Hasan
Habib TITLE
They
are going to forget about the money. Next
year, no one is going to remember the
money that I won here. But they surely
will remember the gold bracelet. I now
have a bracelet to show everyone.
-- Hasan Habib (after his first win
at the WSOP)
Hasan
Habib has always maintained a fearless
reputation at the poker tables. During
most of his career as a poker professional,
Habib personified the �raise or fold�
method, which asserts that to dominate
a table, it�s usually best to either raise
or fold � just don�t be a caller. Habib
has fired up big cash games for years,
often winning or losing five figures in
a single night. Given his hyper-aggressive
tendencies, it was a bit of a surprise
then, to see the name �Hasan Habib� take
first prize in the $1,500 Seven-Card Stud
High-Low event at the 2004 World Series
of Poker.
What
isn�t a surprise is that Habib won. He�s
cashed in and finished on top at several
major poker tournaments over the years.
Until today, Habib�s most notable accomplishment
had been making all three final tables
at what were the biggest and toughest
poker tournaments in the world -- all
within a single year. In 2000, Habib made
the finals at the main event of the World
Series of Poker, the Tournament of Champions,
and the World Poker Open. The one thing
that had eluded Habib until now was the
coveted gold bracelet, presented to the
winner of each event at the World Series.
Given
his style and reputation, the big surprise
is that Habib won a game many consider
to be highly-technical, where aggression
is normally not the chief prerequisite.
Fact is, Habib has changed his style of
play recently, which paid off handsomely
as he �officially� collected first-place
prize money of $93,060 and his first gold
bracelet.
�Actually,
my game has evolved a lot,� Habib said
later. �I am playing much (more conservatively).
I�m not raising as much now as I used
to. Before, I had to raise at least three
times a round. But now, two or three rounds
go by and I don�t play a hand. I�ve learned
to rely on other skills besides raising
every hand (reading opponents, better
hand selection, making plays at the right
time, and so forth).�
Players
at the final table busted out as follows:
8th � TOMMY HUFNAGLE � The winner of the
gold bracelet for this event back in 1998
was Hufnagle. He was also 6th in this
event in 1999. Making his third finalt
able for this event in the past 7 years,
Hufnagle came to the final table low on
chips. Hufnagle went out when he had a
pair of 7s to go with a low draw. He bricked
in seventh street, and lost to two pair.
Hufnagle, age 60 from Tempe, AZ now has
15 overall cashes at the WSOP, including
seven total final tables. He collected
$8,220.
7th
� LINDA JOHNSON � The winner of the Razz
championship in 1997 and one of poker�s
greatest ambassadors, Linda Johnson, came
in to the final table short-stacked. Johnson
started with (6-6) 4-A-2 and looked as
if she might double up when she went �all
in.� But two ugly cards came on the end,
and Johnson lost to trip 7s. This was
Johnson�s fifth final table since her
first appearance back in 1982. Johnson
is the now owner of Card Player Cruises.
She sailed away with $11,460 for 7th place.
6th
� JAY HELFERT � Helfert is the proud owner
of �Jay�s Billiards� inside the Hollywood
Park Casino. He played poker professionally
for a number of years, but now prefers
the green felt of the pool table over
poker when it comes to making money. Helfert
was 5th in the $2,000 buy-in Limit Hold�em
event last year, and this was his second
final table overall. Helfert made his
final commitment with two pair, 6s and
3s � but lost to 10s up on the final card.
Helfert received $14,400 for his 6th-place
finish.
5th
� BLAIR RODMAN � Making his third final
table appearance at this year�s WSOP,
Rodman had his own cheering section in
the audience. They were disappointed when
their favorite player went out with a
pair of 10s. Rodman had a low draw, but
missed. His pair lost to two pair. Rodman
now has two fifth-place finishes, and
a sixth � along with $125,000 in prize
money at this year�s tournament.
4th
� PAUL SHERR � Sherr came in close to
the chip lead, but went out a disappointing
4th after starting with a pair of queens,
which failed to improve. He lost to two
pair. Sherr, a Poker Host at Casino Arizona
in Phoenix, whose best finish at the WSOP
was 3rd in the Omaha High-Low event in
1999, now has made the money six times.
He added $22,040 to his poker bankroll.
3rd
� BEN TANG � Tang is a 35-year-old poker
player from Scottsdale. His last final
table was two years ago � second in the
$2,000 buy-in H.O.R.S.E. event. On the
key hand that essentially knocked him
out of the tournament, Tang started with
jacks against kings. Neither player improved,
and the kings held up. A short time later,
Tang was gone. Tang sang the blues as
the 3rd place finisher, worth $29,860.
When
heads-up play began, Tommy Polk had about
a 2 to 1 chip lead over Hasan Habib. The
battle began.
It took four long hours of heads-up play
to finally determine the winner. During
the struggle, Habib seized the chip lead
and held the advantage most of the way.
But just when it looked Habib might scoop
a big pot and finally bust Polk, the cards
would turn and Polk would stage a comeback.
The chips went back and forth and many
in the audience left the building. Others
fell asleep, as the clock passed midnight.
Clearly, this was not great theatre for
those who were there. If this were a Broadway
show, the curtain would have closed a
long time ago.
But for the two poker titans � Habib and
Polk � this was a momentous occasion.
Neither had won a gold bracelet at the
WSOP before, and this was the chance both
men had waited for. While eyes were shut
and snoring could be heard in the audience,
Habib and Polk were locked in the ultimate
showdown for the title of �world champion.�
The key hand of the event came at 12:35
PST, which meant the tournament had crossed
into the third day. On fifth street, Habib
made a flush (in five cards). Meanwhile,
Polk had three deuces. Polk had outs to
catch a pair and win with the full house.
But he missed on the end and the flush
held up. A huge $200,000 pot was pushed
to Habib, which meant he was now at a
4 to 1 chip lead.
Holding
a decisive chip-advantage, Habib got one
step closer to victory when he made a
bet on seventh street and Polk apparently
missed a low-draw (possible straight draw)
and folded. A few minutes later, he closed
out the win with trip kings over two pair:
Polk: (10-9) 9-7-3-4 (10) Habib: (K-K)
Q-K-2-5 (6)
The
match was over. The runner up, Tommy Polk
now has a 7th, a 5th, and a 2nd in his
three WSOP final table appearances. Polk
is the owner of a retail tire business
in Mississippi. He officially took $51,440
in prize money.
Habib
had a vocal cheering section, which congratulated
the newest WSOP champion. Habib seemed
relieved, more than anything.
�It�s
unbelievable. I feel like I am one of
the top players, and now I have a bracelet
to show for it,� Habib said following
his victory. �The first poker tournament
I ever played in � I won it. I won the
second one, too. But later, I realized
it�s not that easy to win.�
Indeed,
Habib ran cold in tournaments over the
course of the last few years. After a
gargantuan year in 2000, Habib had not
cashed big until his recent final table
showing at the Bellagio last month (netting
over $1 million in prize money). This
win certainly breaks the cold spell, once
and for all.
Habib
was born in Pakistan. He is 42-years-old
and now lives in Southern California.
When asked when he first thought he could
make a living at the game of poker, Habib
retorted with some obvious derision, �I�m
still not sure I can make a living at
it,� to which the audience laughed along
with a chuckling Habib.
-- Official Report
by Nolan Dalla, Media Director -- 2004
World Series of Poker
Top-Ten
Most Prize Money Won
2004 World Series of Poker
(Through Event 13)
1.
James Vogl $407,160
2. Scott Fischman $405,200
3. Thomas “Thunder” Keller $382,020
4. Gerard Drehobl $370,340
5. Aaron Katz $236,000
6. Shawn Rice $213,000
7. Martin “The Knife” Deknijff
$210,100
8. John Juanda $193,020
9. Chau Giang $187,920
10. Minh Nguyen $179,620
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