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Lady Destroys $100 Hold'em
Linh Luong, an 'on and off' poker player, pretty much wiped out the final table of event five of Winnin' 'o the Green, $100 limit hold'em. She arrived with the second chip lead, took over on hand 10, won every hand she played and owned about 80 per cent of the chips when a deal was made heads-up.
The table started with 8k/16k limits and 13:32 left at level 14. With 309,000 chips in play, the average stack was 39,000, barely enough for two big bets. Another quick night loomed. It might have been even quicker, but an immediate chip count deal that was proposed fell through.
Poker dealer Ralph Juarez, who won the earlier Omaha hi-lo event, arrived as chip leader with 73,000, and started out trying to run over the table by raising the first four pots. On the first hand, Loan Kim Ngo re-raised all in. She had Q-J while Juarez had only 8-2, the second-worst hand in hold'em, but he flopped an 8 and hit another on the river.
Yong Kim was the next player out. On hand six he had the big blind, all in with Q-9. Hyeong Lim had A-5 in the small blind and flopped an ace. On hand 10, Lim raised and Luong made it 24k to go. When she bet out on a flop of 7-7-3, Lim released and Luong took over the lead with about 96k.
On the next hand, limits went to 10k/20k. Two hands later, Jim Uyloan raised with A-K. With only 1k left, Rodolfo Guevara folded in the small blind to wait for a better hand, but Vegen Sarkissian was all in from the big blind with Q-3. Sarkissian flopped a queen, but Uyloan hit an ace on the turn and then made a straight to leave Sarkissian in eighth place. Next out was Lim, who finished seventh when his pocket 7s couldn't beat Uyloan's pocket 9s.
Another deal was discussed. The chip count was: Luong, 95.5k; Juarez, 85.5k; Uyloan, 67.5k; Anthony Lee, 31k; Leo Bularan, 25.5k; and Guevara, 1k. Again, no deal. On the next hand, Guevara lost his last chip. He went with Ah-7h and couldn't catch Uyloan's pocket deuces. On hand 20, Luong moved into high. She raised on a flop of 9-7-2, and bet the turn. Uyloan folded and Luong now had around 140k.
Limits now went to a backbreaking 20/40k, and the carnage began. Hand 22: Luong had A-K to A-Q for an all-in Lee. She left him in fifth place when all rags came. Hand 23: Uyloan, in the small blind, had A-2. Lunong, in the big, had J-5. He flopped a deuce, she turned a 5. She now had about 215k. Last out, two hands later, was Juarez. He raised all in from the small blind for about 35k. 'You got me,' he said when Bularan turned up Ac-Qc to his J-10. The board came 5-4-2-6-Q, and we were heads-up.
Luong now had something like 245k to about 60k for Bularan. He requested a chop, saying that it would allow the staff to go home early. At first Luong declined, but then took pity on him. She agreed to let him have a bit more than the second place he was virtually certain to end up with, and she had her victory.-Max Shapiro
BIOGRAPHY
Los Angeles resident Linh Luong is 'independently employed,' though she did not elaborate. She learned how to play poker from her uncle, who plays professionally, and from her brother, who plays as well. Luong has been playing sporadically for seven or eight years.
She plays mostly live action, putting in about 10 hours a week, and her preferred game is $9-$18 hold'em. Hold'em is the only game she plays, though she plays no-limit as well as limit. Her tournament resume is brief. She's played only five events, but managed three cash-ins. This is her first victory and biggest payday.
Luong describes her playing style as variable. 'Tight-aggressive' is her description. She said that it was not all easy going for her tonight. She was low-chipped early on, with about 20 tables left, but managed to hang on and go from there.
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