Orthopedic Surgeon Finds Time
To Win It All
The 2008 Winnin’ o’ the Green continued with Event #19, a $485+$15+$50 No Limit Hold’em Ladies Poker Association (LPA) Tour event. This event had a 2:15pm start and the final table was set at 7:20pm. Action began at level 8 with a 100 ante and blinds of 300-600.
There was a brief discussion of making a deal to ensure everyone at the final table gets their buy-in back (only top 5 finishers are in the money). The idea was nixed and play went on. Usually play is slower when we’re on the bubble though we reached our first elimination on the 6th hand when Lisa Santy, who arrived at the final as the short stack, moved all-in with A-K and was called by Meda Lubliner, who arrived at the final table as the chipleader, holding A-J. Lisa was in a good position to double up however the board 2-8-J-6-8 gave Meda a pair of Jacks and sent Lisa, a sales rep from El Segundo, CA, out in 9th place.
The very next hand saw Debbie Knight going all-in preflop with pocket Queens and was called by Thuy Phan’s A-J. The flop of A-K-J gave Phan two-pair. Debbie needed a Q or a 10 to avoid elimination but the turn and river were no help and Debbie, winner of an earlier ladies event in W.O.G., out in 8th place.
After back-to-back eliminations (both the result of bad beats to A-J) the remaining ladies were quick to make a save this time. All seven remaining players were now in the money. The bursting of the money bubble is typically followed by faster play and this was no exception.
On hand #14 after Meda Lubliner raised preflop to 1,800. Thuy Phan called from the button and then Ann Natarelli pushed all-in for another 4,600 more. Meda folded and Thuy made the call with A-K. Ann held the ever-dangerous A-J but with a board of 10-Q-6-A-Q Thuy’s King kicker was enough to knock out Ann in 7th place.
On hand #20 it was folded to Denise Aaron who raised to 1,800 on the button. Amber Chatwin called from the big-blind. The flop came A-7-9 and Amber led out 3,000. After some pondering Denise went all-in for another 5,400 and Amber made the call with A-J. Denise had K-9 for middle pair and after the turn Jack and river 7 were no help, Denise, a senior accountant from Los Angeles, is out in 6th place.
A few minutes into level 9 of 100 ante and 400-800 blinds we reached our next elimination on hand #31. Christy Shaffer is all-in preflop with A-5 and is called by Amber who holds pocket 6’s. After the board 3-8-J-4-J was dealt Amber’s 6’s held up leaving Christy, an engineer from Camarillo, out in 5th place.
The pot of the night came on hand #39. Meda raised to 2,000 preflop. Amber re-raised an extra 4,400. After some thought Meda re-raised another 10,000 and Amber called. The flop was 10-4-K and Amber bet out 10,000 and Meda immediately pushed all-in and Amber calling with A-Q. Meda’s A-K was in good shape going to the turn which was an Ace. A Jack spiked on the river giving Amber the Broadway straight and a huge pot knocking out Meda, a poker-playing grandmother, out in 4th place.
At this point Amber has a substantial chip-lead over the two remaining ladies. After Thuy doubled through Amber with pocket Aces on hand #48 Thuy goes all-in with A-Q and Amber makes a quick call with pocket Tens. The board of 9-9-J-3-K doesn’t help Thuy as she goes out in 3rd place.
Sherry Godfrey was able to get to heads up play even though she one of the short stacks coming to the final table doing so with timely all-ins that were uncontested. She faced the improbable task of overcoming the 7 to 1 chip lead Amber has over her. Sherry moved-in several times but Amber avoided doubling her up.
On hand #63 Amber finally doubled Sherry up after she flopped middle pair on a 10-9-2 board. Sherry slow-played her pocket Aces. The very next hand both ladies limped in to see a J-3-6 flop. Amber checked it to Sherry who bet 2,000 with Amber smooth calling. The turn was a 4 and Amber checked it to Sherry who went all-in and Amber instantly called with J-3 slow-playing two-pair while Sherry had 6-7. The river Queen was no help to Sherry’s hand as Amber Chatwin wins Event #19 for $7,825. Sherry Godfrey finished runner-up earning her $4,235.
-- O.J. Alcaraz
BIOGRAPHY
Amber Chatwin, MD is an Orthopedic Surgeon who resides in Visalia, CA. She has been playing tournament poker for 2 years focusing primarily on No-Limit Hold’em. She plays open events in addition to ladies events. Amber is already in the main event of the World Series of Poker after having won a tournament to earn her seat. Due to her being on-call most of the time and where she lives she finds it hard to find time and a good place to play poker. She definitely made the most of her available time tonight by winning this event.
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