(Distributed Jan. 9, 2007)
SOLID STRATEGY GIVES REAL ESTATE DEVELOPER BIG WPO VICTORY
TUNICA, MISS, — After making his way through a field of 607 players in the first event of the 2007 World Poker Open here, Franklin Caldwell knew he needed a solid strategy to survive a wild and crazy final table.
With about $80,000 on the line for first place, Caldwell suspected that at least three short-stacked players would make all-in moves early in bids to double-up. Starting Friday’s final-table play in third chip position among the nine finalists, he decided to stay out of harm’s way early.
“I wanted to wait and let the short stacks get knocked out,” he said. “Then I wanted to try to wait for big hands.”
The plan worked, but it wasn’t easy.
In one of the faster final tables you’ll ever see, players were eliminated about every five minutes or so at the start. Two players were gone in the first 15 minutes, then Caldwell strayed from his game plan and got lucky.
Chip leader Paul “Eskimo” Clark, a well-known Las Vegas pro with three World Series bracelets and $1.6 million in major tournament cashes, was a favorite to defeat the field when play started. Just 20 minutes into play, Caldwell put his tournament on the line against Clark.
Holding K-J in the pocket, Caldwell moved in all of his chips only to see Clark call with A-Q. Clark caught a queen on the flop and was in command of the hand until a king came on the river to save the day for Caldwell and cripple Clark. That card prevented his elimination in seventh place, and the $300,000 pot put him in strong chip position, allowing him to pick his spots to be aggressive.
One of those spots came about 10 minutes later when his A-A in the pocket was an easy winner over the 7-7 hole cards of Brian Feck, who was knocked out in sixth place.
Caldwell stayed on the sidelines for the next 15 minutes and watched two key confrontations unfold — one involving Gerald Cheatham, who started the day in second chip position, and the other involving Clark, who had rallied from that devastating blow delivered by Caldwell.
Cheatham was sent to the rail when his 5-5 in the pocket couldn’t hold on against the K-Q pocket cards of Woody Van Stratum, who eventually would battle Caldwell heads-up for the title. A flop of A-A-2 seemed innocent enough for Cheatham; so did a six on the turn. However, a king came on the river and a frustrated Cheatham went to the cage to collect his fifth-place money.
Just a few minutes later, Clark pushed all-in on a flop of J-8-3 (two diamonds). He was holding the K-7 of diamonds for a flush draw, but Tony Purpura called holding K-Q offsuit (no hand and no draw at that point). The queen of hearts hit on the turn, sending Purpura into the lead, and Eskimo was banished to the deep freeze in fourth place when no diamond came on the end.
The next big hand essentially sealed the tournament for Caldwell. With the flop showing J-Q-K, Purpura pushed all-in holding K-8 in the pocket, giving him a pair of kings. Caldwell called instantly. His Q-Q in the hole had become trips on the flop. For good measure, the fourth queen came on the next card, eliminating Purpura in third.
After just 75 minutes, heads-up play between Caldwell and Van Stratum was about to start. The quad-queens hand had given Caldwell a 4-to-1 chip lead over his lone remaining opponent.
Twenty minutes of sparring left Caldwell’s chip position unchanged, then the players took a short break. They returned to action with a higher betting level — $5,000 antes, and blinds of $15,000 and $30,000. It was over in two hands.
Desperate to double-up, Van Stratum moved all-in holding K-3 offsuit after a $50,000 raise by Caldwell. Holding A-5 of diamonds, Caldwell called quickly. A flop of 3-4-9 (two diamonds) gave Van Stratum a pair and Caldwell both a flush and straight draw. A king on the turn kept Van Stratum in the lead with two pair, but the deuce of hearts on the river completed Caldwell’s straight for the victory.
Van Stratum, who owns a wholesale office equipment business in Cookeville, Tenn., said, “It’s good to get second, but I was playing to win.”
Caldwell’s win was his second biggest in poker. He finished 39th, good for $235,390, in the World Series main event in 2005, the year Joe Hachem was champion from a field of 5,619 players.
This was Caldwell’s third year at the WPO. It surely won’t be his last.
E-mail your poker questions and comments to russ@luckydogpoker.com for use in future columns. To find out more about Russ Scott and read previous LuckyDog Poker columns, visit www.creators.com or www.luckydogpoker.com.
COPYRIGHT 2006 RUSS SCOTT
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