note: Extra $50,000 added for 1st place
Pham Forced to Accept Win
Chop or get chopped, that was the dilemma facing David "The Dragon"
Pham when the points playoff championship got heads-up. It was one of the most
bizarre conclusions to any poker tournament in history, and here's what happened.
With three players left, Waleed Belleh moved in for $31,600, and Minh "Poker
Host" Nguyen called for $10,700. "Hold on, I have a hand," Pham
said. After some deliberation he folded and showed A-6. His opponents both had
A-3, and Pham, in frustration, let slip the f-word. It turned out to be a good
laydown, because Belleh had A-3 of clubs, and two running clubs gave him a flush.
Now it was heads-up, and Pham still had the lead, $68,100-$45,600. But there was
still the matter of the f-word, heard by a floorman, Belleh reminded him. Belleh,
an auto mechanic who generally plays only on weekends, offered an immediate chop,
with Pham getting a few thousand extra. The Dragon had never agreed to a chop
in his life But now he was between a chop and a hard place, the alternative being
having a big chunk of his chips blinded and anted off in 10 minutes as Belleh
played with himself. So he reluctantly agreed, took the win and split up the $50,000
first-place prize.
Chris Cellery, meanwhile, with 130 all-around points, was the leader and got a
$5,000 seat in the championship event, though he didn't get very far in the points
playoff itself.
This was an extremely fast event, running only from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m., not counting
the final negotiations. Pham had the lead with $32,100, and stayed in front all
the way. After several all-in escapes, we lost our first player on hand 10. Scott
Rettberg moved in for $1,900 with 7-7. Belleh covered him with Kd-Qd and made
two pair. On the next hand, Pham increased his lead to $36,000 when he raised
and forced Belleh to fold after Belleh had bet $4,000 into a flop of Q-9-8.
After blinds went to $800-$1,600 on hand 13, players began dropping rapidly, with
four eliminated in six hands. On the first deal, Nguyen opened for $3,600 and
Tony Grand came over the top all in. Nguyen had K-Q to Grand's K-10, and the kicker
left Grand in ninth place.
On the next hand, Pham opened for $4,000. "I'll gamble," said Robert
Nehorayan, putting in his last $2,500 with K-Q. It was a bad gamble because Pham
had A-Q and caught another bullet on the river.
Two hands later, Sirous Baghchehsaraie shoved in his last $3,000 with pocket queens
and ran into Pham's pocket aces. All little cards came, and now six players were
left as Pham's lead climbed to about $56,000. And just two hands later, housewife
Margo Friss, who has several Legends final tables, committed her last $5,000 with
pocket 5s. Belleh called with A-K, proceeded to make kings-full and half the field
was gone in 18 hands.
Right after blinds went to $1,000-$2,000 with $300 antes, David Hoekstra went
too. Down to $1,400, he moved in with A-Q and lost to Belleh's pocket 7s. On the
next deal, hand 27, Rusty Bagaygay raised all in for $15,500. He was in bad shape
when Pham called with A-10. The flop came 10-9-6. Bagaygay needed a 7 for a straight,
but this was Pham's night and he rolled over the Hawaiian Gardens tournament director
when a queen and 4 were dealt
Three hands later, the three-way finale came down and Pham ended up as a very
reluctant winner. -Max Shapiro
BIOGRAPHY
How costly would a 10-minute penalty have been? Belleh figures Pham would
have lost 3/4ths of his chips. Pham was more conservative, estimating no more
than $30,000. But even that would have given Belleh a 2-1 lead, so give the
auto mechanic credit for making an honorable offer. As for Pham, a consummate
gentleman as well as a top player, this was his first-ever penalty.
Pham has literally dozens of major cash-outs. Seven six-figure wins include
$414,419 and $270,165 for victories at the Five-Diamond World Poker Classic,
and $154,125 for finishing 36th in this year's World Series championship. He
might also have won event 19 at this year's Legends had Alex Shin not beaten
his pocket queens with a miracle wheel on the river. Pham said his biggest strength
tonight was his good reads. For example, on the hand when he re-raised and forced
Belleh to fold, he had only A-5 suited to Belleh's A-K, but he read Belleh for
weakness by his small bet. |
