Binh
Do Gets the Dough
One
hand made all the difference. Down to
four players, tournament pro Binh Do was
lowest-chipped with $41,000 against about
$100,000 to $120,000 for his three opponents.
Then, with limits at an astronomical $20,000-$40,000,
he went all in against Rusty Mandap, flopped
a jack to his A-J to outrun Mandap’s
pocket fours and hauled in a $122,000
pot. Two hands later he was still the
leader when a chip-count deal was made,
as he won the sixth event of Big Poker
Oktober, $100 limit hold’em. Tonight’s
final table lasted 59 hands, more than
all the hands dealt in the prior three
events combined.
The
final table began with limits of $4,000-$8,000,
22:39 remaining. Do was the chip leader
with $68,000, followed closely by Donald
Nguyen and Mandap. Attorney David Brightman
exited first. After nursing his short
stack for 11 hands, he put in his last
two chips with A-J. “Super Mario”
Esquerra was in the big blind with Q-10.
The flop came 10-3-3, and a 10 on the
turn filled him as Brightman collected
$515. Two hands later the super one made
it two kills in a row. Igal Mor, a security
consultant making his first final table,
raised all in for $8,000 with A-Q. Esquerra
had pocket jacks and flopped a set to
leave Mor in ninth place, worth $595.
Two
hands later, though, Esquerra suffered
a bad beat. He had A-K and this time Nguyen
had the pocket jacks. With limits at $6,000-$12,000,
Esquerra took the lead when he caught
a king on the turn. But then Nguyen hit
a two-outer jack on the river for a set,
and Esquerra was down to two chips. Three
hands later there was four-way action
in a raised pot and Esquerra went all
in with Ks-5s. He had hopes when the flop
came 8-7-6 with two spades, but Joe Schulman
had him covered with As-4s. No flush came,
but a five turned to give Schulman a straight.
Esquerra picked up $820 for eighth place.
Ten
hands later, Do raised with pocket queens
and Ahmad Jaberi added another thou with
pocket 10s. A board of A-9-9-Q-A gave
Do queens full as Jaberi cashed in seventh
for $1,025. Van Mahesh had a close call
a couple of hands later when he was all
in with K-6 against Schulman’s pocket
aces. “One more six,” Mahesh
called for when a six flopped. He settled
for a river king. Shortly after, Xue Ping
Shi had the pocket rockets. They held
up, rescuing him for the second of four
eventual all-in situations.
A
big pot then vaulted Mandap into a big
lead. He button-raised with Jh-8h, and
Nguyen, a clerk, called from the small
blind with K-10 offsuit. A Kh-10s-6h gave
Mandap a flush draw and Nguyen two pair.
Mandap bet, Nguyen check-raised. An ace
and a queen came to gift Mandap with a
runner-runner straight. After winning
the next pot as well, he had about $150,000.
With
limits at $10,000-$20,000, Mahesh busted
out in sixth place, worth $1,430. He had
pocket fives and Mandap, in the big blind
with 10-2, flopped a 10. Mahesh was consoled
knowing that he had taken the lead in
the all-around points play-off race.
A
half-dozen hands later, an all-in Schulman
had the lead against Mandap, A-7 versus
K-8. A king on the turn finished him and
he cashed in fifth for $1,840.
When
limits went to $20,000-$40,000, Shi was
the chip leader with around $120,000,
while Mandap and Nguyen had around $100,000
each and Do trailed with his $41,000.
Then came the turnaround on the first
hand after an all-in Do hit a jack to
his A-J against Mandap’s two fours.
Two hands later the count was: Do, 102k;
Shi, 95k; Mandap, 87k; and Nguyen, 79k,
and the chip-count deal ended it.
BIOGRAPHY
Binh Do came to this country from Vietnam
10 years ago, and has been playing as
a pro for six of those years. While he
plays $40-$80 hold’em side games,
most of his playing time revolves around
tournaments. He estimates he plays about
200 of them each year. A hold’em
specialist, Do has scored wins at the
Orleans, Hollywood Park, Commerce, “everywhere,”
with perhaps his biggest score coming
in a $300 no-limit hold’em event
at the Bicycle Casino last year.
Do
describes his style of play as aggressive.
Tonight, he said, he was down at one point
to $400 at the $300-$600 limit, and gradually
worked his way back up. A key hand for
him came with about six tables left. Holding
pocket kings, he knocked out Jim Miller,
who had pocket 10s, and picked up a lot
of chips.
Max Shapiro
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