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FTOPS Event #7 – Pot Limit Omaha, Or Drawing Slim With 14 Outs
With the FTOPS winding down and the Hold’em Events drawing the biggest fields thus far, it was the Pot Limit Omaha event drawing attention on Saturday. 437 players entered, making it the biggest non-Hold’em Event in Full Tilt history. With a growing base of European players who love Omaha, it is probably a sign of things to come.
As always in Pot Limit Omaha, this final table promised excitement. With blinds at 5000/10000, there was little room to maneuver for the bottom of the pack. hornyblonde was lucky to make the final table at all after losing nearly all her chips to Paul8665 in the last hand before the final table. It was going to take a miracle to turn 664 chips into a high finish. Scotty0617 came in with 266,299 chips and the lead, followed closely by PrahladF. The average stack was 129,000. This is how the table looked:
Seat 1: kearlypa (156,817)
Seat 2: PrahladF (243,856)
Seat 3: Scotty0617 (266,299)
Seat 4: TheMasterJ33 (143,908)
Seat 5: flip123077 (200,820)
Seat 6: bobcards2 (54,420)
Seat 7: Paul8665 (136,112)
Seat 8: hornyblonde (664)
Seat 9: ponkass (108,104)
As you might expect, early play was dominated by short stack all ins. hornyblonde picked her spot on the third hand, but couldn’t beat the blinds and bowed out in ninth. hornyblonde went home with almost $2,000, an FTOPS final table, and based on the screen name, a few new fans from the rail.
Two hands later, with just over five big blinds, bobcards2 made his stand. Slightly behind for his tournament life, bobcards2 found salvation on the flop, and his Ts 8s 9d Qh doubled through kearlypa’s Ah As 3c 4c, raking in a123,840 pot. kearlypa fell to 82,797.
Down to 78,000 chips, ponkass reraised pot from the big blind three hands later, only to see Scotty0617 push him all in. Unfortunately for ponkass, he couldn’t win this race, and we were down to eight. He cashed for $2,500, almost a 100:1 return on the $26 he spent to satellite in.
The play tightened up for the rest of this level, as players were hesitant to commit all their chips with so many players hovering around the same count.
As the blinds increased to 6000/12000, the play opened up. bobcards2 raised from middle position with his As Ah Ts 3c. PrahladF thought for a bit in the small blind with Kc Kd Qd 6d before committing bobcards2 for all his chips. Though two sixes hit the board, an ace turned to secure a big double up for bobcards2. After another big pot three hands later, bobcards2 moved comfortably into third with over 285,000 chips. Others were not so lucky.
With a good drawing hand in the big blind, kearlypa got all in against the chip leader. Holding 9c Ts Jd Kd against Scotty0617’s Ad Ah Qc 7c, a harmless board doomed kearlypa’s fate, and he was sent to the rail in seventh. kearlypa was the last remaining satellite winner in the field, and had $3,100 reasons to be proud of his performance.
The next two orbits showed the aggressiveness of the big stacks with mixed results. With confidence and an increasing chip lead, Scotty0617 raised pot to 54,000 from the cutoff after an early limp. flip123077 reraised all in from the small blind with Jd Jc 6c 6h. Even with the modest As 3s 5s Ks, Scotty0617 had odds to call. With the board showing 7d 7h Ad 2h after the turn, Scotty0617 was a big favorite to knock out his third straight player, but never count out a hand in Omaha. The 7s fell on the river counterfeiting Scotty0617’s aces and giving the winning full house to flip123077. The pot left these two players nearly even in chips, more than 100,000 behind the new chip leader, PrahladF.
The new chip leader continued an aggressive approach. Winning four of the next six hands, PrahladF asserted his dominance on this final table. With blinds at 8000/16000, TheMasterJ33 pot raised to 56,000 with Jd Js Qh 8c. PrahladF found Ah As 7s 3d in the big blind and set the raiser all in. After an ace flopped, there was little TheMasterJ33 could do as he watched the end of yet another final table run at this year’s FTOPS. He did collect $4,750 for his efforts, not bad for about 6 hours of work.
Here is how the chips looked with five remaining:
Seat 2: PrahladF (593,496)
Seat 3: Scotty0617 (274,072)
Seat 5: flip123077 (225,640)
Seat 6: bobcards2 (84,680)
Seat 7: Paul8665 (133,112)
The chip count was shaken up dramatically a few hands later when Scotty0617 and flip123077 got all in preflop. Scotty0617 raised to 48,000 with Qc Qs 3d 8h from the cutoff. One seat to his left, flip123077 squeezed out a huge drawing hand and reraised to 168,000 with Ac Kd Qd Jc. Willing to gamble for a huge pot and a chance at the jersey, Scotty0617 pushed in all his chips. flip123077 quickly called. flip123077 took the lead with the Ks 5c 3s flop. Miraculously, the turn brought the case queen for Scotty0617. Left hoping for a straight card to fall on the river, a harmless 7 hit, and flip123077 flopped out in fifth, earning $6,500.
bobcards2 was patient, and picked a good spot with 8d Ah Ac 9s to push in on the blinds, but PrahladF found a playable hand in the big blind, 9h Jd Ks Qd, and hit two pair to send bobcards2 home, where, to be fair, he most likely already was. It was an impressive showing from the early short stack, and I’m sure we’ll be hearing more from bobcards2 in the future, especially now that he’s added $8,750 to his bankroll. After bobcards2 hit the rail, we were down to three:
Seat 2: PrahladF (742,176)
Seat 3: Scotty0617 (435,712)
Seat 7: Paul8665 (133,112)
PrahladF and Scotty0617 had knocked out every player at the final table, while Paul8665 had picked his spots carefully and showed great discipline. With the blinds whittling down, he again pushed all in at the right time and doubled through Scotty0617. The energy level increased as the final three waged battle.
Paul8665 must have been very excited to see a huge hand develop between the other two with blinds at 10000/20000. All day long players were willing to commit all their chips with high pairs. With Kh Kc 9d 5c, PrahladF just called from the small blind. Scotty0617 raised with a very similar hand, double suited Kd Ks Js 8d. Thinking his trap successful, PrahladF reraised. Scotty0617 pushed all in, and was quickly called. With the players sharing kings, they would split this 757,000 chip pot nearly half the time. The flop came Qh Th 2d. PrahladF hit pay dirt on the turn with the Jd for a king high straight. With outs to a higher straight or a flush, Scotty0617 wasn’t dead yet. The river brought the Td, and Scotty0617 hit his flush to stay alive and regain the chip lead. PrahladF and Paul8665 were now nearly even in chips.
The intense rollercoaster action continued as Paul8665 doubled through Scotty0617, and then lost 200,000 chips back a few hands later. Another pivotal hand developed when Scotty0617 called a pot sized raise from PrahladF in the blinds. With a board of Tc 4s 2c, PrahladF led out for 120,000. With a club draw, running straight options, and overs, Scotty0617 pushed in over the top. PrahladF had to be worried, but called his last 93,000 with 9c 9h 6s 3s. PrahladF dodged his danger cards, and managed to double up with only a pair of 9s.
Seat 2: PrahladF (547,152)
Seat 3: Scotty0617 (523,400)
Seat 7: Paul8665 (240,448)
With the count evening up once again, the players were careful to commit a lot of chips. Biding his time, Paul8665 soon made his move with another high pair. From the small blind, he raised pot with Qd Qc Js 4h. PrahladF called with the connected hand 4d 7s 8d 6d. Paul8665 pushed on the flop of 9c 2h Td, with over pair and an open ended draw. The turn brought the straight card, but it was the wrong straight card for Paul8665. The 7d gave the lower straight to PrahladF. Adding insult to injury, the river brought a Q, but Paul8665’s trips weren’t enough. After a gallant fight, he just couldn’t find the cards to topple the chip leaders. Paul8665 played a solid final table and had over $11,000 to show for it.
It seemed no surprise to find PrahladF and Scotty0617 playing for the jersey. Playing great and hitting cards when they needed, these two players had knocked out every player at the table. PrahladF held a 2:1 chip lead entering heads up.
Like a good boxing match, the early play was slow as the two players felt each other out. However, these players knew what to expect of one another, and it wasn’t long before they were all in again. PrahladF min raised to 48,000, and Scotty0617 re-raised to 120,000. PrahladF decided to call and see the flop. On a Qc 3h 2c board, Scotty0617 bet out only 72,000. Looking for help with 8s 8c 9d Ah, PrahladF decided to call again. The turn brought the 7d, and Scotty0617 pushed all in for 207,400. Hoping his 8s would stand up, PrahladF made the crying call. The river brought the 6d and no help to PrahladF. Scotty0617 flipped over Qd Qh 9s 5h, to win an 800,000 chip pot with top set.
With all the momentum, Scotty0617 was looking to finish him off. But just like the rest of the day, PrahladF wasn’t ready to give in yet. He fought hard and picked up some small pots. In a raised pot, Scotty0617 couldn’t call a pot sized bet on the flop, and PrahladF was nearly back to even. It looked like these two might go back and forth all night. But as often happens in Omaha, it all ended in one big hand.
PrahladF min raised from the small blind to 60,000, and Scotty0617 called. Scotty0617 checked on the flop of 9d 3c 8d, and then called another 60,000 from PrahladF. The turn brought a very dangerous card, the Jc. After Scotty0617 led out for 120,000 chips, PrahladF reraised all in to 458,200 with Jd Js Qs 2h, for top set. He must have been sick to see such a quick call from Scotty0617, who flipped over 2d 3h Th Qc for the nut straight. The Ad rivered, and Scotty0617 became our first FTOPS PLO champion.
PrahladF played well, but trying to pick off a bluff and running into the nuts was his undoing at the final table. Of all forms of poker, Omaha is probably the game which has the biggest difference between a full table and heads up play, and Scotty0617 seemed to make the adjustment as well as pick up some hands. PrahladF took home $15,500 for second, and Scotty0617 won $25,000 and an FTOPS Gold Jersey.
