A deal was made between the top 4 finishers
See Mike Paulles blog for further deatils
After Aces Were Cracked Three Times
Before, They Win This Time for Hoang
John Hoang, the noted pro, was getting to the point of hating pocket aces. Three times in earlier Cal State events, he had them cracked at the final table, the last time getting him knocked out of the 7-card-stud hi-lo event.
Today the aces apologized to him. He got them three times, winning each time, getting him the lead and giving him a win in the final hand as he knocked out the last player. With four players left, Hoang had close to half the chips in play, and a chip-count deal ended the 15th event of Cal State 2005, $2,000 no-limit hold'em.
This was another one-day play-through event because fewer than 100 players signed up.
Final table action starting at 11:30 p.m. There was 5:52 left on the clock, with 50 antes and 200-400 blinds. Men 'the Master' Nguyen had the most chips, 32,900, and 'Fisherman Greg' the least with 6,550.
Soon after blinds went to 300-600 with 75 antes, the Fisherman, a pro player, went overboard. He went all in with K-Q. The Master called with Ks-10s and flopped a monster: Ac-Qs-Js, giving him the nut straight with a re-draw to a royal flush. He settled for the straight, and all nine finalists were now in the money.
On hand 18, Nguyen opened for 2,100 and Kourosh Tasaodi moved in for 14,375. The Master pondered for what seemed like hours, taking a swallow from one of his two Coronas (one light, one dark), and finally folding. Was he pondering, trying to psyche the table, moving up the blinds? Maybe all three.
On hand 32, Hoang opened for 2,100 and Young Phan, on the button moved in for about 5,000. Phan was slightly behind, A-J to Hoang's pocket 10s, but couldn't catch anything and cashed out ninth.
As play went on, Nguyen opened under the gun for 8,000. Talia Khio re-raised all in for 12,000 more, and this time Nguyen took just under two minutes before he mucked.
It took 30 hands from the time Phan busted out until we lost our next player. Nguyen raised 3,000 under the gun, and Steven King came over the top all in. King had Kd-Jd and Nguyen, A-K. An ace and two diamonds flopped. King missed his flush draw as Nguyen made trip aces, and King, a contractor, was our eighth place finisher.
A few hands later the players went on a break. We had been playing for nearly two and a half hours and there were still seven players left. At this point, Nguyen had extended his lead to about 42,000, while Franco Brunetti, a real estate developer, was trailing with 6,800.
Blinds were 500-1,000. Two hands later, Brunetti raised to 5,500 from the cut-off seat, keeping 200 in reserve for something. Khio called, then Marcel Sabag appeared to be attempting a raise, but he was told he couldn't because his 5,500 was already pushed in. Brunetti had J-2, Khio had pocket 4s, and Sabag had A-Q. When the board showed 8-7-3-2, Brunetti bet his last 200. Khio's two 4s held up. He took the pot, knocked Brunetti out, moved into a slight lead, and then lectured Sabag that had Sabag raised and forced him out, Brunetti would have doubled up with his paired deuce. Assuming that Sabag really meant to raise and was not just teasing, that is.
On hand 91, Tasaodi raised 7,100 all in with pocket 9s, flopped a set and then filled to double up against Nguyen, who called with A-J.
Seven hands later, Jonah Rogers, a Texas bar owner, moved in for 16,700. Men stacked his chips. 'If I win this one, I win the tournament,' he said. A minute later he folded A-Q, and Rogers showed pocket kings.
A hand later, Hoang opened for 3,300 with pocket aces and checked down a board of K-K-6-Q-10 after Nguyen called. Sabag called him a sissy, but perhaps Hoang was now leery of rockets, after having had them cracked three times before. Two hands later, Hoang had the pocket rockets again, and called after Tasaodi moved in for 24,500 with pocket deuces. Hoang feared the worst, but the rockets prevailed again, and Tasaodi was out in sixth place as Hoang moved into the lead.
As the time approached 3 a.m., blinds went to 600-1,200 with 200 antes. Nguyen wanted to make a save to speed things up, but was told that the rule was no deals with over four players left.
As play continued, Hoang increased his lead when Khio bet 5,000 into a board of 9-8-3-K and then 8,000 into a river card 7, losing when Hoang turned up A-K.
Finally, on hand 138, with the time getting close to 4 a.m., the field got down the minimum of four players allowed to make a deal. On the button, Sabag tried to pick up the antes and blinds by moving in for 15,200 holding 9-8. Hoang, who had limped, called and turned up … pocket aces! The flop of A-8-2 gave him a set, and Sabag was out in fifth place.
The chips were counted. Hoang led with 87,500, followed by Khio with 42,100; Nguyen with 34,000; and Rogers with 20,850.
The chip-count payout called for Hoang to get $38,772; Khio to get $23,197; Nguyen to get $23,197; and Rogers, $14,940. After a little negotiation, Hoang gave up $1,000 to the Master, and the tournament had finally come to a conclusion.
—Max Shapiro
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