Ferguson Wins Long H.O.S.E.!
In a grueling session that lasted until 6 a.m., the longest so far in Legends 2006, pro player Henry Ferguson outlasted fellow pro Sean McCutcheon in a final heads-up duel to claim victory in event 15, H.O.S.E. It was the second tournament win for Ferguson, who has been playing professionally for five years, supporting himself mainly in Omaha side games.
The final table of eight got going after Manuel LaSandeira busted out at a second table. Play began with stud hi-lo with 30:33 left. Antes were 300, with a 500 low-card bring-in and 1,500-3,000 limits. McCutcheon led with 39,700 chips, with three others in the 30,000 range.
The first hand started with three-way action. The pot was capped on fourth street and Gebrehiwet Goitom, a taxi driver, was all in with split kings. He didn't help and lost to Ferguson's pair of aces.
There wasn't much action after that until hands 10 and 11, both between McCutcheon and Kev Nettles, who listed his occupation as 'philosopher.' Nettles would have to be philosophic to handle what McCutcheon did to him. First, McCutcheon showed four killer open cards: 3-2-6-4, and Nettles, with just 6-K-5-J up, folded. On the next hand, Nettles had (10-10)K-6-Q and he had to decide what to do with his last chips when Ferguson, showing 6-A-A, bet out. Nettles finally called all in, looking for a miracle that didn't come, losing to McCutcheon's aces and treys and finishing seventh.
On hand 19 the game changed to limit hold'em with 2,000-4,000 limits. McCutcheon had zoomed to about 100,000, half the chips in play, and was running over the table.
On Hand 39, in a match between McCutcheon and business owner Paul Keefe, the pot was three-bet pre-flop. With a board of Q-Q-9-8, McCutcheon bet and Keefe called, left with a bit over 1,000. That went in on a river 8. Keefe turned over A-J and McCutcheon showed pocket kings to claim his third straight victim.
Param Gill, meanwhile, was complaining about being card dead and going from 30,000 to 10,000 without playing a hand. He got even lower when he chased an all-in Robert Schumann with K-7 and lost. A few hands later his last chips went in with Q-4. He busted fifth against poker player Jimi Lee, who had had A-2 and flopped an ace.
McCutcheon later added a new phrase to the poker's colorful vocabulary when he raised and called out, 'Shoot the puppy.!' No one had ever heard that one before.
Now playing Omaha, with 3,000-6,000 limits, McCutcheon still led with about 90,000, followed by Lee, 60,000; Ferguson, 40,000; and Schumann, 10,000. Schumann, a retiree, got some breathing room when he went all in for the third time, scooping McCutcheon when his A-2-3-K made a nut low and kings-up. As play went on, Schumann went in two more times. The last time, McCutcheon seemed to have him. With a board of K-9-4-2, McCutcheon had kings and 4s with a wheel draw. Schumann had A-2-Q-K, but a river 9 gave him kings and 9s with an ace kicker and a scoop.
The game became stud high, 4,000-8,000 limits. Ferguson had now moved up to 61,500, while McCutcheon was down to 73,000. Thirteen hands went by with virtually no action. Then Ferguson made a full house (which he overlooked) against Lee to take the lead. Lee now was left with 4,500, but managed to eventually go all in six times and still remain alive.
It took 62 hands from the time Gill departed until we lost our next player. With (Kd-10d)Qd-Jd, Schummer went all in on his royal flush draw, caught three bricks and lost to Ferguson's set of 9s. Then, seven hands later, we finally got heads-up when Lee, starting with a (7-6)3 low hand, ended up with two deuces, losing to McCutcheon's 10s-up.
McCutcheon now led by a few chips. He and Ferguson decided on an even chop, playing for 10 percent. McCutcheon was crippled in their 20-hand match when his kings lost to Ferguson's 6s and treys. His last chips went in with 4-2 and Ferguson, with J-7, ended things when a jack flopped. Max Shapiro
BIOGRAPHY
Henry Ferguson has been playing poker for about 10 years, but before he turned pro he was 'Mr. Mom,' staying at home, taking care of his daughter and 'picking up the slack' while his wife pursued a career at with an aircraft company. Then, after they separated and his wife moved in with her mother, Ferguson moved into a motel and began supporting himself ever since playing $3-$6 Omaha hi-lo. Stud hi-lo is his second favorite game, so H.O.S.E. was a natural for him.
Ferguson came in second in a Legends event in 2003, just two chips behind in a deal, and later regretted not playing it out, because 'nobody remembers second place.' He has one prior win, in a Mini Series Omaha event. Tonight he got going with six tables left when he scooped with a wheel, then made a full house, accumulated 21,000 chips and never looked back. |
