2026 Pure Poker Tour Series #4 – Event #12: $340 NLH

Level:	25 (30000/60000/60000)
Entries:	1/97
Prizes:	$27,645
Local Time:	3:20 AM

The stacks were very short at the end, with just 40 big blinds in play. Ron Piasetzki had the majority of them to start heads up against Benny Sarnelli, but Sarnelli managed to double back a couple of times before the final hand.

Just a few hands in, Piasetzki woke up with ace-ten, and Sarnelli had suited paint, so the money went in for a “fair fight”, as Sarnelli put it. It wasn’t fair for long, however, as Piasetzki hammered the flop with trip aces, and Sarnelli was dead on the turn.

Level:	25 (30000/60000/60000)
Entries:	2/97
Prizes:	$27,645
Local Time:	3:10 AM

The comeback wasn’t to be, as Ronald Piasetzi just sent Shawn Taghavi to the rail. Taghavi shoved9♥7♦ but ran into [invalid notations]JcTh[/pcn[ for Piasetzi. They both hit the flop, but when the [invalid notations]9dKsTs6hAs[/pcn[ board was out, Piasetzi’s ten was best and Taghavi was done in 3rd.

Piasetzi has the big stack against Benny Sarnelli now, but Sarmelli has already doubled once to stay alive.

Level:	24 (25000/50000/50000)
Entries:	3/97
Prizes:	$27,645
Local Time:	3:05 AM

They limped to the 3♣10♥K♠ flop, where SHawn Taghavi check-called for 60k. The 4♥ turn saw another check-call from Taghavi, this time for 100k.

Taghavi shoved the 8♣ river, and Ronald Piasetzi called it off. They both had two pair, but Piasetzi’s kings & eights were ahead of Taghavi’s fours & threes.

That left Taghavi on about 20k, but he tripled in the next, then doubled again, and he’s still alive. The blinds just went to 30k/60k/60k, for an average stack of 13.5 big blinds.

Level:	23 (20000/40000/40000)
Entries:	4/97
Prizes:	$27,645
Local Time:	2:45 AM

Shawn Taghavi raised to 95k first to act, and Nicholas Peterson called from the button, leaving just 50k behind. Taghavi bet 50k on the 6♦J♠7♥ flop, and Peterson called.

Nicholas Peterson: 4♥4♦
Shawn Taghavi: K♣9♠

Board: 6♦J♠7♥10♠6♥

In the next hand, Peterson and Ronald Piasetzi got it in with Peterson on Q♦6♦ against A♦6♣ Peterson flopped a flush draw, but then bricked it on K♦7♠2♦A♠2♠ and Piasetzi’s ace turned the win. That left Peterson with just 30k behind, but he doubled the next hand. That didn’t last long however, and he was out shortly after.

Level:	23 (20000/40000/40000)
Entries:	4/97
Prizes:	$27,645
Local Time:	2:45 AM

Ronald Piasetzi raised to 105k, then called off with more when Shawn Taghavi shoved 470k. It was a race between pocket tens for Piasetzi and A♠K♣ for Taghavi, and he flopped his ace and held on 2♦Q♥A♦2♣6♥.

Level:	23 (20000/40000/40000)
Entries:	4/97
Prizes:	$27,645
Local Time:	2:35 AM

Ronald Piasetzi shoved the button, and Michael St. Pierre-Porter called from the small blind with less. St. Pierre-Porter had the best of it preflop with A♦Q♦ against A♠9♥ for Piasetzi. St. Pierre-Porter was good until the river of 7♣6♦J♣5♥9♠.

The average stack is now 15 big blinds.

Level:	22 (15000/30000/30000)
Entries:	5/97
Prizes:	$27,645
Local Time:	2:30 AM

Michael St. Pierre-Porter shoved a covering stack in the small blind, and Benny Sarnelli called from the big. St. Pierre-Porter had Q♠3♠ against A♥5♣ for Sarnelli.

St. Pierre-Porter flopped a flush draw, but then bricked it on 4♥8♠4♠2♥2♣ and the ace-high was best. Sarnelli doubled from 370k.

The blinds just increased to 20k/40k/40k, so the average stack is down to 12 big blinds.

Level:	22 (15000/30000/30000)
Entries:	5/97
Prizes:	$27,645
Local Time:	2:15 AM

Nicholas Peterson raised to 150k from the middle, and Ben Grenier called the big blind. Grenier shoved the 2♦Q♥10♦ flop, and Peterson called with a bit more.

Grenier was on pocket threes, with Peterson on A♦5♦ looking for the flush. It came on the turn when the board ran out 7♦A♣. Peterson had Grenier covered by 5k.

The average stack is now a bit more than 16 bigs, but that will drop to 12 in 7 minutes when the blinds change.

Level:	22 (15000/30000/30000)
Entries:	6/97
Prizes:	$27,645
Local Time:	2:00 AM

There’s not much in it at the moment. Michael St. Pierre-Porter & Shawn Taghavi are tied for the chip lead with 480k each, but the shortest stack at the table is 285k for Ben Grenier. The average stack is just 13.5 bigs, and the big stacks only have 16 big blinds at the moment.

Level:	21 (15000/20000/20000)
Entries:	6/97
Prizes:	$27,645
Local Time:	1:55 AM

Nicholas Peterson, who was dubbed “Nicky P of the North” by Michael St. Pierre-Porter, shoved the middle, and Ben Grenier called from the big blind.

Grenier was in good shape with jacks against king-ten of hearts. Grenier flopped a set of jacks, but Peterson flopped a gutshot, then rivered it on [invalid notations]AcJs5d7sQd[/[invalid notations].

Level:	21 (15000/20000/20000)
Entries:	6/97
Prizes:	$27,645
Local Time:	1:45 AM

Shawn Taghavi raised to 45k early, and Ben Grenier called from the big blind. Grenier check-called for 35k on the J♦10♠2♦ flop, and they both checked the 2♠ turn.

Grenier fired 70k on the 7♠ river, and Taghavi called quickly. Grenier showed 10♣3♣ but Taghavi had the better kicker with A♠10♥.

Level:	20 (10000/20000/20000)
Entries:	6/97
Prizes:	$27,645
Local Time:	1:30 AM

Nicholas Peterson shoved 99k second to act, and Michael St. Pierre-Porter called from the button.

Michael St. Pierre-Porter: 8♠8♣
Nicholas Peterson: A♠9♦

Board: A♥9♥10♦3♥6♦

Peterson flopped two pair and held to double to over 200k. There’s a break coming in about 25 minutes, and I’ll get full counts for the remaining players then, but it looks like Benny Sarnelli is leading now.

Level:	20 (10000/20000/20000)
Entries:	6/97
Prizes:	$27,645
Local Time:	1:25 AM

I missed the action while writing the previous bust, but the game is down to 6 remaining now after Francis Fan busted for 7th place worth $1,325.

Level:	20 (10000/20000/20000)
Entries:	7/97
Prizes:	$27,645
Local Time:	1:20 AM

Ben Wilson raised to 45k early, and it folded around to Benny Sarnelli in the big blind. Sarnelli shoved a bigger stack, and Wilson called it off.

Ben Wilson: A♦Q♣
Benny Sarnelli: Q♦Q♠

Board: 9♦3♣9♣10♠3♠

The board missed both players, leaving Sarnelli’s queens best for the win.

Level:	18 (6000/12000/12000)
Entries:	8/97
Prizes:	$27,645
Local Time:	12:50 AM

Place	Player	Chips
9	Shane Hughes	$855
10	Bradley Fisher	$690

Level:	15 (3000/6000/6000)
Entries:	13/97
Prizes:	$27,645
Local Time:	11:30 PM

The side game is now down to 13 players remaining, three off the money. Level 15 is nearly complete, with a break following this level.

I’m still watching heads up in the PLO PKO game, so I don’t have eyes on this one yet.

Level:	11 (1500/2500/2500)
Entries:	38/97
Prizes:	$27,645
Local Time:	10:00 PM

Place	Prize
1	$8,020
2	$5,530
3	$3,595
4	$2,765
5	$2,130
6	$1,685
7	$1,325
8	$1,050
9	$855
10	$690

Level:	10 (1000/2000/2000)
Entries:	42/97
Prizes:	$27,645
Local Time:	9:35 PM

Entries are closed for the side game, with the final unofficial tally at 97. If that holds, it will mean 10 players sharing in $27,645 in prizes.

I’ll confirm the numbers when the prizes are posted, but regardless, this is officially the biggest one-day event of the series, outside the restricted-entry Seniors game.

Level:	9 (1000/1500/1500)
Entries:	39/83
Prizes:	$23,655
Local Time:	9:00 PM

Level 9 has just begun, and that means there is about 30 minutes remaining in entries for this game. The field is now the biggest open-entry, one-day field of the series at 83, with the previous record at 78. The Seniors game got 106 entries, so that is still in the objective lead, but it is a restricted-entry event.

Level:	8 (600/1200/1200)
Entries:	40/77
Prizes:	$21,945
Local Time:	8:45 PM

The side game is up to 77 entries, with about 10 minutes to play in Level 8. There is one more level of open entry following this one, with the desk shutting when they sit down for Level 10.

This game is now one entry away from tying the biggest single-day open-entry field of the series, a mark that was set at 78 last night in the Deepstack Hyper.

Level:	5 (300/600/600)
Entries:	45/59
Prizes:	$16,815
Local Time:	7:40 PM

The side game is moments from the first break of the night, with the field at 59 entries. That puts the prizes at $16,815, with about 90 minutes remaining in entries.

Level:	4 (300/500/500)
Entries:	38/44
Prizes:	$12,540
Local Time:	7:10 PM

The side game is up to 44 entries, with about 15 minutes to play in Level 4. There’s one more level of poker following this one before the first break of the day, then another 5 levels with entries open.

Level:	2 (200/300/300)
Entries:	23/24
Prizes:	$6,840
Local Time:	6:20 PM

Level 2 is just beginning in the $340 NLH, with the field at 24 entries. That puts the early prizes at almost $8k, and I’m expecting this field to be in the 60-80 range by the time entries close about 9:15 PM.

Event #12: $340 NLH ($990 + $110)

Date:	Sep 23, 6 PM
Blinds:	20 Minutes
Starting Stack:	25k
Late Entry:	9 Levels (Entries Close About 9:30 PM)
Day 1 Ends:	One-Day Event

The evening game on Wednesday is the $340 NLH, starting at 6 PM. Players get 25k in chips to start for 20-minute blind levels.

Entries are open for 9 levels of play, with the desk closing around 9:30 PM, when they sit down for Level 10. After that, the one-day event will play down to a winner.

In the last series, Stefan Maloney staged a huge comeback win to take down this game over a field of 58 entries, though the game ran a bit later in the week last time around. There isn’t really a good comparison game from Sep 2025.