| First-Time a Charm for Mike Conti --
Winner of Special-Added Triple-Draw Lowball Event
By popular demand, the Four Queens added a special tournament to its list of
events this year -- Triple-Draw Lowball. The game first began to be played
regularly in Mississippi a few years ago and is now becoming increasingly
popular on the tournament circuit with many poker players. The game is
played just like lowball draw, with the caveat of having three draws instead
of just one. The first-ever major Triple Draw Lowball tournament was held as
recently as January, 2002. The game caught on like wildfire and now attracts
both experienced professionals and newcomers alike because it combines the
three key elements of any great poker game -- strategy, psychology, and luck.
Remarkably, a first-time Triple-Draw Lowball player -- Mike Conti, from
Chicago, IL (yes, playing the game for the FIRST-TIME) -- won this event by
overcoming a very tough and talented lineup. Even more incredible, Conti was
one of the few players who did not take even a single re-buy in this event.
While most players took an average of three re-buys each, Conti held on to
his initial stack like it was his life savings and played a masterful game to
capture his first major tournament victory.
Conti has made several final tables at poker tournaments in the past, but
this win was truly special. He came to the final table with a slight chip
lead (9,525 in chips to James Hoeppner's 7,550 -- who was in second-place).
Only three players would be paid at the final table, which meant half of the
finalists would leave disappointed and penniless. The first player to make
an unwelcome exit was Doc Jennings, the popular high-limit pro and triple
draw lowball specialist from Fort Smith, Arkansas. Next,
exceptionally-talented tournament pro, John Juanda (Alhamabra, California)
would soon follow. Then, another big name in poker was shot down, as Daniel
Negreanu found himself in the worst possible spot -- a bubble finish (fourth
place and no prize money -- although he did qualify for the special "bubble
tournament" which is to be played at the Four Queens on Sunday).
With the last three players now in the money, the chips counts were as
follows (estimated counts):
Bob Walker
.
........$19,000
Mike Conti
.
......$15,000
James Hoeppner.
......$10,000
The three players battled for over three hours before anyone was eliminated,
trading chips back and forth and somehow trying to gain an edge -- when none
seemed to exist. With blinds increased to $400-800 and the betting limits at
$800-1600, Conti took the chip lead back from Walker about 45 minutes into
play between the trio of players. Then, it was James Hoeppner's turn to try
and seize control of the game as he made a run at the chip lead. Meanwhile,
Bob Walker saw his stack size dwindle as the other two players feasted on the
extra chips like hungry wolves. Walker went from rags to riches --
chip-leader to "all-in" at one point -- making a shaky 9-low against
Hoeppner, who paired up on the final card. The $12,000 pot brought Walker
back to life. However, just two hands later Conti ripped those chips back
from Walker's stack. Walker made a raise after the second draw and was
dismayed to see Conti call the raise. Faced with a final drawing round,
Conti stood pat and Walker was now convinced his hand was weak and needed
help. He drew one card, which backfired (made pair). Walker was down to
just $4,000 in chips.
Then, Conti got really hot. He made a series of powerful hands -- first a
7--4 low, then a 6-4 low, next a 6-5 low and kept on dragging big pots. One
key hand occurred when Conti's 6-5 crushed Hoeppner's 7-6 -- which gave the
"novice" triple-draw lowball player a 4 to 1 chip advantage over this two
opponents. That hand seemed to foreshadow the inevitability that Hoeppner
and Walker were playing for second.
Then, Hoeppner tried to make a steal from the button with a raise -- which
Conti called in the blind. The two players went to battle after both drew
two cards on the first round. Hoeppner made a bet with his last chips
(hoping his opponent missed) and Conti called almost immediately. Conti had
caught the almost perfect two cards -- making a powerhouse 6-5-4-3-2.
Hoeppner was now drawing slim to 5-4-3, and caught two ugly blanks on the
next two rounds which meant a third-place finish and $3,980 in prize money
for the talented Nebraskan, who now lives in Las Vegas.
Hoeppner's elimination after a marathon three-way struggle gave Conti a
seemingly insurmountable 9 to 1 chip lead over Walker. Early in the head-up
duel, Conti caught another nice hand, a 7-6 low which was cracked by Walker's
6-4. But the momentum shift would be temporary. A few hands later, Conti's
jack-low bested Walker's ten-low and Walker was back to where he started.
With the veteran Las Vegas pro down to only $4500 in chips (down 10 to 1),
the final hand of the night was dealt at 2:55 pm -- nearly eleven hours since
the tournament first began. Proving that no amount of talent nor expereince
can beat a player that's on fire and playing his best poker, Walker was dealt
five cards and stood pat on all three rounds with 8-6-5-3-2. He watched
Conti draw 3 cards. Then, Conti drew 2 cards. On the final drawing round,
Conti drew 1 card. When Conti turned up his hand -- 7-6-5-4-2 that meant a
win of $9,945 for first place. So, who says you need to make all those
re-buys to win a major tournament?
-- by Nolan Dalla
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