Champion Ha Diep-It's All About the Trophy
The 2008 Winnin' o' the Green held its fourth No Limit Hold'em open event, Event
#7. . A field of 220 players created a prize pool of $64,020. At two tables
to go, the cards were not kind to the short stacks and most were overlooked
as the "short stack double-up" just wasn't happening. The final table
was set at 1am and each of the 10 players was serious about securing the $23,675
top prize.
The first elimination occurred during the second orbit when Kevin Thong was
all-in on the button with K-J against Yong Han's A-4. The board was A-K-Q-7-6
and Yon's top pair took down the pot. Kevin Thong finished in 10th place and
received $800.
The next elimination occurred four hands later on hand #19 when Benjamin Tang
pushed all-in with J-9 and was called by David Tashman's pocket 6s. The board
missed both players with a K-7-2-3-3 and Tashman's two pair eliminated Benjamin
Tang in 9th place. Benjamin Tang cashed for $960.
On hand #27 David Tashman was all-in against Ha Diep. Ha had the dominating
hand with K-J against David's Q-J. The board was J-10-5-K-Q and Ha dodged an
A and a 9 on the river to take down the pot with top two pair. David Tashman
finished in 8th place and took home $1,280.
Two hands later Ha Diep called Paul Kim's all-in raise from the cutoff position.
Paul showed pocket 6s and Ha turned his A-K for everyone to see (he had A-K
four times so far at this final table). The board came A-10-9-Q-8 and Ha's top
pair/top kicker bested Paul's underpair. Paul Kim was eliminated in 7th place
and earned $1,600.
The blinds get raised and now the short stacks become shorter and the action
picks up. On hand #36 Grady Talbot had Tro Gharibian covered in a classic race
situation. Tro's A-K had to improve over Grady's 10-10. The board was all low
cards (8-7-2-7-3) and Tro Gharibian nursed his short stack from 8th in chips
to a 6th place finish earning $2,480.
The following hand had Yong Han all-in with A-2 against Ha Diep's K-J. The
flop was K-K-Q. Running Aces was Yong only hope. The turn 9 had Yong drawing
dead and the meaningless river 8 fell. Yong Han ended his tournament in 5th
place and cashed out for $2,880.
The last hand of the tournament occurred when Benjamin Tang raised and was
called by Roger Barnes. The flop was 10-6-4. Benjamin bet out and Roger pushed
all-in-Benjamin could not call fast enough. Benjamin's A-A overpair was ahead
of Roger's (Q-10) for top pair. The turn 7 and river 5 didn't help Roger Barnes
and he was eliminated in 4th place for $3,840.
A chip count was made with three players remaining and Ha Diep held the chip
lead and was declared the winner. Peter Nguyen took 2nd place but really wanted
to play through and rejected any deals prior to the 3-way deal. Grady Talbot
finished in 3rd place.
-- Jay 'Bugsy' Siegel
BIOGRAPHY
Ha Diep, not to be confused with his brother Hai Diep, is currently unemployed
but with a newly improved bankroll is going to try earning a living in the cardroom.
Both Ha Diep and runner-up Peter Nguyen share Nam Le as a mentor. Ha has been
playing poker for over 5 years but plays mostly cash games and an occasional
tournament. Ha built chips early in the tournament and never had to play short
stack poker. Ha Diep will be playing future Winnin' o' the Green events and
is looking forward to his next big tournament win.
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