Andras Koroknai Poker
Hungary’s Andras Koroknai would have fit right in at last year’s World Series of Poker final table, when international players occupied five of the nine seats. This year, Koroknai’s the odd man out, the lone non-US player crashing what has otherwise an all-American party.
Andras Koroknai Eliminated In Sixth Place ($1,640,461) Oct 29, '12. With a move that some will certainly call a meltdown, Andras Koroknai, the 2012 World Series of Poker main event’s only non. WPT Career Highlights Value Rank; Career Earnings: $1,788,040: 87: Cashes: 1: 13,272: Final Tables: 1: 2,066: Titles: 1: 107. Andras Koroknai, 30, enters the final table of the 2012 World Series of Poker Main Event second in chips with 29,375,000. A native of Debrecen, Hungary, the professional poker player has $39,371. “You can’t win it if you’re not in it.” Those were the words of wisdom from ESPN poker commentator Norman Chad just 15 minutes before the end of the World Series of Poker Main Event run of Hungarian Andras Koroknai(pictured), who fell by the wayside in sixth place from the $10,000 tournament. Greg Mersonopened the.
That Koroknai gets to do so with a giant 29,375,000 stack, placing him second as the final table convenes, puts him into position to keep the WSOP title an international affair. Three of the last four main event winners have come from outside the US – Pius Heinz last year, Jonathan Duhamel in 2010, and Peter Eastgate in 2008.
Koroknai’s credentials are stronger than any of his predecessors, too. He has made the leap from obscurity to a major title once already, capturing the 2012 WPT LA Poker Classic, one of the riches titles in WPT history, worth $1,788,040
Not bad for a player who had only turned pro the year before.
Andras Koroknai hadn’t always planned on playing poker professionally. After graduating from Hungary’s University of Debrecen with a computer science degree, he went to work for his uncle, who ran a small computer shop in Debrecen. But a motorcycle accident in Greece, where he had traveled while on the bounce from a broken relationship, nearly killed Koroknai and changed his outlook on life. From there it was only a few months of grinding before his grander dreams became reality.
After a few months of cash-game and smaller-tournament play, Koroknai cashed in big in 2010 with his unexpected Los Angeles win. The triumph gave Koroknai the bankroll to travel the world in recent years, including participating in EPT and WSOP events.
For all that, Koroknai returns to center stage as the player a lot of fans want to hate. It was Koroknai who knocked out both Elisabeth Hille (in 11th) and Gaelle Baumann (in 10th), preventing either woman from reaching the final table and perhaps logging the best-ever showing by a woman.
Koroknai’s knockout of Baumann was especially ironic, in that his own tournament life nearly ended on Day 5, when only a tournament director’s proper ruling that Koroknai had mucked his hand kept him from being declared all in against Baumann’s K-K and being eliminated himself at that point.
The hand involved Koroknai’s view of Baumann (then in the “1” seat) being obscured by the dealer, so that he did not realize she was still in the hand; Koroknai raised to bully a short stack (Gavin Smith, who folded), declaring himself “All in,” then mucked, not realizing Baumann was still in the hand, praying for more action herself with her pocket kings.
Instead, Koroknai’s hand was declared dead for having been mucked, with Baumann receiving only enough of Koroknai’s chips to cover her own raise, a ruling that has been questioned repeatedly but remains in line with other TD calls in similar spots. Both players battled through the remaining field to the cusp of the final table, where fate again went Koroknai’s way, when his A-J held up against Baumann’s A-9.
Nor did Baumann complain about the decision, noting that it was just an accident of circumstance, and not an angle shot. Often, big titles hinge on such weird moments, and in this case it’s Andras Koroknai who has the chance at a second life-altering payday, while Baumann came so close, but is on the outside looking in.
For Koroknai, it’s all good. Back in Hungary his uncle’s computer shop keeps on, selling and servicing PC’s to the locals. It’s a long way from there to the bright lights of Vegas. But in other ways, it’s not so very far at all.
After a one-day delay, the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) L.A. Poker Classic resumed on Thursday with its six-handed final table. After 94 hands, Andras Koroknai emerged victorious and banked $1.8 million.
Koroknai earned the largest first place payday awarded so far during Season 8 of the WPT. His prize package included $1.8 million in cash, a WPT bracelet and watch, a Commerce Casino trophy, and a $25,000 entry into the end-of-season WPT Championship, which will play out next month from the Bellagio in Las Vegas. Koroknai had a rowdy Hungarian rail during the L.A. Poker Classic’s final table and told WPT Live Updates Hostess Jacque that his plan was to spend his newfound riches.
Koroknai edged out Raymond Dolan heads-up. Michael Kamran, the short stack entering the final table, was the first person sent packing. Kamran moved all-in pre-flop with 10-7 of diamonds for eight big blinds and George Kasabyan made the call with A-J. Kamran picked up a straight draw when the flop came 9-8-5 and turned a seven to take the lead in the hand with a pair. However, Kasabyan hit an ace on the river to end Kamran’s heroics. He picked up $246,000 for his run through the $10,000 buy-in poker tournament.
The second player eliminated was J.C. Moussa, who picked up $321,000 for his fifth place showing. Moussa shoved over the top of a re-raise by Tri Huynh with A-9. Huynh flipped up A-Q and the board ran out 10-6-2-K-5. Huynh made a flush by the time all was said and done and sat with the second largest stack at the table.
Andras Koroknai Poker Tournaments
Dolan scooped a 2.6 million chip pot shortly thereafter to take the chip lead before a long battle ensued to see who would become the tournament’s fourth place finisher. Kasabyan called all-in with A-7 on a board of A-9-8, but ran into Huynh’s A-9 for top two pair. Kasabyan hit a seven on the turn for one of his outs needed to win the hand, but a river nine gave Huynh a full house. Kasabyan, who hails from Armenia and was rooted on by Chris “The Amenian Express” Grigorian throughout the final table, collected $450,000.
The trio remaining was fairly even in stack sizes following Kasabyan’s exit, but Koroknai doubled through Dolan to claim 60% of the chips in play. On the 93rd hand of final table play, Huynh was bounced after calling all-in with pocket jacks against Koroknai’s A-K. I bet you can guess how this hand ends. A king hit on the flop to send the tournament’s eventual winner out in front and no help came on the turn or river. Entering heads-up play, Koroknai held a 10:1 edge in chips.
Heads-up action lasted all of one hand, as Dolan called off his remaining chips with Q-4 and found himself up against Koroknai’s Q-8 of hearts. The action flop came 10-9-4 with two hearts, giving Dolan bottom pair and Koroknai a flush draw. The turn was a seven, adding even more drama and giving Koroknai even more outs. Sure enough, the king of hearts hit as the jackpot card on the river and Koroknai took down the 2010 L.A. Poker Classic. Here were the final payouts:
1. Andras Koroknai – $1,788,040
2. Raymond Dolan – $1,002,710
3. Tri Huynh – $665,140
4. Gevork Kasabyan – $450,580
5. Jean-Claude Moussa – $321,840
6. Michael Kamran – $246,740
Andras Koroknai Poker Games
Next on tap for the WPT is the Bay 101 Shooting Star event from San Jose, California. The unique bounty tournament kicks off next Monday, March 8th. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest WPT coverage.