GOOD LAYDOWN IS KEY HAND IN CARLOS MORTENSEN'S PLH WIN
Carlos Mortensen, the 2001 World Series champion, scored a late-stage runaway win in the 22nd event of LAPC XIII, $1,500 pot-limit hold'em. He came to the final table with a massive chip lead, lost it in early going, then went on a rush to regain dominance again. With three players left, he had 313,000 of the chips, compared to 67,000 for Ron Rose and 44,000 for George Marlow, and he had little trouble demolishing them.
Mortensen, who also owns a bracelet in $5,000 limit hold'em, had more than his share of luck. But his key play, he said, came when he raised $21,000 pre-flop with pocket queens, then laid them down when Rose came over the top. "He had pocket kings. If I had played the queens I would have lost most of my chips," he pointed out.
His overall strategy, the pro from Madrid, Spain said, was to control the players, and that he did. One time he took the blinds with a raise, then showed 7-2.
Three tables were brought back the second day because of the large field. The final table got underway with blinds of $3,000-$6,000, with a full hour remaining.
Poker player Matt Lefkowitz lasted two hands. Patty Gallagher button- raised and he went all in for $400 more from the big blind. Patty had the better hand, A-9 to his Ks-4s, and a flopped ace did him in.
Rose soon proved to be Mortensen's nemesis. On hand 17, he took a lot of chips when he outran Mortensen's A-10 by flopping a king to his K-J. Five hands later, Mortensen bet 20k into a flop of K-K-3, then folded when Rose raised 40k more. Rose, who has a bracelet in $1,000 no-limit, along with two World Poker Tour wins in Reno and the Battle of Champions, now had the lead with about 118k to 83k for Mortensen.
Wes Bugiera, a pro from Australia, had a close call against Patty Gallagher, all in for $8,500 with Ad-9d against her pocket 9s. "I can't believe it!" he exclaimed when he flopped a flush.
When blinds went to $2,000-$4,000, Rose led with 71k, while Mortensen, Richard Cohen and Marlowe were virtually tied in the 60k range. Two hands into the new level, Ronnie Ebanks, a rookie player who is an agent for jockeys, raised to 13k with A-J. Mortensen re-raised. Ebanks bet all in on a flop of K-J-10 and finished ninth when Mortensen showed pocket queens.
Up until hand 40, Susan Trabue, a stuntwoman performing mostly on TV, had only played two hands. Now she came to life, going all in with pocket 7s and tripling up when she flopped a set in three-way action. Suddenly becoming aggressive (or getting better cards), she climbed into contention with 66k by hand 51. As chips kept changing hands, Marlowe briefly took charge after he took a pot from Rose with a re-raise.
Bugiera went bust with pocket 8s when he got caught between Rose and Jose Rosenkrantz, both of whom had pocket kings.
Gallagher, a pro with a 2nd and a 3rd at the WSOP, bowed her head on the table in dismay as she finished seventh. She moved in for 10k with A-Q and lost to Rosenkrantz's J-9 when the board came K-J-3-8-6.
Mortensen, meanwhile, had been coming back as he repeatedly raised and re-raised, forcing opponents to lay down their hands. By the time limits went to 3-6k, he had things under control with 131k. Marlow, a consultant, had 81.5; Traube, 74; Rosenkrantz, 71; Cohen, 39; and Rose, 27.5.
There were a lot of big chip swings in the next 20 hands, the most dramatic coming when stuntwoman Susan relieved Marlowe of 21k when she forced him out on the flop and climbed to more than 100k.
Then, two players went south on consecutive hands. First, Cohen raised with A-6 and then Mortensen put him for 60k total and won with A-K. On the next hand, Marlowe buried a low-chipped Rosenkrantz who was in the big blind with 9-5. Marlowe raised him all in with A-J and caught two more jacks. Trabue, the first woman to win a seat in the championship event starting tomorrow, departed on hand 97. Mortensen put her all in with a board of J-3-3-J. When he turned over a Q-J full house, she mucked her hand without showing her cards or bothering to see the river.
Three-handed, Mortensen now owned 78 percent of the chips. Things looked bleak for his two opponents, especially since blinds now went to $5,000-$10,000, giving them little chance to maneuver.
They tried, to little avail. Three hands into the level, Marlowe moved in for his last 34k with A-Q. He was a favorite when Mortensen called with J-9, and a much bigger favorite when the board showed 8-7-3-3. But then a 10 gave Mortensen an inside straight, and it was heads-up time.
The mismatch lasted only three hands. On a flop of K-8-7, Rose had a paired 8 and bet his last 20k. Mortensen called with K-2, hit a third king on the turn and a bigger full house when an 8 rivered, and was now $117,650 richer as he took down the last event before the championship.
--Max Shapiro |
