Binh
Do Beats Chris in Stud!
Binh
Do, a regular on the local tournament
trail, came to the final table with a
chip lead which he never relinquished
and scored a solid victory in the seventh
event of Big Poker Oktober 2002, $100
7-card stud. His final opponent was another
journeyman player, Chris Grigorian, aka
the Armenian Express. Badly out-chipped,
Chris hung on tenaciously, going all in
and coming out seven times before finally
succumbing to Binh's full house on the
last hand. With a fourth in yesterday's
hold'em event, Binh now has an eight-point
lead in the all-around points race.
Stanley Yen, a health inspector playing
his third tournament, missed the final
table when he started with four diamonds,
raised all in on fifth street, then missed
and lost to Binh Do's two 9s. The final
eight sat down playing with $200 antes,
a $300 low-card bring-in and $1,000-$2,000
limits. After three hands it went to $300
antes, a $500 bring-in and $2,000-$4,000
limits. Arnie Nedelman, an importer, has
been playing poker for 47 years and says
he never lost his love for the game. Well,
love it or leave it, he was the first
one to leave. On the eighth hand, he started
with split aces and raised all in for
$4,000 on fifth street. Clinton Moore,
making his third final-table appearance,
chased him with two 5s and paired an ace.
CHIP
POSITION FINAL TABLE
Clinton
Moore $10,900
Binh Do $38,700
Chris Grigorian $11,500
Steve Robbins $9,300
Leo Alvarez $3,700
Michael Fetter $6,000
Arnie Nedelman $4,500
Dmitriy Gostomelskiy $14,700
Three hands later Leo Alvarez started
with 9-4/9 and went all in. He made 9s
and 4s, not quite good enough against
Michael Fetter's 10s and 8s. A hand later
it was the turn of golf pro Steve Robbins.
He had 9s and 7s against Binh's two 10s.
But Do took the dough by pairing a jack
on the river. The fifth player departed
two hands later. Moore had been talking
up a storm, repeatedly begging "Lucy"
for help when squeezing his river card.
At first reluctant to reveal Lucy's identity,
he finally disclosed that she was a girl
he had dated in high school. Now, Dmitriy
Gostomelskiy, a poker dealer at the Bike,
raised with an ace door-card. "Don't try
to steal," Clinton admonished as he called.
On fourth street, Dmitriy hit a second
ace and bet out. Clinton, who had caught
an 8, stood up and made a show of anguish.
"Gotta go with it," he said, then added,
"Gotta raise." In fact, he had made a
set of 8s and proceeded to bust the Bike
dealer. "You talk too much," were Dmitriy's
parting words.
With
limits at $3000-$6,000, Binh Do still
led with about $42,000, followed by Moore
with $26,000, Fetter with $19,000 and
Chris with $12,500. After six hands went
by, Moore put in his last chips chasing
a straight with 3-4-5-6. He couldn't complete
it, and Binh put him away with 9s and
4s. Later, Chris went all in for the first
time, winning with three 7s, then three
more times, winning with two jacks and
two 5s and two pair. Meanwhile, Fetter,
a miner, also went all in, escaping when
he made a full house in five cards. But
on the next hand the miner had a cave-in
when Chris beat his two 10s with aces-up.
Heads-up, Binh led Chris, about $56,500-$43,000.
Two hands into the match-up, Chris faced
disaster. He made kings and 4s, but Binh
caught a third deuce to pull way ahead.
Chris then would go all in three more
times, narrowly escaping, mostly with
pairs. Limits moved up to $4,000-$8,000
with $500 antes and a $1,500 low card.
Chris, getting disproportionately low-carded,
kept sinking. When he missed a flush draw,
losing to Binh's two 3s, he was down to
$5,500. He was all in and got away yet
three more times. Finally, on hand 46,
Chris had split aces and the pot was capped
on fourth street. Binh Do, with pocket
8s, had made a set, and he filled up to
end the match decisively.
BIOGRAPHY
"I believe in myself and have confidence
in myself, and that is the most important
thing," Binh Do declared after his 7-card
stud victory. He has won something like
10 events at the Bicycle Casino, and was
the best all around at Big Poker Oktober
in 2000. He's also won three events at
Hollywood Park and one at the Hustler
Casino. He has been playing poker full
time for about six years, and before that
he was self-employed.
Tonight, he said he was in good shape
through the event, and never in trouble.
The key hand, he said, came when he caught
a third deuce to outrun Chris Grigorian's
two pair and move into a dominant chip
lead. Asked to name his strong point,
he thought it was his ability to read
players, a crucial element in his success.
ALL-AROUND
PAYOFF POINTS
Name
Total
1.
Binh Do 107
2. Clinton Moore 98
3. Justin Westmoreland 95
4. Ulises Molina 75
5. Tony Abesamis 75
6. Jollibert David 73
7. Albert Luna 60
8. Farhang Edadipour 57
9. Tom Roach 57
10. Men Nguyen 57
11. Anthony Tran 57
12. Leo Alvarez 56
13. Richard Dagres 53
14. Hai Tran 49
15. Andy Simon 49
16. Peter Wu 49
17. Andom Ghebre 49
18. Chris Grigorian 49
Max Shapiro
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