On a heads-up flop of 3?A?7?, William McCracken checked to Iman Alsaden, who bet 20,000 and McCracken called. The turn came the 4? and McCracken check-called another bet of 45,000 from Alsaden to see the river 9?.
He checked once more and this time Alsaden decided to check back. McCracken then tabled 6?7? for a pair of sevens and Alsaden mucked to award him the pot.
RunGood Poker Series Player of the Year leader Brian Winter returns for Day 2 of the RGPS Tulsa Main Event, chasing another ring and looking to extend his lead atop the standings. Shaun Emery, who entered the week in second place, is also back in action today trying to close the gap at Hard Rock Tulsa.
Last time in Tulsa, Winter won the Flip 'n' Go ring event before he jumped into the Pot Limit Omaha ring event with just moments left in registration. He went on to win that tournament and claim his second ring of the afternoon.
Winter’s other 2023 RGPS rings include a win in the One Day Ring Event in St. Louis, two events in Tunica, and a $16,760 prize in the $250 Deepstack in last January’s Tulsa event.
The big year gives Winter a sizable lead in the RGPS Player of the Year Race, which will run in partnership with the Global Poker Index.
How it works:
Leaderboard Points: Players will score points based on their performance in RunGood Poker Series events by the Global Poker Index ranking system.
Five Winners: The tally started on August 29, 2023, and ends June 1, 2024. The top five players on the leaderboard will win a seat in the 2024 Hendon Mob Mid-Major Championship and a $500 travel stipend.
Immortality: The top player will be featured forever on tour with a RunGood Player of the Year banner.
On a flop of 8?4?2?, Yahya Aamer made it 40,000 to go but then Zachary raised him to 100,000.
Aamer responded by making it 300,000 and Smith quickly moved all in, covering him. Aamer paused for a few seconds as he looked at the clock.
"Did you flop a set?" he inquired, shaking his head. After a few more seconds, he made the call, putting himself at risk, and the cards were tabled.
Yahya Aamer: 9?9?
Zachary Smith: 10?10?
The runout of 8?Q? meant that Smith's tens held up and he was awarded the huge pot while Aamer was sent to the rail early.
"Phew! That was a big one! When he asked if I flopped a set I was scared he might have queens or something!" Smith was relieved as he stacked his new chips and is the first player to surpass 1,000,000 chips.
After two days and three flights of play, Day 2 of the RunGood Poker Series $800 Main Event at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Tulsa, Oklahoma begins at noon local time with 69 players returning. The 558 entrants created a total prize pool of $390,600, which guarantees all remaining players a minimum of $1,289 and puts all eyes on the first-place prize of $73,242.
Leading the way with an impressive 619,000 is Kentucky native Todd Nichols, who bagged the largest stack in the early Day 1b flight on Saturday. Sitting right behind Nichols with 608,000 in chips is Arkansas native Zachary Smith, who caught fire midway through the first flight and managed to eliminate numerous opponents before bagging more than 100 big blinds. Smith only has a few recorded cashes, according to The Hendon Mob, the largest being a third-place finish at Downstream for $9,084, so he is in a great position to earn a career-high score.
Day 2 Top Ten Chip Counts
Place
Player
Hometown
Chip Count
Big Binds
1
Todd Nichols
Lubby, KY
619,000
103
2
Zachary Smith
Hot Springs, AR
608,000
101
3
Yahya Aamer
Tulsa, OK
562,000
94
4
Casey Hindman
Pawhuska, OK
532,000
89
5
Jared Ward
Owasso, Ok
499,000
83
6
Mark Martin
Dexter, KS
479,000
80
7
Chris Baumhoer
Bentonville, AR
466,000
78
8
Clayton Soliz
Mountain View, AR
458,000
76
9
Luke Frazier
Tulsa, OK
456,000
76
10
Duster Ellis
Papillion, NE
431,000
72
Jared Ward
Yahya Aamer is hot on his heels with 562,000 and Casey Hindman bagged third with 532,000. RunGood regular Jared Ward starts off fourth in chips with 499,000 while RGPS Main Event champion Mark Martin rounds out the top five with 479,000 in the bag.
A stacked field remains that includes the likes of poker player and YouTuber Ashley “PokerFaceAsh” Frank (203,000), and Daniel "Duma" Lowery (206,000). RGPS Player of the Year frontrunner Brian Winter also bagged 224,000 in the first flight, while second-place point holder Shaun Emery bagged (205,000) in Day 1b.
Day 1a ended earlier than the following two flights with 11:42 left in Level 14 with blinds at 3,000/6,000 and a 6,000 big blind ante. The 69 surviving players will start play again on at noon in the poker room. The levels will continue to be 40 minutes in length, with a 15-minute break after every three levels, with play continuing until a new champion is crowned.
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