Poker victory therapeutic

LAS VEGAS – Jerry Yang, a 39-year-old psychologist who uses his professional training in his card-playing arsenal, won the $8.25 million top prize Wednesday at the World Series of Poker.

Yang vaulted quickly from eighth to the chip lead soon after play began Tuesday afternoon.

He knocked out seven of the eight other players at the final table, reminiscent of last year when Jamie Gold ran over his opponents. The main difference: Yang did it from the back of the pack.

“The only way I would win this tournament is to be aggressive from the very beginning and that’s exactly what I did,” he said.

An ethnic Hmong who grew up poor in Laos, Yang said before the final table began that he would donate 10 percent of his winnings to charity, including the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Feed the Children, the Ronald McDonald House and his alma mater, Loma Linda University.

Yang aggressively raised pots and became the first player at the table to go all-in. On the ninth hand, he forced Lee Childs, a 35-year-old software engineer from Reston, Va., to fold pocket queens, face up, on a board with a seven, four and deuce.

Yang began heads-up play with a giant chip lead against Tuan Lam, a 40-year-old pro online poker player from Mississauga, Ontario. Yang had 104.5 million in chips to Lam’s 23.0 million.

On the last hand, with a huge mound of cash on the felt, Lam moved all-in with an ace and queen of diamonds and Yang called with pocket eights.

When a queen, five and nine came on the flop, it looked like Lam, waving a Canadian flag, was on the verge of a miracle comeback. But a seven on the turn and a six on the river gave Yang a straight, sealing a win.

Lam earned $4,840,981 for his second-place finish.

Lee Watkinson, a 40-year-old poker pro from Cheney, Wash., finished eighth for a $585,699 payday.