Darrell Woods
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Woods Wins with
Full House!
By Max Shapiro
Retired businessman Darrell Woods, locked in a back-and-forth
struggle
with Ken Davis, finally ended the contest with a full house to
claim victory in
the fourthevent of Big Poker Oktober, $100 Stud Hi-Lo. Woods came
to the final
table with a big chip lead which he maintained until he got heads-up
with Davis,
when the limits of $20,000-$40,000 made the match-up virtually
a crap shoot.
The two finalists not only are very strong players, both with
a number of
tournament wins to their credit, but they both also have interesting
backgrounds.
Davis is a film production designer who has done sets for such
films as Beverly
Hills Cop 2. Woods has owned a counseling business, did radio
and cable
shows and also was partners in a martial arts studio.
Carlos Lampaya was the last player out before the final table.
He couldn't help
his split sixes and Woods finished him off, raising him all in
with split aces and
also making a seven low.
Action started off with a $500 ante, $1,000 bring-in and blinds
of $3,000-$6,000.
Retired government employee Cecil Belda went all in on the first
hand but survived
when his split nines held up and he chopped with Rusty Bagaygay,
who made a
7-6. Edmond Shahnazarian, who operates a pizza place, was first
out on the fifth
hand he went all in for his last $1,800 with A-2-10-7. He ended
up with aces and
deuces, but lost to Belda's sixes full. A moment later, Fernando
Agatep, who deals
pai gow at the Club Caribe casino, started with 2-2-4, made two
pair and lost to a
higher two pair held by Albert Umel, younger brother of "General
Poy" Umel.
Both Rusty and Cecil survived a couple of all-in encounters, and
then Rusty faced
disaster a second time. All in again, he had a pair of sevens
and a diamond flush
draw against pocket kings held by Ron Pokres, another retiree.
Rusty squeezed
his last card, turned up a king of diamonds and war-whooped a
dance around the
table. Not to be outdone in the volume department, Cecil emitted
his trademark
"haw, haw, haw" laugh a couple of hands later when he
made two small
pair to outrun Pokres' aces, busting him in the process.
On the next hand Woods raised with split jacks, and Umel called
all in with A-2-9.
"I thought I had a six," he joked. He ended up drawing
to A-2-3-4, but caught a
brick on the end and bowed out against Darrell's jacks-up. Then,
on the very next
hand, Darrell put Rusty out of action. Both players made trips,
but Darrell's were
aces, and this time Rusty couldn't squeeze out another miracle
by filling his three
threes on the river. But at least he departed knowing he was the
new points leader.
Darrell now had a very big chip lead of $69,800 to Ken's $36,200
and Cecil's
$43,000. They made a deal for most of the prize money and played
it out for
the rest and for the points.
After a few hands, Ken pulled ahead of Cecil when his queens held
up. With
limits raised to $10,000-$20,000, Cecil got back at him when he
made aces-up
to Ken's smaller two pair. But then Ken beat Cecil again with
just queens.
Finally, Darrell took over andtook Cecil's last $5,700 by starting
with
three diamonds and making a flush.
Heads-up, Woods had about a 3-2 chip lead over Davis. But then
things turned
around. Betting strongly with aces and an eight low, Woods put
Davis all in, only
to have his opponent hit his wheel draw and take the lead. But
only for a brief time.
Showing 10-Q-8-A in a big pot, Woods bet his last chips on the
river. Davis
pondered and then said, "You know what, I'm gonna fold."
"Good laydown,"
replied Wood, showing him an ace-high straight.
With limits at $20,000-$40,000, Davis took the lead again when
he made
queens-up and Woods missed both his low and a double belly-buster
straight
draw. Finally going all in, Woods recovered by winning that hand
and the next
two. The first time he made kings against queens and the second
time he won
with aces up. On the third and final hand, Davis raised with a
four showing and
A-K in the hole and Woods re-raised with a door-card king and
K-J down.
He then caught two more jacks to fill up and end the festivities.
Biography - Darrell Woods
Darrell Woods, 53, has been playing since he was nine
and got serious about
poker 16 years ago. He began playing full time five years ago
when he sold his
drug diversion/domestic violence counseling business and his traffic
school.
He still occasionally does motivational lectures. His favorite
game is no-limit
hold'em, but he does best at Omaha and limit hold'em. Other titles
include an
Omaha win at Commerce and limit hold'em at the Normandie.
Tonight he was down to $450 at the break after several bad beats.
"But I made
up my mind I wasn't going out, and by the time we got to the final
table I was
the chip leader," he said. "The competition was strong,
but I played the best I
could." A key hand came just before the last table when he
relieved Bagaygay
of a lot of chips by making a straight six against aces-up.
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