Lodge local player Bohuai Jiang won his first career tournament victory in the RGPS Summer Series.

Chinese-born player Bohuai Jiang won the RGPS Summer Series $600 Main Event at The Lodge Card Club, earning his best career prize of $55,416.

When Bohuai Jiang moved to Austin, Texas less than six years ago, he found The Lodge Card Club as a place where he could learn poker and participate in tournaments in his new home.

Jiang didn't have many tournament achievements on his resume before registering for the RunGood Summer Series $600 Main Event this week, but he packed a chip stack in the final group stage to qualify for the money. The Chinese-born player was one of 71 returning players at the start of Day Two, and it took Jiang nearly 12 hours to collect all his chips to win his first poker tournament title.

"I don't have much tournament experience," Jiang told PokerNews after his victory. "I've played cash games for a few years, so I'm a relatively new player. It feels great, which gives me more confidence. I feel I need to learn more and hopefully play in more poker tournaments."

Jiang started playing cash games at The Lodge in 2023, treating it as his home ground and earning the nickname "Ginger"—a direct translation of his surname. After a stroke of luck at the final table, he defeated Benjamin Anderson in a brief heads-up match, achieving a career-best score of $55,416.

The inaugural RGPS Summer Series Main Event attracted 582 entries, easily surpassing the guarantee and bringing the total prize pool to $292,746.

2026 RGPS Summer Series $600 Main Event Final Table Results

Jiang remained patient amidst the chaos.

The returning players acted quickly and fiercely on the second day. Jiang started the day in the bottom third of the leaderboard, but as eliminations occurred one after another in the poker room, he climbed up the rankings step by step.

It took more than three hours to narrow down the field to the last three tables, and another two hours to reach the final nine. Jiang avoided the trouble and steadily climbed the leaderboard, explaining that his earlier goal that day was to be patient with the short-chip players.

"I was waiting for them to be eliminated, then playing passively. Yes, it worked pretty well."

"I don't know much about PLO, so I didn't even realize I had a straight and that I had the nuts."

Once the final table is set, the remaining competitors will receive a special RunGood prize. The players competed in a PLO High Card Flop tournament for a RunGood Aruba travel package worth $2,000 – another inaugural RGPS event scheduled for September. Jiang didn't even know he'd won, but he was incredibly excited about the prize and felt it might be a harbinger of good luck for the next few hours.

"I didn't know much about PLO, so I didn't even realize I had a straight and I had the nuts. So the dealer had to tell me. At that point, I felt like I was having a lucky day, and it really gave me some kind of hint."

The moment to change the situation

The biggest moment of the day occurred during the four-player game when Jiang quadrupled his chips and held on with pocket jacks, gaining an overwhelming chip lead. Jiang noted that that hand was the moment he began to believe he could win the championship.

"When I had J against 10, I started thinking about winning," Jiang said, recalling that big double-up. From then on, he adjusted his strategy and used those chips to extend his lead.

"Yes, my strategy has indeed changed. I think I have half the chips, and I remember opening the pot five or six times in a row."

Jiang won all those pots, ultimately leading to Jared Wolfe's elimination in fourth place. Jeffrey Nowling was eliminated shortly after in third place, leaving Jiang with two-thirds of his chips for heads-up play.

Anderson fought back and tied the chip stack, but Jiang quickly extended his lead again. After dominating the final table with pocket jacks, Jiang defeated Anderson with the same hand, sending him to runner-up.

"It takes some luck to win, yes."

When asked if he was happy that his home club reopened just before the inaugural RunGood Summer Series, Jiang beamed.

"Yes of course."

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