Schulze
in Close Stud Win
The
final table of Big Poker Oktober’s
fifth event, 7-card stud hi-lo, pretty
much came down to a two-man show. John
Henson, son of veteran player Bill Henson,
knocked out most of the players and picked
up pots with aggressive raising, tripling
up in five hands from $35,000 to $104,000.
Meanwhile, Patrick Schulze, a part-time
player, arrived with the second-highest
chip count and zoomed into a lead of close
to 3-1 over Henson when he beat him in
one huge pot. But then Henson continued
his aggressive play, and when it got heads-up,
he had nearly caught up. Schulze had a
slight lead, 171k to Henson’s 160k,
just one small bet difference, and they
did a 50-50 chop.
Like
all the prior $50 events, this was another
quickie that went only 19 hands, even
without a multi-way chop. The final table
started with $1,000 antes, $2,000 low-card
bring-in and limits of $6,000-$12,000.
George Shahrezay had the most chips, $85,000,
while Schulze was close behind with $74,000.
The
second hand was the pot of the night.
First, Henson, with (9-4)9, raised. Michael
Cheng, with only $3,000 left, went all
in with split 10s. Tom Zheng, Schulze
and “Gigi” all called for five-way
action. On fourth street, Zheng, who had
(K-Q)K-5, bet his kings. Gigi, showing
6-J, raised, Zheng put in his last $1,000
chip and Schulze and Henson called. On
fifth street, Schulze showed a scary board
of 4s-2s-As, while Zheng caught a second
five for kings-up and Henson caught a
second four for nines-up. Schulze bet,
Gigi folded and Henson, the only other
player with chips, called. On sixth street,
Schulze caught a six, showing 4-2-A-6.
Zheung was dealt a third five for fives-full,
while Henson snagged a third nine for
nines-full.
Cheng
was dead with his two 10s and finished
eighth, collecting $365. Zheng’s
only out was another king (his fourth
five was out) to beat Henson’s full
house. It didn’t come and he collected
$550 for seventh. Schulze had a 6-4 low
and split with Henson, who had raised
all in on the river.
Two
hands later, Gigi, playing stud/8 for
only the second time, was all in after
starting with (3-4)A. She let out a shriek
when she scooped with a seven-low and
two fours. Meanwhile, Henson, who had
won the third hand, also took in the fifth
to grab the lead. After nine hands the
limits went to $10,000-$20,000, with $2,000
antes and a $3,000 bring-in.
Hand
11 saw a big transfer of chips. Henson
raised with a door-card ace and Schulze,
with a trey, re-raised to 30k. On fourth
street, Henson caught a seven and bet,
and Schulze raised with a four. Fifth
street was checked when both caught bricks.
Schulze bet sixth street when he caught
an ace and Henson folded. Schulze now
had about 166k to Henson’s 60k.
Gigi
departed on hand 14, collecting $730.
She bet all in with pocket eights on fourth
street and ended up with an 8-6-5 low.
Henson called with just ace-high, paired
his ace and scooped with an 8-6-4 low.
George Shahrezay departed two hands later,
finishing fifth for $915. Starting with
(2-3)2 he made nothing more, while Henson,
playing terminator again, made a king-high
straight.
Hung
Nguyen, short-chipped, objected to a proposed
chop and lasted one more hand, along with
Eric Hamilton. Hamilton immediately went
all in with pocket kings, and Nguyen went
all in on fifth street with four cards
to a low. He missed and collected $1,740
for third place. Hamilton didn’t
help his kings and finished fourth for
$1,100 as Henson scooped with eights and
fours and an eight low. First place paid
$6,865, second $3,475, and Schulze and
Henson made their chop deal.
BIOGRAPHY
Patrick Schulze divides his time between
selling cars and playing poker, but finds
playing poker a lot easier. He’s
been playing poker for many years, and
seriously only since 1996. He’s had
tournament wins at the Commerce and at
Legends, but his last victory was a long
22 months ago, at Crystal Park, also in
7-stud hi-lo, which is his game of choice.
He’s planning to play more hold’em
however, because it offers bigger prize
pools. In side games, he likes to play
$10-$20 or $20-$40, though he’s had
to drop a bit lower of late.
Schulze
said he was in trouble tonight in the
early rounds with nothing to play, then
got going when he scooped a big pot with
aces-up at the three-table level. He describes
his style of play as passive-selective.
“I don’t believe in ramming-jamming,”
he said. “There’s no reason
to play unless you have a hand.”
Max Shapiro
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