Event #31: $1,500 H.O.R.S.E.

After another marathon Day 3 in the Amazon Room, Konstantin Puchkov has sent the spectators home for the night, winning the bracelet in Event #31 in one lonely corner of the otherwise empty room. This $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. event began with a pack of 827 runners on Wednesday, and it finally culminated with a Russian victory tonight -- fittingly enough, by a man who drives horses with names like "Royal Fush" and "Freeroll" back home.

The final day of the tournament began with 24 players still with a shot at kissing the bracelet, but the early knockouts came fast. Jon "PearlJammer" Turner, Cliff "JohnnyBax" Josephy, Johannes Steindl, Allen Kessler, and Chip Jett were all deprived of a final table berth, and it took just a couple hours of action to set our final table of eight.

After that quick trip down to eight, the rest of the battle became arduous and tiring. It took about six hours to play down to a heads-up pairing between Puchkov and Al Barbieri, and another three and a half hours of heads-up dueling to crown a champion.

Barbieri and Puchkov exchanged body blows for round after round of poker, and Barbieri nearly had his first bracelet in his grips in the early stages of the fight. Puchkov hung tough, though, and, long after the clock had struck five, he finally took "Sugar Bear"'s final chip, ending the tournament as the last man standing.

So then, congratulations to Konstantin Puchkov and his Russian pals for their bracelet here tonight.

Stud 8/b

Konstantin Puchkov brought it in with the   showing, and he called a completion from the   of Barbieri.

Puchkov: (X) (X) /         / (X)

Barbieri: (X) (X) /         / (X)

Puchkov had the lead the whole way, and he check-called bets on fourth, fifth, and sixth streets. On seventh, Puchkov finally led out with his own bet, and Barbieri called.

Puchkov exposed his down cards:      

"Queens up?" Barbieri asked. "It's good." With that, he sent his cards into the muck. That loss sets him all the way back under 600,000.

Hold'em

When heads-up play first started, Al Barbieri turned the screws on Konstantin Puchkov in hold'em. He's repeating that early success now. The two biggest hands occurred back-to-back.

In the first, Barbieri raised the button and was called by Puchkov. Puchkov check-called bets on the       flop and the   turn. Both players checked the   river. Barbieri showed    , which was enough to win the pot.

The next hand it was Puchkov's button, but that didn't stop Barbieri from turning an inside straight with     on a board of          . Barbieri bet the river dark and was called. His straight was good.

The only two hands Barbieri lost in the recent hold'em round were two hands in which he gave Puchkov a walk. His stack is all the way back to about 1.5 million.

Stud 8/b

Puchkov: (X) (X) /      

Barbieri: (X) (X) /      

"I'm going to play this hand blind," said Al Barbieri. He took two pink chips off of his stack and put one over each of his eyes. When he caught the bring-in, he fumbled for his chips to get the correct amount into the pot. "Is that four?" he asked. Konstantin Puchkov just called.

Barbieri, without having looked at his cards, bet fourth street after Puchkov checked. At fifth street, he asked TD Bob Smith what Puchkov's board was. Upon hearing the answer, he said, "Jesus, I better look now," and he took the chips off his eyes to take a peek. He bet, then checked his own hole cards for the first time in the hand. Puchkov mulled things over for a bit before folding.

Konstantin Puchkov has some Russian railbirds who hae been here sweating him most of the night. They've alo been talking in Russian during hands repeatedly and as the night gets later Barbieri is getting more and more irritated by it.

"I'll forefeit the tournment," said an irate Barbieri. He demanded that TD Bob Smith enfore the English-only rule. Smith had a few words with therailbirds and, for the moment, things seem to be under control.

The clock has been paused for a twenty-minute break.

Stud 8/b

Al Barbieri was the bring in with the  , and Konstantin Puchkov completed showing the  . Barbieri raised it right back, and Puchkov called.

Barbieri: (X) (X) /         / (X)

Puchkov: (X) (X) /         / (X)

Barbieri had the betting lead the whole way, and Puchkov called his bets on fourth and sixth streets. Both players checked fifth and seventh.

Barbieri exposed his      , and his pair of tens was good enough to earn him the full pot.

Razz

Puchkov: (X) (X) /         / (X)

Barbieri: (X) (X) /         / (X)

As the pace of play has slow down, Konstantin Puchkov has started to win more than his share of pots. He played an unusual razz hand against Al Barbieri a few moments ago. Barbieri brought it in on third, then called Puchkov's completion. Puchkov bet the low board on fourth street and again Barbieri called.

On fifth street Puchkov made a strange check with a board that was leagues better than Barbieri's. Barbieri then bet, drawing 30 seconds of thought form Puchkov before he called.

Both players checked sixth street. Down the river, Puchkov finally fired and induced a fold from Barbieri.

With that pot, Puchkov climed to about 2.2 million in chips. He is the leader now.

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.

Stud

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.