Event #46: $2,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better

Whew! This was a marathon of a day for Derek Raymond and Mark Tenner. We can honestly say that both players deserved the win in this tournament. Each played masterfully and with guts. At the end, however, it was Raymond who hit the hands he needed to hit when he needed to hit them. Raymond started the day in 9th chip position of the 23 players remaining. He steadily and quietly climbed the counts as player after player was eliminated. Coming into the final table, Raymond was positioned well for a deep run. He was fourth in chips and in no danger of an immediate bust. In the end, it was stamina and resolve that brought Raymond the bracelet -- and perhaps a timely run of cards. No one can deny that limits were high at the end. This thing could easily have gone the other way. But it didn't, and Derek Raymond is our deserving champion. Congratulations, Derek!

Raymond had been assiduously whittling away at Tenner, forcing him to fold on various assorted flops and turns, and finally we saw Tenner all in preflop following a raising war. Tenner:         Raymond:         Board:           Chop, chop.

Now it's Tenner's turn to make a flush! He called a bet from Raymond on the turn of the         board, and both players checked the   river. "Straight," announced Raymond. "Flush," announced Tenner for the trump. He turned over         to prove it, and took the pot.

Derek Raymond's been trying to get his chips in, but those pots just keep ending up chopped. Most recently he called a preflop raise from Tenner and then bet out on every street of the           board. Tenner called him all the way down, and duly they chopped. Raymond:         Tenner:        

We have a scooped pot! We only caught it from the river (we were briefly distracted by the thought of five-card pot limit omaha hi/lo), but the board read thus:           Derek Raymond check-called a bet from Mark Tenner, and then mucked when Tenner turned over        . Tenner: 2,250,000 Raymond: 930,000

Oh dear, this has gone on so long we're now off the structure sheet. The TD informs us though that should we make it through the next half an hour to the end of this level, the blinds will be 50,000 and 100,000. With 3,180,000 chips in play. Surely it can't take much longer...

Tenner scooped two pots in a row to get himself a convincing chip lead. Tenner:         Board:           Then: Tenner:         Board:          

Limp-checked preflop, our heads-up players also checked the       flop. Derek Raymond bet out on the   turn and Tenner called him. Another bet from Raymond on the   river was similarly called. The cards were flipped and Raymond's flush beat Tenner's broadway straight -- Raymond scooped the pot and is now in the lead. Raymond:         Tenner:        

Derek Raymond: 1,900,000 Mark Tenner: 1,200,000

Derek Raymond took the next pot though, when he turned over         at the end of a           board and Tenner mucked. He took another one down as well, turning the wheel on an           board with         -- Tenner check-called all the way down and then mucked.