First-Time
a Charm for Mike Conti
Winner of Special-Added
Triple-Draw Lowball Event
By popular demand, the Four Queens
added a special tournament to its list
of events this year -- Triple-Draw Lowball.
The game first began to be played regularly
in Mississippi a few years ago and is
now becoming increasingly popular on the
tournament circuit with many poker players.
The game is played just like lowball draw,
with the caveat of having three draws
instead of just one. The first-ever major
Triple Draw Lowball tournament was held
as recently as January, 2002. The game
caught on like wildfire and now attracts
both experienced professionals and newcomers
alike because it combines the three key
elements of any great poker game -- strategy,
psychology, and luck.
Remarkably,
a first-time Triple-Draw Lowball player
-- Mike Conti, from Chicago, IL (yes,
playing the game for the FIRST-TIME) --
won this event by overcoming a very tough
and talented lineup. Even more incredible,
Conti was one of the few players who did
not take even a single re-buy in this
event. While most players took an average
of three re-buys each, Conti held on to
his initial stack like it was his life
savings and played a masterful game to
capture his first major tournament victory.
Conti
has made several final tables at poker
tournaments in the past, but this win
was truly special. He came to the final
table with a slight chip lead (9,525 in
chips to James Hoeppner's 7,550 -- who
was in second-place). Only three players
would be paid at the final table, which
meant half of the finalists would leave
disappointed and penniless. The first
player to make an unwelcome exit was Doc
Jennings, the popular high-limit pro and
triple draw lowball specialist from Fort
Smith, Arkansas. Next, exceptionally-talented
tournament pro, John Juanda (Alhamabra,
California) would soon follow. Then, another
big name in poker was shot down, as Daniel
Negreanu found himself in the worst possible
spot -- a bubble finish (fourth place
and no prize money -- although he did
qualify for the special "bubble tournament"
which is to be played at the Four Queens
on Sunday).
With
the last three players now in the money,
the chips counts were as follows (estimated
counts):
Bob
Walker $19,000
Mike Conti $15,000
James Hoeppner $10,000
The three players battled for over three
hours before anyone was eliminated, trading
chips back and forth and somehow trying
to gain an edge -- when none seemed to
exist. With blinds increased to $400-800
and the betting limits at $800-1600, Conti
took the chip lead back from Walker about
45 minutes into play between the trio
of players. Then, it was James Hoeppner's
turn to try and seize control of the game
as he made a run at the chip lead. Meanwhile,
Bob Walker saw his stack size dwindle
as the other two players feasted on the
extra chips like hungry wolves. Walker
went from rags to riches -- chip-leader
to "all-in" at one point -- making a shaky
9-low against Hoeppner, who paired up
on the final card. The $12,000 pot brought
Walker back to life. However, just two
hands later Conti ripped those chips back
from Walker's stack. Walker made a raise
after the second draw and was dismayed
to see Conti call the raise. Faced with
a final drawing round, Conti stood pat
and Walker was now convinced his hand
was weak and needed help. He drew one
card, which backfired (made pair). Walker
was down to just $4,000 in chips.
Then, Conti got really hot. He made a
series of powerful hands -- first a 7--4
low, then a 6-4 low, next a 6-5 low and
kept on dragging big pots. One key hand
occurred when Conti's 6-5 crushed Hoeppner's
7-6 -- which gave the "novice" triple-draw
lowball player a 4 to 1 chip advantage
over this two opponents. That hand seemed
to foreshadow the inevitability that Hoeppner
and Walker were playing for second.
Then, Hoeppner tried to make a steal from
the button with a raise -- which Conti
called in the blind. The two players went
to battle after both drew two cards on
the first round. Hoeppner made a bet with
his last chips (hoping his opponent missed)
and Conti called almost immediately. Conti
had caught the almost perfect two cards
-- making a powerhouse 6-5-4-3-2. Hoeppner
was now drawing slim to 5-4-3, and caught
two ugly blanks on the next two rounds
which meant a third-place finish and $3,980
in prize money for the talented Nebraskan,
who now lives in Las Vegas.
Hoeppner's elimination after a marathon
three-way struggle gave Conti a seemingly
insurmountable 9 to 1 chip lead over Walker.
Early in the head-up duel, Conti caught
another nice hand, a 7-6 low which was
cracked by Walker's 6-4. But the momentum
shift would be temporary. A few hands
later, Conti's jack-low bested Walker's
ten-low and Walker was back to where he
started. With the veteran Las Vegas pro
down to only $4500 in chips (down 10 to
1), the final hand of the night was dealt
at 2:55 pm -- nearly eleven hours since
the tournament first began. Proving that
no amount of talent nor expereince can
beat a player that's on fire and playing
his best poker, Walker was dealt five
cards and stood pat on all three rounds
with 8-6-5-3-2. He watched Conti draw
3 cards. Then, Conti drew 2 cards. On
the final drawing round, Conti drew 1
card. When Conti turned up his hand --
7-6-5-4-2 that meant a win of $9,945 for
first place. So, who says you need to
make all those re-buys to win a major
tournament?
Nolan Dalla
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