FOUR
FINALS (THREE IN A ROW)
AND TWO WINS FOR DAVID LEVI
David Levi's only regret is that there
is no best all-around at 2004 California
State Poker Championship, because he would
be running away with it. So far he's made
four final tables, including three in
the last three days, and scored two wins,
first in $500 7-card stud hi-lo and now
in the $2,500 no-limit hold'em event.
What's
more, the former Israeli soccer pro captured
this no-limit event the hard way. He started
the final table third lowest in chips
and won no major pots. Instead he played
a very astute and tough game, chipping
away, knowing when he could pick up pots
and when to get out of the way as he steadily
climbed into the chip lead and then held
it the rest of the way.
"My
little daughter told me I would win it,"
he said afterwards.
When
it got three-handed, Levi had a substantial
lead and a deal was made. The other two
finalists, incidentally, have very unusual
resumes. Robert Roter, who finished second,
had been an aerospace systems engineer
for years, then turned a vintage comic
strip hobby into a business venture and
now is pursuing a pro poker career. He
already has wins at Hollywood Park.
Martin
Shafer, who finished second, is the co-founder
and president of Castle Rock Entertainment,
a subsidiary of Warner Brothers, which
has produced such hit films as When Harry
Met Sally and A Few Good Men, along with
such TV programming as Seinfeld. He only
began playing poker a year ago at the
urging of his wife, who is a player. He
was 11th at a Bellagio event, the one
that ended with a power outage.
The
10 players at the final table got down
to the official nine after Ace DeHollan's
K-Q was beaten by Shafer's A-6. The finalists
began with $200 antes and blinds of $600-$1,200.
Shafer started as the chip leader with
$78,500, but soon lost it when Steve Crockett
won a $90,000 pot against Moji Seyedin.
Crockett, a general contractor, had pocket
kings, Seyedin pocket queens.
A
chip-depleted Seyedin went out in ninth
place not long after. Ted Forrest raised
5k with 5-5 and Seyedin tossed in his
last 1.2k with A-6 and couldn't connect.
Blinds
went to $800-$1,600. Forrest, the noted
sky-high side game player, opened for
5k with pocket 9s. Pro player Jim Misiti
moved him in for about 18k more with pocket
queens. The queens prevailed when 10-8-4-6-A
came, and Forrest was our eighth place
finisher.
On
hand 31, Crockett took a big hit. He opened
for 3k, Misiti raised to 6k with A-Q.
A flop of Q-Q-5 gave Misiti trips and
he bet 6k. He slow-played when an ace
turned to fill him, then bet 15k on the
river. Crocket made it 30k. Misiti added
his last 7k and Crocket mucked when Misiti
showed his filly.
Allen
Cunningham later tried a move, betting
all in for 16k with Ac-8c. Shafer called
with 7-7, and Cunningham cashed in seventh
when the board came 4-3-3-9-J.
On
hand 48 the blinds went to $1,000-$2,000
with $300 antes. At this point Shafer
led again with about 95k. Levi, grinding
away, coming over the top, and moving
in, was closing in with about 80k. Misiti
had 59k; Roter, 35k; Crockett, 24; and
Peter Costa, 22k.
Right
after limits went to $1,000-$2,000, Crockett
bowed out. Levi opened from the button
for 7.5k and Crockett called from the
big blind holding A-7. When the flop came
10-8-2, he moved in for 15k. Levi called
with 10-9. Crockett took the lead when
an ace turned, but a river 9 gave Levi
a second pair.
Costa,
who had to do a lot of scrambling, went
all in for 21k and doubled up against
Misiti by flopping a set of jacks. Badly
depleted, Misiti hung on for a dozen hands.
Holding pocket jacks, he finally went
all in for the last time. He called for
4k after Shafer raised with pocket kings.
A king flopped and Misiti cashed out fifth.
The
four-handed count showed Shafer leading
with about 110k to 90k for Levi; 67k for
Costa and 38k for Roter. The four remaining
players would end up battling each other
for 80 more hands before Costa would get
knocked out to end the tournament.
Roter
rootered chips away from Shafer when Levi
opened for 10k, Shafer raised 10k and
Roter moved in for about 11k more holding
pocket 10s. Levi got out of the way but
Shafer, committed, called with A-Q and
the 10s held up.
A
few hands later, Levi took the lead with
about 120k. On a flop of Kh-5h-3h, Roter
bet 20k. Levi quickly moved in and showed
a flush when Roter folded.
As
action continued, play tightened up as
the competitors avoided calling all-in
bets. One exception came when Shafer,
much lower in chips now, had A-5 and called
when Costa raised all in with K-J. Ace-high
won it and Shafer doubled up to more than
70k.
Costa,
the pro from Leicester, England, making
his second consecutive final table, was
now perilously low with $11,500. He got
even lower when he folded both blinds
when the pots were raised.
He
managed to get back up to 20k, then moved
in and showed 9-4 when Shafer folded.
Two hands later he moved in again. This
time he had a hand—of sorts—pocket treys.
This time Roter called, with A-8, and
put Peter out to pasture when the board
came J-10-8-5-6.
The
chip count now was: Levi, 154k; Roter,
86k and Shafer, 75k. The usual prolonged
negotiations began. Eventually they came
to terms, the event ended and Levi had
locked up win #2.
-- by Max Shapiro
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