Event
#5
Mississippi is the proud home of Triple
Draw Lowball, which is becoming increasingly
popular in poker rooms throughout the
United States -- particularly at major
tournaments. Last year, the World Poker
Open hosted the first-ever Triple Draw
Lowball tournament. That event proved
to be such a huge success that it was
brought back again this year. Event #5
also marked the fifth consecutive event
of this year's World Poker Open where
the amount of prize money set an all-time
record.
A
highly competitive field of 81 entered
this year's event. Six players made it
to the final table -- which was dominated
by names and faces well-known here in
the Tunica area. It also seemed fitting
that the event was won by a local player
for the second consecutive year.
The
grueling finale inculded several chip
lead changes and fates determined by a
single card. When play began, defending
champion Galen Kester, from nearby Lake
Comorant, Mississippi enjoyed a 3-2 chip
lead over his closest competitor. Many
observers anticipated a rousing repeat
victory for the talented Kester. But Jacky
Chitwood had something else in mind. Chitwood,
who finished fourth in this same event
last year, came to the final table with
only $9,500 in chips and made a spectacular
comeback. He not only personally knocked
out Kester three hours into play at the
final table, he also went on to win the
event and capture his first World Poker
Open championship.
An
old axiom is to "never play poker with
a man named Doc." As it turned out, Doc
Jennings, who once boastfully claimed
that he "invented Triple Draw Lowball,"
was the first player to hit the rail.
Dangerously low on chips with a paltry
$3K, Doc went all-in with his remaining
stack and drew to a wheel. Unfortunately,
the Inventor" completely missed on his
final two draws and ended up pairing on
the final card to exit in 6th place. Doc
had a bad beat story to tell, and collected
$4,753.
Things
got considerably quieter at the final
table after Doc's departure. The next
hour was dominated by conservative play
and very few showdowns. The monotany was
broken temporarily when James Whitehead
caught a very nice lowball hand -- 6-5-4-3-A.
But Whitehead's beauty lost to Jim Lester's
even nicer 6-5-4-2-A. Lester's deuce versus
Whitehead's three was the difference.
It was a brutal blow to Whitehead, the
winner of previous poker tournaments held
in the Bahamas. Whitehead was forced to
depart in 5th place, good for $5,704.
Another bad beat story.
Down
to four players, an interesting hand developed
when Las Vegas pro Bob Walker faced Cincinnati's
hometown hero, Jim Lester. Walker and
Lester got involved in a $35K pot as both
players kept drawing one card on each
successive round. After the third draw,
Walker bet $6K and Lester pondered a very
tough decision. Lester had bricked on
the final card, catching an ugly queen.
He reluctantly called the bet, and Walker
shook his head and showed a king-high.
Lester's queen-high was the better "low,"
and Lester took down a siazable pot.
Lester's
chips would not last for long. A short
time later, Lester got involved in another
confrontation with his nemisis, Walker,
when he missed a monster draw to a wheel.
Lester kept catching bricks on each round
while Walker stood pat. That pot gave
Walker the chip lead for the first time
and put Lester in peril.
A
few hands later, Walker knocked out Lester
with a rough-looking 9-high, besting Lester,
who once again was slighted by the deck.
Lester caught yet another queen-high on
the final card, which couldn't recreate
the old magic of the previous hand. The
end result was a 4th place finish. Lester,
who won the Seven-Card Stud title at the
2000 World Poker Open and the Limit Holdem
event at the 2001 World Series of Poker,
collected $8,555.
Next,
it was time for the defending champion
to make a most unwelcome departure. Kester
sat quietly during most of the final table
and failed to be much of a force during
the final hour of play. Jacky Chitwood
and Bob Walker teamed up against Kester
on his final hand of the night, as Kester
was drawing to a very marginal 7-6-4-3.
He caught a paint on the final round,
while Walker caught a 10. Chitwood caught
and even better hand, a very pretty 6-5-4-2-A.
Chitwood won the big pot and Kester vanished
in 3rd place, which paid $14,259. In two
years, Kester now has a 1st and 3rd place
finish in this event. Very impressive,
indeed.
Bob
Walker enjoyed a 3-2 chip lead when heads-up
play began. Then, the key hand of the
night took place when Walker and Chitwood
got into a raising war after the second
draw. With $50K already in the pot, both
players stood pat on the third draw. On
the final round of betting, Walker made
a bet and Chitwood raised. Walker called.
Chitwood showed down the stone-cold nuts,
5-4-3-2-A, which crushed Walker's 6-4-3-2-A.
Walker had the second-best possible hand.
"I was hoping for a split pot," Walker
said afterward.
That
critical loss left Walker with just $40K
to Chitwood's $90K. A few hands later,
Chitwood ripped another $25K from Walker's
stack when he showed a 6-5 low (Walker
did not reveal his hand). Walker was down
to just $15K and the end seemed near.
But,
Walker, in characteristic fashion, stormed
back from the dead. He won 6 of the next
7 hands and increased his stack back up
to $50K. It appeared that the two finalists
would duel all night long, when Walker's
good fortune finally evaporated. Chitwood
kept on pressuring Walker, presumably
stealing chips at $4,500 per round. Walker
could do little but wait for a premium
hand.
The
final hand of the tournament was dealt
four hours into the final table, when
Walker moved his final chip into the pot
with 7-5-4-3-2. But Walker might as well
have been standing directly under a ton
of bricks. Chitwood slammed his hand down
on the table -- 5-4-3-2-A. The perfect
wheel had flattened Walker's 7-5 and finally
put a merciful end to the most tedious
event of the World Poker Open.
Unlike
most events at this year's tournament,
which have been cheered by a packed gallery
of enthusiastic spectators, there were
plenty of empty seats for the lowball
tournament. Indeed, Sherman-Williams would
be the perfect sponsor for this event
-- because "watching paint dry" is more
exciting. But don't tell that to Jacky
Chitwood. He had $38,024 reasons to be
excited.
-- by Nolan Dalla
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