World Series of Poker -- John Juanda Wins $10,000 Deuce-to-Seven Lowball Championship

The final table of Event No. 16 ($10,000 deuce-to-seven lowball championship) was packed with big names and great story lines at the the 2011 World Series of Poker. Phil Hellmuth, John Juanda, Richard Ashby, Steve Sung, Nick Schulman, David Baker, and Hasan Habib made for one of the most talented and entertaining final tables of the summer. The final seven players have won a total of 19 gold bracelets at the start of the final table and by the end of the tournament they hold 20. In the end it was Juanda who won the tournament and his fifth gold bracelet by defeating Hellmuth heads up and preventing him from taking home his record 12th bracelet.

Juanda grew his career earnings to $11,544,162 with the $367,170 he earned for the win and Hellmuth grew his career earnings to $11,189,991 with the $226,909 he took home as the runner up. Hellmuth increased a few of his own WSOP records at the final table. He now has a record 80 cashes and a record 41 final-table appearances at the WSOP, but his bracelet count still stands at 11, which is not bad considering that it is a record as well.

Hellmuth held a 3-1 chip advantage at the start of heads-up play but Juanda then unleashed a relentless attack of aggression to grab the chip lead and eventually the victory in a final match that lasted for more than three hours. Juanda spoke highly of his opponent after the final table. “Hellmuth actually played pretty good. I was impressed with the way that he played. He made one really great play against Joe (Cassidy), who had the winning hand and he became the chip leader after that. So, overall I was very impressed with the way he played. You know, a lot of people said he couldn’t play anything besides hold’em, but tonight he played really well. If the cards would have fallen his way he could be standing here doing the interview instead of me.”

Juanda appeared at the final table for this event the last two years, scoring back-to-back fourth-place finishes before he claimed the top spot and the bracelet tonight. The final table also played host to two other former final tablists in this event, 2009 champion Schulman and defending 2010 champion Baker, although they were eliminated in fifth place and sixth place respectively. Juanda also spoke of the tough level of competition he faced after play concluded, “Tonight there were a lot of great players. It’s tough to post a $10,000 buy-in tournament, especially in a game like no-limit deuce-to-seven. So, I didn’t expect it to be easy. I actually started today as the shortest stack and obviously had to catch some cards. You know, I just took it one hand at a time.”

Here is a look at the elimination hands from CardPlayer.com’s live updates:

Hasan Habib Eliminated in 7th Place ($40,020)

Shortly after doubling up through Nick Schulman, Hasan Habib open-shoved the short stack before the draw for about 170,000 and Richard Ashby called.

Habib drew one card while Ashby stood pat.

Ashby showed 10 – 9 – 5 – 4 – 2 for a ten-low while Habib turned over 8 – 6 – 4 – 2, pairing his deuce after the draw. Hasan Habib came to the official seven-handed final table as the short stack, and was the first to go in 7th place ($40,020).

Defending Champion David Baker Eliminated in 6th Place ($51,485)

Defending champion David Baker had a tough level. He started the level as one of the short stacks and cemented that role about halfway through the level after doubling up Steve Sung when Sung stood pat with a J – 7 and Baker drew one, pairing eights with 8 – 4 – 3 – 2.

Baker was down to less than a full big blind after that hand and found some relief in a quick quadruple up after drawing a 10 – 7 low against Richard Ashby’s J – 10 in a four-way pot. Soon thereafter and David Baker would get it all in again against Steve Sung, Sung getting the best of it again.

Steve Sung raised to 50,000 before the draw, David Baker moved all in for about 10,000 more and both Phil Hellmuth and Sung called the raise.

Sung and Baker each drew one card while Hellmuth drew two. Hellmuth bet 50,000 at the side pot and Sung folded.

Hellmuth showed 10 – 9 – 8 – 3 – 2 while Baker showed 9 – 7 – 5 – 4 – A. Hellmuth raked the pot with a ten-low and the defending champion, David Baker was eliminated in 6th place ($51,485).

Nick Schulman Eliminated in 5th Place ($69,216)

Nick Schulman raised to 50,000 before the draw, Phil Hellmuth raised to 340,000 and Schulman called all in for around 250,000.

Hellmuth stood pat with J – 6 – 5 – 4 – 2 while Schulman drew one card with 8 – 6 – 4 – 2. Schulman drew another 8, pairing his hand, and was eliminated in 5th place ($69,216) while Hellmuth secured a monster chip lead with 2.4 million.

Steve Sung Eliminated in 4th Place ($97,416)

John Juanda raised to 52,000 from under the gun, Steve Sung moved all in for 270,000 from the small blind and Juanda called.

Sung stood pat with J – 9 – 7 – 6 – 3 while Juanda drew one card with 10 – 6 – 4 – 3. Juanda turned over a five for a made ten-low and Steve Sung was eliminated in 4th place ($97,416).

Richard Ashby Eliminated in 3rd Place ($143,833)

Shortly after returning from the dinner break, John Juanda doubled through Richard Ashby after getting it all in with 10 – 5 – 4 – 2 against Ashby’s 10 – 5 – 4 – 3. Both players drew one card each. Juanda drew a 6 for a made ten-low while Ashby paired his three. Juanda doubled up, leaving Ashby on the short stack with just about 200,000. Ashby got it all in shortly after in this final hand of his tournament.

Richard Ashby open-shoved the short stack for around 200,000 from the small blind and Phil Hellmuth called from the big blind.

Hellmuth was ahead before the draw with 8 – 6 – 3 – 2 against Ashby’s Q – 10 – 4 – 3.

Hellmuth drew a 10 for a made ten-low while Ashby drew a 6 for a queen-high. Richard Ashby was eliminated in 3rd place ($143,833).

Phil Hellmuth Eliminated in 2nd Place ($226,907)

Level 26 didn’t last very long as Phil Hellmuth began the round with just about 1 million in chips to John Juanda’s 2.8 million. He lost nearly half is stack right out of the gate when Juanda drew one card to a ten-low and it wasn’t long after that he was all in from the button for 550,000 (10.5 BBs) when Juanda called from the big blind.

Hellmuth stood pat with Q – 10 – 8 – 5 – 2 for a queen-low while Juanda drew one card with J – 6 – 3 – 2. Juanda dew an 8 and a made a jack-low on the final hand of the evening, denying Phil Hellmuth his record-breaking 12th WSOP gold bracelet and what would have been his first in a variety of game other than hold’em. Phil Hellmuth was eliminated in 2nd place ($226,907) while John Juanda went on to capture his 5th gold bracelet and the grand prize of $367,170 for winning Event #16.

Related Articles

Player Skips Main Event Day 5 For Religious Reason

Ben Lamb Wins Card Player POY Award

Tournament Poker Year in Review: January To June

Most Viewed Articles