Meskwaki Casino

Day 1B Completed, Ryan Tepen Leads Flight

Day 1B closed out another exciting Day 1 of play here in the 2019 MSPT Iowa State Poker Championships and in the end Ryan Tepen was left standing as the top chip stack for today’s flight.

The two-time WSOP Circuit Ring Winner led the way with 305,000 chips followed by Dave Soderstrom at 276,500 and Henry Gingerich at 231,000. Rounding out the top five were WSOP bracelet winner Grant Hinkle at 197,500 and former MSPT champion Taylor Howard with 189,000. Other notables include Col Lovelock with 162,000, William Reynolds holding 148,000 plus Kou Vang and Rob Wazwaz both with 83,500.

Many notables were not so luck to escape the flight including MSPT Hall of Famer Aaron Johnson and past MSPT Iowa Champions Brian Soja, Steve Federspiel and Ken Komberec. Also missing the cut were former MSPT champions Ahmed Talib, David Gonia, Ryan Skluzak and TJ Ryan, former MSPT Player of the Year Mark Hodge and WSOP Bracelet winner John Reading.

Tonight’s flight added another 237 entries taking the final total for the tournament to 401 entries creating a prize pool of $387,470 easily clearing the $300,000 guarantee. 33 players made it through the Day 1B flight and will join the other 21 players from Day 1 bringing a total of 54 players coming back for play on Day 2 on Sunday.

Day 2 play will resume at 11 AM in the Meskwaki Veterans Convention Center inside the Meskwaki Bingo Casino Hotel. The final table will be broadcast on a 15 minute delay here on the MSPT Poker website.

Congratulations to everyone who advanced to Day 2 as we look forward crowning a champion Sunday on the Mid-States Poker Tour!

Tepen Retakes Chip Lead

Ryan Tepen has been hovering around the top of the leader board all day, and recently retook the chip lead.

In a hand with Vlad Tkachuk that took the better part of five minutes that ended in the Ukranian pro folding to Tepen’s big River bet, the Bowling Green, Missouri poker pro retook the top overall spot with the pot.

33 players yet remain in today’s Day 1B.

Mr. 300,000

It’s been a minute since anyone has crested 300,000, but Dave Soderstrom is the most recent competitor in Day 1B with over 300,000 in tournament chips.

The St. Paul, Minnesota resident Soderstrom has 2 MSPT cashes in his career, one of which was a final table at Running Aces Casino in 2016. And he’s well poised to add to that resume here in Tama at the Meskwaki Bingo Casino Hotel this weekend.

MSPT and Flop The World (FTW) Join Forces to Offer Players Line of Tour Apparel! Enter code SHIPMSPT for Free Shipping

For Season 10 we will once again would be joining forces with Minnesota-based Flop the World (FTW) to offer players an expanded line of MSPT-branded t-shirts, hats, and hoodies.

“We’re excited to partner with FTW to greatly expand out MSPT offerings,” said MSPT President Bryan Mileski. “FTW is quickly establishing itself as a premier brand in poker apparel. Their innovative designs and high-quality products ensure that, like the MSPT, it’s a company suited for players.”

You’ll be able to find such items, along with others from FTW’s wider apparel line, at MSPT stops across the country. For those who simply can’t wait or want a wider variety to choose from, you can now order online at floptheworld.com/collections/mspt

A Missed Opportunity

Some hands play themselves. When you get to this point of a tournament, you see your standard race situations and pairs versus pairs. But sometimes something unusual happens, and that is exactly what happen just recently late in Day 1B.

Action started with Taylor Howard, probably the tournament’s chip leader at this point, making it 7,000 to go. Just behind him, Henry Gingerich raised it to 15,500. Directly behind Gingerich, Jeffrey Minnerly went all-in for 42,500. Jason Mull in the 3-Seat and the small blind asked for chip counts all around, pondering whether he should get into the fray.

He ultimately folded.

Taylor Howard, the initial raiser, also had a tough decision to make.

He also ultimately folded.

Both men rued their decision when Gingerich and Minnerly turned their hands over.

Gingerich:

Minnerly:

The run out did not deliver a 4-card flush for either player, running out , and they split the pot. Had either Hoeward or Mull called, they would have won the hand; Mull saying he folded and Howard mentioning he folded .

Oh what could have been.

All four players remain solidly in the action, with Minnerly shortest of the four hovering around 50,000. Gingerich is much healthier, nearing 180,000.

2019 MSPT Iowa State Poker Championship Payouts

MSPT 152
2019 Iowa State Poker Championship
$300,000 Guarantee
Entries: 401
Total Prize Pool: $387,470

1st: $85,241
2nd: $52,696
3rd: $38,360
4th: $28,285
5th: $28,285
6th: $16,274
7th: $12,787
8th: $10,074
9th: $7,362
10th-12th: $6,200
13th-15th: $5,037
16th-18th: $4,262
19th-21st: $3,642
22nd-24th: $3,139
25th-27th: $2,712
28th-36th: $2,325
37th-45th: $2,131

Aces, Kings, and Tens: OH MY!

Things got heated when Jason Mull shoved all in for 58,000, UTG. He got a call from Jeffery Minnerly, on the cutoff. Allen Stern took his chance to go all in for more and Minnerly called for cards to be tabled.

Stern:
Mull:
Minnerly:

As the cards were tabled, the dealer said out loud “aces, kings, and tens, OH MY!” and the flop was presented with . Mull sat down relieved.

Turn and river couldn’t help either opponents with the

Allen Stern - 7,000 (2 BB)
Jason Mull - 168,000 (56 BB)
Jeffery Minnerly - 47,000 (16 BB)

Tolander's River Queen Ends Paddolkar's Day

Sometimes poker can be cruel, and Vinodkumar Paddolkar found himself on the wrong end of variance to end his run late in Day 1B at the hands of Adam Tolander.

Action started when Yashveen Mudireddy made it 7,500 to go from middle position. The Burlington, Iowa resident Paddolkar pushed all in for more than 50,000 total over the top from the small blind, and after tanking on a decision for a little bit Adam Tolander called from the big blind behind him. Mudireddy folded, and the players turned up their hands.

Paddolkar:

Tolander:

The board run-out brought the maximum amount of pain for Paddolkar, who maintained his lead through the Flop and the Turn before the poker gods struck down a . Audible groans could be heard from other players at the table, but to his credit Paddolkar took the bad beat in stride and wished his former table-mates luck on the way out the door.

Tolander’s good fortune brought him well above 200,000 in tournament chips for the first time today.

Matheson With The Great Call

This ain’t Joe Matheson’s first rodeo.

The Andover, Minnesota, player has MSPT results dating back to Season 1 of the Tour, where he won a MSPT Main Event in 2010 at Running Aces Harkness Park. Overall, Matheson has 12 Main Event MSPT cashes with 5 final tables during that time.

Matheson found himself in a tussle with 20-year-old Peyton Smith, who is having himself quite the tournament, late in the running. Smith had raised under-the-gun and action folded around to Matheson who called in the big blind. The Flop came , the Turn was , and the River was . At every opportunity, Matheson checked and Smith wagered. 5,000 preflop, another 5,000 on the flop, 11,000 on the Turn, and then once Matheson checked for the fourth time Smith went all-in on the River. Matheson quickly called, putting his last 22,000 at risk.

Smith showed his , and Matheson flipped up his to show down the pair of Aces for the win. Others at the table expressed their shock with the speed and assuredness of Matheson’s call, with Rob Wazwaz expressing “great call!” quite loudly in response to seeing the players’ hands.

Matheson now has more than 100,000 in tournament chips, while Smith took a massive hit, dropping below 50,000.

Claim Your Free eBook from a Two-Time World Poker Tour Champ Now!

Right now, MSPT players can get a free copy of Jonathan Little’s ebook Strategies for Beating Small Stakes Poker Tournaments. Simply visit JLPoker.com/mspt to claim your copy.

In Strategies for Beating Small Stakes Poker Tournaments, you’ll discover:

- The reasons pros make the plays they make and how you
- The pitfalls to avoid that will allow you to crush your mistake-prone peers
- How to stop blaming bad luck and learn the real secret to mastering poker
- Skills that will instantly improve your poker game can adopt their methods
- How to win more money from poker, and much, much more!

Don’t miss your chance to learn from the best for FREE! Click here to download Jonathan Little’s ebook Strategies for Beating Small Stakes Poker Tournaments.