should increase quite fast with players already at registration.

Joshua Figuerres tops Main Event Day 1A

Date: May 1, 2024 Buy in: PH₱ 18,800 (~USD 327) Guarantee: PH₱ 5,000,000 (~USD 86,900) Day 1A: 41 entries ITM: 6 players

A few more entries, field is now up to 26 players. Plenty of time to jump in with registration closing at the start of Level 9.

Cutoff JRV opens 12,000, button Eric Alcantara three-bets allMac in for 79,000, Mac Mantoy has less yet calls and shows K♠ Q♥ . Alcantara has 8♦ 8♥ . The board runs 4♠ 7♥ J♣ 9♠ 4♣ .

Udner the gun Eric Alcantara limps, utg+1’s raises 3,300, button calls, Alcantara calls and all three head to the flop 2♣ 2♠ Q♦ . Utg+1 c-bets 5,000, button raises 8,000, Alcantara check-calls, utg+1 opts to fold. The turn 4♠ , button bets 6,100, Alcantara check-calls again. Both proceed to check the 7♣ river. Alcantara has Q♥ J♦ two pair and claims the pot over button’s 4♥ 3♠ lower two pair.

With a 500 button raise before him, Hya Satera defends the big blind then check-calls down bets were 700 and 1,400 7♥ 8♠ J♦ 5♠ . Then on the river J♠ , Satera check-raises from 2,700 to make it 6,500. Button player folds.

Utg opens 2,500, utg+1 A.K. calls, small blind three-bets 8,500, initial raiser folds, A.K calls. At the flop 6♥ 3♦ 5♥ , A.K. bets 5,000 and gets check-called. No bets come on the turn and river Q♣ 9♥ . A.K. takes it with A♥ K♣ over small blind’s J♥ T♣

Cutoff Anthony Bryan opens 4,500 and heads to the flop 5♦ J♣ K♥ with two callers. Bryan c-bets 5,000, only button player calls. On the turn 7♣ , Bryan checks it, butotn takes a stab for 15,000, Bryan raises 35,000, button folds.

Eric Alcantara calls utg+2’s shove and is ahead A♠ J♠ over A♥ T♠ . The board runs Q♦ 2♥ 3♠ 7♥ 9♥ both miss. Alcantara ships and boots one in the process.

Two players in on a raised pot and go at it on the flop 8♣ J♥ 9♠ . Hijack bets 5,000, button Clive Preece shoves 53,000, hijack calls with less chips. Preece flips over A♣ K♣ , hijack has K♠ Q♣ , the turn and river are 5♦ 9♦ . Preece’s ace-high wins it.

Field is now up to 33 players. There is still plenty of time to jump in with registration closing at the start of Level 9.

Getting close to ITIM with 10 players remaining. Event bags up at 6 remaining.

Heavy preflop action opens with utg raising 3,000, utg+2 Rey Forolino calls, big blind three-bets all in for 14,300, initial raiser utg calls, Forolino makes it a three way. At the flop 2♥ 3♣ J♦ , Forolino shoves 11,300, big blind calls, utg folds. Forolino with T♦ T♠ , big blind with A♥ 9♣ . The turn and river 6♣ 9♦ is a double up for Forolino.

This level is all about Gal Hans who picks up another two pots. First one, utg limps, utg+1 Hans raises 2,800, button calls, utg folds. At the flop 4♦ K♥ A♦ , Hans c-bets 2,500 and wins it.

Several hands after, utg+2 opens 900, cutoff and button Hans call. Hans bets 900 on the flop K♦ A♣ 5♥ , utg+2 check-calls, cutoff folds. Switch up on the turn K♣ with cutoff leading out 2,000, Hans calls. The river 8♦ , cutoff folds to Hans 1,000 bet.

Utg+1 Raymond Gomez opens 5,000, small blind three-bet jams 39,700, Gomez calls and shows J♠ J♣ which is behind small blind’s Q♣ Q♠ . The board runs 4♦ 5♠ 3♥ 9♣ J♥ . Gomez spikes the two-outer to ship it and boot one.

Adrian Jaime opens 2,000 from cutoff and bb defends to head to a flop K♦ 9♥ 2♠ . Jaime c-bets 3,800 and gets check-called. On the turn Q♥ Jaime shoves 11,100 and gets check-called again. Jaime turns over A♦ J♥ , bb has A♠ 3♠ . The river T♣ gives Jaime the straight.

Cutoff opens 9,000, button Eugene Dy three-bets 20,000, cutoff shoves 220,000, Dy calls with about half. Dy goes on to double up with K♠ K♥ over Q♣ Q♠ on a blank board.

On a raised pot preflop, two players stare down 5♠ A♥ 8♦ . Small blind shoves 31,500, utg+2 Eric Alcantara calls. Alcantara’s A♠ T♥ dominates A♣ 4♥ . The turn and river 3♦ J♠ are good for Alcantara’s kicker to play and kick one out.

First all in showdown of the bubble round, Eugene Dy limps, button Peter Ang raises 15,000, Dy three-bets 83,000 (leaving 5,000 behind), Ang flats. On the flop J♦ 9♦ J♥ , Ang bets 5,000, Dy tosses in his last chip. Dy has Q♠ Q♥ , Ang A♠ K♠ , the turn 5♥ and river 3♦ are good for a double up to Dy.

Hijack Eric Alcantara opens 4,000 and finds one caller in cutoff. Alcantara continues to bet the flop 3,700 and turn 10,000 9♥ T♥ 3♠ and cutoff calls. On the river 3♥ , Alcantara fires 10,000 again and this time wins it without a challenge.

Despite losing a few small pots, Gal Hans continues to get in the action. On a three-way limped pot, the flop comes 4♦ 3♥ 7♦ . Big blind Hans bets 1,000 and finds one caller in the cutoff. Hans bets 1,000 again on both the turn 6♠ and river A♠ , gets called. Hans flips over 7♣ 4♥ and wins the pot.

Three hands later, facing two limpers, Hans raises 1,800 from cutoff and finds one caller in utg player. At the flop and turn 8♣ 5♦ Q♥ 4♣ , Hans double barrels 2,000 and 3,000, utg check-calls both times. On the river 3♠ , no bets land. Hans flips over K♣ K♦ and utg mucks.

Plenty of chips splash preflop starting with utg min-raising, cut-off Peter Ang and small blind call. Big blind three-bets 4,800, utg calls, Ang calls, small blind folds. Three players head to the flop T♥ 3♦ Q♣ , big blind bets 3,000, both opponents call. On the turn 3♥ , utg leads out 11,000, Ang calls, big blind folds. On the river 9♥ , Ang shoves 12,200, cutoff check-calls then mucks to Ang’s A♣ 3♣ trips.

Hijack Michael opens 3,000 and is called by two players. All three check to the river 9♦ K♥ T♥ A♥ 7♦ . Cutoff bets all in for 20,200, one player folds, Michael calls and ships it with T♦ T♣ set.

Under the gun opens 2,500, two players call to see the flop 8♠ 4♥ K♣ . Initial raiser c-bets 1,600, and get called by both players. The turn 3♣ , small blind Robert Chracchiola leads out 3,000, utg folds, button calls. Again Chracchiola bets 8,000 on the river Q♠ , button folds.

Hijack opens 10,000, big blind Eugene Dy three-bets all in for 43,000, hijack calls to put Dy at risk. At the showdown, Dy is way ahead with A♣ A♠ , hijack with A♦ K♥ . The board runs Q♠ 3♠ 2♥ A♥ 9♦ .

Cutoff opens and finds two callers to the flop T♥ 9♣ K♠ . Both check to head to the turn 5♥ . No checking this time, instead button Raymond Gomez bets 3,000, small blind check-raises all in for 5,300, easy call for Gomez as cutoff gets out of the way. Small blind opens K♦ Q♦ top pair, Gomez with A♥ 5♠ bottom pair. The river 5♣ comes down for Gomez to improve on a bad beat.

Kristian Cortes opens 4,500 from utg+2, cutoff three-bet shoves 5 bb. Cortes calls with T♣ T♦ . Cutoff has Q♥ 9♥ . The board runs 6♦ 3♥ 2♠ A♥ 5♣ .

Utg+1 opens and cutoff Peter Ang calls, flop runs T♣ 4♥ 3♠ . Utg+1 c-bets 2,000, Ang calls. The turn J♣ , utg+1 bets all in for 25,600, Ang calls and is behind Q♦ Q♣ overpair to utg+1’s J♥ T♥ two pair. Luck comes for Ang on the river 3♣ for a higher two pair to send one packing.

Several more players have signed up, Field now up to 26 players. Plenty of time to jump in with registration closing at the start of Level 9.

Under the gun Charles Kim opens 1,000, cutoff calls, small blind three-bets 4,300, Kim and cutoff call for a three-way. At the flop J♣ 8♠ T♠ , small blind shoves a huge 31,200, Kim goes over the top with a 45,700 shove, cutoff folds.

Small blind A♠ Q♦ Charles Kim J♥ T♥

The turn T♣ secures the win for Kim.

A couple of more entries to bring the tally to 35. There is still one hour to jump in with registration closing at the start of Level 9.

Heavy preflop action opens with utg+2 raising 3,000, cutoff three-bets all in for 3,400, small blind Rondo Rahl four-bets all in for 10,400, back to utg+2 who cals to put both shovers at risk.

Utg K♣ J♠ Cutoff 8♠ 8♦ Rondo Rahl A♠ T♣

The board runs 2♣ A♣ 6♦ Q♣ 5♠ . Rahl doubles up and more while railing a player.

Facing a raise by Robert Chracciola, small blind Jonele Oswa three-bets all in for 50,000, Chracciola calls to try to eliminate. Chracciola flips open A♠ 4♦ , Oswa with 6♣ 6♥ . Chracciola’s small card pairs up on the board 4♥ 2♣ 8♠ T♥ 6♦ but still behind Oswa’s pocket pair.

Four players limp in to an all heart flop T♥ 8♥ J♥ , small blind bets 2,000, big blind folds, utg+1 raises 6,000, button Hya Satera calls, small blind folds. On the turn Q♦ , Satera calls another 12,000 bet, then calls the shove of 8,500 on the river K♣ . Satera ships the pot with Q♥ 2♥ after utg+1 shows the K♠ 5♣ bluff. Utg+1 busts.

Michael three-bets from 800 to 3,400 all in from the big blind and gets called. Michael’s 6♣ 6♠ holds firm against caller’s A♦ J♣ on a board 5♦ K♦ 2♣ {6d{}8h}.

Richard Tolentino opens 1,100 from utg and finds two callers to the flop 6♦ A♥ 8♠ . Tolentino c-bets 1,500, button raises 4,5000, big blind folds, Tolentino answers with an 11,000 three-bet, button folds.

Big blind Gal Hans calls a 600 button raise then check-calls 1,100 on the flop Q♦ Q♠ 8♥ . Both players check the turn 8♦ . Hans then leads out 1,000 on the river 6♣ and takes down the pot.