Three-Ring Circus
Jimmy Duh Stops Tony Abesamis From Becoming First Player in History to Win Three WSOP Circuit Gold Rings
Newest poker champ wins first major tournament on stunning bad beat
Valley Center, CA (February 17, 2007) - Bad beats are part of poker. Just ask Tony Abesamis. Down to the final two players in this World Series of Poker Circuit tournament, Mr. Abesamis had his opponent all-in and held a far-superior hand. On the fateful hand that decided the outcome of the tournament, Mr. Abesamis had A-K to his opponent's K-3. That is normally about as dominant an advantage that exists in pre-flop play.
Abesamis reached over and grabbed the gold WSOP Circuit ring resting on the green felt, the prize bestowed upon every Circuit tournament winner. The gesture proved premature. As if to punch the living lights out of Abesmis, the poker Gods dealt not just one but two devastating blows to the two-time Circuit event winner. Ka-boom! Two 3s fell from the deck. In a matter of seconds, Mr. Abesamis had gone from making headlines as the first three-time WSOP Circuit winner ever, to second place in the tournament.
The recipient of the bad beat windfall was Jimmy Duh, a 22-year-old editor from San Diego. He won his first major poker tournament and collected $31,350 for first place. Oh, and the gold ring was his, too.
The bad beat overshadowed what was a terrific comeback by Mr. Duh. He was lowest on chips a few times at the final table. Each time, he clawed and scratched his way back into contention. The finale also featured several humorous moments, abetted by Mr. Abesamis' verbal stabs at various opponents throughout play. Watching Mr. Abesamis fiddle with the gold ring (which matched one on his finger and one on his necklace - from events won in previous years at Harrah's Rincon and Harvey's Lake Tahoe, respectively) was like eating dessert before the main course was served. In the end, Mr. Abesamis found the entire ordeal quite unappetizing, indeed.
Event #7 at Harrah's Rincon attracted 202 entries, creating a total prize pool of $97,970. The $500 buy-in no-limit hold'em event was played over two days. On day one, 193 players were eliminated. The top 27 places received prize money. The final nine competitors returned to play on day two. Seating and chip counts at the final table were as follows:
Seat 1: Beau Towers 49,300
Seat 2: Mike Pancer 20,800
Seat 3: Chris Farmer 41,700
Seat 4: David Naimark 15,200
Seat 5: Yarom Limor 15,400
Seat 6: Russ Tarpey 34,400
Seat 7: Tony Abesamis 137,200
Seat 8: Jimmy Duh 37,600
Seat 9: Alex Ray 51,900
With chip leader Tony Abesamis in command, it didn't take long for the action to begin. On the first hand of play, short-stacked David Naimark moved all-in holding Q-J. He was called by Alex Ray, holding a dominant hand -- A-J. Drawing slim, Mr. Naimark failed to improve which meant a quick exit and ninth-place finish. The forensic psychiatrist from Cardiff, CA collected $1,959 in prize money.
A few hands later, Chris Farmer picked up a monster hand at the expense of Russ Tarpey. Mr. Farmer flopped a set holding pocket fives against Mr. Tarpey's pocket queens. A five on the turn produced four-of-a-kind and put Mr. Tarpey all-in with a (drawing dead) overpair. That sealed Mr. Tarpey's unwelcome fate - eighth place for the systems engineer from Oklahoma. He earned $2,939.
The next player to exit was the desperately short-stacked Michael Pancer. He has been playing tournament poker for many years (he finished seventh at the WSOP final table back in 1995). He would ultimately take seventh place again in this tournament. Down to his last 6,000 in chips, he-moved all in with two big cards, but lost to Yarom Limor's jack-high straight. Mr. Pancer, a criminal defense attorney from Pacific Beach, CA, had his motion to stay at the final table denied. He accepted a settlement for $3,919.
Beau Towers busted out next. He had on day two arrived in decent chip position. But a few tough losses during the early rounds resulted in being low on chips. He moved all-in with his remaining stack (with 9-9) and was called by Chris Farmer (holding K-Q). A king flopped - good for a higher pair -- and knocked Mr. Towers out in sixth place. The salesman from San Diego collected $4,899 in prize money.
Chris Farmer seized the chip lead by default when Tony Abesamis lost a "coin flip" situation to Alex Ray, which bled away 30,000 from his stack. In fact, it was Farmer who made the most significant move during the early to middle stages of the final table. But that that moment the chip lead was only temporary. Mr. Abesamis rebounded and took back a 45,000 pot a few hands later at the expense of Mr. Farmer, once again demonstrating the depth of his high-stakes tournament experience.
About 75 minutes into play, the fifth player went out when Alex Ray moved all-in with pocket 5s. The big stack (Tony Abesamis) called holding 8-7. He flopped a pair of 8s. The higher pair held up, which meant Mr. Ray was forced to depart. Alex Ray, one of two attorneys sitting at the final table, ended up as the fifth-place finisher. Mr. Ray is also on active duty in the U.S. Marine Corps. He added $5,878 to his poker bankroll.
Jimmy Duh took a tough hit when he lost much of his stack holding K-Q, which was flattened by Yarom Limor's A-K. Neither player made a pair, so the ace-high played. But Mr. Duh would extract his revenge in a similar situation just a short time later.
With the incessant chatterbox Yarom Limor present, the final table had a few lighter moments. After Mr. Limor survived a few all-ins, that prompted the normally quiet and reserved Tony Abesamis to call him a "cockroach."
"You survive everything," Mr. Abesamis said in his thick Phillipino-accent. "You -- just like a cockroach!"
"Wh....wh….what did you say? You called me a cockroach?" Mr. Limor retorted in disbelief.
"Yeah, I mean it as a compliment," said Mr. Abesamis - causing everyone within listening distance to laugh.
But a few minutes later Mr. Limor wasn't laughing when his A-10 was all-in versus Jimmy Duh's K-Q and a queen flopped. Mr. Limor failed to improve which meant the blabbering crustacean crawled away in fourth place. To his credit, Yarom Limor has made many final tables at major tournaments, including the WSOP. However, he has yet to achieve victory. His payout amounted to $6,858.
Tony Abesamis enjoyed a 2 to 1 chip lead over Jimmy Duh when three-handed play began. He was 4 to 1 ahead of Chris Farmer. It took just three hands for Mr. Farmer to be whipped out, losing with A-Q to Mr. Abesamis' pocket kings. Mr. Farmer failed to catch an ace, which meant a third-place finish. The 22-year-old poker dealer from San Diego received a very respectable 8,817 in prize money.
Mr. Abesamis was ahead by about a 3 to 1 margin when heads-up play began. However, Mr. Duh won a critical hand holding K-Q versus Mr. Abesamis' A-3, as the underdog hand caught a queen on the flop and managed to double through. That hand gave Mr. Duh a slight chip lead for the first (and only) time.
Mr. Abesamis continued to roll with the verbal punches. After playing heads-up for about 30 minutes, he regained the chip lead. Then, in another big confrontation, Mr. Abesamis moved all-in which caused Mr. Duh to stop and think about his decision fro several minutes.
"How much does second-place pay?" Mr Abesamis asked the tournament announcer, Chris Spears. "$17,243," the tournament official replied.
"Seventeen thousand - isn't that going to be enough for you?" Abesamis jabbed.
Mr. Duh folded.
Then, a few hands later, the biggest hand of the night unfolded. Mr. Duh was dealt K-3 and made a standard raise pre-flop. Mr. Abesamis re-raised. Mr. Dug moved all-in --- obviously hoping to steal, and thinking that Mr. Abesamis might be able to get away from the hand. Holding "big slick," it took Mr. Abesamis about a half a second to make the call. Before the flop was revealed, Mr. Abesamis began toying with the ring. The possession was fleeting. Trip 3s stunned everyone in the crowd, crushed Mr. Abesamis, and created a new poker champion named Jimmy Duh. Down to just a few chips, Mr. Abesamis lost the next hand and the tournament was over.
As it turned out, Tony Abesamis had to settle for the $17,243 second prize. The former programmer and analyst will certainly be a force at future tournaments.
Meanwhile, all Mr. Duh could do was shake his head in disbelief. In poker, it takes skill to win. But, it also takes some well-timed luck. Through a combination of determination, solid play, and a very lucky break on one hand, Jimmy Duh became the latest poker champion.
by Nolan Dalla
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