If you stick Frankie Dettori on an Ostrich, he will win the annual Chandler, Arizona Ostrich race.
If you stick the likes of Nick Schulman and Ben Lamb into a poker tournament with a format they have never played, I would still bet a night with my mum that one of them would end up with all of the chips.
And they did.
Until a few days, ago, neither Lamb nor Schulman had ever played this crazy game that’s capturing the hearts and minds of the Western poker community, exposed to its beauty via the Triton Poker Twitch stream for the first time.
On Day 1B, searching for someone to interview, I asked Lamb what he was up to?
“Trying to figure this game out.” He replied.
And after Schulman had won the thing, knocking out Lamb en route to the summit, he said:
“I played my first hand of Short-Deck this tournament.”
Feel.
Intuition.
Skill.
Winning more all-ins than you lose.
There’s a recipe in there somewhere.
The two-day event attracted 61-entrants.
Schulman ended up with every single chip.
Let’s see how he did it.
Level 10 – Ante 15k
16 players began.
Let’s see how they whittled down to one.
The first player to hit the rail was the Global Poker Index (GPI) #1, Stephen Chidwick when his AQ lost out to the J9o of Ben Lamb. Rui Cao soon followed when he lost a three-way all-in holding K7s against Alan Sass’s AJs, and Lim Chin Wei’s JTs. Lim and Sass ended up chopping with jacks full of queens, and Cao was out. Then Ivan Leow sent Siow Choon Tong packing AK>QQ when turning two pairs.
Lamb eliminated his second player in the shape of Ying Jinghui Q9s>T6s. Foo Sze Ming dumped Romain Arnaud over the rail QJs>KJs, after rivering a queen. And Lamb got rid of Gabe Patgorski when his KK beat the crap out of T8o after the Montenegro final tablist had found himself short and desperate.
Level 11 – Ante 20k
A new level; same old Lamb.
The former World Series of Poker (WSOP) Player of the Year (POY) opened to 155,000 from under the gun and received two callers in the shape of Wai Kin Yong and Nick Schulman. The flop was Ac8c7s, Lamb bet 215,000, and only Yong called. The Ts turned up on the fourth street. Lamb checked, Yong bet 450,000, and Lamb put him all-in; Yong called. Lamb showed AhTc for top two pairs, and Yong showed QJcc for the draws. The 6h river card fell in favour of Lamb, and the Day 1B chip leader was out, and Lamb took the chip lead into the final table.
1. Ben Lamb – 5,145,000
2. Nick Schulman – 2,490,000
3. Ivan Leow – 2,180,000
4. Chio Lin Ern – 2,010,000
5. Foo Sze Ming – 1,890,000
6. Chow Hing Yaung – 1,795,000
7. Kenneth Kee – 1,550,000
8. Lim Chin Wei – 1,040,000
Level 12 – Ante 25k
Only one person would NOT see a return on investment, and it turned out to be Chio Lin Ern. Once again, Lamb was the judge, jury and executioner, sending Ern to the gallows without a penny when his AK spiked an ace on the flop to crack pocket kings.
Ivan Leow exited in seventh place when Foo Sze Ming flopped a boat holding JTo on JJT, with Leow making a move holding T9s. Lim Chin Wei finished sixth after the JJ of Schulman spiked the third jack against AQs. And then Schulman took the chip lead when his AQo cracked the pocket kings of Lamb.
Level 13 – Ante 30k
And then the pivotal hand of the tournament.
Three players saw a flop of Jc8s6s, and Lamb bet 170,000 from position holding pocket tens, with only Schulman making the call, holding pocket kings. The turn was the 8c; Lamb bet 445,000 and Schulman made the call. The river was the 9s, and Schulman checked for the third time. Lamb bet 1,030,000, and after a three-minute tank, Schulman called to take a big chip lead.
Level 14 – Ante 40k
Schulman moved into the final four positions dominantly after despatching Foo Sze Ming to the rail holding T9o against pocket kings. The pair saw a Th7c6d flop after Ming had raised pre, and all the money went in with Schulman behind. The turn card was the 9s, to give Schulman top two pairs, and the 9h on the river confirmed the kill.
Level 15 – Ante 60k
Lamb moved all-in holding KTo, Schulman called with J9o, and Schulman flopped two pairs to remove the wolf in lamb’s clothing from the competition in fourth.
Level 16 – Ante 80k
Then we entered heads-up with one of the most thrilling hands of the day.
Schulman opened to 400,000, Chow Hing Yaung moved all-in for 3,605,000, and Schulman made the call. Schulman had the rockets; Chow had JTo.
Flop: TdTh6h
Chow flopped trip tens.
Turn: 8s
No change.
River: As
Lex Veldhuis and Randy Lew nearly jumped out of their seats in the commentary booth beside me. The Day 1A chip leader was out, and Schulman would take a 15.8m v 2.5m chip lead into heads-up versus Kenneth Kee.
Kee doubled.
Then the final hand.
Kee limped with QTcc, and Schulman made the call with pocket queens. The flop was QdTd7d, to give Kee top two pairs, and Schulman top set. Kee jammed, Schulman called and two irrelevant community cards later the tournament was over.
“Always really grateful for a win,” Schulman told us after taking his winner’s photo. “I’ve been going at it a long time, and I’ve had my share of ups and downs, so I am used to the swings. Grabbing a win feels great. I am very happy and thankful for it.”
ITM Finishes
1. Nick Schulman – HKD 2,135,000 (USD 272,119)
2. Kenneth Kee – HKD 1,319,369 (USD 168,169)
3. Chow Hing Yaung – HKD 874,801 (USD 111,502)
4. Ben Lamb – HKD 619,272 (USD 78,932)
5. Foo Sze Ming – HKD 466,233 (USD 59,424)
6. Lim Chin Wei – HKD 371,917 (USD 47,404)
7. Ivan Leow – HKD 313,418 (USD 39,946)