Professor
Kaufman Gives Omaha Lesson,
at a Cost of $1,000 Per Student
Of
the many thousands of poker players, both
pro and amateur, who regularly enter tournaments,
Dr. Steve Kaufman is easily one of the
most accomplished and interesting individuals
in the game. The college professor and
rabbi from Cincinnati has earned just
as many accolades (if not more) away from
the game, as at the poker table. But with
each tournament victory, that is slowly
changing. Kaufman won $48,733 and his
first gold and diamond bracelet at the
2004 Jack Binion World Poker Open. 140
“students” of the game paid $1,000 each
in tuition, and it was the college professor
who ended up teaching everyone an expensive
lesson in how Omaha High-Low is played.
When
play started on Day Two, no one could
have possibly foreseen Kaufman staging
such a dramatic comeback at the final
table -- which clocked in at 6 hours and
40 minutes, the longest duration of any
tournament thus far at this year's JBWPO.
Kaufman came into the finale with a paltry
$8,500 in chips, eighth amongst the nine
remaining players. Then, he busted over
half of his opponents and ended up as
the winner.
Limits
were $1K-2K when play began on Day Two.
Bert Pernikoff came to the final table
with a single chip ($1K) and managed to
survive three "all-ins" before finally
succumbing to his fate -- a ninth place
finish. Pernikoff, a self-described "bottom
feeder," was dealt A-2-8-9 and had a shot
at surviving a fourth time when he had
two pair with a vulnerable A-8 for low
when the final board showed Q-9-5-2-3.
But James Covington and Richard Laskey
had other ideas. They cut up Pernikoff's
last chips like hungry wolves feasting
on a fallen carcass, which put Pernikoff
motoring back to his hometown of Detroit,
with $1,950.
A
short time later, Richard Laskey was eliminated
when he got into a battle with Steve Kaufman.
Laskey had A-4-7-7 and looked as though
he would take the high half of the pot
on the turn, when the board showed A-8-4-J.
However, Kaufman spiked Queen on the river
to make a higher two pair with A-Q-6-3,
which put the Florida retiree out in eighth
place, with $2,437.
Kaufman
knocked out another player soon thereafter
when Englishman Rick Glading was dealt
A-A-2-9 against Kaufman's A-4-5-Q. The
final board showed 10-5-9-6-Q, giving
Kaufman an improbable two-pair (Qs and
5s) versus Glading's pair of Aces. Glading,
a telecommunications engineer from the
London area, was disconnected in seventh
place. He collected $3,046.
With
six players remaining, Bill Canfield maintained
his chip lead, although Steve Kaufman
was a close second. Then, Kaufman eliminated
yet another player when his A-A-J-10 crushed
Hye-Chin Murphy's A-4-7-9. The final board
showed K-Q-5-Q-2, giving Kaufman two pair,
and put him very close to the co-chip
lead with Canfield. Local favorite Murphy,
the second female poker player to make
a final table at this year's JBWPO thus
far, received $4,264 for sixth place.
Limits
increased to $2K-4K. Finnish poker pro
Jani Vilmunen was low on chips, but doubled
up on one key hand when he flopped a nut
flush and James Covington failed to make
a low. That gave Vilmunen new life with
about $20K. Another forty hands went by
and limits went up again, this time to
$3K-6K. Vilmunen remained low on chips
and went "all-in" with 2-5-6-9 against
Kaufman's K-K-4-3. The flop gave Kaufman
trip Kings and when the final board showed
A-7-K-2-J, Kaufman had scooped the pot
with the nut low and three Kings. Vilmunen,
who says he began playing high-low split
poker only about a month ago, received
$5,482 for fifth place.
Thus
far, Kaufman had eliminated four of the
five players who were out. That put him
into virtual dead heat with Bill Canfield
and John Oetker. Oetker had gradually
improved his chip position by winning
several key pots in the first three hours
of play. Now, it was James Covington who
was in danger of going down to the felt
-- and he did exactly that when he lost
a $50K pot to Bill Canfield. Covington
had 5-6-9-10 and had several opportunities
to make a big hand when by the turn the
board showed 10-9-7-3, with two cards
to his suit. Unfortunately, Canfield caught
a diamond on fifth-street, which made
him a flush, which essentially all but
eliminated Covington. Down to just a few
chips, Covington went out a short time
later. Covington, a retired banker from
North Carolina, is now able to deposit
$7,310 into his savings account.
Bill
Canfield took a horrible beat on the next
big hand when he was dealt Q-9-9-7 versus
John Oetker's Q-8-8-6. Both players made
a full house by the turn, when the board
showed Q-9-6-6. Canfield had the higher
full house -- with 9s full of 6s -- and
seemed destined to win the $60K pot. Sadly
for Canfield, a third 6 hit the board,
which was a nail in the coffin for Canfield.
Oetker, with the case 6 in his hand scooped
the huge pot and zoomed into a 2 to 1
chip lead as heads-up play began. Meanwhile,
Bill Canfield, a farmer from Montana,
was put out to pasture in third place
with $12,183.
Kaufman
was down about 2 to 1 in chips to Oetker,
and over the next thirty minutes, Kaufman
went completely card dead -- and was down
to only about $15K at one point. Limits
increased to $4K-8K. Out-chipped by about
8 to 1, it was desperation time for Kaufman,
and he answered the call. Kaufman then
went on an absolute tear, scooping several
key pots and ripping a stack at a time
from Oetker, until the chip lead was reversed.
With the crowd and excitement growing
inside the room, the two finalists battled
back and forth for nearly an hour before
Kaufman gradually took a decisive lead.
Oetker
was down to about $25K for the final ten
hands or so, and managed to win and survive
a number of times by playing his hand
in the dark. But Kaufman put an end to
Oetker's final comeback bid on the last
hand of the tournament:
Kaufman:
A-6-7-10
Oetker: 2-5-6-J
The
flop came 7-3-2, ginving both players
a made-low, with a pair. Oetker also had
a straight draw. A King fell on the turn,
which posed no significant changes to
either hand. When another King fell on
the river, Kaufman ended up with two pair
-- Ks and 7s and a better low, which was
the winning hand of the event.
This
was John Oetker's second final table at
this year's JBWPO. Oetker, age 24, who
won a gold and diamond bracelet at last
year's tournament, added a second-place
finish to his impressive record at the
Jack Binon World Poker Open. He collected
$24,366.
The
winner, Steve Kaufman -- age 58 -- is
a popular well-known player on the tournament
circuit. Kaufman holds a record which
is likely not to be matched -- having
made the final table at what at the time
were the world's three most prestigious
poker tournaments -- the World Series
of Poker, the World Poker Open, and the
Tournament of Champions. That accomplishment,
back in 2000, puts Kaufman in a very select
category. Now, the Professor of Rabbinical
Studies adds a bracelet from the 2004
Jack Binion World Poker Open to an impressive
lifetime of achievement.
-- by Nolan Dalla
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