DECLAWING
THE TIGER
Someone
finally looked the tiger in the eye and
took his claws away.
There
were 22 entrants in the $1,500 Buy-In,
Stud Hi-Lo for a total prize pool of $29,610.
Three players were paid.
To
setup the Final Table, the Frenchman Paul
Testud's busted low draw left him with
a pair of 9's. Paul Honas' busted low
draw left him with a pair of Jacks.
THE FINAL TABLE:
34 mins left of 60.
The blinds were $50/$100
Player
Hometown Chip
Count
Seat 1 John Cernuto Las Vegas NV $4,475
Seat 2 Tony Cousineau Daytona Beach FL
$4,075
Seat 3 Bill Wiley Flora IL $4,100
Seat 4 Peter Costa Leicester, UK $1,000
Seat 5 Paul Honas Las Vegas NV $5,050
Seat 6 Men Nguyen Bell Gardens CA $ 450
Seat 7 Phil Ivey Atlantic City NJ $6,625
Seat 8 Maureen Feduniak Las Vegas NV $5,750
The
delightful Englishman Peter Costa has
shown a talent for getting to the Final
Table, but of late has forgotten how to
get paid for it. He's closing in on Humberto
Brenes' Hall of Fame jacket total. Peter
now has five of them, but he's way off
in Brenes cash. The low draws weren't
getting there for anyone, leaving them
with weak highs. Peter had the lead with
his pair of 10's, but Paul Honas with
6's spiked a Jack on the river for Jacks
up. 'The Poet' could write an ode to 8th
place.
Men
'The Master' Nguyen arrived at the Hall
of Fame tournament later than most others
and he has yet to hit pay dirt. It's just
fun to watch his family check into the
hotel. His beautiful wife and adorable,
but energetic, small children create quite
a stir. In 20 years it will be interesting
to see if any of the children become poker
players. They certainly have great genetic
material. Nguyen brought almost no ammunition
with him to the table and was gone in
7th when his all-in 3 4 8 starters weren't
helped and he lost to Kings up.
It
continued to be dangerous to draw to a
low. Both Tony Cousineau and 'Miami' John
Cernuto busted for low leaving Tony with
10's and the all-in Cernuto with 3's and
6th place.
For
the first three hours at this table it
looked like a replay of one of Phil Ivey's
three 2002 World Series victories. Total
dominance. A card-catching machine. Tony
Cousineau had a Jack high straight on
6th street and understandably went all-in
with the best hand. But the invincible
Ivey caught full on the river to send
the personable beach boy out in 5th.
This
event started at noon. When the 2 p.m.
lunch break arrived, Bill Wiley was certain
he was doomed with only $1,000. Eight
hours later Bill Wiley was certain he
was doomed with $1,000 and on the bubble
in 4th. This time Bill was correct. 'The
Coyote' was stuck with a pair of 7's and
a 7 4 3 2. He went all-in against Paul
Honas with 9 9 showing. When a 10 came
on the river for Bill, he was out run
and fell off a cliff out of the money.
What a nice man.
By
now Phil Ivey had well over half the chips
and an intimidating presence. Were Paul
Honas and Maureen Feduniak playing for
2nd?
A
marriage is supposed to be a partnership,
right? Then why is Maureen Feduniak having
to bring home all the bread? Seriously,
these TWO entries to every tournament
get to be a burden. Just kidding, Bob!
For the second time in the last few days,
Maureen Feduniak made the final three.
She went all-in on 5th street with 6 5
4 3 3 and caught two bricks against trip
Jacks for Phil Ivey.
Heads
up, Ivey was just short of a 3-2 chip
leader against Paul Honas. For the last
couple of years no one has survived this
situation against the hottest player in
the game. To the audience Paul Honas was
toast. But Paul didn't act intimidated.
In fact, he seemed a little haughty. Like
it was a done deal, already.
Playing against Ivey in Stud Hi-Lo, you
are going to get low freerolls. Phil WILL
play all seven cards no matter what your
boards looks like. Proof of that came
when Honas had the biggest low board imaginable,
an A 2 3 suited and Phil Ivey called Paul's
bet.
The
chip lead turned over to Honas when Paul
made 4's full. Honas never looked back.
Phil continued to give Paul low freerolls,
which for the uninitiated means that Honas
had a low made with a chance to win the
high also.
Ivey
fought back a few times. On one beautiful
hesitation move, Phil pretended to be
betting on the river only because Paul
checked to him. Honas bit and called only
to have Ivey turned over nut nut.
The
last hand was a model for this heads up
matchup. Phil pounded the pot all the
to the felt with Aces and Kings. Honas
quietly called every bet with a 7 6 3
3 showing. He'd gotten there with a straight
on 5th street.
For
once the tiger has been declawed, but
they will undoubtedly grow back very soon.
Mike Paulle
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