When the Seniors No-Limit Hold’em Championship (with a $1,000 buy-in) started Friday, little did the poker world suspect that the event would go down in WSOP history. Firstly, Allyn Jaffrey-Shulman went on to win the bracelet, breaking the 249-event losing streak that female players had been suffering at the tournament. Alongside, Jaffrey-Shulman became the first woman to bag a bracelet in a non-Ladies World Championship event, since 2008 (when Vanessa Selbst won a $1,500 PLO event).
Secondly, the $603,713 payday she earned for her win at the event was the second largest for a first place win by a woman. The largest was earned by Annette Obrestad, at the main event of the WSOPE 2007. Thirdly, the field comprised 4,128 players, the highest number recorded for the Seniors No-Limit Hold’em Championship at the WSOP and the largest field in this category of events at any poker tournament.
WSOP Final Table
When the final table started, Jaffrey-Shulman was the only female player. Some of her most formidable opponents were Hoyt Corkins, (a two-time WSOP winner) and Dennis Phillips (one of the top poker players in the first line-up of November Niners). Jaffrey-Shulman had to play against them for two days before she could take home her title and winnings.
WSOP Eliminations
Harold Lilie: The first player sent to the rails from the table was Harold Lilie, who was crippled after he played his pocket nines against Corkins. Lilie made a 100,000 raise which was followed by Corkins’ all-in 3-bet. After deliberating for a few minutes, he called, only to run into Corkins’ A-Q. Though the flop brought 8-7-5, Corkins had a few outs. A J showed up on the turn, which favored Lilie. However, when the river showed a K, Corkins emerged the winner. With a very short stack, Lilie played a few hands. In the final one, he made an all-in move with his Q-Q, which was bested by an A-K in Stabler’s hand. On a board with A-9-3-4-J, Lilie lost.
Martin Fitzmaurice and William Thompson: The next to go with $63,418, was Martin Fitzmaurice. He too fell at the hands of Stabler. With his T-7, Fitzmaurice went all-in for the third consecutive time. He was against an A-K in Stabler’s hand, which made trips on a board with K-8-3-K-6. The seventh place elimination happened a little over five hours after Fitzmaurice’s exit. In that time, the players traded chips quite frequently. However, this was not enough for Dennis Phillips. When he got a 9-9, he went all-in with his 1,115,000. William Thompson called with his 1,080,000. Thompson held an A-J, which did not fare well on a K-7-4-K-Q board.
Stuart Spear: Following Thompson’s elimination, there was a flurry of activity at the tables, which resulted in a few players being sent to the rails in quick succession. From the small-blind, Spear made a pre-flop raise with 300,000. Jaffrey-Shulman went all-in with 1,400,000. This pushed Spear to fold his hand, leaving him with just a little over twice what he added to the pot. The battle between the two resumed an orbit later. Spear went all-in with K-T, and this was called by Jaffrey-Shulman with A-8. When Q-3-2-J-7 landed on the board, Jaffrey-Shulman made the best hand with an ace-high and Spear left the table.
William Stabler: Jaffrey-Shulman was on a roll, as she went on to eliminate Stabler, who was crippled after an encounter with Phelps. From under the gun, Stabler went all-in with his short stack and Jaffrey-Shulman re-raised him to 500,000. With just two of them in the hand, Stabler’s T-T was competing against Jaffrey-Shulman’s A-K. When the board showed A-5-3-2-K, Jaffrey-Shulman made a two pair which bested her opponent’s pair. After Stabler’s exit, four players remained in the game – Phelps, Corkins, Phillips and Jaffrey-Shulman.
Hoyt Corkins and Bob Phelps: When the second day of the final event started, Phillips was the chip lead and Jaffrey-Shulman, the short-stack. A few hours later, Corkins went all-in with 1.6 million, a move that Phelps called. Corkins held an A-2, which he played against the pocket pairs in Phelps’ hand. On a 10-8-6-Q-7 board, Corkins, the only bracelet winner at the table, left the game. After sending Corkins out in fourth place, Phelps targeted Jaffrey-Shulman. In a hand where Jaffrey-Shulman raised, Phelps re-raised with his Q-J to a million. His opponent made an all-in move with 2.53 million and A-J in her hand. However, the hand saw Phelps’ chip count reduce drastically, making him the short-stack. Just a few hands down, the player went all-in against Jaffrey-Shulman again, with pocket sixes, which were bested by her pocket queens.
Heads-up Poker Play at the WSOP
Heads-up play was between Jaffrey-Shulman and Phillips. The latter went all-in with A-6 and Jaffrey-Shulman called with A-T. When the flop, turn and river ran Q-T-2-5-J, Phillips left in second place, and Jaffrey-Shulman landed her first WSOP bracelet.
Family Affair
Jaffrey-Shulman was not the only member of her family to make an appearance at the WSOP 2012. Her husband, Barry Shulman, owner of online poker magazine Card Player, made it to the final table at a $1,500 No Limit Hold’em event to finish in 8th place. Jeff Shulman, Jaffrey-Shulman’s son, played in an event at this year’s WSOP. He finished in third place in a Limit Hold’em event with a $5,000 buy-in; that said, make sure to keep coming to www.pokeronamac.com to find out about some of the other events at the WSOP 2012 and more.