Event #5: $365 No-Limit Hold'em

Georgian-American pro takes down $365 event for $13k and the jewelry

In the 13-year history of the WSOP Circuit, less than 20 players have won at least five times on the traveling tour. Roland Israelashvili added his name to the short list on Wednesday.

Israelashvili took down the $365 no-limit hold’em event at Horseshoe Baltimore, outlasting a field of 165 entries to win his fifth gold ring. The victory was his eighth in-the-money finish this season, and this one earned him $13,364 in cash.

The newest member of the five-time club is a 59-year-old Georgian-American pro who’s spent the majority of his life in and around Queens, New York. His previous careers included open-wheel racing — he earned the nickname “Speedy” for that reason — and small business ownership, but he’s been playing poker professionally since 2005.

In that time, Israelashvili has amassed close to $3 million in live tournament earnings, including these five rings. He’s also made three WSOP final tables, including a third-place finish in the 2012 Poker Players Championship, demonstrating his ability to play the eight-game mix at a world-class level. There’s also that 37th-place finish in the 2005 WSOP Main Event on his record.

As far as poker tournaments go, this one went rather swimmingly for Israelashvili. After a productive day to that point, he entered the final table second in chips behind Kurt Jewell, a Kentucky pro who already has five Circuit victories on his record. “Kurt was tough,” Israelashvili said in his postgame interviews. “He had a big rush.”

With eight players left, though, Israelashvili took the chip in a double knockout pot in which his pocket tens won a flip against two sets of overcards. He was out-flopped by the player holding king-queen, but Israelashvili turned a set of tens to score the double knockout and catapult into the chip lead with six players remaining.

From there on out, it was relatively smooth sailing for the champ. “When you’re destined to win a tournament, you can’t screw it up,” he said. “Sometimes, that’s how it feels.”

The dangerous Jewell dropped out in third place, and Israelashvili entered the heads-up match against Mayb Sersland with a significant chip disadvantage. He doubled into the lead about a half hour into the match, though, and a few hands later, it was all over, with Israelashvili posing for photos with ring number five.

A WSOP bracelet is one of the few accolades missing from Israelashvili’s career stat sheet, a distinction he’s intent on changing this summer in Las Vegas. “This is the year,” he said firmly. “Yes. This is the year.”

With the summer’s festivities less than a month away, Israelashvili seems to have gotten hot at the right time, and he’ll be one worth keeping an eye on once the Series begins.

The two finalists build a pot of 175,000 heading to the river of a       board. On the last street of betting, Roland Israelashvili gets his last 600,000 chips into the middle, with Mayb Sersland putting him at risk.

Sersland shows    for two pair, but it's no good. Israelashvili tables   , winning the pot with the nut straight and doubling back into the chip lead.

Roland Israelashvili - 1,375,000 (69 bb)
Mayb Sersland - 275,000 (14 bb)

Kurt Jewell opens the button with a raise, Mayb Sersland calls in the small blind, and Roland Israelashvili defends his big blind to create a family pot.

The flop is    . It checks to Jewell, who continues for 48,000. Sersland folds, but Israelashvili check-raises all in for 235,000 total. Jewell instantly calls to put his opponent at risk, and the news for Israelashvili is not at all favorable.

Jewell:    (pair of jacks)
Israelashvili:    (pair of tens)

"Wow, I have a jack too," Israelashvili laments as he sees Jewell's hand. "I'm in bad shape."

The turn is the timely  , though, giving Israelashvili the lead with trip tens and leaving Jewell dead to the case jack. The river is the  , and Israelashvili doubles up.

Roland Israelashvili - 590,000 (37 bb)
Kurt Jewell - 355,000 (22 bb)

Jonathan Kosinski opens to 37,000 under the gun, and Kurt Jewell three-bet shoves with the table's big stack. Kosinski calls all in for about 350,000 total, putting himself at risk.

Kosinski:   
Jewell:   

It's the same showdown in which Jewell doubled though Roland Israelashvili a short while ago, though he has the overcards this time. The result is the same, though, as Jewell wins the flip on the       run-out. He opens up a gap on the rest of the table with that pot, eliminating Kosinski in fifth place.

Kurt Jewell - 802,000 (50 bb)
Jonathan Kosinski - Eliminated

Jonathan Kosinski moves all in for 157,000 preflop, and Kurt Jewell puts him at risk on a coin flip.

Kosinski:   
Jewell:   

The board runs out      , and Kosinski wins the flip to double-up with a pair of nines.

That encounter costs Jewell most of his stack, but he finds a spot to recover his losses shortly thereafter. The five-time Circuit winner gets his last 104,000 chips into the middle preflop against four-time winner Roland Israelashvili a few hands later. It's another race, but Jewell has the pocket pair this time.

Jewell:   
Israelashvili:   

The board comes      , and Jewell doubles back with tens up.

Jonathan Kosinski - 335,000 (56 bb)
Kurt Jewell - 229,000 (23 bb)
Roland Israelashvili - 410,000 (41 bb)

There is a single big blind for this hand, and Anthony Collurafici moves all in for 68,000 second to act. Stephen Deutsch calls on the button, committing about half his stack to put Collurafici at risk.

Collurafici:   
Deutsch:   

The board runs out      , and Deutsch runs down a queen-high straight to earn the knockout pot. Collurafici is eliminated in ninth place.

Stephen Deutsch - 222,000 (37 bb)
Anthony Collurafici - Eliminated

On the fifth hand of the day, Anthony Collurafici moves all in for 63,000 in middle position. A couple seats over, Roland Israelashvili three-bets to around 150,000, isolating himself against Collurafici and flipping for the knockout.

Collurafici:   
Israelashvili:   

Collurafici has to sweat it all the way to the end, but the river of the       board gives him a double-up with a pair of queens.

Anthony Collurafici - 145,000 (24 bb)
Roland Israelashvili - 160,000 (27 bb)

Midway through Level 16, the field is reduced to 18 players, and they're in the money in Event #5. Everyone left is now guaranteed to earn at least $664 as they draw for new seats once again. Dennis Phillips (pictured), Kurt Jewell, Roland Israelashvili, T.M. Williams, and points contender Stephen Deutsch are all among the remaining field. Deutsch is seeking what would be his third final table through five events.

Blinds are 1,500/3,000 with a 500 ante in the current level, putting the average stack just north of 30 big blinds. There are just over two levels of play left in Day 1.

This $365 buy-in event attracted 165 entries, creating a prizepool worth $49,500. That money will be shared by the final 18 players, with a min-cash worth $664. The winner will collect the series' fifth gold ring and the top prize of $13,364 in cash.

The full breakdown can be found in the "Prizepool" tab above.