WORLD SERIES OF POKER 2000
EVENT #12 DEUCE-TO-SEVEN (no limit)
$5,000 BUY-IN w/ Rebuys
$5,000 in chips
NO EXPERIENCE REQUIRED
By Mike Paulle
Is it possible to win a World Series bracelet after only a few minutes
coaching for a game you've never played before? Evidently it is.
There were 30 entrants and 35 rebuys in the $5,000 Deuce-To-Seven for a total
prize pool of $325,000. Five players were paid.
Potentially, Deuce-To-Seven can be the most expensive game of the Series. A
$5,000 buy-in with rebuys that is No Limit can run much more than the
Championship Final that is guaranteed to be only $10,000. Since there are so
few players in this event, (it's played in one day, not two) we can list all
the entrants: Mickey Appleman, Bill Baxter, Jim Bechtel, Lyle Berman, Chris
Bjorin, Doug Booth, Marc Bouchard, Johnny Chan, Bruce Corman, Allen
Cunningham, Tony Davis, Freddy Deeb,. Annie Duke, Tom Franklin, Sam Grizzle,
Christoph Haller, Jennifer Harman, Phil Hellmuth, Jim Hoeppner, Howard
Lederer, O'Neil Longson, Vince Musso, Huck Seed, Erik Seidel, Richard St.
Peter, An Tran, Lamar Wilkinson, Hertzel Zalewski, Simon Zhang and Steve
Zolotow.
How would you like to go up against this lineup with no experience in a
$5,000 buy-in game? No Problem!
THE FINAL TABLE
56 mins left of 80. $200 ante, $600/$1,200 blinds, $2,400 minimum opening.
| Player/Hometown | Chip Count |
| Seat 1: Lamar Wilkinson (Pacheco, CA) | $23,800 |
| Seat 2: Simon Zhang (San Francisco, CA) | $30,200 |
| Seat 3: O'Neil Longson (Salt Lake City, UT) | $31,600 |
| Seat 4: Bruce Corman (Nottingham, UK) | $25,400 |
| Seat 5: Lyle Berman (Minneapolis, MN) | $139,200 |
| Seat 6: Jennifer Harman (Las Vegas, NV) | $49,100 |
| Seat 7: Steve Zolotow (New York, NY) | $35,700 |
With 30 entries and 35 rebuys the average player spent more than $10,000 in
this event. So making it to the 7-seat Final Table without getting paid is
especially tough. Simon Zhang caught an Ace (a 'high only' card in
Deuce-To-Seven) on his one card draw all-in against Jennifer Harman. Simon
says you win when Jennifer turned over a 10 6.
Finishing 6th, which was one out of the money, the all-in O'Neil Longson
mucked his hand when Steve Zolotow showed him a 9 8.
Cardroom owner Lamar 'Wil' Wilkinson had no cards for hours but managed to
get paid in 5th by continually throwing away marginal hands. When Wil went
all-in finally, he had a chance on his one card draw against Steve Zolotow.
Steve Z took one card, also, and caught an Ace. Any card that doesn't pair
him would win the hand for Wilkinson. Drawing to a six, Wil drew a six and
was 86'd for his pair.
Another player who couldn't find a hand to open with for hours was Bruce
Corman. You know you are running bad when you go all-in on a one-card draw
and can't beat a two-card draw. Bruce caught a Queen and 4th place, Jennifer
Harman drew two cards and still came up with a J 9.
It was desperation time for Steve Zolotow. The stacks across from him dwarfed
his chips. Steve went all-in drawing two cards. Lyle Berman drew one.
Zolotow made a nice hand with a Jack low. But Lyle had a 10 low to send the
famous Steve Z out in 3rd.
She was never supposed to get this far, surely she had no chance to win!
Jennifer Harman is a highly confident player. But could even her confidence
extend to a game she'd never played in tournaments before? How confident can
you be and still be reality-based? Harman got a few minutes of instruction
from Howard Lederer before beginning. Perhaps Lederer can sell us the tape of
this instruction, it worked miraculously well.
Lyle Berman is a three-time bracelet winner. He's an expert at this game and
has played thousands of hours in head up Deuce-To-Seven for enormous amounts
of money. Jennifer can't beat Lyle Berman as a 4-1 chip dog! What are the
odds?
If Jennifer Harman didn't beat Lyle Berman at his own game with no
experience, we wouldn't have a story. Instead we have a great story as after
over an hour of back and forth where each player in turn took a commanding
lead, Jennifer Harman won the hand of the night. Absolutely equal in chips,
Lyle went all-in with a pat 10 8. Jennifer called and drew one to an 8. When
she turned over an 8 5, Lyle had only one chip left which he lost in the next
hand. Jennifer Harman had done the near-impossible. She got her first gold
bracelet with no experience required.
Official Money Winners
| 1. Jennifer Harman | $146,250 |
| 2. Lyle Berman | $81,250 |
| 3. Steve Zolotow | $48,750 |
| 4. Bruce Corman | $32,500 |
| 5. Lamar Wilkinson | $16,250 |
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