$1,700 Main Event
Day 3 Completed
2019 World Series of Poker Circuit Thunder Valley
$1,700 Main Event
Day: 3
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 3
2019 World Series of Poker Circuit Thunder Valley
Buy-in
$1,700
Prize Pool
$627,210
Entries
414
Level
31
Blinds
60,000 / 120,000
Ante
120,000
Entries
9
Players Left
1
Level 31
: 60,000/120,000, 120,000 ante
The 2019 World Series of Poker Circuit Thunder Valley $1,700 Main Event marked the fifth time such an event had been played at the Thunder Valley Poker Room in Lincoln, CA. Paul Richardson had made three of the four previous final tables, with two fourth-place finishes and an eighth-place finish.
And in a casino where there are no number fours, it would prove to be Richardson’s magic number as his fourth final table appearance finally led to victory. Richardson outlasted a field of 414 entries to claim the top prize of $130,667 and shared his feelings on winning after the tournament.
“It’s fantastic,” said Richardson. “I’ve been playing poker for a long time, and (have) slowly but surely been getting better and better; grinding away, so to have a first big win feels great.” He said the final table had a lot of pressure and consisted of a lot of gambling across the entire table.
Richardson had his ups and downs throughout the day, though he said he felt good the whole time. “I kept saying to myself, ‘play your game. You know, play your strategy. I tried not to think about the tournament and where I was at; just purely play my game.”
Final Table Results
| Place | Winner | Country | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paul Richardson | United States | $130,667 |
| 2 | Arish Nat | United States | $80,761 |
| 3 | Travis Fujisaka | United States | $58,653 |
| 4 | Paul Chai | United States | $43,198 |
| 5 | Roman Shainiuk | United States | $32,271 |
| 6 | Bobby Pham | United States | $24,458 |
| 7 | Terence Reardon | United States | $18,810 |
| 8 | Landen Lucas | United States | $14,682 |
| 9 | Soumitra Nagar | United States | $11,634 |
Final Table Action
After playing through the final 45 minutes of Level 24 at the end of Day 2, the final nine came back for a fresh start Monday for the beginning Level 25.
The first hour of play saw Paul Chai, who entered the day second in chips, double up Travis Fujisaka with pocket jacks to pocket queens. Chai lost a bit more from there, but then doubled back up from Fujisaka to claim the chip lead.
Soumitra Nagar was then the first to bow out at the final table, lasting nearly two hours into the day. Nagar hit the rail after exhausting the last of a ten big-blind stack, getting all in preflop with ace-three against Travis Fujisaka's ace-jack. with Fujisaka chipping up to nearly 50 big blinds after the win.
Landen Lucas had come into the final table as the shortest stack and hung around long enough become the eighth-place finisher just 10 minutes after Nagar's elimination. A few hands later, Terence Reardon was the next to go out, finishing a slew of eliminations that came in rapid fire.
Reardon was the victim of a bad beat laid on by Bobby Pham, as Reardon woke up with pocket jacks in the big blind and called off his stack when Pham shoved all in from middle position. Pham had two fives and found a third on the flop, sending Reardon to the rail as the first break of the day began.
About 45 minutes into the next level, Pham then made his exit as the sixth-place finisher. He shoved all in with pocket sixes and ran into Chai's pocket eights. Pham couldn’t find a miracle this time and sent the tournament into five-handed play.
The action began to slow down with five players remaining. Arish Nat took advantage of the pace, chipping up with a handful of pots. Meanwhile, Chai’s stack went up and down several times, riding the roller coaster that ensued from his big-pot style of poker.
Roman Shainiuk, who entered the day looking for a wire-to-wire victory, had a smooth start to the day. He continued to build, eclipsing the four million chip mark in Level 27. By Level 28, however, Shainiuk’s luck ran out, and his tournament run ended when Chai took the last of his 1.1 million after shoving all in with queen-ten and not getting there against Chai's pocket sevens.
Four-handed play began with Richardson as the short stack, but he found a double with ace-ten to Chai's ace-four. His trend went straight up from there, vaulting to the chip lead when he knocked out Chai in fourth place after his pocket tens held versus Chai's ace-jack when the two got stacks in preflop.
Having battled as a short stack for much of the day, Fujisaka's then got last 17 big blinds in preflop with ace-ten to Nat's pocket fives. The flop gave Nat a set of fives but Fujisaka picked up both a wheel and nut flush draw in the process. He was unable to fill up further and finished in third place as a result.
Richardson entered heads-up play with roughly a two-to-one chip lead, though Nat won a series of pots early in the match to pull even. Play continued for about an hour after that, with Richardson regaining the chip lead several times, only to see Nat climb back into contention.
From there, Richardson would pull away one last time before the final hand of the tournament ensued. The two got stacks in on the flop after a single-raised pot preflop. Richardson shoved over a bet from Nat and was immediately called, with Nat holding a pair of threes on a jack-eight-jack flop. Richardson had ten-nine, giving him a ton of outs. The board double-paired on the turn to counterfeit Nat's two pair, and Richardson faded chop outs on the river to emerge as the victor.
After the tournament, Richardson was asked if he felt like this was his event: "Clearly," he responded with a laugh, adding that this was not only now his favorite event, but also his favorite place to play poker. "My friends keep saying, you always finish fourth, so it's great to finish first."
Level 31
: 60,000/120,000, 120,000 ante
Paul Richardson was in the small blind and completed, putting action onto Arish Nat, who pumped it up to 400,000. Richardson called and the flop came 
. Nat made a continuation-bet of 400,000 and Richardson reached for chips.
"All in," he announced. Nat called instantly.
Paul Richardson: 
"What is that?" said Nat from the other side of the table, leaning in to see what he was up against as he tabled 
.
Though Nat had a pair of threes, there were 17 cards in the deck he needed to fade between outs to an open-ended straight, overcards pairing, or the board double-pairing to counterfeit Nat's threes. The turn came 
to do the latter, leaving Nat in need of hitting a three to double or one of the remaining jacks, eights, kings, or aces in the deck to chop the pot. The river fell 
to improve Richardson further to a straight and the two got up to shake hands as the tournament concluded, with Nat taking home $80,761 for his efforts.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
12,420,000
4,075,000
|
4,075,000 |
|
Busted |
Level 31
: 60,000/120,000, 120,000 ante
Paul Richardson limped in from the small blind and Arish Nat raised his option to 400,000. Richardson called, bringing a flop of 
. Nat put out a continuation-bet of 400,000 and Richardson called.
The turn came 
and Nat continued, firing out another 800,000. With the chips in one stack, Richardson asked for a count and saw the total when the chips were cut into two stacks of four. He then put out a raise to 2.5 million and Nat quickly folded, resulting in the pot being sent his direction.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
8,345,000
2,225,000
|
2,225,000 |
|
|
4,075,000
-2,225,000
|
-2,225,000 |
Level 31
: 60,000/120,000, 120,000 ante
Arish Nat bet 350,000, and Paul Richardson called.
Both players checked the 
flop. Richardson check-called a 350,000 bet from Nat on the 
turn.
The river brought no help to either player, both players checked, and Richardson showed 
to take it down.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
6,300,000
-45,000
|
-45,000 |
|
|
6,120,000
45,000
|
45,000 |
Level 31
: 60,000/120,000, 120,000 ante
Paul Richardson limped in from the small blind, putting action on Arish Nat, who checked his option. The flop came 
and Nat check-called a bet of 225,000 from Richardson.
The turn fell and Nat checked again. Richardson put out another bet of 700,000 and Nat peeled, bringing the river 
. Both players checked to take the hand to showdown.
Nat announced a six, tabling 
for a pair of sixes. Richardson mucked and Nat took down the pot, regaining the chip lead in what has been a back-and-forth last few minutes.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
6,345,000
1,045,000
|
1,045,000 |
|
|
6,075,000
-1,045,000
|
-1,045,000 |
Level 31
: 60,000/120,000, 120,000 ante
Arish Nat completed the small blind and Paul Richardson checked his option. The two saw a flop of 
and both players checked.
The turn fell and Richardson checked. Nat bet 200,000 and Richardson put out a check-raise to 650,000. Nat called.
The river came 
and Richardson fired out a bet of around 1.4 million. Nat quickly folded and Richardson took back the pot and the chip lead to go along with it.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
7,120,000
970,000
|
970,000 |
|
|
5,300,000
-970,000
|
-970,000 |
Level 31
: 60,000/120,000, 120,000 ante
Paul Richardson opened to 350,000 from the small blind and Arish Nat defended. The flop came 
and Nat checked to Richardson, who fired a continuation-bet of 200,000. Nat called.
The turn was and Nat check-called a second barrel of 700,000 from Richardson.
The river came 
and Nat checked. Richardson thought for a few moments and announced a check behind.
"Flush," said Nat as he tabled . Richardson mucked, showing 
as he sent his cards to the dealer while the pot was sent Nat's way.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
6,270,000
1,785,000
|
1,785,000 |
|
|
6,150,000
-1,785,000
|
-1,785,000 |
Level 31
: 60,000/120,000, 120,000 ante
Arish Nat limped, and Paul Richardson checked back.
Nat bet 250,000 on the 
flop, and Richardson called. Both players checked the turn.
The river brought the 
, Richardson bet 400,000, and Nat raised to 1,000,000. Richardson went all-in over the top, and Richardson called.
Both players had the nuts, with Richardson showing , and Nat 
.
Level: 31
Blinds: 60,000/120,000
Ante: 120,000