| Barry Shulman, owner of Card Player magazine, now has something to really write about in his column. In an intense 90-minute match-up with Dan Heimiller, he overcame the seasoned pro’s nearly 3-2 chip advantage to win the seventh event of the 2001 World Series of Poker, seven card stud hi-lo, collecting $123,820 and his first bracelet.
Shulman, with a no-limit win at last year’s World Poker Open, said he had to change his normal strategy against the unpredictable Heimiller. “He’s so aggressive, so very difficult. Instead of my normal aggressive game, I had to play a waiting game. At the very last I got very lucky,” he commented.
Heimiller has had 16 cash-outs in the World Series in the last four years. In an analysis, he said that a couple of times when Shulman came over the top he tried to take the lead by “re-bluffing” him, a strategy that cost him $50,000 to $100,000. Otherwise, he added, he did not regret any of his play.
Limits started at $3,000-$6,000 with $400 antes and a $1,000 bring-in. Heimiller sat down as chip leader with $66,000, but quickly fell back. First he mucked a hand against Vince Burgio. Then he missed a low when Bill Murphy made queens full. And finally he made trip deuces, only to lose to three fours made by Mike Kreskanko, a full-time player with a second in the 1993 eight or better event here.
First out, 45 minutes into play, was Marshall Ragir, an internet executive. He missed his straight, ending up with only a pair of eights, while Vince Burgio completed a six-high straight in five cards. Burgio, with one bracelet, counts an all-around at the Four Queens and the 1999 World Championship of Lowball among his many victories.
With limits raised to $4,000 and $8,000, Heimiller went to work rebuilding his damaged stacks. Meanwhile, Murphy, an Oracle programmer playing in only his second WSOP event, was being dogged by terrible luck. Five times in a row, six out of seven, he had to bring it in with the low card, each time with either a king or a nine in the hole. “K-9, canine, all dogs,” he complained. My nickname should be the dogcatcher.” Forced to go all in with his last few chips, he ended up being split apart by Burgio with an eight-low and Heimiller with kings-up.
When a chip count was called for, Shulman was the leader with about $92,000, followed by Burgio and Heimiller, who were about tied with $70,000 each. But now Dan was playing lots of hands, and winning more than his share of them. He later estimated that he played twice as many as anybody else, often managing to win with bad hands as well as good. Then he took a big pot from Shulman with queens-up and moved into a solid lead with about $125,000.
After a break, limits rise to $6,000 and $12,000, as Dan continues to rise and Barry continues to fall until he finally bets virtually all in showing 4-6-7-8. But Heimiller folded. The Card Player honcho then blew Kreskanko out of the water. Short-chipped, Mike went all in with just 10-10/3-4. Barry was freerolling on fifth street with 6-7/3-4-2 and four diamonds, and then caught his flush on the river.
A Pennsylvania pro with wins at the Taj and Tropicana, who prefers to be known merely as “Wink,” was next to wink out. Showing 10-K-Q-J, he went all in and ended with kings and tens, no match for Heimiller’s diamond flush. Shortly after, Dan did the honors again, this time knocking out Larry Bernstein, a Delaware pro. Bernstein, starting with 2-2/A, caught another bullet on fourth street and went all in on sixth. But he was up against a very hot Dan Heimiller, who started with J-8/7-9 of clubs. Dan just missed catching a straight flush on the river, but his queen of clubs, to quote Hamlet, “’tis enough, ’twill do.” It’s also enough to push Heimiller into a very big lead, with about $250,000 of the $345,000 on the table.
Burgio, not catching much, started getting very low chipped and finally had to go all in with a marginal start of three suited cards. Heimiller and Shulman began to check him down until Dan, with pocket sevens, made a set on fifth street, bet out and then filled. Shulman also made a boat, but his was smaller, a detail which is of little interest to Vince, who ended up in third place with aces-up. Heimiller later said he knew that Shulman would have to call on the river because he (Heimiller) was showing three small cards.
Heads-up, Heimiller had a chip lead of $223,000 to $122,000. Shulman, who had already changed from the strategy of looking for small cards with a full table to going in with any pairs or an ace when the table was short, now adjusted further, picking his spots more than usual against the scatter-gunning Heimiller. A bit groggy from only four hours sleep due to an important morning business meeting, he was now running on adrenaline and coffee.
He desperately wanted the bracelet, and he was being intently watched by his son Jeff (who came close to the chip lead at the World Series last year), and his poker novice wife Jan. For a long time chips flowed back and forth, but Heimiller gradually sank lower. On the final hand, Dan, with 27/2, got tied onto his hand with a seven on fourth street. Shulman, starting with A-6/3, then caught two running sixes for a winner and a huge payday. (A raise for your writers, Barry?)
Max Shapiro
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