SANTOS MAKES SHOWDOWN HAND STRAIGHT TO GET WIN
Question: How is it possible for two final players in a limit hold'em tournament to both go all in before the flop when bets are only $1,500 and there is $111,500 in play and then have the player with the fewer chips going in declared the winner of the event? Well, it's a bit complicated, but when Dan Bakker got heads-up with Richard Santos, he had a chip lead of roughly $20,000. The two then agreed on a deal whereby Santos was to get the trophy and Bakker the larger share of prize money. However, tournament director David Lamb insisted on following the rules whereby the official winner of a tournament had to have the most chips when it ended.
So the two pushed in their stacks and played one hand of showdown. The script came out right. Santos had only 9-8 to Bakker's A-3, but made a straight when the board came A-7-2-10-6. Got it now? Santos is a billing manager for a nursing company in Fremont, California who won the San Francisco Open limit hold'em championship and came in 12th in the inaugural Tournament of Champions event. Bakker is a pro from Hot Springs, Arkansas.
The final table of the fourth event of the 4 Queens Poker Classic got underway when "Syracuse Chris" Tsiprailidis knocked out Jimmy Tran by catching a river trey to his 10-3 against Tran's K-8. Chris arrived with nearly a third of the chips in play. Limits were $800-$1,600 with 7:16 left.
Hal Kirkpatrick, a retired salesman, departed on hand 5. In the small blind, he raised all in for $400 more with pocket 8s. N.C. "Tai" Taitano called with K-J suited and took the chips when a king turned. Then, with limits upped to $1,000-$2,000, Mississippi poker player Richard "Rit" Ratford was in the big blind with pocket 6s. He called when Santos, in the small blind, tried a steal raise with 10-3. But Rit got bit when two more treys flopped, and after several bets and raises, he lost his last chips.
Soon after, on hand 20, Taitano also went broke with two 6s when Bakker, holding A-7 in the small blind, flopped an ace. Two hands later, Anthony Moss, retired from the casino business, retired from the tournament. He held J-10 in the small blind and kept pushing it when a flop of Q-9-7 gave him an open-end straight draw. Santos kept stubbornly calling, he later said, only because Moss was in the blind. The straight never came and Santos left him in sixth place when he hit a river ace.
Syracuse Chris' big lead, meanwhile, was rapidly evaporating. He was hurt badly when he re-raised on a board of Q-10-8-K and then gave it up when Santos four-bet it and then showed a set of queens. Later, Santos tried some psychology on telecommunications technician Daniel Mui. When an ace came on fourth street, he bet out quickly (too quickly?) and advised Mui to "save your chips." But Daniel was the one with the bullet (A-5) and he outran Santos' pocket 5s.
Two hands later, Chris, first to act, went all in with his last few chips. Santos called with A-Q and Mui button-called with J-5 suited. The standard drill is for the players with chips to check it down, but Mui bet out on a flop of 10-5-2. "Why you bet?" Santos complained. Mui may have bet because the main pot was much larger than the side pot and he didn't want his 5s outrun. Whatever the reason, Tsiprailidis expressed his displeasure at the coaching comment quite vocally. At the showdown, he knew he was beat and threw his cards in even before Mui turned up his winner.
A few hands later, Mui was left with only $2,000 when Bakker turned his 7-5 into a full house after the board came A-7-7-9-9. On the next hand he was on the button and went all in with Q-9 of spades. Santos, with A-K, won easily when the board came A-J-6-3-2.
Two hands later, the tournament neared its end when Peter "The Poet" Costa departed. The Englishman has a fearsome resume, with more than 230 tournament wins including victories at the Bellagio, L.A. Poker Classic and the championship event at this year's Hall of Fame. Starting second-lowest in chips at the final table, he had lasted this far. He finally went all in as a 2-1 favorite with A-9 against Baaker's A-5. But a 5 came on the turn to break him and make the tournament two-handed.
Bakker had about $65,000 to Santos' $46,000. They negotiated a deal and agreed to a showdown hand to determine the chip leader and official winner. Santos took the title with his straight, Baaker got the most money, and everybody was happy. --Max Shapiro
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