Event #2: $365 No-Limit Hold'em (30 minute levels)

Local finance pro turns his last few big blinds into a gold ring and nearly $21k in cash

Dennis Tsai is the newest winner on the WSOP Circuit. Tsai took down the one-day $365 No-Limit Hold’em event, defeating a field of 291 entries to win the gold ring and the top prize of $20,950.

Tsai is a 30-year-old finance professional from the local area. “I just play poker on the side,” he said. “Mostly tournaments. I’ve had some luck in tournaments, so I sort of stick with it.”

After experiencing good success online, Tsai transitioned into a live tournament player, and he’s starting to accumulate some results in the brick-and-mortar realm, too. He finished as the runner-up in the very first WSOP Circuit event ever held at Horseshoe Baltimore in 2015 — “That was… nice… and very annoying,” he said — and he’s cashed in two of the three Main Events held at this property to date.

Tsai had to endure a bit of a rough start to his Event #2 run. “Today was crazy,” he said after the win. “I bought in three times, and I almost didn't buy-in the third time.” He did fire a third bullet, though, and it ended up being quite a profitable decision. Tsai doubled up just before dinner to claw back to average, then went on an after-dinner rush as the bubble approached.

Things started to unravel bit once the field crossed into the money, though. Tsai ran ace-king into pocket aces, had pocket kings cracked by pocket sevens, and ran ace-jack into ace-queen all within the span of a couple levels. That last loss knocked him all the way down to just five big blinds, but Tsai maneuvered his short stack with a deft hand.

“Shove, shove, shove,” he said. “Got some stacks back. Everything went well after that. After I had five bigs, it was all good,” he laughed. His fortunes turned around a bit at the final table, and he was able to win two huge pots to propel him toward the eventual victory.

In four-handed play, Tsai doubled up with pocket fours against pocket threes, and he found pocket aces against ace-eight to eliminate Brian Bailey in third place and take a big lead into the heads-up duel against Karlis Siljakovs III.
Siljakovs would not go quietly, though. He doubled back into contention on the first hand of the match and even worked his way into the chip lead at one point. Tsai battled back valiantly, though, and Siljakovs ended up bluffing off his stack with king-ten after Tsai flopped an ace with ace-ten suited. Tsai correctly snap-called a flop shove, and two blanks later, it was all over with Tsai holding the ring.

When asked what his plans are for the rest of the series, Tsai wasn’t quite ready to commit. “It was actually to-be-determined based on what happened today,” he said. “I have been running kinda like shit — er, crap — and it was kinda like, ‘Let’s just see how today goes.’”

The day went rather well, indeed, and Tsai is a big favorite to return for more ring and points hunting later in the week.

Dennis Tsai opens the button with a raise, and Karlis Siljakovs three-bet shoves for 530,000 in the big blind. Tsai ponders for maybe a minute, then calls to put Siljakovs at risk.

Tsai:   
Siljakovs:   

The board runs out      , and Siljakovs wins the pot with jacks up to double-up.

Karlis Siljakovs - 1,070,000 (27 bb)
Dennis Tsai - 1,840,000 (46 bb)

Brian Bailey opens with an under-the-gun raise to 105,000, and Tekky Andrew-Jaja three-bet shoves for 590,000 on the button. When the blinds fold, Bailey instantly calls all in for 530,000, putting himself at risk.

Bailey:   
Andrew-Jaja:   

The board runs out      , and Bailey wins the pot with a set of aces. Andrew-Jaja is left with less than two big blinds, and he's eliminated in fourth place one hand later.

Brian Bailey - 1,140,000 (29 bb)
Tekky Andrew-Jaja - Eliminated

John Gorsuch moves all in for 230,000 under the gun, and Dennis Tsai re-shoves on the button, isolating himself against Gorsuch and flipping for the knockout.

Gorsuch:   
Tsai:   

The     flop doesn't change anything, but the   on the turn gives Gorsuch a big lead with one card to come. The river is the  , though, and Tasi rallies to win the pot with a set of nines. Gorsuch is eliminated in fifth place.

Dennis Tsai - 675,000 (23 bb)
John Gorsuch - Eliminated

Jason Seitz takes his stand with    and a short stack, running his two Broadway cards into Tekky Andrew-Jaja's   . The board runs out ace-high and full of blanks, and Andrew-Jaja wins the knockout pot to extend his chip lead. Seitz is eliminated in seventh place.

Tekky Andrew-Jaja - 1,100,000 (55 bb)
Jason Seitz - Eliminated

Todd Bareika moves all in for 101,000 in early position, and Stephen Deutsch wakes up with an easy call in the big blind.

Bareika:   
Deutsch:   

The     flop is a good sweat for those who are into that sort of thing. Bareika flops top set, but Deutsch has 11 clean outs to the win. He needs to find an ace or a spade, but the turn and river come   and  , and Deutsch wins the pot with a set of eights.

Bareika is left with less than two big blinds after paying off his debt, and he's eliminated one hand later.

Todd Bareika - 228,000 (14 bb)
Stephen Deutsch - Eliminated

Halfway through Level 20, the field is trimmed to 18 players, and they've just drawn for new seats around the final two tables. Everyone remaining is now guaranteed to earn a four-figure payday this evening.

The first 12 levels are complete, and the field has been sent on a 45-minute dinner break. The board shows 63 players remaining with 30 spots paid, and they'll play it all the way out to a winner after dinner.

Level 8 concludes, and the field is on their second break of the day. When they return for Level 9, registration and re-entry will be closed, and the field will be locked.

The official numbers, including the prizepool information, will be announced shortly thereafter.

Cards are in the air for Event #2.