F-Bombs & Weird End in Stud/8
Tonight's 7-card stud hi-lo tournament was one for the books. With the irrepressible John Bonetti at the final table, fireworks were expected, and he did not disappoint, as he (of all people) would finger two opponents for using the f-word. But that was nothing compared to the tournament's ending. Three-handed, Lance Allred had a big lead, then got increasingly frustrated as his chips melted when restaurant owner Vatche Mahserdjian went on a rush. After losing another hand, he tossed a card on the floor, got a 20-minute penalty, responded with the forbidden word, and got an additional 10 minutes. His two opponents, Mahserdjian and Albert Chamy, a Hollywood Park host, played fast, one or another folding each time on third street. With 15 penalty minutes left, Allred's 50,000 chips had been anted and low-carded down to about 12,000. Realizing he had no chance of keeping any, he surrendered, and the two finalists made an even chop. Mahserdjian, with the most chips, took the win and trophy. Got it now?
The final table was set after Ruy Heim made a wheel to leave Stephen Ladowsky on the bubble. Play started with 200 antes, 300 bring-in and 1,000-2,000 limits, 27:17 left. Allred led with 43,800 chips. Bonetti was second with 31,800, but in beginning action, he played a lot of hands and lost a lot of chips. He was scooped two consecutive times by Chamy, the first when Chamy made a 7-high straight, the second when Bonetti missed his A-4-5-6 low draw and Chamy won with just two 8s.
We lost our first player on hand 14. Hung Nguyen started and ended with split kings. Heim, an engineer, went in with (4-7)4 and made 4s full. Bonetti didn't see much more action until hand 18 when he got into a big pot with Allred. On sixth street the pot was three-bet and Bonetti went all in. Allred turned up an A-K flush and 6-low. But Bonetti, with a 7-low, got lucky on the river and made a bigger A-K flush for a split.
Two hands later, Bonetti accused Paul Fruchbom of letting slip an f-word, and Fruchbom got 10. When a player made a remark about Bonetti's snitching, he angrily pointed out that he had been ejected from an earlier tournament for that same violation. Soon after, 'Bono' fingered Raul Garcia. Garcia denied saying the f-word, but indignantly announced that he would take the penalty anyway. 'I got thrown out, so I'm gonna rat on everybody!' Bonetti proclaimed.
Fruchbom, a realtor, finished seventh when his two pair lost to Allred's set of 8s. With limits now at 2,000-4,000 with 300 antes and a 500 bring-in, Bonetti was all in on fifth street with split treys. Allred turned up pocket 10s and didn't improve. Bonetti, picking up an inside straight draw, had a lot of outs on the river, but caught a brick deuce and finished sixth. The tournament room got a lot more subdued after that.
There were more all-ins, especially by Garcia, but all five players were still around at the next break. The approximate chip count at this point was: Allred, 70,000; Chamy, 57,000; Mahserdjian, 28,000; Garcia, 9,000; and Heim, 8,000.
We were now playing with 500 antes, a 1,000 bring-in and 3,000-6,000 limits. Garcia then went south when his two kings lost to Allred's two pair. On hand 60, Allred, with four clubs showing, scooped Chamy with a flush and now had more than 100,000 of the 174,000 chips in play. Three hands later, Heim got committed with low cards, went all in, and ended with two 8s. Chamy missed his flush draw, but his kings-up were more than enough to leave Heim in fourth place.
Mahserdjian then went on a rush, won several pots, mostly hurting Allred, and moved into the lead with about 65,000 to 55,000 for Chamy and 50,000 for Allred. Right after limits went to 4,000-8,000, Allred, failing to make a hand, got his double penalty and left the room. His chips went fast, but Mahserdjian, catching cards (including rolled-up kings), said 'If he'd been here, with the hands I've been getting, he'd have been out by now for sure.' After Allred threw in the towel, Mahserdjian had about 100,000 to 74,000 for Chamy, and they made their deal. -Max Shapiro.
BIOGRAPHY
Vatche Mahserdjian, who owns a Brazilian restaurant, has been playing poker for 20 years. He specializes in tournaments, won a pot-limit event at Hollywood Park, and, in this Winnin' o' the Green, chopped the headhunter event, coming in second. He also has won five online tournaments. He describes his style of play as more conservative than aggressive, adding 'but I can be aggressive with the right cards.' While his main game is no-limit hold'em, he likes stud split because it gives him a chance to observe cards, allowing him to bring in math and figure his chances.
Tonight he was down to 200 chips with eight tables left before doubling through to 450 and going on from there. Perhaps the key hand at the final table came when he beat Allred's kings with two pair at the three-player stage, hauling in a lot of chips and building his lead, while Allred sunk much lower.
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