Enciso
Wins After 6 Finals!
Making his sixth final table in Winnin’
o’ the Green 2004, pro player Rocky Enciso
finally locked up a win in event 19, 1/2
Omaha hi-lo and 1/2 stud hi-lo. He came
to the final table low chipped, survived
a couple of all-ins, played patiently
and then went on a late rush. After knocking
out the fifth and the fourth-place finishers,
he had nearly half the chips on the table
and the three finalists made a deal.
This
victory, coupled with his prior second,
third, fifth and sixth-place finishes,
gave him an enormous lead in the best
all around points race (251 to 126 for
John Hoang’s second slot) virtually assuring
him of the points win.
Tonight’s
bubble boy was film producer Raymond “Iceberg”
Sitra. He started with 3-5-6-7 and needed
a 4 for a wheel when the flop came A-2-3.
He didn’t get there, but Hasan Habib was
there already, and the final eight took
their seats.
Habib
was the leader with 14,400 in chips as
action got underway in an Omaha round
with $800-$1,600 limits and 41 minutes
left. With only 1,300 in chips, Hawaiian
Gardens tournament director Rusty Mandap
didn’t have enough for even one big bet.
Going all in three times in the first
three hands, he managed to stick around
until hand 10 when he went all in again
with four picture cards. No pictures came
and he was out of the picture. A board
of 6-6-5-4-7 brought 3/4 of the pot to
software manager Tianxiong “Tim” Fu, who
had A-2-6-J, and the rest to truck driver
Michael Longo, also with a nut low.
Gary
Mallette, who is in the textile business,
got a shock when he busted on the next
hand. All in pre-flop, he made 4s-full
when the board came Q-Q-4. Longo had a
third queen, and a 10 on the river gave
him a bigger boat. Fu next picked up a
lot of chips in three-way action when
he made a very loose call with K-J-7-4
and won with two pair on a board of Q-J-2-K-10.
“Unbelievable,” Habib exclaimed.
On
hand 15, Bicycle Casino host Robert Turner
went all in on the flop. Turner, winner
of an earlier Omaha/8 event, had 2-4-5-Q,
giving him draws to a straight and a weak
low when the flop came 9-7-6. Longo, with
A-2-7-8, had him covered for low with
A-2 and for high with a bigger straight
draw, which he hit with a 10 on the turn.
The
game reverted to stud hi-lo, with $200
antes, a $300 bring-in and $1,000-$2,000
limits. Enciso, unable to do much in the
Omaha round, was quickly all in after
starting with (A-3)6. A couple of queens
didn’t help his low, but he got lucky
when the ladies gave him a scoop. He picked
up more chips a few hands later when he
raised Gebrehiwet Goiton on sixth street
and made him fold. Then, on hand 32, he
took the lead with about 19k when he eliminated
Goiton, a driver. Goiton, chasing a low,
went all in on sixth street with (2-3)8-6-K-J.
He was drawing dead when Enciso, showing
7-5-6-3, turned up 4-5 for a seven-high
straight.
On
a roll now, Enciso left Fu with just 2k
on hand 36 when he scooped with aces and
8s to run his chip count to close to 30k.
“The Terminator,” Habib dubbed him. After
Fu survived a couple of all ins, he went
broke on hand 44. Fu had the lead with
kings against Enciso’s jacks, but then
Rocky delivered the knock-out punch by
catching a third jack. Enciso now had
about 30k to around 19 for Longo and 17
for Habib, and they divvied the money
up.
BIOGRAPHY
Filipino-born Domingo “Rocky” Enciso
Jr., who came to this country in 1988,
was a Baker’s Square restaurant manager
before turning pro three years ago after
playing recreationally since 1995. He’s
had a couple of prior wins at the Bike
and the Hustler, but his biggest cash-out
came when he placed second in a Legends
event. He plays $20-$40 stud hi-lo in
side action, but concentrates on tournaments.
While he plays all games, he prefers mixed
games because he feels he can adjust easily
when the game switches.
Tonight,
he said, he was very, very patient. At
one point, about halfway through, he didn’t
play a single hand for more than an hour.
Another thing he likes about mixed games
is that he finds your luck can change
when the game changes. That happened tonight
when he had bad luck in the Omaha round.
He just froze, and got moving again when
stud kicked in.
Max Shapiro
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