ClubWPT.com Level 1 Update

Three of the contenders vying for the top prize in this Foxwoods field won their way into the event through a tournament on the World Poker Tour’s subscription -based online poker site, ClubWPT.com.  These three men hail from all over the US, but share the common thread of playing in their first World Poker Tour event thanks to their success on the site.

So far, these three qualifiers have been holding their own against some stiff competition.  Dean Meyer, a rancher from North Dakota, is part of a tough table line-up that includes Noah Schwartz, John Racener, Steve Sung and two final tablists from the recent WPT Festa Al Lago evet, 6th place finisher Shawn Cunix and 5th place finisher Jason Burt.

Meyer tangled with Schwartz and another player in a raised pot with a flop of [Kh][Jc][4s].  As our live updates will tell you, Schwartz went on to win this pot when he rivered aces up.  Meyer informed us on the break that he had A-J for middle pair and wisely decided to abandon ship facing a bet and a raise on the turn.  Other than that hand, Meyer says the only other sizeable pot he played came when he picked up pocket tens and ended up folding after the flop.  Meyer ended Level 1 with 26,300 chips.

Jesse Lopez of Texas has dipped slightly below his starting stack of 30,000 as well.  He and the third ClubWPT.com qualifier, Martin Sasser, are coincidentally at the same table along with Scott Montgomery and Kyle Bowker and it was Sasser who took a bite out of Lopez’s stack early in Level 1.

In a multi-way pot with a flop of [Ks][9d][5h] Sasser bet out 500 from the blinds and Lopez raised to 1,500 total.  The other player in the hand folded and Sasser called.  The turn brought the [2s] and Sasser checked to Lopez, who fired out a bet of 2,000.  Sasser check-raised to 4,000 total and Lopex debated a moment before folding.

That would not be the only big pot for Sasser.  Later in the level the player on the button raised to 300 and Sasser called from the blinds.  The flop came [Kh][Tc][3d] and Sasser checked to the raiser, who threw out a single 5,000 chip.

As the dealer announced "5,000," the other player threw his hands in the air, perhaps because he did not mean to bet so much into the 600 chip pot.  To make matters worse for the player, Sasser check-raised him to 10,000 total.  Sasser’s opponent thought for a couple of minutes before throwing his hand away, boosting Sasser’s stack up to 40,475 going into break.  Lopez, on the other hand, ended the first 90-minutes with 25,050 chips in his stack. 

If you would like o win your way to a WPT Main Event on ClubWPT.com click on the link below for all the details.