No More Bad Beats for Teacher
Kelley
Kiser as She Wins Ladies Only Event
Elizabeth, IN -- Kelley "Sandy Cheeks" Kiser, who is a special ed teacher and counselor working with mentally disturbed children, was beginning to feel disturbed herself. Playing in four of the first five WSOP Circuit events here at Caesars Indiana, she kept getting premium holdings such as queens, kings and aces crushed by junk hands. But the cards finally turned around for her as she ran off with the sixth event, Ladies Only no-limit hold'em, winning $12,876 and a striking pendant trophy. She had been "down to the mat" several times with about five tables left, put in her last chips blind, and got away each time as she worked her way up to final victory.
Kiser, who was born in Scottsdale, Arizona and now lives in South Bloomfield, Ohio, was raised in Vegas and her game of choice is stud, but she plays hold'em out of necessity. She has several cashes including a seventh in British Columbia, an eighth in a Circuit second chance event, and a 17th in a LIPS tourney at the Wildhorse in Pendleton, Oregon, along with some regional wins. She is married with a 26-year-old daughter.
Kiser, who has been a counselor in private practice for 15 years and a teacher for seven, took a hiatus from poker after her supportive mother passed away in 2006, and she only recently returned to action. She had high praise for her opponents after she got down to two tables. "They were all fabulous," she said.
The ladies started final-table play with blinds of 4,000-8,000 and 1,000 antes. There were 585,000 chips in play, and Patty Till at that point was hogging 235,000 of them.
Here were the starting chip counts
Seat 1. Rikki Herriman 37,000
Seat 2. Carrie Oster 41,000
Seat 3. Linda McDonald 21,000
Seat 4. Janet Branson 66,000
Seat 5. Jennifer Legowski 51,000
Seat 6. Patty Till 235,000
Seat 7. Amanda Zeger 23,000
Seat 8. Kelley Kiser 92,000
Seat 9. Rita Davison 27,000
The four shortest stacks, ranging from 21,000-37,000, all went broke in just 14 hands. Linda McDonald was low lady on the totem pole, and she was first to go. On the first hand, she moved in with A-J. Till called from the small blind with A-2, caught a deuce on the river, and that did it. McDonald was paid $805 for ninth.She is 42 and a regional manager from Columbia, South Carolina. McDonald learned poker six years ago at a Louisiana casino and this is her second Circuit. She also likes biking and running.
A couple of hands later, Amanda Zeger, down to 20,000, was all in with pocket 8s against Kiser's pocket 10s. Kiser made a set when the flop came Q-10-7, and Zeger, drawing dead to either an unlikely runner-runner straight or two more 8s, finished eighth, which paid $1,207. Zeger, 32, is a secretary from Manfield, Ohio who learned the game watching Celebrity Poker three years ago. This is her first big tournament, since she normally only plays every other Thursday in $10 games. She also likes four-wheeling and volleyball, and boasts of "five beautiful girls."
Rikki Herriman, a former poker dealer and the only pro at the table, had her last few chips in when she had the big blind and just 4c-3c with which to defend them. Rita Davison had K-2 in the small blind, flopped two pair, and Herriman took home $1,610 for seventh. Herriman, 36, is from Indianapolis, learned poker from her husband, and her poker highlight was winning a 3,000-chip pot with 7-2 offsuit. She also enjoys surfing, hiking and movies.
Blinds now went to 6,000-12,000 with 2,000 antes. Davison had hung on this far after starting with 27,000. Two hands into the new level she moved in for 30,000 with A-J and was called by Till, who had pocket 4s and made a set when the board came 10-9-2-4-J. Davison got $2,012 for sixth. Davison is a physician from Loveland, Ohio who learned poker from books, TV and computer programs a few years ago. She place in the first two events here, at a previous ladies event and also had a seventh in a six-handed event last year, all at this casinol.
The ladies were joking and having lots of fun, but still on their guard. With the board showing A-K-2-J, Till made a small bet. "I'm not biting," Kiser told her as she folded. As play went on, Janet Branson managed to survive two all-ins, the second time when she held A-5 and flopped a bigger two pair than did Till, who had 6-5.
Carrie Oster went out in fifth place on a terrible beat. She raised all in for four more chips with pocket aces. Kiser called with pocket deuces, flopped a set and filled on the river. "I'm so sorry, she kept repeating, as if she had done something wrong. "I wouldn't have called if you had bet more," she added. Oster's consolation prize for fifth was $2,415. Oster, 44, is from Greenwood, Indiana and works in billings and computer operations. She learned poker from her husband, Phil Hellmuth tapes, watching TV and books. This is her seventh Circuit, and she has had a second and seventh in earlier events here. She also is involved in coaching basketball, antiques and race cars.
Meanwhile, Till's huge lead had been shrinking, and she finally lost it after she called Jennifer Legowski's all-in raise. She had Q-9, Legowski had K-6, and she survived when a king flopped. Till now was down to about 160,000, while Kiser had more than 200,000.
Legowski went out right after blinds went to 8,000-16,000. She had Q-9 in three-way action, and the pot was taken down by Kiser when her pocket 6s held up. Fourth paid $2,817. Legowski is a 36-year-old homemaker from Poplar Grove, Illinois who learned poker two years ago from her husband. This is her first Circuit. She has no prior poker highlights, but her life's highlights are her husband and two children, nine and six.
A couple of hands later we were down to two. Branson moved in for 86,000 with A-J and was called by Till with pocket 4s, making a winning set when the board came 10-6-4-7-A. Branson got $3,622 for third. Branson, 59, is a postmaster from Greenfield, Ohio who learned to play three years ago at an Elks Lodge. She's played four Circuits and her highlights include making a royal flush at the Lodge where she plays monthly, and winning a tournament at the Argosy this year.
Heads-up, Kiser had roughly a 3-2 lead, but after 10 hands of play, when they took a short break with 9:20 left in the round, Till had drawn close to even with 285,000 to 302,000 for Kiser. They returned and played one hand all-in. Till had pocket 5s while Kiser had J-8. Kiser was in big trouble when the board showed Q-7-7-A, until a river 8 gave her the pot and the tournament win.
Till, 47, whose nickname is PYT, is a medical device sales rep from Rockport, IN who was taught poker by her father at age seven. This is her third Circuit, and she has a 12th-place finish in a 2006 ladies event. She also enjoys skiing and golf and boasts of her "three great kids," aged 23, 20 and nine.
-- by
Max Shapiro |
