Bike Poker Dealer Carla Strasburger
Wins $500 Limit Hold'em Event
Event #16, the second and final Limit Hold'em event drew 86 players who paid their $500+$50 buy-in. The prize pool was an even $43,000 and was awarded to the top 9 players. With 172,000 chips in play, the final table was set at 11:30pm with the chip leader holding over one-third of the chips.
The final table action started immediately as the shortest stack, Milton Giron, of Santa Fe Springs, CA was all-in with pocket 10's. The button, Chiehtai Chao, called with A-Qo. The board was kind to Chiehtai as he flopped a Queen (Q-8-5-4-J). Milton could not find help on the turn or river and was eliminated in 9th place and earned $860.
On hand #16, Bryan Nadley, who just lost most of his stack to a rivered nut straight on the previous hand, was all-in with his big blind. Bryan was called in two spots. The board was K-5-4-K-10 and there was no checking it down with the two preflop callers. The 'check-bet-call&' occurred to the turn when Rick Munro folded and during the showdown, Ablahad Salim showed his A-J. It was actually good against the all-in Bryan who mucked his cards. Bryan Nadley finished in 8th place and earned $1,075.
Just two hands later, a short stacked and once tournament chip leader, Rick Munro was all-in with 6-9 against a dominating A-9 by Ablahad Salim. The flop was 8-5-4 and Rick had the gut shot straight draw. The turn Queen and river 5 did not complete Rick's draw and he was eliminated in 7th place and earned $1,505.
On hand #28, Jeff Jerome, who flew in from Philadelphia to play the Limit Hold'em and H.O.R.S.E. event, was doing battle with the chip leader, Carla Strasburger. The board came down K-Qs-Js-7-5 and each street had Carla bet and Jeff call. Carla showed down her Ks-9s for top pair and Jeff mucked his cards saying he was behind the whole way.
On the very next hand, a chip-starved Jeff Jerome was all-in with his A-2 and was called by the cutoff, Ablahad Salim with pocket 7's. The board was Q-Q-8-7-Q and Ablahad filled up on the turn and then upgraded his boat to a bigger boat on the river. That would send Jeff Jerome out in 6th place earning $1,935. Jeff is looking forward to the $500+$50 H.O.R.S.E. event to be held on Saturday at 4:15.
The remaining five players played a couple of hands and requested a chip count calculation. The numbers were tallied up, the payouts came back with a unanimous approval, and this event made it into the history book. At only 29 hands and less than an hour of final table play, this was the shortest final table of Winnin ‘O' the Green series so far. Carla Strasburger held onto the chip lead and was declared the winner. Ablahad Salim, who eliminated 3 of the 4 players, was runner up.
It would only be fair to mention that Florentinos Ornelas made his second final table tonight and won some significant pots. Since he did not get eliminated nor did he eliminate anyone at the final table, I did not report on any of his hands. Florentinos is by far the most entertaining person at any of the final tables but he actually did have some good hands that he showed for the table to see. It is my duty to tell you that tonight he hit a gutshot straight on the river, showed down a nut flush, and even made a full house. There Florentinos, I reported on all your big hands! And congratulations on your return visit to the final table.
-Jay 'Bugsy&' Siegel
BIOGRAPHY
Carla Strasburger is currently a dealer at The Bicycle Casino but tonight she was on the other side of the deck. She has been with The Bike for about one year. A former Graphic Designer for over 20 years, she turned to poker after seeing the 2003 WSOP on television (aka The Moneymaker Effect). She played frequently but wanted to improve her game and get more experience. She went to dealer's school and eventually quit Graphic Design and became a dealer in Los Angeles. Carla plays strictly Limit Hold'em tournaments and Limit Hold'em cash games at $6-$12 and $8-$16. Carla wants to dedicate this win to her fellow Bicycle Casino employees.
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