Columnist
Karp Scripts Win!
In a tournament marked by numerous
chip lead changes, Card Player columnist
Warren Karp took the final lead by knocking
out third-place finisher Jeff Niedelman
and overtaking Qin Li. She accepted his
offer of an even-money chop and he got
the trophy and title. In winning the $300
limit hold'em event, Karp overcame an
earlier miscue when chasing with queens
cost him the lead. Karp, a man of many
hats and accomplishments, is also tournament
coordinator at Hustler Casino and marketing
director for Tiger Gaming, an online poker
site.
This $50,000 guarantee event with 45-minute
rounds became a marathon lasting until
6 a.m. The final table got underway after
George McDonough, left with a couple of
chips, played a J-9 and lost to a Q-J.
Limits started at $1,000-$2,000, and in
four minutes went to $2,000-$4,000, with
blinds of $1,000-$2,000.
Hieu "Tony" Ma, shortest-chipped with
$2,500, went all in on hand 4 with A-10
against Allan Demos' Jh, 9h. Demos turned
a jack and Tony was at the final table
no Ma, cashing out for $1,200. Scotty
Warbucks was next to depart. Down to $6,000,
he called Karp's raise holding jacks,
then went all in when Li re-raised. She
had pocket aces, and when the board came
9-6-3-8-8, Scotty cashed out ninth for
$1,370.
The most dramatic pot of the night came
down on the hand 17. On fourth street,
Keith Sahara made a set of fours when
the board showed 10-6-2-4. Sandy Duong,
however, had flopped a set of 6s. The
betting was capped, Sandy bet her last
chip on the river and then hauled in a
pot of about $40,000.
Two hands later Badia Khalil, in the small
blind, raised all in for $3,000 holding
K-6 off. Thomas Vo called with Qd, Jh.
Four diamonds were dealt and Vo's flush
left Khalil in eighth place for $1,700.
It took another 22 deals to lose the next
player. With limits at $3,000-$6,000 and
the pot three-bet before the flop, Allan
Demos went all in with Ks, 4s against
Vo's Kd, Qd. "I'm done," Allan said when
the board came A-10-8-Q. No jack came
to give him a split, and the retired physical
therapist cashed out for $2,070.
Karp had taken a small lead, but that
changed on hand 50. Niedelman raised from
the small blind with K-J. Karp, with pocket
queens in the big big blind, just called.
"I thought I'd trap him, but I just trapped
myself," he later explained. The flop
of K-9-5 was three-bet, Karp chased to
the river and when it was over, Niedelman
had taken a substantial lead.
Duong
was done on hand 54. She had her last
chips committed in the small blind with
6s, 5s and couldn't outrun Li's pocket
7s. She got $1,770 for sixth. After a
couple of all-in survivals, Vo, an engineer,
had A-Q and couldn't engineer another
escape against Li, again holding pocket
aces and a 92 percent favorite. Fifth
paid $3,465. Hand 74: The board showed
7-5-2-J with two spades. Keith Sahara
bet all in for $6,000 with A-J. A third
spade on the river gave Niedelman his
Qs, 9s flush and Sahara was dried up,
finishing fourth for $4,860.
When limits went to $4,000-$8,000 on hand
80, Qin looked like a sure thing with
$123,000 to Warren's $46,000 and Jeff's
$41,000. But it became a horse race on
hand 85 when Warren, with K-9, made two
pair on the river to beat her and close
the count to $105,000-$84,000. Three hands
later, with a board of Q-10-5-9-6, Jeff
bet his K-9 and Warren check-raised him
all in with A-9. Jeff collected $6,950
for third, and Warren, now leading, 107k
to 104k, proposed the tournament-ending
chop. First place officially paid $26,465
and Qin, a furniture salesperson, celebrated
her birthday with an official win of $13,570.
BIOGRAPHY
Not counting a win at the Gold Coast
back in the Stone Age of tournaments,
this is the first major win for Warren
Karp. However, he chopped three Legends
events in 2000 which earned him $65,000.
He also finished fourth in triple-draw
lowball at the 2002 WSOP. Karp, who describes
hold'em events as nothing more than "chip-redistribution
tournaments," says he used be a very selective
player, wondering why he could never catch
hands. Then he realized that aggression
was the key to winning. "The foxes get
the money, not the rabbits," he said,
quoting a poker author whose name escaped
him.
Tonight, Karp was down to $600 late in
the tournament before making his move.
Almost as much as the win, he prized a
comment made by the great Tony Ma. When
there was table talk about how badly floormen
play, and someone mistakenly called Karp
a floorman, Ma defended him by declaring
that he could outplay any floorman.
Max Shapiro
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