Dylan Destefano opened to 18,000 in the cutoff and was called by Jeremy Ausmus on the button and Eric Afriat in the big blind. The flop fell and Destefano continued with a bet of 18,000.
Ausmus quickly folded but Afriat opted for a check-raise to 48,000. Destefano thought for a minute before sliding out a stack of T25,000 chips. Afriat had a decision to make for his remaining 116,000 chips and elected to send his cards to the muck.
The PokerStars Players NLH Hold’em Championship (PSPC) is underway, and one man in attendance here in the Bahamas is Rakesh Ramdial, the winner of PokerStars’ ONCOOP (Ontario Championship Of Online Poker) Prize Draw, which awarded him a Platinum Pass package, worth $30,000.
PokerNews recently had the opportunity to chat with Ramdial prior to the PSPC.
PokerNews: Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
Rakesh Ramdial: I am 36 years old from Brampton Ontario, Canada. I am married with one child and another on the way. I am a certified Forklift Operator.
PN: Is it true that when you received the news that you’d won, both you and your wife thought it was a scam at first and didn’t believe it?
RR: Yes, at first we both didn’t believe it was real until I did some google searches on the PSPC and quickly found out that it’s legit.
PN: When and how did you learn to play poker?
RR: I started playing in my early 20s with some friends. Small tourneys like $10 buy-ins. I learned how to play from watching Poker After Dark on TV.
PN: What inspired you to join PokerStars?
RR: I just wanted to play without going to a casino, so when I learned about online poker, I just felt like I had to try it out.
PN: Is this your first live tournament? What does this opportunity mean to you?
RR: This is my first live tournament and this opportunity to play against the best in the world means a lot. I am by no means anywhere near some of these players’ level, so just being there soaking it all up for the experience is good for me. Plus, I get a free trip to the Bahamas!
PN: What’s your proudest poker accomplishment to date?
RR: I finished second in the Midnight Lightning for $800. That’s my biggest cash ever. So if I cash the PSPC, that will be amazing.
PN: Aside from maybe winning, what are you most looking forward to about your upcoming PSPC stop? Any poker pros you would like to meet? If so, why would you like to meet them?
RR: Just going to try and learn as much as I can from whomever I can. I remember watching Daniel Negreanu, Phil Hellmuth, (Phil) Ivey, Tom Dwan back in the day when Poker After Dark first came out, so if I see any of those guys that would be pretty cool.
PN: Will any friends or family be joining you in the Bahamas?
RR: Yes, my wife Ria and my daughter Malia will be coming with me.
Josh Arieh raised it up from early position and Quentin Krug-Basse three-bet to 50,000 just a couple of seats over. The action folded back to Arieh who ripped all in for 255,000. Krug-Basse asked for a count and then called to put Arieh at risk.
Josh Arieh:
Quentin Krug-Basse:
The flop came and Arieh bounced up from his seat after Krug-Basse flopped a set of queens. The on the turn left Arieh drawing dead to the on the river and Arieh exited the tournament.
The action was three-way to the flop, with Justin Zaki checking his . Sam Grafton bet 12,000 with and Marius Irimia called on the button with . Zaki got out of the way to the turn.
Grafton continued for 35,000 and Irimia took some time before making the call.
The river saw Grafton go into the tank before with his straight before firing 45,000. Irimia folded his pair of tens quickly, as Grafton climbed above 600,000 chips.
Noah Schwartz raised to 18,000 from early position and called when Anton Wigg moved all-in for 111,000 on the button.
Anton Wigg:
Noah Schwartz:
Wigg was looking for some help and found it on the flop. Wigg improved on the turn while the river was a brick, completing the double up at Schwartz’s expense.