"MIAMI"
JOHN PULLS SURPRISE
WIN IN CAL STATE FIRST EVENT
Throughout
most of the opening event of the 2004
California State Poker Championship, $300
no-limit hold'em, there didn't seem to
be much finesse, much strategy or much
doubt as to who would win it. Terry Liu
came to the final table with an overwhelming
chip lead of $171,900. He ran over the
table and by the time six players were
left he had about $313,000, or close to
70 percent of the $454,000 in play, then
climbed even higher.
When
Frank DeAngeles jokingly asked about a
deal, "Miami" John Cernuto suggested winner
take all, with all five of Liu's opponents
playing as a field entry.
But
then an amazing thing happened. With three
players left, Cernuto hit Liu two body
blows in a row, first beating him in a
pot of about $90,000, then another of
around $260,000. After that Liu seemed
to fall apart, blew off his chips with
head-shaking calls, and went out third.
Heads-up,
Cernuto enjoyed a chip lead of about 1.4-1
over Joe De Niro. Two hands later he drew
out in a hand where he was a big dog,
and the celebrated poker player, who has
three World Series bracelets and countless
other victories, had yet one more win
to add to his impressive collection.
But
while his comeback was noteworthy, it
was far from his biggest. That came in
a stud event at the Bicycle Casino when
he had $4,000 to Kathy Liebert's $105,000,
and came back to beat her. That's one
record he's not likely to top.
With
the explosion of poker and the increasingly
large fields, more and more new faces
are showing up at final tables everywhere,
so it was not surprising that Miami John's
was the only well-known one at this event's
final table.
Play
began with $300 antes, blinds of $1,000-$2,000
and 19:30 remaining in the round. Action
started off furiously, with three players
gone in 12 hands.
Eric
Bray, who is with a U.S. Navy bomb disposal
squad in San Diego, detonated on the third
hand. Bray, who started second-lowest
in chips with $14,500, opened for $7,000
with As-Ks. Thomas Torpestad, a contractor,
moved him in with Ah-Kc. Bray seemed pretty
safe for no worse than a split, but five
clubs hit the board, and Torpestad's Kc
did him in.
The
same A-K finished off Tyler Methfessel
six hands later. He made a small raise
with big slick, Liu re-raised with K-J
and Methfessel moved in. Methfessel was
a 3-1 favorite, until a jack flopped and
Liu claimed his first victim.
Three
hands after that, Darius Campo raised
with Q-10 from the cut-off seat, and Liu
moved in from the big blind with A-Q.
Campo called and ask Liu if he had him
covered.
"He's
got you buried," Cernuto corrected him.
Buried was the correct word. The flop
came A-A-K, Liu had trip aces and Campo
was dead to an inside straight jack which
never showed up.
Blinds
now went to $1,500-$3,000, with antes
of $500. Paul Giles was next to go all
in with Ad-5d against Liu's Qs-9s and
won with two pair. "First guy he hasn't
busted," Giles said in wonder.
Torpestad
wasn't so lucky. He called with pocket
9s after Liu pushed in with As-Qs. Two
queens flopped, and Liu, knocking out
his third player in a row, now had about
$313,000.
Cernuto
did the honors next. He raised to $10,000
from the small blind with Q-J. A low-chipped
Ricardo Ebhardt called for about $8,000
with Q-7 and couldn't catch up. "About
the best hand I had since I got here,"
Ebhardt sighed.
Two
hands later, number 24, Frank DeAngeles
pushed in his last $14,000 with K-Q. Cernuto
called with Q-J and won with two pair.
Two
hands later, Liu struck again. Paul Giles
went all in with Q-7. All Liu had was
7-6 in the big blind, but won again when
the board came K-J-9-2-7.
"Two Italians against one Asian," Cernuto
noted as three were left.
A
number of relatively uneventful hands
went by, then suddenly everything turned
around. Cernuto opened for $10,000 with
A-8. Liu called. With a board of K-6-4-8,
Cernuto bet $12,000. Liu called. With
a deuce on the river, Cernuto bet $20,000.
Liu called, then mucked when he couldn't
beat Cernuto's paired 8.
On
the next hand, Liu opened for $10,000
and Cernuto called. The flop was Q-10-4.
Liu bet $20,000. Cernuto had K-Q and smooth-called.
When a 7 turned, Liu checked, Cernuto
moved in for $99,000 and Liu called with
just 10-3...second pair with a trey kicker!
A river queen gave Cernuto two pair and
it was a new ballgame.
Suddenly
Cernuto had about $260,000 to around $140,000
for Liu and $50,000 for Giles. Incredibly,
Liu then blew off another $40,000-plus,
calling with just K-8 when Giles opened
for $20,000 holding pocket aces, and then
called again for $21,000 when Giles moved
in on a flop of 9-4-2.
With
$2,000-$4,000 blinds, Liu lost the rest
of chips. He opened for $20,000 with A-3
and reluctantly called when Giles moved
in with A-Q. A queen flopped, and suddenly
it was heads-up. Miami John had the chip
lead, $265,000-$189,000.
Two hands later, Giles opened with Ac-Jc.
Cernuto moved in with a much weaker Qd-10c.
The board came 5-2-2-8-10, and the river
10 brought Cernuto his surprising victory.
-- by Max Shapiro
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