Maloof
Swings Omaha Win
After
numerous swings and chip lead changes
at the final table, CPA and dedicated
poker player Andre Maloof had a tiny lead
and was declared the winner when the ninth
event of Big Poker Oktober ended in a
four-way chop. One of the other three
players tried a “deal bluff,”
refusing to go along unless he got a couple
of hundred more. When his opponents called
his bluff by taking their seats to resume
play, he said OK.
The
final table started assembled after Omaha
poker host Marc Gilutin finished 11th.
Limits started at $1,000-$2,000 and in
two minutes went to $1,500-$3,000. Three
players were short chipped: retiree Pat
Waters with $7,500; realtor George Shahrezay
with $6,500; and Jan “Kody”
Stein with $5,000. In five hands they
were all gone.
On
the second hand, Waters bet all in on
the flop and had three callers. At the
end the board showed 10-8-4-J-A. Film
producer Susie Genaro had an A-2-2-3 nut
low and Maloof, with a set of jacks, took
the high end. “What happens now?”
asked Waters, turning up A-5-6-Q. “You
go home,” the players told him. His
payout was $265.
Two
hands later, Denfield Eudelle raised with
A-2-4-J, and Shahrezay three-bet all in
with A-3-7-8. No low came, but Eudelle
made a full house on a board of 9-4-4-Q-A.
Ninth place paid $310. Two hands later,
Stein called a raise for his last $3,000
with K-K-10-9. Hugo Mejia’s pocket
aces held up for high while Tom Hong took
the low end. Eighth place was worth $365.
On
hand 12, Ricardo Abraham bet all in holding
K-J-4-5 when a board of Q-7-6-3 gave him
a small straight. Genaro, who started
the final table as chip leader called
and was left with one chip when her 10-7-9-9
went nowhere. Four hands later she was
all in with A-Q-8-7 double-suited. She
went broke when Hugo Mejia, holding A-A-5-5,
made a set of aces and a better low with
a live five. Genaro cashed out for $465.
Maloof, meanwhile was down to one chip
when he made a river bet holding a full
house. He wasn’t called, and now
had about 33 chips. Three hands later
he continued his swings when his straight
lost to Hong’s river flush and he
dipped down to 12k. Two hands later, Ricardo
Abraham also showed Maloof a straight,
and now Andre was down to $4,000. But
three hands later a straight, this time
king-high, rescued him when he scooped
in four-way action after going all in.
Abraham, meanwhile, was having his own
see-saw run. On hand 31 he was all in,
scooped with a nut low and two aces, won
two quick hands after that, and took the
lead with $46,000.
A
few hands after limits went to $3,000-$6,000,
there was five-way action. Shaughn Nichols,
a substitute teacher, was in the big blind
and posted his last $2,000 holding Q-Q-J-2.
A flop of Q-8-3 gave him a set. Hong had
A-2-4-5 and numerous outs for low. He
went all in when a nine turned, then busted
out when a river eight gave Nichols a
full house for the main pot while Mejia
took the side pot with a straight. Hong
got $595 for finishing sixth.
As
play continued, the lead changed more
times, and several players went all in
and got away. Finally, on hand 50, Nichols
put up his last $2,000 in the small blind
with A-Q-10-6. The board of J-J-9-9-6
was checked down. Maloof and Abraham both
had a nine, but Abraham had the better
kicker. It made no differnce to Nichols,
who finished fifth and took home $795.
A chip count showed Maloof in the lead
with $46,000. Abraham had $43,000, Mejia
had $34,000 and Eudelle had $21,000 and
the deal was made.
BIOGRAPHY
Andre Maloof is a Certfied Public Accountant
originally from Lebanon who now lives
in Burbank. He’s been playing poker
since 1995 and estimates that he’s
won about 300 tournaments of all types.
Narrowing it down to major events, he’s
still picked up about 50 wins. His biggest
cash-out was $48,000 for winning an LAPC
event at Commerce Casino last year. His
favorite game is no-limit, followed by
Omaha hi-lo. His style of play, he said,
depends on the game. In Omaha, he takes
a more conservative approach, while in
no-limit he tends to be very aggressive.
Tonight,
he said, he was in pretty good shape throughout
the tournament and never went all in until
the final table, and just once then. He
was still a bit dizzy from his up and
down swings: “Up to $26,000, then
down to $8,000, then up to $40,000, then
back to $4,000 and finally back to $46,000.”
Max Shapiro
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