VELADOR EDGES BARBIERI IN
LIMIT HOLD'EM 4-WAY DEAL
Professional player Luis Velador held a slight chip lead over fellow pro Al Baribieri when a four-way deal abruptly ended the second event of LAPC 2006, $300 limit hold'em. Velador, who held 345,000 of the 965,000 chips in play, collected $31,667, along with the traditional impressive Remington trophy and a custom pair of sunglasses. Barbieri, a protégé of John Bonetti, had 295,000 in chips and took home $29,723.
The key hand for Velador came on the 20th deal, when limits were 8,000-16,000. He had pocket kings, got in a raising war and went all in against David Bertucci, who held 8-7 in the big blind, and made two pair when the board showed J-8-2-7. But then a king on the river gave the Lake Elsinore pro a set and rescued him.
Velador's prior major cash-ins include a second in pot-limit Omaha at Tunica last year, and a win in $1,000 stud hi-lo at LAPC three years ago.
Barbieri, a former infielder for the Camden River Sharks, a professional baseball team, just played his first full year on the poker circuit after a hiatus since 2000. He has one World Series final table, and in 1999 was ranked in the top 20 list of tournament players by Card Player magazine.
The second-day final table got under way with blinds of 3,000-6,000 and limits of 6,000-12,000, with 20 minutes remaining. Barbieri arrived with a substantial chip lead of 209,000. He kept the pressure on with frequent raises, continued to build and held the lead until the last few hands, when Velador, playing a more cautious game, managed to pass him in the last few deals.
The first casualty at the final table was Saifuddin Ahmad, a businessman with wins at Commerce and the Bicycle Casino. He started lowest-chipped with only 28,000, and on hand five, one away from the big blind, he decided to commit with his J-6. He raised pre-flop, was re-raised by Barbieri, and went all in on a flop of 8-5-3. He couldn't hit the turn or river while Barbieri, with A-3, paired his trey.
The looseness of the action was highlighted on hand 18, after limits went to 8,000-16,000. Barbieri took down a big pot with just pocket sevens when the board showed Q-J-J-4-6. His opponent was Sean Akamine, a law student, who mucked without showing. Barbieri now had close to 300,000 chips, while Akamine was down to 25,000.
Soon after, it was Anh Nguyen, a self-described 'crazy gambler,' who finished ninth. He was all in from the small blind with just Jd-3d. Two opponents with a paired king checked the pot down and split it up.
Two hands later, Mark Jones busted out when his pocket 10s ran into Barbieri's pocket aces. Still moving up, Barbieri now had about 350,000 chips. Then he gave up a sizeable portion of it to Bertucci when he missed his heart flush draw and lost to Bertucci's paired ace.
As play continued, retiree and veteran player Cecil Belda won a hand against Stephane Fitoussi. With the board showing A-Q-5-Q-J. Fitoussi tried a move and bet out. Certain he was beaten, Belda called anyway, and let out a whoop when his pocket 10s held up.
Short-chipped, Fitoussi hung on, winning two all-ins, once when his A-10 beat Barbieri's A-7, next splitting with Anthony Lee when both had A-J.
Finishing seventh was Akamine. He was all in from the blind with just 9-5.Velador had A-K, and 'big slick' did the trick.
One hand later, Lee had the A-K, in hearts. Barbieri chased him down from the small blind with just 8s-6s. He had a flush draw on the turn, missed, but still won with a river 8 Still running lucky, Barbieri made a set of treys on the river to take a sizeable pot from Bertucci.
Players went on a 10-minute break after hand 65. At that point, Barbieri still led with 315,000, while Velador had inched up into second place with 235,000. Next was Belda with 200,000, while Bertucci had 130,000, and Fitoussi trailed with 85,000.
The five finalists returned to play with blinds of 5,000-15,000 and limits of 15,000-30,000. After a few hands, Velador took the lead when Fitoussi folded a pot mid-way though.
Fitoussi then survived another all- in situation when he got part of a pot in three-way action. Finally, on the last hand of the night, he was the one who put away the last player. Bertucci, holding As-Ks, flopped top two when the board showed Ac-Kc-9c. Unfortunately for him, Fitoussi, with Qc-4c, had flopped a nut flush, and the turn and river changed nothing.
After some negotiating, with Barbieri asking for and getting a little extra, the deal was done. Finishing third with 195,000 chips, was Belda, who picked up $21,583. Fitoussi, still around after his several all-ins, had 130,000 and took home $17,105. —Max Shapiro
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