THIRD
FINAL TABLE & FIRST WIN
FOR JONATHAN ‘DOODLE' GALLIN
Jonathan
"Doodle" Gallin (the nickname would take
too long to explain, he said) is only
22 years old and started playing poker
seriously when he was 18 and in his freshman
year at college where he was studying
finance and political science. Within
a couple of years, playing more and more
in the dorm and online, he decided he
didn't want to spend his life in a "cubicle"
and dropped out to play poker full time.
He's been playing in casinos for a year,
in tournaments for six months and has
already made three final tables at this
year's California State Poker Championship.
Tonight
he scored his first major tournament win
by coming in first in $1,000 pot-limit
hold'em, and he did it by overcoming a
very tough final table that included such
pros as Melissa Hayden, Kathy Liebert,
Kevin Song, Dutch Boyd and An Tran. He
played aggressively, took a lot of chances,
and just about always seemed to catch
what he needed.
The win had another major impact on his
life. His fiancée, Teresa, is also a serious
poker player. He's Jewish, she's Catholic,
and they had an agreement that whoever
was first to win $50,000 in a tournament
would get to choose their children's religion.
Oy,
try explaining that to the rabbi.
Incidentally,
all two-day events will now remain two-day
events. The option of letting players
continue right through was dropped because
the unpredictability was creating havoc
with the tournament staff.
Final
table play began with blinds of $400-$800
and 35:30 left. Kevin Song with $50,700
and Rahman Vace with $45,400 arrived as
the two big stacks. There wasn't much
action and only one flop until hand 11.
That's when Dutch Boyd raised all in for
$2,700 from the big blind with Q-3. Vace
called with K-9 and broke Boyd when the
board came J-5-2-9-6. Boyd, who has five
Word Series cashes and one final table,
is one of the four-member "Crew" who used
to room together and still tutor and give
moral support to each other.
A
few hands later, Vace opened with Q-Q.
Kirk Conrad moved in with J-J and didn't
help. Two gone.
Blinds became $500-$1,000. In the next
14 hands there were all-in survivals by
the two ladies at the table. Both had
... pocket ladies.
Perhaps the key pot came on hand 51 when
Gallin made a gutsy play that paid off.
With a board of J-4-2, Vace made a small
bet of $6,000. Gallin had pocket treys
and after long thought, moved in for $25,000.
Vace called with A-Q. The treys held up
and Gallin, with about $58,000, now had
the lead and would never lose it. He later
said that he felt that Vace would have
bet more if he had a big pocket pair and
was only afraid he had A-J when he called
the raise.
When
blinds went to $600-$1,200, a rough eyeball
chip count showed: Gallin, $60,000; Hayden,
$41,000; Mike DuFloth, $25,000 Liebert,
$27,000; An Tran, $17,000; Vace, $14,000;
and Song, $10,000.
An
Tran lost a lot of chips chasing a straight
draw, but it was Vace, an engineer, who
was next out. Vace, who had dropped way
down after paying off bets several times,
bet $4,000 on a flop of Q-J-10 and the
same when a trey turned. Holding Q-9,
he had queens and a straight draw. A king
on the river gave him the straight, but
the "ignorant" end of it. When Gallin
bet $24,000, Vace thought a very, very
long time and finally called with his
last $14,000. Gallin had the Broadway
straight, Vace was out in seventh place
and Gallin, who seemed to be catching
whatever he needed, extended his lead
to about $87,000.
Down
to $4,200, An Tran moved in from the button
with 3-3. Song decided to go after him
with J-6 from the big blind. He flopped
a jack and five were left.
Gallin's
luck continued to hold when he had Ah-Kd
to Song's Q-J. He bet the Jd-6d-7s flop,
called when Song raised with a paired
jack, then made a runner-runner nut flush
to bust Song and move even further ahead,
to about $115,000.
This
led to a little wordplay between Gallin
and Hayden. "Why don't you just say I'm
a terrible player?" he remarked when he
thought he saw her roll her eyes and raise
her eyebrows. "Is it OK if I just sit
here?" Hayden responded tartly. Gallin
then apologized "for being a jerk."
Mike
DuFloth, CEO of an ISP company, and now
returning to his job, had a noteworthy
run here. New to tournaments, he played
four events and had three cash-outs and
two final tables. He finished fourth tonight
when he held A-9 and bet the pot, $10,500,
on a flop of 9h-5s-2s. Gallin called with
Ks-Qs, once more got what he needed and
busted DuFloth with a river spade flush.
Nothing,
it seemed, could stop Gallin, who now
had a huge lead of about $144,000 to only
about $34,000 for Hayden and $15,000 for
Liebert.
Soon
after, he finished off Liebert in his
usual unorthodox fashion. Holding 10-9
in the big blind, Liebert bet her two
pair on a board of 10-9-8-6. Gallin had
A-7 for a straight, and left her in third
place.
Gallin
did not have quite so easy a time with
Hayden. It took him 43 hands to get all
her chips. On the first heads-up hand,
she doubled up to $66,000 when a king
flopped and she had him out-kicked, K-10
to K-9.
Hayden
eventually got up to about $80,000 but
Gallin had no doubts about his eventual
win and was in no hurry. "I'll get it
all, now or later," he said at one point
when Hayden wondered why he didn't bet
more with pocket queens.
He did. On the final hand, Hayden, with
J-7, had two pair on a board of 8-7-2-J.
He bet $6,000, she raised $12,000 more
and he three-bet to put her all in, then
turned up 10-9 for a straight. It would
seem that the 22-year-old kid has found
his true profession.
-- by Max Shapiro
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