Level: 5
Blinds: 150/300
Ante: 25
2014 Hollywood Poker Open Charles Town Regional Event
HPO Charles Town Regional Championship
Day: 1
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2014 Hollywood Poker Open Charles Town Regional Event
Buy-in
$1,629
Prize Pool
$116,928
Entries
72
Level
23
Blinds
10,000 / 20,000
Ante
3,000
![[user253757]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
Level 4
: 100/200, 25 ante
The players are back from break and cards are in the air once again.
Level 4
: 100/200, 25 ante
The remaining players in today's Day 1 field have taken a brief break to stand, stretch or smoke, and play will resume in 15 minutes.
Level 4
: 100/200, 25 ante
A crowd of players craning their neck around a tournament table is a tell-tale sign that a major pot is being contested, and after a quick visit we confirmed that to be the case.
Valerie Novak had her stack pushed forward and the 
triumphantly displayed in front, and with the final board showing 
her flush had the best of it. According to Novak - who recently finished in 4th place at the Borgata Winter Poker Open Ladies Championship - her opponent had flopped a set of fives with 
, but the board failed to pair up and her flush faded the full house possibilities.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
41,000
41,000
|
41,000 |
Level 4
: 100/200, 25 ante
With 64 entries recorded midway through the late registration period, the HPO Charles Town Main Event is nearing the season high of 67, which was recorded two weeks ago at the St. Louis stop.
Players who bust out can opt to fire another bullet before the beginning of Level 7, and latecomers who prefer to skip the early levels can take their seat anytime before then. With that in mind, we expect to set a new season record for turnout here at the fifth of six stops on the Hollywood Poker Open's second season.
Level 4
: 100/200, 25 ante
We've hovered around Chris Moneymaker's table for minute after minute, hoping to catch the 2003 WSOP Main Event champ playing for a monster pot.
Instead, all we've seen is a steady surge to the top of the chip counts, as Moneymaker wins two or three pots per orbit. None of the hauls have been huge on their own, but strung together in succession these wins have catapulted Moneymaker to more than quadruple the starting stack.
Recently, after losing a small pot to the champ, an unidentified player looked across the table and told the dealer jokingly "you keep pushing the pot to him!"
Moneymaker quietly stacked his chips and added them to his castle, but when the opponent asked him "you can't hit every flop can you?," the Hollywood Poker Open's Ambassador lived up to his title.
"Well, sure I can..." offered Moneymaker, before the conversation turned his book Moneymaker, written in 2005 during the heyday of the Moneymaker Boom.
"I read in your book that players kept trying to take you on after you took down the Main," said the man, clearly quite pleased with the chance to play with and talk to a World Champion. "Is that still a good thing ten years later?"
"You bet it is..." replied Moneymaker in his distinctive drawl, a sly grin spreading across his face. "Although not always in tournaments, but yeah, its not a bad problem to have."
Apparently not, as most of the players who have tried taking Moneymaker on here today have slid a slice of their stack in his direction.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
81,000
22,000
|
22,000 |
|
||
Level 4
: 100/200, 25 ante
With experienced touring pro Lee Childs in the field today - he of 2007 WSOP Main Event final table fame - there are two players in action with more than $1 million in live tournament earnings (the other being Chris Moneymaker).
Although Bill Childs may not have seven-figures to his credit, Lee's father is an accomplished player in his own right, holding his own through this HPO Charles Town series to near the top of the series points standings.
Bill has a bit of work to do here today though, after a recent hand saw his stack dip below the 10,000 mark.
The action began when Bill raised to 800 out of the small blind and received a lone caller from the button. On the 
flop Bill led out for a smallish bet of 600, only to see his opponent flat call in position.
The turn (
) and river (
) were both checked down, and Bill tabled his 
hoping to have the winner, but the other player produced an 
for top pair to earn the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
9,500
-9,000
|
-9,000 |
Level 4
: 100/200, 25 ante
After the dealer fanned a flop of 
across the felt, a player in the small blind decided to lead out for 1,150, only to see Bill Kridle raise it up to 3,900.
Kridle's opponent tanked for about 30 seconds or so, before suddenly announcing himself all in and moving about 21,500 into the middle. With the action back on him, Kridle shrugged just a bit and announced the call, revealing 
and asking the dealer to pair the board. Although he had flopped top set, Kridle rightfully feared a made flush or a club draw, but his opponent could only muster the 
for an overpair in red cards.
Kridle was a bit surprised to learn he needed to fade only two outs, and when the turn () and river () brought no ladies to the party, Kridle scored the huge double.
"I folded pocket aces there..." said Todd Echols. "Two red aces, couldn't call it though."
Echols' supremely disciplined call was impressive to say the least, but as poker can do so often, the right move was not met with a just reward. His set of aces on the river would've sent the day's biggest pot to Echols, but despite the what-could-have-been moment, he was simply happy to still have a stack in play.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
42,000
42,000
|
42,000 |
Level: 4
Blinds: 100/200
Ante: 25
Level 3
: 100/200, 0 ante
Here are a few of the bigger stacks we've spotted so far, along with the current counts for our field's most notable players.
After winning the last HPO Main Event in St. Louis for a $36,259 haul, the 2003 WSOP Main Event Champion continues to roll here today. With nearly 60,000 chips at his disposal, Moneymaker has tripled his starting stack - a dangerous prospect for the amateur-heavy field trying to compete against one of poker's true legends.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
59,000
15,000
|
15,000 |
|
|
||
|
47,000
19,500
|
19,500 |
|
|
42,000
9,500
|
9,500 |
|
24,300
-2,700
|
-2,700 |
|
22,400
2,400
|
2,400 |
|
|
18,500
-1,500
|
-1,500 |