WPC-15 -Jan. 18 $1,000 Omaha pot limit
HOLUM'S HIGHER STRAIGHT BEATS PUBLISHER SHULMAN
Two World Series bracelet holders fought it out for bragging rights in the 15th event of World Poker Challenge, $1,000 pot-limit Omaha. The winner was Eric Holum, a former Reno car salesman turned pro. Holum won his bracelet in the $2,500 no-limit event in 1999 and also has a no-limit win at Foxwoods and a pot-limit victory at the Eldorado. Media baron Shulman got his WSOP win last year in the $1,500 7-stud hi-lo competition.
In today's final hand, both players flopped a straight. The difference was that Barry had the ignorant end and Eric had the intelligent end.
Host for the day's event was Dave Colelough, a night club owner from Stoke-on-Kent, England, who's made several final table appearances at WPC this year. He joked that he was happy to see a return to sanity after an experiment the day before with pot-limit 7-stud, a European version pretty much unknown in the United States.
Six players comprised the final table in the shortened field, with Shulman the leader and Holum the trailer. Blinds were $50-$75, 55:10 remaining.
On the ninth hand, Bruce Corman, the British clothing store owner who came in second in the $500 pot-limit event, raised $300 from the small blind with aces in his hand. Eric called. On a flop of 10-7-6, Bruce put Eric all in. But Holum had flopped tens and sevens, improved to jacks and sevens, and now had about $2,400 to work with.
Two hands later, Bob Feduniak, a retired Wall Street executive now living in Las Vegas, was eliminated. Holding Q-Q-J-7, he bet all in when a third queen flopped. Shulman, with a draw to a king-high flush, put in a big raise. His strategy, he later said, was to push out any player who might be drawing to a bigger flush. His plan worked. Eric laid down a draw to an ace-high and Shulman took the pot when he hit his flush.
A few hands later, "Houston Harry" Fitzpatrick, a retired real estate developer now living in Vancouver, B. C., bet all in on a board of A-Q-3-4-Q. Colelough called with aces-full, only to see Harry turn over four ladies. "It was no surprise to me," Dave commented, "considering how long he took to bet."
Corman was the next player to go all in, betting his last $175 when he made a third ace on the turn. Eric missed his straight draw and ended up second-best with three kings. Later, Eric went all in when Harry, with two pair, bet $900 on the turn. This time Eric did hit his straight, and the loss was costly to Houston Harry. A couple of hands later, he had a pair of jacks and a straight draw when the flop came K-Q-J. He made a second pair, but Eric had flopped a set of queens, and took the last of Harry's chips.
Shortly after blinds inched up to $50 and $100, store owner Corman went out of business when Barry, holding K-J-7-2, busted him by hitting an inside straight on the river when the board came 10-8-3-8-9. With three players left, the Card Player magazine owner had half the chips on the table.
Holding A-A-K-2, Barry now made a bid to get heads-up with a commanding lead. On a flop of 10-9-4, he bet $400, Eric raised to $1,600 and Barry then bet the pot to put Eric all in. Eric, with J-8-6-5, had an open-end straight draw and hit it when a seven turned, taking the pot and the chip lead. "Aces continue to get whacked," Shulman observed, shaking his head.
But now Barry started building his chips back up, first by making a straight against Eric and then a flush against Dave. Two hands later, he raised $300 from the small blind and Dave called. Barry held K-Q-8-7 and Dave had A-J-7-3, with a suited ace of diamonds. The flop was Q-9-5 with two diamonds. Barry bet $600 and Dave called. A queen on the turn gave Barry three ladies. He checked, slow-playing it, and Dave moved in for $1,500 on his draw. He missed and busted out when an eight on the river gave Shulman a full house.
On the 10th hand heads up, Barry flopped queens and eights, but Eric made queens and nines on the turn, bet all in for $900 and stayed alive. After some back-and-forth chip exchanges, Eric was leading again by the final hand, number 21 heads-up. On a flop of 9-8-7. Barry, with 6-5-3-3, had a nine-high straight. But Eric, with A-J-10-9, had a jack high. Eric bet $1,000, Barry raised another $3,800 and Eric moved him in. An ace and six changed nothing, and Eric Holum took home the title and the trophy.
-Max Shapiro
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