| ARIZONA PRO JIM PECHAC RUNS ONE CHIP INTO A WIN
Arizona pro Jim Pechac was down to one chip three-fourths of the way through the final table. Holding A-K, he threw it in when a king flopped, won that hand, and then the next two. Outtalking and outplaying the competition, he continued to climb until he had a $4,000 lead with four players left. The players then made a chip-count deal and Pechac was declared the winner of the fourth event of 2003 Four Queens Poker Classic, $200 limit hold'em.
With a skipped dinner break, the event ended at the early hour of 9:30, whereas all three prior tournaments had concluded right at midnight.
Pechac, who prefers split games, has been playing professionally for about 10 years. He has a win in no-limit hold'em at the Bicycle Casino's 2001 Legend of Poker, and this year finished second in S.H.O.E. and fourth in Omaha/8 at the World Series.
Arriving at the final table with the second chip lead, Pechac said he was in decent shape throughout most of the tournament. He described his play at the final table as selective because it was difficult to get anyone off a hand. He named Steve Kaufman as his toughest opponent. Kaufman, a professor, came in third in the 2000 WSOP championship event.
There were 16 minutes left at level 10 when the finalists sat down to play with $400-$800 blinds and limits of $800-$1,600. New Yorker Gerald Lewis, shortest-chipped, lasted five hands. He had A-K to Anthony Lazar's pocket nines and went all in on a capped pot. Lewis had the lead when the board showed Q-2-2-A, but a river nine gave Lazar a full house.
A few hands later, Danny Morgan was down to $100 and gambled with 7s-5s. The flop was A-A-J. Mark Gierish bet, and the colorful Jon Andlovec, better known to the poker world as Hippie Jon, put in his last chips with A-7. Gierish had A-K, and when rags came, Morgan finished ninth and Hippie Jon eighth.
Limits now went to $1,000-$2,000. On hand 12, the fourth player departed. Hideo Shida, from Japan, bet into a J-4-2 flop with pocket treys and Gierish raised with A-J. Shida bet all in when an eight turned. He couldn't help his threes and finished seventh. On a rush, Gierish was now in a virtual tie for the lead with $41,000. Bob Craig, who started as chip leader, had $42,000, and Anthony Lazar, with over 80 tournament wins in Las Vegas, was low man with $7,000. He soon went all in but was saved by pocket aces.
Craig then hit Gierish hard twice to move up to about $56,000. The first time he had pocket aces and made a set on fourth street. Four hands later he had pocket 10s to Gierish's A-Q. Gierish flopped a queen, but on fourth street Craig caught a third 10.
Two hands later, Pechac, holding A-Q, flopped queens full. Slow-playing the turn, he failed to bust Kaufman, but nevertheless left him with just $2,000. Kaufman quickly went all in three times, but nobody could finish him. "More lives than a cat," remarked Gierish after Kaufman continued his escape act later.
Pechac, meanwhile, started to go south after Michael Millstone, a table games dealer playing only his second tournament, turned his pocket aces into a full house.
After limits went to $1,500-$3,000, Pechac went all in for the first time, winning against Craig when he had A-K and the flop came K-9-5. He survived on the next hand when his K-J turned into a straight. Then, making it three in a row, he beat Craig again with a 10d when four diamonds hit the board.
"What a comeback!" he exulted, coming to life now that he had about $35,000. "Twenty minutes ago we couldn't get a word out of you," Gierish reminded him. Acting frisky now, Pechac bet blind pre-flop against Kaufman. It wasn't that much of a gamble, because he held K-K against Kaufman's A-Q. He then put Kaufman in and left him in sixth place after a queen came, too little and too late, on the river.
It was now hand 54. Pechac had the chip lead with $48,000, and only four more hands were to be played. On the final deal, Lazar raised with A-3, Pechac re-raised and Lazar added $500 more to go all in. Craig was calling all the way with Kc-Jc. Two clubs flopped, a fourth club on the turn gave him a flush, and Lazar cashed out in sixth place.
The count was now: Pechac, $52,000; Craig, $48,000; Millstone, $22,000; and Gierish, $13,500. A deal was struck and Pechac added another win to his resume. --Max Shapiro
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