David Stucke Victorious in Event #27 at the WSOPStucke Changed Gears Late in the $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Event to Take Home WSOP Gold |
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The exclusion of a well-known professional at a World Series of Poker final table changes everything. The nature of the beast changes from intimidation and aggression to friendliness and a relaxed state of strategy. The big hands still take place. Players clash with big cards in the hole from time to time. But, more often these hands take place when they are forced to push their starved chip stacks into the middle. And this is mainly because for too long they have subjected themselves to rising blinds and antes. Think of it as halfway between attention and at ease. That was the state of affairs at the final table of the $1,500 no-limit hold'em last night.
Without a known professional presence, the action was more suited for the kitchen table than a final table. Action started out of the gate quickly and two players made their exits in the first three hands. The table then hopelessly searched for a table captain for the next three hours. Play was advanced more by the force of increasing blinds and antes than by aggression. A point in case was Seth Weinger: If this was a home game, he was the gracious host. He was friendly, and talkative, but he was also card dead and wanted the table to know about that fact. He complained, as the chip leader, about not receiving any cards while action was fivehanded, then fourhanded, then threehanded before he was eliminated. Apparently, Young Cho was listening because he took the opportunity to bully the rest of the table around and pick up a small saving account's worth of dead money.
Ironically, it was a hand in which Cho made the wrong play that gave him the chips that fueled him to a second-place finish (read "Ium Wounded"). While all this was transpiring, another player who seemed to be just waiting around for cards jumped into action. David Stucke had been waiting for something at the final table, and whatever it was, he had found it. In another twist of fate, he trapped Cho with a monster, on one of the occasions in which Cho actually held some cards to back up his aggression (read "Cho vs. Stucke"). In the end, Stucke won the day, and the gold bracelet. He also took home a nice amount of cash, $603,069 to be exact.
Here is the last hour of action from the CardPlayer.com event logs:
Break Time
The players went on a 15-minute break, and then the blinds jumped up to $60,000-$120,000 with a $15,000 ante. The players won't be able to sit on their hands for much longer and not hope to be blinded off.
Ium Wounded
Young Cho moved all in and Michael Ium went into the tank for about five minutes. The clock was then called and Ium finally made the call after making a small complaint about the clock request. Ium turned over A
9
and Cho showed down 8 4. The board was dealt Q
J 2
8 6 and Cho paired his 8 on the turn to double up through Ium. Ium was crippled after the hand.
Michael Ium Eliminated in Fourth Place ($164,319)
Michael Ium moved all in under the gun for $240,000, Young Cho called from the small blind, and Seth Weinger called from the big blind. The flop came J 9 8 and Cho checked. Weinger bet out and Cho mucked his hand. Weinger showed down J 8 and Ium flipped over J 5 for a pair of jacks with a smaller kicker. The turn and river cards were dealt 7 A and Ium was eliminated in fourth place. He took home $164,319 in prize money.
Young Cho - Table Captain
The table had finally picked up an aggressor. Young Cho was pushing around Seth Weinger and David Stucke like a school-yard bully. Weinger kept whining about not picking up hands while action was threehanded. He had now lost the chip lead.
Cho vs. Stucke
Stucke limped from the small blind and Cho moved all in from the big blind. Stucke immediately called and flipped over pocket kings. Cho showed A Q. The board was dealt J 7 2 8 6 and Stucke won the pot. He doubled up in chips and jumped into the chip lead.
Leader Board
Seat No. 3: David Stucke - $3 million
Seat No. 6: Young Cho - $1.4 million
Seat No. 8: Seth Weinger - $2.3 million
Seth Weinger Eliminated in Third Place ($246,478)
Seth Weinger raised from the small blind and David Stucke called from the big blind. The flop came 9 9 4 and Weinger bet $175,000. Stucke raised to $1 million and Weinger went into the tank. He paused for a minute then moved all in. Stucke quickly called and turned over Q 5. Weinger showed down K 10. The turn and river brought the 6 and 4. Weinger was eliminated in third place by Stucke's flush, and he took home $246,478.
Heads-Up Chip Counts
David Stucke: $5,610,000
Young Cho: $1,335,000
David Stucke Wins Event #27 ($603,069)
Young Cho had the button and he moved all in with J 3. Stucke quickly made the call with pocket sevens. The board was dealt Q 10 5 A 8 and Stucke won the hand. Cho was eliminated in second place and he took home $382,357. Stucke won the gold bracelet and took home $603,069 in prize money.
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