The Day 1a and Day 1b flights of the Texas Poker Open have produced drama, excitement and just three stacks over a million chips. Top of the shop is Bob Shao but with stellar talent such as Aram Zobian, Victoria Livschitz, Isaac Kempton, Jeff Platt and Jeremy Becker all still in there fighting, anything could happen as the inaugural Texas Poker Open Main Event comes to a close in Houston.

Day 1a Sees Shao on Top

A total of 53 entrants on Day 1a saw players descend on the Champions Club in Houston in their dozens. With a $2 million guarantee, it took 15 hours of play to complete Day 1a, where six players survived to Day 2.

Of them, Bob Shao was the big stack, taking over 1.3 million into the next day’s play, as others such as PokerGO tournament regular Jeremy Ausmus (514,000) was joined in the chipcounts by Casey Brown (379,000), Larry Wright (342,000), Christopher Stone (326,000), and David Kim (305,000) as only half a dozen players made the cut.

Big name players busting out were common, as popular actress Arden Cho left in a massive four-way all-in that also scuppered the chances of Eric Baldwin. David Kim profited in that hand, as his pocket aces won against two sets that were overtaken when another ace arrived on the river.

Shao’s chip lead was established when he took out PokerStake player Victoria Livschitz just two places before the money. Livschitz, whose recent cashes have not only improved her already excellent reputation in the poker industry as a major talent to be feared by hardened professionals but also the bank balances of her PokerStake investors, so she was disappointed to end her day when her ace-king lost to Bob Shao’s pocket aces.

Day 1b Sees Livschitz Join Zobian and Others in Day 2 Mix

Day 1b saw a big increase of participants, with 92 entries into the mix. That meant 11 players made the money and this time, Livschitz was among them. Top of the shop on  Day 1b was David Mzareulov with 1,175,000 chips, shortly followed by the WSOP side bettor extraordinaire Jeremy Becker. The young player, who is being coached by Daniel Negreanu in a bid to outscore Matt Berkey’s charge Landon Tice in this summer’s WSOP, bagged up 1,053,000 chips.

Elsewhere in the chipcounts, Isaac Kempton (649,000), the aforementioned Livschitz (216,000) and Jeff Platt (134,000) among others but is the appearance of the 2024 U.S. Poker Open champion and fellow PokerStake player Aram Zobian (498,000) that will cement drama in the next phase of the tournament. Zobian is on fire right now and if he can continue his heater in Texas, the Champions Club in Houston could see plenty of excitement in the latter stages of this tournament.

It was Harry Cullen who missed out on the money places, busting in 12^th for nothing  when Zobian got his chips. All-in with , Cullen lost to Zobian’s when a board of played out, ending Day 1b play for the day.

Six More Flights to Come in Main Event

With a total of eight starting flights in the PGT Texas Poker Open Main Event, anyone who reaches the money places will also benefit from PGT points, which could qualify the player involved for the end-of-year million-dollar freeroll. Last year’s freeroll was won by German player Daniel Smiljkovic who beat Arden Cho heads-up for that title in January.

The inaugural Texas Poker Open isn’t restricted to the $3,300 buy-in Main Event. There are also seven high roller tournaments on the schedule, with entry fees ranging from $5,300 up to $10,500. All the action is reported live on the PokerGO Tour website.

In addition to the high rollers, there are five No Limit Hold’em tournaments and two Pot Limit Omaha events on the horizon in Houston. The Champions Club is the place to be in the next fortnight for players of all levels and whoever wins the Main Event is going to lay down a marker for the summer in Las Vegas.