'Jerry
T' Racks up Second Win
in Hustler Casino's Challenge Cup
Proving
that his win in an earlier limit hold'em
event was no fluke, the young disc jockey
who prefers to be known as just "Jerry
T" played his cards to a "T" as he captured
the 12th event of the Hustler Casino's
Challenge Cup, $300 no-limit hold'em.
He showed his mettle in particular when
he went up against the fearsome Hieu "Tony"
Ma, on one hand making a very good call
against him.
Jerry's acknowledged mentor is local pro
Raymond Davis, whom the onrushing young
player may well have already passed.
Actually, Jerry T won not one, but two
tournaments tonight. The event ended with
him holding a chip lead of about $56,000,
while Michael Leanos was second with some
$42,000. Both men would have liked the
trophy (and the title that goes with it),
so they agreed to tournament coordinator
Warren Karp's suggestion of a mini-tournament:
$2,000 each in chips playing with $500
and $1,000 blinds, which Jerry took down
in five hands.
Finishing 11th and missing the final table
was Andre Maloof. All in, the accountant's
6-5 of clubs didn't count for much against
Ma's J-J,
At the final table, the players were playing
with $100 antes and blinds of $500 and
$1,000, 12 minutes remaining. For the
second time in a row, an accountant had
the books closed on him. On the fourth
hand, Julian Levy raised $5,000 all in
with pocket 8s. Greg Wynn moved in for
$8,700 with K-K. And then Mitch Krupa
called all in for $6,000 with A-A. Krupa
made a set of aces on the turn and it
was small consolation to accountant Levy
when an 8 on the river also gave him a
set. Nine players were left, all officially
in the money. Though Levy officially walked
away empty-handed, the players had earlier
agreed to pay the 10th place finisher
$810.
Wynn, now down to $2,700, was able to
hang around for a while when he doubled
up by going against Greg Dunn with Ac,
7c and making three 7s.
Blinds now moved up to $800-$1,600 with
$200 antes. On hand 11, local pro Ernie
Sebastian moved in for about $5,000 with
A-9 in late position. Jerry called with
J-J. "I'm dead," Ernie announced when
the flop came J-4-6. That he was, 100
percent dead, and $810 was awarded to
the corpse.
A few hands later Robert Betts, under
the gun, moved in for $1,600 with A-10.
It was Betts' last bet. Dunn, a writer,
called with a suited A-K and left him
in eighth place when the board showed
Q-9-4-7-4. Eighth place paid $1,015.
On hand 15, Ma raised $4,000 and Jerry
called. On the end, with a board of A-9-4-7-4,
he called Ma's bet of $5,000 and showed
down A-K to Ma's A-Q. He was careful not
to raise and go all in in case Ma had
two pair, Jerry later explained.
A hand later, Wynn moved in from the small
blind for $4,000 with Q-J of hearts, and
was in very bad shape when Tony the Tiger
called and turned up A-J of spades. The
board came J-9-8-2-6 and Tony's ace kicker
left Wynn in seventh place for a payout
of $1,420.
On hand 32, Ma, who had started to get
low on chips, got very lucky. He had gone
all in for $9,300 with A-7 and was called
by another local pro, Hasan Kamoei, who
held Q-J of hearts. Kamoei was in the
lead when the board showed K-Q-10-K, but
a river jack gave Ma a straight and he
doubled up.
Limits
had been kicked up to $1,000-$2,000 with
$300 antes when Leanos, a part-time computer
programmer and part-time poker player
who favors pot-limit, raised to $8,000.
He must have counted down Dunn's chips,
because that's exactly how much the writer
had. Dunn called with A-7 offsuit and
faced Leanos' two queens. He couldn't
help when the board came 9-5-4-K-8, and
finished in sixth place with $1,825.
Ma went all in again on hand 41 when he
raised $3,000 with K-Q. Jerry T called
with pocket 5s, and Ma again got lucky
by hitting a lady on the river to double
through once again. The Tiger began showing
his claws by raising all in a couple more
times, but these times nobody wanted to
go against him.
Jerry
picked up a $10,300 pot when Leanos made
it $8,000 to go. He played back at him
by moving in, then showed pocket kings
when Leanos made a prudent fold.
On
hand number 60, Kamoei tried a move. On
the button, he raised all in for $5,000
with just K-2. Ma, in the small blind
with A-Q, announced he was all in. His
chips were counted down and came to $15,800.
Jerry T, after long deliberation, decided
to muck his pocket 10s. The flop came
10-6-5, and then an ace on the turn gave
Ma a guaranteed winner as Kamoei cashed
in for $2,230.
Jerry
T, who would have flopped a set, was very
unhappy, but Ma assured him he made a
sensible laydown because against two opponents
he could easily have been up against a
higher pair, along with the overcards
that were almost sure to be out.
Blinds were now $2,000-$4,000 with $500
blinds. After one hand was dealt, a deal
was made. Officially, Jerry collected
$16,190 for first, Leanos got $9,315 for
second, Ma earned $4,860 for third and
Krupa got $2,835 for fourth. That left
the matter of the trophy. The mini-tournament
ended when Jerry took Mike's last $6,000
with A-K against A-Q.
Max Shapiro
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