HIGH
SCHOOL YOUTH WINS
POT-LIMIT OMAHA EVENT!
Henrik
Olander, an 18-year-old high school senior
too young to play in casinos in his native
Sweden, put on an amazing performance
worthy of a seasoned pro as he captured
the second event of the 2003 St. Maarten
Open, pot-limit Omaha. He came to the
final table with a slight chip lead over
eventual runner-up Paul Benichou of Guadeloupe
and was never headed as he moved steadily
upward to victory.
His
achievement was made all the more remarkable
by the presence at the final table of
Gary Bush, the 2002 European Player of
the Year, and Marcel Luske, who won that
title in 2001, and unofficially has it
locked up again this year after three
recent major wins.
Olander,
who got his experience in home games and
on the Internet, said he likes to change
his style of play, playing more wildly
at the outset to gather chips, but his
overall style is aggressive. He is a student
of "nature science" (biology,
math, physics), though he did not rule
out the future possibility of turning
pro.
The
final table for this $200+$20 buy-in event
did not get underway until about 2:30
a.m. and it took more than an hour for
the first player to get knocked out, so
rounds were then shortened slightly to
30 minutes to speed things up. With 30:46
remaining at level 11, blinds started
at $600-$1,200, which allowed the first
player in to raise anywhere from $2,400
to $4,200. There wasn't much action in
this round as players acted cautiously,
with Olander picking up more than his
share of pots.
With
blinds at $800-$1,600, he
flopped four nines in the small blind
and checked the pot down, but nobody nibbled.
Finally, on hand 32, just before the level
ended, the first player was eliminated
and everyone was in the money. Gilbert
de Boevere, a salesman from The Hague,
called all in with K-K-J-3 after Olander
bet $17,600 into a flop of Q-4-3-7. He
was drawing dead because the seven had
given Olander, holding 8-6-5-4, a straight.
Olander
now held $107,500 of the $258,000 in play.
Benichou and Patrik Antonius were in the
30k range. Sako Kassabian, Mika Puro and
Luske each had a bit over $20,000. Londoner
Bush had $12,000, while fellow Londoner
Steve Vladar, and Juha Helppi of Finland,
both making their second final table,
were badly short-chipped.
Blinds
now became $1,000-$2,000, permitting raises
of $4,000-$7,000. A few hands later Helppi
had his last chips posted in the big blind
with A-9-7-3. He made aces and treys when
the board came 10-3-2-9-A, but Luske took
him out with aces and nines. Four hands
later, Luske departed in eighth place.
Holding K-Q-10-7, he tried an all-in bluff
bet of $12,000 into a board of J-J-6-2-4,
but it didn't work because Kassabian had
made a straight on the river. Kassabian,
who started the final table with only
$5,800, began making his move with another
straight on the next hand to knock out
Vlador. He put Vlador all in pre-flop
with a raise, holding only K-9-7-5, but
the board obediently came Q-6-3-8-4.
With
action heating up, another player departed
two hands later. Holding A-10-9-8, Bush
had a wraparound straight draw on a flop
of Q-J-7. He bet $4,000 and Olander, who
had a paired seven, put Bush all in for
$1,000 more, winning when his two sevens
held up.
Three
deals later, on hand 51, Puro, a retired
ex-casino manager from Vantaa, Finland,
was left with $4,000 after he raised to
$10,500 with A-K-J-3. Antonius called
all in for $10,000 and won with pocket
aces. Two hands later Puro was caught
in the big blind with Q-9-6-5. He bet
his last thousand on a flop of 10-6-3
and got blown away when Antonius made
a diamond flush.
A
dozen hands later, Antonius took the big
blind with A-K-5-5. He was in good shape
when a flop of Qc-10d-5c gave him a set
of fives. He moved in for $7,500, and
Olander called with a flush draw. A jack
of clubs on the river completed Olander's
hand, and Antonius, a student/model from
Helsinki, cashed out in fourth place.
With
about $170,000, Olander now controlled
two-thirds of the chips on the table.
On the next hand, blinds went to $2,000-$4,000,
permitting raises of between $8,000 and
$14,000. It would be the final hand for
Kassabian, a business owner residing in
Vancouver, B.C. Holding K-10-5-3, he flopped
a wheel when the board came A-4-2. He
went all in against Benichou, who held
J-J-Q-2 with a spade flush draw. Benichou,
a Frenchman from Guadeloupe, completed
his flush, and the tournament was now
heads-up.
Some
20 hands went by with up-and-down chip
swings as Benichou lost one big pot, then
clawed his way back. When blinds at $3,000-$6,000,
Benichou still hung in with about $75,000.
The two started to talk deal. Olander
offered his competitor $9,000 to take
second place. "I do not understand
English," Benichou responded. You
will have to speak French."
By
hand 87, Benichou had climbed to a bit
over $100,000. The end came suddenly.
Benichou held Q-8-6-6 to Olander's K-Q-10-5.
On the button, Benichou raised to $13,000,
Olander re-raised and Benichou moved in.
A flop of Q-8-4 put him in the lead with
queens and eights, but a king turned to
give Olander a bigger two pair and a river
queen gave him a bigger full house.
The
high school kid from Sweden had gone to
the head of the class with a $14,770 cash-out.
-- by Max Shapiro
|
