LONG-TIME
LOWBALL PLAYER RON RYNEAL
CASHES IN AGAIN
"Have I been playing lowball for a
long time?" Ron "The Cobra" Ryneal repeated
after winning the Cal State 2003 lowball
event. "I invented it!" Ryneal's lowball
heyday was back in the 80s when Commerce
Casino had daily lowball tournaments.
"I would win or come in second or third
four times a week," he said.
Ryneal, CEO of a medical business, was
down nearly 2-1 in chips when he got heads-up.
It took him 97 hands, longer than all
the prior hands at the final table, to
take the lead and overcome a stubborn
real estate developer named Kort Abrahamson.
Interestingly, both players had been down
to a single chip earlier, Ryneal at about
the 11th table and Abrahamson at the third
table. Abrahmanson had posted his $100
chip in the big blind, stood pat with
a queen after the small blind took four,
won and went on from there.
There was a surprisingly large turnout
of 144 players for a game that has seen
better days. But lowball still remains
every tournament director's favorite because
the players are too old to cause trouble.
In fact, the only penalty ever given at
a lowball event was for drooling on the
table.
As an historical footnote, Vince Burgio
finished 16th tonight to squeak into the
money and continue his streak as the only
player to cash out every year since CSPC
was launched in 1993.
Only seven players made the final table
when one player went broke at each of
the second tables at the same time. At
one table, Bill Norman drew to an eight
and made it, but Abrahamson turned over
a six, while at the other table, Mike
Longo paired his ace and lost to Roberto
Flood's nine.
Blinds started at $1,000-$2,000, playing
for 2k-4k, with 17:50 remaining. In early
going, Flood, jeweler to the poker world,
was the most aggressive and successful.
"He's running over us," Bruce Coons complained
as Flood's stacks grew rapidly. Late in
his surge, Flood stood pat with a 9-8-7
and knocked out Bill Boston who drew one
and caught a 10.
With limits at $3,000-$6,000, the first
three-way pot developed on hand 14. After
drawing one, Allan "Calypso" Enciso tried
an all-in bluff bet with a paired six.
Marc Federman called with an 8-7-6 to
cut the field to five.
As play continued, Flood began to ebb.
Finally, on hand 23, he raised all in
for 6k and drew one to an 8-6-2-A Ryneal,
after also drawing one to 6-5-4-A said
"I paired." He paired his five, but Flood
paired his six, and the jewelry man cashed
out fifth.
When the next break arrived, Ryneal had
built up a lead of exactly $50,000, followed
by Abrahamson with $37,500, Federman with
$23,500; and Bruce Coons with just $4,500.
Limits were now $4,000-$8,000. Coons,
starting in the big blind, had picked
up a $500 chip in the race-off, and decided
to keep his $1,000 and hope for a better
hand after Federman raised. He survived
in the small blind by making a better
nine than Federman, and then escaped again
on the next hand. But when he went all
in for the fourth time in a row, it was
his last. He raised all in for 6k, drew
to a 6-5-4-3 and paired his six while
Ryneal drew to a 10 and made it.
On hand 46, it was Federman's turn to
go all in, putting up his last $1,500
in the small blind, squeaking by with
a K-9 to Abrahamson's K-10. "You didn't
even help me," Abrahamson complained after
Ryneal declined to get involved. "Just
watching you do your job, Ryneal replied.
Abrahamson "did his job" two hands later.
He raised and Federman called from the
button, all in for $4,000. Both players
took one card. Abrahamson drew to a 7-5-3-A
and caught a nine. Federman was dealt
a queen, and after 48 hands the tournament
was heads-up with Abrahamson holding a
chip lead of roughly $75,000 to Ryneal's
$40,000.
Abrahamson
initially had it all his way, driving
Ryneal down to about 18k. But then Ryneal
picked up several pots in a row by beating
Abrahamson or getting him to fold. Finally,
a pot built after being three-bet before
and after the draw. Ryneal took the lead
when he made an 8-7 to beat Abrahamson's
pat nine.
The battle continued for another 34 hands
as Abrahamson repeatedly went all in and
came out alive. "Again? You son of a gun,"
Ryneal said as Abrahamson made his fourth
escape with a pat eight.
Hand
97 ended it. Abrahamson went all in when
the pot was capped. He drew one to an
A-3-5-7 and caught a lady, while Ryneal
finally put him away by taking one to
an 8-7-6-5 and catching a four.
-- by Max Shapiro
|
