High-Stakes
Poker Pro Ted Forrest Wins Gold Bracelet
Number Four – Captures First WSOP
Victory in 11 Years
My
best game is whatever I’m playing
at the time.
-- Ted Forrest (Poker Champion)
Now
entering its second week, the 2004 World
Series of Poker has nearly doubled the
number of entries and prize money from
last year's record event. At this rate,
within a few short years, the world championship
of poker will eventually have to be played
inside a sports arena.
The
third event at this year�s World Series
-- the $1,500 buy-in Seven-Card Stud championship
-- was exceptional for at least one additional
reason. For the first time ever, a non-hold'em
event was recorded for television � which
is to be broadcast later on ESPN. Up until
now, only Texas hold'em events have been
televised, due largely to the deceptively
simple format of hold'em. Seven-card stud
is a completely different animal in poker�s
proverbial green felt jungle. Fusing three
�down� cards with four �up� cards to make
one five-card poker hand would seem to
pose obvious complications for poker audiences.
However, this year ESPN made the bold
decision to assume a more difficult challenge,
and in the process, believes that stud's
popularity might enjoy a renaissance since
it will be re-introduced to millions of
viewers on television.
After
the vast majority of the 258-player field
was eliminated the previous day, the final
table started with eight players. CHAD
BROWN, an actor from Los Angeles, began
Day Two with a significant chip lead ($140K)
versus his closest threat, TED FORREST
($110K). All six other players had $38K
or less.
JIM
WHEATLEY, a businessman from Harrisonburg,
VA came to the final table in the worst
chip position, with just 6K. Making his
second final table appearance (he finished
5th in the Razz event several years ago),
WHEATLEY lasted about 15 minutes before
his fate was ultimately decided � 8th
place and nearly $10,000 in prize money.
MINH
NGUYEN, one of two Vietnamese-born finalists,
went out next when he missed a flush draw
and lost to CHAD BROWN�s two pair � kings
up. NGUYEN, who won his first gold bracelet
at the World Series last year (Seven-Card
Stud High-Low), received $13,880 for 7th
place.
MICHAEL
MUELLER was the next player out when he
missed a straight draw, losing to BROWN�s
two pair � jacks up. MUELLER, who goes
by the nickname �The Hammer,� never acquired
enough chips to pound his opponents into
submission. In the end, it was MUELLER
who was whacked. MUELLER, making his first
final table appearance ever, received
$17,440 as the 6th place finisher.
�Being
here (at the World Series) for the first
time wasn�t as intimidating as I thought
it would be,� MUELLER said afterward.
�I really had a great time.�
Barely
an hour had passed at the final table
when the next player was eliminated. DAVID
FEDER took a coin-flip hand against MEN
�THE MASTER� NGUYEN when both players
started with a pair of aces. FEDER was
�all in� with his last $6K on third street
and was distressed to see MEN THE MASTER
catch a second pair � 8s. When FEDER failed
to connect for a higher second pair, the
aces and eights made FEDER the �dead man�
at the table. FEDER, the father of three
from Tucson, AZ, took home $22,080.
Another
Arizonan went out soon thereafter when
PETER BRONSTEIN, a retiree from Scottsdale,
started with a pair of 8s, but failed
to improve. TED FORREST had four overcards
to the pair of 8s, in addition to a flush
draw, as the last card was dealt. FORREST
caught a fifth spade completing the flush,
and BRONSTEIN was bounced off the final
table in 4th place, good for $26,700.
�My
strategy was that if I didn�t get cards,
to just stay patient and move up (higher)
in prize money,� BRONSTEIN explained when
asked why he played relatively few hands.
�You are at the mercy of the deck when
you are low on chips, but I played as
good as I could play.�
Once
play became three-handed, the real drama
of the final table began. MEN THE MASTER
began guzzling his trademark Coronas,
and his lively, talkative demeanor stood
in stark contrast to TED FORREST and CHAD
BROWN�s calm disposition. MEN�s crowning
moment came after he clawed his way back
after being very low on chips at one point,
then calling with an �ace high,� which
snapped off a bluff by BROWN. But the
glory was to be short-lived.
MEN's
final hand came when he tossed his last
chip into a $65K pot with two-pair (7s
and 6s) on sixth street, while CHAD BROWN
spiked a ten, to complete a jack-high
straight. MEN needed to catch a 7 or 6
to survive, but turned up a paint. MEN,
the five-time gold bracelet winner failed
to capture his elusive sixth WSOP ornament.
�I
was talking and having fun, like I always
do,� said MEN. When asked about the last
two players, MEN added: �CHAD is the more
aggressive player (the FORREST). When
you play heads up, you need to be more
aggressive. I think CHAD is going to win.�
It
was quite fitting that the heads-up finalists
were the chip leaders at the start of
Day Two. The chip counts stood as follows:
BROWN
-- $243K
FORREST -- $144K
FORREST
brought his immense depth of tournament
experience and natural talent to the final
confrontation, including what he estimates
to be 25 major tournament wins during
his lifetime. FORREST�s most noteworthy
poker accomplishment was his three wins
at a single World Series (1993), a record
shared by only two other players. Meanwhile,
BROWN brought a fearless attitude and
a solid chip advantage to the duel. BROWN
had won events at other tournaments held
in Nevada and California, but he has yet
to win here at the World Series.
No
one could have predicted the marathon
match that would follow. The two poker
titans battled back and forth for over
four hours, including a dinner break.
Both players battled back and forth for
the first hour with no significant change
in the duel for the gold bracelet. After
FORREST narrowed the gap a bit, the first
major confrontation took place when FORREST
took a huge pot away from BROWN -- showing
a jack-high straight (BROWN didn�t show
and mucked his cards). Presumably, BROWN
had trip 4s and was drawing to a full-house,
while FORREST showed two 8s and completed
a straight on the final card. Had BROWN
won that key hand, the night might have
ended relatively quickly, with BROWN winning
his first WSOP bracelet. However, that
hand put FORREST close in chips as betting
limits increased to $4K-$8K.
A few hands later, FORREST cut another
big slice out of BROWN's diminishing stack
when he showed down two pair -- As and
7s against BROWN's smaller two pair. FORREST
now had the chip lead for the first time
in the tournament:
FORREST: $233K
BROWN: $154K
FORREST
stalked his prey over the next several
hands, refusing to commit his hard-earned
chips until the right opportunity came.
BROWN sensed the change in FORREST's strategy
and become the aggressor -- aided by a
succession of big �scare� cards that caused
FORREST to fold at any sign of strength.
BROWN increased his stack size from $100K
to $150K -- then won a few pots that put
him back close to even with FORREST.
After
another hour of play, limits increased
to $5K-$10K. The end came out of nowhere,
when FORREST won the final two hands.
The key moment came when FORREST made
trip 8s against BROWN�s two-pair � aces
up. That seemed to demoralize BROWN and
he went out a short time later, losing
the final hand of the night when FORREST
made a wheel (a straight). FORREST started
with 2-3-4-5 on fourth street, caught
a four for a pair on fifth street, and
caught an ace on seventh street.
�This
might have been the longest heads-up (confrontation)
I�ve ever had,� FORREST said as he was
being interviewed in the post-tournament
press conference. Sitting in front of
$140,500 in hundred dollar bills piled
high on the table with ESPN cameras rolling,
FORREST was quick to compliment his opponent
and discuss strategy: �I knew Chad was
a super strong player and he played really
tough today, so I thought if I engaged
with (weaker) hands, I would lose this.
So, I tried to pick the right spots. A
wheel (the final winning hand) is not
normally the hand you want to go for,
but I was lucky to make it on the end.�
CHAD
BROWN collected $62,320 as the runner
up. The successful actor who will sooner
be appearing in a crime drama alongside
star Joe Montegna, played his most convincing
role yet under the bright lights at the
World Series. BROWN was a monumental nuisance
to his world-class adversary, and was
on the verge of winning the tournament
at several points, had he been able to
catch a critical card at the right moment.
�I
know Ted is not going to give anything
away,� BROWN said. �I was hoping to get
heads-up and had my chances, but Ted showed
why he�s such a great player.�
Back
to TED FORREST: When asked to explain
how he could win a whopping three gold
bracelets in a single year, only to be
followed by what appeared to be a drought
� a seemingly endless 11-year span during
which FORREST failed to win at the WSOP
� FORREST was forthright about his sense
of poker priorities. �I stopped playing
tournaments and started playing side games,�
he said. �But in the last year, I�ve had
my love for tournaments rekindled, so
I think I plan on playing in some more
tournaments.�
Asked
to identify his best game -- be it seven-card
stud, Omaha, or hold�em, FORREST confidently
replied, �My best game is whatever I�m
playing at the time.� Who could argue
with that?
-- by Nolan Dalla
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