Chiu Em Up, Spit Em Out

David slays Goliath (or at least a big-stacked Gus Hansen) in a historic heads-up rally at the WPT Championship

BY STORMS REBACK

THE MAIN EVENT OF THE WORLD SERIES OF POKER is still the undisputed world championship of poker. But the recent announcement that its final table will be delayed four months feels like a publicity stunt, and fuels the perception that the tournament is a TV show first and a genuine competition second. Meanwhile, the World Poker Tour Championship remains a distant second in prize pool and exposure. But by sticking with the same straight-forward formula that has worked for six years, the $25,000 buy-in tournament held every April at Bellagio may be surpassing the WSOP Main Event in terms of legitimacy and respect.

The number of entrants in the WPT Championship dipped slightly this year, from 639 in 2007 to 535 in 2008, but a staggering percentage of those players were well-known professionals, and a few of them had a very important announcement to make before the start of the tournament. Chris Ferguson, Andy Bloch, Annie Duke, Phil Gordon, and Howard Lederer issued a statement that the lawsuit they’d brought against WPT Enterprises in July 2006 protesting the release form that all players who compete in WPT events are required to sign had finally been settled.

This wasn’t the only major pronouncement made at the tournament. At the start of Day Three, tournament director Jack McClelland took a straw poll, asking the players their opinion of the “show one card, show both” rule, and in a near landslide, the players voted to discontinue the rule. So it was discontinued, and again, the WPT Championship had taken a step toward earning the respect of the pros.

***

One of the few who wished to keep the “show one, show both” rule was Kenny Tran. But other than seeing a rule he liked get overturned, Tran didn’t have much to complain about at that stage in the tournament. He went on to finish the day in 32nd place with $362,000 in chips, while his wife, Jayde, sat in 50th place with $175,000; both eventually finished in the money, Kenny in 10th, Jayde in 45th.

Jayde would have undoubtedly finished much higher if it wasn’t for a couple of unfortunate encounters with David Chiu. In their first confrontation, Chiu moved all in from the big blind with A-3 after Tran raised from late position. “I was trying to make a play,” he later explained. It was the right move at the wrong time—Tran had aces and called immediately. Unfortunately for her, Chiu made a wheel on the river to knock her all the way down to $27,000.

Jayde fought her way back to almost $200,000, but her next encounter with Chiu proved even more devastating than the first. Once again she had pocket aces, but this time she opted to flat-call a raise before the flop. Holding Q-8 of hearts on the button, Chiu chose to do the same, and the flop came 7-5-4 with two hearts.

Tran bet, and Chiu called.

A queen on the turn gave Chiu top pair to go along with his gutshot straight draw and flush draw. He moved all in and caught a ten of hearts on the river to win the hand.

“I got most of my chips from her on those two hands,” he said. “In a tournament, you have to get lucky at some point.”

Thanks mostly to his luck against Tran, Chiu finished Day Three in third place with $1,231,000, roughly a million behind the chip leader, Gus Hansen, who had picked up nearly all of his chips in a big hand against Tim Phan. After Phan opened for a raise with A-Q, Hansen re-raised with A-K and Phan called. The flop came A-4-3 and Phan check-raised Hansen all in. “I don’t know how I can lay this down,” Hansen said, and he didn’t. His call gave him a $2.4-million pot. He would finish the day with $2,246,000.

***

This was Gus Hansen’s kind of tournament. Despite the big starting stacks ($50,000) and long levels (90 minutes), the action was fast and furious from the outset and stayed that way until the very end. With the field trimmed to 55 players on Day Four, the plan was to play five levels to further reduce it to 18, but five levels weren’t needed as the remaining players went right after each other.

During that frenetic day, Hansen seemed to play every hand dealt to him. He knocked out T.J. Cloutier in 34th place by flopping two pair with 6-3, then Men Nguyen in 26th place by calling an all-in raise with K-J. He later gave some of those chips away, doubling up both Jeff King and Michael Gracz, but still ended the day in second place with $2,929,000.

Hansen didn’t let up on Day Five, knocking out Nick Binger in 15th place, David Tran in 14th, Gracz in 11th, Karga Holt in eighth, and former chip leader Amir Vahedi in seventh. With $8,570,000 in chips, Hansen entered the televised final table with the lead and one objective: to win a record-setting fourth WPT title.

As aggressive as he’d been up to this point, he switched to an even higher gear at the final table. After sitting out the first three hands of the day, he played 16 out of the next 19, winning nearly all of them.

On the seventh hand of the day, King, winner of the 2006 WSOP Circuit event at Caesars in Atlantic City, moved all in for $960,000 with K-J and Hansen called with pocket deuces. King caught his namesake card and a jack on the flop to double up, but his joy was short-lived. Five hands later, he moved all in before the flop with A-Q of clubs after Hansen raised under the gun with 10-9 of spades. Hansen called and caught a ten on the river to knock King out in sixth place.

Three hands later, Hansen raised to $415,000 from the button and Nhan “Tommy Legend” Le, Nam Le’s brother, called from the big blind. The flop came Q-10-5 with two clubs, and both players checked. The turn was the four of spades, and Le moved all in for $615,000. Hansen quickly called and showed his set of tens. Remarkably, Le had also flopped a set, but it was only a set of fives and he was out in fifth place.

On the very next hand, Hansen raised from the cutoff to $480,000, and Cory Carroll, winner of the 2007 WSOP Circuit event at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, re-raised from the big blind to $1.65-million. When Hansen called, the crowd gasped because Carroll was the one player who could cripple Hansen. He was in second place at the time, just $3-million behind Hansen’s $11.75-million.

The flop came Q-J-6 with two diamonds. Carroll checked, and Hansen stood up to study Carroll’s chip stack. He then made his famous Gus Face, the expression on his mug both pained and contemplative, for nearly two minutes before moving all in. The crowd vocalized the look on Carroll’s face: shock.

Carroll rechecked his cards and gazed at his own chip stack. If he called and won, he would have a nearly insurmountable chip lead with $15-million. If he called and lost, he’d be out of the tournament. If he folded, he’d still have nearly $6-million. After several agonizing minutes, he called and flipped over A-J. His pair of jacks made him a 2-to-1 favorite to win the hand as Hansen could only show 7-5 of diamonds for a flush draw. But the three of diamonds fell on the river, giving Hansen the biggest pot of the tournament and eliminating Carroll in fourth place.

The crowd had barely recovered when, just six hands later, John Roveto moved all in for $1,985,000 with pocket kings. Hansen called from the small blind with A-10 of clubs, and the flop came J-9-8, giving Hansen an open-ended straight draw, which he made when a seven fell on the river. Unsure how to express what they were feeling, some members of the audience actually laughed. Hansen had just run over the table, winning 13 of the 16 hands he’d played and busting four players in a row. Considering the magnitude of the event, it was one of the most amazing runs in poker history.

Hansen was on fire, and it seemed highly doubtful that David Chiu, his last remaining opponent, would be putting out the flames, as he only had $4,360,000 compared to Hansen’s $22,905,000. However, Chiu did have the support of a slew of players sweating him from the rail, a list that included Daniel Negreanu, Erick Lindgren, and Gavin Smith. The WPT’s television crew also had to be rooting for him—if Chiu got eliminated in the first several hands of play, they wouldn’t have had enough footage for a two-hour show. Up to this point the final table had only lasted a mere 75 minutes.

***

Chiu’s play at the final table of the WPT Championship was nearly an identical reflection of his poker career. He had been eerily quiet, only playing two out of the first 22 hands, but here he was playing heads-up for the title.

After immigrating to the United States in 1978 when he was 18 years old, Chiu enjoyed almost instant success at poker, making four final tables at the WSOP between 1981 and 1986. He went on to win four WSOP bracelets as well as $2,465,642 in tournament winnings, and yet very few people have ever heard of him.

While many might view his play at the WPT Championship as being overly passive, Chiu was simply following a script he’d written himself. “Before the final table I told the television people that I had a game plan,” he said. “I told them straight out that I was going to let Gus do all the dirty work. When I got to heads-up with Gus, then I started playing poker. You will see on TV. I have the image of being as tight as a typewriter. I’m not. I have so many gears.”

On the sixth hand of heads-up play, Chiu showed one of those other gears. After Hansen limped in from the button, Chiu checked his option, and the flop came A-8-8. Chiu checked, Hansen bet $160,000, and Chiu called with the intention of stealing the pot on the turn. “Top players know how to call for a bluff,” he said. “I had a read on him and didn’t think he had a hand. That’s why I flat-called. In No-Limit, a flat-call is much scarier than a check-raise.”

When the four of spades fell on the turn, Chiu bet $430,000, and Hansen folded. It wasn’t a huge pot, but winning it affirmed Chiu’s belief that he could come back and beat Hansen.

“When we got heads up, I wanted him to play my game, not his game,” Chiu said. “He is extremely aggressive, so I wanted to slow him down. I limped in with big hands like pocket kings to send him a message that he didn’t know whether I had a good hand or a bad hand. I didn’t want to play big pots with him. I wanted to slowly wear him out. That was my strategy.”

It worked. Hansen tried to end the contest quickly by moving all in on several occasions, and Chiu simply got out of his way. On the 11th hand of heads-up play, Chiu finally found a hand he liked and called Hansen’s all-in re-raise before the flop. Chiu had pocket fives, Hansen deuces.

“I think he thought I had like A-Q or A-J or A-K,” said Chiu. “He wanted to get it over with. Even if he couldn’t knock me out, he would still have a tremendous lead on me [if I doubled up].”

The better hand held up, and suddenly Hansen’s lead—now $19,675,000 to $7,590,000—wasn’t quite so daunting. While Hansen was able to maintain this advantage over the course of the next two hours, Chiu had to be pleased that it didn’t get any bigger. He was waiting for his chance to strike, and it finally came on the 76^th hand of the day. From the button, Hansen raised to $775,000 before the flop, Chiu re-raised to $1.85-million, and Hansen called.

The flop came J-6-3 with three spades.

Chiu bet $1.6-million, and Hansen called, shoving his chips into the pot with both hands.

The six of clubs fell on the turn. Chiu moved all in for his last $5,175,000, and Hansen folded.

“I had two black queens,” Chiu said. “I’m not sure what he had to be honest with you. Obviously he didn’t have the ace of spades. Obviously he didn’t have the king of spades. Obviously he didn’t have A-J. I believe he was weaker than a jack there.”

Winning that pot brought Chiu to $12,125,000, just $3-million behind Hansen.

Two hands later, Hansen raised to $800,000 from the button, and Chiu called. Both players checked to the river with the board showing 5-5-4-A. When a nine fell on the river, Chiu checked, Hansen bet $900,000, and Chiu called with 9-7, believing Hansen didn’t have an ace.

“When people look at their cards and see a face card, they only open their cards a little bit,” he explained. “But when they have numbered cards they open them a lot more. I watched him look at his cards before I looked at mine. I didn’t put him on an ace. I believe he had either one or two face cards. When the nine fell on the river, I was checking for value to let him bet it.”

His read was dead on, and, suddenly, amazingly, he had taken over the chip lead, $14,175,000 to $13,100,000.

Full of confidence, Chiu shifted gears on the next hand. He raised to $675,000 from the button with 8-7 offsuit, and Hansen called. The flop came 10-6-3, and both players checked. The turn card was a four, giving Chiu a double-bellybuster straight draw. Hansen bet $850,000 and Chiu raised to $2.35-million, forcing Hansen to fold.

Hansen was reeling, but he stayed aggressive. On the next hand, he raised to $750,000 from the button with 10-8, and Chiu called with A-9 of spades.

The flop came A-10-8 with two clubs and a spade.

Chiu checked. “On the flop, I wasn’t sure where I was at,” he admitted later.

Hansen bet $900,000, and Chiu called.

The turn card was the five of spades. Chiu led out for $1.2-million, and Hansen moved all in for $8,675,000. After nearly two minutes debating his options, Chiu called.

“If it was a five of clubs or a five of diamonds, I wouldn’t have led out. I would have check-called to be safe. When he moved all in on me, I had a hunch I was a big underdog, but I figured if I lost the pot I would still have a little over $3-million. Well, what the hay? I’ll start all over again from the beginning. I also figured I had outs. I wasn’t drawing dead.”

Chiu needed an ace, a nine, a five, or any spade to win the tournament.

The river card was the ace of hearts.

Chiu jumped out of his chair and screamed in celebration. His reaction surprised even him. “It was amazing. We’re talking about one card for $1.6-million [approximately the difference between first place and second]. Even as low-key as I am, I still get very excited. That was the highest point of my poker career.”

Someone from the crowd pulled out a Chinese flag and handed it to Chiu. “I grabbed it without thinking. I wish I’d had both the American flag and the Chinese flag. I would have waved them together. I’ve lived here for 30 years and been an American citizen for almost 25. I consider this my home.”

The excitement in the room quickly died down, replaced by a stunned silence. No one was as dazed as Hansen. He staggered over to congratulate Chiu, but you could tell he couldn’t believe he’d actually lost.

“I am really disappointed right now,” he told Bob Pajich of CardPlayer magazine. “I know I am standing here with more than $1.7-million, but I can’t help feeling that I lost $1.7-million.”

When Mike Sexton introduced him to the crowd, Hansen said, “You’re kind of catching me at a bad time. I just lost a big hand.”

“Now you know how those other guys felt,” Sexton responded.

Chiu, on the other hand, looked as if he might never stop smiling. Not only had he just won $3,389,140, he had pulled off one of the most miraculous comebacks in modern poker history.

And he did it by staying true to himself and playing his game. Which is precisely what the organizers of the WPT Championship have done in trying to someday earn their tournament recognition as the true world championship of poker.

Storms Reback is a freelance writer from Austin, Texas, and the co-author of All In: The (Almost) Entirely True History Of The World Series Of Poker.

SIDEBAR 1:

Say What?

The fact that nearly every person in the audience was rooting for Gus Hansen to win hardly bothered David Chiu. He literally could not hear them. As a child in China, he lost 35 percent of his hearing in both ears in a swimming accident, a handicap he has turned into an advantage.

“When I play poker, I really don’t want to hear anything,” he said. “It’s so noisy inside casinos, it bothers me. It takes a lot of my concentration away. That’s why I don’t want to wear hearing aids. Without them, the cameras don’t bother me. The fans screaming don’t bother me. All the noise doesn’t bother me. All my concentration is on poker.”

SIDEBAR 2:

The Championship Table: Final Payouts

1. David Chiu $3,389,140

2. Gus Hansen $1,714,800

3. John Roveto $923,355

4. Cory Carroll $593,645

5. Tommy Le $395,725

6. Jeff King $263,815