Bartender/Student
Wins #8
Yesterday
it was a waiter. Today a bartender. Tomorrow
a chef? We’ll see, but in any event,
the winner of today’s $100 limit
hold’em tournament, number eight
of Big Poker Oktober, was Jorge Legaspi,
currently mixing drinks while working
his way through school. A dramatic draw-out
at the final table helped propelled him
there, but he also said he was lucky all
the way through.
He
had $108,000 to $62,000 for Francisco
Ramos and $52,000 for Michael Mercado
when the three agreed to a chip-count
deal.
Opening
limits at the final table were $2,000-$4,000,
with 16:55 left at level 12. Michael Berkman
started with a single $500 chip and put
it in two hands away from the big blind.
There was initial six-way action. Ramos
bet every street into a board of 9-6-5-J-2
until the two last callers folded. Ramos
turned up pocket sevens and.Berkman mucked
without showing. He got $345 for 10th.
Robelio
Anglo also got something a few hands later:
a penalty for not betting his nut flush
on the river. Anglo, who seemed to be
playing hesitantly, said he overlooked
the hand, but rules are rules, and he
had to take a 10-minute break. He returned
to $3,000-$6,000 limits, in time to play
two hands, going all in on the button
with Ac-10c. Mercado broke him, once again
with pocket sevens. Ninth place paid $415.
On
hand 19, Raymond Davis was down to $2,500
after pairing his ace and losing to Chan
Vu, who also held an ace, but with a king
kicker. Aurelio Bularan had exactly the
same amount. Bularan posted his 2.5k in
the big blind. Legaspi called and Davis
also called all in. The hands were turned
up. Bularan had Qd-8d. Legaspi had Q-10.
Davis had J-8. The board came K-Q-6-J-10,
and Legaspi’s queens and 10s broke
both players. Eighth place paid $550 and
seventh place paid $685, and Bulman and
Davis chopped the total.
Legaspi
now had the lead, and two hands later
a big draw-out put him even further ahead.
A flop of Q-9-9 gave Keith Kiyomura, an
architect, nines-full. He slow-played
the flop, then check-raised on the turn,
going all in for $11,500. Legaspi had
pocket kings, and he jumped up when a
river king gave him a bigger boat. Kiyomura
collected $960 for sixth place, and Legaspi
now had a tremendous lead with $95,000
in chips. Behind him were Vu, $49,000;
Ramos, $43,000; Mercado, $33,000; and
Jun Parado, with just $3,000.
Limits
were now $4,000-$8,000. Parado hung around
for a few hands before finally going all
in with A-K. Mercado had pocket nines,
which held up when all small cards hit
the board. On the next hand Legaspi pulled
in a lot more chips. With three spades
on board, Ramos tried a bluff with just
a 9-5 offsuit and ran into Legaspi’s
pocket aces.
As
play continued, Ramos went all in for
a second and then a third time, but managed
to get out alive both times. Hand 34 saw
three-way action with a flop of 7h-3s-2s,
Mercado bet and Vu called for his last
$3,000 holding Kd-10d. Legaspi also called
with As-8d. Mercado bet again with a 5s
turned. The river brought a fourth spade,
giving Legaspi the nut flush. Vu, a programmer,
cashed out fourth for $1,780.
Ramos
won the next pot with a king high to begin
his climb back. Then, just a few hands
later, he took down a sizeable pot to
move into second place. He went up against
Legaspi, and the flop of Q-5-2 was four-bet.
Another five turned, and then a six on
the river gave Ramos, holding pocket sixes,
a full house.
A
chip-count was suggested, the numbers
satisfied everyone, and the young bartender
had mixed himself a winner.
BIOGRAPHY
Asked his occupation, Jorge Legaspi jokingly
said he was a full-time player…now.
Actually, he’s a student majoring
in occupational therapy. He plans to return
to school, but for the moment works as
a mixologist at Joe’s Crab Shack.
He’s originally from this area, lived
in San Jose where he attended San Jose
State University, and has now moved back
here again.
Hold’em
is his preferred game. In San Jose, he
won some smallish tournaments at Bay 101
and Garden City, but this is his largest
cash-out to date. In side games, he generally
plays $8-$16 hold’em. Tonight, he
said he was in pretty good shape all through
the tournament, and had more than his
share of his luck. “All of my ace-kings
won, except once.” He describes himself
as a selective player, tight, but aggressive
when he has the goods.
Max Shapiro
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