ANY
TWO CARDS CAN WIN
There's
a saying in poker that one hears at a
table. "Any two cards can win." It's a
saying often used by players who are disgusted
with an opponent's choice of a hand that
beat them.
There
were 610 entrants in the $2,000 Buy-In,
Limit Hold'em for a total prize pool of
$1,146,800. Five tables were paid, a total
of 45 players.
You
know it's a World Series event when you
have to be a former World Champion to
make it onto the Notables list. Seven
former champions showed up for the $2,000
Limit Hold'em. Only one got into the money.
Fifteen of the twenty-four living WSOP
Millionaires were also represented. Some
field!
Freddie
Deeb is not the type of player who settles
for just getting into the money. With
47 players left, Freddie's decision to
bet his last chips all-in under the gun
may have been made easier by the fact
he had pocket Aces. The big blind didn't
know this, of course, and called with
Q 5. Wouldn't you know a Q 5 flopped?
Two players went out on the hand and the
rest were in the money.
The
Final Table was setup Sunday afternoon
when Henry Nguyen took two ladies up against
two gentlemen held by Huck Seed. Henry
had pocket Queens and Huck, pocket Kings.
THE FINAL TABLE:
43 mins left of 75.
The blind were $2,000/$4,000.
Playing $4,000/$8,000
Player
Hometown Chip
Count
Seat 1 Peter Costa Leicester, UK $ 37,000
Seat 2 Laura Chao West Covina CA $ 18,000
Seat 3 Mike Majerus Ottawa IL $245,000
Seat 4 David Chiu Rowland Hills CA $135,000
Seat 5 Svetoslav Nechev Memphis TN $121,000
Seat 6 Nevio Nicolich New York NY $ 80,000
Seat 7 T J Cloutier Richardson TX $180,000
Seat 8 Ram Vaswani London, UK $126,000
Seat 9 Huck Seed Las Vegas NV $151,000
Seat 10 Jerry Stensrud Long Beach CA $127,000
When
the shorter stacks kept winning, Nevio
Nicolich was left to finish last at this
Final Table. All-in for his case 5k and
A Q, Nicolich could only watch helplessly
as he got a third Queen on the river.
But it was the wrong Queen, it made Jerry
Stensrud a flush with the 7 4 of Diamonds.
The
river was washing over the short stacks
as Peter Costa went all-in for $8,000
and pocket 9's. If he'd had more money,
Peter could have bet Ram Vaswami off his
A 10. But without a way to bet, Ram watched
a 10 fall on the river and saw it wash
Peter "The Poet" Costa out in iambic pentameter.
Laura
Chao is a player to be reckoned with.
She was courageous and resourceful at
this awesome table. Never intimidated
by the legendary players, Laura was finally
beaten by the high blinds. All-in with
the A 7 of Spades, Chao flopped two spades
but couldn't get there against pocket
9's.
It
took Svetoslav Nechev (from Memphis?)
the longest to win a hand. His rush didn't
last long, however, as this wasn't a table
were limping in was allowed and he could
find very few hands to bet. When T J Cloutier
raised under the gun, it was time for
Nechev to make his last stand from the
big blind. Svetoslav called with the 10
9 of Spades and flopped a monster gut
shot straight flush draw that missed.
Cloutier's A J needed the Jack that came
on the end when Nechev made 10's on the
turn.
All
Final Tables have their own aura. It's
a mystery what happens sometimes. As soon
as it was announced that T J Cloutier
had passed Phil Hellmuth as the all-time
money winner at the WSOP, Cloutier quit
winning pots. Every hand failed. The capper
was a beauty. T J pounded a pot until
he was all-in. He'd flopped top pair with
A 8. Mike Majerus, who played almost every
hand for five hours, called from the small
blind all the way down. Mike flopped second
pair, 6's, with a 5 kicker and a backdoor
straight draw. When a 3 turned, for an
up and down straight draw, Mike was going
nowhere. With a 5 on the river, Mike Majerus
had two pair and knocked the all-time
money winner, who was now talking to himself,
out of this event. The great T J Cloutier
was 6th. Any two cards can win.
Not
all days are great days for great players.
Huck Seed was the only former world champion
in the money. He started the Final Table
third in chips and could never get going.
One had to raise early to get into pots
at this table, as almost every hand would
be raised and often three bet. That was
the case in the hand that destroyed Seed's
stack. David Chiu went to the river with
pocket 10's as an overpair to the board
and caught a 10 for 10's full. Huck disgustedly
mucked what probably was Aces or Kings
and was never a factor after that. It
was David Chiu that did the dirty. Huck
went all-in with his last 3k and A 5.
David had K J and flopped a King. The
great Huck Seed was shucked in fifth.
Jerry
Stensrud and David Chiu might have thought
this was just another day at the office.
Jerry is the high stakes host at the Commerce
Club in LA where David is a regular player.
They play big money together almost everyday.
High stakes experience doesn't always
translate into playable hands, however.
Jerry Stensrud doesn't play many hands
and with the blinds at $10,000/$15,000
it doesn't take long to head down. Stensrud
got crushed late by yet another Mike Majerus
hand. Nobody plays Q 8 offsuit more frequently
than Mike, and today was Mike's day. In
a 250k pot, Mike won with Queens. Soon
thereafter Stensrud was all-in from the
big blind with K 8 against Ram Vaswami's
K 6. With a rude 6 on the flop, Jerry's
day was over in 4th.
At
one time or the other at this table each
of the last four players took over the
chip lead, and each looked as if they
were on the way to the title. Just then
Mike Majerus would come up with one of
his funky hands and retake the lead. Ram
Vaswali was the next victim of the Majerus
magic. Vaswali nicknamed 'Crazy Horse'
found someone even crazier than he in
the person of Majerus. Under the circumstances,
Mike's call with 7 6 offsuit in the small
blind of Ram's raise was fairly normal
therefore uncharacteristic. Mike flopped
up and down when the board came 10 5 4.
Ram check raised when a 5 came on the
turn. Ram had A 5 and turned trips. No
worries! This was Mike's day and no one
could deny him. An 8 arrived on the river
as preordained. Ram was butted out right
after that with a failed flush draw in
3rd.
Mike
Majerus could be forgiven for thinking
that he was dreaming. After a marathon
16 hours in Event #1 where he finished
3rd, Mike may of thought he went to sleep
and dreamt that he won Event #2. The World
Class table that he beat probably thought
he was dreaming cards as well.
With
a 2-1 chip lead over a someone many consider
to be the best Limit Hold'em player in
the world in David Chiu, Mike Majerus
could not be stopped. The two men decided
on a partial save. Mike flopped a set
on the next hand and filled up. David
reluctantly called on the end, and it
was the end. Mike now had an 8-1 chip
lead. Fittingly Majerus put out the latest
WSOP Millionaire (a 2nd in this event)
with the worst hand. David had Q 6, Mike
8 6. Three outs are no problem for Majerus.
Bang came the 8 on the flop.
As
someone said afterward, "This is great
for poker. Mike winning." It gives hope
to anyone that plays the game. Until Friday,
Mike Majerus' biggest cash in a tournament
was $4,300. Yesterday he won $12,140.
Today he won $407,120. It was like a Sunday
golfer winning The Masters, beating Tiger
Woods and Phil Mickelson in the process.
There
was a lot of mumbling by the runners-up
about the cards that Mike played. But
those who have played with him often say
this is the way Mike always plays. He
didn't change his game. The game changed
him. Mike Majerus always believed that
'Any two cards can win.'
More
Super Satellite winners at the WSOP for
the $10,000 Final Event were: Phil Hawkins
(2nd), Steve Calhoun, Sam Sanusi, Mike
Laing, King Kelly, Jeff Han, Alan Boston,
Michael Davis, Jeannie Kim, Steve Kaufman,
Quoc Vinh, Jim Rubish, Jan Sjavik (2nd)
and Jeff Yoak (3rd).
Mike Paulle
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