BEATING
THE BEST
When
the New England Patriots beat the St.
Louis Rams in the Super Bowl, there were
no criteria to deny that the Pats weren't
the best football team in the world. If
you beat the best, you are the best. It's
that simple. There are still two and a
half weeks until the Poker 'Super Bowl'
winner is known. Until then, it is clear
who the best is right now. He beat the
best, back to back.
There
were 528 entrants in the $1,500 No-Limit
Hold'em for a total prize pool of $744,480.
Four tables were paid, a total of 36 players.
Carlos Mortensen is the reigning World
Champion. He got that title by beating
Dewey Tomko with an inferior starting
hand to Dewey's and a perfect card on
the river. In a replay Monday night, Tomko
went all-in with A Q. Mortonsen called
with the J 5 of Diamonds and made a flush
on the river. Instead of 3/4 of a million
dollars Dewey received last May, Dewey
Tomko got nothing but another beating
by his nemesis. Tomko was 37th in a field
that paid 36. Bizarre how things turn
out, isn't it?
"He's
playing perfectly," Johnny Chan said.
"I told you," Chan repeated to a friend
in the crowd. "He's playing perfectly."
The 'He' Johnny Chan was referring to
was Layne Flack. Why the praise from the
great Chan? Layne raised on the button,
$8,000. Erik Seidel reraised all-in from
the small blind for his last $16,000.
Layne had the rockets�pocket Aces. Seidel
had pocket Kings. After 14 hours on Monday
night and another three hours on Tuesday
afternoon, the Final Table was at last
set. Erik Seidel, in 11th, wouldn't be
invited to take a seat.
THE
FINAL TABLE:
4 mins left of 75
$300 ante
The blinds were $1,000/$2,000
Player
Hometown Chip
Count
Seat
1 Jeff Norman Encinitas CA $ 75,300
Seat 2 Carlos Mortonsen Madrid, Spain
$107,200
Seat 3 Layne Flack Las Vegas NV $ 88,700
Seat 4 TJ Cloutier Richardson TX $140,500
Seat 5 Roger Guerrette Houston TX $ 17,700
Seat 6 Chris Bjorin London, UK $ 26,300
Seat 7 Phillip Marmorstein Munich, Germany
$ 48,500
Seat 8 Adeline Shayegan Huntington Beach
CA $ 62,900
Seat 9 John Pires San Jose CA $ 60,300
Seat 10 Johnny Chan Houston TX $168,000
If
Erik Seidel doesn't pick up pocket Kings,
maybe it's Roger Guerrette that isn't
invited to the Final Table. "It was miracle
I got here. I never had any chips," Roger
said upon leaving in 10th place. 'Two-outers'
may not be miracles, but they are the
poker equivalent. First, Roger needed
a two-outer then suffered from one. Guerrette
reraised all-in on the button with his
last $11k and pocket 3's. He stood up
when John Pires showed him pocket Aces.
With a 3 on the flop, Roger raised his
arms in a cheer. With an Ace on the turn,
Guerrette lowered his arms and quit cheering.
There
are lots of ways for pocket 4's to get
beat. This may have been the ugliest.
Chris Bjorin had few choices. He raised
all-in from late position with his 4's
and his last $18,500. Chris was called
by Adeline Shayegan on the button with
the K Q of Clubs. Now a King or a Queen
could have come. How about a straight
or a flush? All those hands would beat
a pair of 4's. But King high! When the
board paired twice with 8's and 5's, Bjorin's
4's didn't play and Chris could no longer
play in 9th.
The
gravel-voiced and sultry Adeline Shayegan
was giving the boys all they could handle
for a while. Making the Final Table in
the first major she's ever played in,
Adeline may not have been fully aware
of the exalted company she was cavorting
with. On the other hand, it wouldn't have
been much of a surprise if she'd asked
for autographs. Adeline works in "Marble
and Stone Fabrication" whatever that means,
hence the nickname "Stone Lady." Shayegan
got crushed by the rocks around her when
her gravel got a little loose. Following
a hand in which she led all the way to
the river, until Layne Flack sucked out
on her, Adeline may have tilted just a
bit. On her last hand, TJ Cloutier raised
in front of her. Shayegan went all-in
over the top with a K Q, again. Johnny
Chan reraised all-in behind her. How's
that for company? TJ had to fold. Chan
flopped two pair with his 5 4, leaving
Adeline a stoned lady in 8th.
Jeff
Norman may have wished he were in Oklahoma
instead of pinned between two aggressive
world champions. With Johnny Chan to his
right and Carlos Mortonsen on his left,
Jeff Norman could barely breathe. He was
valiant and prospered for a while, but
inevitably the unrelenting pressure of
having to call all those raises took its
toll on Norman. Jeff first called the
big blind from his small blind position,
probably intending to trap Mortonsen if
Norman was raised. The trap was set when
Carlos raised $10k. The question was who
was the trapped? Jeff reraised all-in
for his last $30k and the A K of Spades.
Mortonsen called with pocket Queens. The
trap slammed shut on the trapper, Norman
in 7th.
Limp,
limp, limp, BLAM! The oft-quoted TJ Cloutier
has said wisely, "Never go broke in an
unraised pot." John Pires may not be familiar
with that particular quote. Layne Flack
limped in from early position. John Pires
called from the small blind. Johnny Chan
checked the big blind option. The flop
came 7 3 3. John Pires didn't hesitate
to go all-in for his last $45k with an
8 7. Thank you very much, Johnny Chan
might have said. Chan held a 5 3 in the
big blind and finished with a full house.
John Pires had to leave the house. With
6th money, Pires now has enough to buy
one of TJ's books, however.
This
was Phillip Marmorstein's second Final
Table of this year's WSOP. His play has
been very impressive. Starting 8th in
chips, Phillip maneuvered his way to 5th
when something awful happened to him.
Marmorstein called Layne Flack's small
bet on the flop with his pocket 4's. That
was Phillip's doom. The flop had been
10 10 8. When a 4 came on the turn, there
was no turning back for Phillip. His obituary
was written. With a 4 on the river, it
was Layne Flack who got HIS dream card,
NOT Phillip Marmonstein. Phillip had made
quad 4's and, of course, went all-in.
Perfect for Layne Flack, he'd flopped
quad 10's! Marmorstein had been drawing
absolutely dead from the get-go. There
is no bad beat jackpot at the Horseshoe.
Carlos
Mortonsen couldn't believe it. He was
mumbling to himself in Spanish. Probably
saying, "How could TJ call $150,000 all-in
with an A Q?" Well, TJ did. And with an
Ace on the flop, current World Champion
Carlos Mortonsen was out of this event
in 4th. His pocket 8's put him behind
the 8 ball. Carlos had started the betting
with $15k. TJ came over the top to raise
to $50k. Mortonsen went all-in, TJ covered
him. Carlos' reign of terror was over.
What
does TJ say in one of his books, "I've
lost more money with A Q than with any
other hand." Is it TJ who says that? One
of the sages does. Anyway, before Cloutier
could lose a lot of money with A Q, he
lost it with A K. TJ was chip leader three-handed
when he called Layne Flack's all-in. Cloutier
had the A K of Spades, Flack had pocket
9's. Layne made 9's full and took over
the prohibitive chip lead. TJ got some
money back with pocket Aces against Johnny
Chan's pocket 7's. But then came the A
Q.
Any
table with Layne Flack at it is ready
to gamble. "I play too many hands," Layne
joked about himself earlier in the day,
"I have a disease, 'raise-itis.'" With
this many chips on the table at only the
$1k/2k blinds, we could have been here
all night. But not with Layne constantly
shoving in the bets. Remember what Johnny
Chan said about Layne, "He's playing perfectly."
Flack bet out $19k. TJ seemed to think
that Layne never had a hand. He came over
the top all-in for $150k and A Q. Johnny
Chan called all-in with $70k and A K.
Layne Flack called with A K. Layne and
Johnny split TJ up and spit him out in
3rd. Flack got the side pot.
Heads
up, Layne had a 9-1 chip lead and Johnny
Chan ordered a Jack Daniel's for Layne.
It was his only hope. Actually, Chan had
no hope. There have been two No-Limit
Hold'em events in this year's WSOP. Layne
Flack has won them both. Back-to-back
Layne Flack, he wants to be called. Mr.
Flack, world's greatest tournament no-limit
hold'em player might be another title.
Who could say otherwise? Layne has beaten
the best, he must be the best. A little
luck doesn't hurt, though. Layne rivered
a third 10 with his 10 7 to suck out on
Johnny Chan's flopped top pair. "He's
playing perfectly."
Mike Paulle
|
