World Series of Poker Circuit - Las Vegas

Chris Ferguson in deep concentration

Big Names, Small Field
The World Series of Poker Circuit recently stopped at Harrah's on the Las Vegas Strip. While the championship event attracted the smallest field yet, it definitely was one of the toughest.



There were only 107 players, but every fourth seat was filled by a big-name pro, including Daniel Negreanu, Barry Greenstein, John Phan, Jennifer Harman, Allen Cunningham, Dan Harrington, Ted Forrest, Erik Seidel, Hasan Habib, Erick Lindgren, and Chris Ferguson. The field was rounded out with strong but less well-known professionals.



John Phan and the Triple Bubble
This event was all about the final table, because there was nothing else to play for – as the payout structure was only nine deep. Since the money bubble was the same as the one for the final table, that made it a double bubble. And if you cared about Card Player's Player of the Year points (as many of these players do), that made it a triple bubble. The 10th-place finisher would go home with nothing – no final table, no money, and no Player of the Year points.



With just 11 players remaining at the final two tables, John Phan was involved in the biggest pot of the tournament (to that point) against former World Series of Poker Champion Chris "Jesus" Ferguson. They had been betting back-and-forth over a board of A Q 7 J 6, and with more than $100,000 already in the pot, Ferguson effectively bet all in for $45,000 more on the river. Faced with a big decision that could swing the tournament for him (putting him in the chip lead if he called and won, or in the dog house if he called and lost), Phan took nearly 10 minutes before the clock was called – by Phan himself. As the seconds counted down, Phan refused to act, and his hand was declared dead by the tournament director. It was as if Phan couldn't bring himself to fold, and had to ask someone to do it for him.



It was a key hand that took Ferguson to second place in the chip standings, and knocked Phan down to the bottom. After that hand, you might think Phan would be on tilt; if he was, he never showed it with his demeanor or his play. You don't lead the Player of the Year standings without being able to bounce back from a tough laydown.



After top European pro Martin de Knijff was eliminated in 11th place, the final 10 players were combined to play at a single table until one more player was eliminated. This was it – the triple bubble.

John Phan

The 10 remaining players justifiably tightened up their play, trying to reach the final table, and all the money, glory, and Player of the Year points that went with it. Then, without warning, Phan and An Tran reraised each other until they were both all in and the cards were shown. Phan's pocket aces (A A) dominated Tran's pocket jacks (J J). The flop was neutral, but a jack on the turn was like a knife into Phan's tournament hopes. The river card was a blank, and Phan quickly and quietly disappeared from the room.



THE FINAL TABLE

The final nine players returned the next day to play for the million-dollar prize pool at the final table. ESPN had a minimal crew present with hand-held cameras to record the results for posterity, but it would not be a stand-alone episode. Here were the chip standings:



1. Chad Layne $197,500

2. Kevin Song $154,500

3. An Tran $140,000

4. Tom Pniak $139,000

5. Chris Ferguson $129,500

6. Tom Foley $95,000

7. Gregg Fund $80,500

8. James McCrink $78,500

9. Michael Fetter $58,000



McCrink was quickly eliminated in hand No. 14 when he flopped top pair and ran into Pniak's pocket aces. Foley followed in the very next hand when his A-J couldn't out-race Layne's pocket eights. Within an hour, Fetter moved all in after flopping top pair in hand No. 32, but didn't have enough chips to scare Song off a flush draw. Song actually caught a runner-runner straight, and Fetter went home in seventh place.



Down to six players, the action slowed for an hour and a half, until hand No. 60. That's when Song and Fund put it all on the line after a flop of 8 6 6. Fund had pocket tens (10 10), but he was in trouble against Song's pocket queens (Q Q). That took a big bite out of Fund's stack, and a few hands later, he bluffed at an ace-high flop with the Q J (queen high). Ferguson called with the A J (pair of aces), and two cards later, Fund was out in sixth place.



Song made a preflop raise from the button with the 3 2 in hand No. 71, and when Tran moved all in with the A K on a short stack, pot odds demanded a call with any two cards. Song showed his hand with embarrassment, but the flop of 6 5 3 evened things out, giving Song a pair with a gutshot-straight draw against Tran's overcards with a flush draw. The turn card was a blank (the Q), but the 4 on the river unnecessarily completed Song's straight to eliminate Tran in fifth place.



Chris Ferguson and Chad Layne were nearly tied for the chip lead at this point. But when Tom Pniak tried to bluff against Ferguson after an ace-high flop in hand No. 78, he became the second player to pay the ultimate price for it. Pniak went home in fourth place when his king high couldn't improve against Ferguson's flopped pair of aces.



Ferguson's roll continued as Song flopped two pair against him in hand No. 84, but Ferguson turned a higher two pair – and that's when all the money went into the pot. The river card was a blank, and Song was eliminated in third place.



Taking out the last two players gave Ferguson more than a 2.5-to-1 chip lead against Layne as they entered heads-up play. While it took 84 hands to eliminate the first seven players, the heads-up battle would take even longer than that.



It was a deliberate back-and-forth battle, but Layne was never able to get closer than half as many chips as Ferguson had. Layne was all in with the K J on hand No. 167, but he was dominated by Ferguson's A J. A flop of the Q 10 3 gave Layne an open-end straight draw, which he hit with a 9 on the river.



They were all in again on hand No. 175, with Ferguson's A J dominated by Layne's A K. If Layne doubled up, he would be right back in the tournament. But this time it was Ferguson who came from behind, as he flopped a jack to win the hand – and the tournament. Layne played a great game to last as long as he did, but he never could catch the break he needed at a time when it would really help him.



Chris Ferguson won $362,088 and a gold-and-diamond ring. In the short history of the WSOP Circuit (the first event was back in January), this was Ferguson's second victory in a championship event, and it guaranteed his entry into the 2006 WSOP Tournament of Champions. (Ferguson's other victory came in early March at the Rincon in San Diego.)



Ferguson can be an intimidating presence at the poker table, dressed in black, including a black cowboy hat, and sitting motionless behind sunglasses. When he's playing, he never moves without a purpose. He doesn't shuffle his chips or make any unnecessary movements at all. His thinking is done on the inside: Once he decides to bet, he simply grabs the necessary chips and makes the bet; when he decides to fold, he simply pushes his cards to the dealer. There's absolutely no wasted effort, and it's a refreshing sight compared to some rookies who think chip shuffling and overacting are the only ways to play.

Chris Ferguson and his winnings

Don't let the intimidating image fool you. Away from the poker table, Ferguson is one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet, always friendly and smiling, and signing autographs for poker fans. But as a professional tournament poker player, he is all business at the table – and in 2005, business has been very, very good to him.



The final payouts were as follows:

1. Chris Ferguson $362,088

2. Chad Layne $201,160

3. Kevin Song $110,638

4. Tom Pniak $80,464

5. An Tran $70,406

6. Gregg Fund $60,348

7. Michael Fetter $50,290

8. Tom Foley $40,232

9. Jim McCrink $30,174