2005 Five Star World Poker Classic
TUAN LE 5d 2c
PAUL MAXFIELD Ac 8c
BOARD 3h 8d Ad 3d 10c
For some people, World Poker Tour titles are a bit like London buses; you wait and wait for what seems like an eternity, and ultimately one never shows up. Thankfully, however, the WPT has never counted TFL among its partners – and for a lucky few of poker’s elite, titles instead come along with all the regularity of a New York subway train.
One man who has certainly enjoyed a decent rub of the green on the World Poker Tour is Tennessee native Tuan Le, who back in 2005 become another member of the select stable of pros to have won multiple WPT titles after taking down both the World Poker Finals and the World Poker Classic in his first full season on the tour.
Coming in unarguably the most prestigious event on the World Poker Tour calendar, it was the latter of these two results that allowed the young Le to truly establish himself among the tour’s all-time greats – and the $2.8 million he took home for winning the tournament remains to this day the biggest cash of his career by miles.
However, far from Le’s second trophy of the season being born of outrageous good fortune, the Vietnamese-American pro had to work for every pot that was pushed his way en route to victory, showing impeccable timing, a keen eye for weakness and some incredible courage on a final table packed with some of poker’s brightest talent.
Facing off against the likes of Phil Ivey, John Phan and Rob Hollink, Le demonstrated that he could mix it up with the best of them. But it was perhaps his incredible all-in bluff against English amateur Paul Maxfield that really provided the catalyst for his second tour victory and showcased just what a talented player he would go on to be.
Beginning the hand as the shortest of the remaining stacks, Le found himself embroiled in a three-way tussle out of position against Maxfield and Hasan Habib. With the latter player limping on the button with 6h 5s, Le completed from the small blind with a meagre 5d 2c and Maxfield deceptively checked his option with Ac 8c.
A 3h 8d Ad flop gifted Maxfield a well disguised two-pair and, after action was checked to the Englishman, he wasted no time in firing out a half-pot bet of 300,000. Habib quickly got out of the way, but with Le holding a gutshot straight draw, the aggressive young upstart elected to peel off a card and tossed in the chips to call.
Unfortunately for Le, the 3d on the turn provided no help to his hand – but bringing a third diamond it did at least slow down the action, with Maxfield tapping the table behind after he’d checked. That show of weakness proved to be all the incentive Le needed and when the river came 10c, he shipped the rest of his stack into the middle.
With it now costing Maxfield 1.1 million to contest a pot of 2.3 million, the visibly rocked amateur slumped back in his chair and let out a frustrated exhalation. Clearly figuring his opponent for a flush or random three, the Englishmen dwelt for a moment before resignedly tossing the winning hand into the muck and handing Le the pot.
With that incredible bluff practically doubling his stack, Le used his new-found chips and momentum to steadily build his stack, ultimately getting the better of Maxfield heads-up to capture his second title – and who would bet against lightning striking a third time on the tour this year as Le seeks to close in on Gus Hansen’s WPT record. |
