2013 Carnivale of Poker: Jeff Chang Wins Main; Victor Ramdin Takes down $5K OFC Event
The 2013 World Series of Poker has just about reached it’s four-month hiatus until the November Nine, and what an eventful summer it’s been. One story that has been lost in the shuffle a bit is that of the Carnivale of Poker, which returned to the industry after sitting on the shelf for more than a decade. The 21-event series, which is akin to the WSOP Circuit in structure and buy-ins, played out on Mondays and Tuesdays throughout the summer right alongside the WSOP.
Perhaps the most exciting event on the Carnivale of Poker schedule, and certainly the most expensive, was Event #20 $5,000 Open Face Chinese Poker. While many pros had hope the event would be an official WSOP bracelet event—and it very well may be in the future—tournament officials opted to hold it from July 13-14 during the WSOP Main Event. The event ended up attracting 48 runners and created a prize pool of $225,600.
Here’s a sample of those who played:
50k to busto in 5 hands in OFC tourney lol. Lotta people good at making boats in that thing
— Brian Hastings (@brianchastings)
I never complain about structures or anything regarding poker but the OFC tournament is worst run thing I have ever seen. 5K flushed away
— Jake Schwartz (@Jake11291)
5k ofc was sposed to be 4 handed. It was not. Sposed to be 30k chips. It was not. I guess at least u got the game right.@WSOPTD #only5k
— Melissa Burr (@burrrrrberry)
As you can see, some of the players were unhappy with the event, but it’s important to remember this is the first Chinese Poker tournament the WSOP has held since 1996 when Gregory Grivas won Event #1 $1,500 Chinese Poker for $37,200.
Despite the hiccups, the event concluded with three well-known pros battling it out in Michael “Luca Mike” Schwartz, and Team PokerStars Pros Nacho Barbero and Victor Ramdin. In the end, Ramdin outlasted his two opponents to claim the Carnivale of Poker Medallion and $76,707 first-place prize.
2013 Carnivale of Poker $5,000 Open Face Chinese
| Place | Player | Prize |
| 1st | Victor Ramdin | $76,707 |
| 2nd | Nacho Barbero | $47,459 |
| 3rd | Mike Schwartz | $31,241 |
| 4th | Michael Fosco | $21,869 |
| 5th | Artem Litvinov | $14,440 |
| 6th | Narendra Banwari | $14,440 |
| 7th | Michael Stotz | $9,722 |
| 8th | Matthew O’Donnell | $9,722 |
The other headline tournament was the 2013 Carnivale of Poker $1,675 Main Event, which attracted 250 entries and created a prize pool of $375,000. Many of those players exited the WSOP Main Event and jumped right into the Carnivale of Poker, including Grant and Blair Hinkle, the well-known bracelet-winning brothers from Iowa.
Both made the money, with Blair finishing in 26th place and Grant doing quite a bit better, ultimately finishing in fifth place.
Disappointed to bust Carnivale main, but can't complain since I late regged in level 9 right after busting the WSOP main event.
— Grant Hinkle (@GrantHinkle)
In the last hand of the tournament, Jeffrey Chang and Michael Pickett got all the chip in with the former holding the Q♠Q♥ and the latter, who was the shorter of the two, with the A♣4♥. The 8♠K♦5♦ flop was no help to Pickett, and while the 4♦ turn paired his four, he’d need another or an ace to stay alive. Fortunately for Chang, the 7♦ river was safe as can be and he was awarded the 2013 Carnivale of Poker $1,675 Main Event championship medallion.
2013 Carnivale of Poker $1,675 Main Event
| Place | Player | Prize |
| 1st | Jeffrey Chang | $91,879 |
| 2nd | Michael Pickett | $56,790 |
| 3rd | Bryan Zindrick | $42,401 |
| 4th | Tam Nguyen | $31,871 |
| 5th | Grant Hinkle | $24,105 |
| 6th | Giacomo Fundaro | $18,348 |
| 7th | Takashi Ogura | $14,051 |
| 8th | Vilen Karimov | $10,830 |
| 9th | Frank Rusnak | $8,396 |
*Notable finishes: John Eames (13th - $5,156), Ross Bybee (15th - $5,156), Mike Leah (19th - $3,225), Kyle Frey (20th - $3,225), Scott Clements (22nd - $3,225), Blair Hinkle (26th - $3,225), Erik Olofsson (27th - $3,225)
Below is look at the results from the entire 2013 Carnivale of Poker. You can view our more in-depth recap of the first five events by clicking here.
| Date | Event | Entires | Prizepool | Winner | Prize |
| 6-3-13 | Event #1 $365 NLHE Rebuy/Re-Entry | 337 | $101,100 | Wesley Chong | $24,282 |
| 6-4-13 | Event #2 $580 NLHE | 258 | $129,000 | Tom Brabham | $31,617 |
| 6-5-13 | Event #3 $365 Omaha Eight or Better | 150 | $45,000 | Joe Mitchell | $11,934 |
| 6-10-13 | Event #4 $365 NLHE | 270 | $81,000 | Drew Scott | $19,857 |
| 6-11-13 | Event #5 $580 NLHE | 166 | $83,000 | Adrian Apmann | $22,003 |
| 6-11-13 | Event #6 $365 H.O.R.S.E. | 228 | $68,400 | Andrew Rennhack | $18,479 |
| 6-17-13 | Event #7 $365 NLHE | 297 | $89,100 | Tam Nguyen | $21,403 |
| 6-18-13 | Event #8 $580 NLHE | 147 | $73,500 | John Evans | $19,485 |
| 6-24-13 | Event #9 $365 NLHE | 237 | $71,100 | Cody Paulson | $17,430 |
| 6-25-13 | Event #10 $580 NLHE | 199 | $99,500 | Ross Bybee | $24,391 |
| 6-29-13 | Event #11 $560 NLHE w/ Bounties | 300 | $130,500 | John Sabin | $31,335 |
| 7-1-13 | Event #12 $365 NLHE | 243 | $72,900 | Mikhail Veselov | $17,878 |
| 7-2-13 | Event #13 NLHE Six-Handed | 337 | $168,500 | Kane Lai | $44,669 |
| 7-2-13 | Event #14 $365 Pot-Limit Omaha | 263 | $78,900 | Jordi Alfonso | $19,345 |
| 7-8-13 | Event #15 $365 NLHE | 189 | $56,700 | La Sengphet | $13,905 |
| 7-9-13 | Event #16 $580 NLHE | 142 | $71,000 | Phillippe Vert | $18,824 |
| 7-10-13 | Event #17 $1,125 NLHE | 105 | $105,000 | Manuel Sanchez | $27,834 |
| 7-11-13 | Event #18 $1,675 Main Event | 250 | $375,000 | Jeffrey Chang | $91,879 |
| 7-13-13 | Event #19 $580 NLHE | 90 | $45,000 | Cord Garcia | $14,409 |
| 7-13-13 | Event #20 $5,000 Open Face Chinese Poker | 48 | $225,600 | Victor Ramdin | $76,707 |
| 7-14-13 | Event #21 $365 NLHE Turbo | 73 | $21,900 | Sebastian Langrock | $7,012 |
Finally, here are a few notable finishes from the 2013 Carnivale of Poker:
- Bernard Lee finished third in Event #1 $365 NLHE Rebuy/Re-Entry for $11,010.
- Mark “Pegasus” Smith finished runner-up in Event #4 $365 NLHE for $12,266, while Neil Channing took fourth in the same event for $6,884.
- Ross Bybee finished runner-up in Event #8 $580 NLHE for $12,037; Kat Bowen took third for $8,720.
- Ting Ho finished runner-up in Event #13 NLHE Six-Handed for $17,913.
Would you like to see an Open Face Chinese bracelet event on the WSOP schedule next year? Let us know either on Twitter or in the comments section below.
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