Poker Tournament Results

Winnin 'O' the Green

Paul Darden

Tournament Report

Poker Pro Paul Darden Adds Another Title at No Limit Final Table The 2009 Winnin’ O’ the Green series pushed on with another No Limit Hold’em event guaranteeing the prize pool of $50,000. With 184 players and 87 rebuys the prize pool ballooned to $78,861. First place was set at $29,771 and there were 813,000 chips in play. Nearing 3am, the final table was set with the last 10 players and blinds were 3000/6000 with a 1000 ante. On the very first hand, short stack Nikhil Gera pushed with his wired 7s into Kevin McCormack who insta-called with A-K. The flop fell K-4-2 and Nikhil was drawing lean. The turn 6 and river 8 concluded play for Nikhil as he finished in 10th place for $1,380. On hand #8 a three-way pot developed and Kevin McCormack was all-in preflop. Both Robert and Vanna got it all-in after the flop. Robert had the lead preflop with pocket Queens, Robert MacDonald held a suited 10h-8h and Vanna Tea showed Qc-5c. The flop was Ac-Q-Kc. Kevin’s set of Queens looked good but Vanna had a flush draw and Robert had a gut shot. The turn Jack gave Robert the Broadway straight but both opponents still had redraws. The river 5 of clubs gave Vanna the flush and knocked out both Robert and Kevin. Kevin McCormack finished in 9th place earning $1,575 and Robert MacDonald finished in 8th for $1,775. On the next hand (#9) Gholam Ghanavati tangled with Paul Darden. Gholam had a suited K-Q but ran into Paul’s dominating A-K. The board fell 9-9-2-K-8 and Gholam was eliminated in 7th place and took home $1,970. On hand #11 a six-handed table saw the following confrontation: Dong Bai Xu was all-in with a Q-3 and Paul Darden called from the big blind with A-2. The board was 10-5-5-8-K and the Ace took the pot. Dong Bai Xu finished in 6th place and collected $2,760 for an evening’s work. Just two hands later Jacques Kallah pushed with pocket Jacks but could not keep Luan Phan from calling with Ah-Kh. The flop was J-10-9 giving Jacques a set of Jacks but Luan had the gut shot draw. The turn Queen gave Luan the lead and Jacques needed the board to pair. The river 3 did not do it for Jacques and he was eliminated in 5th place earning a respectable $3,550. On hand #23 Luan Phan lost over 90% of his chips when his Q-9 flopped top pair and he set a trap for Paul Darden. Paul made his way into the trap holding a 5-3 with a flop of Q-3-2. The turn 5 reversed the trap and all the chips made it into the middle. The river 8 didn’t help Luan and Paul’s two-pair took down a big pot. On hand #28 Luan got his last 17,000 chips in with 10-8 and was called by Paul Emata’s dominated 8c-7c. The flop was 5-3c-2 with a turn Qc and river 5c. Paul hit his flush and sent Luan Phan out in 4th place for $4,730. Paul Darden folded another 5-3 (he won a big pot on hand #23 with this hand) and realized he could’ve knocked out 2 players with his full house. The final three players discussed a chip count deal and accepted the result. Paul Darden had 40,000 more chips than Vanna Tea and was declared the winner. This 70-minute final table was the fastest so far in the series. - Jay “Bugsy” Siegel BIOGRAPHY Paul Darden, a poker pro originally from the East coast, was short stacked with 2 tables to go and found a couple of hands at the right time to get him to the final table with above average chips. He worked the table by winning small pots and successfully acquired the chip lead before making a 3-way deal at the end. Paul’s coming out of 3 cashes at this year’s LAPC and is always a threat at any final table he plays. Paul is considered to be one of the gentlemen of poker, respected by all his peers for his exceptional play as well as his kind demeanor. With a WPT title and WSOP bracelet, it’s easy to see how Paul made this his 10th title in major tournaments and continues his success at the poker table.