Can
Kim Hua Masters Record-Breaking Omaha
High-Low Field, Wins $69,798
Can
Kim Hua, from Rosemead, CA won the third
event at the 2004 Jack Binion World Poker
Open. Kim Hua topped a record-breaking
field (for Omaha) of 410 players and earned
his first major tournament victory. Kim
Hua came to the final table second in
chips to Omaha expert, “Miami John”
Cernuto, who is just about everyone’s
list as one of the top Omaha players in
the world. However, in the end it was
Kim Hua, age 46, who earned his first
WPO gold and diamond bracelet.
Day
Two began with limits at $3K-6K. The first
player to exit was savvy tournament veteran,
Gene Fisher, from El Paso. Short-stacked
with only $10,000, Fisher committed his
final chips with A-8-8-4 against Ray Norcum's
Q-J-8-4. The final board showed K-Q-5-4-5
giving Norcum a pair of Queens. A single
pair isn't normally much of a hand in
Omaha, but it was enough to hook Fisher
off the final table in ninth place with
$3,018.
A
few hands later, Sam "Slade"
Whitt went "all in" with A-Q-9-8.
Unfortunately, Slade ran into Earl Key,
who flopped Aces full of Jacks and took
Slade's last chip. Slade, a professional
gambler who plays regularly in Atlantic
City and was the winner of two major tournaments
in the last few years, took home $3,773
for eighth place.
Chip-leader
"Miami John" Cernuto took a
major blow when he lost a huge pot against
Corey Bradford. Miami John made 2s full
of 9s, which was edged out by Bradford's
3s full of 9s. The loss left Miami John
short on chips (temporarily) and catapulted
Bradford into a slight chip lead over
the seven remaining players.
However,
over the next hour, Miami John would prove
the extent of his mastery in Omaha High-Low
by slowly building back his stack, one
decision and one hand at a time. Earl
Key, who scooped a "key" pot
early at the final table saw his stack
dwindle slowly, until he was down to his
last $10,000. He moved "all-in"
with a raise before the flop with A-2-4-K,
which was quickly called by Miami John,
with A-J-J-10. Key liked the flop when
it came A-K-Q, but when a 10 fell on the
turn, that gave Miami John a straight.
Key failed to catch a full house and the
software developer from Indianapolis went
out in seventh place with $4,716.
Dale
Witherspoon went out next when he was
dealt A-2-2-9 against Miami John's A-A-J-10.
The flop came 9-6-5, giving Witherspoon
top pair with a low draw. Unfortunately,
two high cards fell on the turn and river
which enabled Miami John's pair of Aces
to scoop the pot. Witherspoon, from Dallas,
received $6,603 for sixth place.
A
few hands later, Miami John took a $65K
pot away from Corey Bradford, with a club
flush. At that point, Miami John became
the first player to break the $100K mark.
Ray
Norcum was playing in his first major
poker tournament. He exceeded all expectations
by finishing in the top five, although
in the end he must have walked away in
disappointment. Norcum was dealt A-K-10-9,
with suited spades and was "all in"
after the flop came K-6-3 with two spades.
Can Kim Hua was delighted to call Norcum's
final bet with trip 6s and a low draw.
Norcum failed to catch a spade and when
the board paired on the final card, Kim
Hua scooped the pot. Norcum collected
$8,489 for fifth place. Not bad for a
"first time" entry.
Just
when it looked like Miami John might run
away with the victory, things turned sour.
The former air traffic controller turned
poker pro went on a 45 minute run during
which he crashed, burned, and failed to
win a pot of any significance. His big
stack steadily declined as the $9K in
blinds per round ate away at Miami John's
diminishing table bankroll.
Miami
John's bad luck was Can Kim Hua good fortune.
In an astounding reversal, Kim Hua ran
his chip count up over $100K and completely
dominated the late stages of the event
as the three remaining short-stacked players
jockeyed to move up the money ladder.
That essentially gave Kim Hua a ticket
to play many more hands and take risks,
which more often than not, paid off.
Miami
John finally went down in flames when
he made his final stand with A-3-5-J.
He picked up a low draw on the flop, but
failed to get help from the deck when
he needed it the most. Can Kim Hua took
the pot, thus increasing his chip lead.
Miami John, who was celebrating his 60th
birthday today, received $11,319 as a
"birthday present" for a less-than-satisfying
fourth place finish.
Three-way
action commenced with Kim Hua holding
a massive chip lead. Chad Leavitt managed
to win a few key pots, to the detriment
of Corey Bradford. Then, down to just
a few chips, Bradford was dealt 6-7-8-9.
The flop came Q-8-7, giving Bradford two
pair. But Can Kim Hua caught two running
clubs which completed a club flush. Corey
Bradford, a poker pro from Lubbock, TX
who came into the final table second-lowest
in chips, received $17,922 for third place.
Limits
were $10K-20K when heads-up play began.
Can Kim Hua had a seemingly insurmountable
14 to 1 chip lead over Chad Leavitt. It
took only two hands for Kim Hua to deliver
the final knockout punch. Leavitt held
Q-J-6-3, and revealed his hand as his
last chip was tossed into the pot. Kim
Hua had 6-5-5-2 and watched joyously as
the flop came A-5-J, good for trip 5s.
Leavitt had outs with the low draw, but
two face cards fell on the turn and river,
making Kim Hua's victory complete.
Chad
Leavitt, 27, a mortgage broker from Schaumburg,
IL, collected $35,844 in prize money for
his second-place showing. Meanwhile, the
coveted gold and diamond bracelet was
presented to Kim Hua, who utilized just
the right mix of skill and well-timed
luck to earn his first major tournament
victory.
-- by Nolan Dalla
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