Event #47: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better

On Thursday, the third and final day of Event #47: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Low Split 8-or-Better played out as the final ten players of a 978-player field battled it out for the $267,345 first-place prize and 47th gold bracelet of the 2012 World Series of Poker. After eight hours of play, the man who walked away with the top prize and the gold was Steven Loube, a 34-year-old personal injury attorney from Atlanta, Georgia, who was playing in his first-ever WSOP event.

The day start off quick when the short-stacked Viatcheslav Ortynskiy, who was crippled in the last hand of Day 2, got all in with      but failed to overcome the      of Sonu Sharma as the board ran out      . The Russian finished in tenth place and earned $15,078 for his performance.

Not long after, Paul Ewen was dispatched by Tim Finne in ninth place, while Kyle Carlston, who finished fourth in this event back in 2009, followed him out the door in eighth place.

The next elimination came when Loube raised to 55,000 under the gun and cleared the field all the way around to Paul Taylor in the big blind. The latter moved all in for around 125,000 and Loube snap-called.

Showdown
Loube:     
Taylor:     

The     wasn't particularly interesting, while the   turn saw Loube pump his fist and say, "It's over." Indeed, Taylor was drawing dead going to the river, which came the meaningless  . Taylor silently made his way to the payout desk to collect $31,634 for his seventh-place finish.

A little while later, Sharma limped from under the gun plus one only to have Loube raise pot to 106,000 from the button. Finne was in the small blind and inquired with the floor as to whether or not the action would be reopened to Loube if Sharma, who started the hand with 139,000, were to move all in. The answer was no, and Finne made the call. Sharma moved in as expected, and Loube made the call.

When the flop fell    , Finne ended up check-folding to a pot-sized bet, leaving Sharma and Loube to turn up their cards.

Showdown
Loube:     
Sharma:     

Loube flopped top two pair but Sharma held a big wrap. Unfortunately for the latter, the   turn and   river would both be dry and he would exit in sixth place for $41,589.

Charalampos Lappas, the start-of-the-day chip leader, was the next to go in fifth place. Lappas never got much going and was eliminated shortly after a river bluff failed.

It took more than three and a half hours for the next elimination to occur, which meant four-handed play was a grueling affair. Eventually Roch Cousineau raised to 100,000 under the gun and received a call from Cameron Mckinley in the big blind. The latter checked the     flop, but then woke up with a check-raise to 250,000 when his opponent bet 100,000. Cousineau made the call and then watched Mckinley move all in for around 620,000 on the   turn. Cousineau, who had 570,000, shrugged and put his chips in the pot.

Showdown
Cousineau:     
Mckinley:     

"Big card and I scoop," Cousineau said as he held the nut low and two pair. Much to the delight of his supporters, that's exactly what he got when the   peeled off on the river. Mckinley got up to leave after the hand, but after the stacks were counted down, it was discovered he was left with 50,000. Not surprisingly, Mckinley was eliminated in the very next hand, finishing fourth place and bringing about the dinner break.

After returning from the dinner break, action was fast. Each of the three players took turns doubling, before Cousineau was dealt a crippling blow from Loube. On the very next hand, Cousineau would be eliminated in third place for $103,538.

Heads-up play saw Loube begin with a 3-1 chip lead over Finne, and it only took a couple of hands for Loube to seal the deal, which he did by hitting a lucky heart on the river. Not too shabby for a true amateur whole told us shortly before his big win: "Like I told you guys before, my biggest cash before this was a $50 [gift certificate], good for food, but not for liquor."

Final Table Results

That does it for our coverage from Event #47: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Low Split 8-or-Better. Be sure to visit our Live Reporting Section to see what other tournaments you can follow from the 2012 WSOP.

Roch Cousineau open-raised to 150,000 from the small blind, then Steven Loube didn't waste any time raising pot to 450,000. Cousineau thought a while, then called.

Both checked the     flop. The turn brought the   and a bet of 375,000 from Cousineau. Loube rechecked his cards, exhaled, then announced he was reraising all in. Cousineau sat with his mouth open for a moment as he contemplated what to do with the 725,000 or so he had behind.

Finally, after about a half-minute, he called.

Cousineau:     
Loube:     

"High card," said Loube. He had two pair, while Cousineau was hoping to make a low and/or fill a wheel wrap. Then came the river — the  !

The chips were counted down, and it was discovered Cousineau had had Loube covered by just 60,000, thus enabling Cousineau to play at least one more hand.

Steven Loube	3,250,000	1,300,000
Roch Cousineau	60,000	-1,465,000

Roch Cousineau raised to 120,000 from the button and Tim Finne defended from the big blind. Both players proceeded to check the    , bringing about the   on the turn.

This time Finne led out for 145,000, but then folded when Cousineau raised to 380,000.

Roch Cousineau	1,525,000	445,000
Timothy Finne	800,000	-490,000

Tim Finne raised to 120,000 from the button only to have Roch Cousineau three-bet to 420,000 from the small blind. After Steven Loube folded the big, Finne four-bet and Cousineau got all in for 735,000.

Showdown
Cousineau:     
Finne:     

The     flop was interesting as it gave Cousineau the nut flush, but also provided Finne a set. Unfortunately for the latter, the   turn gave Cousineau full-house blockers. Finne now needed a low card to take half the pot of the last remaining seven.

The dealer burned one last time and put out the  . With that, Cousineau doubled and left Finne as the short stack.

Roch Cousineau	1,525,000	760,000
Timothy Finne	790,000	-740,000

With Cameron Mckinley down to his last 45,000 and in the small blind, both Steven Loube and Timothy Finne limped in, Mckinley was all in, and Roch Cousineau checked from the big blind. All three of the remaining players checked down the     flop,   turn, and   river.

The tabling of cards commenced, and when Mckinley spied how the      of Steven Loube had given him a straight, Mckinley mucked his cards, the crowd cheered his fourth-place run, and the three remaining players left for the dinner break

Roch Cousineau	1,815,000	-35,000
Timothy Finne	1,530,000	365,000
Steven Loube	1,050,000	-180,000
Cameron Mckinley	0	-45,000

Roch Cousineau opened for 175,000 from the cutoff, Timothy Finne raised the pot from the big blind, and Cousineau called with the 275,000 or so he had left.

Cousineau:     
Finne:     

The five community cards came      , giving Finne the high (queens and nines) and Cousineau the low (7-5-4-3-A) for a split pot.

Cousineau would see flops on the next two hands — both limped pots — and would take both down with pot-sized bets on the flop, thus nearly doubling his stack.

Steven Loube	1,230,000	-70,000
Timothy Finne	1,165,000	-85,000
Cameron Mckinley	1,055,000	-105,000
Roch Cousineau	820,000	360,000

We just saw a couple of consecutive hands with flops that we can report.

Just now Tim Finne limped from the button, Cameron Mckinley called from the small blind, and Roch Cousineau checked his option. The flop came    . Mckinley quickly led for 85,000, Cousineau folded, and Finne called. The turn was the  . This time Mckinley checked, Finne bet 190,000, and Mckinley let it go.

On the next hand Finne was limping in again from under the gun, and Cousineau called from the small blind. Steven Loube made it 200,000 to go from the big blind, Finne called, and Cousineau folded. The flop came    , Loube fired a pot-sized bet of 450,000, and after a little thought Finne folded.

Steven Loube	1,300,000	340,000
Timothy Finne	1,250,000	-50,000
Roch Cousineau	1,240,000	-100,000
Cameron Mckinley	580,000	-100,000

Tim Finne raised to 100,000 from the button and Roch Cousineau defended from the big blind. The latter proceeded to check-call a bet of 135,000 on the     flop, only to have Finne fire a healthy 475,000 bet on the   turn after action was checked to him.

Cousineau wasted little time in flinging his cards to the muck, allowing Finne to essentially even up stacks with him.

Roch Cousineau	1,340,000	-360,000
Timothy Finne	1,300,000	365,000