Everything is going Al "Sugar Bear" Barbieri's way right now. He is beating Konstantin Puchkov senseless with naked aggression and made hand. Barbieri called Puchkov's pre-flop raise to a flop of . Barbieri checked and called a bet
When the turn fell , Barbieri led into Puchkov. Puchkov didn't seem pleased by that development. He paused, checked his cards, and then called. Barbieri fired again on the river. Puchkov looked deflated, like he had missed a draw. He eventually folded his hand.
Konstantin Puchkov raised from the button, and Al Barbieri three-bet him from the big blind. Puchkov called.
The flop came , and Puchkov called a bet from Barbieri. On the turn, Barbieri checked, and this time he called one of Puchkov's bets. Barbieri took the betting lead again on the river, and Puchkov tank-called.
Barbieri:
Puchkov:
They're similar hands, but Barbieri's aces and sixes earn him the high half of the pot. They'll chop the low, and Barbieri takes three quarters of that pot to push Puchkov down further.
It seemed like Al Barbieri was going for the kill against Konstantin Puchkov. Barbieri brought it in on third street, then raised after Puchkov completed. Puchkov callled. Puchkov had first action on fourth street and checked, then raised Barbieri's bet. Barbieri didn't slow down. He three-bet and Puchkov called.
Barbieri bet fifth street; Puchkov made a hesitating call. But things turned disastrous for Barbieri on sixth street, as Puchkov led out. Barbieri snapped a few chips together in frustration and folded.
That big pot gives Puchkov some needed breathing room.
Barbieri fired out a bet on fourth street when he pulled the six and Puchkov called. The action repeated on fifth street, and Barbieri fired again when Puchkov paired on sixth. Puchkov didn't like it, and he took his time to consider before folding his cards under and sending them back to the dealer.
Al Barbieri is a premier stud player, so it's been very odd during this round of stud to see him folding most pots on third or fourth street. He also seems to have toned down the aggression that he was showing in the flop games.
For his part, Konstantin Puchkov often seems unsure of himself when playing hands in this heads-up portion of the tournament.
The game has switched to Stud Hi/Lo now, which would typically mean a lot of chopped pots. But since the tournament is heads-up now, really anything goes. Al Barbieri had the betting lead on fifth street with a king on his board and fired a bet at Konstantin Puchkov. Puchkov called, prompting Barbieri to check sixth street. Puchkov bet and Barbieri called.
On the river the actin was the same. Puchkov showed just two eights in the hole, but that was enough to drag the whole pot.
It's very pronounced now -- the pace of play has slowed. We thought that maybe it was just a function of the stud rounds, but with the game back to limit hold'em, nothing changed. It's a marked difference from the last round of limit hold'em, where Al Barbieri just banged away relentlessly at Konstantin Puchkov's chip stack. Losing that big razz pot a half hour ago when Barbieri had Puchkov on the ropes appears to have taken some of the wind out of Barbieri's sails.
Barbier bet fourth street, and Puchkov quickly called. On fifth street, Barbieri fired again, and Puchkov again called. Sixth street saw Puchkov raise a Barbieri bet, and Sugar Bear tanked and opted to lay it down.
![[user75032]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
. Barbieri checked and called a bet
, Barbieri led into Puchkov. Puchkov didn't seem pleased by that development. He paused, checked his cards, and then called. Barbieri fired again on the 
river. Puchkov looked deflated, like he had missed a draw. He eventually folded his hand.
saw Barbieri check-call a bet, and he check-called another one on the 
turn. Both players checked the 
that rivered.
, and Puchkov called a bet from Barbieri. On the 
river, and Puchkov tank-called.
