HARD-TO-GUESS
PLAY IS KEY TO
DAVID 'THE DRAGON' PHAM WIN
In
a rough-and-tumble no-limit hold'em contest
where "all-in" was the order of the day,
David The Dragon" Pham marched to a different
drummer. His opening raise invariably
was the same, three times the big blind,
so that nobody could guess where he was
at. The strategy came through for him
as he took the lead in the late stages
and went on to victory in the seventh
event of the 2004 Cal State Poker Championship,
$500 no-limit hold'em.
"Big
or small," I bet the same, he said. "That's
how I play. That way, nobody knows what
I have, and if they come over the top
I can get away from my hand without losing
much."
No-limit
is Pham's best game. The successful pro
said he was very confident even though
he was getting low chipped at the third
level when every time he raised someone
would move in and he had to fold.
Pham
was Card Player's "Player of the Year"
in 2000, won a WSOP bracelet in S.H.O.E
in 2001 and also won $450,000 in a $1
million guaranteed event at the L.A.P.C.
The
final table got there in dramatic, made-for-TV
fashion. James Donchess moved in for $27,000
with 10-10 and was called all in by Shawne
Pillar, who had K-K. Donchess took the
lead by flopping a set, Pillar turned
a bigger set and then — that's right —
quad 10s for Donchess!
The
final table of nine started at level 14,
with $500 antes, blinds of $1,500-$3,000,
and 12:02 left. Incredibly, 39 hands went
by before there was any play after the
flop. Until then the only flops that were
dealt came when a player was already all
in.
Joe
Lim arrived with a substantial chip lead
of $146,500, twice anybody else's. He
tried to bully the table with frequent
all-in raises. It worked some times, but
he got nailed enough times to bleed off
chips and ended up fourth. He began going
downhill on the third hand when he raised
to $12,000 and David Kelsey moved in for
$64,500. After a long agony of indecision,
Lim gave it up.
A
few hands later, Joe Chiricosta opened
for $6,000 and Mike DuFloth called for
his last $3,000. DuFloth had 4-4 against
10-10. When the board came A-A-7-Q-Q,
the single 10 played. This is only the
third tournament for DuFloth, who is CEO
of an Internet Service Provider. He tried
his first event at this year's World Series,
and T.J. Cloutier encouraged him to continue
playing.
On
hand eight, after blinds went to $2,000-$4,000.
Bill Waleed busted out. He called Binh
Ta's raise all in for $7,000, and his
Qd-10d couldn't catch an A-10. Two hands
later, Pham opened for the first of his
cautious, three-times the big blind raises.
Lim moved in and Pham folded. On the next
hand, Lim raised to $20,000 and Binh Ta
came in for $46,000 more. Lim took so
long deciding what to do that Pham complained.
Finally, Lim mucked.
D.J.
Kim finished seventh. He called all in
for $28,000 with K-K after Binh Ta moved
in from the cut-off seat. Binh Ta had
A-3 and rivered an ace. Chiricosta, a
retiree, wasn't as lucky with his A-3.
He raised with his last $9,000 and was
virtually dead when Binh Ta called with
A-Q and flopped a queen.
James
Donchess, an attorney, went out two hands
later. He moved in for about $36,000 with
pocket 10s. Binh Ta again had A-Q and
this time flopped an ace. Only 20 hands
had gone by and already five players were
gone. By now Binh Ta had taken over the
lead with about $180,000 while Lim had
dipped to around $120,000.
Lim
took a big hit when he moved in with Kh-Jh.
David Kelsey, who acts and sells real
estate, called with 10-10, won and nicked
him for $75,000 as Lim dropped into last
place. The rough count, after blinds went
to $3,000-$6,000, with $1,000 antes: Binh
Ta, $190,000; Kelsey, $140,000; Pham $90,000;
and Lim, $30,000.
Lim
went out two hands later when he tried
an all-in steal one off the button with
J-8. Kelsey called with K-Q and nailed
it with a king on the river. A chip-count
deal was suggested, but Pham, now lowest
in chips, wanted no part of it.
The
first time there was a flop without somebody
being all in, Kelsey called Binh Ta's
opening raise of $20,000. But even this
hand didn't go past the K-J-2 flop after
Binh Ta bet $40,000.
Then,
on the second flop without an all-in,
Pham made his usual raise to 18k, taking
the pot by betting the same amount on
the flop. His strategy began to pay off
a few hands later. He opened for 18k,
Binh Ta raised $30,000, and then was forced
to fold when Pham showed his disguised
strength by moving in for $66,000 more.
Pham
now had the lead with about $170,000,
although Binh Ta edged slightly ahead
of him shortly afterwards.
After
blinds went to $4,000-$8,000, the chip
count now read: Binh Ta, $172,000; Pham,
$169,000; and Kelsey, $112,000.
As the new level started, Pham picked
up the antes and blinds with a raise and
once again eased into the lead. Then came
the decisive hand. Pham raised to — yes
— three times the big blind and Binh Ta
moved in. Binh Ta had A-J and Pham, a
2.8-1 favorite with A-K, won when the
board came A-9-2-10-4.
Pham
and Kelsey were now heads-up, but not
for long. Pham had $355,000 to $98,000
for Kelsey, and the match-up lasted only
three hands.
Pham,
with pocket 9s, made his usual raise,
then bet $30,000 into a flop of 8-6-4.
Kelsey made a futile all-in raise with
Qs-2s, couldn't hit, and The Dragon roared.
-- by Max Shapiro
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