The remaining 16 players are on a five-minute break.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
Busted | |
|
||
|
|
Busted | |
|
|
Busted | |
partypoker US Network Online Series (Nov. 29 - Dec.6)
Event #7: $25K GTD 6-Max PKO Bounty
Day: 1
In Level 18 with blinds of 4,000/8,000 and an ante of 1,000, David "TheKing411" Coleman raised to 16,000 from the hijack and was called by Sridhar “sri100k” Sangannagari from the button before "ndirish50" squeezed for 125,973 from the big blind.
Action was back on Coleman who quickly mucked his hand while Sangannagari called.
"ndirish50": 
Sridhar “sri100k” Sangannagari: 
Sangannagari was dominated and nothing changed after the 
runout as he doubled-up "ndirish50".
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
277,946
-18,652
|
-18,652 |
|
175,997
-28,500
|
-28,500 |
|
175,388
-293,697
|
-293,697 |
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
619,797
360,689
|
360,689 |
|
562,092
320,980
|
320,980 |
|
|
477,096
259,119
|
259,119 |
|
|
469,085
257,283
|
257,283 |
|
433,039
-18,173
|
-18,173 |
|
|
423,022
-106,332
|
-106,332 |
|
|
393,053
114,633
|
114,633 |
|
|
362,875
299,295
|
299,295 |
|
|
296,598
99,854
|
99,854 |
|
|
268,767
-35,991
|
-35,991 |
|
|
266,702
50,290
|
50,290 |
|
231,280
-7,020
|
-7,020 |
|
|
204,497
-46,864
|
-46,864 |
|
202,630
12,880
|
12,880 |
|
|
190,324
58,970
|
58,970 |
|
|
187,420
10,973
|
10,973 |
|
|
179,839
168,063
|
168,063 |
|
|
136,380
-141,775
|
-141,775 |
|
|
93,879
-116,957
|
-116,957 |
|
|
||
|
|
88,625
-88,872
|
-88,872 |
Eric “alwaysliquid” Vanauken is a name you should know as he's become on of the most accomplished players on the partypoker US Network.
A couple of months ago, Vanauken accomplished the incredible feat of capturing back-to-back titles not once, but twice.
In the July 6-12 series, he topped a 134-entry field to win Event #4: $15,000 GTD NLH for nearly $7,500, and then the next night bested 144 runners to win Event #5: $,7500 GTD Green Chip Bounty for $3,145. Then, at the end of July, he won the $320 buy-in Event #3: $15,000 GTD PKO Bounty for $6,393 and a day later emerged victorious in the $215 buy-in Event #4: $12,000 GTD PKO Bounty Boost for $5.691.
PokerNews recently had the chance to chat with Vanauken about his recent successes.
Money Never Sleeps
For the 43-year-old Vanauken, who is married with three kids ages 7, 10, and 19, he’s never really had a nine-to-five job. Instead, he fancies himself a real estate broker engaging in flips and investments while playing poker on the side of course.
“I first learned playing $4/$8 limit at Foxwoods in early 2000 and now play now $20/$40 and $30/$60 when I can find a game, or settle on $1/$2 or $2/$5 NLH," he said. "I have played the WSOP Main Event two times with no luck busting on Day 2 both times.”
Additionally, Vanauken grinds a decent amount on the virtual tables under the screen name “alwaysliquid,” which stems from the movie Wall Street when Gordon Gekko tells Bud Fox about how money never sleeps and you need to always be liquid.
“Since New Jersey went legal I play on Borgata and WSOP. I used to play PokerStars but had an issue with them over a year ago and have since boycotted them. I do very well on Borgata. I even shipped the Mega Thursday [not long ago] on my phone from an Applebee’s parking lot as I had no WiFi at home due to power outage.”
As for his recent successes on partypoker US, Vanauken was pleased but wanted to remain humble.
“I am humbled to be able to compete with all of the great players in New Jersey,” he said. “I’m proud that all of my studying and grinding has been producing favorable results in the past few years, taking me from an average breakeven player to a profitable one. At the same time, I try to maintain being humble with this great game and what it has provided for me and my family.”
Proudest Poker Accomplishments
For Vanauken, the scores rank up there among his proudest poker accomplishments, which includes beating a poker legend.
“In 2013, I beat Joe McKeehen for the Borgata Limit Championship,” Vanauken said. “I think that was the last limit event held at Borgata.”
Other highlights on his poker résumé include finishing sixth in the 2018 WSOP Circuit at Canada’s Playground Poker Club and finishing runner-up in a pair of WSOP Circuit online events back in March.
“So close to a ring but the two cashes of $35k and $20k within a few days definitely eased the quarantine pain,” Vanauken said.
With the latest partypoker US Network Online Series happening now, only time will tell if Vanauken can keep his streak of winning back-to-back events alive.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
Busted | |
|
|
Busted | |
|
|
Busted | |
|
|
Busted | |
|
|
Busted |
The add-on period has come and gone, and a total prize pool of $40,500 ($20,250 regular prize pool & $20,250 bounty prize pool) was generated via 81 total entries.
The top 8 players will be paid out at least $658.12 with payouts increasing up to the top two, who earn $5,165.79 and $5,161.72, respectively plus all applicable bounties.
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | $5,165.79 |
| 2 | $5,161.72 |
| 3 | $3,503.25 |
| 4 | $2,176.87 |
| 5 | $1,579.50 |
| 6 | $1,154.25 |
| 7 | $850.50 |
| 8 | $658.12 |
If you’ve ever played poker either at Borgata or online in New Jersey, there’s a good chance you’ve crossed paths with Don Himpele, who has more than $630K in online lifetime tournament earnings and $89K in live scores on HendonMob.
Himpele, a father of five who has been married for 24 years, graduated from Gettysburg College with a degree in Business and Economics, and for the last 25 years he has worked as a trader on the New York Stock Exchange as a Managing Director for Goldman Sachs and IMC Trading. So how did the professional family man find poker?
“I began playing as a teenager,” he told PokerNews. “My mother was an early influence and taught me many ‘gameplay skills.’ I have combined that and my skills as a trader to make strong decisions on the felt.”
He continued: “I consider myself a recreational player, as family and work obligations don't allow for a robust live game tournament schedule. I do play the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main yearly, and many Parx Big Stax tournaments. I am a regular online tournament player who targets buy-ins usually ranging from $200-$2,000. I play in local cash games – usually $5/$10.”
While he only plays when his schedule allows, it’s worth noting Himpele has been playing for a long time. In fact, one of his favorite poker memories stems all the way back to the 2004 WSOP Main Event.
“My most notable experience was my first WSOP Main Event in 2004 and sitting at ESPN feature TV table with top pros,” he recalled. “Also, I cashed in the 2010 WSOP Main Event after being sponsored by Absolute Poker.”
While his Absolute Poker days are behind him, Himpele does spend a fair amount of time competing on the partypoker US Network, which is comprised of partypoker US, Borgata Poker and BetMGM Poker.
“partypoker US brings a strong level of competition and I particularly like when they run a series as it brings a variety of games and a strong turnout with a commensurate prize pool,” said Himpele. “I have a lot of respect for New Jersey's top pros such as Mike Lavenburg, Mike Gagliano, Katie Stone and David Coleman. I enjoy the challenge of battling against them as a test of skill.”
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
75,000 |
Level 15 has begun with blinds of 2,500/5,000 and an ante of 625. This 10-minute level is the last chance to enter or re-enter for anybody still interested in doing so.
Seventy-nine entries (and counting) have been logged, and registration will close at 10:18 p.m. ET.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
529,354
-25,301
|
-25,301 |
|
|
451,212
349,847
|
349,847 |
|
|
304,758
108,718
|
108,718 |
|
|
278,420
58,116
|
58,116 |
|
|
278,155 | |
|
|
259,108
99,909
|
99,909 |
|
|
256,267
58,925
|
58,925 |
|
|
251,361
85,039
|
85,039 |
|
|
241,112
-108,330
|
-108,330 |
|
|
217,977
120,965
|
120,965 |
|
|
216,412
-3,567
|
-3,567 |
|
|
211,802
1,534
|
1,534 |
|
|
210,836
53,920
|
53,920 |
|
|
||
|
|
196,744 | |
In Level 14 with blinds of 2,000/4,000 and an ante of 500, action folded around to Angel "chromeking" Lopez who raised to 12,000 from the small blind and Anthony "supremetny" Chin defended his big blind to see a 
flop.
Lopez immediately moved all in for his last 64,658 and Chin snap called.
Angel "chromeking" Lopez: 
Anthony "supremetny" Chin: 
Chin flopped bottom pair but gave Lopez a sweat after the 
appeared on the turn.
Lopez needed to dodge any nine, seven or six and did as the 
dropped on the river and secured his double-up.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
156,916
-4,502
|
-4,502 |
|
|
||
|
100,992 | |
Christmas is fast approaching and it’s the season to be jolly, as the song goes. Never mind jolly, some of you are going to be over the moon if you win some of the awesome prizes on offer in our Social Media Giveaways.
We’ve got some fantastic prizes to giveaway to you throughout December, our fantastic PokerNews readers, and they’re coming at a perfect time with the holiday’s fast approaching. There are Amazon gift cards worth between $50 and $300, tournament tickets, an Apple Watch, an iPhone 12 Mini and the much sought after Xbox Series X for you gadget lovers to win.
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