Event 35 - $1,500 Seven Card Stud | 2008 World Series of Poker

06-20-2008 18:11 UTC-7

Quick Break

[user75032]

Players are on an unscheduled five-minute break.

06-20-2008 18:11 UTC-7

Queens Up Two Times

[user66118]

Al Barbieri brought in with the {5-Clubs}

up, and Levon Torosyan came along with him, showing the {Q-Hearts}

.

Both men picked up tens on fourth street. Torosyan bet his {10-Spades}

, and Barbieri called on his {10-Hearts}

.

On fifth street, Torosyan led out after picking up a {6-Diamonds}

. Barbieri called with the {3-Hearts}

.

On sixth, we saw a little more action. Torosyan bet out after drawing a {5-Spades}

. Barbieri received a {Q-Diamonds}

, and he raised. Torosyan three bet it, and Barbieri made the call.

As the dealer was dealing the last card out, Torosyan put in a dark bet. When Barbieri checked his, he raised. Torosyan looked rather sheepish, but he reluctantly made the call. The hands were tabled:

Barbieri: {5-Clubs}

/

Torosyan:

/

Both players make two pair, queens up. However, Torosyan's queens and tens are the better of the two, and he takes down the biggest pot so far at the final table. With that win, he has just edged Al Barbieri for the lead, 460,000 to 450,000.

06-20-2008 18:07 UTC-7

Updated Chip Counts

[user75032]

Levon Torosyan - 460,000
Al Barbieri - 450,000
Mike Rocco - 230,000

06-20-2008 18:04 UTC-7

Barbieri Gives Some Back

[user75032]

Al Barbieri's chip lead has slipped a bit thanks to the continuing, aggresive play of Levon Torosyan. Torosyan has taken another four out of five hands, three of which came at Barbieri's expense when he was the bring-in. Barbieri defended that bring-in twice, going all the way to the river one of those times, only to fold to Torosyan's bet with an open pair of jacks.

Torosyan victimized Mike Rocco in his other victorious pot, and shows the most momentum right now out of the three remaining players.

06-20-2008 18:02 UTC-7

Rocco Straightens Out

[user66118]

Barbieri completed the bring in, and Rocco put in a raise, making it 16,000 to go. Barbieri called.

Barbieri: x-x / {7-Clubs}

/ x
Rocco: x-x / {9-Spades}

/ x

Barbieri check-called on fourth street. Rocco led with a bet on fifth street, and Barbieri put in the call. On sixth, it was Barbieri leading with his pair of eights, and Rocco called a bet. Barbieri checked on seventh street, Rocco bet, and Barbieri called. The hands were shown down:

Barbieri: {7-Clubs}

Rocco:

Michael Rocco made his straight, good enough to top Al Barbieri's two pair and earn him a nice little pot.

06-20-2008 17:58 UTC-7

Tension on Green #10

[user75032]

With just three players remaining, Mike Rocco proposed that at the end of Level 19, the players take an unscheduled ten-minute break. Levon Torosyan agreed, but Al Barbieri did not.

"We're just three-handed," said Rocco. "Where do we have to be? Where are we going?"

"I'd prefer to stay on the scheduled structure," said Barbieri.

"I gotta take a piss," continued Rocco.

"You can go use the bathroom," Barbieri responded.

The two went back and forth for a few more minutes, with Levon Torosyan sitting on the sideline, willing to agree to whatever they could work out. In the end, it was agreed by all three players to take a five-minute break at the end of the level. Barbieri asked the floor to set the timer to exactly five minutes and to put cards back in the air when the clock expires.

06-20-2008 17:54 UTC-7

It's Not All Cherries for Barbieri

[user75032]

Even Al "Sugar Bear" Barbieri loses pots. He completed the {8-Hearts}

into Mike Rocco, who brought it in with the {3-Clubs}

. Rocco called and made an open pair of 3s on fourth street. Barbieri, who caught the {5-Spades}

, called Rocco's bet. By sixth street, Rocco had made open trip 3s, causing Barbieri to quickly muck his hand.

Rocco didn't hold onto those chips for long. Just two hands later he went all the way to the river with Levon Torosyan, only to fold to Torosyan's river bet. Torosyan had an open pair of aces on his board against Rocco's open pair of threes.

06-20-2008 17:52 UTC-7

Barbieri Gets Bigger

[user66118]

Rocco brought in showing the {3-Hearts}

. Torosyan completed with the {5-Clubs}

in the door, and Barbieri re-popped it with his {4-Diamonds}

. Rocco let the two men go heads up.

Barbieri: x-x / {4-Diamonds}

/ x
Torosyan: x-x / {5-Clubs}

/ x

On fourth street, Torosyan had the lead, and he check-raised his opponent, getting two bets in. Both players checked fifth street. On sixth, Torosyan check-called a bet. On seventh, Barbieri checked and then called a bet himself.

"Sugar Bear" Barbieri was the first to turn over his hand, and it was the winner: {K-Spades}

/

. His set of kings was good enough to take the pot, and bump him over the 700,000-chip mark. He has more than a three-to-one chip lead over both of his opponents, owning about two thirds of the total chips.

06-20-2008 17:49 UTC-7

Barbieri Seeing Lots of Streets

[user75032]

Al Barbieri doesn't like to give up on third street. Now that we are three-handed, he is defending his bring-in with zeal and calling raises on third street after he has completed. In a recent hand against Mike Rocco, Barbieri completed the {7-Spades}

and called when Mike Rocco raised the {Q-Spades}

. Rocco bet his {A-Hearts}

on fourth, and Barbieri called with the {6-Clubs}

. When fifth street came {5-Clubs}

to Barbieri, he led out with a bet against Rocco's {3-Diamonds}

. Rocco tanked for about a minute, even grabbing Barbieri's {5-Clubs}

and shuffling it on the felt. He finally folded, and Barbieri flashed the {4-Diamonds}

.

06-20-2008 17:44 UTC-7

Torosyan Takes Four Out of Five

[user75032]

After a recent setback to Al Barbieri, Levon Torosyan has sprung right back and taken four out of the last five hands. He won two of those hands by completing third street, and one other with a bet on fourth street after completing third.

The fourth hand went all the way to fifth street, where Torosyan made an open pair of sevens against Mike Rocco's {A-Hearts}

. Rocco mucked his cards as soon as Torosyan reached for his chips.