Chino Rheem and Josh Arieh Chop $400,000 in Mixed Game Glory

So often both winners in mixed game events PokerStake’s own Josh Arieh and Chino Rheem decided on an even chip in the fourth event of this year’s PokerGO Tour Mixed Games series. With first and second place in the event eventually worth $195,500, the $10,000 buy-in event saw 92 entrants battle to 14 paid places, as Arieh and Rheem dominated the late stages of the tournament.

Livingston Loses Out

A bumper field of 92 players gave mixed game poker fans a treat as two big days played out with a final table packed with North American poker superstars. The bubble boy of the event was Steve Zolotow as the mixed game specialist was taken out by PokerStake legend Josh Arieh.

The six-time WSOP bracelet winner Arieh got the better of Zolotow in Limit Hold’em as the latter called off his stack with [K] and Arieh turned over . A flop of saw Zolotow become a huge favorite to double up but a on the turn was followed by a on the river, as Arieh overtook Zolotow with runner-runner to put the remaining 14 players in the money.

A min-cash of $23,000 belonged to Mike Gorodinsky who busted in 13^th among others. Nick Guagenti (10^th for $27,600) and Max Hoffman (9^th for the same amount) both fell short of the seven-handed final table as players took a break for the night. Brian Breck led the remaining players when play began on the final day with 3.47 million chips.

Alex Livingston began the final day with the short stack of just 530,000 and soon had the roundest number of all. In a hand of stud, Livingston had just a pair of eights and that wasn’t enough when Chino Rheem’s made a flush after he found a and a to reduce the field to six, Livingston going home with $36,800 for another deep tournament run.

Breck Bricks Out

An extended period without a bust-out saw Josh Arieh soar to the top of the chipcounts, while Chino Rheem dropped to short stack. Rheem was to hang around, however, as Aaron Kupin crashed out in sixth place for $46,000 in a hand of Hold’em against Josh Arieh. Kupin was all-in with and ran into Arieh’s . A board of [3] sent Kupin home and further strengthened the chip lead of Arieh.

Having been toppled as leader, Brian Breck soon found himself on the outside looking in. In 2-7 Triple Draw, David Funkhouser drew two to an impressive T-7-5-3-2 and when Breck had 7-4-3-2, he drew one to an ace and missed out on the final four, cashing for $64,400 in fifth place as he left the tournament.

With four left, Nick Schulman slipped from middle ranking to short stack. The PokerGO commentator and multiple WSOP bracelet winner was up against it but doubled through Funkhouser in Stud and that put the latter under the gun soon after. Funkhouser had aces up but ran into Schulman’s trips as two back-to-back hands switched stacks and then sent Funkhouser home with a score of $82,800.

Arieh and Rheem Chop it Up

Three-handed play lasted an age as Josh Arieh and Chino Rheem traded times to be dominant. Both men earned their stripes in a series of hands where momentum shifted and concentration levels were high. Eventually, the third wheel in their encounter, Nick Schulman, departed for $110,400 just short of the heads-up battle.

In a hand of 2-7 Triple Draw, Schulman and Arieh both drew late while Rheem stood pat, but Schulman was the man to miss out, unable to catch at the end to leave Rheem as a marginal chip leader on 7,275,000 chips to Arieh’s stack of 6,550,000. Arieh would shortly take the lead but the stacks were close enough to do a deal and both men were happy to chop the remaining prize pot equally, earning $195,500 each.

Playing on for the trophy and PokerGO Tour (PGT) Points, the final duel went Rheem’s way, as after Arieh won big in Stud with a full house, Rheem doubled up in Pot Limit Omaha with kings in the hole against Arieh’s tens. Neither man’s hand improved other than to find a pair of queens on board and Rheem had almost all of the chips with 13.2 million to Arieh’s 575,000. There was to be no miracle comeback for Arieh, as a final hand in PLO went Rheem’s way when he made a full house on the river, taking the winner’s photo as both men then went to collect their equal share of the top two prizes.

For Arieh’s supporters who invested in the six-time WSOP bracelet winner on PokerStake – as well as the man himself, of course – it was a glorious victory.