SHULMAN
PROTÉGÉ JAFFREY
WINS HER FIRST EVENT EVER
Down to about $4,000 midway through
the final table, attorney Allyn Jaffrey
made a remarkable comeback to win the
11th event of the 4 Queens Poker Classic,
$500 limit hold'em. A protégé of Card
Player publisher Barry Shulman, and playing
perhaps her ninth tournament, she jokingly
said when she got to the final table that
the student was surpassing the instructor.
Her jest, at least for tonight, became
a reality.
After 15 hours of play she had the chip
lead with $42,000 against two other recreational
players, and they agreed to end the long
contest with an even-money split. Ryan
Hughes, a 21-year-old aerospace engineering
student at Arizona State University, had
$37,500 and Jim Ferrell, a Phoenix, Arizona
physician, had $36,500.
The
last tournament that Jaffrey played was
at the Legends of Poker, where she and
Shulman both made the final table. This
was just the second major tournament for
Hughes, who won the other event he played,
at Commerce Casino's Heavenly Hold'em.
Finishing
10th was Phil Nguyen. In the small blind,
he reluctantly added his last $100 with
A-2, only to have Rich Barton re-raise
and blow him away with pocket aces. Meanwhile,
at the other second table, "Miami" John
Cernuto took a bad beat to also miss the
final table. Short-chipped, he went all
in with pocket kings against Jan Sjavik's
A-5. Sjavik, a pro from Oslo, Norway whose
titles include the 2000 European championship,
flopped two pair and then made aces full.
Chip
Position, Final Table
Seat
Player Chip
Count
1.
Allyn Jaffrey $19,700
2. Jimmy Tran $6,000
3. (Vacant)
4. David White $12,000
5. Walt Williams $5,100
6. Jim Ferrel $6,400
7. Ryan Hughes $9,200
8. Jan Sjavik $19,100
9. Rich Barton $8,600
When the eight finalists sat down, Ferrell
owned a big lead with $35,800. Virtually
tied for second place were Sjavik and
Jaffrey. Seven hands into the round, limits
went to $800-$1,600. Walt Williams, a
Georgian in the insurance and investment
business, started with the fewest chips
and was first out. On hand 17 he had the
big blind with 10-8 of hearts. When a
6h, 3h, 7c flopped, he went all in chasing
a flush and straight draw and lost to
Barton's pocket aces.
Poker player Jimmy Tran lasted four more
hands. He tried raising on the button
with 6-5 of clubs and was called by Ryan
with A-6 of spades. A flop of J-3-2 gave
Tran an inside straight draw, and he bet
all in when a 5 paired him. But the 5
also gave Ryan a nut flush.
At this point, Ferrrel still held the
lead with about $37,000. On hand 34, Barton,
an electrician and the third finalist
from Arizona, was shocked when he made
a flush while David White, in the construction
business in Texas, made a full house with
pocket treys. When limits went to $1,000-$2,000,
Ferrel still had the lead while Jaffrey
had dipped down to $7,500. After patiently
waiting and getting blinded down to $4,000,
she won a couple of pots, once with pocket
kings, to reach $13,000 and begin her
climb upwards. Right after, on hands 67
and 68, Hughes took two pots from Doc
Ferrell, once when his A-K stood up, the
second time when he made a straight with
J-10, to take the lead with close to $50,000.
Despite his tournament inexperience, he
showed he was capable of calling suspicious
bets with marginal hands and throwing
in bluffs of his own.
On hand 85, Barton was down to $500 and
called without looking when he was raised.
The electrician turned up A-8 and lost
his shorts when he couldn't help against
Hughes' A-K. A rough count now showed
Hughes with about $56,000, while Ferrell
had around $38,00; and Jaffrey $11,000,
while Sjavik, who hadn't had much luck,
now trailed with about $10,000. A few
hands later, Jan had only $2,000 left
in the big blind. When Ryan raised, he
smiled ruefully but called, then folded
on a flop of K-10-9. On the next hand,
Jan was in the small blind when Ryan raised
and Allyn came over the top, winning the
pot and eliminating Sjavik with pocket
aces. "You know what I had to have to
raise in this situation," she explained
almost apologetically to Shulman, who
was carefully watching her play.
The count was now Ryan, $65,500; Ferrel,
$33,000; Jaffrey, $16,000. When limits
rose again to $1,500-$3,000, Jaffrey was
about $12,000 richer, Ryan $12,000 poorer,
and Ferrel the same. Allyn now began to
go on a rush, and after taking a pot with
a straight on the 126th hand, she had
the chip lead with perhaps $50,000.
Ten
more hands went by, her competitors had
played catch-up, and they finally decided
they had fought long enough and settled
for the three-way split.
Max Shapiro
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