Lowball
Ace 'Dick' Corpuz Shows
He Plays Them All with Stud Win
Martin "Dick" Corpuz, a top
lowball player of the 80s from the Bay
Area, where they don't play much stud,
proved his versatility by winning the
18th event of Hustler Casino's Grand Slam
of Poker, $1,000 7-card stud. Corpuz's
numerous tournament cash-outs include
a win in last year's $500 no-limit hold'em
Grand Slam event. "I like to play
all games," he said.
His final opponent, whom he battled for
the chip lead for most of the tournament,
was Barry Greenstein, a much more experienced
stud player. "I learned lowball from
him, and he learned stud from me,"
Greenstein remarked. Greenstein, one of
the founders of Symantec, Inc. (which
includes Norton anti-virus) has played
professiosnally for 35 of his 48 years
and thinks he holds the record for most
times reaching the third day of the World
Series championship. Earlier this year
he won best all-around at the Commerce's
California State Poker Championship, making
four final tables in six tries, including
a win in $500 no-limit hold'em. He donates
all his tournament winnings to charity,
his favorite being Children, Inc.
With three players left, Greenstein had
about $100,000 of the $160,000 in play,
then lost a lot of chips trying to eliminate
third-place finisher Kirk Conrad, a mortgage
banker, who managed to go all in and survive
four times. Copuz finally busted Conrad
almost by accident when he missed his
straight draw but caught a third jack
on the river. Taking the lead, he then
powered his way to victory in 11 more
hands.
Limits at the final table began with $200
antes, a $300 low-card bring-in and $1,000-$2,000
limits. The two big chip leaders were
Corpuz with $45,100 and Greenstein with
$38,100.
As play started, Greenstein could not
seem to lose any hand he played, steadily
moving upward after he took the lead on
the eighth hand with a full house against
Conrad.
After limits rose to $300 antes with a
$1,500 low card and $1,500-$3,000 bets,
Dan Torla, who holds a stud bracelet from
2002, went out. He was all in with pocket
jacks, couldn't help and lost to "Lucky
Larry" Kantor's aces. A few hands
later, John Mociak joined him. He had
pocket queens and departed when Corpuz
made fives and fours.
Gerard Rechnitzer, son of tournament player
George Rechnitzer, started with only 4k.
After surviving one all-in, he was down
to $2,100 showing 4-7-2-8 when Corpuz
bet the river with a board of 3-K-J-K.
Agonizing for minutes, he asked, "Do
you have kings-up?"
"Do I have to answer?" Corpuz
asked tournament coordinator Warren Karp,
who ruled probably not. Rechnitzer finally
mucked. But three hands later he was all
in with pocket jacks, again against Corpuz,
who started with split deuces and won
with aces-up.
Meanwhile, Greenstein increased his lead
to about 68k when Corpuz folded a $32,000
pot. But then Corpuz played catch-up on
hand 30, taking a three-way pot with a
hidden full house.
With new limits of 4-8k, Randy Holland
finished fifth when he missed his flush
draw and bowed out against Corpuz's jacks-up.
Lucky Larry was down to 7k after catching
a bunch of bananas and went out a few
hands later when he missed his flush draw
and lost to Corpuz's two jacks. Just before
that, Greenstein moved up to 80k when
he made a double full house against Corpuz,
three jacks and three sevens. By hand
68, Greenstein hit his peak of about 100k.
With antes of $500, a $1,000 bring-in
and 3-6k limits, Conrad had foiled Greenstein's
attempts to break him a couple of times
and had moved up to 45k, with Greenstein
now at 75k and Corpuz at 45k. Then Corpuz
made his move. Greenstein dueled Corpuz
in a capped pot, had to fold on the river,
and Corpuz now had 60k to Greenstein's
70k and 30 for Conrad.
The turning point in the tournament arrived
on hand 88. On fifth street, Conrad had
queens and deuces and Corpuz had a 4-5-6-7
straight draw along with a jack, then
caught two running jacks to break Conrad
and take the heads-up lead, 90-70k.
Declining a deal ("I never split;
I'd split with my mother, not with my
father"), Greenstein was down to
40k on hand 98 after folding a big pot
showing 7-4-A-2. On the next and final
hand, Greenstein made an ace-high diamond
flush on the river, but Corpuz, after
snagging a third queen on sixth street,
filled on the river to take all the chips
and the title.
Max Shapiro
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