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PPC 2024 Player of the Year

Will you be named the Player of the Year?


The top 200 players on the point list will receive an invitation to our 2024 Play Poker Chicago Player of the Year Tournament, set to take place in December 2024 at Cantigny Post VFW in Joliet. Compete for cash prizes and the chance to have a PPC Table named in your honor.


Points can be earned by reaching the final table at any of our 2024 events. Do you possess what it takes to be crowned Player of the Year?

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At Play Poker Chicago, our team, in collaboration with our hosting charities, takes great pride in providing the best tournament structures out there.


We have bigger starting starting stacks, extended levels, and a truly player-friendly structure.

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Best of all, the card is absolutely free—register today!



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October 2024 - May 2025

Have you ever envisioned yourself competing in the WSOP Main Event?


Play Poker Chicago can turn that dream into a reality. The best part? You can get started for as little as $10.00 with our Milestone Satellites, giving you the chance to win your entry into one of the two WSOP $500 Main Event tournaments.

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If you know of a 501(c) based in Illinois, please contact us, and we’ll help them get started with hosting events.




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All-In with Play Poker Chicago

By Kevin La Van 28 Oct, 2024

The other day I was called over to the table and walked into a small cluster. A tournament table called for the floor and as I arrived I was met with a chorus of voices shouting "misdeal, misdeal, misdeal.” The biggest thing you should takeaway from this post is NEVER toss your cards into a muck until you know that they should be mucked. 


The Situation: Seat 1 and 2 had no cards (Fold, Fold), Seat 4 was All-In, Seat 6 was thinking, Seat 8 was the small blind and had 3 cards and Seat 9 was being blinded out but was big blind. Just as I began to assess the situation, the player in Seat 6 mistakenly mucked their cards, believing it was a misdeal.


The Rules: This situation required the entire TDA rule book to work out. 


TDA Rule 35 Section A states “A misdeal occurs if “The wrong number of cards is dealt to a player” - so it’s simple right; declare a misdeal and move on, but…. 


TDA Rule 35 Section D states “Once substantial action occurs a misdeal cannot be declared, the hand must proceed unless the deck is fouled.” 


TDA Rule 36 defines “Substantial Actions” as: “A” Any 2 actions in turn at least one of which puts in chips in the pot or “B” any combination of three actions in turn (check, bet, rise call, fold) Posted blinds do not count towards substantial action. 


TDA Rule 1 states the floor decisions should always be made with the “best interest of the game and fairness to the players” 


TDA Rule 2 talks about players responsibilities and states “Players should VERIFY they are dealt the correct number of cards before Substantial action occurs”


The Thought Process: My first thought was how the hell did a player in the middle of the action wind up with three cards; either two cards stuck together as they were dealt or he grabbed one of the dead cards from the player being blinded out so I had to figure out if it should be a misdeal because a player in the hand had too many cards. So, I looked at the action that occurred before I was called over; I had two folds and an All-In, so there was substantial action. With the action that occurred I could not declare a misdeal. Then I looked at what was left. I had a player all-in, I had a player that mucked his cards AFTER the floor was called because he assumed there was a misdeal, a player with three cards and a big blind with no player at the seat.


The Decision: I ruled that because of the substantial action that it was NOT a misdeal and that the player with three cards had the responsibility the verify his cards were incorrect before substantial action occurred. His hand was dead. Because no one at the table had live cards except the all-in player I awarded him the pot. The player in the 6 seat would have had live cards and could have called the all-in or folded, but because he assumed that it was a misdeal and his cards were not retrievable his hand was also dead.  


The Takeaway: The players and the dealer made a mistake, once the floor is called or in any situation where you think there is a misdeal or something is off at the table HOLD YOUR CARDS and wait for the floor to arrive and access the situation. In this case the player in the 6 seat lost his chance to act because he folded after the flood was called. 


In our next dealer meeting we will address how we as a room could have prevented this from happening and work to make sure we never make the same mistake twice. But, always hold your cards until you get a ruling.

By Kevin La Van 17 Mar, 2024

We had a situation in the room this week where there was a miscount or a miscommunication between a player and the dealer regarding an all-in bet and call.


What transpired:

Player in the 3 seat raised, player in the 7 seat declares All-In. The player in the 3 seat asked for a count or how much more and was given the wrong number after the dealer counted out the chips. Player in 3 announces CALL and the cards were flipped. As the dealer prepared to pull in the pot he announced the total all-in and the Player in the 3 seat said that that was not what was given to him and the floor was called.

What I saw when I approached the Table:

when I looked at the table I saw the Player in the 3 seat had a stack of chips out in front of him and the Player in the 7 Seat had a all-in button in front of him and his chips neatly counted out (In the traditional stacks - this will come into play later) and both players cards were tabled.


My Ruling:

Player in the 3 seat could have forfeited the chips he put into the pot and not matched the correct amount (This was based off of TDA Rule 1 which states “Best interest of the game and fairness”) or the player in the 3 seat could if he wanted to see the board run out would have to match the actual chip count from Player in the 7 seat.


This is based off of TDA Rule 49, which states:  

POKER IS A GAME OF ALERT, CONTINUOUS OBSERVATION. IT IS THE CALLERS RESPONSIBILITY TO DETERMINE THE CORRECT AMOUNT OF AN OPPONENT’S BET BEFORE CALLING, REGARDLESS OF WHAT IS STATED BY OTHERS. IF A CALLER REQUESTS A COUNT BUT RECEIVES INCORRECT INFORMATION FROM A DEALER OR PLAYER, THEN PUSHES OUT THAT AMOUNT OR DECLARES CALL, THE CALLER HAS ACCEPTED THE FULL CORRECT ACTION AND IS SUBJECT TO THE CORRECT WAGER OR ALL-IN MOUNT.


My thought process:

First I hate making rulings like this because it’s a lose lose situation for me. Someone is always going to be upset. The ruling was pretty easy based on the information I received and the context of rule 49, and I remember a situation just like this in the WSOP a few years ago that stuck in my mind. The dealer having the all-in players neatly counted out in the proper way also helped a lot. The chips were visible and easily counted by any player at the table. The miscommunication was unfortunate and we never like to see a player upset but that was the ruling by the floor.


By Kevin La Van 02 Jan, 2024
All Hail the Player of the Year! Kyle Chmielewski. He outlasted our largest field ever to win the Play Poker Chicago Player of the Year for 2023. 

Kyle went into the tournament ranked 42nd with most of his cashes coming in our DoorBuster tournaments. He outlasted a great stacked field to take down the honor and the Player of the Year Trophy. As part of his prize package he will be cruising on the Ante Up Poker Cruise in October with his Main Event included.

The 2024 Player of the Year is starting..... Don't miss your chance to join Kyle as a PPC Champion.

The Play Poker Chicago Player of there Year Final Table consisted of:

Casey Rose - Ranked 2nd, Finished 7th
Cris Montes - Ranked 17th, Finished 4th
Kimberly Bandura - Ranked 4th, Finished 6th
Amy Bylon - Ranked 16th - Finished 10th
Neal Albavera - Ranked 99th - Finished 5th
Karen Richer - Ranked 8th - Finished 8th
Roger Gill - Ranked 95th - Finished 9th
Tom Miller - Ranked 6th - Finished 3rd
Kyle Chmielewski - Ranked 42nd - Winner
Brian Riley - Ranked 30th - Runner-Up

The Play Poker Chicago team would like to congratulate the entire final table for their accomplishment for making it through a tough field and making the final table. We also want to THANK all the players that have come out this year and made us what we are. Without your support we would not be where we are.
By Kevin La Van 18 Dec, 2023

As a player, there is something to be said for having a massive pile of chips in front of you…. It makes you feel good about yourself. You can use them to intimidate other players, to build a massive wall to hide your cards from nosy neighbors or practice your architectural skills and build a cool castle. But……..

As a floor person I HATE BIG PILES OF CHIPS!!!!! Every time we come around to color up chips, it’s a battle with someone, “Please don’t color these up…… I like a big stack” There are several reasons we color up chips, the main one, is it makes it easier on the dealers. I just saw a story about the WSOP (World Series Of Poker not OUR Winter Series Of Poker ;-) Paradise event where poker pro Daniel Neilson lost 10,000,000 in chips because of a dealer counting error. This may have cost him a lot of real money. 

Counting mistakes are one of the main reason we like less chips on the table. Believe it or not dealers are human and make mistakes (I know shocking) but, in reality it's easy to make a counting mistake when you have six people trying to do your job and shouting out random numbers at you. The fewer chips on the table the better the chance to get the counts right. Also, remember, per the TDA rules if the dealer makes an error and you “Call” a all-in and the error is discovered before the chips are pushed you have to call the correct amount, even if you were told a different number by the dealer - The player has a responsibility to observe the counting and to make sure it is correct.

Less chips on the table also speeds up the game. Hands per hour increases with less chips on the table and that’s good for the players. There are less delays after you scoop a big pot and are first to act - you know the cards sit there until you finish stacking. It’s the worst feeling to be sitting on a short stack, watching the blind timer tick away and have delays because of having so may chips on the table. Less chips equals more hands.

In closing I know players want a stack to the ceiling…. but a lot of chips on the table is one of the things I hate about poker.




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