GPI 300 Changes After L.A. Poker Classic

The L.A. Poker Classic is well known as one of the biggest poker events of the year, with the city being home to many top name players as well as being easily reachable from the poker mecca of Las Vegas. As such, turnout to the series continues to grow, leading to bigger prize pools and a more fierce level of competition. Seeing as the Global Poker Index 300 is a weighted affair where scores vary based on the price of the buy-in and the number of tournament entries, it makes perfect sense that there would be some movers and shakers following the completion of the L.A. Poker Classic series.

One player who obviously saw a jump in ranking was Paul Volpe. Finishing second in the $10,000 No Limit Holdem Championship of the LAPC, Volpe moved from being in the middle of the pack at 166th place into the top 100 at 79th place. Another final table finisher who saw his GPI star on the rise was Toby Lewis, who moved from 38th to 21st place. At the top of the GPI list, competition can be very difficult and many players struggle to gain just a few places, let alone being boosted by 20 places after a single tournament.

With a good score at the LAPC, a player can jump onto the GPI list, as evidenced by a number of notable pros. Eric Froehlich is often considered to be a top name pro, but a poor string of recent results had left him absent from the GPI 300. With a 23rd place finish in the Main Event, he managed to make a strong reappearance in the 234th position. In a similar fashion, well-known player John Hennigan also made a deep run, eventually finishing in 56th. This was good enough to see Hennigan return to the GPI 300 in 267th place.

In addition to the LAPC Main Event, other tournaments at the series can also have a strong effect on total GPI rankings. Micah Raskin was ranked in 21st place before the start of the $25,000 High Roller tournament, but his finish in third would be good enough to send him up two spots to 19th place. The winner of the same event, Rodger Johnson, had the biggest GPI move this week, starting in 270th place and jumping an impressive 118 slots to end up almost in the exact center of the list at 152nd place.

While there is little financial reward for being at the top of the GPI 300 list, the truth is that it serves as one of the true barometers of which players are doing well. The intricately-designed ranking system is often used to conclusively show which players are at the top of their poker game.