Poker Maximus III – Day 1 Recap

The first day of Poker Maximus III was spectacular as the third installment of this great tournament series got under way. Poker Maximus III opened up with three No Limit Hold’em events on Day 1, with buy-ins ranging from $10 to $200. Here’s how they finished.

Event #1: $60,000 Guaranteed NLH Freezout – ($200+15 buy-in)

When the first event of Poker Maximus III got down to heads-up play with two solid players, FresnoDull and Meronsa, these two were ready to throw the chips around. FresnoDull had built a solid lead when he decided to open-shove with an 8-9 suited. The bad news for him was that he had run into a monster as Meronsa looked down and saw pocket Queens and had no choice but to call.

How quickly bad news can turn good though in poker as a miracle flop of 8c,8s,9h came down all but assuring FresnoDull of the crown. Meronsa’s Queens were in bad shape and when a 4h and 6s fell on the turn and river, it was made official. Congrats to FresnoDull and all the other players that cashed.

Event #2: $15,000 Guaranteed NLH Freezeout – ($10+1 buy-in)

Heads up play in Event #2 wasn’t about the pre-flop all-ins like Event #1 was as Gametime0000 and eagle500 preferred to battle small-ball style.

On the final hand, Gametime0000 min-raised the blind to 160K and was met with a call from his opponent. The flop came down Ks,9d,Ts and eagle500 checked to the bettor. Gametime0000 though it was best to continue on and lead out with top pair as he was holding Ah,Kh. He wasn’t expecting to get raised there but that’s what happened and with top pair-top kicker, Gametime0000 decided to re-raise and shove all in.

That move turned out to be a fatal mistake though as eagle500 was holding pocket Aces and had trapped his opponent brilliantly. The 8h and 7h fell on the turn and river giving eagle500 the win with his pair of aces.

Event #3: $40,000 Guaranteed NLH Freezeout (6-Max) – ($100+9 buy-in)

The final event of the day saw clintonitis and costinlovejuve be the last ones standing for the first prize of $8200 and they staged a great war. The final hand saw costinlovejuve get pocket Jacks and was he was willing to risk it all to end it with such a strong hand.

Eventually the players went all-in pre-flop as clintonitis was holding a strong hand of Ad, Jc, himself and you really can’t ask for much more than that in heads-up play. However, when the flop came down Qh,5d,Js giving costinlovejuve his set, it was all but over for clintonitis unless he could hit runner-runner for a straight. The Qs ended all hope of that and costinlovejuve was crowned the champion one card later.

Final table results:

- Matt Skinner, Gambling911.com