DAVID
'THE DRAGON' EATS
UP FIELD IN POT-LIMIT HOLD'EM
David "The Dragon" Pham arrived at
the final table with the chip lead, kept
the pressure on throughout and scored
a convincing win in the 15th event of
4 Queens Poker Classic 2002, $1,000 pot-limit
hold'em. Just a few weeks ago Pham won
the best all-around (and a Mercedes SUV)
at the Bicycle Casino's Legends of Poker.
His final opponent was An "The Boss" Tran,
winner of the eighth event, $500 no-limit
hold'em. When they got heads-up, David
had $48,900 to An Tran's $43,000, and
they agreed to a deal.
Ten
started the final table though only nine
were paid. Technically (and barely) making
his third consecutive final was Tony Cousineau.
He ended on the bubble by raising from
the small blind with A-4 and betting all
in for $550 on a Q-J-J flop. An Tran had
called with 3-3 and that won.
Chip
Position, Final Table
Seat
Player Chip
Count
1.
Sandy Ellefson $4,225
2. John Juanda $9,825
3. Jaime Ateneloff $4,200
4. Bob Slezak $16,825
5. Joe Belofsky $13,725
6. David Pham $22,825
7. Ken Flaton $4,625
8. Eric Holum $4,200
9. An Tran $11,450
The
real final table started with $150-$300
blinds, 13:25 remaining, with Pham leading
with $22,825. On the third hand, Joe Belofsky
raised with 8-8, Eric Holum re-raised
with K-K, then went all in for $50 on
the flop and survived. First out, on the
11th hand, was Jaime Ateneloff, the Uruguayan
making his second consecutive final table.
He raised $600 with pocket deuces. An
Tran, with pocket 6s, called and put him
all in on the flop. The board came K-K-7-A-10,
and eight were left.
Ken Flaton, one of the short-chipped starters,
called all in on the button with A-8 of
diamonds on hand 18 when David Pham raised
$600. The Boss also called with K-Q of
spades, bet out when two spades flopped
and then made a flush to send Skyhawk
fluttering off. Five hands later, just
as the dinner break bell rang, the formidable
John Juanda went out. Pham, who had been
maintaining his chip lead with aggressive
raising, pumped it up with pocket 10s.
Juanda, with pocket 9s, then moved in.
The board came A-7-3-Q-3, and Pham went
to dinner with a big lead of $38,700.
An Tran was second with $23,300, with
the rest grouped in the $6,000-$9,000
range.
Sandy and Ross Ellefson are husband-and-wife
poker players (he finished ninth in the
$500 no-limit hold'em event) who taught
each other how to play. Tonight she finished
sixth, again holding the bad-luck 9s.
Immediately after the break, she moved
all in with a $4,000 raise after Pham,
with pocket kings, flopped a set. Dave
the Dragon breathed fire by making quads
on the turn, and Sandy, one might say,
was drawing rather dead.
Those pesky 9s continued to be a jinx.
Bob Slezak held them against an all-in
Belofsky, an artist who was making his
15th final table this year. Joe had pocket
5s and escaped by flopping a third one.
A bit later, Slezak, a management consultant
who holds a bracelet in $2,500 Omaha 8
or better, re-raised Pham and went all
in with K-Q. "Ace is good," he said as
David turned up A-9. "Ace is not good,
he corrected himself when a king came
on the river to rescue him.
On hand number 50, right after blinds
went to $300-$600, Eric Holum, holding
K-Q, went all in against Pham, who had
10-4 of diamonds. A flop of J-8-4 with
one diamond gave David two 4s, though
Eric still had six outs. Two of them disappeared
when an ace of diamonds turned, though
he also picked up a straight draw. The
river was a king, but it was the king
of diamonds, and now the tournament was
down to four players.
Only two more hands went by before Joe
the artist went out when he couldn't draw.
The pot was three-bet before the flop
and Belofsky, in the big blind, went all
in. He had A-Q offsuit and An Tran had
K-Q of hearts. When the board came J-9-6-K
to give The Boss a pair of kings, Joe
was dead to an ace, or to a 10, which
would have given him a straight. He couldn't
draw either. A 5 came on the river, and
the field was cut to the final three.
And only two more hands after that,
it was all over. Before the flop, An Tran
made it $1,800 to go with K-9 of hearts
and Slezak re-raised with K-J of clubs.
The flop was J-9-3 with two hearts. An
Tran bet and put Slezak all in. Interestingly,
even though Bob had the lead with a pair
of jacks, An Tran was still a considerable
favorite. One million random hands dealt
off on Mike Caro's Poker Probe showed
that An Tran was a 54.25 to 45.75 favorite.
Sure enough, a 5 of hearts turned to give
him a flush, and another heart came on
the river for good measure.
A
chip count was taken. The Dragon led The
Boss by $5,900, and they quickly accepted
a deal.
Max Shapiro
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