SANTOS
MAKES SHOWDOWN HAND
STRAIGHT TO GET WIN
Question:
How is it possible for two final players
in a limit hold'em tournament to both
go all in before the flop when bets are
only $1,500 and there is $111,500 in play
and then have the player with the fewer
chips going in declared the winner of
the event? Well, it's a bit complicated,
but when Dan Bakker got heads-up with
Richard Santos, he had a chip lead of
roughly $20,000. The two then agreed on
a deal whereby Santos was to get the trophy
and Bakker the larger share of prize money.
However, tournament director David Lamb
insisted on following the rules whereby
the official winner of a tournament had
to have the most chips when it ended.
So
the two pushed in their stacks and played
one hand of showdown. The script came
out right. Santos had only 9-8 to Bakker's
A-3, but made a straight when the board
came A-7-2-10-6. Got it now? Santos is
a billing manager for a nursing company
in Fremont, California who won the San
Francisco Open limit hold'em championship
and came in 12th in the inaugural Tournament
of Champions event. Bakker is a pro from
Hot Springs, Arkansas.
The final table of the fourth event of
the 4 Queens Poker Classic got underway
when "Syracuse Chris" Tsiprailidis knocked
out Jimmy Tran by catching a river trey
to his 10-3 against Tran's K-8. Chris
arrived with nearly a third of the chips
in play. Limits were $800-$1,600 with
7:16 left.
Final Table Chip
Count
Anthony
Moss: $11,600
N. C. Taitano $9,700
Richard Santos: $11,800
Rit Ratford $8,300
Daniel Mui $18,900
Peter Costa $7,000
Dan Bakker $8,200
Hal Kirkpatrick $2,800
Chris Tsiprailidis $33,200
Hal Kirkpatrick, a retired salesman, departed
on hand 5. In the small blind, he raised
all in for $400 more with pocket 8s. N.C.
"Tai" Taitano called with K-J suited and
took the chips when a king turned. Then,
with limits upped to $1,000-$2,000, Mississippi
poker player Richard "Rit" Ratford was
in the big blind with pocket 6s. He called
when Santos, in the small blind, tried
a steal raise with 10-3. But Rit got bit
when two more treys flopped, and after
several bets and raises, he lost his last
chips.
Soon after, on hand 20, Taitano also went
broke with two 6s when Bakker, holding
A-7 in the small blind, flopped an ace.
Two hands later, Anthony Moss, retired
from the casino business, retired from
the tournament. He held J-10 in the small
blind and kept pushing it when a flop
of Q-9-7 gave him an open-end straight
draw. Santos kept stubbornly calling,
he later said, only because Moss was in
the blind. The straight never came and
Santos left him in sixth place when he
hit a river ace.
Syracuse Chris' big lead, meanwhile, was
rapidly evaporating. He was hurt badly
when he re-raised on a board of Q-10-8-K
and then gave it up when Santos four-bet
it and then showed a set of queens. Later,
Santos tried some psychology on telecommunications
technician Daniel Mui. When an ace came
on fourth street, he bet out quickly (too
quickly?) and advised Mui to "save your
chips." But Daniel was the one with the
bullet (A-5) and he outran Santos' pocket
5s.
Two hands later, Chris, first to act,
went all in with his last few chips. Santos
called with A-Q and Mui button-called
with J-5 suited. The standard drill is
for the players with chips to check it
down, but Mui bet out on a flop of 10-5-2.
"Why you bet?" Santos complained. Mui
may have bet because the main pot was
much larger than the side pot and he didn't
want his 5s outrun. Whatever the reason,
Tsiprailidis expressed his displeasure
at the coaching comment quite vocally.
At the showdown, he knew he was beat and
threw his cards in even before Mui turned
up his winner.
A few hands later, Mui was left with only
$2,000 when Bakker turned his 7-5 into
a full house after the board came A-7-7-9-9.
On the next hand he was on the button
and went all in with Q-9 of spades. Santos,
with A-K, won easily when the board came
A-J-6-3-2.
Two hands later, the tournament neared
its end when Peter "The Poet" Costa departed.
The Englishman has a fearsome resume,
with more than 230 tournament wins including
victories at the Bellagio, L.A. Poker
Classic and the championship event at
this year's Hall of Fame. Starting second-lowest
in chips at the final table, he had lasted
this far. He finally went all in as a
2-1 favorite with A-9 against Baaker's
A-5. But a 5 came on the turn to break
him and make the tournament two-handed.
Bakker had about $65,000 to Santos' $46,000.
They negotiated a deal and agreed to a
showdown hand to determine the chip leader
and official winner. Santos took the title
with his straight, Baaker got the most
money, and everybody was happy.
Max Shapiro
|
