Event #37: $5,000 Limit Hold'em | 2013 World Series of Poker

06-22-2013 20:03 UTC-7

Hands 104-108

Josh_Cahlik

Level 23 : 15,000/30,000, 0 ante

Hand #104: Michael Moore raised from his button and Todd Wittelles called from the big blind. The flop brought and Witteles check-raised the action. Moore called and the turned. Witteles fired again and Moore stuck around. The rivered and both players checked. Moore showed king-high but was ultimately behind Witteles' ace-high with . Witteles was able to drag in the pot.

Hand #105: Brian Aleksa raised from the button and took down the blinds.

Hand #106: Ronnie Bardah received a walk in his big blind.

Hand #107: Witteles made it two bets before the flop and Dom Denotaristefani three-bet the action. Witteles was his only caller and the flop brought . Witteles checked and Denotaristefani put out a bet. Witteles folded and Denotaristefani took it down.

Hand #108: Bardah opened the action with a raise from the button and Gabriel Nassif three-bet from the small blind. Moore folded his big blind and action folded back around to Bardah who called to see a flop.

The dealer brought down and Nassif continued out with a bet. Bardah folded and Nassif took down the pot.

Tags: Brian Aleksa Dom Denotaristefani Gabriel Nassif Michael Moore Ronnie Bardah Todd Witteles

06-22-2013 20:11 UTC-7

Pocket Rockets for Denotaristefani

Chad Holloway

Level 23 : 15,000/30,000, 0 ante

Hand #109: Todd Witteles raised under the gun and Brian Aleksa called from the big blind. The flop saw Aleksa check-raise Witteles' bet, and the WSOP bracelet winner called. Aleksa led out on the turn, Witteles raised and Aleksa made the call. When the completed the board on the river, action went check-check and Aleksa showed the ofr two pair. Unfortunately for him, Witteles tabled the for a bigger two pair.

Hand #110: Gabriel Nassif raised and won the pot.

Hand #111: Nassif made it two bets from the hijack and Dom Denotaristefani called from the big blind. v checked the flop, Nassif bet and Denotaristefani woke up with a check-raise. Nassif called, the turned and Denotaristefani bet. Nassif called and watched Denotaristefani fire out a bet on the river. Nassif snap-called but mucked when Denotaristefani rolled over for fives full of aces.

Player	Chips	Progress
Dom Denotaristefani	540,000 190,000	190,000
Gabriel Nassif	118,000 -52,000	-52,000

Tags: Dom Denotaristefani Gabriel Nassif

06-22-2013 20:18 UTC-7

Showing Hands Preflop & Witteles Folds River

Josh_Cahlik

Level 23 : 15,000/30,000, 0 ante

Hand #112: Ronnie Bardah received a walk and showed .

Hand #113: Michael Moore opened with a raise from under the gun and it folded to Gabriel Nassif in the big blind. He let it go and Moore showed .

Hand #114: Dom Denotaristefani won the blinds with a preflop raise. He showed to the table.

Hand #115: Bardah opened with a raise from the cutoff and Brian Aleksa called from the big blind. The flop saw hit the flop. Aleksa checked and Bardah bet out. Aleksa mucked his cards and Bardah took down the pot.

Hand #116: Bardah raised preflop and took down the blinds.

Hand #117: Aleksa raised from his button and Denotaristefani called out of the big blind. The flop came and Denotaristefani folded to a continuation bet after checking.

Hand #118: Witteles raised from the button and was called by Bardah out of the large blind. The flop was and Bardah checked. Witteles came out firing only to find Bardah come out with a raise. Witteles called.

The fell on the turn and Bardah fired out a bet. Witteles called and the board completed with the . Bardah bet one last time and Witteles went into the tank. Eventually, he decided to lay his cards down and Bardah dragged in another pot.

Tags: Brian Aleksa Dom Denotaristefani Gabriel Nassif Michael Moore Ronnie Bardah Todd Witteles

06-22-2013 20:25 UTC-7

Nassif Doubles Through Aleksa

Chad Holloway

Level 23 : 15,000/30,000, 0 ante

Hand #119: Brian Aleksa raised and Todd Witteles three-bet. A call was made, the flop fell and Aleksa check-called a bet, bringing about the turn. Aleksa checked for a second time, Witteles bet and Aleksa got rid of his hand.

Hand #120: Ronnie Bardah raised from the button and won the pot.

Hand #121: Wittles raised under the gun and Aleksa called from the big blind. The flop saw Aleksa check-fold to a bet from Witteles.

Hand #122: Gabriel Nassif raised and then called when Aleksa three-bet from the small blind. Aleksa bet the flop, Nassif called and the turned. Nassif got his last 7,000 in the pot and tabled the , which was out in front of Aleksa's . The river failed to help Aleksa and Nassif doubled.

Player	Chips	Progress
Gabriel Nassif	150,000 75,000	75,000

Tags: Brian Aleksa Gabriel Nassif Ronnie Bardah Todd Witteles

06-22-2013 20:28 UTC-7

Last Three Hands of the Level

Josh_Cahlik

Level 23 : 15,000/30,000, 0 ante

Hand #123: Brian Aleksa raised from the button and took down the blinds.

Hand #124: Michael Moore raised only to have Aleksa three-bet from the next seat over. It folded around to Moore who called the three-bet. The flop came and Moore check-called a continuation bet. The hit the turn and Moore led out with a bet. Aleksa folded and Moore took it down.

Hand #125: Ronnie Bardah raised from the small blind and Gabriel Nassif called from the big blind. The two saw hit the felt and Bardah continued out. Nassif folded and Bardah took down the pot.

Level: 24

Limits: 20,000/40,000

Ante: 0

06-22-2013 20:39 UTC-7

Nassif Doubles Through Witteles

Josh_Cahlik

Level 24 : 20,000/40,000, 0 ante

Hand #126: Todd Witteles opened with a raise and took down the blinds.

Hand #127: Michael Moore made it two bets from the small blind and Brian Aleksa called from the big blind. The flop came and Moore dropped out a bet. Aleksa called and fourth street brought the . Moore slowed down by rapping the table and Aleksa followed suit. The paired the board on the river and Moore led out. Aleksa called and showed for aces and fives for the winning hand.

Hand #128: Gabriel Nassif raised from the cutoff and received a call from Moore on the button. The flop brought and Nassif led out. Moore raised the action and Nassif went into the tank for about two minutes before finally deciding to release his fold.

Hand #129: Nassif opened the action with a raise and Todd Witteles made it three bets. Nassif moved all in for his last 49,000 and the cards were tabled.

Nassif:
Witteles:

The board ran out and Nassif's ace-queen high was able to hold as the best hand.

Tags: Brian Aleksa Gabriel Nassif Michael Moore Todd Witteles

06-22-2013 20:41 UTC-7

Catching Up with Ronnie Bardah On Break; Limit Hold'em Beat Boxing, and Team Ivey

donpeters

Level 24 : 20,000/40,000, 0 ante

The final table of Event No. 37 $5,000 Limit Hold’em of the World Series of Poker has been cut down to the last six players and amongst that group is Team Ivey pro and World Series of Poker gold bracelet winner Ronnie Bardah, who is sitting near the top of the leaderboard with around half a million in chips.

During the last break, PokerNews' Pamela Maldonado met up with Bardah to ask him about his recruitment with Ivey Poker, his skills as a beat boxer, and the future of limit hold’em.

Is there more skill in limit hold’em or no-limit hold’em?

I think it takes more skill to make a living playing limit hold’em cash games. It’s all about making sick folds and sick value bets. I’ve been asked this question before, and it’s hard to answer because both are really tough games. Although limit hold’em requires more skill to make a living, I do think no-limit hold’em requires more skill overall. You get put to the test so much more [in no-limit hold'em], and there are so many different styles of play that make you have to be aware of so many more things.

What future do you see for limit hold'em for WSOP events and as cash games?

Well, this event had two entries more than last year. The WSOP got rid of three of the six limit tournaments, but it should keep the championship event, the six-max, and the $1,500 so everyone could play. It should also bring back the limit hold’em shootout. It’s a great event, attracts a great crowd, and is great for the game of limit hold’em.

I don’t think cash games are necessarily fading. Bellagio, Foxwoods and Borgata still spread limit games. There are also games in Minnesota and Denver. Commerce in L.A. is still huge in terms of spreading limit games daily. They have $40/$80 games running all day, everyday. There are a lot of young kids learning the game, and I see a lot of the younger generation playing more often. Generally, the demographic of limit hold’em is 40 years and older, but with that said, I don’t see the game dying anytime soon.

As a Team Ivey Pro, what will you be specializing in as a coach?

I’m not sure yet, but I presume it will be limit hold’em. The site has yet to launch because we’re still in the first few steps of jumpstarting. Hopefully it gets up and running pretty soon, but there is no date as of yet.

Why do you think you were chosen to represent Ivey Poker?

I think I am different in terms of marketability. I’ve been playing poker for a decade and have a WSOP bracelet, and I’ve been good to everyone. There are a lot of people in the poker world that do rotten things, and I’m not one those players. I have a heart, I believe in karma, and I believe in being a good person both on the tables and off the tables. I’m decent looking, I think, for the poker world at least, and besides Phil Ivey, I’m the only brown person on the roster; everyone else is white. Maybe that had something to do with them choosing me. They needed to add color to the mix (laughs).

Three years ago, you went on PokerNews and demonstrated your beat boxing skills. Do you still beat box frequently?

I’ve been doing it since I was a kid. I don’t do it as much as I used to because I’ve been really focused on poker. Pretty much, though, I’ll beat box at anytime, while I’m walking with my headphones or at the most random times. It’s so much a part of who I am that I don’t even recognize when I do it anymore. Some people hum or whistle, I beat box.

Tags: Phil Ivey Ronnie Bardah

06-22-2013 20:54 UTC-7

A Bunch of Hands for Your Reading Pleasure

Chad Holloway

Level 24 : 20,000/40,000, 0 ante

Hand #130: Dom Denotaristefani raised from the small blind and took down the pot.

Hand #131: Ronnie Bardah raised the small blind and Gabriel Nassif called from the big. Bardah then bet the flop, Nassif called and both players checked the turn. When the completed the board on the river, Bardah checked and Nassif bet. Bardah tanked for almost two minutes before folding.

Hand #132: Brian Aleksa raised and took down the pot.

Hand #133: Todd Witteles raised under the gun and Gabriel Nassif three-bet from the button. Witteles made the call and then checked the flop. Nassif bet 20,000 and Witteles folded.

Hand #134: Bardah raised and won the blinds.

Hand #135: Dom Denotaristefani got a walk in the big blind.

Hand #136: Bardah got a walk in the big.

Hand #137: Nassif got a walk in the big blind making it three walks in a row.

Hand #138: Aleksa raised under the gun and Denotaristefani made it three bets from the cutoff. Aleksa called and then checked the flop. Denotaristefani bet, Aleksa raised and Denotaristefani called. The turn saw both players checked and the completed the board on the river. Both players checked once again and Aleksa tabled the for two pair, which bested Denotaristefani's pair of aces.

"Where's the rest of the pot, boys?" announcer Robbie Thompson asked after the hand.

Hand #139: Nassif raised from the button and won the pot.

Hand #140: Witteles got a walk in the big blind.

Hand #141: Aleksa raised from the button and won the pot.

Tags: Brian Aleksa Dom Denotaristefani Gabriel Nassif Ronnie Bardah Todd Witteles

06-22-2013 21:03 UTC-7

Hands 142-145

Josh_Cahlik

Level 24 : 20,000/40,000, 0 ante

Hand #142: Gabriel Nassif made it two bets from under the gun and took the pot down before the flop.

Hand #143: Ronnie Bardah opened with a raise from the small blind and Nassif called. The flop brought onto the felt and Bardah led out. Nassif called and the hit the turn. Bardah tossed out one big bet and Nassif called. The rivered and Bardah bet one more time. Nassif quickly released and Bardah picked up the pot.

Hand #144: Todd Witteles raised and Gabriel Nassif made it three bets from the small blind. Michael Moore called from the big and Witteles stuck around. The flop came and Nassif fired out a bet. Moore called and Witteles raised the action. Nassif made it three bets and Moore folded. Witteles caled and the struck fourth street.

Nassif led out once again and Witteles opted to lay it down on this street.

Hand #145: Dom Denotaristefani raised from under the gun and Brian Aleksa called out of the small blind. The flop was and Aleksa check-called a bet. The hit the turn and Aleksa checked once again. Denotaristefani fired a second bet and Aleksa called.

The river brought the which prompted Aleksa to check. Denotaristefani checked it back and Aleksa showed and Denotaristefani showed for the same hand. The two chopped the pot.

Tags: Brian Aleksa Dom Denotaristefani Gabriel Nassif Michael Moore Todd Witteles Ronnie Bardah