A
Poker Symphony: Hellmuth's Ninth
I'm
just honored to be mentioned in the same
breath as Johnny Chan and Doyle Brunson.
--
Phil Hellmuth, Jr.
(after winning gold bracelet number nine)
If
the highs and lows of tournament poker
were set to music, Phil Hellmuth would
be a symphony orchestra all by himself.
Over the years, Hellmuth has hit the highest
notes achievable by a poker player --
including winning the world championship
in 1989, and three gold bracelets all
won in a single year (1993). He has also
hit a few sour notes along the way, going
through dry spells that made some observers
question whether or not he still has what
it takes to win. Any doubters still questioning
Hellmuth's abilities or commitment to
winning were silenced at this year's World
Series of Poker, as the self-described
"Poker Brat" has now won two titles --
which now brings his career World Series
of Poker wins up to nine, equal to two
other poker legends, Johnny Chan and Doyle
Brunson.
Although Hellmuth started off with a sizable
chip lead at the final table, he was "all-in"
midway through the finale and perilously
close to the felt at one point. He won
his one single flirtation with elimination,
in a key hand heads-up with Erik Seidel.
He went on from there to draw back to
even in chips and ultimately would go
on to win his record-ninth Texas hold'em
title.
Day
Two of the tournament began with 17 players,
as the finalists gathered from the previous
day to play down to the final table. After
Tony Ma and Mark Seif went out 10th and
9th respectively, Phil Hellmuth and Erik
Seidel shared the chip lead with about
$300K each (out of $1.1 million chips
in play).
Then, Alan Brodsky tried to make a steal
from middle position with A-2 -- but his
large raise was faded by Erik Seidel with
8-8. Brodsky went "all-in" and failed
to make a pair -- going out in 8th place,
collecting $22,200 for the two-day event.
A
few hands later, Curt Kohlberg ran into
a speeding freight train when the flop
came K-9-x and he moved over the top of
Phil Hellmuth on an inside straight draw,
holding Q-J. Hellmuth initially bet $14K
into a $30K pot, and was delighted to
see Kohlberg raise back "all-in" on the
straight draw. Hellmuth nearly beat opponent
into the pot with his chips, holding K-K
in his hand for top set (three kings).
The board paired on the turn, making Kohlberg's
straight draw irrelevant. Kohlberg received
$27,760 for 7th place, as Hellmuth raced
into the chip lead, slightly ahead of
Seidel.
He wouldn't hold the lead for long. Seidel
made jacks full of eights a few hands
later, against Hellmuth who flopped three
eights. That pot put Seidel up over $400K
for the first time, while Hellmuth dipped
slightly below $300K. With the remaining
players holding their positions at $100K
or less, Jay Hemowtiz went out next as
he made a pair of fives on the flop and
moved "all-in" with his last $40K. Problem
was, Mike Lesle also had a pair of fives,
with a better kicker (an ace), which eliminated
Heimowitz, the six-time gold bracelet
winner in 6th place -- good for $38,860.
Twenty
minutes later, Al Stonum went out when
he took 8-8 up against Daniel Negreanu's
J-J. Stonum failed to spike an 8, which
meant $49,960 for 5th place.
Down
to four players, Erik Seidel held the
chip lead with over $400K. Former race
car driver Mike Lesle went out next when
his A-Q crashed against Negreanu's A-K
Neither player made a pair, but Negreanu's
A-K played which meant a 3rd place finish
for Lesle. He collected $66,720.
With three players remaining, Seidel had
about $500K to Negreanu's $350K and Hellmuth's
$250K. Hellmuth went through a horrific
next hour, losing many of his chips to
the point he was under $100K at one point.
He moved "all-in" on Erik Seidel who had
top pair on one hand, but Hellmuth had
flopped two pair, which held up. That
hand jolted Hellmuth out of his shell
and over the next 20 minutes Hellmuth
was playing aggressively and was back
up over $300K, neck-a-neck with Negreanu.
Hellmuth then stunned the gallery a few
hands later by taking down a big pot with
four queens versus Erik Seidel. Seidel
(his hand was not shown) called Hellmuth's
final bet into a $300K pot, as the board
showed Q-Q-10-10-x. Hellmuth's four queens
put Hellmuth very close to Seidel for
the chip lead.
Seidel
lost another big pot when Negreanu made
two pair (Ks and 6s) -- which effectively
put Seidel into third place for the first
time at the final table. However, he recovered
nicely when he took J-J up against Negreanu
(with A-Q) and doubled-up when the pocket
jacks stood up.
The
three finalists entered the ninth hour
of play on Day Two with Hellmuth holding
a 2 to 1 chip led over both opponents
-- Negreanu and Seidel. But Seidel's misery
continued as he slowly lost stack by stack
until he was down to just $100K. Seidel
moved "all-in" with 9-9, which was called
by Hellmuth, with A-6. An ace flopped,
which put Seidel -- the winner of five
bracelets in his illustrious poker career
-- out in 3rd place with $105,480.
As
the clock struck midnight, Hellmuth had
the chip lead -- about 3 to 1 over Negreanu.
The two finalists battled for an hour
before Hellmuth put the finishing touches
on his masterful poker performance. The
final hand came when Hellmuth was dealt
3-4 of hearts. Negreanu was dealt Q-8.
When the flop came Q-8-2 with two hearts,
the betting escalated. ON the turn, another
heart fell, giving Hellmuth a heart flush.
All of Negreanu's chips went into the
pot after Hellmuth raised, which meant
Hellmuth was in the lead. Negreanu desperately
needed to catch a queen or an eight to
survive, which did not come.
Daniel
Negreanu, the winner of two gold bracelets
(including one this year) received a consolation
prize of $210,980. Meanwhile, Phil Hellmuth
-- cheered on by his wife, sister, and
mother sitting in the audience -- gave
his supporters something to be happy about,
a record-tying ninth gold bracelet and
$410,860 for first-place. As the room
stood and applauded, it was music to Phil
Hellmuth's ears.
-- by Nolan Dalla
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