Ted Forrest Takes Mirage PPT Title

One day after earning $579,386 as the bridesmaid of the main event at the Mirage Poker Showdown, Ted Forrest bested the invite-only field of the Showdown’s Professional Poker Tour (PPT) Freeroll tournament on Friday, taking home the $200,000 prize. Randy Jensen placed second, an impressive feat after starting the final table with one-sixth the chip stack of Forrest.

While Forrest did not lead wire-to-wire on the final day, he was generally in control of the match, even when not the large stack. He played his usual patient game and when it came time to make a move, he did so, and in a big way. For example, with three players left, Forrest had approximately 450,000 chips, trailing Jensen by about 150,000. Forrest opened the betting at 27,000, Tom Franklin raised 60,000, and Forrest called. After the flop, Franklin bet 100,000 Forrest went over the top all-in. Forrest’s pocket Aces were strong enough to double him up and give him back the chip lead.

Trailing again later after doubling-up Jensen, Forrest went all-in with 8-8 and, for some reason, was called by Jensen and his 8-9. Forrest doubled-up to regain control.

Once the game got to heads-up between Forrest and Jensen, Forrest had the lead, 986,000 chips to 781,000. It all ended very quickly on the 156th hand, when Jensen went all-in with A-8 after Forrest opened the betting with a strong 120,000 chip raise. Forrest did not hesitate in calling with pocket 8’s (sounds familiar). The flop came 7-5-4, so Jensen could still garner a split pot if he didn’t hit his Ace. The 6 on the turn gave both men an 8-high straight, but the Jack of clubs on the river put four clubs on the board, and made a flush for Forrest, who had a club in his hand.

Not a bad tournament week for a guy who is usually known as a cash game master.

Complete final table standings:

(Place/Player/Prize Money)

1) Ted Forrest..........$200,000 plus $25,000 WPT seat
2) Randy Jensen......$100,000
3) David Levi...........$60,000
4) Tom Franklin........$45,000
5) Chris Tsiprailidis...$30,000
6) Blair Rodman.......$25,000

Related stories:
'Minneapolis' Jim Meehan Leads Mirage Poker Showdown PPT Tourney After Day 1;
Ted Forrest to Head Final Table of Mirage Showdown PPT Freeroll

Originally published May 30, 2005