$5,300 High Roller Dia 1 | 2023 Merit Poker Gangster Series

2023-11-27 02:49 UTC+2

Dmitry Gromov Bags Day 1 Chip Lead in the $5,300 High Roller but Multiple Players are Close Behind

Nível 8 : Blinds 1,000/1,500, 1,500 ante

Day 1 of the 2023 Merit Poker Gangster Series $5,300 High Roller hosted by the Merit Crystal Cove Hotel attracted a total of 63 runners, with late registration still open till level 12 on Day 2 of the event.

After 8 levels of play, 52 players remained. Dmitry Gromov appeared to have bagged the chip lead with 255,500. This would only be the chip lead by a small margin as many others also bagged a similar stack. Some of those stacks were Lebanon’s Halil Tasyurek (243,000), Maksim Shornikau (249,000) of Belarus, local Turkish Pro Koray Korkmaz (251,000), and Ihar Soika (235,000) who also hails from Belarus.

Top Ten Chip Counts

Place	Name	Country	Chips	Big Blinds
1	Dmitry Gromov	Russia	255,500	170
2	Koray Korkmaz	Turkey	251,000	167
3	Aleksandr Kirichenko	Russia	250,000	167
4	Maksim Shornikau	Belarus	249,000	166
5	Halil Serdar Tasyurek	Turkey	243,000	162
6	Ihar Soika	Belarus	235,500	157
7	Simas Karaliunas	Lithuania	234,500	156
8	Navid Samavati	Iran	220,500	147
9	Danut Florin Chisu	France	219,000	146
10	Jakub Maciej Michalak	Poland	214,500	143

Some other notable names to find a bag on Day 1 include the 2023 Merit Poker $2,200 Warm Up third-place finisher Ankit Ahuja (121,500), Erdal Gulseven (193,500), Nikolay Ponomarev and Damir Gabdullin who both had a top 15 finish in the Warm Up, and Romania’s Danut Chisu (219,000).

Speaking of Chisu, it's worth noting that the Romanian crusher has had some killer results in this exact tournament at this property in the past. He has a first-place finish at the 2020 Merit Poker Western $5,000 High Roller for $127,830, another first-place finish in the same event two years later in 2022 for $42,300, and two second-place finishes in other Merit Poker Gangster Series $5,000 high rollers for over $60,000 each. It's safe to say that the run-good at this property is real for Chisu and he will be a player to watch on Day 2.

Day 2 of the High Roller kicks off on Monday at the same 8:00 p.m. start time and is scheduled to play down to a final table of eight that will be live-streamed on the Merit Poker YouTube channel.

The current prize pool sits at $315,000 with late registration still open until level 12. Expect some players to find their seats right around that time. The players will be starting the day at level 9 with 1,000/1,500/1,500 blinds. The current average stack is 138,000, so it is still anyone's game with plenty of maneuverability to find some creative spots.

As always, stay tuned into PokerNews for all the updates on the Merit Poker Gangster Series and all the other best events happening around the world!

Tags: Ankit Ahuja Danut Chisu Dmitry Gromov Erdal Gulseven Halil Tasyurek Ihar Soika Koray Korkmaz Maksim Shornikau Nikolay Ponomarev

2023-11-27 01:54 UTC+2

Ponomarev Turns a Big Hand on a Scary Board

Nível 8 : Blinds 1,000/1,500, 1,500 ante

Nikolay Ponomarev opened under the gun to 3,500 and only got called by the button.

The J♦9♦8♦ flop landed and action quickly checked through to a 4♣ turn. Ponomarev checked again but the button had other plans and put out a pot-sized bet of 10,000.

After some thought Ponomarev put in the chips and the 3♥ rolled off on the river.

The action slowed back down and checked through. Ponomarev quickly tabled 4♥4♦ for a turned bottom set and his opponent shook his head and mucked.

Jogador	Fichas	Progresso
Nikolay Ponomarev	115,000 15,000	15,000

Tags: Nikolay Ponomarev

2023-11-27 01:20 UTC+2

Gabdullin Rips It In

Nível 7 : 800/1,500, 1,500 ante

Damir Gabdullin opened in early position to 3,000 before the action folded to the button who put in a three-bet to 12,000. Navid Samavati cold-called out of the big blind and action was back on Gabdullin. He sat in thought for a moment and then turned to the dealer and let her know he wanted to play for all of his chips which was for 89,300

The button went deep into the tank but eventually folded. Samavati also tanked for about a minute but he also mucked.

Gabdullin dragged the pot to jump back over starting stack.

Jogador	Fichas	Progresso
Navid Samavati	260,000 -5,000	-5,000
Damir Gabdullin	118,000 28,000	28,000

Tags: Damir Gabdullin Navid Samavati

2023-11-26 22:15 UTC+2

Skhulukhiya Clears the Field

Nível 3 : Blinds 300/700, 700 ante

Giorgiy Skhulukhiya opened in early position to 1,500. He got a call from middle position, late position, the cutoff, the button, and the small blind.

The 7♦7♣3♦ flop landed and action checked to Skhulukhiya who continued for 3,500. He cleared out all of the players except the small blind who stuck around with a call.

The 10♠ rolled off on the turn and the small blind checked it over to Skhulukhiya who sat in the tank for a moment before putting out another bet of 5,200. The small blind couldn't hold on any longer and sent his cards to the muck.

Skhulukhiya scooped after clearing out five players that wanted to see a flop.

Jogador	Fichas	Progresso
Giorgiy Skhulukhiya	125,000

Tags: Giorgiy Skhulukhiya

2023-11-26 20:58 UTC+2

Samavati Takes a Sneaky Line

Nível 1 : Blinds 200/400, 400 ante

There was a cutoff open to 1,000 before the action folded to Navid Samavati in the small blind who flat called. Victor Yugay was in the big blind and put in a cold three-bet to 5,100. The cutoff called and then Samavati put in the double flat call to finish the action.

The 9♦6♦Q♠ flop landed and action checked through to a K♠ turn. Samavati checked again and Yugay put out a delayed continuation bet of 5,600. The cutoff called and then Samavati put in a bug check-raise to 19,000. Yugay called and the cutoff folded.

The J♥ landed on river and Samavati went into the tank. After a few moments he moved all in. Unfortunately, Yugay snap folded but this was still a very healthy pot to drag early on in the day.

Jogador	Fichas	Progresso
Navid Samavati	135,000
Victor Yugay	78,000

Tags: Navid Samavati

2023-11-26 18:38 UTC+2

The Merit Poker Gangster Series $5,300 High Roller Kicks Off at 8 p.m.

The 2023 Merit Poker Gangster Series $5,300 High Roller will begin at 8:00 p.m. local time at the Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino with a guaranteed prize pool of $300,000!

The series has only just kicked off, but it has already been a huge success. The first event of the series was the $2,200 Warm Up which attracted 453 entrants. This was enough to smash the guarantee and bring the first prize pool of the series to a whopping $833,520 with an impressive first-place prize of $167,500. That event is being streamed over on the Merit Poker Youtube Channel.

The $5,300 High Roller will feature a fun, yet deep structure as players begin the tournament with 100,000 in starting chips. It will have 40-minute levels with a 20-minute break after every three levels. This event is also eight-handed. Hopefully, the massive stacks with shorter levels will lead to some creative play and big action.

Both of the first and second day of the event will start at 8:00 p.m. local time. The goal is to play Day 2 down to a final table of eight players. That final table will then be streamed on the Merit Poker YouTube channel on the last day starting at 2:00 p.m. local time.

$5,300 High Roller Schedule

Date	Time	Event	Day
11/26/2023	8:00 p.m	$5,300 High Roller	1
11/27/2023	8:00 p.m	$5,300 High Roller	2
11/28/2023	2:00 p.m	$5,300 High Roller Final Table	3

The first day of the event will be played for eight levels with action coming to an end around 2:00 a.m. local time. This is an unlimited reentry tournament, but players who don’t find a bag on Day 1 will have the opportunity to enter all the way till the start of Level 12 on the second day of the event. Don’t miss your opportunity at what will likely be a massive first-place prize.

As always, stay tuned into PokerNews for all the updates on the Merit Poker Gangster Series and all the other best events happening around the world!