SHULMAN PROTÉGÉ JAFFREY WINS HER FIRST EVENT EVER
Down to about $4,000 midway through the final table, attorney Allyn Jaffrey made a remarkable comeback to win the 11th event of the 4 Queens Poker Classic, $500 limit hold'em. A protégé of Card Player publisher Barry Shulman, and playing perhaps her ninth tournament, she jokingly said when she got to the final table that the student was surpassing the instructor. Her jest, at least for tonight, became a reality.
After 15 hours of play she had the chip lead with $42,000 against two other recreational players, and they agreed to end the long contest with an even-money split. Ryan Hughes, a 21-year-old aerospace engineering student at Arizona State University, had $37,500 and Jim Ferrell, a Phoenix, Arizona physician, had $36,500.
The last tournament that Jaffrey played was at the Legends of Poker, where she and Shulman both made the final table. This was just the second major tournament for Hughes, who won the other event he played, at Commerce Casino's Heavenly Hold'em.
Finishing 10th was Phil Nguyen. In the small blind, he reluctantly added his last $100 with A-2, only to have Rich Barton re-raise and blow him away with pocket aces. Meanwhile, at the other second table, "Miami" John Cernuto took a bad beat to also miss the final table. Short-chipped, he went all in with pocket kings against Jan Sjavik's A-5. Sjavik, a pro from Oslo, Norway whose titles include the 2000 European championship, flopped two pair and then made aces full.
When the eight finalists sat down, Ferrell owned a big lead with $35,800. Virtually tied for second place were Sjavik and Jaffrey. Seven hands into the round, limits went to $800-$1,600. Walt Williams, a Georgian in the insurance and investment business, started with the fewest chips and was first out. On hand 17 he had the big blind with 10-8 of hearts. When a 6h, 3h, 7c flopped, he went all in chasing a flush and straight draw and lost to Barton's pocket aces.
Poker player Jimmy Tran lasted four more hands. He tried raising on the button with 6-5 of clubs and was called by Ryan with A-6 of spades. A flop of J-3-2 gave Tran an inside straight draw, and he bet all in when a 5 paired him. But the 5 also gave Ryan a nut flush.
At this point, Ferrrel still held the lead with about $37,000. On hand 34, Barton, an electrician and the third finalist from Arizona, was shocked when he made a flush while David White, in the construction business in Texas, made a full house with pocket treys. When limits went to $1,000-$2,000, Ferrel still had the lead while Jaffrey had dipped down to $7,500. After patiently waiting and getting blinded down to $4,000, she won a couple of pots, once with pocket kings, to reach $13,000 and begin her climb upwards. Right after, on hands 67 and 68, Hughes took two pots from Doc Ferrell, once when his A-K stood up, the second time when he made a straight with J-10, to take the lead with close to $50,000. Despite his tournament inexperience, he showed he was capable of calling suspicious bets with marginal hands and throwing in bluffs of his own.
On hand 85, Barton was down to $500 and called without looking when he was raised. The electrician turned up A-8 and lost his shorts when he couldn't help against Hughes' A-K. A rough count now showed Hughes with about $56,000, while Ferrell had around $38,00; and Jaffrey $11,000, while Sjavik, who hadn't had much luck, now trailed with about $10,000. A few hands later, Jan had only $2,000 left in the big blind. When Ryan raised, he smiled ruefully but called, then folded on a flop of K-10-9. On the next hand, Jan was in the small blind when Ryan raised and Allyn came over the top, winning the pot and eliminating Sjavik with pocket aces. "You know what I had to have to raise in this situation," she explained almost apologetically to Shulman, who was carefully watching her play.
The count was now Ryan, $65,500; Ferrel, $33,000; Jaffrey, $16,000. When limits rose again to $1,500-$3,000, Jaffrey was about $12,000 richer, Ryan $12,000 poorer, and Ferrel the same. Allyn now began to go on a rush, and after taking a pot with a straight on the 126th hand, she had the chip lead with perhaps $50,000.
Ten more hands went by, her competitors had played catch-up, and they finally decided they had fought long enough and settled for the three-way split. -Max Shapiro
Chip Position, Final Table
Seat Player Chip Count
1 Allyn Jaffrey $19,700
2. Jimmy Tran $6,000
3. (Vacant)
4. David White $12,000
5. Walt Williams $5,100
6. Jim Ferrel $6,400
7. Ryan Hughes $9,200
8. Jan Sjavik $19,100
9. Rich Barton $8,600 |
