LIZ LIEU MAKES A TROPHY DEAL SO THAT CHARITY GETS MONEY
Liz Lieu, a very tough, high-stakes cash game player who only recently began playing tournaments, had played 20 hands heads-up with Jason Heidema, a designer for eBay.in the 16th event of LAPC, $1,000 limit hold'em. Lieu had him crippled at one point, but then he won about 10 hands in a row. Earlier, a three-way deal had been made where Heidema was to get $45,013 to $37,453 for Lieu and $23,466 for Jack Boghossian. They agreed to play for $10,000 and the trophy, and Lieu announced she would donate 20 percent of her winnings to charity if she won the tournament. Now, to make sure that the promised money did go to charity mostly to multiple sclerosis, the remainder to Vietnam aid she offered to let Heidema take $7,000 of the $10,000 if she could have the win and trophy that went with it, or play on, and he took the deal.
Lieu, who basically plays $400-$800 hold'em, entered her first tournaments at the 2005 World Series and had two cashes. The majority of her charity donation, she said, would go for multiple sclerosis, the remainder to help 'my country' (Vietnam).
There were 12 players who returned on day two, and it didn't take long to get to the final table. Blinds started at 1,000-1,500 with 1,500-3,000 limits, 28:22 left on the clock. Chip leader, with 62,000, was Heidema, though four other players were close behind in the mid-50,000 range.
Raed Abukartomy, a poker player, went out on a horrible beat in early action. He had A-K against J-7 off for Jason Rich, a student from Portland Oregon. Abukartomy had top two on a flop of A-K-Q, and then got crushed when a river 10 gave Rich a straight.
Lieu then picked enough chips from Anthony 'Big Bad Wolf' Guadagni to gave her the chip lead. The flop was Q-10-4, and the betting was capped. Actually, it was five-bet, and when the error was later discovered, the extra bet was returned to Guadagni. He had A-K to K-Q for Lieu, and she picked him off when he missed and tried a river bluff.
The limits moved up to 3,000-6,000. After raising and forcing Larry Ross to fold on the turn, Lieu had nearly 100,000. The Wolfman, meanwhile, dropped down to 9,000 ater losing a hand to Heidema, but after surviving a couple of all ins, once with a full house, he recovered to about 40,000, then climbed to over 70,000 with a set of 9s against Rich. Later, an all-in Tom Ellsworth had the 9s and filled against Guadagni.
After the next break, limits became 4,000-8,000. Lieu still led with 80,000, followed by Heidema with 73,000. Some 64 hands had gone by, and nine players were still left. Finally, eight hands into the new limits, Larry Ross, a retiree, was in the big blind with 7-6 and flopped a straight on a 10-9-8 flop. Lieu, with A-J, busted him when a queen turned to give her a higher straight.
We were nearing the end of the level when Todd 'Dan Druff' Witteles, a pro with a 2005 WSOP bracelet in limit hold'em, was in the big blind and short-chipped. With the board showing Js-9s-4s-As, he tossed his hand away and cashed out eighth when Wolfman showed him the Ks.
With limits at 6,000-12,000, Lieu, who had ups and downs, now had about 120,000 while Jack Boghossian, playing a very careful game, had inched up to around 90k.
On the first hand of the new level, Rich was all in pre-flop with K-J and couldn't catch Tom Ellsworth's two queens. On hand 115, Boghossian lost his cool along with a lot of chips. Holding A-J, he check-raised Lieu when the board showed Q-2-4-A, only to have her show him a set of ladies at the showdown. Lieu now had something like 170,000 of the 450,000 chips on the table.
Right after that, Lieu, with A-8, bet into a 5-4-4-8 board, and Guadagni splashed in all his chips. He said he was trying to just call, but it was ruled an all-in raise. He had K-Q, couldn't catch the paint he needed, and finished sixth. The lady now had passed the 200,000 mark.
On hand 146, with a board of 3-2-10-Q, Ellsworth had the lead, A-10 versus Heideman's 10-9. Then a 9 hit the river, and Ellsworth was down to 5,000. He won a pot a few hands later, then was all in again with 10-9 to Boghossian's Kc-6c. All small cards hit the board, and the Mill Valley pro ended up fifth.
By the next break, Heidema had taken the lead with 211,000, followed by Lieu,147,000; Boghossian, 72,000; and Andre Woloszym, 20,000. Soon after limits went to 8,000-16,000, Woloszym had 4,000 left in the big blind, and fatalistically put it in with 5-3 after Lieu raised with Q-10. The board came K-9-4-8-A, and we were down to three. The count was: Heidema, 227,000; Lieu, 167,000; Boghessian, 56,000, and the deal was made.
Soon after, Heidema, with Jd-10d, won a 200,000 pot against Lieu and now had about 340,000. Then, on hand 167, Boghossian tangled with Lieu. They both went all in, Lieu with A-Q, Boghossian with A-4. The queen kicker decided it, and Boghossian had one chip left. That went in on the next hand and he finished third when his 9-2 was no match for her Ad-Jd. The two finalists now went at it.
They played fiercely for 20 hands, and then Lieu made her offer that ended the night.-Max Shapiro |
