| Stud/8 Win for Accountant
Daniel Loncaric, an accountant for a group of at-risk schools for youths, was declared the winner of the eighth event of Legends 2004, $300 7-card stud hi-lo, when it ended early in a five-way chip-count deal. He arrived at the final table with a substantial chip lead of $45,400, and still had a small, $2,000 edge with $36,000 when the final tally was made. He has another win, in lowball, at Sal’s in 1992, and once chopped a Tom McEvoy stud/8 event.
This being stud hi-lo, a traditionally recreational poker game, there was only one pro at the table, Glen Smith. The rest of the players actually had jobs. Smith, a veteran Las Vegas pro, has numerous titles, including a $55,000 win in no-limit hold’em years ago at the Four Queens. In the past month he’s won nine or 10 of the daily tournaments at Binion’s Horseshoe. Tonight he came in third with $32,000 behind Anton “Tony” Brenner, who ended with $34,000.
Limits at the final table started at $1,500-$3,000 with $200 antes and a $400 low card bring-in. In early action, Jeffrey Han, who is in sales management, was all in with split aces and scooped with a third bullet. First out, on hand 13, was Steve “The General” Figgins, a contractor with a number of final tables but no wins. Limits had just gone to $2,000-$4,000, with $300 antes and a $500 bring-in. Figgins started with split 4s, was all in on fourth street and caught a pair of 7s. Smith, starting with (J-2)J, had opened with a raise, and then paired his deuce to win with a bigger two pair.
As play continued, Han looked at rolled-up 9s. On fourth street he raised and went all in again. He ended up making a flush and split with Loncaric, who made a 6-low.
Marshall Ragir is a screenwriter/filmmaker who won the $500 7-stud hi-lo event at Legends last year. He also has a second in stud hi-lo at Commerce’s LAPC (taking the most money as chip leader when a deal was made), along with final tables at the World Series, Hall of Fame and in Omaha at Commerce’s Cal State. He was also part of a winning Card Player tag team at Legends two years ago that was captained by the late Andy Glazer. Tonight Ragir left Lance Brukman in seventh place on hand 19. Brukman, who is in sales, started with buried 5s and then missed his low draw, losing to Ragir’s 8s and deuces.
Ragir himself began to get in trouble when Brenner started with buried kings on hand 25 and made a set on sixth street to beat Ragir’s small two pair. A hand later, Ragir was down to $5,300 when he folded on fourth street against Han. Ragir got a reprieve two hands later when he made a heart flush on the first five cards, again against Han.
But he only lasted three more hands. He was all in on the river showing 10-8-9-3 against Brenner, who had a board of 5-5-A-K. “I have a full house,” Brenner announced, turning up A-5, and Ragir mucked without showing his hole cards. Brenner listed his occupation on his bio sheet as “surfing instructor,” which might be a stretch, but we’ll take his word for it.
Two hands later, it appeared as if Smith had busted Han, who raised all in on the river for $600. Showing 5-8-4-6, Smith had made a 6-high straight. Han showed only 3-5-K-8, but to Smith’s amazement turned up 2-4-6 for the same straight and a tie.
Returning from break, there was a race-off of the $100 chips. Behind Loncaric, Brenner and Smith was Adam Slutsky with $18,500, while Han was last with $17,500. Slutsky, who favors hold’em, is a film writer who has also written four books on bartending, including “Around the World in 40 Drinks.” The five now prepared to resume play at $3,000-$6,000 limits with $500 antes and a $1,000 bring-in. Instead, a chip count deal was agreed on, and Loncaric had the win. –Max Shapiro
BIOGRAPHY
Daniel Loncaric, 47, in the chief financial officer for Charter Schools, a publicly funded group whose mission is to keep kids from dropping out of school by providing private tutoring. He’s been playing poker for 20 years and favors $100 no-limit hold’em in cash games. Besides casino tournaments, he also plays in Barge events, and is a “proud member” of Marc’s Poker Pals (Bike host Marc Gilutin).
Loncaric turned his attention to stud hi-lo when he lived in San Jose and found great games at the Garden City casino. He likes the game because he feels it demands so many skills, such as knowing how to evaluate the board and knowing when to switch from low hands to high hands when the game gets short-handed. Tonight he said he “treaded water” for the first two hours, then went on an hour rush with four tables left which gave him the chips he needed to win.
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