What to Watch For: June 21, 2017

Sean Chaffin
Contributor
4 min read
JC Tran and Faraz Jaka

Today's What to Watch For is brought to you by the VerStandig Law Firm, LLC. Combining a keen understanding of the gaming world and an equally keen understanding of the law, Mac VerStandig and his colleagues are devoted to fighting on behalf of the poker community and its members.

The VerStandig Law Firm, LLC represents poker professionals, sports bettors and advantage players across the United States. The firm assists clients in connection with legal issues including personal LLC formation and operation, tax planning that focuses on gaming deductions and exemptions, casino disputes, and personal matters spanning from divorce to criminal dust-ups.

A host of big names remain in the $10,000 Limit Hold'em Championship where 2013 November Niner JC Tran leads a Day 3 field that includes Terrence Chan, Shaun Deeb and Daniel Negreanu. Meanwhile Jeff Madsen is chip leader in the $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo event, and Faraz Jaka will be seeking his first bracelet when the $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Handed final table plays out today.

Event #36: $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Handed

This event will require one more day to determine a champion with play resuming at 12 noon on Wednesday. Faraz Jaka (3,150,000) leads the final table of six and is looking for his first bracelet. Also returning are 2016 November Niner Kenny Hallaert (2,960,000), Nadar Kakhmazov (2,925,000), Sam Soverel (2,200,000), Chris Hunichen (1,860,000) and Christian Rudolph (1,305,000).

Jaka currently has over $1.18 million in WSOP cashes and more than $5.4 million in overall tournament winnings. He has come close already this summer, finishing sixth in the The Marathon for $123,105. No doubt the hardware will be on his mind as he hopes to earn a first career WSOP bracelet.

Hallaert is also a regular on the tournament scene with more than $2.8 million in career earnings, about half of which he picked up for finishing sixth in last year's WSOP Main Event. He is also seeking his first bracelet.

Join PokerNews for Day 4 live updates as they play down to a winner. Click here starting at 12 noon today to follow along.

Event #37: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em

A massive field will bring a massive payday for one lucky card shark in this one. The tournament attracted 2,020 entries and the winner will take home $292,880 — that's quite a return on a $1K investment.

After the second day of play, 20 players advanced to play for the bracelet today. Chris Johnson boasts a healthy chip lead at present with 1,242,000. Johnson has almost $960,000 in WSOP winnings and several nice finishes, but has yet to win a bracelet.

Second in the counts is Vlad Darie with 902,000 followed by Joep Raemakers with 890,000. Other notables advancing are end-of-Day-1 leader Chad Eveslage (564,000), Michael Gathy (672,000) and Eric Blair (825,000).

PokerNews will be there when play resumes on Wednesday at 12 noon. Don't miss a hand! Click here for all the live updates.

Event #38: $10,000 Limit Hold'em Championship

This event attracted a host of pros wanting to play some fixed-limit poker and aim for a nice $311,817 first prize. After beginning Day 1 with 120 entries, just 15 remain as the tournament will play down to a winner today.

Several big names remain in the mix. JC Tran, a member of the 2013 November Nine, leads the field with 1,150,000 and seeks his third WSOP bracelet. Rounding out the top five are Terrence Chan (831,000), Sorel Mizzi (641,000), Ray Henson (640,000) and Ben Yu (446,000).

Defending champion Ian Johns (59,000) is also still alive, and he and 2015 champion Ben Yu (446,000) are both seeking their third bracelets, with Yu having just won another earlier this week in the $10K 2-7 Triple Draw Championship.

Daniel Negreanu (425,000) is also making yet another deep WSOP run. He currently sits in sixth position in the counts and is in the running for his third final table after notching his seventh cash of the summer. Other notables still alive include two-time bracelet winners Shaun Deeb (217,000) and Jon Turner (255,000), as well as 2015 Main Event winner Joe McKeehen (84,000).

Join PokerNews for all the live updates on Wednesday as a champion is crowned. Play resumes at 2 p.m. — click here to follow along.

Event #40: $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better

This event drew 595 entries yesterday, and Day 1 saw the field narrow down to 140 players. That turnout is the most in five years for this event and an increase of 74 players from a year ago. First place will take home $173,228 and the top 90 will be guaranteed at least a min-cash of $2,242.

Jeff Madsen leads the field with 79,900 chips followed by Jeff Mitseff (78,100), Cole Jackson (76,800), Chris Ferguson (70,800) and Ryan Hughes (69,100). Madsen was the 2006 WSOP Player of the Year and is aiming for his fifth career bracelet.

Other notables still remaining include "Miami" John Cernuto, Adam Friedman, Joe Hachem, Mike Watson, Justin Bonomo and the 2016 runner-up in this event Brandon Shack-Harris.

Play resumes on Wednesday at 2 p.m. Check back to PokerNews for all the live updates.

Event #41: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha

This popular poker variant should attract plenty of rounders ready to make some pot-sized bets, hopefully on their way to a big finish. Last year's event attracted 776 players to create a prize pool of just over $1 million. Maryland's Jiaqi Xu took home the bracelet a year ago along with a first-place prize of $212,128.

Play kicks off at 11 a.m. on Wednesday and PokerNews will have all your live updates.

Event #42: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Handed Championship

Finally some more short-handed poker gets underway at 3 p.m. with the start of Event #42, and this $10K event should bring out plenty of heavy hitters. The event attracted a healthy 294 entries in 2016 for a $2,763,600 prize pool. Australian Martin Kozlov took home the title and $665,709 in cash.

Play starts at 3 p.m., and as usual PokerNews will be there from the very start to provide plenty of updates you won't want to miss.

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Sean Chaffin
Contributor

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