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Throughout the final table at tonight's $1,500 no-limit event, attorney Patrick Madden had one pair of kings and little else and only showed down five or six hands. But with careful, selective and shrewd play, he overcame Michael Aberle's huge chip lead to take down the 10th event of the Harrah's Circuit tour at Caesars Indiana.

Normally a selective/aggressive player, Madden had to change his style and wait for opportunities because Aberle, who was in front for much of the final table, had been raising pretty much every hand as he bulldozed his way to a big lead

The key hand for Madden came when Aberle called a pre-flop raise, and then moved in on a flop of 9-5-3. After long thought, Madden decided that Aberle couldn't have hit anything and, apologizing for calling with no pair, put in his last 27,000 with A-K. It was a very good call, because Aberle had A-J, and it proved to be a turning point. The end later came when Aberle tried an outrageous bluff and Madden picked him off.

Madden, 42, is from Lexington, Kentucky and is married with two children. He's been playing poker since he was five, but this is only the 10th tournament he's played. He prefers cash games. His favorite is pot-limit 7-stud, but with not too many of those games around, he settles for pot-limit and no-limit hold'em. He also played in the WSOP main event the last two years, the first time finishing 64th, winning $124,835, and the second time 234th for $42,882. Tonight's victory brought him $74,484.

We started the final table at level 10, with blinds of 800-1,600 and 200 antes, 44:45 left. Caywood "Woody" Vanstratum arrived with the most ammo, 75,400 in chips.

Here were the seat positions and chip counts:

SEAT 1 Michael Aberle  137,300 
SEAT 2 Caywood Vanstratum   75,400
SEAT 3 Shane Masters    39,400 
SEAT 4 William Hammock      7,100
SEAT 5 Jeffrey Whisnant    27,100
SEAT 6 Patrick Madden     37,100
SEAT 7 Christine Wilson                38,400
SEAT 8 Dennis Booze     48,000
SEAT 9 Matthew Sterling     64,000

With blinds so low and 474,000 chips in play, it looked like this might be another long drawn-out final table.

It started that way. As the level was drawing to a close, there had been just four flops and only one hand that even went to fourth street. But the the most amazing thing that happened was having Vanstratum dealt pocket 10s four times in the first nine hands! The exact odds of that happening are, well, pretty high. Twice he folded to raises, and once won a pot when he flopped a set and bet.  While that was happening, a table at the $2,000 hold'em event was being filmed by a TV crew for a reality  show. One hand brought three sets on the flop, quads on the river. It wasn't a set-up, but try telling that to anyone watching that TV show.

Anway, on the last hand of the first level, we finally had a showdown hand.  William Hammock, who started lowest-chipped with only 7,100, went all in for the second time. This time he was called. He had As-8s. Dennis Booze, a basketball coach, had Q-J, and when a queen flopped, Hammock, a 57-year-old sports bar owner from Macon, Georgia, finished ninth, taking home $4,598. He placed sixth in the same event last year.

Blinds were now 1,000-2,000 with 300 antes. Seventeen hands into the new level, we lost a second player when Aberle raised 8,000 and Jeffrey Whisnant called all in for an additional 800. He had A-J to Aberle's K-6, and was outdrawn when the board came 10-6-2-3-3. Aberle now took over the lead with around 160,000, while Vanstratum, who hadn't gotten any more pocket 10s, or much of anything else, had dropped down to around 70,000.

Whisnant, 43, is single, self-employed, from Morgantown, North Carolina, and has been playing poker for four years. His cash was $6,897.  

A few hands later, that key hand came down where Madden called with A-K on the flop, winning a 90,000 pot. But two hands later, Aberle got his chips back, and more, when he knocked out Vanstratum. Aberle was in the small blind with 6-3. A board of A-10-6-3 gave him two pair. He bet 40,000 and Vanstratum, with A-8, moved in. He couldn't improve his aces, finished seventh, and took home $9,169.    

Vanstratum is 37, from Cookesville, Tennessee, and his occupation is copier sales. His best prior cash-in came when he finished 25th at a WPT event at the Bellagio last year. Tonight he got $9,169 for ending seventh. Aberle, meanwhile, increased his lead to around 225,000, close to half the chips in play.

Aberle then piled up more than half the chips after knocking out Shane Masters, a firefighter from Huntington, West Virginia. Masters moved in for around 70,000 with K-6, losing to Aberle's A-6.  Masters, 36, has been playing poker for 16 years, and he expressed a wish that his wife and two children could be here to see him. He got $13,793 for sixth. 

Booze, a graduate of the University of Kentucky who lives in Lexingtton, finished fifth and picked up $18,391. He lost 29,000 and was left with just 4,400 when his A-Q was outdrawn by Matthew Sterling's K-9 after a 9 flopped. He stayed in action a little while, getting a split when  he and Aberle both had A-5. Soon after, he pushed in for 5,400 with 7h-4h. Aberle, with K-Q, easily beat him when a king flopped. The self-described "poker junkie," who is 23, was making his first Circuit final table in three attempts.

Christine Wilson had a good read on Aberle, but it backfired. She noticed that he would raise very often, then usually fold when someone played back at him. That was her tactic. After Aberle raised yet again, she moved in from the big blind for 55,000 with 6d-5d. Unfortunately, Aberle had Ad-4d and hit two more aces. Wilson, 37, from Durham, North Carolina, is a computer programmer and co-owner of a software company. She learned poker watching the WPT, and her payout tonight for fourth was $38,400. Her poker high point came when she doubled through against Joe Hachem n this year's WSOP main event, finishing 193rd for $42,000. 

Blinds became 2,000-4,000 with 500 antes. On hand 74, Madden took the lead. Aberle opened for 19,000, Madden raised 40,000 more with Q-9 and Aberle moved in. "Gotta call," Madden said. Aberle had A-5, but Madden got lucky when a queen turned, leaving Aberle with only about 85,000.

The only pro at the table was Matthew Sterling. He had a chance to bust an all-in Aberle, holding J-J to Aberle's 7-7. But five diamonds hit the board to give both men a flush. Madden did the honors a few hands later. After raising pre-flop, Aberle tried an all-in 100,000 bluff with just 9-3 when the board showed K-J-6. It was all over for him when Madden turned over K-10. Aberle, 61, is a clerk from Wonderlake, Illinois. He's married with two children, has played poker just two years, learning from books. Third paid $29,169.

Heads-up, Madden now enjoyed much better than a 3-1 lead over the 25-year-old Sterling. The match lasted only nine hands. On a flop of K-3-2, Sterling bet 6,000, Madden, holding K-8, made a small raise to 18,000, and Sterling, holding 5-4 for an open-end straight draw, moved in and couldn't hit. Sterling is a business graduate from Brownstown, Indiana who turned to poker. Tonight, second paid $39,081.

-- Max Shapiro

For more information, please contact: 
Max Shapiro -- WSOP Media Director at (323) 356-3303
Or visit our official website:  http://www.worldseriesofpoker.com

World Series of Poker Commissioner – Jeffrey Pollack
Director of Poker Operations for Harrah's Entertainment – Jack Effel
Caesars Indiana  Poker Room Manager – Jimmy Allen