Nation's #1 Poker Tour

NATION'S #1 POKER TOUR JANUARY 2019 DO 4 CONSECUTIVE $1 MILLION PRIZE POOLS CHANGE YOUR TOURNAMENT PLANS? FireKeepers’ MSPT events are exploding! October 2018 saw 1,271 players and the prize pool cracked $1 million! 4th consecutive MSPT pool over $1 million. You read right. One. Million. Dollars. Enter the Super Satellites, Main Event Qualifiers or fly in for the Main Event. It’s time to Get Your Poker Face On at FireKeepers.

MSPT RETURNS SPRING 2019! MAIN EVENT MAY 16 – 19

$1,000,000 GUARANTEED MAIN EVENT PRIZE POOL

Visit FireKeepersCasino.com or call the Poker Room directly at 269.660.5631 for more details.

FireKeepersCasino.com I-94 to Exit 104 | 11177 Michigan Avenue

Must be 21 or older. Schedule subject to change. Management reserves all rights.

FK-33103_1.1_MSPT_Mag_8.375x10.75.indd 1 12/12/18 11:16 AM DO 4 CONSECUTIVE $1 MILLION PRIZE JANUARY 2019 Mid-States Poker Tour PAGE 3 POOLS CHANGE YOUR Letter from the Editor TOURNAMENT PLANS? FireKeepers’ MSPT events are exploding! BRANDON WELTER FLIPS WAY TO A October 2018 saw 1,271 players and the prize pool PLATINUM PASS cracked $1 million! 4th consecutive MSPT here was another big winner at the pool over $1 million. You read right. MSPT Canterbury Park, which awarded Vol. 4/No. 1 One. Million. Dollars. Enter the Super Satellites, Tone of the last available $30,000 Platinum Passes to January’s PokerStars President and Publisher Main Event Qualifiers or fly in for the Main Event. Players NL Hold’Em Championship (PSPC) in Bryan Mileski It’s time to Get Your Poker Face On at FireKeepers. the Bahamas. [email protected] A drawing was conducted in which eight Editor-in-Chief players were chosen at random to participate Chad Holloway in an eight-player heads-up Flipout Tourna- [email protected] ment. Those selected included two women in MSPT RETURNS Joan Sandoval and Jodene Jensen, two former Art Director SPRING 2019! MSPT champs in Dan “DQ” Hendrickson and Carolyn Borgen Mark Sandness, poker pros Kevin "1sickdis- [email protected] MAIN EVENT MAY 16 – 19 ease" Eyster and Eric Wasylenko, and two local Advertising Information players in Royce Cannon and Brandon Welter. [email protected] Ultimately Welter, a 24-year-old actuary for an insurance company, defeated Hendrickson, Story Ideas [email protected] $1,000,000 GUARANTEED Sandness, and Sandoval in three flips to win Brandon Welter MAIN EVENT PRIZE POOL the coveted Platinum Pass. In the first round, Our Mission he picked up pocket threes and held, and then in the second round rivered a queen MSPT Magazine is a monthly to advance. Finally, he flopped a pair of sixes on a 7x 6x 5x and held against Sando- magazine dedicated to serving val, who missed an open-ended straight draw. poker players and gaming facilities Visit FireKeepersCasino.com or call the Poker Room “A couple come-from-behind wins,” said Welter, whose biggest score in a poker through MSPT news, results, tour- directly at 269.660.5631 for more details. tournament has been $3,500. “I was feeling pretty nervous. I just tried to stay cool. nament schedules, player profiles and professional tips. Coupled with I’m super excited to go to the Bahamas. I’m sure I’ll get more and more nervous as our website, msptpoker.com, we it gets closer.” are the Nation's #1 Poker Tour.

Mid-States Poker Tour Lakeville, MN 612-743-9847

Mid-States Poker Tour is published on or near the first of each month. All claims or guarantees are the sole responsibility of the advertiser. All comments and views of contributing writers are their own and do not reflect official policy of Mid-States Pok- er Tour which assumes no liability for any advertisement not supplied camera ready by FireKeepersCasino.com the advertiser. Reproduction or use in whole I-94 to Exit 104 | 11177 Michigan Avenue or in part without written consent from the publisher and Copyright owners is prohibited.

Platinum Pass Finalists Must be 21 or older. Schedule subject to change. Management reserves all rights.

FK-33103_1.1_MSPT_Mag_8.375x10.75.indd 1 12/12/18 11:16 AM Mid-States Poker Tour

MSPTPOKER.COM JANUARY 2019 Mid-States Poker Tour PAGE 5 Player of the Year AARON JOHNSON NAMED SEASON 9 POY; EARNS WAY INTO MSPT HALL OF FAME BY CHAD HOLLOWAY

ith the eliminations of MSPT Hall of Famer Kou Vang Wand three-time champ Blake Bohn early on Day 2 of Season 9 POY Final Standings the MSPT Canterbury Park, Aaron Johnson officially locked up the MSPT Season 9 Player of the Year title. Place Name Points Few players have had as much success in 2018 as Minne- 1 Aaron Johnson 5,967 sota’s Aaron Johnson, who has thus far won a career-high $343,587. On Sunday at the MSPT finale at Canterbury Park, 2 Blake Bohn 4,600 Johnson was named the MSPT Season 9 Player of the Year 3 Kou Vang 4,300 after leading the race for the majority of the season. 4 Alex Winter 3,850 “It feels amazing. It’s surreal to have a year like this where 5 Richard Alsup 3,700 you ship two Player of the Years on two different tours,” 6 Ian Matakis 3,375 Johnson said. “Coming into 2018 I wanted to have a good year, 7 Osama Aweida 3,150 but I would never have imagined I’d be in this situation right 8 Rob WazWaz 3,050 now. It really feels surreal and I hope it’s not a dream.” 9 Ronnie Lamb 2,900 To date, Johnson has $857,187 in lifetime earnings, which puts him 22nd on the state's all-time money list. Two years 10 Greg Himmelbrand 2,750 ago, Johnson notched a career-high score of $96,787 when he finished 72nd out of a field of 6,737 in the 2016 World Series of Poker Main Event. the HPT Belterra Main Event in southern Indiana for $86,189, As far as the MSPT is concerned, Johnson has 28 Main Event and also finished eighth out of 624 entries in the HPT Chicago cashes and 6 Regional cashes for $250,981. Six of those cashes for $22,377 before finishing sixth in the season-ending cham- were Main Event final table appearances with his best finish pionship. to date being both second to Rick Burleson in April’s 2018 That means Johnson has accomplished the remarkable MSPT South Dakota State Poker Championship for $39,181, feat of winning two mid-major tour POY races in the same and second to Ryan Skluzak in August’s MSPT Grand Falls year! Truly unprecedented! for $33,834. He also took fourth place in February’s MSPT To top it all off, by winning POY Johnson has also become Canterbury Park for $34,183. the third player to win his way into the MSPT Hall of Fame Not content to stop there, Johnson took down May’s MSPT alongside Kou Vang and Rich Alsup. Johnson did so by Grand Falls Regional Event outside Sioux Falls, South Da- amassing 25 Main Event cashes with either a Main Event win kota, good for $21,268 before placing 15th in the MSPT Fire- or POY title. Keepers for $13,715. “I’m very proud of that accomplishment,” Johnson said. “I Over the summer, he placed 226th in an MSPT Venetian wanted to get in the Hall of Fame. I had a couple shots this event for $3,936, and then finished 29th in the 2018 MSPT Iowa year but I couldn’t win a Main Event which would have put State Poker Championship at Meskwaki Casino for $2,375. He me in. So to get it through POY is just awesome. I hope it’s the also took 32nd in the 2018 MSPT Michigan State Poker Cham- start of more things to come.” pionship for $5,172. For good measure, Johnson ended up finishing the season Not only that, Johnson recently won the HPT 2018 POY finale in 32nd place for an additional 350 POY points to bring race. Earlier this year he topped a field of 394 entries to win his yearly total up to 5,967.

MSPTPOKER.COM

Find your WIN.

Our comfortable 20-table poker room features tableside service and caters to real players with daily promotions and big-time tournaments like WSOP Circuit Events and the Mid-States Poker Tour: Wisconsin State Poker Championship (November 10—18) and other national/regional events.

Choose from Texas Hold ’Em Limit, No-Limit Texas Hold ’Em, Pot-Limit Omaha, Omaha Hi and Hi/Lo, and Seven-Card Stud, plus a Bad Beat Jackpot with consistently large pots.

1721 WEST CANAL STREET | MILWAUKEE, WI 53233 | 1-800-PAYSBIG | MUST BE AT LEAST 21 YEARS OLD WINNERS RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL TAXES | MANAGEMENT RESERVES ALL RIGHTS | GAMBLING PROBLEM? CALL 1-800-426-2535 ©2018 FOREST COUNTY POTAWATOMI COMMUNITY, WISCONSIN JANUARY 2019 Mid-States Poker Tour PAGE 9 Event Preview MSPT POKER BOWL III TO TAKE PLACE AT LAS VEGAS VENETIAN JAN. 31-FEB. 2

BY CHAD HOLLOWAY

or the third year in a row, the MSPT and the Venetian $107,381. Frist place was scheduled to pay $139,624. Last in Las Vegas are joining forces to offer a great year’s event, which attracted 827 runners, ended in a four-way Ftournament over the NFL’s Super Bowl Weekend. deal with Kfir Nahum ultimately taking the title and $108,410 The $1,100 buy-in Poker Bowl III will feature a $650,000 in prize money. Matthias De Cercq took second in that tourna- guarantee and offer two starting flights. Day 1A will take ment for the same amount of cash. First place in Poker Bowl place at Noon local time on Thursday, January 31, while Day II was scheduled to pay $157,233. 1B will take place at the same time on Friday, February 1. “For the sixth year in a row, the MSPT will return to the The surviving players from both flights will then return for Venetian Las Vegas,” said MSPT President Bryan Mileski. Day 2 at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 2 and play down to a winner. “Each year only seems to get bigger and better, and we’re That ensures players will be free on Sunday so they can expecting that to continue in Season 10 beginning with the enjoy the Super Bowl LIII, which is being held on February 3 Poker Bowl III. Unless you’re at the game itself, there’s no at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. better place to take in the Super Bowl than in Las Vegas.” The entirety of the tournament, which will feature 40-min- The MSPT Poker Bowl III is a part of The Venetian’s 2019 ute levels and start players with 20,000 in chips, will be live Deepstack Extravaganza I, which runs from January 28 reported on msptpoker.com. through February 25 and will offer more than $3 million in In 2017, the inaugural MSPT Poker Bowl I attracted 695 guaranteed tournament prize pools. entries and saw poker pro Jordan Young take home $117,381 Check out msptpoker.com for lodging and additional de- after a heads-up deal with Ankush Mandavia, who earned tails.

MSPTPOKER.COM Come experience Gun Lake Casino’s non-smoking 14 table poker room. The poker room has a variety of games including Omaha and Texas Hold ‘Em.

Every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. Plus, a $100 bounty tournament the last Sunday of every month.

GUNLAKECASINO.COM

PAGE 12 Mid-States Poker Tour JANUARY 2019 Event Recap ANDY RUBINBERG WINS MSPT SEASON 9 FINALE AT CANTERBURY PARK FOR $179,776

BY CHAD HOLLOWAY

he MSPT Season 9 Finale at Canterbury Park drew 977 entries creating a $977,000 Ttotal prize pool, which made it by far the largest major poker tournament ($1K+ buy-in) in Minnesota history. In the end it was Illinois’ Andy Rubinberg coming out on top to win a $179,776 first-place prize and his second MSPT title. With the win, Rubinberg moved into the No. 10 spot on the MSPT’s all-time money list with $386,537 in earnings. His other title came back in 2016 when he won the MSPT Wisconsin State Poker Championship for $120,808. “This is wonderful. Back in 2016 was my first big win, but this one confirms my game,” said Rubinberg, who was the short stack with 27 players remaining. “2016 was such a big year for me. I traveled in 2017 and lost money. A lot of travel in 2018 and losing money, I’ve been down all year. I’ve been working so hard, working with Chip Leader Coaching, studying, I felt so much more confident going into this final -ta ble and just feel I played so much better. Hard work pays off.” He continued: “This was a tough field, but aside from being such a big field a lot of big Andy Rubinberg pros came. I knew if I could win this one it leader Cherukuri Sandeep (43rd - $3,217), Day 1A chip leader would mean something. Outside of Vegas, this might’ve been Brad Berman (51st - $2,933), and Day 1B chip leader Rocco the toughest field ever.” Crivello (73rd - $2,460). For Rubinberg, this was his 11th MSPT Main Event cash Final Table Action and 3rd final table which includes 2 wins and a runner-up Iowa’s Jason Bender was the first to fall after running fives finish. into Joel Klipping’s aces. For Bender, this was his 9th MSPT Day 2 saw 148 players return to action, but with only 99 Main Event cash and 4th final table. Bender has also reached slated to get paid nearly a third of them left empty handed in- 4 MSPT Regional final tables on 5 cashes. He was followed cluding 2015 MSPT Wisconsin State Poker Champ Ben Wiora, out the door by Stuart Luhm, who fell when his pocket kings poker pro Jeff Fielder, three-time MSPT champ Carl Carode- were cracked by Jesse Rockowitz’s ace-nine all in preflop.’ nuto, and bubble boy Larry Ormson. This was Luhm’s 1st MSPT cash. Among those to cash but fall short of the final table were Rockowitz then dispatched soccer coach Jovan Sudar in MSPT Season 8 POY Chris Meyers (15th - $11,354), MSPT Sea- eighth place—the results of queen-ten making a straight son 9 Canterbury Park champ Rob Wazwaz (19th - $7,759), Aar- against ace-nine all in preflop. This was Sudor’s 4th MSPT on Johnson (32nd - $4,163), Craig Trost (35th - $4,163), MSPT cash and 1st final table. Sudor now has over $500K lifetime Meskwaki champ Taylor Howard (39th - $3,217), Day 1C chip live earnings which includes a $95K score for winning a

MSPTPOKER.COM JANUARY 2019 Mid-States Poker Tour PAGE 13 Canterbury Park

WSOPC event in 2010. Then Minnesota Poker Hall of Famer and professional Canterbury Park poker player Mike “Schneids” Schneider busted after los- Buy-in: $1,100 ♣ 977 Entrants ing two big hands to Ronnie Lamb. In the first, Lamb dou- bled with kings against ace-queen suited, and in the second Place Name City, State Prize Schneider failed to get there with queen-jack against king- 1 Andrew Rubinberg Chicago, IL $179,776 ten suited. This cash gave Schneid’s 8 total Main Event cashes 2 Ronnie Lamb Denver, CO $110,704 on the MSPT and this marked his 2nd final table and boosted 3 Joel Klipping Red Lake Falls, MN $81,278 his live career earnings closer to $1.8M. 4 Jesse Rockowitz Fairmont, MN $61,502 Maple syrup farm owner Tom Sadowski hit the rail after 5 Shawn Douglass Fridley, MN $46,363 getting his short stack in with queen-jack and failing to get there against Klipping’s Big Slick, and then poker dealer 6 Tom Sadowski Bloomington, MN $35,009 Shawn Douglass ran ace-jack smack dab into Rubinberg’s 7 Mike Schneider (MN) Minneapolis, MN $27,440 ace-queen to bust in fifth place. 8 Jovan Sudar Omaha, NE $21,762 Rubinberg then got lucky with ace-three all in preflop when 9 Stuart Luhm Plymouth, MN $17,037 he flopped two pair against Rockowitz, a 2010 WSOP bracelet 10 Jason Bender Keota, IA $13,247 winner, who had ace-queen. Two pair held and Rockowitz, the longtime chip leader at the final table, had to settle for fourth place and $61,502 in prize money. Professional poker the MSPT. Rubinberg took a big lead into heads-up play and player Rockowitz now has over $1.5M career live earnings. it didn’t take him too long to finish off Lamb. Klipping, the MSPT Season 6 Mahnomen Regional Event In the final hand of the tournament, Lamb check-raised all winner, then fell at the hands of Rubinberg running pocket in holding middle pair only to get called by Rubinberg’s top fours into eights. This was Klipping’s 10th Main Event cash pair. Lamb turned an open-ended straight draw but missed and 2nd final table. Klipping also has 3 MSPT Regional cash- it on the river. Lamb took home a career-high $110,704 for his es with 2 final tables. All told Klipping has $183K earnings on runner-up finish.

Final Table

MSPTPOKER.COM WEEKLY GUARANTEED POKER TOURNAMENTS PLUS BONUS OPPORTUNITIES AT

MAJESTICSTARCASINOPOKER VISIT MAJESTICSTARCASINO.COM FOR MORE DETAILS

OVER 1,600 SLOTS | 24-HOUR HIGH LIMIT TABLES

One Buffington Harbor Dr. | Gary, In | 888-225-8259

Must be 21 and a Majestic Rewards™ member. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-9-WITH-IT. JANUARY 2019 Mid-States Poker Tour PAGE 15 Event Preview MSPT RETURNS TO CHICAGOLAND AREA’S MAJESTIC STAR CASINO FOR TWO STOPS IN SEASON 10

BY MSPT POKER STAFF

or the third time ever, the MSPT is headed to Majestic (Season 5) when Ken Baime topped a field of 301 entrants to Star Casino in the East Chicagoland area (Gary, Indi- win the title for $77,681. Five months later, the tour returned Fana) in late January. to the venue and saw Brian Zimcosky top a 228-entry field to A series of $65 and $250 satellites will feed into the $1,100 win $61,870. buy-in MSPT141 Main Event, which requires players be 21+ The MSPT is slated to hold another $1,100 buy-in, $200K to play. That tournament, which will offer a $200K GTD, will GTD Main Event at Majestic Star from August 16-18, 2019. offer two starting flights starting with Day 1A at 3 p.m. on Fri- About Majestic Star Casino day, January 25. Day 1B will take place at the same time on Enjoy six floors of gaming action at Majestic Star Casino! Saturday, January 26. The surviving players from both flights They’re bringing the ‘Win’ to the Windy City! Located just 35 will then return at 11 a.m. on Sunday, January 27 to play down minutes from Downtown Chicago, our casino features a huge to a winner. selection of gaming options 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Also, on that Sunday there will be a $340 NLH Last Chance It’s there you’ll find over 1,700 Slots, table games, Baccarat, Casino Bonus Event beginning at Noon. poker, and more! You can also enjoy a wide variety of dining “Poker at Majestic Star has changed a great deal since our options, including their award-winning Steakhouse. With the last visit to the property,” said MSPT President Bryan Miles- latest slots and wide array of table games, Majestic Star has ki. “That’s due in no small part to new poker room manager something for everybody! Plus enjoy all your favorite games Nick Zacny, who is committed to revitalizing poker at Majes- on their new non-smoking level. tic Star. We’re looking forward to our return in Season 10.” Check out msptpoker.com for more details and complete The MSPT first visited Majestic Star back in March 2014 event schedule!

MSPTPOKER.COM

JANUARY 2019 Mid-States Poker Tour PAGE 17 Event Preview FIRST REGIONAL EVENT OF SEASON 10 TO TAKE PLACE AT TROPICANA EVANSVILLE JAN. 30-FEB. 3

BY MSPT POKER STAFF

he first Regional Event of the MSPT’s 10th Season will offer recreational players an affordable opportunity to play take place January 30-February 3 at Tropicana Evans- our lauded “Chainsaw Approved” structure. Tville in Evansville, Indiana. The tournament, which The MSPT first visited Tropicana Evansville for a Regional requires players be 21 or older, features a $350 buy-in and Event back in 2016 when Adam Thomas topped a field of 416 $100,000 guarantee. entries to win $30,674. In Season 8, Jason Gwinn walked away The stop will actually kick off on January 2, 2019 with a se- with a $35,443 first-place prize after coming out on top of a ries of $50 and $90 satellites that will feed into the Regional 511-entry field. Last year, Craig Smith prevailed over a 658-en- Event. Additionally, for the first time ever a Regional will fea- try field where first place was scheduled to pay $39,048! ture a slate of side events. Tropicana Evansville is a multi-million-dollar entertain- On Wednesday, January 30 at 5 p.m. there will be a MSPT ment complex located on the scenic banks of the Ohio River in $250 Tag Team Championship followed by a MSPT $125 Se- southwestern Indiana. The single-level 24-hour casino, which niors Championship (50+) on Thursday, January 31 at 10 a.m. opened on October 20, 2017, encompasses 45,000 square feet and a $125 Turbo Deepstack where players will begin with of gaming space featuring 1,175 slot games, 33 table games, a 25,000 chips on Friday, February 1 at 10 a.m. dedicated Poker Room and a High Limit Room. Accommoda- As for the Regional Event, it marks the 28th in tour history and fourth held at Tropicana. There will be three starting tions include a 243-room hotel tower and a 95-room boutique flights beginning with Day 1A at 5 p.m. on Thursday, January hotel. The property showcases an ultramodern entertain- 31. Day 1B will take place at the same time on Friday, Feb- ment lounge, five dining options, five bars, gift shop, confer- ruary 1. Then, on Saturday, February 2, Day 1C will kick off ence center, riverfront pavilion and a 1,660-vehicle attached at 2:30 p.m. The surviving players from each flight will then parking garage. return at 11 a.m. on Sunday, February 3 to play down to a win- For more information, visit tropevansville.com. To view ner. the complete MSPT Regional schedule and lodging options The Regional Events were introduced in January 2015 to go to msptpoker.com.

MSPTPOKER.COM • EARN $1 COMP per hour • FREE FOOD every Friday & Saturday • DAILY NLHE TOURNAMENTS • Daily HOTEL RATES (except Wed & Fri) • Every Dollar of your rebuy / add-on goes to prize pool

• WEEKLY REWARDS / GIVEAWAYS •Monday • Thursday Early Bird Promotion plus Food Voucher Gas / Gift Card • Tuesday • Friday Early Bird Promotion plus Food Voucher Gas Coupons at Promotional kiosk Buy in 100 chips and receive $20 bonus chips • Wednesday High Hand of the Hour plus Door Prizes • EARN $1 COMP per hour • FREE FOOD every Friday & Saturday • DAILY NLHE TOURNAMENTS • Daily HOTEL RATES (except Wed & Fri) • Every Dollar of your rebuy / add-on goes to prize pool

COMPETE FOR CASH AND PRIZES EVERY DAY AT BLACK HAWK’S BEST POKER PARLOR! FEATURING: 17 action-filled tables Five-table overflow room Daily tournaments

Must be 21 years or older and an A-Play® Club member to participate. Management reserves all rights. See Guest Services for complete details. Gambling Problem? Call 800-552-4700.

300 Main Street, Black Hawk, CO 80422 • 303-582-2600 • GoldenMardiGras.com JANUARY 2019 Mid-States Poker Tour PAGE 21

Strategy presented by Jonathan Little PROS AND CONS OF CHECKING AND BETTING IN THE DARK BY CHAD HOLLOWAY

Level 3 (100/200) of the MSPT Season 9 finale at Little: I really dislike Canterbury Park, Mark Cook (59,000) opened for the dark bet by Carode- In600 from early position and three-time MSPT nuto because there are champ Carl Carodenuto (21,500), known as a super-aggressive many boards where nines player, three-bet to 2,600 from the button. will want to check be- Both blinds folded and Cook called before checking in the hind. While you will want dark. Carodenuto then bet 4,000 in the dark before the flop to continuation-bet in came down 3♥10♦J♣. most spots due to having Cook called and then moved all in on the 9♣ turn. Carode- a range advantage, check- nuto snap-called off for 15,000 or so. ing makes sense from time to time. Carodenuto: 9♦9♥ How do you feel about Cook: A♣Q♣ Cook’s jam on the turn when he picked up the Carodenuto had turned a set but the same card gave cook straight and flush draws? an up-and-down straight draw plus a flush draw. Do you feel there was a The dealer burned one last time and put out the 5♣ to give better was to play it? Cook a winning flush and to send Carodenuto to the rail. Cook Little: I don't mind the chipped up to 80,000 after the hand for the early chip lead in all in. The turned nine Carl Cadodenuto the tournament. should be much better for It was a curious hand given the checking and betting in Cook than Carodenuto, so the dark. We decided to consult poker pro Jonathan Little of leading becomes an op- PokerCoaching.com to get his thoughts on how things played tion, especially if Carode- out. nuto will check behind with many marginal MSPT: What are your thoughts on checking in the dark as made hands. Leading the Cook did headed to the flop? turn with your best made Little: I typically do not check in the dark, but I do know hands and draws is a fine that when I have AQ that I will essentially never lead the play. flop because you should usually only lead when the board is excellent for your range, which implies middle card boards. PokerCoaching.com: Since AQ will have nothing at all on middle card boards, it The Official Training Site of the Mid-States will essentially never be a hand that needs to be led. Poker Tour That said, you certainly do not want to check with only PokerCoaching.com is an hands that you know you will never lead, as that narrows your interactive poker learning range for no reason. Perhaps Cook simply checks in the dark experience from two-time with all hands in this situation, opting to never have a leading WPT Champion Jonathan range, which is a perfectly viable strategy. Little. Try it for free at How about your thoughts on Carodenuto betting in the dark? PokerCoaching.com/mspt Mark Cook

MSPTPOKER.COM FORMER MSPT VENETIAN CHAMPS STRIKE IT BIG ON WPT & EPT

BY MSPT POKER STAFF

t’s always fun to see former MSPT winners find further success in the poker world. That Iwas the case for former MSPT Venetian champs Pavel Plesuv and Thomas Boivin. Over the summer, Plesuv topped a field of 1,096 runners to win the MSPT Venetian $3,500 NLH Event for $640,062, which made him the tour’s all-time poker money leader. In November, he followed it up by taking down the World Poker Tour Seminole Rock N Roll Poker Open for $504,820. As for Boivin, he bested a 2,887-entry field in the 2016 MSPT Venetian for $352,153. In Decem- ber, he bested that score by winning the Euro- pean Poker Tour Prague €25K Single Day High Roller for a career-high $426,861! Congratulations to both Plesuv and Boivin on their continued poker success! Pavel Plesuv Thomas Boivin

WE’RE THE POKER TAX SPECIALISTS.

RECEIVE A CONSULTATION TO MINIMIZE YOUR POKER TAX LIABILITY • Tax Return Preparation • Professional vs Amateur Classification • Foreign Bank Account Reporting • Professional Poker Deductions • US Taxation of Non-US Citizens • Chop Consulting

Visit us at PokerCPA.com Give us a call Offices in Nevada, California and New Jersey (702) 433-7075 WHEN YOUR CHIP STACK STARTS TO LOOK LIKE A SMALL CITY.

canterburypark.com JANUARY HIGHLIGHT: CARD CASINO CHEAP & DEEP NO-LIMIT HOLD’EM CONSTRUCTION $50,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool SPECIALS FREE BREAKFAST $70 QUALIFYING HEATS $275 MAIN EVENT FOR SEATED PLAYERS Top 20% advance to the Main Event Multiple Day-1 Flights: 7 AM - 9 AM, 7 days a week Tuesday, January 15 6:30 PM Day 1A: Wednesday, Jan 16 – 5 PM during construction Friday, January 18 12:30 PM Day 1B: Thursday, Jan. 17 – 5 PM Day 1C: Friday, Jan. 18 – 5 PM See canterburypark.com Day 1D: Saturday, Jan. 19 – 10:30 AM for more details Day 1E: Saturday, Jan. 19 – 5 PM Day 2: Sunday, Jan. 20 – 12:30 PM RACEBOOK OPEN DAILY

www.canterburypark.com • 952-445-6870 • 866-MN-POKER • 1100 Canterbury Road, Shakopee, MN 55379 MORE THAN $3 MILLION IN GUARANTEED PRIZE POOLS

JANUARY 28 – FEBRUARY 25, 2019

VIEW COMPLETE SCHEDULE AT VENETIAN.COM/DEEPSTACK AND FOLLOW ALL THE ACTION AT VENETIANPOKERROOM.BLOG THE BEST POKER ROOM IN LAS VEGAS