Poker Tournament Results

Big Poker Oktober

Place	Name	Prize
1	Mike Narveson (USA)	$12,431
2	Allen Kim (Los Angeles, CA, USA)	$6,410
3	Michael Mills (Downey, CA, USA)	$3,205
4	Michael Esquerra (Alpine, CA, USA)	$2,805
5	Keith Prendergast (USA)	$2,405
6	Jan Bruhns (Los Angeles, CA, USA)	$2,005
7	Fred Mahjoob	$1,600
8	Marty Ogino (Temple City, CA, USA)	$1,200
9	Gary Steen (Placentia, CA, USA)	$800
10	Robert Durant (Los Angeles, CA, USA)	$480
11	Qiang Zhu (USA)	$480
12	Robert Devine (Los Angeles, CA, USA)	$480
13	Todd Dedeaux (Los Angeles, CA, USA)	$400
14	John Nemhers (USA)	$400
15	Timothy Hobby (USA)	$400
16	Fred Dakduk (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$320
17	Carlson Le (Goodyear, AZ, USA)	$320
18	Corey Emery (USA)	$320
19	Abdon Maravi (USA)	$240
20	Abdon Maravi (USA)	$240
21	Vu Le (Nuys, CA, USA)	$240
22	Bernard Dresel Jr. (USA)	$240
23	Charles Breslin (USA)	$240
24	Charles Breslin (USA)	$240
25	Stephane Fitouse (USA)	$240
26	Brian Hunnel (Huntington Beach, CA, USA)	$240
27	Todd Iger (Lake Forest, CA, USA)	$240
28	Johan Ramirez (Irvine, CA, USA)	$160
29	Michael Wasserman (Woddland Hills, CA, USA)	$160
30	Eddy Villareal (USA)	$160
31	Felix Lapuz (Orange, CA, USA)	$160
32	Manrique Melendez (USA)	$160
33	Billy To (Rosemead, CA, USA)	$160
34	Bill Van Horn (USA)	$160
35	Edison Ditu (Van Nuys, CA, USA)	$160
36	Araz Gharapetian (Granada Hills, CA, USA)	$160

Tournament Report

Chip Leader In – Chip Leader Out Michael Narveson Takes it Down Event #6 of Big Poker October enticed 413 players who received 7,000 in chips and virtually all of the players optioned their 1,000 bonus chips for $5/head. The 30-minute rounds moved the tournament along but with over 3,000,000 chips in play, only the short stacks were feeling the pressure of the increasing blinds as the final table approached. At 5:15am the field narrowed to the final 10. In the middle of level 18 with an ante of 4,000 and blinds of 10K/20K, the action was "all-in and a call" on every hand. The first elimination occurred on hand #5 when small blind Michael Esquerra, the youngest son of accomplished tournament player "Super Mario" Esquerra, was all-in against big blind Robert Durant. Robert had a slight lead in this "race" with J-J and Michael's two overcards K-Q. The flop was A-Q-Q giving Michael trip Queens leaving Robert in dire need of filling up. The turn was a 10 giving more outs to Robert with the straight draw but the river 3 missed. Robert Durant finished in 10th place for $480. Just two hands later small blind Gary Steen was all-in against Allen Kim. Gary showed his pocket 6s and Allen had two overcards with A-9. The race was on and the flop was 10-9-8 giving Allen the lead with middle pair but Gary has 4 more outs with his inside straight draw. The turn Queen and Ace on the river retained Allen's lead and Gary Steen of Fullerton, CA finished in 9th place for $800. Discussion of a chip count circulated as the blind level increased. With eight players remaining, the average chip stack was 400,000 while the ante was 5,000 with blinds of 15K/30K. The chip count was announced and after a couple of minutes of calm negotiation, the deal was unanimously accepted. Michael Narveson, who entered the final table with the chip lead, still had the lead and was declared the winner. It was 7am and it was time for everyone to cash in and then fight the onslaught of L.A. rush hour traffic. -- Jay "Bugsy" Siegel BIOGRAPHY Michael Narveson is a Construction Manager who has played poker for over ten years. He plays 90% tournaments and has been focusing on tournament strategy for the last four years. Michael learned to play poker in his family's home while he was growing up. Michael recalled being extremely short stacked with 3 tables to go and then went had a couple of double ups to gain the chip lead going into the final table. Michael didn't get very involved at the final table, leaving the other players to call the all-ins of the short stacks. With only 10 hands played at the final table, there was much opportunity to get involved anyway.