From All-In blind to Event #8 Champ

Saturday night's festivities began with a packed venue of 20 participants. The square and oval tables each held 10 players. The square table started out and maintained solid play through out the tournament with not a single player gaining a significant chip advantage over another. The oval table however began out a little faster with the first 4 of 5 players being eliminated here, each time extracting a player from the square table. Keith K. was the first eliminated before the break declining the optional rebuy after some bad beats. Jason Ta. was the next to go after a solid finish in the last event. Kevin An, Jim S., and Jim H. rounded out the first 5 eliminated.

Jason Tr. was the next to be eliminated after failing to get anything significant going at his table. Mike T. was eliminated in position 14, having an early exit was a relief to the rest of the field, but he maintains a solid hold for the number one spot in the overall standings for the league. Husband and wife combo, Tina B. and Paul B., went out next back to back, respectively. Pat M. went out in 11th place while 2nd in overall standings holder, Nick G., broke the bubble for the final table failing to make any progress in points against Mike T. for 1st place overall in the league with 3 events to go.

The final table was finally set with the blinds late in the 7K/15K level. Erik Wej. went out in 9th position when his pocket 7's went up against Matt Pe.'s A-Q who earlier in the tournament was all in blind for under 50K in chips at the square table. The play remained solid throughout when Anita G.'s preflop raise with A-7 was reraised all in against Carl W.'s A-K. Matt Pe. took out Angie S. next when she went all in with Pocket K's and failed when two aces hit the board against Matt Pe.'s A-9. Next in the action was Lolly O. tripling up with her K-9 against her husband Jim O. and Matt Pe. Lolly proceeded in the next hand to double up through Matt Pe. with her pocket 9's cracking the pocket J's of Matt Pe. when a rivered straight hit. Matt Pe. regained chips by doubling up through Jim O. when his pocket K's held up against Jim O.'s pocket 9's. Jim O. who played a solid game throughout the tournament lost traction at the final table with the blinds catching up to his big stack and went out in 6th position when his pocket 4's all in raise preflop failed against Carl W.'s K-2. Jeff R. who remained pretty quiet throughout the final table was able to double up through Carl W. back to back to sneak ahead of Bill B. who went out on the money bubble once again finishing 5th when his J/10 fell short of Carl W.'s A/8. The final four positions were played in less than 12 hands with the blind levels at staggering levels. Jeff's 4th place finish was enough to put him less than a point off of 2nd place overall in the league. Carl W. went out next in 3rd with a very respectable tournament. Heads up play between Lolly O. and Matt Pe. only lasted two hands when Matt Pe.'s K-Q hit a king on the flop to put Lolly O.'s pocket J's away.

Congrats to the final four finishers on a great tournament!

~ Nick G.

Event #7: Big stack dominates field from start to finish

Ingram - Part-timer John M. joined this season's six regular season event winners by defeating Jim S. in heads-up play late Saturday night in Event #7 of this season's FNCPT. With the victory, John catapult’s 10 places in the overall standings and lands in 11th place with 19.54 points. John's chip stack grew early and ate away at the other stacks like an unstoppable rebel force.

Repeated strange occurrences appeared exclusive to table 2 (the red table) which included several misdeals, the improper moving of 2 players and a red deck short by one card for who know’s how long. The 7 of diamonds was discovered on the floor about an hour into play.

Brian H. was the first casualty of the night after suffering two horrendous beats at the hands of Keith K. and "Buffalo" Bill B. Kevin A. was next followed by the surprising early exit of Nick G. Keith K. was out 16th followed by overall points leader Mike T. to narrow the field to 14 players.

Sean O. was out in 14th place when his pocket kings ran into John M's pocket aces. Sean was followed by Chris S. who moved in for 79k preflop holding pocket 3’s and was called by John M. who rolled over A-K. John hit an ace on the ensuing flop which held up and sent Chris packing in 13th place. Jim O. was eliminated in 12th place when Kyle H’s flopped pair defeated Jim’s 2 over cards. However a short time later, Kyle’s short stack was all-in pre-flop with K-4 o/s. “Buffalo” Bill made the call with pocket 9’s which claimed the pot and put Kyle out in 11th place.

Eric Wej. was eliminated in 10th place when his rivered flush was defeated by John M’s turned boat of jack’s full. Just as that hand concluded and prior to forming the final table of 9 players, Jason Tr. eliminated Jeff R. in 9th place when Jason’s A-Q out-kicked Jeff’s A-5 on the ace-high board.

Anita G. was the first player eliminated from the final table of 8 players when she pushed all-in for 70k with Q-J suited. She was called by none other than John M. with wired 10’s which took the pot. Tom W. was next after his stack was crippled by Angie S’s pocket kings. He was subsequently sent to the rail when his A-J missed the board and Jim S. paired a king. Angie was eliminated next in 6th place by Jim S. when her A-Q missed the board and Jim once again paired his king. “Buffalo” Bill was eliminated on the bubble by chip leader John M. when Bill’s pocket 10’s were defeated by John’s rivered jack.

Jim S, Jason Tr, Jason Ta. and John M. all made the money and started 4 handed play with John holding a dominating chip lead. Jason Tr. was eliminated in 4th place at level 10 with the blinds at 15k-30k and a 5k ante. Jason raised to 100k pre-flop with A-K o/s which was called by John M’s pocket 6’s. Jason missed the flop however called John's bet for his remaining 120k in chips. The turn helped neither player however John actually made a set with a 6 on the river. Jason Ta. was next when he pushed with A-10 however four clubs on the board made John a flush.

John faced Jim S. in heads-up play with roughly a 9-1 chip lead with the blinds at 25k/50k and a 7k ante. Both players battled back and forth for a short time before Jim raised to 150k holding As-10d. John called with the Jc-5h and both players saw the Jh-5d-2s flop. Jim moved all-in and John quickly called with top two pair. The Js on the turn made John a full house and left Jim drawing dead. The meaningless 3d river officially ended the tournament and gave John his first FNCPT win.

Complete results can be viewed here: www.wedgerock.com/fishnchips

Congrats again to John M! Also congrats to runner up Jim S. who broke a cashless drought of 19 consecutive events.



~Jason Tr.

Event #6 is finally in the books

Norborne - With Event #6 wrapping up, we are officially on the downside of the season. Now more than ever, points matter. And although he has a virtual lock on a seat at the Championship table, Nick G. was focused for Event #6, taking home first place.

A week before Halloween, Event #6 was filled with unusual occurrences. The night started slow for Kevin An., a two-time champ of the defunct Wedgerock Poker Tourney. Despite a rebuy, he still finished dead last. Matt Pe. also finished unusually low; after three final tables -- two being cashes -- in his first three events, his night ended with an 18th place finish. Sean O, and Angie S. were the next two out in 17th and 16th respectively.

A couple of members of the $2000 club, Bill B. (15th) and Eric Wel. (14th), both saw their nights come to an end earlier than they would have liked. Pat M. followed his September cash with a disappointing 13th place finish. The eliminations of Jim O. (12th), Jim S. (11th) and Lolly O (10th)., left nine players to form the final table.

Eric Wej. was forced to rebuy early and massaged his chipstack to the final table, but he was the first one out at the final table with a 9th place finish. Brian H. dropped out in 8th followed by newcomer Jason Ta. in 7th. Jason Tr. ended his night on a 6th place finish. But perhaps the most unusual finish of the night was Mike T. busting on the bubble in 5th., ending his run of four straight cashes (earning himself almost a grand over the three-month run).

As the bubble burst, Keith K., Nick G., Anita G. and Jeff R. were left to battle it out for first place; Everyone except Anita G. was already in the top 3 in season points. Jeff R. was the first to be eliminated, earning $90 and enough points to maintain 3rd place overall (down from 2nd). Keith K. finished a respectable 3rd, matching his highest finish in a regular season tournament and earning him $120 in the process. More importantly, Keith jumped 7 spots to seventh place in overall points, meaning if the season ended today, he'd have a seat at the Championship table. Keith's elimination left Nick G. and Anita G. to go heads-up for the top honor.

In the past, headsup play has ended rather quickly. But with these two opponents, it was a knock-down, drag-out battle. While some husbands/wives might be accused of soft-playing one another, both Nick and Anita will readily admit that they play each other more aggressively, neither wanting to concede bragging rights to the other. Nick held a commanding chip lead for most of heads-up play, refusing to get involved in too big of pots when he didn't have the cards. Finally, when Anita hit top pair with an overcard on the flop and pushed all in, Nick called with his overpair. The turn and river both brought bricks and Nick walked away with first place.


With her second place finish, Anita jumped two spots to 4th place overall. Nick's win allowed him to surpass Jeff R. for 3rd place overall, trailing only Mike T. in overall points. The final four from Event #6 could well be a preview of April's Championship table, and the battle between Nick and Mike T. for the Player of the Year title just got a little more interesting.

Complete results can be viewed here: www.wedgerock.com/fishnchips

Congrats again to Nick G!


~Eric Wej.

Event #5 is o-fish-al

Ingram - Event #5 got started a little bit late. There were two no-shows, so we started the tournament with 17 players. But the late start didn't dampen the fireworks early as there were plenty of big pots and big busts. Quad kings were flopped at the red table (Anita) and quad aces were flopped at the black table (Kevin An.).

Eric Wel. was felted first followed by Jason T., both from the red table. After moving Mike T. over, the black table saw a run of busts that ended the evenings for Jim S., Angie S. and Jim O. Nick G. was the only player able to massage a rebuy at least a little while, but he came up short in 12th place, his only non-final table finish of the season. Jeff R. got a PokerStars like bad beat when his pocket queens lost to pocket jacks with a river jack and he ended up 11th. The final table bubble burst when Anita dropped in 10th place.

Keith K. started the final table with the chip lead and quickly added to it with a win in a three-way all in, eliminating Lolly O. and Jim H. on the same hand. The table played 7-handed through the rest of the blind level, but the schedule had reached the oppressive blinds and antes and the players expanded their starting ranges. Kevin An. pushed all in against me, and ended up on the short end, earning a respectable 6th place finish. The money bubble burst when Keith K. lost to the always dangerous Mike T., taking 5th place.

Pat M. managed to take a short stack into the money, at times pushing and taking down the blinds and antes, and at others rolling over the best hand. His tournament ended in 4th place when his pocket sevens didn't hold up against my flopped pair of 9's. The extra chips gave me the ammunition necessary to tangle with Mike T. After I flopped a pair of Queens and pushed all in, Mike went in to the tank before finally calling and turning over a pair of 10's. The pot crippled Mike but put me up near a million chips. Mike pulled another pot to stay alive, but was ultimately felted in the 12th blind level by me. It was Mike's 4th consecutive cash.

Heads up play started with me having roughly a 5:3 chip edge over Bill B. Buffalo Bill built his stack on two lucky all-in suckouts (the river Jack that busted Jeff and spiking an 8 while holding A8 to beat AK) and had tightened up considerably at the final table, either by design or because of bad hole cards. Both of us were deep in chips, both of us were coming off long runs of poor finishes, and it looked as though heads-up might be a long ordeal, as neither of us was ready to commit too many chips.

The third hand of heads up turned out to be the last. Bill raised preflop to 100,000 and I called with a suited king. After spiking a king on the flop, I checked to Bill and he checked right behind. Another spade on the turn had Bill believing that his queen-high flush draw might be the best hand and he applied maximum pressure by pushing his stack in the middle. I called and when the cards were turned up, only a spade would save Bill's tournament. The river came clean with a harmless club and I took down my first tournament of the season and my first cash in over a year.

Coincidentally, I was tracking my performance with the following results by blind level (maybe someone will find it interesting):

1. Played 13 hands, won 2 pots, ending chip stack of 90,500
2. Played 9 hands, won 2 pots, ending chip stack of 184,500
3. Played 13 hands, won 3 pots, ending chip stack of 175,500
4. Played 9 hands, won 0 pots, ending chip stack of 90,500
5. Played 9 hands, won 2 pots, ending chip stack of 142,500
6. Played 9 hands, won 3 pots, ending chip stack of 286,000
7. Played 11 hands, won 1 pot, ending chip stack of 257,000
8. Played 11 hands, won 2.5 pots (one pot was chopped), ending chip stack of 325,000 [final table formed after this blind level]
9. Played 12 hands, won 0 pots, ending chip stack of 159,000 [started 9-handed, ended 7-handed]
10. Played 16 hands, won 2 pots, ending chip stack of 90,500 [ended 5-handed]
11. Played 13 hands, won 4 pots, ending chip stack of 968,000 [ended 3-handed
12. Played 6 hands, won 3 pots, ending chip stack of about 2m.

Total hands played: 131 Total pots won: 24.5 (18.7%)

Complete tournament results can be found under the "Standings" tab.

Incidentally, the only other full tournament I won was in April of 2008, the first event of the 2008 Wedgerock Poker Tourney Season. I was wearing the same shirt that night... I think I have a new lucky shirt (though I did wear it to Events 2 and 3 of the 2008 WPT and it didn't prove lucky).

Thanks to the players who came out for Event #5.

~Eric Wej.

Event #4 Recap: Newcomer Chris S. wins double stack freezeout extravaganza

Norborne – Substitute Chris S. defeated fellow MSU alum Nick G. in heads-up play late Saturday night to claim victory in Event #4 of this season’s Fish ‘N’ Chips Poker Tour. Chris was actually a late edition to the field Saturday afternoon with the last minute cancellation of Eric Wel.

The deep stack freeze out tournament began with a full field of 19 players and a league record 3.8 million chips in play. Jason T, Keith K, Jim S, John M and “Buffalo” Bill B. all failed to gain any traction early on and were among the first players eliminated. Lolly O, Jeff R, Brian H. and Jim O. eventually joined them on the rail. Ray M. was the 10th player eliminated after leaving the tournament prematurely and roughly 20k in chips on the table when his A-J was busted by Tom W’s A-9. In the hand, each player flopped an ace however the turn brought a 9. Ray walked out before the river card was turned which offered no help and Tom scooped the pot. Ray’s remaining chips were blinded off over the next orbit and a half until he was officially eliminated.

The Matt’s (Matt Pe. and Matt A.), Anita G, Eric Wej. and Angie (Eric and Angie on the same hand) were busted at the hands of the big stack’s Nick G, Chris S. and Mike T. and were eliminated 9th, 8th, 7th, 6th and 5th respectively. Tom W. was next when Chris' two pair was better. Mike T. hung around like a bad smell and literally folded his way to 3rd place after having his stack crippled 7-handed by Nick G’s set of queens. He was left with 40k in chips but survived a few all-in bets to build his stack back up however he was eventually eliminated in 3rd place when his all-in bet with pocket 3’s was called by Nick’s 8-10 o/s which caught a 10 on the ensuing flop.

Nick entered heads-up play with just under a 2-1 chip lead however his stack suffered a huge dent early on when he called Chris’ all-in bet with A-J. Chris showed pocket 9’s and won the early race. The two players went back and forth with Nick battling back and eventually regaining a slight chip lead over his opponent. Then fireworks erupted again. Nick raised to 620k with pocket 5’s preflop. Chris re-raised all-in with Q-J. Nick called and led all the way until the river made Chris a king high straight. Nick was left with 75k in chips which went in the middle on the very next and final hand. Chris’ Ah-Jd bettered Nick’s Ac-7h on the Qc-6c-8d-8h-4s board giving Chris the victory.


Complete results can be viewed here:
www.wedgerock.com/fishnchips



Congratulations to Chris S. on his win!

~ Jason

Event #3: The Classic Match-up Show Down, Ace-King Versus Small Pocket Pair

Norborne - Event three was the FNCPT’s first T5,000 event. The change in structure proved to be a bit of a challenge at first for a few players. The red table started out in the first blind level with intensity. Many big match-ups occurred in the first three blind levels with 4 rebuys from the red table alone. Kevin An. proved to be a major contender early on raking in many of these big pots.

The blue table took a more calculated approach, there were big hands played but no dominant chip leader emerged from the brawl. After the first break, Kevin An. continued to build his stack on the red table, while Matt Pe. was methodically adding to a stack of his own on the blue table. Both tables ran down to five players and eventually Angie S. went out and the final table joined.

It was a quick stay at the final table for Anita G., Tom W., and Jeff R., who were knocked out one after another, completely clearing out one side of the table. Newcomer John M. hung around as the short stack a little longer, but eventually succumbed to the big fish at the table. A battle then ensued. As Kevin An. still stood strong, Matt Pe., Nick G., Sean O., and Mike T., duked it out. There were many big pots played, but eventually Mike T. took out Sean O. who went all in with a small pocket pair and finished on the bubble.

Nick G. almost caught up in chips to Kevin An. through many hands. He went up against Kevin An. and lost to a king high flush, making Nick G. the fourth place finisher. As the blinds increased quickly, Matt Pe. lost to Mike T. in a race for second. Kevin An. and Mike T. then went at it head to head.

Many pots were exchanged back and forth between the two and the blinds made it up to 2,000/4,000 with a 200 ante. In a classic match-up the winner finally emerged. Mike T. went all-in pre-flop with As-Kd and Kevin An. quickly called with 7h-7d.

The flop came out 5c-7s-2h, Kevin A. catching trips. A glimmer of hope for Mike T. came on the turn as an Ah was flipped over, but a 4c came on the river and Kevin A. took home 1st.

Congratulations to Kevin A. and see you all in August!

~Anita

Event #2 Recap: Mike T. reels in 3rd career tournament win

Berwick - Mike T. has quickly earned "Shark" status by winning his 3rd career tournament (in just his last 8 events played) Saturday night in Event #2 of this season's FNCPT. As expected with a rebuy and add-on event, the tournament progressed very slowly over the first 4 blind levels despite nine players (half the field) purchasing a rebuy and another seven adding-on and bringing the total chips in play to a staggering 2.64 million.

The final table didn't merge until level 8 with the antes and blinds at 2k-7k-15k. Yours truly was the first casualty of the final nine when I was eliminated by Jeff R. who caught runner, runner for a straight. Anita was next followed by Nick who were both nursing short chip stacks. Angie was eliminated in 6th and Jim S, who has had a tough run of luck lately, bubbled in 5th. Newcomer Matt Pe. made the money however was sent packing in 4th place by chip leader Mike.

Mike, Jim H. and Jeff started BSB play at level 15 where the ante and blinds reached an unprecedented 30k-100k-200k. Event #1 champ Jeff was bumped off in 3rd by brother-in-law Mike when Jeff's "Bookends" (A-10) ran into Mike's "Big Chick" (A-Q).

Heads-up play between Jim H. (who was long overdue in the money) and Mike didn't last long. Just a few hands in, Jim raised big with K-9 o/s and Mike quickly moved all-in. Jim called and Mike rolled over two red 6's. Jim picked up a gut-shot straight draw on the A-10-Q flop but the 5h turn and 2h river missed giving Mike the victory.



The dirty river card proved to be the evening’s true villain as several large pots and eliminations were decided by it.

Complete results can be found here: www.wedgerock.com/fishnchips

Thanks for playing everyone and congratulations to Mike T!

~ Jason

Event #1 Recap: The ORPL strikes first

Norborne - As the Wedgerock Poker Tourney and the Old Rosedale Poker League combined to form one league, it was the ORPL who drew first blood.

The inaugural event in the Fish N Chips Poker Tour was not your average poker tournament. At least at the blue table, pocket aces were no good; I saw them cracked at least three times. Also, it took longer than usual to combine to the final table. However, once the final table formed, players began to drop in bunches (victims of their dwindling M).

In the end, the ORPL cashed three players and the WPT none (Jim O. has played in the WPT in the past but did not play last season). And although there were four married couples in the field, Nick G. (4th) and Anita G. (3rd) were the only ones the managed to both cash (Jim O. also cashed with his wife was in the field). After Nick and Anita both were felted, Jeff R. and Jim O. were left to go heads up. The two battled back and forth untiel Jeff's ace-seven suited held up against Jim queen-ten offsuit, and Jeff walked away with first place.

Complete results can be found here: http://www.wedgerock.com/fishnchips/

Thanks to everyone who came out and congrats again to Jeff R.


~ Eric

Coming soon to the felt near you: Fish N Chips Poker Tour

Starting in May 2009, the Fish N Chips Poker Tour is kicking off. Two leagues (Wedgerock Poker Tourney and Old Rosedale Poker League) are combining into one. If you played in the WPT, it will be very familiar to you, except that we are going to run a few different formats (different starting stacks, rebuys, freezeouts, deep stacks, etc.). If you played in the ORPL, about the only difference is that we are adding a third venue in Dearborn Heights.

The FNCPT will run every month for 11 months culminating in a post season in April 2010. Details on the first event will be announced soon. The venues will rotate between Nick/Anita's, Jason's and Eric Wej.'s. There are no set players. The first 19 people to pay each month will get a seat. All players earn points and will be eligible for post season tournaments.

The point in combining the two leagues was to fill up the seats easier. There will be a harsh No Call/No Show policy to encourage attendance.

We intend to run a cash game at each event, as soon as there are enough players, so even if you aren't playing in the tournament, feel free to come by for the cash game.

The first event will be held at Eric Wej's. An initial email will go out soon to the most consistent and reliable players from each league. Once those players confirm their seats, an email will go out to everyone else to fill up any of the remaining seats. The entire season schedule will be set before Event #1.

See you at the felt!

Eric, Jason, Nick & Anita
FNCPT Tournament Directors