Online Qualifier, Sergei Gurin, Off to a Strong Start
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Sergei Gurin, an online qualifier from Toronto, Canada, has been the center of attention to start Day 1D. Gurin was scouted by the partypoker staff who were looking for an online qualifier with little to no poker experience. They stumbled upon Gurin and set up a quick one-hour coaching session with partypoker Sponsored Pro, Kristen Bicknell.
Gurin has been given an insight into the life of a celebrity by conducting interviews, taking pictures, and filming short videos throughout the week. He has said the biggest thing he learned from his sit-down coaching session with Bicknell is to stay off of his phone and focus on the players at his table. "It's been working out well for me, I am trying to get reads on my opponents, but I still tend to pull out my phone once in awhile."
Gurin has a successful first couple levels, running up a stack to around 3,400,000. It looks as though he is currently sitting at the top of the Day 1D leaderboard but there is still plenty of time left in the day. One of his key hands happened early in the day when he picked up ace-queen in the big blind. He was heads-up with an opponent to his left and flopped broadway. Gurin bet the flop, the turn, and shoved the river and his opponent called all three streets with two pair. Gurin said he is feeling comfortable with his table draw and looks to carry his momentum going forward.
The PokerNews live reporting team will continue to follow Gurin's progress throughout the Main Event to see if he can be the one to turn a $22 satellite ticket into nearly $2,000,000!