Griffiths
Lifts Off in Omaha!
"We have lift-off, write that down,"
declared Ray Griffiths as all three Omaha
finalists entered a raised pot. Lift-off
was correct. Griffith had 10-10-Q-3, and
when three 8s hit the board he scooped
with a full house and lifted his chip
count to about $85,000 of the $118,600
in play. Though five more hands were dealt,
that essentially wrapped things up for
the Aurora, Colorado software salesman
who took home $10,445 for winning the
14th event of Winnin' o' the Green 2003,
$200 Omaha hi-lo.
In the $15,000 all-around points race,
meanwhile, Mario Esquerra took top prize
of $7,500 while Kathy Liebert, finishing
fifth tonight, moved into second place
for $2,500.
A spectacular hand set the final table.
With a board of K-K-Ad-3d-4d, an all-in
Jerry Simon turned up a full house and
Dino Medina showed a wheel. But Robert
Mizrachi took three-quarters of the pot
and discharged Simon, a retired Air Force
colonel, with a wheel straight flush!
Final table limits started at $600-$1,200,
with 15:20 remaining. On hand eight, with
$1,000-$2,000 limits, John Emmons finished
10th for $595. His A-2-4 was triple-counterfeited
when the board came 7-4-2-A-8. Griffiths,
with A-A-3-J, scooped with a set of aces
and a 7-low to Emmons' aces-up and 8-low.
Two hands later, pro Paul Lee was all
in with A-3-K-J. A flop of A-A-9 ruined
his low but gave him three bullets. Holding
A-4-8-Q, Robert Durant trailed with a
smaller kicker. But a river 8 filled him
and left Lee in 9th place for $675.
Steve Badger, who won the previous Omaha
event, was all in on the flop on hand
10 with A-A-2-7. He earned a chop, but
berated himself as a "stone idiot" for
letting an opponent in by not raising
pre-flop. Five hands later Steve was in
for his last $1,000 with A-5-J-J. "Where's
the jack?" he cried futilely as 5-5-Q-3-6
arrived. Mizrachi, with A-2-4-7, scooped
with a nut low and straight. Steve earned
$735 for eighth.
Jennifer Levinsohn, testifying on her
bio sheet that she won the WSOP in 1931,
had been card-dead and anted down. She
had her last $1,000 in the big blind with
a weak 4-5-6-9 and couldn't beat Mizrachi's
paired 4 with an ace kicker when the board
came 10-7-2-4-Q. Griffiths, with A-3-8-9,
had the nut low. On hand 18 Griffiths
held A-7-7-J and scooped with a straight
on the river when the board showed A-K-Q-5-10.
Dino Medina, all in before the flop, missed
his nut low draw holding 2-3-5-J and cashed
out for $1,120.
On hand 25, Robert Durant scooped, but
overlooked his full house and missed a
river bet. Annoyed, he let a bad word
slip and earned a 10-minute penalty which
cost him $3,000 in blinds. Next out on
hand 33 was Liebert, who won an earlier
no-limit event. With limits at $2,000-$4,000,
she was all in for $3,000 holding A-K-Q-8.
Durant had A-5-6-10 with a suited ace
and won with a nut flush. Kathy earned
$1,375 for fifth.
On hand 42, Mizrachi was in for $5,500
with K-K-10-4. "You're ahead," Griffiths
said, turning up A-5-7-J. "I'm ahead,"
he corrected himself when the turn gave
him aces and jacks and a winner. Fourth
place paid $1,760 for the Florida computer
sales/poker player.
On hand 45, a river full house gave contractor
Duane Reed a brief lead with about $60,000.
But he slipped back by not exploiting
his advantage with aggressive play. With
$3,000-$6,000 limits, the "lift-off" pot
came on hand 62, putting Ray in a commanding
lead. Durant, down to $4,500, went all
in on hand 67. With a board of J-8-5-10-A,
Reed bet and Ray, holding K-Q-4-2 for
a Broadway straight and number two low,
raised and scooped. Durant earned $2,655
for third. Reed, left with $3,500, accepted
Griffith's surrender terms and got $5,080
for second.
BIOGRAPHY
Ray Griffiths, 59, started playing
poker in casinos when they opened in Colorado
about 10 years ago. He plays mostly tournaments,
and since the L.A. area is his sales territory,
he sees a lot of action here. He's won
an Omaha event at Commerce and a 7-stud
tournament at Hollywood Park, along with
a second in pot-limit hold'em at Commerce.
He prefers Omaha split, because he can't
seem to do as well in hold'em. In Omaha,
he feels he has the necessary skill to
read players well, along with knowing
how to figure the odds.
Tonight he was never in trouble, never
all in. His strategy: play solid and turn
aggressive when you have chips. One of
his secrets is to play differently when
Omaha turns to a high game and not chase
low draws without something going for
you for high. That, he says, is a mistake
many Omaha players make.
Max Shapiro
|
