2025 Pure Poker Tour Series #3 – Event #7: $780 NLH 6-Max

Shawn Taghavi picked up his second trophy of this series. He previously won the Seniors game on opening day, and ow he’s come through to win Event #7: 6-Max. He came into the final day second in chips, but after chip leader Curtis Singleton had a brutal day to bust out in 8th, the rest of the day was mostly Taghavi.

He did have to contend with the tough Matt Klapstein to his right, and it was he and Klapsteing who ended up as the final two players. Taghavi was clearly playing well, but he was also running hot tonight. On several occasions, he found big river cards to take away hands after money went in with him behind.

The final hand was a similar dynamic, though he found his salvation on the turn in that one. After raise-call action preflop, Klapstein flopped bottom two while Taghavi hit top pair. Klapstein check-raised Taghavi’s flop bet before Taghavi three-bet, then called off Klapstein’s shove.

Taghavi turned his bigger two pair, and Klapstein couldn’t boat up for the win. This was Taghavi’s second PPT trophy, with both of them coming at this series. This will slot into his second biggest cash, after a 5th place in a 2018 DeepStacks Poker Tour Main Event.

Matt Klapstein had a tough hill to climb, as Shawn Taghavi had the chip lead throughout the heads-up phase of the game. He held his own and stayed alive for a while, chipping up a bit, but he was never able to get even.

In the final hand, Shawn Taghavi raised to 60k from the button, and Matt Klapstein called. It all kicked off on the 7♦8♥K♦. Klapstein checked, Taghavi bet 60k, Klapstein check-raised to 270k, Taghavi shoved the covering stack, and Klapstein called off for his tournament life.

Klapstein flopped two pair with 8♦7♥ while Taghavi was on top pair with K♠2♦. It was the turn 2♥ that buried Klapstein as Taghavi improved to the better two pair. The Q♣ river changed nothing, and all the chips were shipped to Taghavi.

Shawn Taghavi raised the small blind and Michael St Pierre-Porter called from the big. The money went in on the flop when St Pierre-Porter hit bottom pair, but Taghavi had that crush with top trips. He held and it’s now heads up bwteen him and Matt Klapstein.

Immediately after he doubled through Michael St Pierre-Porter, Ben Grenier shoved ace-nine into ace-queen for Matt Klapstein. Klapstein held and had Grenier stacked, bringing the field down to 3 left.

Michael St Pierre-Porter shoved under the gun, and Ben Grenier called with less from the button. Shawn Taghavi tanked for about a minute before finally mucking, but he looked to be seriously considering going for a double knockout with his big stack.

St Pierre-Porter was on queen-ten against ace-king for Grenier, and the eight-high paired board didn’t change anything. Grenier doubled to over 300k while St Pierre-Porter is down to 205k.

In the final hand before the break, Shawn Taghavi chipped up again. He raised to 40k under the gun, and Ben Grenier and Matt Klapstein called from the blinds. After two checks, Taghavi fired 70k on the 8♦2♦4♥ flop and only Klapstein called.

He check-called 125k on the 7♥ turn, and they both checked the 9♣ river. Klapstein showed 3♠2♠ for the flopped pair of ducks, but once again, Taghavi found a river with J♠9♠ to take it down.

Shawn Taghavi keeps stacking up, but this time, it looked like he had to get there big-time on the river. He opened to 40k from his button, and Ben Grenier called from the big blind. Grenier check-called for 40k on the J♠10♦7♥ flop, and again for 85k on the K♠ turn.

He checked again on the 2♣ river, then faced a bet of 200k. He called pretty quickly but mucked in disgust when Taghavi showed pocket deuces for a rivered set. “I knew I should have shoved the turn,” Grenier muttered as he mucked his hand and watched the chips move to Taghavi.

Shawn Taghavi opened under the gun to 40k, and Matt Klapstein called from the big blind. He check-called for another 40k on the 8♥9♥A♣ flop, and for 70k on the 3♦ turn.

He checked again when the 3♠ paired the board, and Taghavi checked behind. Klapstein showed 8♠5♦, but was no good against the A♠4♠ for Taghavi.

I’ll grab full counts in about 10 minutes when the players take their next break, but that hand put Taghavi well over a million for the big lead at the moment.

Shawn Taghavi raised early to 40k, and got calls from Ben Grenier and Gerald Chung in the blinds. The flop came 6♥2♥7♣ and, after a check from Grenier, Chung bet 52k.

Taghavi bumped it up to 175k, prompting a fold from Grenier, but a tank-call from Chung. The turn 8♥ lit the fuse as Chung shoved the bigger stack, and Taghavi called it off at risk. Taghavi was on A♥4♥ for the nut flush, while Chung had flopped top pair, then turned the smaller flush with 9♥7♥. Chung was left short after the 3♣ river completed the board, playing about 250k, which went in the next hand and he was off to the cage for 5th place.

Taghavi doubled to more than 650k after the hand.

Shawn Taghavi limped the small blind, then called off with more when Michael St Pierre-Porter shoved the big. St Pierre-Porter was on ace-six off against ace-nine off for Taghavi. St Pierre-Porter turned his six, but Taghavi also turned a gutshot. He bricked the river and St Pierre-Porter doubled to over 400k.

They are down to five left in the 6-Max game now after Karin S hit the cage for 6th place. She rejammed ace-nine over a raise from Gerald Chung and Chung called with king-jack. Karin missed the board while Chung smashed it with trip kings by the river to send her home in 6th place for $3,125.

Matt Klapstein opened the button to 30k, and both Shawn Taghavi and Karin S called from the blinds. Things kicked off on the K♠3♦9♦ flop when the action checked to Klapstein and he bet 55k. Taghavi came over the top to 155k while Karin got out of the way.

Klapstein shoved the big stack, and Taghavi snapped it off to put him self at risk. Klapstein was on top pair with king-jack, but Taghavi found the “special” with nine-three in the small blind for two pair. 7♦4♠ on the runout didn’t change a thing, and Taghavi stacked up to more than 650k, while Klapstein is down to about 500k after the hand.

They’ve been seven-handed for a while now, but Alain Levesque was just the first casualty from the final table. He shoved the cutoff, and Gerald Chung flat-called from the small blind without even asking for a count. Big blind Matt Klapstein wisely got out of the way, and Levesque was drawing thin with ace-nine into the cowboys for Chung.

Levesque found a nine on the turn of 2♣2♥J♣9♣Q♣, and Chung’s kings were good for the win.

Gerald Chung opened the button to 36k and Seniors champ Shawn Taghavi called from the big blind. Taghavi check-called for 36k on the 6♦7♠9♥ flop, and they both checked the Q♣ turn. Taghavi led out for 45k when the 7♥ paired the board, and Chung mucked his hand after a short tank.

Matt Klapstein opened under the gun to 20k and got calls from Karin S in the hijack, as well as Ben Grenier and Gerald Chung in the blinds. The flop was 8♥A♣2♦ and it checked to Klapstein who fired 28k.

Grenier was the only caller from the small blind, but when he checked the 10♣ turn, Klapstein went big with a bet of 150k. Grenier hit the tank for several minutes before the clock was called and the TD put him on a 30-second countdown. Grenier mucked his hand about halfway through the 30 seconds.

Karin S opened it up to 16k from the middle, and it folded to Gerald Chung on the big blind. He put in the call to see an ace-high Broadway flop, then led out for 16k. Karin called to the 2♥ turn, but snap-mucked when Chung reached for chips before he even had a chance to bet them.

Ben Grenier opened early to 17k, and Alain Levesque called from the big blind. The flop was [invalid notations], and Levesque opted for a check-raise line, bumping Grenier’s continuation bet of 24k up to 48k. Grenier immediately shoved, and Levesque sheepishly slid his hand to the muck.

“I should have just called,” he said.

I arrived at the table with action on the turn and the board reading K♦10♠2♠8♥. Matt Klapstein checked to Karin S, then called when she bet 40k. The river was Q♠, bringing in straight and flush draws on the river. Klapstein counted out a big bet of 110k and slid it in. Karin didn’t take long to let go of her hand.

“Nice river,” she said with a resigned sigh as she mucked her hand.

“I haven’t won a hand all day,” Curtis Singleton said as his stack was being decimated by flush-over-flush against Ben Grenier. That hand left him on less than fumes, with just a couple of chips behind, and the start-of-day leader busted in the next hand for 8th place.

The field is down to 8 remaining now after Ali Khani hit the rail with about 20 minutes to play in Level 16. Alain Levesque has now switched tables into Khani’s vacated seat to balance the tables.

The field is down to 9 after the elimination of Ivan Magulak about 10 minutes into Level 16. I missed the action as I was out of the room, but that leaves nine players left.

Here is a look at the 10 players in the money on Day 2 of the 6-Max.

2025 Pure Poker Tour Series #3 – Event #7: $780 NLH 6-Max Day 2 ($700 + $80)

10 players are returning for Day 2 action in the 6-Max on Tuesday, and Curtis Singleton is leading with 456k, the only bag with more than 400k. Singleton also bagged the chip lead from Day 1a of Event #3, and he told me tonight this is the series of “black dick energy” as he’s switched up his usual duck card protector with a small black phallus.

The action resumes at 1 PM in Level 15, and they’ll play it out to a winner. Blinds stay at 40 minutes, but will drop to 20 minutes for heads-up play.

Day 2 Seats and Stacks

I obviously misread one of the bags, as Curtis Singleton hit me up on Facebook to let me know he bagged almost 100k more than I reported, putting him into the Day 2 chip lead, assuming all my other counts were accurate lol. See below for the corrected chip counts.

The 6-Max game went from 15 remaining to 10 in just a few minutes, and when the dust settled, Shawn Taghavi had the biggest bag going into Day 2 and the money round.

He bagged 390k, just a few thousand ahead of Matt Klapstein with 387k. Ali Khani, Michael St Pierre-Porter, and Curtis Singleton also have more than 350k in their bags.

Seats & Chips for Day 2 Players

The 6-Max game is down to 15 players left, 5 players off the bags coming out to end Day 1. Ron Lauzon, and Ivanna Yatsiuk were the recent exits to get the game to 15.

Mike Malm shoved the hijack for 59k and Curtis Singleton called from the small blind. It was essentially a coin flip between ace-nine for Malm and king-queen for Singleton. Malm’s ace held on a jack-high board and he doubled to more than around 130k while Singleton is still over 200k

The 6-Max field is down to 18 remaining now with about 20 minutes to play in Level 13. The average stack is still over 50 big blinds, so it could take a while. There are some short stacks out there, however, so things could move quicker than the average stack might suggest.

Below is a look at the chips for the 19 remaining players from the break, with Curtis Singleton in the lead with just shy of 300k.

The prizes are in and the final total for the 6-Max is confirmed at 77 entries for $51,205 in prizes. There will be 10 players bagging chips later tonight, and all of those players will come back tomorrow for Day 2 in the money.

There are still 21 players left, so they need 11 more eliminations before the end of the night, and with the average stack at almost 50 big blinds right now, it could take a while to play down to 10.

Level 10 is nearly complete, and the board has 77 as the final number for the 6-Max. I’m still waiting to see the prizes to confirm that number, but if it holds, it should mean 10 players find bags at the end of the night and share in $51,205 worth of prizes. I’ll confirm all the numbers when the prizes are posted.

The dinner break is nearly over, and I’ve had a look around the room at the stacks. It looks like 2024 API Player of the Year, Mike Malm, is the leader right now with 250k, with Abraham Nahas and Ron Lauzon also in the 200k club. Below is a look at most of the 100k+ stacks in the room from the dinner break.

The 6-Max players have just left the room for their dinner break, meaning there are less than 30 minutes left to enter. The field is now at 76 entries, which is just enough to crack the $50k mark.

Entries will be closed when they return to the felt in about 25 minutes.

The field is up to 71 entries now, with about 25 minutes to play in Level 9. That means the end of entries are just under an hour away, with the desk set to close at the end of the dinner break following this level. Right now, the prizes are a bit more than $47k, and they need 5 more entries to push that over $50k.

The prize pool has just capped $45k with 68 entries on the board now. There are about 20 minutes to play in Level 8, putting the end of entries about 90 minutes away.

The prizes are now almost $42k with 63 entries on the board andjust shy of 2 hours to enter the game. There are about 5 minutes remaining in Level 7, with entries remaining open through the end of the dinner break following Level 9. Dinner is 30 minutes long, which means the last chance to enter will be at about 8 PM tonight.

The 6-Max field is up to 56 entries now, with 33 live players still at the felt. Among the active players right now are George Broumas, Nadav Bitton, Ivan Lagulak, Curtis Singleton, Gerald Chung, Hassan Issa, Ryan Cairns, Karin Schulenburg, Hongwie Liu, Ye Ping Shan, and Bernice McLennan.

The field is up to 51 entries as Level 6 begins. That puts just shy of $34k into the prizes so far, with more than 3 hours left to get into the game. Players will head out for the second break at the conclusion of this level, with 3 more levels of poker and the dinner break to go before entries close at about 8 PM.

Level 5 is about halfway complete with 49 entries on the board so far. There are still 37 live players at the felt, and about 3 hours and 45 minutes left to enter the game.

Shawn Taghavi, who won the seniors earlier this week, DJ Sharma, who has been runner-up in the last two one-day events here at PPT #3, Ali Khani, Skyler York, Colten Yamagishi, Mike Malm, Michael “Berny” Bernstein, Michael St Pierre-Porter, and Preston Stevenson are among the players I’ve spotted in the field recently.

There are about 10 minutes to play in Level 3, with the first break of Day 1 scheduled following this level. The field right now is 33 entries with 29 players still at the felt. I haven’t had a great chance to look around yet, but I did spot Eric Wasylenko, Ali Razzaq, Nicholas Peterson, Ron Lauzon, and Ivanna Yatsiuk among the field

2025 Pure Poker Tour Series #3 – Event #7: $780 NLH 6-Max Day 1 ($700 + $80)

Monday is 6-Max day! The 6-Max kicks off at 1 PM with seven hours of late entry. The last chance to enter this one should be at about 8 PM on Monday night.

Players start the day with 40k in chips, and levels will last 40 minutes. Once entries close at the start of Level 10, they’ll play down to the money, or 12.5% of the field, before they bag up. All players returning for Tuesday’s Day 2 are guaranteed to be in the money.

This game will be my main focus on Monday, but I’ll almost certainly be late to the floor. I’ve had a couple fo very late nights this weekend, so I plan to try and get a bit of extra sleep. I should be on task by the first break of the day, around 3 PM.

I obviously misread one of the bags, as Curtis Singleton hit me up on Facebook to let me know he bagged almost 100k more than I reported, putting him into the Day 2 chip lead, assuming all my other counts were accurate lol. See below for the corrected chip counts.

The 6-Max game went from 15 remaining to 10 in just a few minutes, and when the dust settled, Shawn Taghavi had the biggest bag going into Day 2 and the money round.

He bagged 390k, just a few thousand ahead of Matt Klapstein with 387k. Ali Khani, Michael St Pierre-Porter, and Curtis Singleton also have more than 350k in their bags.

Seats & Chips for Day 2 Players

The 6-Max game is down to 15 players left, 5 players off the bags coming out to end Day 1. Ron Lauzon, and Ivanna Yatsiuk were the recent exits to get the game to 15.

Mike Malm shoved the hijack for 59k and Curtis Singleton called from the small blind. It was essentially a coin flip between ace-nine for Malm and king-queen for Singleton. Malm’s ace held on a jack-high board and he doubled to more than around 130k while Singleton is still over 200k

The 6-Max field is down to 18 remaining now with about 20 minutes to play in Level 13. The average stack is still over 50 big blinds, so it could take a while. There are some short stacks out there, however, so things could move quicker than the average stack might suggest.

Below is a look at the chips for the 19 remaining players from the break, with Curtis Singleton in the lead with just shy of 300k.

The prizes are in and the final total for the 6-Max is confirmed at 77 entries for $51,205 in prizes. There will be 10 players bagging chips later tonight, and all of those players will come back tomorrow for Day 2 in the money.

There are still 21 players left, so they need 11 more eliminations before the end of the night, and with the average stack at almost 50 big blinds right now, it could take a while to play down to 10.

Level 10 is nearly complete, and the board has 77 as the final number for the 6-Max. I’m still waiting to see the prizes to confirm that number, but if it holds, it should mean 10 players find bags at the end of the night and share in $51,205 worth of prizes. I’ll confirm all the numbers when the prizes are posted.

The dinner break is nearly over, and I’ve had a look around the room at the stacks. It looks like 2024 API Player of the Year, Mike Malm, is the leader right now with 250k, with Abraham Nahas and Ron Lauzon also in the 200k club. Below is a look at most of the 100k+ stacks in the room from the dinner break.

The 6-Max players have just left the room for their dinner break, meaning there are less than 30 minutes left to enter. The field is now at 76 entries, which is just enough to crack the $50k mark.

Entries will be closed when they return to the felt in about 25 minutes.

The field is up to 71 entries now, with about 25 minutes to play in Level 9. That means the end of entries are just under an hour away, with the desk set to close at the end of the dinner break following this level. Right now, the prizes are a bit more than $47k, and they need 5 more entries to push that over $50k.

The prize pool has just capped $45k with 68 entries on the board now. There are about 20 minutes to play in Level 8, putting the end of entries about 90 minutes away.

The prizes are now almost $42k with 63 entries on the board andjust shy of 2 hours to enter the game. There are about 5 minutes remaining in Level 7, with entries remaining open through the end of the dinner break following Level 9. Dinner is 30 minutes long, which means the last chance to enter will be at about 8 PM tonight.

The 6-Max field is up to 56 entries now, with 33 live players still at the felt. Among the active players right now are George Broumas, Nadav Bitton, Ivan Lagulak, Curtis Singleton, Gerald Chung, Hassan Issa, Ryan Cairns, Karin Schulenburg, Hongwie Liu, Ye Ping Shan, and Bernice McLennan.

The field is up to 51 entries as Level 6 begins. That puts just shy of $34k into the prizes so far, with more than 3 hours left to get into the game. Players will head out for the second break at the conclusion of this level, with 3 more levels of poker and the dinner break to go before entries close at about 8 PM.

Level 5 is about halfway complete with 49 entries on the board so far. There are still 37 live players at the felt, and about 3 hours and 45 minutes left to enter the game.

Shawn Taghavi, who won the seniors earlier this week, DJ Sharma, who has been runner-up in the last two one-day events here at PPT #3, Ali Khani, Skyler York, Colten Yamagishi, Mike Malm, Michael “Berny” Bernstein, Michael St Pierre-Porter, and Preston Stevenson are among the players I’ve spotted in the field recently.

There are about 10 minutes to play in Level 3, with the first break of Day 1 scheduled following this level. The field right now is 33 entries with 29 players still at the felt. I haven’t had a great chance to look around yet, but I did spot Eric Wasylenko, Ali Razzaq, Nicholas Peterson, Ron Lauzon, and Ivanna Yatsiuk among the field

2025 Pure Poker Tour Series #3 – Event #7: $780 NLH 6-Max Day 1 ($700 + $80)

Monday is 6-Max day! The 6-Max kicks off at 1 PM with seven hours of late entry. The last chance to enter this one should be at about 8 PM on Monday night.

Players start the day with 40k in chips, and levels will last 40 minutes. Once entries close at the start of Level 10, they’ll play down to the money, or 12.5% of the field, before they bag up. All players returning for Tuesday’s Day 2 are guaranteed to be in the money.

This game will be my main focus on Monday, but I’ll almost certainly be late to the floor. I’ve had a couple fo very late nights this weekend, so I plan to try and get a bit of extra sleep. I should be on task by the first break of the day, around 3 PM.

Shawn Taghavi picked up his second trophy of this series. He previously won the Seniors game on opening day, and ow he’s come through to win Event #7: 6-Max. He came into the final day second in chips, but after chip leader Curtis Singleton had a brutal day to bust out in 8th, the rest of the day was mostly Taghavi.

He did have to contend with the tough Matt Klapstein to his right, and it was he and Klapsteing who ended up as the final two players. Taghavi was clearly playing well, but he was also running hot tonight. On several occasions, he found big river cards to take away hands after money went in with him behind.

The final hand was a similar dynamic, though he found his salvation on the turn in that one. After raise-call action preflop, Klapstein flopped bottom two while Taghavi hit top pair. Klapstein check-raised Taghavi’s flop bet before Taghavi three-bet, then called off Klapstein’s shove.

Taghavi turned his bigger two pair, and Klapstein couldn’t boat up for the win. This was Taghavi’s second PPT trophy, with both of them coming at this series. This will slot into his second biggest cash, after a 5th place in a 2018 DeepStacks Poker Tour Main Event.

Matt Klapstein had a tough hill to climb, as Shawn Taghavi had the chip lead throughout the heads-up phase of the game. He held his own and stayed alive for a while, chipping up a bit, but he was never able to get even.

In the final hand, Shawn Taghavi raised to 60k from the button, and Matt Klapstein called. It all kicked off on the 7♦8♥K♦. Klapstein checked, Taghavi bet 60k, Klapstein check-raised to 270k, Taghavi shoved the covering stack, and Klapstein called off for his tournament life.

Klapstein flopped two pair with 8♦7♥ while Taghavi was on top pair with K♠2♦. It was the turn 2♥ that buried Klapstein as Taghavi improved to the better two pair. The Q♣ river changed nothing, and all the chips were shipped to Taghavi.

Shawn Taghavi raised the small blind and Michael St Pierre-Porter called from the big. The money went in on the flop when St Pierre-Porter hit bottom pair, but Taghavi had that crush with top trips. He held and it’s now heads up bwteen him and Matt Klapstein.

Immediately after he doubled through Michael St Pierre-Porter, Ben Grenier shoved ace-nine into ace-queen for Matt Klapstein. Klapstein held and had Grenier stacked, bringing the field down to 3 left.

Michael St Pierre-Porter shoved under the gun, and Ben Grenier called with less from the button. Shawn Taghavi tanked for about a minute before finally mucking, but he looked to be seriously considering going for a double knockout with his big stack.

St Pierre-Porter was on queen-ten against ace-king for Grenier, and the eight-high paired board didn’t change anything. Grenier doubled to over 300k while St Pierre-Porter is down to 205k.

In the final hand before the break, Shawn Taghavi chipped up again. He raised to 40k under the gun, and Ben Grenier and Matt Klapstein called from the blinds. After two checks, Taghavi fired 70k on the 8♦2♦4♥ flop and only Klapstein called.

He check-called 125k on the 7♥ turn, and they both checked the 9♣ river. Klapstein showed 3♠2♠ for the flopped pair of ducks, but once again, Taghavi found a river with J♠9♠ to take it down.

Shawn Taghavi keeps stacking up, but this time, it looked like he had to get there big-time on the river. He opened to 40k from his button, and Ben Grenier called from the big blind. Grenier check-called for 40k on the J♠10♦7♥ flop, and again for 85k on the K♠ turn.

He checked again on the 2♣ river, then faced a bet of 200k. He called pretty quickly but mucked in disgust when Taghavi showed pocket deuces for a rivered set. “I knew I should have shoved the turn,” Grenier muttered as he mucked his hand and watched the chips move to Taghavi.

Shawn Taghavi opened under the gun to 40k, and Matt Klapstein called from the big blind. He check-called for another 40k on the 8♥9♥A♣ flop, and for 70k on the 3♦ turn.

He checked again when the 3♠ paired the board, and Taghavi checked behind. Klapstein showed 8♠5♦, but was no good against the A♠4♠ for Taghavi.

I’ll grab full counts in about 10 minutes when the players take their next break, but that hand put Taghavi well over a million for the big lead at the moment.

Shawn Taghavi raised early to 40k, and got calls from Ben Grenier and Gerald Chung in the blinds. The flop came 6♥2♥7♣ and, after a check from Grenier, Chung bet 52k.

Taghavi bumped it up to 175k, prompting a fold from Grenier, but a tank-call from Chung. The turn 8♥ lit the fuse as Chung shoved the bigger stack, and Taghavi called it off at risk. Taghavi was on A♥4♥ for the nut flush, while Chung had flopped top pair, then turned the smaller flush with 9♥7♥. Chung was left short after the 3♣ river completed the board, playing about 250k, which went in the next hand and he was off to the cage for 5th place.

Taghavi doubled to more than 650k after the hand.

Shawn Taghavi limped the small blind, then called off with more when Michael St Pierre-Porter shoved the big. St Pierre-Porter was on ace-six off against ace-nine off for Taghavi. St Pierre-Porter turned his six, but Taghavi also turned a gutshot. He bricked the river and St Pierre-Porter doubled to over 400k.

They are down to five left in the 6-Max game now after Karin S hit the cage for 6th place. She rejammed ace-nine over a raise from Gerald Chung and Chung called with king-jack. Karin missed the board while Chung smashed it with trip kings by the river to send her home in 6th place for $3,125.

Matt Klapstein opened the button to 30k, and both Shawn Taghavi and Karin S called from the blinds. Things kicked off on the K♠3♦9♦ flop when the action checked to Klapstein and he bet 55k. Taghavi came over the top to 155k while Karin got out of the way.

Klapstein shoved the big stack, and Taghavi snapped it off to put him self at risk. Klapstein was on top pair with king-jack, but Taghavi found the “special” with nine-three in the small blind for two pair. 7♦4♠ on the runout didn’t change a thing, and Taghavi stacked up to more than 650k, while Klapstein is down to about 500k after the hand.

They’ve been seven-handed for a while now, but Alain Levesque was just the first casualty from the final table. He shoved the cutoff, and Gerald Chung flat-called from the small blind without even asking for a count. Big blind Matt Klapstein wisely got out of the way, and Levesque was drawing thin with ace-nine into the cowboys for Chung.

Levesque found a nine on the turn of 2♣2♥J♣9♣Q♣, and Chung’s kings were good for the win.

Gerald Chung opened the button to 36k and Seniors champ Shawn Taghavi called from the big blind. Taghavi check-called for 36k on the 6♦7♠9♥ flop, and they both checked the Q♣ turn. Taghavi led out for 45k when the 7♥ paired the board, and Chung mucked his hand after a short tank.

Matt Klapstein opened under the gun to 20k and got calls from Karin S in the hijack, as well as Ben Grenier and Gerald Chung in the blinds. The flop was 8♥A♣2♦ and it checked to Klapstein who fired 28k.

Grenier was the only caller from the small blind, but when he checked the 10♣ turn, Klapstein went big with a bet of 150k. Grenier hit the tank for several minutes before the clock was called and the TD put him on a 30-second countdown. Grenier mucked his hand about halfway through the 30 seconds.

Karin S opened it up to 16k from the middle, and it folded to Gerald Chung on the big blind. He put in the call to see an ace-high Broadway flop, then led out for 16k. Karin called to the 2♥ turn, but snap-mucked when Chung reached for chips before he even had a chance to bet them.

Ben Grenier opened early to 17k, and Alain Levesque called from the big blind. The flop was [invalid notations], and Levesque opted for a check-raise line, bumping Grenier’s continuation bet of 24k up to 48k. Grenier immediately shoved, and Levesque sheepishly slid his hand to the muck.

“I should have just called,” he said.

I arrived at the table with action on the turn and the board reading K♦10♠2♠8♥. Matt Klapstein checked to Karin S, then called when she bet 40k. The river was Q♠, bringing in straight and flush draws on the river. Klapstein counted out a big bet of 110k and slid it in. Karin didn’t take long to let go of her hand.

“Nice river,” she said with a resigned sigh as she mucked her hand.

“I haven’t won a hand all day,” Curtis Singleton said as his stack was being decimated by flush-over-flush against Ben Grenier. That hand left him on less than fumes, with just a couple of chips behind, and the start-of-day leader busted in the next hand for 8th place.

The field is down to 8 remaining now after Ali Khani hit the rail with about 20 minutes to play in Level 16. Alain Levesque has now switched tables into Khani’s vacated seat to balance the tables.

The field is down to 9 after the elimination of Ivan Magulak about 10 minutes into Level 16. I missed the action as I was out of the room, but that leaves nine players left.

Here is a look at the 10 players in the money on Day 2 of the 6-Max.

2025 Pure Poker Tour Series #3 – Event #7: $780 NLH 6-Max Day 2 ($700 + $80)

10 players are returning for Day 2 action in the 6-Max on Tuesday, and Curtis Singleton is leading with 456k, the only bag with more than 400k. Singleton also bagged the chip lead from Day 1a of Event #3, and he told me tonight this is the series of “black dick energy” as he’s switched up his usual duck card protector with a small black phallus.

The action resumes at 1 PM in Level 15, and they’ll play it out to a winner. Blinds stay at 40 minutes, but will drop to 20 minutes for heads-up play.

Day 2 Seats and Stacks