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Bay Area educator Jory Post rides to victory in Lake Tahoe’s $500 no-limit hold’em championship
Published: 2005-04-13
 It’s Post Time!
Bay Area educator Jory Post rides to victory in Lake Tahoe’s $500 no-limit hold’em championship
”I believe in the importance of education,” said Jory Post immediately following his first-place win and $44,540 payday at Lake Tahoe’s World Series of Poker Circuit tournament. “Going back to my early days at UC-Santa Cruz what I learned as an educator is no so much the importance of mathematics or social studies, but teaching kids how to think for themselves in a meaningful way in a democratic society.”
Learning, and by inference ‘self improvement’ is important to Jory Post. When he’s asked a question – it’s whether about poker or something more personal -- he pauses and gives the issue serious thought before speaking with obvious conviction. Post spent several years in a classroom setting teaching 5th and 6th graders, before gravitating into education technology consulting and writing. “I started out as a psychology major, which I think really helped me in the game of poker,” Post said. “I later learned that I enjoyed working with kids and loved the process of learning, so that became my career choice.”
Post provided quite a poker lesson to the 287 players who entered the $500 buy-in no-limit hold’em championship, the third event in this WSOPC tournament series. Day One resulted in the elimination of 278 players. Places 10 through 27 received prize money ranging from $835 up to $1,670. The nine finalists returned on Day Two, with John Bryant from Stockton, CA holding a shaky 3 to 2 chip lead over his closest rival Don Mullis – who was making his second final table appearance in just three days. Finalists arrived with the following seat positions and chip counts:
SEAT 1 Carl Sciandri Napa, CA 31,300
SEAT 2 Josh Ewing S. Lake Tahoe, CA 43,700
SEAT 3 Michael Capener Phoenix, AZ 28,300
SEAT 4 John Bryant Stockton, CA 95,700
SEAT 5 Mani Zarrehparvar Copenhagen, Denmark 64,000
SEAT 6 Eric Cloutier Mont-Laurier, Quebec 38,600
SEAT 7 Don Mullis Mooresville, NC 67,200
SEAT 8 John Buchanan Las Vegas, NV 26,700
SEAT 9 Jory Post Santa Cruz, CA 35,100
Players were eliminated as follows:
9th Place – Carl Sciandri arrived as one of the lowest stacks and failed to win the critical first pot that might have allowed him to become a force on Day Two. Twenty minutes into play, he was callously eliminated in 9th place. Italian-born Sciandri, who now lives in the Napa Valley in northern California, added $2,785 to his poker bankroll. With that hand, former NHL player Eric Cloutier became the new chip leader.
8th Place – Cloutier’s rush continued as he knocked out another player a few minutes later. Cloutier was dealt Q-Q and called an ‘all in’ re-raise’ by Internet poker professional John Buchanan, who was holding A-K. Buchanan failed to catch either an ace or king, and busted out as the 8th-place finisher. This was Buchanan’s second final table appearance in three events at this year’s Lake Tahoe WSOPC tournament (he took 5th place in Event #1). Buchanan earned $4,175.
7h Place – This was also Don Mullis’ second time to make it to the final table. He finished 9th in Event #1. Unfortunately, Mullis wasn’t able to use his large stack to his advantage and failed to establish dominance over his opponents. It didn’t help that Eric Cloutier, the table’s most aggressive player, raised constantly from Mullis’ immediate right – leaving Mullis to make some tough decisions about when to commit his stack. The car dealer from North Carolina desperately needed a jump start from the deck to regain his lost chips, but in the end, he was totaled in 7th place – good for $5,570.
6th Place – It took another hour before the next player busted out. Josh Ewing moved ‘all in’ with 9-9 and was called by Jory Post, holding A-J. The flop made things interesting. The board J-10-9 gave Post top pair with jacks, but Ewing had several outs (10) with two cards to come. Unfortunately, two blanks fell and Ewing came up dry. Josh Ewing, a 24-year-old poker pro from S. Lake Tahoe, CA (technically, just across the street from the casino in Stateline, NV), walked home in a cold rain with $6,960.
5th Place – Mani Zarrehparvar arrived at the finale third in the chip count. He was the next victim to fall when he ended up short-stacked and made his final stand with K-4, not much of a hold’em hand. Eric Cloutier was sitting in the blind and called the ‘all in’ raise with A-10. An ace on the flop effectively ended any suspense, and Zarrehparvar, a telecommunications manager from Copenhagen, Denmark was disconnected from the final table. Fifth place paid $8,350.
4th Place – Michael Capener came in with the shortest stack of the nine finalists and made the biggest leap up the money ladder. Capener wasn’t ever really a ‘force’ with his few chips, but he certainly made the most of them. He was desperately short-stacked when he played his final hand, ultimately losing to a no pair king-high. To his credit, Capener has only been playing poker for two years and this was his second time to make it to a WSOP circuit final table. Capener enjoys the distinction of being one of a few players who has attend every single WSOPC event this year – which includes visits to Atlantic City, San Diego, Las Vegas, and now Lake Tahoe. Capener earned $9,745 which should help pay the airfare to New Orleans (the next WSOPC event) next month.
3rd Place – Early chip leader John Bryant went card dead at the worst possible moment, failing to put a dent in either of his opponents’ stacks when play was three-handed. Bryant was gradually blinded down and suffered the misfortune of having hyper-aggressive Eric Cloutier on his immediate left – which meant chips were certain to be flying into the pot anytime Bryant showed weakness. Bryant was down to his last 30K and made his final stand of the night with A-7. Cloutier called in the blind and won the pot when his J-9 connected with a nine on the flop. John Bryant, a corrections officer from Stockton, CA, locked up 3rd place – good for $12,530.
The heads-up duel between Eric Cloutier and Jory Post began with the Quebec Canuck holding a formidable 4 to 1 chip advantage. But if Cloutier thought he could steamroll over Post, he was in for a rude awakening. Jory Post proved to be a tenacious competitor, unsusceptible to Cloutier’s intimidating aggression. About 10 minutes into heads-up play, Post made a very tough ‘all in’ call when holding a flush draw and was staring at Cloutier set of 10s as the final card was about to be dealt. It proved the single most important moment of the tournament. Cloutier stood up from his seat ready to celebrate victory. Not so fast. Wham! Post caught a club, which completed the flush and Cloutier mucked his set in disgust.
That hand would prove to be the turning point, and essentially would determine the outcome of the tournament. Afterward, Cloutier held a 290K to 150K chip lead, and then the hemorrhaging began. A few key hands later, Post enjoyed a slight chip lead and then the final hand came out of nowhere:
Post was dealt J-10. Cloutier was dealt 9-8. Cloutier certainly didn’t know it at the time, but he was about to be gutted like a Canadian salmon. The flop came 10-9-3. Both players caught a pair, but Post had the best hand with top pair. Cloutier called Post’s modest-sized bet quickly. An ace fell on the turn – a potential ‘scare’ card for both players. Just as the ace hit the felt, Cloutier declared he was ‘all in,’ and after about 30 seconds of judicious deliberation, Post quietly spoke two words Cloutier did not want to hear -- “I call.” Cloutier winced and knew he’d made a big mistake. “He bet out too fast,” Post explained later. “I thought he probably had a nine. I really didn’t think the ace helped him.”
Post had read his opponent perfectly. Perhaps it was the early training in psychology, the teaching of others, or the career spent working in education. Or perhaps it was 30-plus years playing poker in Reno, Lake Tahoe, and the Bay Area. Whatever the reason, Post’s victory was a convincing display of poker expertise.
The runner up, Eric Cloutier is sure to make it to many more final tables. The former professional hockey player from Quebec (who now owns several sports bars in Louisiana and elsewhere) was disappointed with the outcome. But it was his aggression that bolted him into a commanding chip lead at one point, just as it was his fearless style of attack that ultimately ended up busting him out. Live by the sword, die by the sword. Second place paid $24,500.
Fifty-four year old Jory Post made it clear that while he has numerous accomplishments (including an honorary fellowship) and has learned about many different subjects, he still strives to study and learn more. “Learning never ends,” Post concluded.
Report by Nolan Dalla – World Series of Poker Media Director
World Series of Poker Circuit Director – Ken Lambert
World Series of Poker Tournament Director – John Grooms
Harveys Poker Room Manager – Vince Contaxis
Harrah’s Full Service Games Manager -- Steve Schorr
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World Poker Tour - Championship - Final Report
Published: 2005-04-25
 World Poker Tour - Championship - Final Report
April 25, 2005
John Caldwell
The future of televised poker is safe. After the insanity that I witnessed in San Jose, with Danny Nguyen hitting running sevens to rescue himself, and eventually win the tournament, I believe I wrote that the San Jose WPT episode will go down as the best ever. Move over San Jose, here comes the World Poker Tour Season Three Championship.
I'm going to tell you right now, the words I write will not do this program justice. If you are a fan of poker - you should have been here. If you could not be here, watch the episode when it airs. The beats, and the suckouts contained in this article are not fiction, but they should be. To lend a tiny bit of perspective, let me tell you the first fact you should know about the season three championship. The season two championship had virtually the same amount of chips in play, and was resolved in 78 total hands. Tonight's season three championship took 191 hands to decide. The average WPT taping takes 4 hours. This taping tonight was only 10 minutes under double that - 7 hours, 50 minutes.
The emotional rollercoaster the final three players went on over the course of the last four and a half hours of play (yes - four and a half hours of three handed and two handed play) was unlike anything I have ever seen at a poker tournament. Another quick fact for you - the structure sheet (the sheet given players and media outlining the amounts of blinds and antes, and when they go up) went to 80,000/160,000...that's when the tourney should be over, right?? No need to go beyond that. How about going FIVE full levels beyond that. When this tournament was finally resolved, we were playing 400,000/800,000 blinds.
Before I get into the tournament, every man (and some of the women) reading this has to observe a moment of silence. It was announced right before the start of the telecast that this would be Shana Hiatt's final WPT episode - Shana is leaving for greener (televised) pastures, though what those pastures are is TBD. Please observe a moment of silence now.....................................................................Thank You.
OK, now on to the poker, and I must say, I am going to blow thru the first three eliminations, as if I spend any time on them, this story will be 4,000 words long....way too long for those of us who have grown up in the CNN/USA Today culture. To refresh your memory, here were the players who started today, and their chip counts.
Hasan Habib - 7,795, 000 in chips
Rob Hollink - 4,430,000
Phil Ivey - 3,365,000
Paul Maxfield - 2,885,000
Tuan Le - 2,700,000
John Phan - 1,405,000
Let's get right to it....Phil Ivey fought valiantly today, but kept getting people playing back at him, and quite frankly Phil never got anything going. Phil took his last chips into battle with AJ, and ran into (at that time) dominant chip leader Hasan Habib's QQ. The board came king high, and the unexpected happened. I didn't expect to be writing - Phil Ivey, 6th place, $264,195.
Next to go was Rob Hollink. Rob is a terrific Dutch player, who also didn't get a lot going today. Rob had bled some chips off, and had moved over the top of John Phan, and Tuan Le a couple times. The third time was not the charm, however, as Rob moved over the top of John one more time. Rob had KJ, John had pocket jacks, and called right away. No king came, and Rob was our fifth place finisher. Rob Hollink, 5th place, $377,420.
John Phan had made a heck of a go today. At one point John had less than three times the big blind, and managed to make it all the way back into contention four handed, at one point being second to Habib in chips. In fact, four handed, the chip count was...
Hasan - 11.2 million chips
John - 4.95 million
Paul - 3.28 million
Tuan Le - 3.06 million
Sick hand # 1
A few hands after that, John raised it up with KQ, and Paul moved in with AK. John called, and knew he was in trouble when Paul flipped his cards over. Sure enough, the first card off was a Queen on a flop of Q 10 8, and John had the lead in the hand, and had Paul covered in chips. The turn was a blank, and Paul assumed his goose was cooked, but the river was a Jack, giving Paul a straight, and crippling John Phan.
Several hands later, the inevitable happened, and John Phan put all his chips in the pot. John had 8 3, but was making a move from the small blind. Paul had A 5, and called. The flop held not only an Ace, but a five also, and John Phan held out his hand to shake his fellow player's hands. John Phan - 4th place, $518,920.
This is when it really started to get a little odd, and speaking of a little odd...It was hot in the studio, but not crazy hot. Hasan had a small electric fan he kept in front of his face for nearly an hour of play, I'm sure you will see it on TV. Also, Hasan.....put ice packs down his shirt...and I believe his pants as well. I've heard of keeping ones cool at the poker table, but this was a little strange to me.
At this point, the Hasan was still way out in front (and hopefully cool) in chips, and the counts were...
Hasan - 11.4 million
Paul - 8.06 million
Tuan - 3.11 million
For about the next 45 minutes, not a lot was happening, except it seemed Paul was getting the worst of it. For whatever reason, everyone seemed to want a piece of Paul, and Hasan and Tuan seemed to be steering clear of each other. So, Paul was getting ground down (for the first time - stay tuned for more of this), and felt he had to make a stand.
Sick hand # 2
Paul put all his money in with K 10, and ran into Hasan's A J. The flop and turn were no help, but a river King saved Paul's life, and allowed him to remain in the game. At this point, things had evened out a bit and the chips were
Hasan - 9.7 million
Paul - 8.2 million
Tuan - 4.0 million
With Tuan only having about ten big blinds at this point, it was really time to gamble. Tuan moved in with A 8 of spades, and got called by Hasan with pocket sevens. Although this only qualifies as semi sick, suffice it to say that Tuan hit running spades to make his flush, and cripple Hasan, who had gone from having a stranglehold on the tournament, to being the short stack, and close to desperation time.
Several hands later, and after Hasan had folded to one re-raise (expensive at these blinds), Hasan had to put his money in with Q 8 of clubs. Tuan called him with K J, and no clubs, or queen came, and Hasan Habib was left wondering what might have been. Hasan Habib, 3rd place - $896,375.
Now down to heads up, and Tuan had 14.9 million, and Paul had 7.9 million. The heads up battle was great, with nearly every pot being raised, and often re-raised. These were two warriors giving their best, and it was a pleasure to watch. The blinds at this point were 250,000/500,000, and a small misstep would end it for someone.
Sick hand # 3
Tuan eventually got Paul in a weak position first, and got Paul to move in preflop with K 8 offsuit after Tuan had raised. Tuan called with A 4 of diamonds, and the first four cards off were no help to Paul. But once again, the river was a King, and saved Paul again, and we were back to about even in chips. You could see this deflate Tuan, and Paul was equally energized.
Paul again got ground down with some very aggressive play on Tuan's part, and a lack of cards on Paul's part. Paul was down to about 6 million when he moved in with a King on a flop of Q K Q, with two clubs. Tuan called with a flush draw, and missed, and we were back to about even in chips for the second time in heads up play.
This time it was Paul's time to wear Tuan down, and Paul did just that, getting Tuan into a place where moving in was nearly Tuan's only option. With the blinds at 400,000/800,000 and the chip counts roughly 14 million for Paul, 8 million for Tuan the following hand occurred.
Sick hand # 4
Paul raised preflop, and Tuan called. The flop came 3 5 6, and Paul checked. Tuan moved in, and Paul called him in a heartbeat. Paul had flopped two pair, and Tuan had 8 9, and had only a gutshot straight draw to stand on. The turn was a deuce, meaning now a four would split the pot, but only a seven would give Tuan the best hand. The river was, of course, a seven, and Tuan had survived after being sure he was done. Tuan was so sure, in fact, that he actually took his microphone off his shirt after the turn card came off.
The crowd roared, the sound guy had to reattach Tuan's microphone, and we were going to play some more poker. Both players at this point were completely exhausted, and emotionally spent. As mentioned earlier, no amount of words can convey the rollercoaster these guys went on.
Finally...mercifully, it came to an end. Paul had been ground down again, and moved in with K5. Tuan called with K J of diamonds, and a jack came on the flop, leaving Paul dead to running fives. For once tonight, there were no more sick beats to be had, Tuan Le was the season three WPT champ, and everyone could go home to a very sound night's sleep. Paul Maxfield, 2nd place, $1,698,390...Tuan Le, 1st place, $2,856,150 + seat in next years WPT Championship.
You can be sure that next years WPT Championship will take place, because after the high drama we had tonight at Bellagio, the future of televised poker is safe.
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