| AND THE 7-STUD AWARD GOES
TO THE ACTOR CHAD BROWN
The award for best performance in a $1,500 7-card stud contest went to Chad Brown, an actor with film (Maximum Bob) and TV (game show co-host) credits. It was a well-deserved award, as Brown turned in a competent body of work. His final opponent was Ken "Skyhawk" Flaton. Brown had about a 2.5-1 chip advantage when they got heads-up, and he finished the job in workmanlike fashion in 18 hands.
No slouch as a player, Brown has a win in a stud hi-lo event at the Bellagio to his credit. Asked if acting experience aided his game, he said definitely. "Acting is the study of human behavior. Such experience elevates you to the next level, so you're not just playing your cards, but playing your opponents."
He said his key play came with two tables left. In four-way action the pot was raised twice. He had 8c-9c-10c and knew he'd be committed if he called. So he laid down a hand he would have lost and been knocked out with. He was also lucky in winning pretty much every time that he went in with the best hand, he added.
Brown starts work in June in a "heist" film to be directed by Joe Montegna and produced by another poker player (and former writer for Poker Digest), Raymond "Iceberg" Sitra.
When the final eight sat down, they were looking at $1,500-$3,000 limits with $200 antes and a $500 low-card bring-in. Half the field would be gone in the first 45 minutes.
Vegas CPA James Hoeppner barely made it to the last table with just $3,700 and was soon out. He started with (7-7)A, went all in on fourth street and finished with kings-up. Matt Keikoan, a pro for the past year after being in the cleaning business, had split jacks and made a set.
One of those "what would you do?" hands then came up. On sixth street, Jeff Cohen showed four hearts while Flaton had jacks and nines up. Flaton bet out and Cohen, after agonizing for a long time, finally gave his opponent credit for a full house and folded, saving his last few chips. Now, Flaton had to assume Cohen made a flush, because he had raised on fifth street with three hearts up.
So, did Flaton have a filly or was he making a world-class bluff? The answer is...neither! He later disclosed that he had Ac-Kc in the hole, also giving him a draw to a better flush, and with all those outs, he was actually semi-bluffing. But don't tell that to Cohen, who lost his saved chips and busted out on the next hand. He started with split jacks and Hasan Habib, with (A-3)A, made aces-full.
Renee Wexler, who had been playing cautiously, finally made her move and raised all in on fourth street with split kings. She couldn't improve and finished sixth after Keikoan made two pair.
Chad then broke logger Dennis Waterman. Holding split aces, Waterman re-raised all in on fourth street, but Brown had a set of 10s, and made a flush for good measure. Waterman, who teaches poker, also is currently writing a series of poker books, two on big-bet hold'em (with and without antes), one for beginners and a fourth on Omaha hi-lo. "There are no good Omaha books out there," Waterman contends.
When limits went to $2,000-$4,000, the scorecards read: Brown, 52k; Flaton, 39k; Habib, 37k; and Keikoan, 24k. Close to the end of that level, Habib got in trouble when Flaton, showing 8-6-Q-K, turned up an A-J-10 for a straight. Down to 9k, Habib gambled with junk cards on the next hand, trying to make something. He did, sort of, when he paired his jack on fifth street. He bet and Keikoan, with buried aces, raised, put him in and busted him. That ended Habib's bid to win his second event in LAPC XIII (he won No. 11, Omaha hi-lo), though he did climb to second in the points race.
Keikoan gave up a lot of chips after folding a couple of hands against Flaton. By the time the next level arrived, with $5,000-$10,000 limits, $1,000 blinds and a $2,000 bring-in, he was down to $25,000. Flaton had taken the lead with $69,000, while Brown was not far behind with $58,000.
Keikoan finally went all in for the first and last time drawing to a straight with (Q-9)10-J. He made it, but to no avail. In a strange hand, Brown had 6s and 4s on fourth street, then caught a king on fifth, on sixth and on seventh street for a full house.
The heads-up count now showed Brown with a substantial lead, $110,000 to $42,000 for the veteran "Skyhawk. Giving nothing away, Brown slowly worked on Flaton's chips. On the last hand, Flaton started with (5-6)7. He raised and Brown, with (9-9)4 re-raised. On fifth street, Flaton re-raised all in with draws to both a straight and a flush. He missed both and graciously shook Brown's hand after his opponent turned up two pair.
The question now before the house: Is Chad Brown an actor who is an accomplished poker player, or a poker player who's an accomplished actor? The answer is probably a little of both.
--Max Shapiro
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