Allen ‘HOEs’ a Tough Row!
Allen Cunningham, who at age 24 already has more tournament wins than the average player could hope for in a lifetime, added another by beating an astonishing final table line-up to win the 14th Legends event, H.O.E. Facing him were two Tournament of Champion title-holders: 1999 winner David Chiu and reigning champ Brian Saltus. Also on hand were "Miami" John Cernuto and Russell Salzer, who both made TOC final tables; Gary Lent, highest American finisher at the Poker Million; Toto Leonidas, holder of numerous titles; and attorney/businessman Vince Oliver, winner of the 2000 Euro Finals pot-limit hold'em event.
H.O.E. consists of alternating rounds of hold’em, Omaha hi-lo and 7-stud eight or better. For the second night in a row, Robert Turner just missed the final table. Cunningham made queens full in Omaha to knock him out. The game immediately switched to 7-stud hi-lo at the last table, with $2,000-$4,000 limits, $300 antes and a $500 bring-in. Salzer was all in for $3,100 on hand one, but survived with a two-pair scoop. On the next hand, he picked up more chips when he made queens and sevens, knocking out Cernuto, who could only find two nines.
On the next hand, Saltus called Chiu’s bet for his last $700 holding 6-8/6-4. A five gave him a draw to a low and an inside straight. Unfortunately, Chiu was rolled up with three of his sevens, and Lent had the other one. He missed his low, David filled and the Idaho attorney/TOC champ graciously bowed out. Hand 11 was Toto’s last. He went all in with 6-7/A-2. “Wow!”
he exclaimed after Cunningham, showing A-3, turned up 4-5. The cards were dealt and Allen scooped with a 7-5 for low and two threes for high.
Playing hold’em at the same limits, Salzer had queens and Chiu, with aces, raised him all in on a flop of 6-6-5. The turn card was a 10, but then a two-outer queen on the river saved Russ. David demonstrated his class by merely laughing and shaking his head. A few hands later Cunningham raised to $4,000. David called with his last $3,500 holding 10-8 of diamonds. Allen bet the flop of K-10-2 with two hearts, Gary bet when a jack turned and both checked when a scary queen of hearts came on the river. Lent won with kings-up to Allen’s queens-up, Chiu departed.
Lent now had the chip lead with about $60,000. He built it up to about $80,000 after beating Oliver with a flush, then to almost $90,000 after he
knocked Salzer out by completing a king-high straight on the river. Then Cunningham began to move up. In two hands, first getting Lent to fold on fourth street, then picking off Gary’s bluff with pocket eights, he had close to $50,000 to Gary’s $54,000.
Omaha, with $3,000-$6,000 limits, was dealt, and Oliver was out on the first deal. Holding K-10-3-2, he put his last chips in on a board of J-10-8-7. Gary had queens and hit a set on the river. On the next hand, Lent took a hit, dropping to $45,000 when Cunningham made a diamond flush. They tussled for another seven hands until Gary was down to $8,500, finally putting it in with Q-Q-J-10. Allen had A-Q-J-5. The board came J-8-7-6-5 and Allen’s jacks and fives won it all. – Max Shapiro
BIOGRAPHY
Allen Cunningham, who gave up civil engineering studies for poker when he was 18, won his first World Series bracelet this year in 7-card stud. The year before, he was runner up in Omaha hi-lo at the WSOP. He also has a best all-around in Legends in 1999. He prefers mixed-game tournaments because he has worked hard to become well-rounded in all of them.
This was a very tough table, he said, though the one he faced when he came second in Omaha at the WSOP was the hardest. Tonight he was pretty low on chips the first half of the tournament, then began making his move with four tables left. The turning point for him came right after he had lost a good-sized pot at the second table. On the next hand, he flopped a full-house in three-way action to knock out Robert Turner and come to the final table in decent shape.
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