EVENT #5 7-CARD STUD HI-LO
Tuesday March 21, 2000
$100 BUY-IN w/ one rebuy
$500/$800 in chips
$20,000 Guarantee
RAISE IT UP
By Mike Paulle
Our winner tonight played great, usually raising on third street, but he also
caught more 'miracle' cards in one event than many players do in a month.
Stud Hi-Lo is a tremendously fun tournament game, but it can break your heart
as well.
There were 160 entrants and 128 rebuys in the $100 Buy-In, Stud Hi-Lo, for a
total prize pool of $28,800. 2 tables were paid, a total of 16 players.
Some of the Notables who played: Brent Carter, Kathy Liebert, Phillip Luong,
Randy Holland, Walter Smiley, Toto Leonidas, Amazon Alps, Earl Kim, Andre
Maloof, Hasan Habib, David Levi, Spring Cheong, Bruce Lee, Lola Malo, Hon Le,
JJ Volpe, Can Hua, Freddie Dak, John Inashima, Dirty Wally, Gary Solomons,
Ron Ryneal, Frank Rite, Herb Stein, Amir Vahedi, Kenny Davis, Sophin Chea,
Pat Fleming, Darrell Woods, Avner Levy, Hoang Ta, Al Barbieri, Freddie
Legaspi and the adorable Annie Brown.
When Donald Halpern made his low, he was 'freerolling' on An Tong for the
high end also. With a diamond on the river, Halpern made a flush to crack
Tong's Queens up in 17th place.
To set up the Final Table: John Chan made it into the money for the third
time in five events. The only player to do so. He took a bad beat from
Alfredo Moreno, though, or Chan might have made his second Final Table. Chan
was dealt Jacks against Moreno's Queen Jack. First, Moreno caught the case
Jack. Chan made two pair, first, with J's and 2's. Moreno then hit a 9 on the
river for J's and 9's.
FINAL TABLE:
1 min left of 40. The ante is $300. The bring-in is $500.
Playing $2,000/$4,000
| Player | Hometown | Chip Count |
| Seat 1 Scott Tran | Stanton CA | $24,300 |
| Seat 2 Gary Lent | Chino Hills CA | $40,800 |
| Seat 3 Eldon Brown | Inglewood CA | $10,500 |
| Seat 4 Tony Keo | Long Beach CA | $17,700 |
| Seat 5 Rudy 'Papa' Diaz | Los Angeles CA | $19,100 |
| Seat 6 Kim Suk | Los Angeles CA | $13,800 |
| Seat 7 Harold Berjer | Los Angeles CA | $8,000 |
| Seat 8 Alfredo Moreno | Las Vegas NV | $47,200 |
"I never play Stud Hi-Lo," Harold Berjer said, "and here I am in the money."
Berjer thought the event was Omaha Hi-Lo tonight, but he decided to play
anyway. With 6's and 5's, Berjer had the lead on Alfredo Moreno until the
river. But everyone had the lead on Moreno until the river, tonight. Sure
enough, here comes the case Jack for Moreno and a set of Jacks to make
Berjer history in 8th.
Moreno wasn't the only 'river rat' however. Kim Suk was all-in with Aces.
Tony Keo paired his 9's in a failed low draw. On the river, Keo got a 5 for
two pair and Suk was the next drowning victim in 7th.
"I've been all-in 16 times," Eldon Brown said about his tournament. Because
Stud Hi-Lo is a split game, all-in hands often survive for some time. The
17th all-in was curtains for Brown in 6th, however, as Eldon started with the
8 6 3 of Hearts. Maybe the hand was too good. Brown could only make a pair of
threes, while Alfredo Moreno made 7's and 5's. What a tough game!
They were now playing $5,000/$10,000, so Rudy 'Papa' Diaz couldn't get off
his K's and Q's. Diaz didn't want to, but he had to call Alfredo with his
last chips all-in. Moreno had A's and 10's to say 'good night,' to Papa in
5th.
Remember about Stud Hi-Lo being a game that can break your heart? "I know
you've got it," Gary Lent said mournfully. He was right. Lent, who couldn't
have played any better, took the toughest beat of a night full of horrific
beats. No matter how bad the beat was, somehow you don't get the feeling
Gary's going to give up Stud Hi-Lo for Lent. Gary made K's and 8's and went
all-in. The only way Alfredo Moreno could beat him for the whole pot was with
a gut-shot wheel on the river. "Four," Moreno yelled as the last card was
dealt. Of course, the river card was a 'four' or we wouldn't have a story.
With three players left, deals were discussed repeatedly as the stacks ebbed
and flowed. The two pivotal hands were amazing. To give Scott Tran a chance
at some big money, he had to call down Alfredo Moreno with only a pair of
3's. Tony Keo had to call Moreno down with King high! When the limits went up
to $10,000/$20,000 nobody wanted to play anymore. Moreno and Tran each took
down $7,500. Keo got $5,160. The three played one hand for the trophy with
Moreno winning it. The "raise it up" guy was done with 'miracle' cards for
the night.
Official Money Winners
1. Alfredo Moreno $11,520
2. Scott Tran $5,760
3. Tony Keo $2,880
4. Gary Lent $1,730
5. Rudy 'Papa' Diaz $1,440
6. Eldon Brown $1,150
7. Kim Suk $865
8. Harold Berjer $575
9th-16th received $360
John Chan, Oi Liu, Dudley Rudd, Sirous B, Donald Halpern,
Albert Cohen, Drang Kim, Anthony Tran
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