SHARBEL
KORMI HAS SOLID
WIN IN POT-LIMIT OMAHA
Sharbel
Kormi, who retired 15 years ago as the
owner of a restaurant and snooker club
to pursue the more satisfying pursuit
of full-time poker, finished first in
the seventh event of the 2003 St. Maarten
Open, $500 pot-limit Omaha. He started
as chip leader and was never in trouble
as he coasted to a win. Kormi has a victory
in pot-limit hold'em at the Reno-Hilton
and has also won some small events in
his native England.
With
three players left, Sharbel held $65,000
of the $146,000 in play. Michel Leibgorin
had $45,000 and took second, while Bernie
Rygol, with $36,000, finished third. Leibgorin,
who was also in strong position throughout
the tournament, lives in Paris and described
his occupation as the "shmatte business"
(that's the apparel trade for the rest
of you). Rygol is a poker player who was
vice world champion in pot-limit hold'em
this year.
The
final table got underway playing with
blinds of $200-$400. Three players were
making their second final table of the
day. Marcel Luske, Fari Badimansour and
Graeme "Kiwi" Putt were also
at the final table of the two-day no-limit
event which got underway at 3 p.m. and
conveniently ended at 6 p.m., just in
time for pot-limit Omaha.
There
was a double knockout on the first hand.
Two players were seriously short-chipped.
"Kiwi," the retired Australian
dairy farmer, had $2,100, while France's
Robert Kojfer had $4,200, and both busted
out Kojfer raised all in from the button.
Kiwi and Badimansour both called. The
board was dealt: J-10-8-9-9. Kojfer had
A-A-8-4 and didn't help. Kiwi had A-Q-J-10
and made a queen-high straight. But Badimansour,.
with K-Q-7-7, had the king-high nut straight
and took all the marbles.
Marcel
Luske, the genial host for this tournament
series, wasn't too rich himself with $5,600,
but he managed to hang on for a while,
going all in and escaping three times.
The first time he started with Q-J-10-5
and made a straight to beat Kormi's two
aces. The second time he started with
aces and caught a third one to beat Badimansour.
The third time, with blinds now at $300-$600,
he beat Rygol. Finally, on hand 19, Kormi
cut him off by starting with A-7-6-4 and
making trip fours when two fours hit the
board.
As
play continued, two players went all in
on consecutive hands, each time making
a wheel to survive. The first time, David
Alimi made the wheel. The next time it
was Rygol. Blinds moved up to $400-$800
on hand 40, and one hand later Alimi,
a Parisian artist, got the brush. Rygol
started with K-K-7-2 and flopped four
kings. He checked the flop and called
Alimi's $3,000 bet. He checked the turn
and then bet $5,000 on the river to put
Alimi all in and all out.
By
hand 49, Leibgorin had taken the lead.
Then, with a flop of 7-4-3, he bet $11,200
holding A-K-10-4. Kormi moved in for $19,500
with a set of fours and moved back into
the lead when Leibgorin called.
When
the blinds were kicked up to $600-$1,200
13 hands later, the chip count was: Kormi,
$53,000; Leibgorin, $45,000; Rygol, $23,200;
John Burberry, $18,400; Benjamin Hannuna,
$3,700; and Badimansour, $3,000.
Badimansour,
a pro from Britain, immediately lost his
small stack. On the first hand, he moved
in from the small blind with A-A-10-2.
Kormi called with 9-7-6-4 and two hearts
and made a flush when the flop came A-9-8
with one heart, followed by two more hearts
on fourth and fifth street.
Another
six hands went by, and then Burberry,
a former dealer living in Bracknell, UK,
ended up in fifth place. With the flop
showing K-9-5, Leibgorin bet $3,000, and
Burberry raised all in for $11,100. He
held 9-8-7-5 and had made two pair. Leibgorin,
with Q-J-10-7, had a wraparound straight
draw. A jack on the river gave him the
winning straight, and now four players
were left.
Rygol
found himself in peril several times.
On hand 84, Leibgorin made it$10,000 to
go from the small blind with A-K-Q-Q and
Rygol called with J-10-10-9. He bet all
in for $1,800 when the flop came J-7-7-,
then caught an eight for a straight to
build his chip count back to about $25,000.
Three
hands later, Hannuna, a Paris journalist,
was badly short-chipped in the big blind
and went all in for $5,200 holding 9-8-8-5
and two spades. A third spade hit the
turn, but his flush was no good because
Kormi, holding A-A-K-6 with a suited ace,
had made the nut flush.
The
blinds now crept up to $800-$1,600, and
the three remaining players began talking
deal. Rygol made a request for a certain
amount which Kormi felt excessive.
"Maybe
you're tired," Rygol suggested.
"I'm
a veteran. I've been through a lot of
battles," Kormi replied. "Let's
play."
Play
they did, but only for only three more
hands. After back-and-forth offers, they
finally reached an agreement, made a deal
and the tournament was over.
-- by Max Shapiro
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