A massive four-way all-in, two sets of quads, and hero calls highlighted a night where 15 players battled for $350 in prize money
The Prediction Comes True
Just as we forecasted in our season preview article, James entered the PPC record books with his first-ever victory, outlasting 14 other competitors in a tournament packed with action from start to finish. After years of close calls and strong finishes, James finally broke through—and he did it in style, taking home 40% of the prize pool with $125 for the win plus $15 in bounties.
The night started with a sign of things to come when James hit quad 3s on the very first hand of the tournament. On most nights, that would have earned him the high hand prize and a valuable bingo square (more on that later). But Tania had other plans, making quad 8s later in the evening to snatch that honor away—giving Ravina’s pocket Kings a painful bad beat in the process.
Welcome to the PPC, Sam
In his very first poker game, Sam conjured some of that PPC newcomer magic that we are all familiar with, almost making the final table in his debut. Joining us from Chris and Christina’s Bible study group (like PPC veterans Rob and Jon), Sam showed serious promise throughout the night, making several strong hands including an early full house that won a massive pot against both Luciano and Ravina, who each held weaker full houses.
Sam’s dream run finally ended in 8th place when his Q♠️T♦️ couldn’t complete a straight against Luciano’s J♣️5♣️ on a board of A♠️J❤️7♠️. The 6♠️ on the turn gave him a flush draw for extra outs, but the 7❤️ on the river sealed his fate. Still, for someone playing his first game of poker, nearly making the final table was a strong start to his PPC career.
Tania’s Bingo Domination
For those new to our 2026 season format, we’re running a year-long Bingo Challenge where players complete 25 poker-related tasks throughout the season to earn bonus chips for our Main Event finale. Tasks include things like “make the high hand of the night,” “win a hand with a bluff,” and “knock out five or more players in a single tournament.”
Tania took the challenge to heart and absolutely crushed it, checking off 7 bingo squares while also dominating the competition for much of the night. She busted Luciano at the end of the rebuy period with a monster pot (though Luciano re-entered and made his own deep run to 6th place), picked up three knockouts, and built up a commanding chip lead.
Her focus on completing bingo tasks didn’t hurt her game one bit—in fact, it seemed to sharpen it. That is, until the hand of the night changed everything.
The Hand That Shook the Final Table
With six players remaining, 80% of all the chips in play ended up in the middle in a four-way pre-flop all-in showdown that completely reshaped the tournament. (Check out the video of the full hand on Instagram!)
The hands:
- Tania: Q♠️J♦️
- James: A❤️A♣️ (73% favorite)
- Luciano: K♣️6❤️
- Altaf: K♠️J❤️ (massive underdog)
The board ran out Q❤️4❤️5♣️ | 9❤️ | T♠️, and when the smoke cleared:
- ✅ Altaf made a straight and went from short stack to chip leader with roughly half the chips in play
- ✅ James survived and chipped up despite getting his Aces cracked, staying second in chips
- ❌ Tania went from chip leader to short stack and busted two hands later
- ❌ Luciano was eliminated in 6th place
Meanwhile, Kara and Chris quietly avoided the carnage and laddered up the payout structure, nursing their short stacks while the big stacks battled it out.
The Early Carnage
The tournament saw some brutal beats and quick exits throughout the night. Hari—who made two final tables last season—suffered an uncharacteristically early exit in 15th place after losing a crucial pot to Ravina when his AJ couldn’t hold against Ravina’s AT on a board of A-9-9-7. Ravina spiked a Ten on the river to survive and cripple Hari, who busted minutes later when his QT fell to Tania’s KJ.
Christina also made an unusually early exit, finishing 14th after Peggy knocked her out. Keriann followed in 13th, also courtesy of Peggy, part of a string of quick eliminations at the blue table (Altaf got in on the knockout action, eliminating Sunil in 12th place, a disappointing finish after ending last season with a 3rd place finish at the 2025 Main Event).
Chris’s Lucky Escape
Chris should have been the 11th-place finisher when he pushed all-in with Q♠️T♦️ against Ravina’s A♠️3♠️. Ravina was almost a 60% favorite, but sometimes those underdogs get lucky. And that’s what happened this time as a board of Q-T-8-4-2 to give Chris two pair and crippled Ravina’s stack.
The very next hand proved even more dramatic. Chris moved all-in with K♠️5♠️, and got called by both Ravina (holding 66) and Lauren (holding JJ). Lauren was a 55% favorite to triple up and keep her tournament hopes alive. Chris had only a 25% chance to knock out both players.
After a flop of A-9-3, Lauren’s chances jumped to 77%. An 8 on the turn increased her odds to 88%. But poker is a cruel game sometimes—a King on the river gave Chris an improbable victory and two bounties, eliminating Ravina in 11th place and Lauren in 10th.
Lauren’s Legacy
This tournament marked Lauren’s final appearance before her move to New York City. In just 11 of our 24 all-time tournaments, Lauren has racked up:
- 2 wins (tied for 3rd all-time)
- 4 cashes (tied for 7th all-time)
- 15 knockouts (tied for 9th)
- 7th place average finish (9th best all-time)
- 10th in all-time power rankings
She even managed to finish 8th in one Player of the Year race on the strength of a single dominant, season-opening victory. We’re hoping she’ll make a guest appearance or two when she’s back in town—the PPC felt won’t be the same without her.
The Final Table Drama
Immediately after Chris’s improbable double knockout, Peggy picked up a third bounty, this time knocking out Rob in 9th place. After Sam was eliminated in 8th place, the remaining seven players gathered at the final table.
Peggy became the first final table casualty, bowing out in 7th place when her Q♦️2♥️ couldn’t overcome Tania’s A♣️7♦️. The board ran out K-T-T-7-8, giving Tania another bounty.
After being crippled in that four-way all-in, Tania busted on the bubble in 5th place when her K3 ran into Altaf’s pocket Jacks, a disappointing end to what had been a dominant performance. She still walked away with $15 in bounties (to go along with her 7 completed bingo squares).
Kara managed to nurse her short stack into 4th place for $20 before her K4 couldn’t hold against Chris’s QT (which seemed to be everyone’s favorite hand to move all-in with that night!) on a board of T-6-4-8-6. Chris picked up another bounty, but his luck finally ran out against James when his QT (again!) fell to James’s A7. Despite flopping a Ten, the Ace on the turn spelled the end for Chris, who finished 3rd for $50 plus $15 in bounties.
The Heads-Up Battle
That set up a heads-up showdown between James and Altaf, who entered with roughly even chip stacks. It was a tantalizing matchup—Altaf was chasing his third career victory while James was looking to seal his first.
After 10 minutes of back-and-forth action, James simply couldn’t be stopped. He made hand after hand, and there was nothing that Altaf could do. The final confrontation came when Altaf bluffed all-in for 30,000 chips with Q2 on a board of K-K-9-T-A. With only 20,000 chips in the pot but a chance to end the game right there, James made a big hero call with T8 for just a pair of Tens.
It was the perfect exclamation point on James’s breakout performance. Altaf took home $80 for 2nd place plus $10 in bounties, while James claimed the $125 first-place prize, $15 in bounties, and a nice lead in the Player of the Year race with 13 points.
The Final Results
- James – 13 POY points ($125 + $15 bounties)
- Altaf – 9 POY points ($80 + $10 bounties)
- Chris – 6 POY points ($50 + $15 bounties)
- Kara – 4 POY points ($20)
- Tania – 3 POY points ($15 bounties)
- Luciano – 3 POY points ($5 bounty)
- Peggy – 3 POY points ($15 bounties)
- Sam – 2 POY points
- Rob – 2 POY points
- Lauren – 2 POY points
- Ravina – 2 POY points
- Sunil – 2 POY points
- Keriann – 2 POY points
- Christina – 2 POY points
- Hari – 1 POY point
Looking Ahead
With James jumping out to an early lead in the Player of the Year race—while Tania (7 squares), James (5), Altaf (4), and Peggy (4) lead the way on the Bingo Challenge—Season 4 is off to an exciting start. Altaf came tantalizingly close to his third career win (and is one square away from his first Bingo line), Luciano and Peggy picked up right where they left off last season with final table appearances (Peggy is also one square away), and Sam was the latest evidence that newcomers can make serious noise in their very first PPC game.
The next tournament is just seven weeks away. Will James hold onto his lead? Can Altaf break through for win number three? Will some of our veterans who missed Event 1 (we are looking at you, Kasra, Matt, Crystal, Quang, Thuy, Steve, and Sharon) make a splash in their Season 4 debut? And who will be the first player to complete a bingo line?
There’s only one way to find out—register for the next event and we’ll see you at the tables!