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FOXWOOD'S
WORLD POKER FINALS
The Foxwoods Resort Casino, nestled in the woods of Connecticut, is one of
the biggest casinos on the East Coast, if not all of the United States.
And this big casino is host to the biggest tournament yet on the World Poker
Tour! A whopping 313 poker players of all shapes, sizes and poker-playing
ability, coughed up $10,000 to play a tournament of No-Limit
Texas Hold-'Em. That makes a WPT-record prize pool (after the casino take)
of $3,100,000! And the winner will become an instant MILLIONAIRE! Of
course, the winner will ALSO get that coveted $25G buy-in for the newest
big-money tournament on the block: the WPT Championship at the Bellagio in Vegas
later this year.
We have mostly young guns for this Final Table, as well as one WPT
legend. They are:
| PLAYER | CHIP COUNT | Hoyt Corkins
Nicknamed
"Cowboy"; Born in Alabama;
Pro Poker player | $1,207,500 | Phil Helmuth,
Jr.
One of the greatest tourney players of all time, but lost three
WPT Final Tables | $840,000 | Mohamed Ibrahim
Originally
from Eygpt; now living in Long Beach, CA; Pro-poker player | $376,000 | Chris Ackerman
College
Student;
Will be graduating in one month | $333,000 | Senthil Kumar
Originally
from India;
Software developer | $245,000 | Brian Haveson
creator
of Nutri-Systems, Inc.;
entrepreneur | $135,000 |
With Mike Sexton and Vince Van Patton ready to call the
action, it's time to SHUFFLE UP AND DEAL!
Antes start at $1,500 and the blinds start at $6,000 (SB) and
$12,000 (BB).
| Phil | Hoyt | Mohamed | Brian (D) | Chris (SB) | Senthil (BB) |
| 9♣ 3♠ |
Q♠ 9♠ |
Q♥ 5♠ |
A♠ 7♥ |
J♠ 4♦ |
A♣ J♥ |
| FOLD |
Raises to $36,000 |
FOLD |
FOLD |
FOLD |
FOLD |
|
WIN
$63,000 |
|
|
|
|
| Most hands early on are won by
default like this one. |
| Hoyt | Mohamed | Brian | Chris (D) | Senthil (SB) | Phil (BB) |
| 7♣ 5♦ |
9♣ 8♣ |
6♥ 2♠ |
6♠ 6♦ |
3♣ 2♦ |
9♠ 7♠ |
| FOLD |
Calls $12,000 |
FOLD |
Calls $12,000 |
FOLD |
CHECK |
| Since Phil already
has $12,000 in the Big Blind and no one raised, he only had to check. |
| FLOP: K♠ 6♣ K♦ |
| BOAT! Chris
flopped a full house! He is a 97% favorite right now! |
|
|
|
|
|
CHECK |
|
CHECK |
|
CHECK |
|
| TURN: K♥ |
| Three Kings gives
Chris a BETTER full house...BUT it gives the others a chance to BEAT
it. Chris is down to a 79% fave. |
|
|
|
|
|
CHECK |
|
Bets $20,000 |
|
Calls $20,000 |
|
FOLD |
| Mohamed needs an 8
or a 9 to make a better house than Chris. |
RIVER: 2♥
COMMUNITY: K♠ K♦ K♥ 6♣ 2♥ |
|
CHECK |
|
CHECK |
|
|
|
K♠ K♦ K♥
9♣ 8♣ |
|
K♠ K♦ K♥ 6♠ 6♦ |
|
|
|
|
|
WIN
$91,000 |
|
|
| CURRENT CHIP COUNT |
| Hoyt Corkins | $1,345,000 |
| Phil Helmuth | $831,000 |
| Chris Ackerman | $326,000 |
| Mohamed Ibrahim | $305,500 |
| Senthil Kumar | $224,000 |
| Brian Haveson | $105,000 |
| Senthil | Phil | Hoyt | Mohamed (D) | Brian (SB) | Chris (BB) |
| Q♠ 3♣ |
6♦ 4♦ |
J♦ 4♣ |
10♣ 3♦ |
5♣ 2♠ |
K♣ 6♥ |
| FOLD |
FOLD |
FOLD |
FOLD |
ALL-IN
$114,000 |
FOLD |
|
|
|
|
WIN
$135,000 |
|
| Sometimes, if you bet
enough, you can win even with the WORST of hands! Usually, in a
"battle of the blinds" like this, the Small Blind WILL raise. |
| Senthil | Phil | Hoyt | Mohamed (D) | Brian (SB) | Chris (BB) |
| K♠ 3♣ |
K♦ 10♦ |
Q♦ 2♥ |
K♣ J♣ |
A♠ 10♣ |
7♦ 4♠ |
| FOLD |
Calls $12,000 |
FOLD |
Calls $12,000 |
ALL-IN
$114,000 |
FOLD |
|
FOLD |
|
Calls $102,000 |
|
| FLOP: 10♥ J♦ 9♥ |
| Both flopped pairs, but Mohamed
also has a straight draw, needing a Queen. |
| TURN: 5♠ |
| Brian needs a second Ace or a
third 10 to stay alive |
| RIVER: J♠ |
|
|
|
J♣ J♦ J♠
K♣ 10♥ |
J♦ J♠ 10♣ 10♥
A♠ |
|
|
|
|
WIN
$261,000 |
OUT
- 6th Place |
|
| CURRENT CHIP COUNT |
| Hoyt Corkins | $1,362,000 |
| Phil Helmuth | $832,500 |
| Mohamed Ibrahim | $424,000 |
| Chris Ackerman | $323,000 |
| Senthil Kumar | $195,500 |
| Chris | Senthil | Phil (D) | Hoyt (SB) | Mohamed (BB) |
| 4♥ 2♣ |
K♦ J♥ |
10♣ 5♥ |
Q♠ 2♥ |
A♠ 5♣ |
| FOLD |
Calls $12,000 |
FOLD |
FOLD |
CHECK |
|
|
|
|
| FLOP: A♠ 6♠ 6♦ |
| Mohamed flopped two
pair. |
|
|
|
|
CHECK |
|
CHECK |
|
|
| TURN: 8♦ |
|
|
|
|
CHECK |
|
CHECK |
|
|
RIVER: 7♥
COMMUNITY:
6♠ 6♦ A♠ 8♦ 7♥ |
|
|
|
|
Bets $20,000 |
|
FOLD |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
WIN
$57,500 |
| Having checked after
the Flop and Turn, Mohamed sotr of KNEW Senthil had nothing but the pair on
the Board. So he bet, certain that Senthil would fold anyway but betting
so he wouldn't have to show if he was bluffing or not. |
| CURRENT CHIP COUNT |
| Hoyt Corkins | $1,371,500 |
| Phil Helmuth | $912,500 |
| Mohamed Ibrahim | $380,000 |
| Senthil Kumar | $311,000 |
| Chris Ackerman | $162,000 |
Antes have gone up to $2,000 and blinds are now $10,000 (SB) and $20,000 (BB).
| Chris | Senthil | Phil (D) | Hoyt (SB) | Mohamed (BB) |
| 10♥ 7♥ |
K♣ K♦ |
J♠ 8♠ |
9♣ 2♣ |
A♥ 10♣ |
| FOLD |
Raises to $80,000 |
FOLD |
FOLD |
ALL-IN
$378,000 |
|
ALL-IN
$309,000 |
|
|
| Senthil
is a 71% fave because of Mohamed's overcard. |
FLOP: 9♦ 4♠ 6♠
TURN: Q♣ |
| Senthil
is a 93% fave now. An Ace is the only thing that can save Mohamed, and
there are only three left in the deck of 36. |
| RIVER: A♣ |
|
K♣ K♦
A♣ Q♣ 9♦ |
|
|
A♥ A♣
Q♣ 10♣
9♦ |
|
OUT
- 5th Place |
|
|
WIN
$638,000 |
| What a "bad
beat" for Senthil! A 1-in-12 shot and it goes against him! |
| Mohamed | Chris (D) | Phil (SB) | Hoyt (BB) |
| A♦ K♥ |
Q♦ 2♥ |
K♣ 5♦ |
3♠ 3♦ |
| Raises to $60,000 |
FOLD |
FOLD |
Raises to $210,000 |
| Calls $150,000 |
|
|
| It's a
virtual coin flip between Mohamed's "Big Slick" and Hoyt's
"crabs". |
| FLOP: A♣ J♥ 9♠ |
| Mohamed is an 87% fave now
with his Aces. |
|
|
|
ALL-IN
$1,143,500 |
ALL-IN
$342,000 |
|
|
| Hoyt's
bet is lowered to match Mohamed's all-in. Hoyt needs a 3 to make
"trips". |
TURN: 4♣
RIVER: 4♠ |
| A♣ A♦
4♣ 4♠ K♥ |
|
|
4♣ 4♠
3♠ 3♦ A♣ |
| WIN
$1,122,000 |
|
|
|
| CURRENT CHIP COUNT |
| Mohamed Ibrahim | $1,086,000 |
| Phil Helmuth | $1,025,500 |
| Hoyt Corkins | $899,500 |
| Chris Ackerman | $125,000 |
| Mohamed | Chris (D) | Phil (SB) | Hoyt (BB) |
| A♣ 7♦ |
6♥ 5♠ |
J♥ 9♦ |
J♦ 7♣ |
| FOLD |
FOLD |
Calls $10,000 |
CHECK |
| FLOP: 9♥ 2♠ 6♦ |
|
|
Bets $25,000 |
Raises to $70,000 |
|
|
Calls $45,000 |
| TURN: 7♥ |
|
|
CHECK |
CHECK |
RIVER: 7♠
COMMUNITY: 7♥ 7♠ 9♥ 6♦ 2♠ |
| Hoyt hit the
"slot machine" (7-7-7) which beats Phil's 9s and 7s hands
down. The odds of getting "running" 7s on the Turn and River
was 314-to-1! |
|
|
Bets $80,000 |
Raises to $160,000 |
|
|
Calls $80,000 |
|
|
9♦ 9♥ 7♥ 7♠
J♥ |
7♣ 7♥ 7♠
J♦ 9♥ |
|
|
|
WIN
$508,000 |
| Here, Phil gets up
and starts arguing with himself. We call this "on tilt" or
"steaming", frustrated about a bad beat that you make mental
mistakes in later hands. |
| CURRENT CHIP COUNT |
| Mohamed Ibrahim | $1,038,000 |
| Hoyt Corkins | $989,500 |
| Phil Helmuth | $853,500 |
| Chris Ackerman | $256,000 |
| Mohamed | Chris (D) | Phil (SB) | Hoyt (BB) |
| Q♥ J♦ |
K♣ 5♣ |
10♠ 5♥ |
7♠ 5♠ |
| Calls $20,000 |
FOLD |
Calls $10,000 |
CHECK |
| FLOP: Q♠ 7♦ 7♥ |
| Hoyt FLOPS the "slot
machine" this time. |
|
|
CHECK |
Bets $40,000 |
| Calls $40,000 |
|
FOLD |
| TURN: J♥ |
| Mohamed has two high pair, but
three 7s still beats ANY two pair. |
|
|
|
Bets $100,000 |
| Calls $100,000 |
|
|
RIVER: 8♥
COMMUNITY: Q♠ 7♦ 7♥ J♥ 8♥ |
|
|
|
Bets $155,000 |
| Calls $155,000 |
|
|
| Q♥ Q♠ J♦ J♥ 8♥ |
|
|
7♠ 7♦ 7♥ Q♠ J♥ |
|
|
|
WIN
$658,000 |
| Phil | Hoyt (D) | Mohamed (SB) | Chris (BB) |
| K♥ 9♥ |
A♣ J♣ |
Q♠ 4♥ |
8♣ 5♥ |
| Raises to $45,000 |
Calls $45,000 |
FOLD |
FOLD |
| FLOP: A♠ K♣ 10♣ |
| Hoyt leads with
Aces, but he ALSO has a straight draw (needing a Queen) and a nut flush draw
(needing a club). He's an 8-to-1 fave. |
| CHECK |
Bets $80,000 |
|
|
| Calls $80,000 |
|
|
| TURN: K♠ |
| Phil goes into the
lead with the "orient hand" ("We Three Kings of Orient
Are") and is a 7-to-3 fave. |
| CHECK |
CHECK |
|
|
RIVER: A♥
COMMUNITY: A♠ A♥ K♣ K♠ 10♣ |
| Both Phil and Hoyt
have full houses...but Hoyt has the BEST...HOUSE...EVER (Aces full of
Kings)! |
| CHECK |
Bets $125,000 |
|
|
| Calls $125,000 |
|
|
| K♥ K♣ K♠ A♠ A♥ |
A♣ A♠ A♥
K♣ K♠ |
|
|
|
WIN
$538,000 |
|
|
| This makes TWICE
the River has upset Phil! |
Antes have gone up to $3,000 and blinds are now $15,000 (SB) and $30,000 (BB).
| Chris | Phil (D) | Hoyt (SB) | Mohamed (BB) |
| K♥ 10♦ |
A♠ Q♣ |
K♠ 2♣ |
K♣ 8♣ |
ALL-IN
$114,000 |
Raises to $289,000 |
FOLD |
FOLD |
| Phil's bet is
lowered to match Chris' all-in. Had Hoyt or Mohamed called Phil's bet,
a side pot would have been started that only Phil and whoever else stayed in
would've bet into and would be able to win. |
| FLOP: J♣ A♣ A♦ |
| Bang-bang-bang!
Phil has "three bullets"! |
| TURN: J♥ |
| Chris is drawing
dead. Phil had Aces full of Jacks. A Queen'd give Chris a
straight, which isn't enough. A Jack would give Chris a
"boat", but not one better than Phil's. And an Ace would give
Phil four Aces. |
| RIVER: 6♥ |
|
CHECK |
|
|
| A♣ A♦ J♣ J♥ K♥ |
A♠ A♣ A♦ J♥ J♣ |
|
|
| OUT
- 4th Place |
WIN
$285,000 |
|
|
| Phil (D) | Hoyt (SB) | Mohamed (BB) |
| K♦ Q♥ |
10♥ 8♦ |
7♥ 3♦ |
| Calls $30,000 |
Calls $15,000 |
CHECK |
| FLOP: J♦ 8♠ J♥ |
| Hoyt has flopped two
pair. |
|
Bets $40,000 |
FOLD |
| Raises to $160,000 |
Calls $120,000 |
|
| TURN: 8♣ |
| Hoyt now has a full
house. |
|
CHECK |
|
| Bets $70,000 |
Calls $70,000 |
|
| Phil STILL has a
chance. If a third Jack comes off, the Board will have a full house
and Phil and Hoyt will split the pot. |
RIVER: 6♦
COMMUNITY: J♦ J♥ 8♠ 8♣ 6♦ |
|
CHECK |
|
| CHECK |
|
| J♦ J♥ 8♠ 8♣ K♦ |
8♦ 8♠ 8♣ J♦
J♥ |
|
|
WIN
$559,000 |
|
| Phil
"mucks" his hand, not showing it to Hoyt. When Hoyt asks
Phil what he had, he lies and says he had Queens wired. |
| Mohamed (D) | Phil (SB) | Hoyt (BB) |
| Q♣ J♠ |
J♦ 6♠ |
K♣ 7♠ |
| Calls $30,000 |
Calls $15,000 |
ALL-IN
$2,052,500 |
| FOLD |
FOLD |
|
|
|
WIN
$2,121,500 |
| When you're a huge
chip leader, you can use it to your advantage. Chip count is just as or
more important than the cards you get. |
| CURRENT CHIP COUNT |
| Hoyt Corkins | $2,500,500 |
| Mohamed Ibrahim | $389,500 |
| Phil Helmuth | $247,000 |
| Phil (D) | Hoyt (SB) | Mohamed (BB) |
| Q♣ 8♠ |
8♣ 3♥ |
4♣ 4♠ |
| FOLD |
ALL-IN
$2,512,500 |
ALL-IN
$244,000 |
|
|
| Mohamed
finally decided to call Hoyt's bluff. Hoyt's bet is lowered to match
Mohamed's all-in. With Hoyt's overcard, it's a coin flip. |
| FLOP: 4♥ 6♠ 10♣ |
| Mohamed has three
"sailboats"! Hoyt needs two running cards to win. |
| TURN: 8♥ |
| Hoyt
needs an 8 now...and there are only two left in the deck. |
| RIVER: 2♠ |
|
8♣ 8♥ 10♣ 6♠ 4♥ |
4♣ 4♠
4♥ 10♣ 8♥ |
|
|
WIN
$497,000 |
| CURRENT CHIP COUNT |
| Hoyt Corkins | $2,465,000 |
| Mohamed Ibrahim | $350,000 |
| Phil Helmuth | $320,000 |
Antes have gone up to $5,000 and blinds are now $25,000 (SB) and $50,000 (BB).
| Hoyt (D) | Mohamed (SB) | Phil (BB) |
| 7♥ 4♥ |
J♦ 10♥ |
A♠ 6♣ |
| FOLD |
ALL-IN
$332,000 |
ALL-IN
$325,000 |
| Mohamed's bet is
lowered. Phil is a 54% fave. |
| FLOP: K♦ Q♣ 7♦ |
| Mohamed has an
open-ended straight draw, needing an Ace or a 9. He can also go ahead
with a King or Queen. It's a 29% chance of any of these cards showing
up. |
| TURN: A♣ |
| He got
"Broadway"! Phil is drawing dead! |
| RIVER: 2♠ |
|
A♣ K♦ Q♣ J♦ 10♥ |
A♠ A♣ K♦ Q♣ 7♦ |
|
WIN
$665,000 |
OUT
- 3rd Place |
So we're down to two...and that means...HEADS-UP!
The "Cowboy" and the former auto mechanic square off to become an
instant millionaire! Let's SHUFFLE UP AND DEAL!
| CURRENT CHIP COUNT |
| Hoyt Corkins | $2,900,000 |
| Mohamed Ibrahim | $649,000 |
| Hoyt (SB) | Mohamed (D) (BB) |
| 10♥ 8♣ |
Q♦ 2♥ |
ALL-IN
$2,490,000 |
FOLD |
| WIN
$2,550,000 |
|
| Again, Hoyt pushes Mohamed
around with his huge chip stack. |
| Mohamed (SB) | Hoyt (D) (BB) |
| A♣ 7♦ |
Q♦ 10♣ |
| Calls $25,000 |
ALL-IN
$2,520,000 |
ALL-IN
$607,000 |
| Hoyt's bet
is...aw, YOU know! |
FLOP: 5♥ 9♣ 5♦
TURN: 3♣
RIVER: 9♠ |
| 9♣ 9♠
5♥ 5♦ A♣ |
9♣ 9♠
5♥ 5♦ Q♦ |
| WIN
$1,224,000 |
|
| Behold the power
of the kicker. They both have the two pair on the Board, but Mohamed's
Ace beats Hoyt Queen. |
After a good while, antes are up to $10,000 and blinds are $40,000 (SB) and
$80,000 (BB).
| Mohamed (SB) | Hoyt (D) (BB) |
| Q♦ 9♥ |
9♥ 2♣ |
ALL-IN
$433,000 |
FOLD |
| WIN
$533,000 |
|
| Here, the two
share a good laugh that MOHAMED scared HOYT out with an all-in before the
Flop instead of the other way around. |
| Hoyt (SB) | Mohamed (D) (BB) |
| A♣ 9♦ |
Q♠ 8♠ |
ALL-IN
$2,554,000 |
ALL-IN
$563,000 |
| FLOP: 10♣ K♥ 9♣ |
| Hoyt
has a pair of 9s, but Mohamed has an inside straight draw. |
| TURN: 10♥ |
| Mohamed has 7
"outs". A Queen would give him two pair while Hoyt only has
the 9s, and a Jack would give him a straight. |
| RIVER: A♦ |
| A♣
A♦ 10♥ 10♣ K♥ |
10♣ 10♥ A♦ K♥ Q♠ |
| TOURNAMENT
CHAMPION! |
OUT
- 2nd Place |
| 1ST |
HOYT
CORKINS |
$1,089,200 |
| 2nd |
Mohamed Ibrahim |
$563,100 |
| 3rd |
Phil Helmuth, Jr. |
$281,700 |
| 4th |
Chris Ackerman |
$226,925 |
| 5th |
Senthil Kumar |
$164,325 |
| 6th |
Brian Haveson |
$117,375 |
So the "Cowboy" wins the largest single-tourney
payoff in WPT history! He also gets that $25,000 buy-in for the WPT
Championship at the Bellagio!
|
