Isaac Haxton Triumphs at $10k Short Deck Poker Masters for $176k

Isaac Haxton Triumphs at $10k Short Deck Poker Masters for $176k

The 2018 Poker Masters has just passed the half way mark of its nine-day run at the Aria Resort & Casino, Las Vegas. Winners of the first few events include David Peters, Brandon Adams and Keith Lehr, with the latest pro to pick up a title being Isaac Haxton, who bested a field of 55 at Event #4: $10,000 Short Deck Poker to claim a top prize of $176,000.

The victory also represents Haxton’s first tournament take down since January 2017, despite having recorded 3 runner-up finishes, and 6 third place finishes over that time. Commenting upon a win that now increases his live career earnings to $19,313,033, the 32-year old high-stakes pro stated:

“It would be very satisfying to win this whole thing, I have a track record of doing pretty well, but with a lot of second through fifth-place finishes. Actually winning something is very satisfying.”

Poker Masters Purple Jacket Race

Prior to his win, Haxton had already made two previous final tables in the series, including finishing Event #1: $10,000 No Limit Hold’em in 6th place for $41,400; and Event #3: $25,000 Pot Limit Omaha in 4th for $92,500. As a result, he has now amassed $309,900 from the 2018 Poker Masters, placing him at number two on the race towards securing the prestigious Poker Masters Purple Jacket.

Currently at number one, however, is Brandon Adams with $543,000 in winnings, having captured Event #2: $25,000 No Limit Hold’em for $400,000; as well as booking a 4th place finish at Event #1: $10,000 No Limit Hold’em for $69,000; and a 5th place finish at Event #3: $25,000 Pot Limit Omaha for $74,000. Meanwhile, here is the current top 10 rankings with three events left to play:

1st: Brandon Adams 510
2nd: Isaac Haxton 480
3rd: David Peters 300
3rd: Keith Lehr 300
5th: Jonathan Depa 270
6th: Cary Katz 210
6th: Jared Jaffee 210
6th: Brian Green 210
6th: Maurice Hawkins 210

$10,000 Short Deck Poker

The $10,000 Short Deck Poker event featured a prize pool worth $550,000, meaning just eight players would see a return on their buy-ins. Bowing out in 8th place for $22,000 was Jason Koon (A-7), who called Ryan Tosoc’s (K-10) all-in preflop shove, and was eliminated after the board ran out 8-J-6-K-8.

Jonathan Depa then had high hopes of making the final table of six after moving all-in holding A-K, and receiving a call from Andrew Robl with pocket queens. The ensuing K-9-8-6 board looked set to earn him a much-needed double up, but instead a queen arrived on the river to oust him from the competition in 7th place for a $27,500 payday.

Final Table

Dominik Nitsche may have started the final table as the chip leader, but 45 minutes later the German player became the table’s first casualty after he shoved preflop holding pocket jacks, and received a call from Isaac Haxton with pocket tens. Fortunately for Haxton, the board rolled out Q-8-7-9-6 to make him a straight and send Nitsche to the rail in 6th place.

Haxton (A-10) followed up by eliminating Cary Katz (K-Q) in 5th, while Ryan Tosoc (Q-J) knocked out Andrew Robl (10-9) in 4th place. Soon after, however, Tosoc was reduced to a short stack, and after getting his remaining chips all-in holding A-10 was looked up by Haxton with a dominating A-J hand, that held on a K-Q-Q-8-7 board to see him off in 3rd.

Isaac Haxton vs Maurice Hawkins

The head-up battle was a tantalizing encounter between Haxton and Maurice Hawkins, an accomplished pro with an incredible 11 WSOP Circuit rings to his credit, placing him just one behind the current record holder Valentin Vornicu.

Hawkins took a slight chip lead into the final battle, and looked good to clean up after Haxton was all-in holding A-J to his pocket queens. An ace on the turn, however, doubled up Haxton instead, after which he never looked back.

The final hand subsequently saw Hawkins shove all-in holding 9d-7d, only to receive a call from his opponent with Ac-Qd. There were to be no miracle escapes for Hawkins, though, who had to settle for a runner-up finish following the dealer’s Ad-8h-8c-Kc-Qh spread.

Final Table Results:

1st: Isaac Haxton $176,000
2nd: Maurice Hawkins $115,500
3rd: Ryan Tosoc $77,000
4th: Andrew Robl $55,000
5th: Cary Katz $44,000
6th: Dominik Nitsche $33,000

Event #5: $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em

In the meantime, the $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em event, which has now reached its final table of six, is due to get underway at noon local time. Still in contention and hoping to pick up the title is a whole host of familiar pros, including the likes of Ben Yu, Ali Imsirovic, Brian Rast, Jason Koon and Daniel Negreanu.