Victor Ramdin Outfoxes the Field at Foxwoods

Victor Ramdin does not consider himself a professional poker player. Instead, he likes to think of poker as more of a hobby. Ramdin is a businessman first and a card player second. By his own admission, he plays only around 20 tournaments a year. Early on in 2006, Ramdin is doing quite well with his part-time hobby.



On the PartyPoker Million V cruise, Ramdin outlasted 528 players to earn a spot at the final table. He ended up with a ninth-place finish, which was good enough for a $100,000 payday. His next stop was the 2006 Foxwoods Poker Classic. Little did Ramdin know that Foxwoods would be the site of the finish he had been working so hard to achieve.

Day One – Staying Out of Trouble

If the first day of action at the Foxwoods Poker Classic was any indication of things to come, players were in for a wild and bumpy ride. An all-star field turned out to try to claim the top prize of $1,331,889. Among those in attendance was Nick "The Takeover" Schulman, who won the 2005 World Poker Finals at Foxwoods.



Schulman, however, was one of the many casualties on day one. Overall, 275 players were unable to advance to day two. They included such pros as Gavin Smith, David Singer, Barry Greenstein, Daniel Negreanu, and Carlos Mortensen.



The crowd favorite on day one was Sully Erna, lead singer of the Boston-based band Godsmack. He battled a short stack all day, but was able to finally get his chip count up to near $50,000. However, the end of the day was not kind to Erna, as he was knocked out less than an hour before play ended for the day.



The leader at the end of action was Greg Monaldi. Monaldi had built his stack up to $222,000 and had a chip lead of $34,000 over his nearest competitor.

Ramdin spent most of the first day staying out of trouble. Rarely was he involved in any large pots. When the smoke cleared, he was in 101st place with only 156 players remaining. With only $34,100 in chips, he was well below the average of $55,256. However, day two would be a different story for him.



Day Two – Moving Day for Ramdin

The second day of action started off with a bang. Of the 156 players who began play, more than 30 were eliminated in the first hour of play. That pace continued, and when the chips were bagged and tagged at the end of the day, only 22 players were left standing.



Some of the early casualties of the day included Cliff "JohnnyBax" Josephy, Amnon Filippi, Erick Lindgren, Isabelle Mercier, Hoyt Corkins, Paul Darden, and Erik Seidel. "BodogAri" Engel was eliminated in 40th place, but it was also the first payout of the tournament. A few hands later, John Juanda's pocket tens ran into the pocket aces of Greg Monaldi. Juanda was eliminated from the tournament in 31st position.



In an amazing hand, Ed Jordan won a pot of well over $300,000 when his pocket aces held up against his two opponents' pocket kings and pocket queens. A fourth player in the hand, who was the original preflop raiser and had all of the other players covered, had pocket jacks. However, he folded to all the action before the flop – and the board came jack high.

Monaldi, the chip leader coming into the day, continued to play well and increased his stack to $1,018,000. That was good enough for him to maintain his chip lead going into day three. Alex "Yahtzem" Jacob was next with $935,000.



Ramdin spent the day moving his chips, and despite starting the day with a short stack, he was able to build it up to more than $300,000 with just minutes to go before play ended for the day. But that was not good enough for him. With the blinds at $6,000-$12,000, Ramdin raised preflop to $42,000 and Ron Wilson reraised to $100,000 from the big blind. Ramdin called, and the flop came 8 8 7. Wilson bet $100,000 and Ramdin moved all in for $126,000 more. After a few minutes, Wilson called with the A 10. Ramdin flipped over the 9 9 and was in the lead. The turn was the 4 and the river brought the 2. So, just moments before play ended, Ramdin had doubled up and ended the day with $632,000. That was good enough for fourth place going into the third day of play.



Day Three – A Second Final Table in Two Tournaments for Ramdin

The remaining 22 players returned on day three to battle for the six spots at the World Poker Tour televised final table. It didn't take long for the action to get going.

Just a few minutes after play started, a very unusual hand took place. Larry Klur moved all in from under the gun. He announced that he was moving all in but did not push his chips into the middle. Everyone folded around to Eric "Sheets" Haber in the small blind, who announced that he was moving all in. The big blind folded, and Haber, not hearing Klur's all-in bet, looked surprised as Klur turned over the K Q. Haber turned over his bluff, the 10 3, and the board came A K K Q 5. Klur had Haber covered, and he was eliminated from the tournament in 22nd place.



Haber had not realized that Klur had moved all in from under the gun and was making a move on the big blind. A floorman was called over and the situation was explained to him. However, he ruled that the hand stood and Haber was eliminated.



Greg Monaldi had held the chip lead throughout the entire tournament. However, day three was the end of his run. After taking a number of hits to his stack, he was knocked out in 12th place by Alex Jacob.

Moments later, another wild hand took place. Brent Keller raised to $85,000 preflop, Kenny Chantamala pushed all in, and Ron Wilson called all in. Keller had both players covered and immediately called. Keller flipped over the K K, but both Chantamala and Wilson showed pocket aces. The board came 7 5 4 K 6, giving Keller a set of kings to knock both players out.

With only seven players left and the blinds at $15,000-$30,000, a series of big hands went down. Ed Jordan raised to $100,000 preflop and Spiro Mitrokostas called. Alex Jacob then moved all in from the big blind for $358,000 more, and Jordan folded. After a few moments, Mitrokostas made the call and showed the J J. However, Jacob flipped over the A A, and the board came 10 4 3 A 4. Jacob doubled up to more than $1 million and Mitrokostas was left with $330,000.

Just two hands later, Jordan raised to $100,000 from the small blind and Mitrokostas pushed all in for his last $225,000. Jordan called with the A 3, and Mitrokostas flipped over the Q Q. However, the flop came J 9 2, and Jordan had flopped the nut flush. The turn was the 8 and the river brought the 10, eliminating Spiro "55lucky55" Mitrokostas in seventh place.

Victor Ramdin played a much more aggressive game on day three. He seemed to be raising almost every pot, and was in total control of his table nearly the entire day. This enabled him to go to the final table in second chip position with $1,793,000.



The chip counts going to the final table were as follows:

Final Table – A Quick Start Leads to Victory

The players were not afraid to mix it up early in the action, and Victor Ramdin took full advantage. It took only 10 hands for the first player to be eliminated. With the blinds at $15,000-$30,000, Ramdin raised to $120,000. Bruce Kater moved all in for an additional $412,000. Ramdin thought for a few moments before making the call. Kater showed the A 10 and Ramdin flipped over the A Q. The board came K 5 3 J J and Kater was eliminated in sixth place, which was good for $167,008.



Just seven hands later, Ramdin took out his next victim. With the blinds still at $15,000-$30,000, John Russell moved all in for his last $753,000. Ramdin immediately moved all in behind him. Russell showed the A J, but Ramdin flipped over the A A. The board came 9 4 2 9 10, and Russell was eliminated. For his fifth-place finish, Russell earned $208,760.



Play then tightened up a bit. It wasn't until hand No. 91 that Larry Klur was sent to the rail. With the blinds at $60,000-$120,000, Ed Jordan raised to $400,000. Klur moved all in for $695,000 more and Jordan called. Klur showed the A 7 and Jordan flipped over the 4 4. The flop came A 9 5 and Klur took the lead with a pair of aces. However, the 3 on the turn gave Jordan a straight draw, and the 2 on the river completed his straight. Klur was awarded $292,264 for his fourth-place finish.



Just a few hands later with the blinds still at $60,000-$120,000, Ramdin had the button and raised to $400,000. Jordan moved all in and Ramdin made the call. Jordan showed the Q 6, but Ramdin turned over the A Q. The flop came 9 6 5 and Jordan took a huge lead in the hand. The turn was the 9 and Ramdin picked up a flush draw. Then, the river brought the A and Ramdin doubled up to nearly $3.5 million. Jordan was left crippled with only $300,000.



Three hands later, Ramdin had the button and limped into the pot. Alex Jacob raised to $400,000 from the small blind and Jordan called all in for his last $250,000. Ramdin also called, and the flop came K 5 2. Jacob bet $500,000 and Ramdin folded. Jacob showed the K 5 for two pair, and Jordan flipped over the 7 3. The turn was the 5, and Jacob had made a full house. Jordan was drawing dead and was eliminated from the tournament. For his third-place finish, Jordan earned $417,520.



The chip counts before the start of heads-up play were:

The elimination of Ed Jordan led to a heads-up confrontation between Internet poker guru Alex "Yahtzem" Jacob and Victor Ramdin. The two players had played at the same table on day one of the PartyPoker Million V cruise and had become friends, and were now facing off for the title at the Foxwoods Poker Classic.



Jacob held the chip lead when they started heads-up play. His relentless aggression and ability to play big-stack poker had put him in great chip position. It looked as if Jacob might simply run over Ramdin once they started heads-up play. However, Ramdin chose his spots carefully and finally was able to pick up a hand.

With the blinds at $100,000-$200,000, Jacob had the button and limped in. Ramdin moved all in for his last $2,350,000 and Jacob immediately called. Ramdin showed the 9 9 and Jacob flipped over the A K. The flop came Q 9 6 and Ramdin had flopped a set. The turn was the 2 and the river was the 4. Ramdin had doubled up to more than $4.7 million and taken the chip lead.



Just two hands later, Jacob had the button and moved all in. Ramdin called immediately and showed the A J. Jacob turned over the K J, and the flop came Q 7 3. Ramdin retained the lead. The turn was the 8 and Jacob had to have a king on the river to stay alive. The river was the J and Ramdin had captured the title at the Foxwoods Poker Classic. For his runner-up finish, Jacob earned $655,507.



Victor Ramdin had worked hard for a seat at the final table of a World Poker Tour event for many years. When he finally made it, he made the most of it. For his victory, he earned $1,331,889 in addition to the $25,000 entry into the WPT Championship at Bellagio.



This part-time poker player has now reached the final table in his last two events and earned more than $1.4 million in the process. If he is able to keep up that sort of pace, he might have to consider making his hobby a full-time job.