Future Online Poker Site Owner
Martin Pollak Wins No-Limit
Martin Pollak, a poker industry veteran from Vienna who will be co-owner of an Internet poker site to be launched next year, won the fourth event of the 2004 St. Maarten Open, $150 no-limit hold’em.
Actually, when he got heads-up with Eric Barker, the two were virtually dead even in chips and they split the prize money, playing for just $2,000. Only 35 hands had gone by at that point, but the heads-up match lasted another 32 deals, despite tournament director Warren Karp reducing the rounds to 15 minutes because of the relative small amount of prize money involved. The chip lead changed hands several times. Finally, Pollak made a full house, leaving Barker with just one stack which Pollak then took in a showdown hand.
Pollak has been a poker dealer, floorman and manager of a 20-table card casino in Vienna. In May he will launch a poker internet site, Poker4ever.com. He has had numerous tournament cash-outs, mainly in Vienna, along with a 12th place finish in $5,000 limit hold’em at the World Series this year.
Barker, who has many wins in his native England, operates an exhibition company business (and, no, that does not make him an exhibitionist).
The key hand came on the 32nd deal. Pollak opened for 20k, only to see Danish poker player Lars Christoffersen move all in for 72k. Pollak thought long and hard and finally called. He was a big underdog with Qd-9d to Christoffersen’s A-Q. A queen flopped, and then a river 9 gave Pollak two pair. Christoffersen finished fourth, and Pollak had a big lead with about $260,000 of the $535,000 in play. Pollak later said it was a close call, but he committed because of the money already in the pot, because he had more chips and because, even if Christoffersen had the small pair he put him on, it would still be a virtual toss-up.
Final table action started with $500 antes and blinds of $1,500-$3,000, 13:12 left in the round. Barker led with 126k, though the lead would change often. Leonard Gomes of Canada, playing his second live tournament, departed in two hands. Greg Amoils of South Africa raised to $11,000 with Ad-Kd. Gomes moved in for $25,000 and lost with A-J.
Amoils then got crippled five hands later in a huge pot. He re-raised to 40k with pocket aces. Peter Karall of Austria just had deuces, but flopped a set, moved in and won. He took the lead with about $150,000, leaving Amoils with $8,000. Amoils, a cycling goods importer, held on for four hands before posting his last chips in the big blind. He mucked without showing when he couldn’t beat two 8s.
Italy’s Romano Martini came to the final table with only 11k, and lasted until hand 18. He was all in from the small blind with pocket 6s. Barker, with Ac-5c, beat him by flopping two pair.
John Falconer, a Brit who finished second in the European championship this year, finished seventh. He lost with pocket 10s when Paul Madden, an English business student, had A-K and flopped a king.
Blinds rose to 2k-4k, with 1k antes. Karall now had the lead with about 168k, followed by Barker, 139k; Pollak, 90k; Paul Hersleth (winner of yesterday’s pot-limit event), 59k; Christoffersen, 57k; and Madden, 27k.
Pollak then took the lead again after knocking Hersleth out in sixth place. He had pocket jacks. Hersleth moved in with A-5 for $28,000, losing when the board came 10-3-3-4-6. One hand later Pollak added Madden’s last 55k to his stacks. Madden moved in with pocket 4s and Pollak, with Kd-Qd, caught a king on fourth street. The lead then went back and forth a few times, with Barker grabbing it again when he made a nut flush against Karall.
Then, soon after blinds went to 3k-6k with $1,000 antes, came the big hand when Pollak made two pair on the river to knock out Christoffersen. “Yes!” Pollak cried triumphantly as the magic 9 fell.
Two hands later, Karall was all in for about 45k with Q-10 to Barker’s Kh-5h. A board of J-3-2-5-4 gave Barker the win and two were left.
After making their deal, Pollak and Barker had at it for the $2,000. Back and forth went the chips. Finally, with blinds at $6,000-$12,000, Pollak picked up pocket kings. He made a small raise, Barker re-raised with Ac-2c and Pollak moved in. A board of K-6-4-4-Q filled Pollak. He then took Barker’s final 20k in a showdown hand when his A-J held up over Barker’s A-7. —Max Shapiro
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