Poker Betting Strategy

Scott Stanko of Nebraska topped a field of 290 in the Main Event to earn the WSOP-C ring and $101,266 first prize, as the latest stop on the World Series of Poker Circuit ended late in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

Following a couple of Day 1 flights the money bubble burst on Day 2 as the top 30 finishers made the cash in this $1,600 buy-in event. Jim Devaney (10th, $7,523), Eriquezzo (13th, $6,182), Allen Kessler (15th, $6,182), Huy Nguyen (20th, $4,355) and Kevin Saul (28th, $2,861) were among those making the money but not quite getting to Tuesday’s final nine-handed table.

Sitting with over 1.48 million or about one-fourth of the chips in play with nine left, it was Stanko carrying the chip lead to the final table. Stephen Ma was Stanko’s closest challenger with 928,000 when the final table began, with Pejman Niyati not far back in third with 875,000.

Iowa Main Event to claim the Circuit ring and the $101,266 first place payday, Stanko defeated a field of 290 players in the $1,620 WSOPC Council Bluffs. The event still managed to see growth over last year in spite of the schedule. It ran over Easter weekend and even took Sunday off so players could celebrate the holiday. In 2011, champion Blair Hinkle earned just over $88,000 for the victory and the event drew 252 players. This year, on the WSOPC schedule, the field saw 16% growth after moving from the fall to the spring.

Dennis Phillips, Jacob Bazeley, Chris Bell, Scott Clements and Kevin Saul were some of the notable names who made the trek to Iowa. Saul finished in 28th place and managed to make the money. Ryan Eriquezzo (13th), Allen Kessler (15th), WSOPC Ring Winner Huy Nguyen (20th) and Will Souther (22nd) also finished in the money. A piece of the $421,950 prize pool was earned by the top 30 finishers.

Stanko, before claiming his ring and his title had to deal with a formidable foe heads-up. He was contesting against Charles “Woody” Moore. Stanko defeated Moore after a nearly two-hour heads-up battle. Moore added yet another big score to his WSOPC resume and he earned $62,584 for the runner-up finish.

The next stop for the WSOPC is already underway in St Louis. From April 21st thru April 23rd, the Main Event of that series is scheduled to run. For the series over last year, the attendance at the 2012 WSOP Circuit Council Bluffs was up 35 percent, with the main event seeing a 16 percent increase.