Event 27 - $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em | 2008 World Series of Poker

06-16-2008 22:12 UTC-8

Updated Chip Counts

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Vitaly Lunkin - 3,220,000
Bobby Firestone - 3,165,000
Brett Kimes - 1,735,000

06-16-2008 22:06 UTC-8

Players Are on a Break

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Play will resume in twenty minutes.

06-16-2008 22:06 UTC-8

Straight Up

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Vitaly Lunkin completed and and Bobby Firestone checked from the big blind.

The flop came {2-Diamonds}

where Lunkin led out for a 150,000 bet that Firestone called.

The turn came {5-Diamonds}

and this time Lunkin checked and then called a 250,000 bet from Firestone.

The final card came {A-Hearts}

and once again Lunkin checked. The bet from Firestone was a bit bigger this time, being 550,000. Lunkin thought for a little while and came out calling.

Firestone flipped over {A-Diamonds}

for the turned straight. Lunkin nodded his head at Firestone and mucked.

Tags: Bobby Firestone Vitaly Lunkin

06-16-2008 21:55 UTC-8

Vitaly Lunkin to me seems to be like a Floyd Mayweather type of poker player. He's happy for other players, like Brett Kimes, to come at him with aggressive play and he'll swallow up the punches and hit on the counter attack when his opponent shows weakness or makes mistakes. It's a tactic that certainly seems to be working at the moment for our current chip leader.

Tags: Vitaly Lunkin

06-16-2008 21:50 UTC-8

Kimes Takes a Hit

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It was an unraised pot between Brett Kimes in the small blind and Vitaly Lunkin in the big blind. The flop came down {J-Hearts}

. Kimes led out for 125,000; Lunkin thought briefly, then called

The turn was the {7-Hearts}

. Again Kimes led out, this time for 250,000, and again Lunkin thought, then called. When the river fell {K-Clubs}

, Kimes checked to Lunkin, who immediately moved all in. Kimes went deep into the tank.

"I have three pair. I thought you had ten-queen, honestly. What else could you have? Either you slowplayed a jack or you have ten-queen," said Kimes.

A few minutes passed, then Kimes started talking again. "I can beat queen-eight," he said, "and ace-ten. Not much else. What could you have? You're pushing every time." Kimes flashed the {9-Diamonds}

, then mucked.

"Something's telling me to fold. I don't like this."

06-16-2008 21:29 UTC-8

Quads But No Payout

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Brett Kimes completed from the small blind and Vitaly Lunkin checked from the big blind. The flop had two sixes and an ace on it and the turn brought another six. It was only when an eight fell on the river that another chip went into the pot with Kimes leading out for a 75,000 bet. Lunkin was not interested at all and folded.

'You dodged a bullet my friend,' said Kimes, as he flashed Lunkin a six!

Tags: Brett Kimes Vitaly Lunkin

06-16-2008 21:23 UTC-8

Updated Chip Counts

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Vitaly Lunkin - 3,470,000
Bobby Firestone - 3,180,000
Brett Kimes - 1,550,000

06-16-2008 21:20 UTC-8

Kenneth Terrell Eliminated in 4th Place ($232,702)

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We finally had two big hands collide, and Kenneth Terrell took the worse for the collision. After Vitaly Lunkin raised the button to 200,000, Terrell peeked down at {A-Hearts}

in the small blind and shoved all in for about 1,000,000. Lunkin quickly made the call with {J-Hearts}

.

Despite legions of fans shouting out for an ace, Terrell got no help when the flop came down {Q-Clubs}

. The

on the turn made things a bit more interesting; Terrell could win the hand with an ace or a ten. The river, however, was a meaningless {2-Diamonds}

and Lunkin's jacks held up.

Terrell played admirably, being short the whole days but surviving all the way to fourth place. He collects $232,702 for that display of skill.

06-16-2008 21:12 UTC-8

Big Hands Need to Clash

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Most of the eliminations we've seen so far have been a result of two big hands clashing in a preflop all in confrontation. None of these players seemed that experienced at playing a big stack and using it to pile pressure on their opponents. Hands that have been played postflop have been either checked most of the way down or a small bet has scared an opponent off.

We've recently moved up to Level 26 where the big blind is 80,000. This means that there are only just over 100 big blinds on the table, hence most of the play will be preflop from now on.

Level: 26

Blinds: 40,000/80,000

Ante: 10,000