The first series on the Pure Poker Tour (PPT) for 2024 got a big start on Thursday, Feb 15 with two events that saw big numbers.

The 2024 season of the PPT is now underway, and it looks like it could be a big one. The first day of play saw two events award trophies and both games got bigger fields than last year’s Feb series here at Casino Edmonton.

Opening day action got going at noon on Thursday, Feb 15 with the Seniors First game, a tradition on the PPT that sees the 50+ game always running as Event #1. To ensure that everyone had a chance to play on the opening day, however, there was an evening side event, the First Chance Turbo for players who can’t make the age cutoff for Seniors.

Event #1: $340 Seniors First

Feb 15 - Noon
Blinds: 30 Min
Start Stack: 20,000

Entries: 152
Prizes: $43,320
Winner: Ronald Taylor ($11,180)

The first trophy of 2024 on the PPT was, technically speaking, actually the second. The Seniors game was an epic tilt that went close to 16 hours before Ronald Taylor bagged the trophy at about 3:40 am.

It was a great turnout that saw a couple more entries than this game in 2023, with 152 total. That meant they were playing for $43,320 in total with 15 players sharing in the gold.

Taylor didn’t have an easy run of it, facing off against a pretty stacked final table of 50+ regs. He battled Gerald Chung heads up, who has won a few of these Seniors events in the last couple of years, with previous winner Nick Milkovich, Brian Wells, Jeff Forester, and Ed Zurawell also in the final nine players.

Results from Event #1: $340 Seniors First

Event #2: $230 First Chance Turbo

Event #2: $230 First Chance Turbo ($200 + $30)
Feb 15 - 5 pm
Blinds: 20 Min
Start Stack: 20,000

Entries: 143
Prizes: $27,170
Winner: Marcus Williams ($5,030 - 4-way Deal)

The second trophy of PPT 2024 was actually awarded before the first one, as the Turbo game lived up to it’s name. It started five hours later than the Seniors game, but still ended about an hour earlier than the 50+ crowd.

The turnout for the first open event of the series was massive with 143 entries on the board when registration closed. That was significantly higher than the 94 entries this game got in 2023 and bodes well for the remainder of the series.

In the end, it was Marcus Williams with all the chips. The final four players agreed to a deal that saw everyone secure $4,200 with $830 left over for the winner. Williams had the lead when the deal was struck, and ended up holding on to take it all down.

Final Results from Event #2: $230 First Chance Turbo

After finding a double up with Pocket Queens. Ronald Taylor picked up in a flip against Gerald Chung's Pocket Sevens. It was never a doubt as he flopped two pair to secure the tournament after a grueling 14 hour day.

Gerald Chung jammed all in and was called by Ronald Taylor. Both players revealed their hands.

Gerald Chung:

Ronald Taylor:

The board ran for Chung to be eliminated in 2nd Place.

Ronald Taylor raised to 120,000 from the button. Darren S jammed all in from the big blind and was quickly called by Taylor.

Darren S:

Ronald Taylor:

The board ran out for Taylor to take down the pot.

Nicholas Milkovich jammed all in and received a call from Ronald Taylor.

Nicholas Milkovich:

Ronald Taylor:  

The board came clean for the pocket pair as Milkovich was eliminated in 4th place.

Greg Duke jammed all in and was called by Darren S.

Greg Duke:

Darren S:

The board ran out for Darren to take the pot and send Duke out in 5th.

Brian Wells jammed all in and was called. Both players revealed their hands.

Brian Wells:

Opponent:

The board ran out for Wells to be eliminated in 6th place.

Sheldon Clarke jammed all in preflop and was called by Ronald Taylor. Both players revealed their hands.

Sheldon Clarke:

Ronald Taylor:

The board ran out for Taylor to send Clarke to the rail.

Jeffery Forester jammed all in and was called by Aces. The board ran clean as he was eliminated in 8th place.

Below are the remaining players and their corresponding stacks.

Jerry Ozog jammed all in and was quickly called by Nicholas Milkovich in late position.

Jerry Ozog:

Nicholas Milkovich:

The board ran out to send Ozog to the rail.

Andy Wong jammed into Pocket Kings. The board ran clean for the Kings to send him out of the tournament to the tune of $840.

Arnel Mateo jammed all in against with . Unfortunately for him, the board ran out for his opponent to hit the four card straight and send him to the rail.

Both players were eliminated in back to back hands earning themselves $800.

Action was caught after the board ran out and Suru Patel's was eliminated by Ronald Taylor's . Forntunately for Suru, all players chipped in $20 as protection for the player on the bubble. The remaining players are guaranteed at least $800 for their efforts.

Below are the remaining players and their corresponding stacks.

Ronald Taylor called from late position and Jeffrey Forester raised from the cutoff to 16,500.  Taylor made the call and both players headed to a flop.

The flop came and Taylor led out for 10,000. Forester found the call.

While the turn peeled the , both players were quick to check.

The river was the and Taylor spent no time raising to the tune of 65,000. Forester contemplated his decision before ultimately having folded after some time had passed.

Greg Duke raised to 10,000 from the cutoff and Gerald Chung defended his big blind.

The flop came   and CHung led out for 17,500. As he considered a call, Chung let Duke know that he would "show his hand if he folded". Duke reluctantly mucked his hand as Chung revealed for middle pair and a flush draw.

Action was caught after the flop of and Shandon Clarke checked from the big blind. Ali Razzaq checked from under the gun, and the button led out for 15,000. Clarke jammed all in for 64,500, and Razzaq shoved over the top for more. The under the gun player folded and both players revealde their holdings.

Shandon Clarke:

Ali Razzaq:

The board finished for Clarke's better kicker to hold.

Below are the following chip leaders

Brett Worton raised to 4,500 from middle position and both the button and big blind made the call.

The flop came and all three players were quick to check.

While the turn peeled the , the big blind checked and Worton led out for 5,000. He was called by the button.

The completed the board and both players were eager to check. Worton revealed for the flush to take the pot.

With 152 entries, Event #1 will pay out 15 players. 13th to 15th will receive $800, while 10th to 12th will make $840. Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth will be rewarded with $2,120, $1,490, and $950 respectively. Fourth through Sixth will receive $4,240, $3,380, and $2,750.  Finally, the podium places will guarantee themselves $5,330 minimum. Second will pay slightly more at $6,960 with $11,180 for the winner. 

Action was caught after the flop of and Suru Patel checked from the big blind. Middle position led out for 3,000 and was raised by the late position player to 7,000. Patel and the other player both made the call.

The turn was the and all three players were eager to check it around.

While the peeled off on the river, Patel led out for 11,000. The late position player called and Patel revealed for the nut flush off of the flop.

Sitting atop the current players are Alfred Czwartkowski (130,000) followed closely by Rob Thacker (128,000). Trevor Roszell and Cliff Green both sit over 100,000 with 101,000 and 108,000 respectively. Finally, Mehar Kammilli and Russell Sluchinski are both sitting at 83,000.

Middle Position raised to 3,600 and both the cutoff and small blind made the call. 

The flop came and both early players were quick to check. The cutoff led out for 6,000 and both players made the call.

While the turn peeled the , both early players were quick to check. Cutoff fired for 11,000 only receiving a call from the small blind.

With the on the river, both players were quick to check. Jeffrey Forester revealed from the small blind to take the pot.

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Late registration just closed with the final entry count for Event #1 being 152 . The prize pool will be posted shortly as well as coverage of Event #2 $230 First Chance Turbo that is running alongside this tournament.

Alfred Czwartkowski raised to 3,500 from the button and was called by three players.

The flop came and the big blind was quick to check. The middle position player led out for 12,000. Cutoff was quick to fold and Czwartkowski jammed all in over top having the player covered. The big blind got out of the way, and middle position made the call. Both players revealed their hands.

Middle Position:

Alfred Czwartkowski:

The board completed clean as the peeled off. Czwartkowski has soared to the chip lead after this pot.

Just before the dinner break the chip leaders are as follows. Stephen Maguire (114,000) is the only player over 100,000 tailed closely by Gred Duke (96,000). Trevor Roszell (87,000), Rob Lothian (82,000), and Ali Razzaq (78,000) all have double the tournament average. Finally, Russel Sluchinski sits just above 70,000 with a managable stack of 71,000.

Keith Graham jammed all in for just under 10,000 and received a call from Francis Fan. Both players revealed their holdings.

Keith Graham:

Francis Fan:

The board ran out for Graham to flop Fan nearly dead. The turn cemented the hand as Graham received the double up.

Joel Gustavson jammed all in from middle position for 6,500, and late position made the call. Brad Barnes jammed all in over the top from early position for 23,500, and the late position player got out of the way.

Joel Gustavson:

Brad Barnes:

The board ran out for Gustavson's kings to hold.

With few chips remaining, the middle position player jammed all in for 1,700. Late Position and both blinds made the call.

The flop and turn came as action checked around.

While the peeled off on the river, Trevor Roszell led out for 3,000 from the small blind. Both players folded and Roszell revealed to top the at risk players and take the pot.

At the time of the first break here are a the biggest stacks currently accumulated. Cliff Green (92,000) and Trevor Roszell (77,500) sit as the current leaders well above the trailing players. Michael Enzie (56,500), Jeff Clarke (51,500), and Ali Razzaq (51,000) all sit above the 50,000 threshhold. Finally, Jeffrey Skripitsky and Mehar Kammilli (49,000), Kenneth Kaneda (46,000), Darren S (43,000), Iona Bliss (42,000), and Cristituto Costales (40,000) round out our list.

Among the many entrants of the Seniors Event is none other than Lyle Bateman. It's not often that he is seen playing events, as he is usually busy covering the hand to hand action of the tournaments. He currently sits short of starting stack with 12,400, but still has plenty of time to build it up.

Middle position raised to 800, and Jerry Ozog made the call from late position along with three other players. 

As the flop came , all players were quick to check.

The turn changed little as the peeled off. Action checked to Ozog who fired for 1,100. All remaining players folded as Ozog revealed having bluffed the original raiser off of the best hand.

With just over an hour of the tournament having started, a few early big stacks have begun to form. Mike A sits just under double the average stack with 41,000. Darren S sits as the second largest with 56,000, meanwhile Trevor Roszell currently leads with a monster stack of 87,000. 

Event #1: $340 Seniors ($300 + $40)
Feb 15 - Noon
Blinds: 30 Min
Start Stack: 20,000
Late Entry: 8 Levels (~5 pm)

The opening event of 2024 PPT #1 is set to go with the 50+ crowd getting the first shot at a trophy. They'll hit the felt starting at noon on Thursday, Feb 15 and there are 8 levels of late entry. That should put the final chance to enter at about 5 pm, immediately after they return from dinner.

Players start with 20,000 in chips to play 30-minute levels throughout the day and this is a one-day game so someone will be hoisting a trophy before the dealing stops. I won't be covering this game as I'll be at the felt myself and hopefully the one doing the hoisting, but my trusty sidekick Alek Gillies will be behind the keyboard for Thursday's action.