Aaron Mermelstein Leads After Day 1A
Aug 21, '15
Former World Poker Tour champion Aaron Mermelstein bagged the chip lead at the end of day 1A with a massive stack of 258,900.
A total of 164 players showed up on the first of two starting days and 32 made it through to day 2. Players who bagged include recent World Series of Poker National Championship third place finisher Darryll Fish, Eddy Mroczkowski, Andrew Dykeman and Diane Casino.
Day 1A Chip Counts
| Rank |
Player |
Chip Count |
| 1 |
Aaron Mermelstein |
258,900 |
| 2 |
Darryll Fish |
214,500 |
| 3 |
Richard Samonsky |
180,700 |
| 4 |
James Brown |
176,200 |
| 5 |
Brandon Miller |
172,500 |
| 6 |
Derek Updegraff |
170,900 |
| 7 |
Hoi Ream |
159,000 |
| 8 |
Talesh Patel |
138,700 |
| 9 |
Wilbur Augenstein |
129,300 |
| 10 |
George Woofe |
120,100 |
| 11 |
David Trager |
117,100 |
| 12 |
Antony Vidmer |
107,200 |
| 13 |
Allison Hollander |
103,000 |
| 14 |
Andrew Dykeman |
98,500 |
| 15 |
Matthew Wright |
97,200 |
| 16 |
Robert Wesley |
93,600 |
| 17 |
Lawrence Paden |
88,300 |
| 18 |
Chad DeBerry |
88,000 |
| 19 |
Andrew Lindenfelser |
87,200 |
| 20 |
George Levin |
75,300 |
| 21 |
Eddy Mroczkowski |
65,000 |
| 22 |
Erik Christensen |
64,100 |
| 23 |
Ben Carli |
64,000 |
| 24 |
Matthew Zimmerman |
58,000 |
| 25 |
Diane Casino |
51,200 |
| 26 |
Jonathan Cook |
50,300 |
| 27 |
Yi Chi Li |
49,800 |
| 28 |
Mike Heflin |
48,900 |
| 29 |
John O’Neal |
39,900 |
| 30 |
Mark Stephen Edwards |
22,000 |
| 31 |
Rusty Stowe |
18,800 |
| 32 |
Stephen Cheski |
14,500 |
Player Tags: Aaron Mermelstein
Mermelstein Gets Big River Value
Aug 21, '15
With a board of Q
5
2
8 Derek Updegraff bet 9,400 and Aaron Mermelstein called.
The K hit the river and Derek Updegraff checked. Mermelstein then cut out a huge bet of 40,000.
Updegraff confirms with the dealer the size of the bet and after plenty of thought made the call, only to muck when Mermelstein showed him the Q
8 for two pair.
Updegraff is still among the biggest stacks in the room, but Mermelstein has surged into the lead with over 270,000.
Player Tags: Derek Updegraff, Aaron Mermelstein
Maurice Hawkins Eliminated by Aaron Mermelstein
Aug 21, '15
Maurice Hawkins raised to 4,300 from early position and Aaron Mermelstein called from middle position everybody the two players get Hawkins’ approximately 1,500 remaining chips into the middle dark.
Hawkins showed Q10 and needed a lot of help against Mermelstein’s KKd. The board ran out A656A and Hawkins is eliminated.
Aaron Mermelstein – 96,500
Maurice Hawkins – Eliminated
Player Tags: Maurice Hawkins, Aaron Mermelstein
Aaron Mermelstein Spikes a Jack to Stay Alive
Aug 21, '15
There was a flurry of preflop raising between a player in early position and Aaron Mermelstein in the big blind. After a few raises, Mermelstein got his last 39,500 into the middle preflop and the cards were tabled.
Mermelstein tabled JJ and was in bad shape against his opponent’s QQ. The dealer spread a flop of J74 and the WPT Champion took the lead. The turn was the 3 and the river was the A to give Mermelstein a double up.
Aaron Mermelstein – 82,000
Player Tags: Aaron Mermelstein
A Look at Chip Counts
Aug 21, '15
Here is a look at the bigger stacks in the room, and some notable pros left in the field.
Aaron Mermelstein – 133,000
Matthew Wright – 126,000
George Woofe – 118,400
Derek Updegraff – 99,500
Allison Hollander – 81,000
Maurice Hawkins – 78,000
David Jackson – 58,000
Erik Christensen – 55,500
Darryll Fish – 54,500
Andrew Brinkley – 37,000
Steve Karp – 31,000
Mark Stephen Edwards
Player Tags: Aaron Mermelstein
Mermelstein Eliminates Vontz Burke
Aug 21, '15
Vontz Burke bet 4,000 from early position on the turn with the board reading QJ7J and a player in middle position called. Aaron Mermelstein was in the cutoff and raised to 14,000.
Burke called and the middle position player folded. The river was the 8 and Burke checked. Mermelstein takes a look at Burke’s remaining stack and bet enough to put Burke all in for approximately 25,000.
Burke takes a couple moments in the tank before speaking up.
“If you got it, you got it,” said Burke. “I got another ticket so I guess I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”
Burke puts in the chips and shows 108, giving him a pair of eights after missing his flush and straight draws. Mermelstein tables AJ, giving him trips and the pot. He vaults up near the top of the chip counts on his second bullet of the event.
Aaron Mermelstein – 130,000
Vontz Burke – Eliminated
Player Tags: Aaron Mermelstein
Mike Caro Doesn't Read New Stuff
Aug 21, '15
A day after presenting a seminar on concepts, tells, strategy and psychology to 75 poker players at bestbet, Mike Caro is seated next to former WPT champion Aaron Mermelstein, who tried to pull off a bluff in an earlier hand.
Player Tags: Mike Caro, Aaron Mermelstein
Erika Pillow Busts Aaron Mermelstein
Aug 21, '15
Aaron Mermelstein raised 2,000 and the player in the cutoff called.
From the button Erika Pillow reraised to 7,000. Mermelstein moved all-in and it folded to Pillow, who made the call with the AJ.
Mermelstein was ahead with his QQ until the flop brought the A94.
Mermelstein found no help with a 7 turn and a 2 river and was sent to the rail early in level 9. Pillow increased her stack to 88,000 after the hand.
Player Tags: Aaron Mermelstein
Mike Caro Makes a Good Call
Aug 21, '15
On a flop of T42, Mike Caro checked and Aaron Mermelstein bet 1,300. Caro check-called and the turn was the A.
Both players checked and the 7 peeled off on the river. Caro checked again and Mermelstein fired 9,000, which sends Caro into the tank.
“I don’t believe you,” said Caro as he reached for chips.
Caro called and Mermelstein tabled 33. Caro showed 88 and took the pot with the bigger pair.
“I didn’t think I could bluff you,” said Mermelstein. “But I had to try.”
“I got lucky,” said Caro. “I really did because I thought you had nothing. I would have called you with a deuce or king-queen. Threes really surprised me because I had ruled out you betting with that hand. I would have called with worse, made a spectacular call and lost.”
Mike Caro – 24,000
Aaron Mermelstein – 6,800
Player Tags: Mike Caro, Aaron Mermelstein
Aaron Mermelstein Makes a "Good Fold"
Aug 21, '15
On the river, Scott Hughes moved all in for his last 13,000 from early position with the board reading KQ468 and Aaron Mermelstein goes into the tank on the button.
“You got two queens over there or something like that?” asked Mermelstein. “Can I have a one time show?”
Hughes doesn’t verbally respond to any of the questions, opting to shrug his shoulders instead.
“That’s a lot,” said Mermelstein in regards to the bet. “I don’t think there’s even 13 in there.”
Another couple minutes go by and the clock is called on Mermelstein. With about 30 seconds left on the clcok, Mermelstein tossed his cards into the muck and Hughes showed him the Q.
“Good fold,” said Hughes as he collected the pot.
“I’m just so sick of folding top pair, you know,” said Mermelstein.
Scott Hughes – 23,000
Aaron Mermelstein – 36,300
Player Tags: Aaron Mermelstein
