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Stephen Strout Leads Advancing 29 Day 1A Players to Claim $2,000 Bonus

Day 1A of the Mid-States Poker Tour bestbet Jacksonville Main Event drew 164 entrants, which puts the field well on pace to surpass the $200,000 advertised guarantee. After 14 levels of play, the field was whittled down to the final 29 players with Stephen Strout of St. Augustine, Florida and his stack of 304,000 leading the way.

For finishing as the Day 1A chip leader, Strout will take home a $2,000 bonus. All three of Strout’s previous three cashes have come in bestbet Jacksonville’s recurring tournaments with his biggest cash of $10,314 coming back in July 2016 after he took third in a $200 no-limit hold’em event.

Others who bagged and tagged were PeteTheodocian (267,500), Tim Alters (258,500), 2016 MSPT Wisconsin State Poker champ Andy Rubinberg (146,000), Brian Washington (145,000), Hal Lewis (128,500), Ryan Dunn (112,000), MSPT Season 8 bestbet Regional runner-up Jonathan Cronin (101,500), and Jeff Klein (95,000), who finished runner-up to Brian Arbaugh in this very event back in 2015.

Of course, not everyone was so fortunate. Among those to fall over the course of the day were MSPT bestbet Regional champ Mick Robilotto, host of the bestbet Poker Show Allie Hollander, MSPT Season 6 Player of the Year Mark Hodge, and MSPT regulars Jason Bender, Alex Smith, and Jim Boone.

Hollander’s bust was particularly painful as it came in the first hand after the dinner break. She had raised to 2,100 from early position, and Ben Scrogins called. A queen-high flop saw them get it all in, and Hollander’s ace-queen fell to Scrogins’ king-queen after he hit running straight cards. Scrogin busted a few levels later.

Fortunately, all those who busted have the chance to try again on Day 1B, which will kick off at Noon local time on Saturday. It’s the final starting flight, so if you want a shot at one of bestbet Jacksonville’s most prestigious title, you’d better get here by the time registration closes tomorrow (approximately 7:30 p.m.).

Six More Hands

The tournament staff just announced that the remaining players will play six more hands before bagging and tagging for the night. Stay tuned for chip counts and a full recap of the Day 1A action.

Dickie Malone doubles

In the last level of the night, Dickie Malone got his 60,000 stack all in with the against his opponents .

The board ran out a clean and Malone stacked up 145,000.

Dickie Malone - 145,000

Hal Lewis Finishes Off Anthony Astarita

Anthony Lewis was among the big stacks most of the day, but he went from penthouse to outhouse shortly after losing the big flip with Talesh Patel.

In what would be his final hand of Day 1A, Astarita got his last 43,000 all in preflop and was at risk against Hal Lewis.

Lewis:
Astarita:

Astarita was behind, but he was at least drawing to two live cards. He actually managed to make a straight after the board ran out , but the same river card gave Lewis a winning Broadway straight.

Hal Lewis - 175,000
Anthony Astarita - Busted

Talesh Patel and Anthony Astarita Flip for 150,000

We missed the preflop action, but we do know Talesh Patel and Anthony Astarita played a big pot that saw the former get all in for 72,900.

Patel:
Astarita:

It was a big flip, but Patel needed to improve to stay alive. The was a big miss for Patel, and so was the turn.

Much to the dismay of Astarita, the dealer put out the on the river and Patel shipped the doube with a rivered pair of kings.

Talesh Patel - 150,000
Anthony Astarita - 48,000

Chasing the $2,000 Chip Leader Bonus

Remember, whichever player finishes with the most chips here on Day 1A will be awarded a $2,000 bonus. Right now, the man out in front is Jacksonville native Tim Alters, who admitted he got lucky in a recent hand when he rivered aces and nines against an opponent who had nines and fours.

Wedra Scoops Big Pot, Eliminates Kleck

We rolled up to Table 65 with Jim Kleck all in for his last 27,000 on a flop. Kristen Kober called the all in and Angelo Wedra called as well. The turn was the . With Kleck all in already, Kober checked to Wedra, who announced all in. Kober thought for a moment and decided to join the party by calling Wedra’s shove.

Wedra’s flush was good, sending Kleck () to the rail and leaving Kober () with just 3,000 behind. Wedra is now up to 140K.

From there, Kober tripled, then doubled twice to get back to 40K.

A Late Night Double for David Edgerton

David Edgerton got his last 29,100 all in preflop, and Anthony Astarita, who appeared to have three-bet, made the call to put him at risk.

Edgerton:
Astarita:

It was a flip, but Astarita needed to improve to score the elimination. That didn’t happen though as the board ran out to give Edgerton the double.

Anthony Astarita - 135,000
David Edgerton - 65,000

MSPT Champ Gets Away with a Bluff...?

Wisconsin State Champion, Andrew Rubinberg, flew in from Chicago to enjoy this Florida weather, though he got a chilly reception at the table. In this video, we see him raise preflop and put in hefty bets on the flop, turn and river before his opponent finally releases.

He told us later on the record that he ran a three-barrel bluff with . Of course we all know poker players never lie!

Andy Rubinberg - 145,000

Rory McCloid Survives Joe Ferrara

Local player Rory McCloid got his last 16,700 all in preflop and found himself at risk against Joe Ferrara.

Ferrara:
McCloid:

It was a race and McCloid was just looking to hold to stay alive. Much to his delight, the board ran out a clean and he shipped the double.

Joe Ferrara - 40,000
Rory McCloid - 35,000