Filmmaker
Wins Stud/8
Screenwriter/filmmaker/Internet producer
Marshall Ragir has many titles. Tonight
he added tournament winner to his resume
when he took down the 12th event of Legends
of Poker 2003, 7-card stud hi-lo, in an
epic final-table struggle that lasted
3-1/2 hours.
He held the lead much of the evening and
enjoyed about a 5-1 advantage when he
got heads up with Martin Corpuz. But then
Corpuz started coming on strong, and when
he was within 8k of catching up, Ragir
agreed to an even-money chop so he could
nail down the win. Corpuz, a formidable
foe, made five final tables at Hustler
Casino’s recent Grand Slam of Poker,
along with a win in 7-stud.
With four players left, the tournament
became a contest between the haves and
the have-nots. While Ragir and Corpuz
wrestled for the lead, Tony Nguyen and
Scotty Warbucks just tried to stay alive.
Warbucks (who switches back and forth
between that moniker and Charlie Shoten,
depending on the phase of the moon) in
particular survived all-in encounters
eight times before finishing third.
The final table was set after Brett Jungblut
missed his low draw and ended up with
deuces while Leo Alvarez made 10s and
a low. Jungblut is a member of a young
cartel of poker players who room together,
bankroll together and call themselves
“The Crew.” He and fellow crewman
Joe Bartholdi finished one-two in a Grand
Slam limit hold’em event last month.
The eight finalists started with $200
antes, a $300 low card bring-in and 1-2k
limits. Dr. Frank Rite began with the
most anemic chip count and couldn’t
find a tonic. On hand six he had four
cards to a 6-4, but hit three paints and
went broke against poker player Mike Krescanko’s
aces-up.
Hand 13 was a lucky one for Ragir. In
three-way action, Krescanko turned up
what he thought might be a scoop hand:
two pair and a 7-6. But Ragir, with a
set of sevens and a 7-5 low, took it all
along with a chip lead of about 36k. Hon
Le finished seventh. The wild and fearless
Kamikaze Kid jumped all in with split
eights. Chattering away and calling for
cards, he missed everything as Krescanko
scooped with aces. With $200 antes, a
$400 bring-in and $1,500-$3,000 limits,
Alvarez, all in, thought he had the high
end with aces. “What?” he exclaimed,
as Corpuz turned up three babies for a
wheel.
As play dragged on, Warbucks kept going
all in, picking up a chip here and there.
“At this rate I’ll be the leader
in three hours,” he cracked. “Don’t
you guys ever miss?” Ragir asked
as Warbucks escaped a sixth time. It wasn’t
until well into the next level, with 2-4k
limits, that another player broke. Krescanco
had split sevens and a low draw and caught
a third seven, but Corpuz, starting with
(A-K)A, picked up a third bullet on sixth
street. Ragir, meanwhile, had accumulated
about $55,000 of the $129,000 in play.
Nguyen,
who had been in decent chip position,
now lost several hands, the most frustrating
when he missed draws to a flush and straight.
He went broke when he missed a draw to
a straight six and was chopped up by Ragir
and Corpuz.
Warbucks
himself was now down to about 9k, compared
to about 70 for Ragir and 50k for Corpuz.
Warbucks announced his strategy: “Let
them knock each other out.” It worked
for about 15 hands until Warbucks, trying
for low, made two kings but bowed out
when Ragir hit a third deuce.
Ragir
now had 107k to Corpuz’s 22k, but
by hand 103, after Corpuz won with two
pair, they were close enough to call it
even and let Ragir take the title.
BIOGRAPHY
Marshall Ragir was a studio screenplay
and TV writer years ago and then did film
clips for live TV shows such as Bob Hope
specials and the Golden Globe awards.
A poker player since he was 12, he prefers
mixed games, either Omaha or 7-stud/8.
Final tables include the World Series,
Hall of Fame, Rio and Commerce’s
Cal State, along with a no-limit cash-out
in Costa Rica. But this is his first tournament
win, not counting the Card Player tag-team
victory at last year’s Legends. “I
give Max Shapiro and his brilliant play
all the credit for that win,” he
said candidly.
Ragir, who divides
his playing time between tournaments and
$40-$80 side games, describes his style
as “aggressive and unpredictable.”
Tonight, he hit some hands early, then
had a long dry spell until a turning-point
hand when he made a flush and low against
Scotty Nguyen to go from average to well
above.
Max Shapiro
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