Pocket Aces Nail Down $500 No-Limit Win for Terminal Manager Tim Sciscoe
Sensing Tightness in His Final Opponent, He Plays
More Aggressively to Take Lead and then Victory:
Council Bluffs, IA--Dealt pocket aces on the final hand, Tim Sciscoe effecively slow-played them to trap his opponent into going all in as he won the fourth event of the WSOP Circuit at Horseshoe Council Bluffs, $500 no-limit hold'em. Sciscoe, 50, is a truck terminal manager from Omaha who divides his playing time between tournaments and small no-limit hold'em cash games. He describes his playing style as "selective aggressive," and said he stepped up his action when he sensed tightness in his final opponent, Tom Petric.
Sciscoe has been playing five years, tries to play three or four times a week, and this is his sixth Circuit. He's had some small cashes here last year, and also won a daily tournament at the Mirage. However, he said his poker highlight was getting drunk with Robert Williamson III.
There were two final tables today, this one and, an hour later, the Omaha high-low event. There will be two similar final tables on Saturday, and another two on Sunday, along with a table for the one-day High Heels Tour Ladies event. Should this writer somehow survive and manage to send in seven reasonably coherent reports, he expects to gain a mention in the Guiness Book of World Records.
The final table got started with blinds of 3,000-6,000 and 500 antes, with nine minutes left at level 14. Leading were Darin Rima with 164,500 chips and Bob Slezak with 162,000.
Here were the starting chip counts
Seat 1. Drew Woodke 107,000
Seat 2. Howard Wolper 27,500
Seat 3. Chance Langeness 146,500
Seat 4. Darin Rima 164,500
Seat 5. Tim Sciscoe 70,000
Seat 6. Luke Schneider 106,500
Seat 7. Rick Fitzgerald 65,500
Seat 8. Bob Slezak 162,000
Seat 9. Tom Petric 134,500
Howard Wolper started much the lowest in chips with only 27,500, and on the seventh hand he pushed in with pocket jacks. Darin Rima called with queens and made queens full as Wolper cashed ninth for $2,380.
Wolper is an artist/poker player from Atlantic City whose prior occupation was a "sick horse player." Wolper has entered numerous Circuit events. He has two major wins at Lake Tahoe and the Trump Classic within five days of each other, along with cashes at WSOP and WPT events.
Blinds now were 4,000-8,000 with 1,000 antes. A few hands later, Chance Langeness moved in with pocket 9s in early position, and Rima again took the challenge, this time holding A-K. Rima flopped an ace and rivered a king to claim his second victim as Langeness took home $3,579 for eighth.
Langeness, 30, from New Richmond, Wisconsin, is a "stay at home dad." (Then what was he doing here?) He's played about 10 Circuits and has a third in last fall's Horseshoe Poker Classic, and a 32nd in a WSOP pot-limit event. He also likes to golf and fish.
Not long after, Luke Schneider moved in for 55,000 with pocket aces, a 92.5 percent favorite against Rima, who called with A-9. The board came Q-J-10-10-8, giving Rima a straight as he knocked out his third straight player. He now held a substantial lead.
Schneider, 21, from Milwaukee, is a former grocery stock boy turned poker player. He's been playing five years all told, learning by watching the WSOP on TV. This is his first Circuit. He also likes sports and hanging out at bars.
Bob Slezak later got low-chipped when, holding J-10, he moved in on a straight draw after the flop came 9-8-2. He missed, losing to Sciscoe's paired 9.
A little later, three players went out in rapid fashion. First to go was Drew Woodke who finished sixth when he went all in with A-Q against Petric's pocket 10s. The 10s held up when the board came J-6-4-K-3, and Woodke took home $5,966.
Woodke, 26, is a real estate agent from Omaha. He's been playing four years and this is his fifth Circuit. He has about $15,000 in live tournament cashes. He enjoys golf, fishing and boating.
Next to go was Rick Fitzgerald. He moved in for 30,000 with A-8, losing to Sciscoe's pocket queens when the board came 3-3-5-8-7. Fitzgerald, collecting $7,159 for fifth, is 36, from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and is in the refrigeration business. He learned poker from small tournaments, and has one win in the Binion's Classic in Vegas.
Then Slezak went out fourth when he pushed in his last 44,000 with 9d-8d. Petric called with Q-8. Both paired their 8 when the board came 8-7-4, but Petric had the higher kicker and caught a queen on the river for good measure. Fourth paid $8,352.
Slezak, 50, is a management consultant from Omaha with by far the most credentials at the table. He finished 15th in the 2007 WSOP main event, won a bracelet in Omaha high-low in 2001, won the inaugural Horseshoe Classic main event, has six cashes in WPT main events, and his career earnings top $1 million.
After that it took nearly an hour to lose the next player. Blinds were now 6,000-12,000 with 2,000 antes. On a flop of Q-J-2, Rima, who had lost his lead earlier, moved in with Q-8. Once again Petric, with Q-J, had a higher kicker, and a king and 7 couldn't rescue Rima, who took out $10,738 for third.
Rima, 32, is an insurance claims adjuster from Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He started playing poker on New Year's eve five years ago. This is his second Circuit and he has several cashes at local casinos, including three wins. His other hobbies are basketball and spending time with his 6-year-old daughter, Sierra.
Heads-up, the chip count was very close, about 500,000 for Petric and 480,000 for Sciscoe. The match lasted 30 minutes. Sciscoe took the lead when Petric bet 102,000 into a flop of Qd-3d-2d, then folded when Sciscoe moved in. On the final hand, Sciscoe was dealt pocket aces. He slow-played them, hoping that Petric would flop a big pair. He got his wish. Petric had K-8 and the flop came K-Q-4. Sciscoe led out for 100,000 and Petric moved in. After a 9 and then a 6 changed nothing, Sciscoe had all the chips.
Petric, 21, is from Wilmette, Illinois and a student at the University of Kansas. He's been playing four years and this is his first Circuit. His other recreation is golf. --Max Shapiro
For more information, please contact:
Max Shapiro -- WSOP Media Director at (323) 356-3303
Or visit our official website: www.worldseriesofpoker.com
World Series of Poker Commissioner – Jeffrey Pollack
Director of Poker Operations for Harrah’s Entertainment – Jack Effel
Horseshoe Council Bluffs Poker Room Manager – Gary Margetson
Tournament Director -- Janis Sexton |
