Hand Time Capsule History: J.J. Liu

The 2007 World Poker Tour Bay 101 Shooting Star main event drew 450 entries, building a $4,490,000 prize pool. With only six players remaining, the final table was made up of two San Jose locals and four top pros. Among them was Joanne “J.J.” Liu, who had already made a WPT final table and was looking to improve on her fourth place finish and become the first female WPT winner. The chip leader was amateur Amir Shayesteh, and he didn’t waste any time extending his lead by eliminating accomplished pro Bill Edler in sixth place.

Also at the final table was Ted Forrest, a five-time WSOP gold bracelet winner who had made three prior WPT final tables. Forrest entered the day second in chips, and then took a massive chunk out of Vincent Shaw to overtake the lead. Shaw was busted shortly after in fifth place.

Forrest Chips Up

By the time four-handed play rolled around, blinds had increased to 20,000–40,000 with a 5,000 ante. Short-stacked professional player James Van Alstyne moved his last 425,000 in preflop with 10 10 and was called by Shayesteh’s A J and Forrest’s A K. With 1,295,000 in the pot, the flop brought the K Q 4 and Shayesteh checked his gutshot straight-draw. Forrest bet 250,000 into the massive pot, and Shayesteh called. The J hit the turn and Shayesteh checked once again. Forrest bet 500,000 and Shayesteh finally folded his hand. Van Alstyne had a straight draw, but the 7 on the river did not complete it and he hit the rail in fourth, while Forrest retook the chip lead three-handed, with Liu close behind and Shayesteh as the short stack.

Liu Sets Record For Highest Finish By Female Player In WPT Event

Blinds had risen to 30,000-60,000 with a 10,000 ante when another key hand came up. Forrest limped in with K J , keeping up with his small-ball approach to this final table. Liu called as well with 7 7 and Shayesteh made a raise to 185,000 with Q J. Both Forrest and Liu called and the flop brought the 10 6 2. Everyone checked to Forrest, who bet 175,000. Liu check-raised to 375,000 and everyone else quickly folded, securing the pot and the chip lead for Liu.

Liu then crippled Shayesteh, value betting all three streets with her top pair against his second pair. Shayesteh eventually made the correct fold on the river, but was left so short that he was soon eliminated in third place. With that, Liu overtook the previous record for the highest finish in an open WPT event held by Mimi Tran and Kathy Liebert, who had both previously finished third.

Heads Up For History

With the chip lead and potential history in the making, Liu was set to take on Ted Forrest as the first woman ever to make it to heads-up play on the WPT. Blinds increased to 80,000-160,000 with 20,000 antes. Liu limped in from the button with 9 3 and Forrest checked his option with the 7 6. The flop brought the 8 6 4 and Forrest checked. Liu bet 300,000 and after a moments though Forrest announced, “I’m all in.”

Forrest’s shove amounted to a raise to 2,895,000, putting Liu in an incredibly tough spot. Liu’s chip lead had grown to the point that even if she called and lost, she would still be roughly even with Forrest. After minutes in the tank, Liu decided to make the fold, and Forrest chipped away a bit at her chip lead.

A Stone-Cold Cooler

The two combatants passed pots back and forth for a number of hands, staying relatively close to even in chips, before the next key showdown. Blinds had increased to 120,000-240,000 with a 30,000 ante, and Liu raised from the button to 480,000 with Q J and Forrest called with K 5. The flop brought the A K 7 and Forrest checked second pair from out of position. Liu checked behind with her gutshot straight-draw, which she completed when the 10 fell on the turn. Although Liu had the nuts on the turn, Forrest picked up a flush draw to go with his pair and bet 300,000 into a pot of roughly a million chips. Liu just called, and the 2 hit the river and Forrest quickly shoved all in. Liu asked for a count, eventually finding out that Forrest had shoved for a total of 3,260,000. She eventually called with her Broadway straight, only to have Forrest emphatically flip up his rivered nut flush.

Liu was left on a severely short stack after that brutal cooler. She was able to double up, but then lost some chips back shortly after. Still very short on chips, the final hand began with the blinds at 200,000-400,000 with a 50,000 ante. Forrest moved all in from the button with 7 7 and Liu called all in for 1,870,000 with A 8. The board ran out Q 5 4 4 7, giving Forrest the winning full-house, the title, and $1,100,000 in prize money. Liu earned $600,000 for her runner-up finish, as well as the historic achievements of becoming the first woman to finish second in an open WPT event and the first woman to cash for more than $1 million (lifetime) on the WPT.

How The Hands Look Now

Liu faced a tough opponent in Ted Forrest, who had nearly unrivaled experience playing heads-up for millions of dollars as part of the group of players who played in the massive games against Andy Beal in the early 2000s. Both players demonstrated their skill. The outcome of the heads-up battle turned on the results of one key hand that was an undeniable cooler.

Although Van Nguyen won the 2008 WPT Invitational, and Natalia Nikitina took down the 2011 WPT Paris on the WPT’s smaller National Tour, there has still yet to be a female champion in an open, official WPT event. Though she fell just short of the title, Liu played incredibly well, and her record-setting finish should stand as an inspiration to all. As Forrest himself told her afterwards, “You played so tough. I think you were my toughest heads-up opponent.” ♠