Asher Derei, a former restaurant owner turned professional poker player, won the $500 buy-in Seven-Card Stud High-Low Split event at the 2003 World Poker Open. Derei initially sat down to an unappetizing chip disadvantage of nearly 4 to 1 to Hossein Shahrezay, who came in as the chip leader. In an intense three-hour finale, Derei sat patiently through the main course and consistently chomped away until he had every single $1000 chip on his plate. Derei, who barely missed winning the No-Limit Holdem event days earlier, got his just desserts with his first gold bracelet. The final tab came to $42,348.
Limits started at $2K-$4K, with $500 antes. Play was extremely cautious in the early stages. Steve Jankovic, sensing he could take advantage of the situation, became the early aggressor. His stack doubled from $25K to over $50K in the first hour, with several bets and raises that forced his timid opponents to fold.
The first significant hand of the night occurred when Virginian Charles Huffines was dealt (2-4) A on third street. However, he caught Q-J-J (5) on four successive rounds and failed to complete his low-draw. He ended up with a vulnerable pair of jacks for high. Scott O'Bryan made two pair, which kicked Huffines out in 8th place with $2,404.
Defending champion Paul Clements, from Wisconsin, survived his first all-in, but went bust the second time he tempted fate. Low on chips and desperate to scoop a pot, Clements went all-in with (Q-4) A-3-10-2 -- with one still card to come. He completely missed his wheel draw, while Steve Jankovic ended up with two pair. Clements, who has now made two final tables the last two years of this event, collected $3,434 for 7th place.
It was a devastating final table for Hossein Shahrezay, who came into Day Two with a sizable chip lead. The horror show started when Shahrezay missed his draw and lost a massive pot to Scott O'Bryan. On the very next hand, Shahrezey was dealt a pair of aces along with a draw to a 7-low. However, he caught a paint on the final card to make two pair and lost to Judy Ingram's trip sixes. Remarkably, Ingram increased her stack size up to $30K, while Shahrezey was in serious trouble.
The final chapter in Shahrezay's nightmare came when he was dealt (2-3) 7-9-5-Q (J) which lost to Tom Baylor's pair of aces. The last two high cards were the final blow to Shahrezay, who finished a disappointing 6th. Shahrezay, who recently took second place in this event at the Bellagio Five Diamond Classic, earned $4,578 in prize money.
A short time later, Scott O'Bryan won a big pot, which left the five finalists about even in chips. It was anyone's tournament to win at this point. With the limits increased to $3K-$6K, all it took was one hand to completely alter the chip positions. This translated into very cautious play amongst the competitors.
Unfortunately, Scott O'Bryan ran card-cold at the worst possible time. He failed to win a pot in his last 20 minutes at the table. O'Bryan made his final stand with (3-4) 3-10-10-6 (7), which amounted to two pair. He lost to Tom Baylor's (8-8) J-K-8-3 (10). O'Bryan, who finished second in the championship event at the 2001 World Poker Open added yet another final table appearance to his impessive resume of tournament finishes. He received $5,723 for 5th place.
Tom Baylor sat quietly during most of the final table. He put himself in a position to seize the chip lead at one point when he was dealt (2-3) 4-6-2-4 on sixth street. However, he missed everything -- the low, the straight, and the full house when he caught an ugly brick on the final card, ultimately losing the monster pot to Steve Jankovic.
Then, Asher Derei started to make his move. First, he roasted Judy Ingram on a key hand. Short-stacked, Ingram was then forced to commit her chips when she was dealt (4-J) A-3-3-K (9) which lost to Derei's (5-6) 10-2-4-8 (8). Ingram, who now lives in Austin, Texas and once played poker regularly against lumberjacks in Oregon, finished in 4th place and collected $6,868. Amazingly, Ingram has finished in the money in each of the last four years in this event.
Tom Baylor's patience paid off. He inched up one place into the money when Ingram was eliminated, but went out a short time later with (6-7) 9-J-5-J (Q) versus Derei's (A-2) Q-K-2-6 (K). Derei's two-pair won the pot which meant a 3rd place finish for Tom Baylor, who is a cattle rancher in West Texas. He received $10,874.
When heads-up play began, the chips counts stood as follows:
Steve Jankovic -- $110K
Asher Derei -- $80K
Five minutes later, Derei drew even in chips. Ten minutes later, Derei led $110K to $80K. Fifteen minutes later, Derei had a 2-1 chip advantage. Tweny minutes later, Jankovic was down to his la $25K and Derei was on the verge of being a poker champion. In a stunning rush of good cards and scary boards, Derei won 7 of the first 8 hands against Jankovic, which amounted to a full frontal assualt on his opponent. Jankovic could only watch hopelessly, and pray for the deck to reverse itself.
It wouldn't happen. The last hand of the night was dealt when Jankovic started off with (A-Q) K. However, Derei had an even better high hand: (K-7) K. The final cards for both players showed as follows:
Steve Jankovic -- (A-Q) K-Q-10-10 (6)
Asher Derei -- (K-7) K-9-4-6 (7)
Jankovic made Qs and 10s. But Derei caught a seven on the final card to make a higher two-pair, Ks and 7s, and the tournament was over. Steve Jankovic, a former pool hustler who now plays poker, took 2nd place and $21,747.
The winner, Asher Derei, is a native of Israel. He now lives in Southern California and is a popular player amongst his peers on the poker tournament circuit. This was his first victory at the World Poker Open.
-- by Nolan Dalla
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