Tony
Abesamis Scores Win
Against Tournament Novice!
Tony
Abesamis, a programmer who's played poker
about 13 years, scored his first major
tournament win in the opening event of
Big Poker Oktober, $50 limit hold'em.
His final opponent, Richard Dagres, who's
in advertising and real estate development,
amazingly was not only playing his first
tournament, but had a grand total of two
hours experience playing any casino poker
(one hour at Casino Morongo and one at
the Bicycle Casino). He came to the final
table with a big lead, and still had it
heads-up. But his inexperience was evident
(asking how much he could bet, starting
to fold before Abesamis could bet), so
it wasn't surprising that Tony soon took
the lead and won without much sweat.
CHIP
POSITION FINAL TABLE
Gus
Cornejo $12,000
Tony Abesamis $33,000
Ngoc Huynh $19,000
Clinton Moore $19,000
Tony Sheets $20,000
(Vacant)
Randy Douthat $18,000
Richard Dagres $52,000
Edward Moncada $28,000
This
opening event attracted a field of 404
players. Instead of playing hand-for-hand,
10 players were brought to the last table,
with the finale officially getting underway
after one player was eliminated. That
didn't take long. With $201,000 in chips
in play and limits starting at a hefty
$4,000-$8,000, players immediately started
going all in. On the first hand Sarkis
Talakan had only $2,000 and waved it all
in with a pair of 4s. Badia Khalil, with
A-J, bet his last $5,000 on a board of
Q-6-3-4. But Dagres, holding 7-5 in the
big blind already had a straight. Two
players were suddenly gone, and the final
table started with one seat empty. On
the fourth hand, Clinton Moore, a student,
held A-J of clubs, made a flush and eliminated
Ngoc Huynh, who had played 7-6 from the
big blind. And just two hands after that,
Gus Cornejo raised all in for $6,000 with
A-7. Tony called with K-10. The board
came 10-6-4-3-K, Tony had a winning two
pair, and in just six hands, four players
had fallen by the wayside.
Limits
were now $6,000 and $12,000. On hand 11,
Tony Sheets went all in with A-K against
Abesamis' A-7. Tony A. was a 2.7-1 Dog
against Tony S., but the board came 7-6-5-10-A,
and one more player was out. On the next
hand, Randy Douthat folded with only $1,000
left when Edward Moncada bet with the
board showing Q-10-4-10-8. The next hand
he was the big blind with only Q-2 against
Dagres' Q-10. He was exactly the same
dog as Abesamis had been, but this time
the odds proved correct. The board came
Q-6-4-9-7, and now only four were left.
Clinton suggested a deal, but Dagres,
having too much fun, said he wanted to
play it out to the end. There was no letup
in the attrition as two more players left
in the next four hands. On hand 15, Moncada
raised, Abesamis re-raised, and Clinton
four-bet it for $24,000. "I think I'll
just watch," Dagres said. "I'll sleep
in the street with this hand," Clinton
vowed. He had pocket kings, bet all in
for $6,000 when the board came A-Q-8 and
was last seen sleeping on Eastern Avenue
right outside the Bike when Tony showed
him A-K. Just two hands later, Moncada
lost to a bad beat. Holding J-9 of clubs,
he had two pair when the board came J-10-9.
When a river ace came, Dagres bet and
Moncada called all in. But Richard, with
A-10, now had a bigger two pair.
Heads-up,
with limits now $10,000-$20,000, Dagres
held a lead of about one stack. Faltering
now, he folded three hands in a row midway
through, and Tony quickly pulled into
a substantial lead. The match-up lasted
nine hands. On the final hand, Richard
had pocket 4s. Tony, with J-6 flopped
trips when the board came 6-6-Q. Richard
bet and he just called. On the turn-card
king, Tony check-raised to $40,000. "It
looks like I'm getting rid of chips,"
Richard said, making a weak call. Tony
put him all on a river 3, and the match
was over.
BIOGRAPHY
West
Covina resident Antonio Abesamis, a programmer
for Rose Hills cemetery, has had a couple
of final tables at the Commerce Casino,
finishing fourth and seventh. His biggest
prior cash-out, though, about the same
as tonight's, came at the Bike's freeroll
last year, when three tables chopped the
prize pool. He started out playing live
games, took up tournaments a few years
ago and now plays smaller side action,
$6-$12 or $9-$18, hold'em and stud.
Tonight,
he said, he was in very good shape throughout,
and at the final table he won about two
of every three hands he played. "I had
an inkling I was going to win tonight,"
he said. "I felt very good when two guys
asked to take 5 percent of my action,
which never happened before." Now that
he has points under his belt, he said
he looks forward to playing more events
and shooting for the all-around championship.
ALL-AROUND
PAYOFF POINTS
Name
Total
1.
Tony Abesamis 61
2. Richard Dagres 53
3. Edward Moncada 47
4. Clinton Moore 42
5. Tandy Douthat 38
6. Tony Sheets 34
7. Gus Cornejo . 30
8 . Ngoc Huynh 26
9. Badia Khalil 22
10. Sarkis Talakan 20
11. Wally Saikaly 18
12. David Brightman 16
13. Kan Tran 14
14. Omar Campolongo 12
15. Ben Combs 10
16. Massoud Setayesh 8
Max Shapiro
|
