Event
#7
The "Cat" Has Nine Lives
In what was arguably the most exciting
final table in World Poker Open history,
John "the Cat" Trudeau survived nine all-in
hands and pulled off a staggering comeback
to win the Pot-Limit Texas Holdem event.
Trudeau arrived at the final table with
a meager $8K and was outchipped by Joe
Rutledge and Chuck Thompson by a 10-to-1
margin. But "the Cat" used each of his
nine lives and won $66,392 in one of the
most stunning displays of tournament poker
ever recorded.
Trudeau's
first all-in situation came just three
hands into the tournament. His A-K held
up to split a pot, giving him life. John
Womack would not be so fortunate. He was
dealt A-Q of clubs and raised the pot
enough to go all-in. Joe Rutledge called
with 6-6. Womack faield to hit a pair,
which meant a 9th place finish for the
former government attorney from Florida.
It was Womack's second final table at
this year's World Poker Open. He collected
$2,871.
On
the next hand, a bit of drama unfolded
when defending World Poker Open Champion,
Humberto Brenes, got into a pre-flop raising
war with Roger Easterday. When Easterday
revealed J-J, Humberto jokingly lambasted
his opponent for moving all-in with such
a "weak hand." Brenes then smiled to the
crowd and turned over an identical J-J.
Another split pot.
A
short time later, "the Cat's" second life
was spent when he went all-in with A-K
and flopped a life-saving king against
Billy Swords, taking down a $20K pot.
Then, Roger Easterday, a Las Vegas attorney,
moved all-in with 8-8 and was called immediately
by Joel Harwood with J-J. The flop came
Q-7-7-7-6, giving Harwood a higher full
house. Easterday's motion to stay at the
final table was denied, and he received
$3,589 for 8th place.
The
third all-in for "the Cat" came when he
raised all-in before the flop and no one
called. Then, Humberto Brenes got into
some trouble when he lost a big pot to
Jimmy Doolittle. Brenes was aggressor
during most of the first hour, as his
chip position wavered wildly between $10K
and $40K. However, despite his fierce
reputation, Brenes was never a serious
threat to seize the chip lead at any point.
Brenes' final hand of the night occured
when he went all-in with A-K versus Billy
Swords' 7-7. The pair of 7s survived and
Costa Rican Brenes, who is currently the
all-time leading money winner in World
Poker Open history, added $4,486 to his
tournament winnings.
Joel
Harwood was next to go out. Low on chips,
Harwood made his final stand with A-7
of diamonds, but found himself dominated
by Joe Rutledge's A-J. When a jack fell
on the flop without any diamonds, Harwood's
fate was sealed and he soon went out in
6th place. Harwood, who is a semi-pro
gamesman who excels at bridge, backgammon,
and poker, received $6,281.
One
would think that the player in Seat 8
at the final table, Jimmy Doolittle, would
be a pilot. The truth is -- Doolittle
lives on a sailboat. In his first time
to ever play in a pot-limit tournament,
Doolittle outfoxed 365 entrants and ended
up in 5th place. Doolittle's final hand
came when he went all-in with Q-10 after
the flop came with a 10-high. Unfortunately,
Trudeau was hiding in the jungle with
K-K. He beat Doolittle into the pot with
his chips, and won -- which meant Doolittle
crashed and burned in 5th place. Nevertheless,
the talented Texan who lives on the ocean,
received $8,075 for 5th place.
One
of the crowd favorites was Billy Swords,
from Alabama. Swords survived three all-ins,
but his luck finally ran out when he took
Q-J up against Joe Rutledge's K-7 of diamonds.
Swords could catch neither a queen nor
a jack, and was cut out of the final table
picture in 4th place, good for $10,767.
Swords, who plays poker primarily in Biloxi-Gulport
and New Orleans, should be proud of his
performance.
The
three finalists dueled for over 90 minutes.
Initially, it looked as if chip-leader
Rutledge might run away with the tournament.
He dominated play during much of the final
table, consistently keeping his opponents
off-balance with numerous raises and re-raises.
However, a key hand came when "the Cat"
used up another of his nine lives when
he took A-Q up against Rutledge's K-Q.
Both players caught a queen on the flop,
but Trudeau's ace was the better kicker.
That
hand prompted some good-natured verbal
jousting by the finalists. Rutledge asked
Trudeau "where" he was from. Trudeau replied
that he lives right here in Robinsonville,
Mississippi. Trudeau added that he was
actually born in Michigan. "Oh, so you're
a Yankee!" Rutledge barked. "No, I'm an
Indian," replied Trudeau proudly. "That
has nothing to do with being a Yankee!"
The
next key hand of the tournament occured
when "the Cat" was dealt A-K against Rutledge's
7-7. After the board showed K-8-2-6-6,
all Rutledge could do was shake his head
and watch Trudeau as he reached for the
pot and moved into second chip position.
The most enigmatic figure at the final
table was veteran tournament pro, Chuck
Thompson. He came to the final table with
a slight chip-lead but sat powerless during
most of the first three hours and failed
to make a major move. Thompson later said
he kept waiting for the right time to
come over the top of the hyper-aggressive
Rutledge. But each time Rutledge made
a large bet, Thompson couldn't catch a
hand worth betting. The best bluff of
the final table took place when Thompson
squared off against Rutledge. Thompson
was dealt K-5 in the blind. Rutledge bet
$32K into a final board that showed J-J-10-5-K
and Thompson thought for a long time,
then threw finally his hand away. Rutledge
then showed 6-7, wich amounted to a stone-cold
bluff. It was a masterful play.
But
Rutledge couldn't fool the Cat. After
Thompson doubled-up on a big hand to get
back to $100K in chips, Trudeau's 8th
all-in occured when he was dealt 5-5 against
Rutledge's A-K. When a 5 flopped, that
gave Trudeau a set of fives and a huge
pot. Amazingly -- Trudeau, Thompson, and
Rutledge were now about even in chips.
Sensing
that the tournament was slipping away,
Rutledge tried to steal by moving over
the top of Trudeau after he made a $21K
pre-flop raise. Rutledge re-raised and
both players pushed their stacks into
the pot. For the Texan, it was a case
of bad timing. Rutledge had K-9, and was
at a sizable disadvantage to Trudeau's
10-10. The flop came 10-2-8-J-6, which
meant Rutledge was out in 3rd place. The
crowd roared and all Rutledge could do
was stare at the table in stunned disbelief.
Rutledge, a softball coach and well-respected
pot-limit specialist, received $17,048.
With
his expression masked by mirrored-glasses
and a straw hat, no one could see Trudeau's
reaction when Chuck Thompson decided to
move all-in with 3-3. It must have been
a smile. Trudeau jammed the pot with every
chip in front of him and rolled over what
might as well have been a sledgehammer.
Pocket aces. All Thompson could do was
pray for a trey to save him from extinction.
When the board was dealt, an ace fell
on the turn, making Trudeau's staggering
comeback complete. Chuck Thompson, representing
the Bay 101 Casino in San Jose, California
collected $34,096 for 2nd place.
On
this night, there was no stopping the
winner, John "the Cat" Trudeau. He stalked
his prey and ultimately received $66,392
in cash, winning his first World Poker
Open Championship. The lion had roared.
-- by Nolan Dalla
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