Event
#6
Asher Derei, a former restaurant owner
turned pro poker player, won the $500
buy-in Seven-Card Stud High-Low Split
event at the 2003 World Poker Open. Derei
initially sat down to an unappetizing
chip disadvantage of nearly 4 to 1 to
chip leader, Hossein Shahrezay. In an
intense three-hour finale, Derei survived
through the main course and consistently
chomped away until he had every single
$1000 chip on his plate. Derei, who barely
missed winning the No-Limit Holdem event
days earlier, got his just desserts with
his first gold bracelet. The final tab
came to $42,348.
Limits
started at $2K-$4K, with $500 antes. Play
was extremely cautious in the early stages.
Steve Jankovic, sensing he could take
advantage of the situation, became the
early aggressor. His stack doubled from
$25K to over 50K in the first hour, with
several bets and raises that caused his
opponents to fold.
The
first significant hand of the night occurred
when Virginian Charles Huffines was dealt
(2-4) A on the first three cards. However,
he caught Q-J-J (5) on successive rounds
and failed to complete his low-draw. He
ended up stuck with a vulnerable pair
of jacks for high. Scott O'Bryan made
two pair, which put Huffines out in 8th
place with $2,404.
Defending
champion Paul Clements, from Wisconsin,
survived one all-in but was knocked out
the second time he tempted fate. Low on
chips and desperate to scoop a pot, Clements
went all-in with (Q-4) A-3-10-2 with one
still card to come. He missed his draw
to a wheel, while Steve Jankovic made
two pair. Clements collected $3,434 for
7th place. He has now made two final table
the last two years in this event.
It
was a devastating final table for Hossein
Shahrezay, who came into Day Two with
a sizable chip lead. The horror show started
when Shahrezay missed a draw and lost
a massive pot to Scott O'Bryan.
The
final chapter in Shahrezay's nightmare
came when he was dealt (2-3) 7-9-5-Q (J)
which lost to Tom Baylor's pair of aces.
The last two high cards were the final
blow to Shahrezay, who finished a disappointing
6th. Shahrezay, who recently took second
place in this event at the Bellagio Five
Diamond Classic, earned $4,578 in prize
money.
A
short time later, Scott O'Bryan won a
big pot, which left the five finalists
about even in chips. It was anyone's tournament
to win at this point. With the limits
increased to $3K-$6K, all it took was
one hand to completely alter the chip
positions. This translated into very cautious
play amongst the competitors.
Unfortunately,
Scott O'Bryan ran card-cold at the worst
possible time. He failed to win a pot
in his last 20 minutes at the table. O'Bryan
made his final stand with (3-4) 3-10-10-6
(7), which amounted to two pair. He lost
to Tom Baylor's (8-8) J-K-8-3 (10). O'Bryan,
who finished second in the championship
event at the 2001 World Poker Open added
yet another final table appearance to
his impessive resume of tournament finishes.
He received $5,723 for 5th place.
Tom
Baylor sat quietly during most of the
final table. He put himself in a position
to seize the chip lead at one point when
he was dealt (2-3) 4-6-2-4 on sixth street.
However, he missed everything -- the low,
the straight, and the full house when
he caught an ugly brick on the final card,
ultimately losing the monster pot to Steve
Jankovic.
Then,
Asher Derei started to make his move.
First, he roasted Judy Ingram on a key
hand. Short-stacked, Ingram was then forced
to commit her chips when she was dealt
(4-J) A-3-3-K (9) which lost to Derei's
(5-6) 10-2-4-8 (8). Ingram, who now lives
in Austin, Texas and once played poker
regularly against lumberjacks in Oregon,
finished in 4th place and collected $6,868.
Amazingly, Ingram has finished in the
money in each of the last four years in
this event.
Tom
Baylor's patience paid off. He inched
up one place into the money when Ingram
was eliminated, but went out a short time
later with (6-7) 9-J-5-J (Q) versus Derei's
(A-2) Q-K-2-6 (K). Derei's two-pair won
the pot which meant a 3rd place finish
for Tom Baylor, who is a cattle rancher
in West Texas. He received $10,874.
When
heads-up play began, the chips counts
stood as follows:
Steve Jankovic -- $110K
Asher Derei -- $80K
Five
minutes later, Derei drew even in chips.
Ten minutes later, Derei led $110K to
$80K. Fifteen minutes later, Derei had
a 2-1 chip advantage. Tweny minutes later,
Jankovic was down to his la $25K and Derei
was on the verge of being a poker champion.
In a stunning rush of good cards and scary
boards, Derei won 7 of the first 8 hands
against Jankovic, which amounted to a
full frontal assualt on his opponent.
Jankovic could only watch hopelessly,
and pray for the deck to reverse itself.
It
wouldn't happen. The last hand of the
night was dealt when Jankovic started
off with (A-Q) K. However, Derei had an
even better high hand: (K-7) K. The final
cards for both players showed as follows:
Steve Jankovic -- (A-Q) K-Q-10-10 (6)
Asher Derei -- (K-7) K-9-4-6 (7)
Jankovic made Qs and 10s. But Derei caught
a seven on the final card to make a higher
two-pair, Ks and 7s, and the tournament
was over. Steve Jankovic, a former pool
hustler who now plays poker, took 2nd
place and $21,747.
The
winner, Asher Derei, is a native of Israel.
He now lives in Southern California and
is a popular player amongst his peers
on the poker tournament circuit. This
was his first victory at the World Poker
Open.
-- by Nolan Dalla
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