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The Kid is Back!
Negreanu Wins Tunica Grand's WSOP Circuit Championship
Following a poor year in 2005, poker superstar Daniel Negreanu starts off
2006 with a bang
The cards you are dealt can make you look like a genius....or an idiot.
-- Poker Pro Daniel Negreanu
Anyone who is considering playing poker tournaments for a living should take
a long hard look Daniel Negreanu's earnings in 2005. Consider the fact that
at age 31, Negreanu is already one of poker's icons. He has won three World
Series of Poker gold bracelets. He plays regularly in the biggest cash games
in the world (he's both won and lost over a million dollars in a single session).
And, Negreanu is one of poker's most dedicated students and most creative strategists.
Given his numerous advantages in skill, experience, and dedication -- one would
expect him to win lots of money playing in poker tournaments.
Wrong.
Last year by his own admission, Daniel Negreanu lost more money than
he won on the 2005 tournament circuit. He did not make it to a single final
table at last year's World Series of Poker. While "Kid Poker" did
manage to do quite well in side games over the course of the year, his poor
showing in 2005 illustrates the perilous financial swings of tournament poker.
In other words, busting out of $10,000 buy-in tournaments repeatedly does eventually
add up. Ten-thousand here and ten-thousand there, and pretty soon you are talking
about big money.
This is the preamble to Daniel Negreanu's arrival in rainy Tunica, Mississippi
during the first week of the 2006 tournament season. When he stepped off an
airplane in the nearby Memphis fog two weeks ago, Negreanu must have wondered
if his tournament future was as cloudy as the overcast skies. The days since
a big win had stretched from weeks, to months, to over a full year.
The World Series of Poker Circuit's feature attraction -- the $10,000 buy-in
championship event - began four days and and attracted 241 entries to the Tunica
Grand Casino-Resort. The total prize pool amounted to $2,289,500. With ESPN
cameras on site to cover the competition, the large field was gradually eliminated
down to the nine finalists, which took their seats inside the Tunica Grand Events
Center. In an arena specifically designed for boxing matches, it was fitting
that the final table would resemble a heavyweight prize fight. The early chip
leader was Brian Lamkin, from Austin, TX. But from the very start, all eyes
were on the Las Vegas wonderkid, Daniel Negreanu.
Expectations were high. Nothing short of a first-place finish would be acceptable.
In the end, Negreanu, nor his legions of fans, would be disappointed.
The nine players took their seats at the final table and were eliminated as
follows:
9th Place - It took nearly an hour for the first player to bust out.
Brandon Adams and Chad Brown arrived with the two lowest stacks, so it was expected
they might spar in the first major confrontation. That's exactly what happened
when Adams was dealt J-J and raised pre-flop. Brown re-raised 'all in' with
A-Q. Adams called quickly. It was the classic hold'em confrontation, with an
underpair versus two overcards. Adams' pocket jacks held up and Brown was the
first player to exit. Chad Brown, the former actor turned professional poker
player accepted his defeat gracefully. "I played very well just to get
here," he said afterward. "With just 100,000 left, I had to move in
with a coin flip at that point and I just didn't get lucky. I have no regrets
about my decision." Ninth-place paid $45,790.
8th Place - Robert Schulz was the final table's local favorite. He arrived
as the only player from the Memphis area (Southaven, MS is about ten miles north
of the Grand Casino). Schulz brought a large cheering section with him which
unfortunately left disappointed when their favorite player busted out in eighth
place. Schulz was getting low on chips and moved 'all in' with 7-7. Daniel Negreanu,
sensing his opponent was probably hoping not to get called, made the call instantly
with 9-9. Neither player improved, which meant Negreanu's pocket nines dragged
the big pot. Schulz vanished. "It was a very exciting four days,"
Schulz told ESPN cameras following his exit. "I was hoping to finish a
little higher for the home crowd since everyone came out to support me. But,
I'll be back here at a final table again sometime." Eighth place paid $68,685.
7th Place - The "The Daniel Negreanu Show" had only just begun.
The supporting cast was not pleased. Negreanu completely altered the balance
of the final table when he cracked two players in succession. His first victim
was Wendell Barnes, a welder from Massachusetts. Barnes was torched when he
was flopped two pair and moved 'all in' against Negreanu. Barnes initially looked
delighted to see Negreanu call the large bet. But Barnes might as well have
been standing on the railroad tracks waving at an oncoming freight train. Negreanu
had been dealt pocket aces and flopped an ace - good for trips. Barnes was essentially
drawing dead and was Negreanu's second road kill of the night. "That's
poker," Barnes said in a post-tournament interview. "It's a long drive
back (home to Massachusetts) but I'm leaving with some cash. It's all good."
Seventh-place paid $91,580.
A short time later, Negreanu won the biggest pot of the tournament up to that
point when he moved up to 1,240,000 in chips when his two pair (aces and queens)
crushed Brian Lamkin (his hand was not shown). It was a devastating pot for
Lamkin to lose. Lamkin had arrived at the final table with a solid chip lead,
but most of those chips vanished on the ill-advised confrontation. In one single
hand, Lamkin went from chip leader to the shortest stack, with only about 100,000
remaining.
6th Place - Brandon Adams started off the day as the lowest stack at
the table. He managed to leap up three places on the money ladder. However,
he finally ran out of punches when he was short on chips and made a raise with
K-9 and was re-raised 'all in' by Brian Lamkin - holding A-Q. Neither player
made a pair and the ace-high played. Adams was eliminated. Brandon Adams will
earn his PhD in Finance from Harvard University later this year. This is his
second big-time final table appearance in just three months. Adams also appeared
at the final table at the 2005 Tournament of Champions (finishing ninth). "My
strategy during this tournament was to be the aggressor, don't be a caller,"
Adams said later. "I went as far as I did because I followed that strategy
most of the way.....I will be teaching (college courses) this spring, but
I plan to play in the main event at the World Series of Poker," Adams stated,
already optimistic about his future as a part-time tournament player and college
instructor. Sixth place paid $114,475.
5th Place - After Brian Lamkin doubled up from his devastating defeat
to Negreanu (besting Brandon Adams), he then found himself having to commit
to a coin flip situation when dealt 8-8. Kia Mohajeri had not played many pots
up to that point but decided to take a stand with A-K. The final board showed
K-7-2-2-10 giving Mohajeri top pair with top kicker. Lamkin was out in fifth
place, good for $137,370 in prize money. "I'll take some of this experience
and keep moving forward," Lamkin said following his exit. "This is
the farthest I have ever gone in a field this tough. There are so many world-class
players here. I learned a lot and hopefully, there will be a next time."
4th Place - With Negreanu still holding a decisive chip lead, Lee Markholt
got into a tough jam when he picked the wrong time to make a move. Markholt,
who had survived with selective aggression most of the day, made a move at the
pot before the flop with J-8. He could not have picked a worse time to try and
move his opponent off a hand. Kia Mohajeri looked down and saw two aces, and
he moved over the top with an 'all in' re-raise. At that point, Markholt was
pot committed. He called. The flop brought Markholt some interesting possibilities
- as 10-7-6 opened up an inside straight draw. A five on the turn gave Markholt
eight outs on the river to double up. But a harmless deuce fell on the fifth
and final card, sealing Markholt's fate. Lee Markholt, a former professional
bull rider turned poker player from Washington State was bucked off the final
table and received $183,160 for fourth place. "It's always disappointing
when you don't win. But I'm happy with my play and that's all the matters,"
he said.
3rd Place - The two shortest stacks battled a few times and traded chips
back and forth. Then a major turning point occurred when Kia Mohajeri was dealt
A-J and raised pre-flop. Bryant "B.K." King moved 'all in' with his
last 227,000 -- holding K-K. Mohajeri called and lost the big hand. That left
Mohajeri on life support. A few minutes later, Mohajeri made his final stand
with K-J, moving 'all in.' King was delighted to call the raise with A-J. The
flop provided some hope for underdog Mohajeri (10-9-8). But two blanks on the
turn and river ended the night for the Floridian. This will likely not be the
final time we see Mohajeri. Encouraged by his recent poker success, Mohajeri
is seriously considering making a career move which might include playing full-time.
"I'm thinking of turning pro," Mohajeri said later. "Whatever
my decision is, poker will be a part of it." Perhaps $228,950 in prize
money will make his decision a little easier.
When heads-up play began, Negreanu held slightly better than a 2-1 chip advantage
- Negreanu with approximately 1.7 million to King's 700,000. Most interesting
of all, King had predicted he would get heads-up with Negreanu. During breaks,
King confidently told everyone around him that he planned to take on Negreanu
and play for the championship. Ultimately, he got exactly what he wanted.
2nd Place - Heads-up play lasted just six hands. King knew he had to
make a move fast because Negreanu was certain to keep putting pressure on and
would slowly peck away at King's stack with ceaseless raises. Nearing the 200th
hand of the final table King was dealt K-3 against Negreanu's K-9. The flop
came K-Q-4. Both players had top pair. Negreanu bet out. "I thought that
was a dream flop for me (with top pair)," King said afterward. "I
figured that if he really had top pair he would check-raise me. I really liked
it when he bet into me." As it turned out, Negreanu had the best hand all
along. King re-raised 'all in' and Negreanu called. The nine outkicked the three,
which meant King needed help. The final board showed K-Q-4-5-7. The nine-kicker
played and Negreanu had ended the longest cold spell of his poker career.
The runner up was Bryant "BK" King. He was no stranger to final tables
here in Tunica. This was King's second final table appearance in a major event
here, as he also made it to the final table at the first WSOP Circuit event
of the season, last August. "How can I feel bad?" King later asked.
"I started off the day with just 200,000 and I went as far as I could.
I was really happy with the way I played and I certainly think Daniel played
his best game." Second place paid $416,690.
1st Place - This was Daniel Negreanu's first win on the WSOP Circuit.
The victory paid $755,525. He won his three WSOP gold bracelets in 1998, 2003,
and 2004. However, he is perhaps poker's most honest and open player about his
ups and downs. In fact, Negreanu is becoming just was well-known for his poker
writing as much as playing. He began writing a weekly newspaper column syndicated
by Card Shark Media which is published in 40 newspapers in North America and
is read by an estimated 4 million readers.
Negreanu was in top form in a post tournament interview. He provided some unique
insights into this victory:
I had a strategy designed for each individual player and pretty much followed
it at the final table. The key to winning for me is that I stayed out of marginal
situations. I don't want to get into a race with 6-6 against A-K and hope to
stay alive. I think what I am best at is playing after the flop, and I wanted
to get as many situations as I could where I was up against (an opponent) and
could take them on after the flop. My goal is to see the most flops I can. I
like to set traps. I let (opponents) get involved, and then trap then. If I
get them drawing dead (which happened twice at the final table in big pots)
- that's always the plan.
Negreanu reflected on what this particular win meant at this stage in his poker
career. "Poker has changed so much since I first came into the game,"
he said. "I'm 31 now, and ten years ago there were just a few good young
players - such as John Juanda, Allen Cunningham, Phil Ivey, and myself. Now,
the young guys in their 20s can really play. You see it all the time. They come
in with years of experience playing on the Internet and they are super tough."
"I consider myself like a bridge between the old poker world and the new.
I saw the way it used to be. But I also see where it is going, with computers
and lots of new young players. So, I guess I'm not really a kid anymore."
Report by - Nolan Dalla (Media Director)
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