The Right Move at the Right Time
Danny Yousefzadeh, New York Jeweler, Wins World Series of Poker Circuit Gold Ring and $488,828.
John McMahon, 57-year-old tournament novice, finishes second at Caesars Atlantic City
Atlantic City, NJ (March 14, 2007) - There's a classic poker scene from the 1966 movie 'The Cincinnati Kid' where tough guy Edward G. Robinson gets into a skirmish and wins a big pot. While dragging a huge pile of cash and chips, he's criticized by an adversary for supposedly misplaying his hand.
'That's what it's all about, isn't it?' Robinson knowingly asks. 'Making the wrong move -- at the right time?' The shrewd but masterful line is intended convey both the strategic and psychological complexity of high stakes poker, that it's a game which can't be played 'by the book.' Despite volumes of literature on optimal poker strategy, sometimes the best play is not the obvious, nor the conventional.
John McMahon, despite never having played in a poker tournament before in his life, could very well have been cast as the Edward G. Robinson figure in this poker script. Except, he did not win. Instead, victory went to Danny Yousefzadeh, a 40-year-old jewelry store owner from New York City. With Caesars Atlantic City as the stage and the World Series of Poker Circuit as the backdrop, 'making the wrong move at the right time' took on a whole new meaning. In the end, it was Mr. Yousefzadeh who made the right move and Mr. McMahon who ended up making the wrong move on the final decisive hand which ultimately determined the tournament champion.
Unconventional strategy has worked well for some poker novices of the past. Whether it was newcomer Kevin McBride in 1998 when he finished second to Scotty Nguyen at the World Series of Poker, or Robert Varkonyi four years later when he overcame the odds with some bizarre play to win poker's world championship, unpredictable players have occasionally used stealth and erratic play to their advantage. And, it almost worked this time in Atlantic City - but not quite.
This is the fifth time the World Series of Poker Circuit has been played in Atlantic City. Without question, this year's Caesars Atlantic City series attracted the highest overall turnout. Two tournaments this year had more than 1,000 entries.
In fact, two of the three largest events in WSOP Circuit history have now occurred at Caesars.
One of the reasons turnout has been so high is that Caesars and its staff know how to do things right. From special hotel rates for poker players, to free lunches for tournament participants, to generous amounts of chips and play in each of the tournaments - Caesars Atlantic City has made a firm commitment to hosting what has become an annual world-class poker event which augments the image of excellence long associated with the 'Caesars' name.
The $5150 buy-in championship event attracted a strong field of 314 entries creating a prize pool over $1.5 million. The top 27 places all received prize money. On Day Three, Rick Austin arrived at the final table as the chip leader. He did not enjoy the bird's eye view from the lofty perch for long. The eventual winner, Danny Yousefzadeh arrived with an average chip stack. Seating positions and chip counts began as follows:
Seat 1: Rick Austin 704,000
Seat 2: Grant Lang 190,000
Seat 3: Frank Vizza 246,000
Seat 4: David Fox 637,000
Seat 5: Chuck Norris 87,000
Seat 6: Eugene Fouksman 513,000
Seat 7: Matt Brady 122,000
Seat 8: Danny Yousefzadeh 360,000
Seat 9: John McMahon 239,000
Blinds began at 4,000-8,000 with a 1,000 ante. The lowest stack belonged to Chuck Norris. If the final table were an ass-kicking contest, Mr. Norris would have certainly been the favorite. But alas, his chip liability was like street fighting at midnight with a hand tied behind his back. Just ten minutes into play, Mr. Norris found Q-Q and moved all-in. Frank Vizza called with K-Q. The flop looked good for Mr. Norris (with blanks), but then runner-runner hearts fell to produce a flush with four red hearts on board. Mr. Vizza exposed the king of hearts which meant Mr. Norris' final table parade was cancelled. Chuck Norris, a 37-year-old general contractor and land developer from Fayetteville, NC took ninth place. Mr. Norris, a U.S. Army veteran who served in the Persian Gulf War, cashed twice here at the Caesars Atlantic City Circuit series. His cash prize amounted to $30,552.
Grant Lang arrived as arguably the most famous face at the final table, for having appeared on ESPN's coverage of the 2005 World Series of Poker and Tournament of Champions. He finished sixth at the 2005 TOC and also took fifth place in the WSOP Circuit event championship event at the Rio in Las Vegas. However, this day was a major disappointment. Mr. Lang had been the chip leader about mid-way through Day Two, but was never able to generate any momentum during his short stay in the finale. On his final hand of the tournament, Mr. Lang moved all-in holding 6-6 after a flop of 2-3-4. Mr. Lang held an over pair with an inside straight draw. Danny Yousefzadeh had an even bigger over pair. He called and showed 8-8. The pocket eights held up and Mr. Lang went out without a bang. Eighth place paid $45,828.
Down to seven, play tightened up considerably. An hour passed before the next major confrontation. David Fox lost half of his chips to Danny Yousefzadeh, when his A-A was cracked by two pair. The Fox, who slow played the big cards, was too sly for his own good. A ragged looking flop of K-8-3 matched Mr. Yousefzadeh's K-3, which held up and scooped a 500,000 pot. Later, the standing-room only audience was completely taken by surprise when David Fox ended up going out in seventh place.
A relatively small pot grew much larger in size when the final board showed 10-6-3-9-A. Mr. Fox had A-J and moved all-in with top pair. His nemesis, Danny Yousefzadeh called the large bet and flipped over 9-9 for a set of nines. 'I read him wrong both times,' Mr. Fox stated afterward - referring to Mr. Yousefzadeh's two big hands. 'I didn't play well today.' David Fox, a 30-year-old professional poker player from Corum, NY took second place at the East Coast Poker Championships last November and fifth at the Trump Poker Classic in December. He had to settle for seventh place in this event, good for $61,104.
Entering the third hour of play, Danny Yousefzadeh appeared in total command. He had 1,383,000 in chips, a better than 2 to 1 advantage over his closest rival. Meanwhile, Rick Austin took another blow when he doubled-up the shortest stack (Matt Brady), which left the early chip leader with just over 100,000 in chips. The hunter had become the hunted.
Soon thereafter, Mr. Austin had a bullseye on his forehead. On his final, most fateful hand, Rick Austin was in the small blind, looked down and saw pocket eights. That was good enough to move all-in. Unfortunately, two players called the small raise, including John McMahon. The final board showed 10-6-2-4-7. Mr. McMahon flipped over A-10 (for a pair of tens) and dragged what remained of Mr. Austin's chips. Rick Austin, a 49-year-old retail store owner from Lansdale, PA, finished second at one of the previous tournaments here at Caesars Atlantic City. But he could do no better than sixth place on this day, which paid $76,380.
Five players remained. Danny Yousefzadeh took his first significant hit of the day when he lost a 800,000 pot holding two pair (10s and 5s) versus John McMahon's higher two pair (Ks and 10s). That gave Mr. McMahon the chip lead again, a position he last enjoyed late on Day Two. Matt Brady was not so fortunate. He was short and moved all-in holding 8-8. Danny Yousefzadeh called immediately and flipped over 9-9. The higher pair survived, putting Mr. Brady out of the tournament.
Matt Brady, a 26-year-old professional poker player from Upper Darby, PA and a graduate of West Virginia University, arrived as the hottest tournament player of the nine finalists. He now has 16 major cashes within the past two years, including a seventh place finish here last week at Caesars Atlantic City and fifth place in this event. Mr. Brady collected $91,656 in prize money.
Down to four players, Yousefzadeh and McMahon battled back and forth for the chip lead. After a dinner break and increase in blinds to 8,000-16,000, play continued for another 90 minutes. Cautious play and relatively low blinds in relation to the stack sizes resulted in little chip movement. Then, Frank Vizza ran card dead and was forced to gamble. It backfired. Mr. Vizza was dealt K-3 ande moved all-in. John McMahon called and showed K-10. Mr. Vizza was in big trouble. Neither player made a pair, so the two higher cards played.
Mr. Vizza ended up going out in third place. 'I was so low on chips that I had to try and make a steal,' Mr. Vizza said afterward, referring to the king-three bust out hand. 'I figured any ace or any king was enough to move in with.' Frank Vizza is a 40-year-old commodity trader from Cold Spring Harbor, NY. He cashed three times at the 2005 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. This time, his payday amounted to $106,932.
Play went three-handed into the sixth hour. No player was seriously low on chips, so it would take a big hand to create the earthquake necessary to severe a player off the final table. That happened when Eugene Fouksman made top pair and moved all-in on a hand which should never have gotten so far out of control.
Mr. Fouksman was dealt Q-6 and moved in with a raise after the flop came 6-5-5. Danny Yousefzadeh was thrilled to call holding 9-5, good for three 5s. Mr. Fouksman knew he had overplayed his hand. He picked up a flush draw on the turn. But a blank on the river sealed the fate of the 28-year-old investment analyst from Manalapan, NJ. Just says earlier, Mr. Fouksman finished second in an event at Caesars. He also took second place at last year's Harrah's Atlantic City Circuit event. His time, he took third place. It paid $137,484. 'I can't complain,' Mr. Fouksman said later. 'This week, I played the best poker of my life. I am happy with they way I played.'
When heads-up play began, Danny Yousefzadeh had 3 to 2 chip lead over John McMahon. The duel last for three hours. An interesting hand took place early when Mr. McMahon made a royal flush, but he won few chips. The board showed A-K-J-10-X of clubs and Mr. McMahon moved all-in with the queen of clubs. Predictably, his opponent folded.
An hour later, the newcomer to tournament poker shocked everyone in the room (to say nothing of his opponent, Mr. Yousefzadeh) by moving all-on on a pure bluff, which succeeded in stealing a sizable pot. The bold move gave Mr. McMahon a slight chip lead. 'Next time, I will have the real hand when I move all-in,' Mr. McMahon barked. 'I can't bluff you - you're too good.' All Mr. Yousefzadeh could do was flash a forced smile.
He would not be smiling much longer. About ten hands later, Mr. McMahon won a 800,000 pot and seized a 2 to 1 chip lead. Minutes later, the lead was 2.2 million for Mr. McMahon to 900,000 for Mr. Yousefzadeh. But that was to be Mr. McMahon's high point. It would be all down hill from there, setting the stage for Mr. Yousefzadeh's ultimate comeback.
Up to that point, Mr. McMahon's final table play could best be described as unpredictable. At times, he did not look at his two hole cards. He made blind bets when checked to after the flop. In short, Mr. McMahon did his best to confuse his more experienced opponent. The bizarre strategy almost worked.
With some exceptions, better and more experienced players have a way of prevailing in the long run. 'I was very patient,' Mr. Yousefzadeh said later about his final table strategy and the marathon heads-up battle. 'I was not going to lose my chips on any kind of race. I thought I could beat him. So, I just had to wait for the right moment.'
It finally came. After Mr. Yousefzadeh won a few big pots and regained a slight chip lead, the most significant hand of the tournament was dealt shortly after midnight. Mr. McMahon was dealt 6-7. Mr. Yousefzadeh was dealt 4-4. The flop came 10-5-4. Mr. McMahon flopped an outside straight draw. Mr. Yousefzadeh flopped a set of fours. Mr. McMahon bet out 100,000. Mr. Yousefzadeh raised 425,000 more. Mr. McMahon moved all-in and Mr. Yousefzadeh made an instant call. 'I'm on a draw,' Mr. McMahon announced. If nothing else, it was great drama.
A ten on the turn produced a full house, and Mr. McMahon went from holding a live hand to drawing dead. The tournament was finally over and Mr. Yosefzadeh escaped what would have been a staggering upset.
The runner up was John McMahon. The former U.S. Marine and Vietnam vet flustered and frustrated a succession of opponents en route to a payoff of $268,858. No one, perhaps least of all Mr. McMahon himself, could have forecasted the second-place showing in his first tournament experience.
The WSOP Circuit Caesars Atlantic City champion is Danny Yousefzadeh. Born in Iran, he is now married and has a 2-month old daughter. Prior to this finish, his only other cash was in the main event at the 2005 World Series of Poker. Mr. Yousefzadeh is the owner of Paradise Jewelry, which is located on 34th Street between 7th and 8th Avenue in New York City. In addition to winning nearly half a million in prize money, the winner received a paid entry into the main event of the 2007 World Series of Poker.
by Nolan Dalla - World Series of Poker Media Director
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