Patience Pays as Keith Correll, with Fewest Chips, Plays Steady and Wins
But Eric Crain, Starting with Huge Lead, Only Makes it to Fifth Place
Elizabeth, IN-This tournament offered a testament to the virtue of patient,
controlled play. At one end was Eric Crain, who arrived at the final table with
a tremendous lead, holding 374,000 of the 1,017,000 chips in play, but finished
a disappointing fifth. After he busted out and left the table, the remaining
players shook their heads at what they felt was his overly loose and sometimes
reckless play.
At the other end was Keith Correll, a 42-year-old controller for an auto parts
company from Greenwood, Illinois. He started lowest-chipped with 47,500 but,
as he explained later, picked his spots, waited on hands hoping to get play,
hung on, then went on a rush in the final stages to take down the ninth event
of the WSOP Circuit tour at Caesars Indiana, $500 no-limit hold'em. His victory
was worth a substantial $49,372 along with a $5,000 main event seat.
Correll also admitted to his share of luck, saying that his hands held up
all day, and he once got very lucky, being all in with A-5 against a better
ace, escaping when he flopped a flush.
Correll is unmarried and has played poker three years, splitting his time
between tournaments and $2-$5 and $5-$10 no-limit cash games. His prior highlight
was winning $10,000 in chips in a mega-satellite at the WSOP last year. He also
has an eighth in a $1,000 no-limit Circuit event here in March.
When we got to the final table, blinds were 3,000-6,000 with 29:24 on the
clock.
Here were the starting chip counts:
SEAT 1 Dave Brown 54,000
SEAT 2 Nick Guagenti 75,000
SEAT 3 Eric Crain 374,000
SEAT 4 Mohammad Hamid 91,000
SEAT 5 Keith Correll 47,500
SEAT 6 Marc Wertheim 92,000
SEAT 7 Todd Bartley 109,000
SEAT 8 Thad Haas 84,500
SEAT 9 Brad Mason 89,500
The first big pot came on the eighth hand and it offered a prime example of
the differences in play between the two players.
On that hand. Mohammad Hamid moved in with pocket queens, Keith Correll quickly
called, and so did Crain-with just A-10. Correll turned up pocket aces ("The
fifth time tonight," Hamid complained). When the board came J-1-14-3, Crain
lost about 80,000 while Correll tripled up to around 150,000, moving into second
place.
Aces then proved fatal to Marc Wertheim. He moved in for 36,000 with Ad-6d,
and Nick Guagenti crushed him when all small cards hit the board.
Wertheim is 39, self-employed and from Cincinnati. He's married with two children
and has been playing poker five years. This is his fifth Circuit, which paid
him $3,185 for ninth.
Blinds went to 4,000-8,000 with 1,000 antes, and suddenly everything turned
around. On a flop of Q-J-7, Correll bet 35,000, Crain moved in, and Correll
called. They both had queens, but Correll's kicker was an ace to Crain's 10.
Crain couldn't help, and suddenly Correll was chip leader with 305,000 to 225,000
for Crain.
As play continued, Brad "Mace" Mason was down to 28,000 after losing to Todd
Bartley's pocket kings, but quickly recovered by doubling through twice.
Next out was Mohammad Hamid. Crain raised from the small blind with just 8-6
and Hamid went all in from the big blind with A-10. "Good flop," he said as
the board showed A-Q-10. But it was a bad river, because after a jack turned,
a 9 gave Crain an inside straight.
Hamid, 25, born in Puerto Rico, now lives in Chicago where he is a valet parker.
He's single, learned the game from TV, has been playing five years, and this
was his fifth Circuit. Eighth paid $4,778.
Hand 51 was the last for Brad "Mace" Mason. He was all in with K-Q. Dave Brown
had A-K and made two pair.
Mason, 32, is a bank security director from Burlington, Kentucky. He's married
with two children, learning poker from reading David Sklansky's books three
years ago. This is his first Circuit and he was paid $6,371 for seventh.
On the next hand, Thad Haas was on the button and tried an all-in move for
46,000 with just 8-5. Nick Guagenti picked him off with A-Q and hit a queen
on the river.
Haas, 33, is from Naperville, Illinois, and is a consulting actuary. His hobbies
are hockey, films, and spending time with his family. He is married with three
children. This is his fourth Circuit, and his best finish ever. Sixth paid him
$7,963.
After blinds went to 6,000-12,000 with 2,000 antes, Guagenti moved in with
pocket deuces. Crain looked at just one card, an ace, and called. His other
card was a suited 4, but the deuces held up, and suddenly Crain was down to
132,000. After folding a pot on the flop a few hands later he was left with
47,000. That went all in a few hands later when he had pocket 9s against Guagenti's
pocket jacks. The board came 10-5-4-8-7, and Crain was out.
Crain, 23, is a poker player from Murphysboro, Illinois. Before that he was
a student. He is single and his other hobbies are sports and the drum corps.
He learned poker playing with friends 4-1/2 years ago. He's entered eight to
10 Circuits, and won a ring in a Circuit event at Tunica last year. Fifth place
paidv$9,556.
Guagenti now led with about 280,000. As play went on, Correll was blinded
down, but survived an all-in when he flopped that flush. By the end of the level,
on hand 113, Correll was lowest-chipped again with 154,000, while Todd Bartley
had now pulled into the lead with 330,000, followed by Guagenti with 266,000
and Dave Brown with 265,00
We were now playing with blinds of 8,000-16,000 and 2,000 antes. The race
tightened after Correll A-Q beat Bartley's A-10. Correll's rush began on hand
142. First he beat Bartley's A-8 with A-K to move into a tiny lead. Then he
later beat Bartley again by hitting a king on the river to move way in front
with about 425,000, finally climbing to more than 600,000.
On hand 160 he knocked out Bartley who had Q-3 in the big blind to Correll's
A-6 in the small. Bartley couldn't hit anything and now three were left.
Bartley, 35, is from Bardston, Kentucky and owns a floor covering store. He
has two children, learned poker "by losing a lot of money," and has been playing
seven years. This is his best finish to date. Fourth place paid $11,249.
The other two players offered Correll a deal, but he just wanted to play.
He didn't regret his decision, because on the next hand he had Guagenti all
in holding pocket 7s to Guagenti's K-5. The board came 9-8-3-Q-6 as Guagenti
finished third.
Guagenti is 23 and from Columbus, Ohio. His occupation is "cards," and before
that he was a greenskeeper. Guagenti has been playing poker for four years,
winning his way into this event through a satellite. He's played in numerous
Circuit events and has 10 cashes, including $11,633 for a $2,500 pot-limit hold'em
event at the WSOP, $10,860 for $5,000 pot-limit hold'em, and $10,450 in a Midwest
Regional Championship poker event, all in 2006. Tonight he collected $12,741
for third.
Seven hands later, right after blinds went to 10,000-20,000 with 3,000 antes,
it was all over. Brown moved in for his last 55,000 chips with pocket 5s. Correll
called with Q-J, outdrawing Brown when the board came K-K-Q-3-3.
Brown, 54, is from Minooka, Illinois, where he is an electrician with Local
176. His nickname is "Diamonds Dave," he's married with four children, and he
learned poker playing with friends 35 years ago. His other hobby is fishing.
He's entered some 20 Circuits, and his prior highlight was a third-place finish
in a $1,000 Circuit event at Tunica last year. Tonight his second-place finish
was worth $25,482.
-Max Shapiro |
