Jason Tr. Claims Victory and First Overall on Leader Board

The night started out a little unusual. First off, one of the hosts was nowhere to be found to greet the incoming players nor was he there to help sign people in and collect the buy ins. Instead, Bill B. had to assist Anita G. in doing this and his work was greatly appreciated says Anita G.. As for the other host, Nick G., an unconfirmed report has him in the upstairs bathroom taking a shower while simultaneously puking after a day at the Big Chill. Nick G. neither confirmed nor denied this account, but regardless he made it downstairs right as the cards were flying.

The tournament was a T20K structure with unlimited full rebuys and it played accordingly totaling 20 original buyins for a full house and 22 rebuys. Rewards go out to Nick G. and Brian N. for the most rebuys, both at 4 before the completion of the third blind level. A second award goes out to our top two finishers without using a single rebuy, Jason Tr. and Jim H..

The green table which included Nick G. and Brian N. as expected had the most rebuys at 15. The pace started out fast with certain people overplaying second pair or refusing to go away with a gut shot straight draw. First to leave the tournament was Mike T. after only 1 rebuy at the oval table. Next in line was Angie S. once again at the oval table refusing to be enticed by the optional cheap rebuy. Bill B. who started out strong at the square table managed to find himself out in 18th after a bad beat and left in the usual anger fashion also refusing to rebuy. The gentleman out 17th was one who rarely shows his face anymore, but after a fun night at the Big Chill and not a horrible run at cards may return for the next event; Eric J. rebought once at the oval table. Chris S. was out 16th opting for only a single rebuy once again at the oval table. As you can see, the oval table had more players leaving simply because of the lack of rebuys. Around this mark the square table had 13 rebuys. Newcomer, Brian N, showed he was great for the game leaving in 15th with 4 rebuys at the square table. Nick G. continually begged him to rebuy so his wife would excuse him after he rebought again and again. Brian N. maxed out at 4 therefore Nick G. was also held at 4. Keith K. followed his spouse in refusing to rebuy and finishing 14th at the oval table. One of the tournament directors, Eric W., also refused to rebuy and finished 13th after being moved to the oval table. Anita G. finished the tournament in 12 opting for only the single rebuy. Big talker, Matt P., who was quoted as saying, "this is my kind of tournament", finished a meekly 11th place with no rebuys, possibly because of the late stage of the tournament, but regardless he did not back up his pretournament talk. Jason Ta. finished at the final table bubble with only a single rebuy.

1

The final table was formed and as one could guess the rebuys were still an option but becoming less viable because of the blind levels approaching 1K-2K. It was at this point in the tournament, Nick G. was back to being sober and playing great cards. Please note, Nick G., is also writing the blog. John M. was the tables' first victim who previously rebought once. Lolly O. was next out in 8th after rebuying twice a long time ago at this point.

Now to the action, Erik M. made a preflop raise to $40K only for Nick G. to make a strangely excellent reraise of $85K. The trap was set and blinded by the great play Erik M. announced all in for approximately $200K in chips. Nick G. uncharacteristically quickly announces call. Erik M. flipped over pocket Jacks only for Nick G. to flip over pocket Aces. The Aces held up and Nick G. was chip leader after previously rebuying 4 times and possibly starting the tournament half in the bag. It was obvious he had sobered up now and the only problem was he left Erik. M. with just over 10K in chips. Erik M. was able to run those 10K in chips back to over 60K in chips before finishing in 7th after a bad beat from Jason Tr. with pocket 6's finding its third to pocket 9's of Erik M.. Pat M. who played a solid tournament was previously a victim of a bad beat from Erik M. and just holding on to his remaining chips before being knocked out in 6th. The top 5 played very conservatively exchanging chips and not wanting to be the money bubble boy. There were multiple times Nick G., Jim S., Jim. O, and Jim. H were all in and on the brinks of elimination, but managed to find a way out. Nick G.'s chips were dwindling from the one time chip leader and were in one of those situations previously stated with Jim O., but managed to pull a victory out with his A-Q holding up against Jim O.'s K-J. A few hands later Jim O. went up against Nick G. again and again were in an inferior position with his A-Q vs. Nick G.'s A-K. A queen on the river devastated Nick G. putting an end to his up, down and puking night in 5th.

The top four also played it out to the bitter end exchanging blows and possibly because everyone was calling each other Jim, but it was Jim H. out in fourth. A congratulatory note should be made to Jim H. who managed to cash in his 3rd consecutive league tournament. Congratulations Jim H.! Jim O. was next out in 3rd and also had a respectable 3 rebuys. May the rebuys be well represented! Jim S. finished 2nd on the night with 2 rebuys. A congratulatory note should also be made to Jim S.. Jim S. has only played in 5 tournaments with 2 first place victories and now this 2nd place finish has him in the 3rd spot on the leader board. He is also the top money maker this season. Imagine if he played in all 8 tournaments. Great job Jim S.!

And now to Jason Tr. (pictured above because I couldn't get the blog to post it here [Editor's Note: picture moved to its traditional location below]) who outlasted the Jim's and also managed to play some solid cards, expressing many times throughout the night that he was ready to go home because he had to work the next day. As fate would have it, he played for 1st place just after 3AM when the blind levels were maxed out at 10K-20K and his A-9 beat out Jim S.'s K-6 (also pictured above because I couldn't get the blog to post it here [Editor's Note: also moved below... Cut and paste, Nick, its a pretty pedestrian concept. ;) ]). Congratulations to Jason Tr. for taking 1st place and also taking over 1st place overall in the leader board ousting Nick G. from the top spot. It is now a tight race with 3 events left between the top 3 on the leader board, Jason Tr. (41.86 pts), Nick G. (40.13 pts), Jim S. (39.80 pts) and the remaining top 8 for the Championship. Thanks to all for playing.

~ Nick G.

Woogie crushes field and claims S2E7

Ingram - Kevin "Woogie" A. defeated opponent Jim H. in heads-up play Saturday night and picked up his second career FNCPT win in Event #7 of this season's Fish 'N' Chips Poker Tour! Kevin came to the final table with a huge chip lead and completely crushed the opposition with his big-stack play.

With the smell of limburger cheese in the air courtesy of Jim H, play started out rather slow at the red table as the evening's first 3 eliminations (John M., Fran D. and Lolly O.) all came from the bronze table. Jason Tr. (out 17th) was the first casualty at the red table. Angie was next followed by Jim O, Nick and then Keith. "Buffalo" Bill was out 12th and Eric Wej. was sent to the rail in 11th balancing the two tables at five players apiece.

Sean O. was eliminated in 10th place after he re-raised Jim H's 40,000 chip bet to 160,000 all-in with blinds at 5,000/10,000/1,000. Sean's pocket 9's led the race against Jim's A-Q until the dreaded river card brought a queen. Sean was out and the final table formed.

Anita was out 9th when she pushed her short stack in with rags in an attempt to pick up the antes and blinds. Unfortunately she ran into Woogie's pocket cowboys which took the pot.

Next to bite the tournament dust was Chris S. Although pumped up at one point, Chris' stack was dwindling when he found himself in the big blind with pocket 9's with blinds at 10k/20k/3k. Matt Pe. raised to 45k PF with K-Q. Chris pushed for 60k more and Matt called. A king hit the the flop and Chris was out in 8th.

Mike T. was out next when he raised in the BB to 90k with blinds at 15k/30k/5k. Woogie re-popped it to 190k and Mike moved-in for 30k on top. Woogie called and showed A-Q. Mike's K-10 missed the flop but Woogie hit a queen. The turn and river brought no help and Mike was eliminated in 7th place.

Jason Ta. bubbled in 5th place when he pushed his last 54k in with the Kh-10h and was called by the other 4 players at the table. Although he made 2 pair on the river, Kevin filled his straight and Jason was out.

Jeff R. managed to hang around long enough to secure a 4th place cash with 4 BB's (200k) in his stack with blinds at 25k/50k/7k. He pushed with the J-Q of hearts and was called by both Kevin and Matt who both had A-K. Both A-K's ended up making boats and the pot was chopped while Jeff was eliminated.

Blinds reached 40k/80k/10k when Matt moved all-in for 280k with A-Q o/s. Kevin called with pocket 3's which held up and Matt was out in 3rd place.

Head's-up between Kevin and Jim began with blinds still at 40k/80k/10k and with Kevin having a 3 to 1 edge in chips. After several hands, both players agreed to chop prize money and play for the points. On the final hand of the tournament, Jim raised to 180k with As-3c. Kevin called with the Qd-9h. The flop came out Js-5h-5d. Jim moved in and Kevin called. Jim was ahead however Kevin picked up an OESD on the 10s turn. The river brought the Ks which filled Kevin's straight and gave him the win.


This is Kevin's second consecutive tournament win as he took down the 9 player, non-league Player's Club Invitational on October 18th.


Congrats to Kevin on his win and thanks to everyone who came out for S2E7.

~Jason Tr.

"April Eight" Update:
Even with a 14th place finish, Nick's lead was large enough to hang on to first place (though he is no longer on pace to beat Mike T's POTY total from last year). Likewise, despite missing the last two events, Jim S. remains second in points, largely on the strength of two wins this season. Sean and Jason Ta. both jumped up one spot while Jason Tr. fell two spots. Jim H's second place finish bumped him up into the April Eight, pushing John M. and Mike T. back one spot and leaving Anita on the outside looking in. Kevin A's win this month vaulted him 12 spots to the cusp of the April Eight, less than three points behind Mike T.

With only four events remaining, it appears that the April Eight seats will be hotly contested.

Nick Wins Event #6...Gaming Commission Opens Investigation

Norborne - If you have been looking, you probably haven't seen much written about Event #6. In fact, even the league's Twitter site has been scrubbed my the Gaming Commission. Shortly after S2E6, the Commission launched a full investigation and they have been interviewing staff and patrons alike. They have a team of analysts reviewing the feeds from all the cameras rolling during play.

Here is what we know for sure (from Twitter): Matt Pe. crippled Eric W. at the blue table by flopping a set of kings. Other than that, the details are extremely sketchy.

The video recordings were taken by the Gaming Commission within hours of the event ending. Although some security personnel have made statements about what they recall, no one can corroborate the information without the video recordings. All we know is that allegedly, Nick eliminated six of the other eight people at the final table; only newcomers Ged and Ted were eliminated by someone other than Nick.

Adding to the mystery, the tournament records show that Kevin A. finished 13th, but we crossed referenced the time frame with the records from the valet, and we know that Kevin left well before 3 players were eliminated. Interestingly, it was Nick that eliminated Kevin, taking the last of his stack. The Commission is investigating the possibility that Kevin was involved in collusion.

Nick did not linger long after the tournament, instead opting to take his first prize money and run. Shortly after he left the building, the Gaming Commission called the proprietors to ask about the unusual events surrounding the final table. We've been able to obtain a transcript of the telephone call and the relevant portions are produced below:

Gaming Commission: He took out 6 of the 8 other players at the final table. Do you have any idea what the odds are?

Head of Security: It's gotta be in the millions, maybe more.

GC: Six [expletive deleted] eliminations at the final table?! Why didn't you call us?

HS: It happened so quick. I didn't have a chance.

GC: You didn't see the scam?

HS: There's no way to determine that.

GC: Yes, there is. Nick won!

HS: It's a poker game. People gotta win sometimes.

GC: You're [expletive deleted] me off. Now you're insulting my intelligence. You know [expletive deleted] well somebody had to get into that deck and set those [expletive deleted] cards. The probability of Nick knocking one person out is a million and a half to one. On knocking out six people, it's in the billions. What's the matter with you? Didn't you see you were being set up?

HS: I think you're overreacting.

GC: Listen, you [expletive deleted] yokel. We've been carrying your [expletive deleted] ever since we got here. Get your ass outta here.

HS: You're firing me?

GC: We're firing you.

HS: You might regret this.

GC: We'll regret it if we keep you.

HS: This is not the way to treat people.

GC: If you didn't know, you're too [expletive deleted] dumb. If you did know, you were in on it. Either way, you're out. Get out. Come on, let's go.

We are not allowed to make any official comment until after the Commission finishes their investigation and releases their findings. Until then, Nick has an asterisk next to his name in the win column.

___

With all apologies to the writers of the movie Casino (which included a scene that formed the basis of the Commission's "phone call"), the truth is that I didn't have anyone tracking eliminations (there was no one to "tweet the deets"), and being the first one out, I dealt until a cash game started, so I never saw any hands at the final table.

Yes, Nick won, and he did so in impressive fashion by, as mentioned above, knocking out all but two players from the final table. His victory was well-earned and the above tongue-in-cheek "investigation" is not intended to cast doubt on him as a player (I had to write that...he threatened to sue me).

Limit play slowed the action considerably. Through two breaks, I don't think we lost anyone. We had very few capped raises at the blue table, though I did hear a few more from the red table. It seemed that stacks stayed relatively close for most of the night, but when players started to fall, they went out in bunches.

Red canceled late because of a sinus infection, leaving us with just 17 players. Kevin left after the first break, either bored by or frustrated with the limit structure. His stack stayed on the table and he was blinded off.

I was the first one out, unable to outlast Kevin's chipstack. Next were John M., Bill B. and Anita. Kevin's stack hung around to go out in 13th place, however, as stated in the rules, (Section 9: Tournament Play, Absent/Late Players, page 17) because Kevin was gone for more than 20 minutes and failed to return before his chips were blinded off, he forfeited all points earned in the tournament. The "collusion" comments about Kevin above were also tongue-in-cheek (yeah, he threatened to sue me too).

Outlasting Kevin's chipstack but unable to make in to the final table, the next victims were Keith K., Sean and Jason Tr., in that order. The final table formed with Angie S., Lolly, Jim H., Matt Pe., Nick, and subs Erik M., Ged O., Jason Ta. and Ted S.

Nick really began to find his groove at the final table. Lolly was Nick's first victim, followed by Jason Ta. and Matt Pe. This was Matt Pe's 10th event, giving him enough events to appear on the Highest Average Cash per Event leaderboard; he debuted at #5 with $64.50 in earnings per event. Congrats, Matt.

Angie was the last woman standing, being claimed as Nick's next victim in 6th place. She was followed by newcomer Ted who bubbled in 5th place. Another newcomer, Ged, finished in the money in 4th place (incidentally, John M. has invited three guests to the games so far: Red, Ged, and Ted. Seriously. It's like he's trying to write a nursery rhyme), and Erik M. took home 3rd place money, his first cash since ORPL Season 2.

Jim H. and Nick met heads up and although I didn't see the action, it sounded like Nick had a couple of major suckouts. Shortly after midnight, the final hand came down Jim holding and Nick holding . Nick flopped a flush draw, but with only the river to come, Jim was a 3:1 favorite to double up. In fact, he's got an app for that:


But this was Nick's night. Despite being dead to a ten or a spade, the river brought Nick the flush that dispatched with Jim's queen-high.


And when all the chips settled, Nick was on top of the mountain.


And now, the push for the Championship table begins. With only five events to play, Nick's win catapulted him to the catbird's seat with 36.58 points. Nick's performance has been so dominating that he is on pace for 67.06 points, a mark that would surpass the last season's Player of the Year, Mike T (66.76). Jim S. is right behind at 35.50 points and Jason Tr. (29.11) rounds out the top 3. In the middle of the pack, Sean O. (28.80), Jason Ta. (26.39) and John M. (24.72) are all looking to make up ground. The final two spots are currently held by Mike T. (21.66) and Anita G. (19.92), both of who hope to hold on to their seats; there are five people that are within 5 points of moving into 7th place and ousting either one of them.

Congrats to Nick, and thanks to everyone for playing in S2E6.

Jim S. pulls in another big one

Norborne - Jim S. outlasted Sean O. in a grueling heads-up battle Saturday night to claim his second Fish 'N' Chips Poker Tour victory of the season! With the win, Jim received 17.32 points and moves to first overall in the standings. He also cracked the $1,000 career earnings milestone.


There was plenty of action early on at the red table with several huge pots being scooped in the first blind level. I (Jason Tr.) was the first casualty of the 20 person field after getting short-stacked and flopping 4 to a flush and turning an OESD. I never got there and Pat M's pocket aces took my stack. Anita was next at the blue table when she got in short with A-5 and flopped 2 pair against Sean's pocket cowboys however Sean rivered a 2-outer king for the winning set. Newcomer Red M. checked out in 18th place when he couldn't beat Erik M's deuces full of 4's in a 300k pot. Jim S. picked up a double elimination of Pat M. (17th) and Jim H. (16th) when he rivered a jack for a bigger full house over Jim H's 5's full.

Lolly was out 15th when her 112k all-in with A-J was called by Mike T's "Ace Magnets" which held up. Jeff R. followed when his "Ace Magnets" collided into "Buffalo" Bill's flopped set of 8's.

At the second break with 13 players remaining, Jim S. seated at the red table was the overall chip leader with about 900k, "Buffalo" Bill (also at the red table) was 2nd with roughly 600k, Sean O. over at the blue table was 3rd with a shade over 500k and Eric Wej. (blue table) was sitting in 4th with 360k.

Angie was out in 13th place when she moved her last 59k in with A-6 and faced Jim O's pocket 6's which actually flopped a set. Fran was next when his pocket 8's were destroyed by Jim O's pocket 4's which turned a straight. John was out in 11th followed by Nick in 10th (both on the blue table) thus forming the final table. [citation needed]

There were several stacks hanging on as the blinds increased, including Jason Ta. His prflop allin was called by Eric Wej. Jason tabled 77 while Eric showed JJ. But a 7 hit the flop and held and Jason doubled up through Eric. An orbit later, Jason would make Eric the first player eliminated from the final nine. Eric raised 3xBB preflop and Jason pushed all in with Eric calling. Jason showed AQ to Eric's AK, but a queen on the flop pushed a pot of nearly 1 million chips to Jason and sent Eric packing. Matt Pe. was next when he called Erik M's all-in for 250k with, you guessed it, A-K. Erik's pocket 9's flopped, you guessed it, a set. Mike followed when he moved it in for 95k holding K-8 and was called by Sean O's K-Q. Trip 7's came on the turn but Sean's queen kicker was the deciding factor. "Buffalo" Bill was eliminated in 6th place when he moved in his last 175k with A-3 and was called by Sean's pocket 5's which led all the way to the river and eventually completed a 4-8 straight. Erik M. was the S2E5 "Bubble Boy" out in 5th place when his all-in with A-7 was called by big stack Jim S's Q-8. Erik led through the turn but the river card made Jim an 8-Q straight.

4 handed play between Jim S, Jim O, Sean O. and Jason Ta. began with blinds at 40k-80k-10k. Jim O. was out 4th when he re-raised Sean O's raise of 260k to about 500k all-in with Kd-Qd. Sean called and showed Ah-3d. Jim picked up a flush draw on the turn card however the river missed him and Sean took the nearly 1 million chip pot with ace high.

Jason Ta's tournament death knell came with blinds at 60k-120k-20k when he moved in PF with pocket jacks and was called by Jim S's pocket 10's. Jim flopped a set and Jason lost 630k on the hand. A few hands later he was eliminated when he moved his remaining 230k in with Qs-4c and was called by Jim S's Kd-7h. Jim turned a king, took the 500k pot and heads-up play began.

Heads-up play began between Jim and Sean with 6:50 remaining in the 60k-120k-20k level. Sean had the edge in chips with 2.3 million over Jim's 1.7 million. Both players battled back and forth with each other through the 60k-120k level until Sean cut Jim's stack nearly in half on a king high flop followed by a big bet and a fold by Jim. Sean had his opponent hooked, was in a position to land him and win the tournament. This would be his first career regular season victory. However it would not be. The fish got away. On the hand that should have been, it turned out to be Sean's tournament death knell. With blinds at 100k-200k, Jim doubled-up back to 1.7 million when he hit runner, runner for a flush against Sean's flopped 2 pair of ace's and 7's. Both players continued to trade pots through the level until Jim struck again taking a 1 million chip pot with the 6h-7h against Sean's 8h-9h. On the hand, Jim rivered an 8 high straight.

On the final hand of the tournament, Jim checked his 2 pair of queen's and 7's on the Qc-7c-6c flop. Sean holding the 6h-4d quickly moved all-in. Jim insta-called and the turn brought the 4c which made Sean a smaller 2 pair. Sean missed his 6 outer on the 2h river and Jim claimed his second career FNCPT victory.


Congratulations to Jim S. on his win and thanks to everybody who attended S2E5!


~Jason Tr.

Jason Ta. Dominates Field in Inaugural Pot Limit Omaha Tournament

Berwick - Season 2 Event #4 was Fish 'N' Chips Poker Tour's inaugural Pot Limit Omaha Tournament. The event was specifically designed to mix things up in a league of Texas Hold'em Tournaments. The tournament was well received by participants, but did get people out of their comfort zone as intended to make cracking the top eight for the league championship even more difficult.


The summary of the event was Jason Ta. dominated a field of 17 players. The tournament was arranged to have a full rebuy for a discounted rate to promote action and participation. The two tables to start the tournament played very different. The square table, which held Jason Ta., Bill B. Keith K., Larry P., Anita G., Eric W., Jason Tr., and Nick G. contained the first and only 5 rebuys mostly due to Jason Ta.'s aggressive pressure on multiple drawing hands. Once Jason Ta. doubled his stack he continued the pressure and put the smaller stacks to the test leaving him the prevailer.

The oval table consisting of Kevin A., Jim O., John M., Pat M., Fran D., Ray S., Mike T., Sean O. and Chris S. only displayed one bust out before the rebuy break with the busted player opting out of the optional rebuy. It was not long before the final table convened with most of the knockouts happening with stronger hands than one would see in a typical hold'em game. For the first time a third table opened for the busted out players to start playing cash. The degenerate gamblers could not wait.

The final table was made up of Jason Ta., Kevin A., Mike T., Sean O., Nick G., Fran D., Bill B., Jason T., and Anita G. Congratulation to those players on making the final table. The final table moved quickly and it seemed like it may be an early night. Not before long it was Fran D. busting out on the bubble.

The final four comprising of Jason Ta., Mike T., Sean O. and Nick G. played very slow relative to the rest of the tournament nearly lasting 3 hours to 2:00am. Sean O. was the first of the four to be dismissed. Jason Ta. held his dominate chip position, but it seemed like Nick G. and Mike T. were able to take small stabs at the chip stack. A critical position of the night was where Jason Ta. held ~200K, Nick G. held ~140K and Mike T. held ~80K. Nick G. got tangled with Mike T. in a pot where Mike T. called pot preflop with Nick G. calling and Jason Ta. folding. The flop came with 2 over card Kd-10d to Nick G.'s two medium pocket pairs and a flush draw. Mike T. came out swinging by potting it again and therefore going all in. Nick G. tanked for a couple minutes and ended up folding. Mike T. stuck the needle in by showing Ace high with a gut shot wheel draw. Nick's medium pocket pair was ahead and could have ended Mike T.'s night, but the bluff worked well or possible Nick misplayed his hand. Not too far after this key point which brought Mike T.'s chip stack equal with Nick G.'s, Nick G. put himself in a bad position against the chip leader Jason Ta. and was busted out leaving the final two. It didn't take long for Jason Ta. with a more than 3:1 chip lead to take out Mike T. who was quoted after finishing great in the tournament as calling the event "horrible", probably because of its uncomfortable nature.


The event can be summed up as a great success at something different and accomplished its goal of creating that something different. Congratulations to Jason Ta. who was chip leader only after a few minutes of the tournament and literally never looked back dominating the tournament from start to finish.

John M. lands second career FNCPT win

Norborne - John M. managed to grind his way through a field of 18 players Saturday night and defeat big stack Nick G. in head's-up play to claim his second career FNCPT victory!


Nick started out crushing the red table, eliminating the first three of his table-mates. Jim H. was Nick's first victim when his pocket cowboys ran into Nick G's flopped set of 6's.

Kevin An. was Nick's next catch (out 16th) when he re-raised Nick's 4,500 bet all-in for a total of 56k. Nick called and revealed A-Q while Kevin tabled pocket queens. Nick flopped an ace which held up through the turn and river.

After getting shortish (about 50,000), last month's winner Jim S. pushed all-in for four consecutive hands. Just as he was gaining some traction, Mike M. crippled him, bettering Jim's river flush with quad 4's on the flop. A few hands later, Jim re-raised Nick's 12k bet all-in for 40k all-day. Nick called and showed A-Q while Jim flipped over wired 7's. Jim led until a river 10 made Nick the winning straight. Jim was Nick's third victim, leaving in 15th place.

Eric took a tremendous hit to his stack in a 3-way all-in between Mike T. and Anita. Mike moved all-in for about 35,000 and Anita called before Eric pushed on top. Anita called for less and showed pocket jacks while Eric turned over A-K and Mike revealed J-T. Mike won the main pot, tripling up, while Anita's pocket jacks held up and crippled Eric. Nursing a short stack, Eric was eliminated in 13th place holding K-J os when he was called by Mike's pocket tens.

Anita was out 11th when she moved in for 49k after the flop and was called by Mike T. who flopped a flush. Anita claimed only one pot the entire night.

With 10 players remaining, both tables played hand-for-hand with blinds at 3,000/6,000 and a 500 ante. As fast as the first eight eliminations went, the tenth elimination took some time as the tables played hand-for-hand. Fran D. capped his inaugural event with a 10th place finish, pushing with K-T os and getting called by Joe L's 4c-5c. Joe spiked a 5 on the flop and the turn and river brought no help for Fran. With Fran eliminated, seats were re-drawn for the final table, with blinds still at a manageable 5,000/10,000/1,000 ante.

Nick held a commanding chip lead at the final table. Joe L. was crippled after he called Sean's all-in of 136k after a 40k raise by Angie. Angie got out of the way and Sean revealed pocket deuces while Joe showed A-Q. Sean's deuces won the race as the board missed Joe. On the next hand, Mike T. raised to 30k and Jason Tr. moved all-in for 58k on top. Joe L. called with only 26k left in his stack and after tanking for a minute, Mike folded. Jason rolled over pocket 10's while Joe showed K-Jo. (Note: Eric was eliminated holding K-J os, sitting in the same seat as Joe, getting called by pocket tens.) The 10-7-7 flop gave Jason a full house and Joe drew dead, finishing in 9th place.

Mike T's night ended in 8th place after his 42k all-in was called by none other than Nick G. who made an all-in isolation raise. Nick's Q-9 os faced Mike's 9d-10d. Nick picked up his 4th elimination with queen high after the board missed Mike.

Chris S. was eliminated in 7th place when he moved-in blind for 37k and was called by both John M. and Mike T. who checked it to the river until John made a 20k bet. Mike folded and John's pocket 6's took the pot.

Jason doubled-up when he moved-in with Ad-5h os UTG with blinds at 10,000/20,000/5,000 and was called by Nick G's pocket jacks which remained ahead until miracle running diamonds on the turn and river made Jason a winning flush. After the river card was dealt, Jason let out what was described as a "primal scream". Nick's stack took a serious hit with back-to-back runner-runner losses, doubling up two players at the table.

A few hands later, Jason eliminated sub Mike M. in 6th place. After Mike made it 40k preflop, Jason flat called. After the flop, Mike made a continuation bet and Jason re-raised all-in for 88k. Jason showed pocket eights while Mike revealed an OESD. The turn and river were bricks for Mike (Jason made a set) and his night was over.

Sean was out in 5th on the bubble after he moved all-in for 56k and was called by John and Nick. John bet 20k on the Qd-Kh-4h flop. Nicked folded and Sean showed Qh-10d. John revealed As-Kc. John's kings held up and Sean became the bubble boy.

Four-handed play started with blinds at 20,000/40,000/5,000 and included massive chip leader Nick G, Angie S, Jason Tr. and John M. Angie managed to survive two all-in's to build her short stack up a little. She, however, became Nick's fifth victim of the night. With the blinds at 25k/50k/7k, she called Nick's all-in bet and turned over A-Q. Nick slowly revealed pocket 4's. The 8c-7s-7c-K-s-6s board missed Angie, although she was rewarded with 4th place money after getting brutalized last month with back-to-back set-over-set.

With blinds fresh at 40k/80k/10k, Jason pushed all-in blind in the BB for 265k. John quickly called with pocket queens and Jason turned over J-3 os. The flop of 8c-9s-10h brought Jason an OESD, but he failed to fill up on the turn and river and with Jason out in 3rd, heads up play began.

Heads-up play started with Nick holding a commanding chip lead over John and both players exchanged pots into level 13 (blinds: 40k/80k/10k). John continued to put pressure on Nick who was forced to fold several hands after going card dead into level 14 where blinds reached 60k/120k/20k.

John seized control of play by crippling Nick when his queen hit the flop. Nick wasn't willing to believe him and called with third pair on the flop. After finding out the bad news, Nick was left with a short-stack, but he went on a serious heater and actually wrestled the chip led back with pure aggression.

Nick's luck all evaporated at once when the pot grew to nearly 1/3 of the chips in play. Nick thought his A-7 was good only to find out John's A-9 was better and the board didn't counterfeit John's kicker. A few hands later, Nick was all-in with 8s-10h and John called with Kc-Jd. John paired his jack on the Jh-6d-4h flop. Nick needed running cards on the turn and river to remain alive. The 3s turn sealed the win for John giving him his second FNCPT win.


John has now won two events, holding a jack both times. In his first victory, John won with Jc5h. I'm sensing a new nickname.

Thanks to everyone who came out for S2E3 and congratulations to John!


~Jason Tr.

Jim S. finally reels in a win!

Ingram - After playing in every event last season, Jim S. finally broke his string of bad luck and ended up on top with a win in Event #2! Going into the final table, he had a formidable stack and he survived challenges from several other players to take home the victory.


Play started furiously, at least at the red table. The smaller denom's and 200xBB starting stack had little effect on play, as pots quickly grew. Angie S. ran into a string of brutal coolers. In the first blind level with a PF limp, she hit top pair and raised a pot-sized bet by Eric Wej. to 200 only to get re-raised to 600. After a flat call, she turned top two pair and check-called another bet of 600. A brick 9 hit the river and she checked. After tanking to Eric's all-in of 840, she eventually called to see the bad news. Eric hit bottom set on the flop with pocket deuces. Rebuy!

Near the end of the second blind level, Keith started his climb early by taking a pot off Pat. With a flop of 3-3-3, a king on the turn and a river jack, the betting got wild. Pat bet, Keith raised, Pat re-raised and Keith went all in. Pat did the only thing he could: he called and tabled a king for a threes full. Keith un-intentionally slow-rolled 9-3 for quads, doubling up through Pat.

Midway through the third blind level (15/30), Eric was in danger of re-buying. The action was folded to the blinds. Eric (SB) limped and Chris (BB) checked. The flop came Q-9-Q and Eric fired at it. Chris re-raised and Eric popped it again, shoving in his remaining stack. Chris snap called, rolling over Q-9 for a boat, and showing he had Eric's Q-8 dominated. When a 5 came off on the turn, Chris announced it was over, before both players quickly realized Eric had the two nines left in the deck for a chop. As soon as the words left Chris' mouth, a miracle 9 hit the river, giving Eric second life.

After the first break (blinds 20/40), Angie's bad luck continued. UTG, she peeked down at "King Kong" and popped it to 500. Pat re-raised 395 more all-in with pocket 5's. Angie insta-called and a five on the flop doubled Pat up while crippling Angie. The very next hand, Angie pushed the last of her chips in and Lolly called. Angie tabled 6-6 while this time, it was Lolly who showed the kings. Angie stood up to leave as the dealer brought the flop one card at a time. The first card was a 6, but before Angie could un-fold her chair, the second card was a king, ending Angie's night in 19th place with set-on-set crime.

Carl's night ended holding A-J. He pushed all-in 3 consecutive times after receiving the "get home" phone call. On the final all-in for 1500 with that A-J, Sean called with pocket 10's. Carl could not improve and he ended his night in 18th place.

Jim H. arrived late and never really gained any traction. With blinds at 40/80 and four limpers in the pot, Jim pushed in his last 760 and got a caller in Eric Wej. Jim showed 22 and Eric rolled AK. An ace hit the flop (and another hit the river), ending Jim's night in 17th place.

Jim S. continued to build his chipstack by eliminating Jason H. in 16th place. Shortstacked after getting cracked by Jeff R's pocket kings, Jason pushed in the last of his chips with 9-5 and Jim called with A-Q. Jim led pre-flop and made two pair to win a small pot and send Jason to the rail.

Event 1's winner, Jason T, had a night like he expected: early elimination. After a big time mis-read on Kevin, he was felted and reluctantly purchased a rebuy. After a brief surge, he managed to nearly triple his rebuy until he tangled with Jim S, who raised it to 450 PF. Jason pushed all in for 2700 more and Jim went into the tank for about a minute before finally calling with pocket kings. Jason showed A-K and his ace never came, ending his night in 14th place.

The Jim S. juggernaut gained speed as he got into a three-way pot with Anita and Jeff R. With blinds at 75/150, Jeff pushed preflop for 800 with 8-3 of clubs. Both Anita and Jim called. The flop came with two diamonds and Anita pushed for 2100 more with pocket jacks. Jim called and showed A-7 of diamonds. A river diamond sent Jeff and Anita out in 13th and 12th place respectively.

The final table bubble burst when Ray and Sean tangled in a pot. Sean pushed with A-6 and Ray called holding a suited A-K. Sean took the lead when a 6 hit the flop, but the flop also showed two hearts. Ray made his flush on the river, leaving Sean with a 10th place finish and narrowing the field to just one table.

Eric Wej. was the first off the final table. He crippled himself giving the majority of his stack to Keith. When an ace hit the flop and Eric made a pot-sized bet, Keith pushed all in for 1100-ish more. Playing out the hand, Eric figured out that his ragged ace was not only second best, but that he was drawing extremely thin. Nevertheless, Eric called with A-6 and Keith showed A-8. Keith's kicker held and he doubled-up whilst Eric was crippled. Eric managed to survive the blinds, once limping all-in and quintupling up, and the other time making a small raise all-in only to have it folded back to him. Ultimately, his night ended holding pocket 4's. He pushed all in for 2200 and was called by Jim who showed K-10. Jim made top two on the flop and the third 4 stayed in the deck, ending Eric's night in 9th. Jim S. continued to amass chips, eliminating John in 7th when his 10-6 out-flopped John's pocket 6's.

Jim O. brought a solid stack to the final table and continued to maintain his position. But his luck ran out all at once. Chris pushed pre-flop with K-10, Jim S. called with Q-Q and Jim O. called with A-9 suited. Chris made a better pair on the turn when a king hit (and two pair with a river 10), felting Jim O. in 6th place and starting to gain some momentum for a late push. Shortly after busting Jim O., Pat was short-stacked and was all-in blind. Chris called with A-3 and Pat rolled over 6-4. Pat never improved and went home on the bubble, while Chris gained some strength to be able to challenge Jim S.

4-handed play began with Keith, Ray, Chris and Jim S; Keith was the first casualty when he got all the money in the middle holding A-10 but was called by Jim S. who showed A-Q. Three handed, Ray played 8-3 suited out of the big blind against A-Q off suit. After turning an 8, Ray looked to be in the driver's seat, but a river Jack gave his opponent a straight and left Ray with 3rd place money.

Heads up, Chris and Jim eventually squared off with Chris holding pocket jacks and Jim holding pocket kings. Jim started the hand ahead, but with a king on a rainbow flop, Chris' only out was runner-runner (either jacks, or an 8-9 for a straight). With a brick on the turn, Jim S. earned his first FNCPT victory.


Thanks to everyone who participated in Event #2 and congrats again to Jim S.



~Eric Wej.

Jason Tr. makes a splash to open season 2!

Norborne - Season 2 opened well for Jason Tr. He set his hooks early and then played the waiting game. He caught a big one by stealing a pot from Mike T. and used his newly robust chip stack, added a good measure of aggression, luck and timing and at the end of the night, he was a big fish in a little pond.


There was a buzz in the air as the players arrived for the start of season 2. Hoped springs eternal and with a clean slate, this season is truly up for grabs. There were a few adjustments to the rules in the offseason, including shortening up the breaks and lengthening the amount of felt time. In addition, hand-for-hand play was utilized until the final table bubble burst.

The night started out rough for John M. With Jim S. all-in in front of him, he looked down at pocket aces and snap called, finding himself ahead against Jim's 9-10. As the board fell 4-9-3-10-Q, John's fishing license was revoked.

Jeff R. was the next to be hooked. He hit top pair on a 10-rag-rag board, but Kevin An. found a big blind special and flopped two pair, which held through the river, sending Jeff home in 19th.

Matt Pe. was out in 18th place after taking a few huge hits to his stack early on. With only 15,500 remaining, he gambled and moved-in with Q-9 offsuit. Matt's push forced Nick to fold his ace-ten, but Angie mustered a call and and showed king-ten. Though ahead from the start, Angie paired her king and Matt left the building.

Chris' season didn't start out the way he had hoped. It started with him getting lost and arriving late. He picked up two black aces early and re-raised Mike to 27,500. Mike called and paired up a jack on a rainbow flop. Mike moved all in and Chris called, firmly in the driver's seat. But Mike managed runner-runner hearts to flush up on the river, sending Chris out to sea in 17th place. Jim O. followed Chris and was eliminated in 16th place. [citation needed]

Ray S. moved in for 35,500 with A-Q and got called by Bill B.'s pocket 7's. The board fell 8-9-J-6-J and Bill's pocket pair held up, sending Ray home in 15th place.

Pat M. was next on the chopping block. Facing a dwindling chip stack and ever-increasing blinds, he finally pushed all-in with pocket 6's and got a caller in Eric Wej, who held A-K. Pat survived the flop and turn, but he drowned on the river when an ace hit, eliminating him in 14th place.

Facing a raise to 35,000 from Sean, Keith re-raised to 91,000. Anita then re-popped it and forced Sean out of the pot. Anita's pocket aces held up against Keith's A-J, canning Keith's night in 13th place.

Kevin An. was out 12th when he moved his micro stack all-in and and got called by Nick and Lolly holding the 9-10 of hearts. Lolly hit her king and scooped the 3-way pot.

Sitting at 11 players, the next elimination would start hand-for-hand play. Sean pushed all in for 41,000 and got two callers in Jim S. and Mike T. Sean turned over J-K off, Jim flipped Q-8 suited and Mike revealed A-8 suited. The flop came Jc-10s-4s, giving Sean top pair but giving Jim a flush draw and an inside straight draw. Unfortunately for Jim, the turn (2h) and river (10h) missed both his draws and sent him home in 11th place. With 10 players left, hand-for-hand play began and Sean nearly tripled up to infuse him with life as the final tabled bubble loomed. Nick G. was eliminated in 10th place by Eric Wej. and the final table formed. [citation needed]

The first elimination at the final table belonged to Sean O., who had been card dead for some time. Dealt A-K, Sean pushed all in and was called by Jim H. The action progressed to Mike T. who came over the top and forced Jim out of the hand. Isolating Sean, Mike T. turned over pocket queens and was in a race against Sean's two overs. Unfortunately for Sean, the board stayed low and Mike's underpair held up, sending Sean home in 9th place.

With the blinds at 15,000/30,000 with an ante of 5,000, Jim H. was dealt pocket 8's. He looked down at about a quarter-million in chips and made it 100,000 to go. After a short tank, Mike T. raised enough to put Jim all-in. Jim made the call and Mike turned over ace-10. The race was short for Jim as an ace hit the flop and sent Jim home in 8th place.

Anita eliminated Lolly and Angie (out 7th and 6th respectively) on the same hand when they both called her preflop raise with short stacks. Anita's pocket ace's took the three-way pot.

Mike T. had churned his chipstack all night, building a comfortable stack as he creeped closer and closer to the money. Mike was crippled by Jason when his A-7 survived counterfeited Mike's pocket 8's after the flop and turn showed two higher pairs; it was the first of two such counterfeits that worked to Jason's benefit. Left broken but not out, Mike fought on.

Down to five-handed, Bill was nursing one of the short stacks. He picked up a much needed double up to give himself some breathing room. He got it all in again with pocket 5's against Jason's AQ. A brutal flop and turn put two over pairs on the board, counterfeiting Bill's pocket pair and giving Jason the victory with the higher kicker. A gracious Buffalo Bill burst the cash-bubble and exited in 5th place.

Mike was eliminated in 4th after he raised preflop with the A-10 of spades and was called by Anita who held K-J o/s. Mike hit top pair and an inside straight draw on the A-K-J rainbow flop. Thinking his ace was good he announced "all-in" however he was snap called by Anita's 2 pair which held up through the blank turn and river cards.

At one time, Eric Wej. maintained a modest stack, but when he went card-dead orbit after orbit, he was quickly becoming blinded off. He managed to nurse his chip stack into third place as Bill and Mike both got hands worth gambling on -- and both lost. In the small blind, Jason raised Eric's big blind enough to put Eric all in. Having only enough chips to make it a half-dozen or so more hands, Eric looked down at 9-10 offsuit. Figuring Jason may be trying to steal, and even if he had a big pocket pair, the connectors provided a "cracking hand," Eric called. Sure enough, Jason turned over Q-8 and Eric had two live cards. Both players missed the board and Jason took the pot with queen-high, eliminating Eric in third place and starting heads up play. There were 2 million chips in play with Anita holding about 1.2 million of them.

Anita and Jason sparred back and forth, trading pots. Jason held his ground and turned the momentum his way on the second to last hand. Anita raised preflop to 320,000 and Jason pushed all-in for 870,000. Anita called, putting herself in a position to win the tournament. Anita showed A-7 but unfortunately for her, Jason showed A-K. Both players missed the board and Jason's king kicker gave him a 1.7 million chip pot.

Anita pushed all-in blind on the final hand. Jason looked down at A-7 offsuit and called. Anita rolled over 10-3 suited and prayed for the deck to hit her. A river 3 was too little, too late as Jason turned a higher pair to take the pot and open season 2 up with a victory.


Thanks to everyone for coming out to S2E1 and congrats again to Jason Tr.


~Eric Wej.

Good bye season I, Hello season II

Livonia - After a grueling 13 events over 11 months, Season I of the FNCPT is officially in the books and Season II is upon us. Congratulations again to Season I Champion Anita G. Here are some facts and stats from Season I:

• A total of 36 different players participated in the 11 regular season events.
• Out of these 36 players, the top 8 in overall points earned a seat in the Championship Event after the 11th event.
• Out of these 8 players, 7 of them played in all 11 regular season events.
• The anomaly of the 8 players was Jim H. who played in only 7 events. Despite this, Jim managed to finish in 6th place overall.
• The Championship Table featured the top 8 players plus qualifier winner Kevin An. 7 of these 9 players won at least 1 of the 11 regular season events. The only players at the Championship table that didn't win a regular season event were Jason Tr. and Anita G. Ironically the Championship was won by Anita.
• Mike T. was the only player who managed to win 2 of the 11 regular season events.
• Mike finished first overall in the league standings with 66.76 points and earned the Player of the Year trophy as a result.
• 9 of the 11 regular season events featured a rebuy.
• In these 9 events, a total of 32 rebuy's were purchased.
• Only once did someone purchasing a rebuy cash. Pat M. accomplished this in Event 10 in a field of 19 players. Pat cashed in 4th place.
• Based off last season's statistics, overall odds of cashing in a FNCPT with a rebuy are 1:32. However, 100% of all rebuy proceeds go to the event prize pool. None of these monies are raked for the Championship.

FNCPT Season II will include a few changes from last season. These changes will include:

• Season II will still feature 11 regular season events however only 4 of these events will feature a rebuy. In contrast, Season I offered rebuy's in 9 of the 11 events.
• Rebuy's will be available in Event #2, Event #4, Event #8 and Event #10.
• Of these rebuy events, Event #8 will feature unlimited rebuy's during the entire tournament.
• 2 of the 11 regular season events this season will feature mixed games. Event #4 will be pot limit Omaha high with a rebuy and Event #6 will be fixed limit hold 'em with no rebuy (freeze out).
• This season, like last season, will also feature a deep stack freeze out event. The buy-in will be increased from $50.00 to $60.00.
• This season's Championship event will feature 25% bonus chips based off T200,000 starting stacks. All blind levels will be 30 minutes in length.
• The buy-in for this season's Championship will be increased to $100.00 from $50.00.

Good luck to everyone in Season II!

~ Jason Tr.

A well-seasoned fish

Ingram - Season 1 of the Fish 'N' Chips Poker Tour is in the books after Saturday night's captivating win by Anita G. Withstanding a late-season surge and constant pressure from Kevin An., Anita found redemption...where else? on the river.
After 11 regular season events filled the first 8 seats to the Championship and the Qualifier filled the 9th seat, the lineup was set for the first Fish 'N' Chips Poker Tour Championship.


Prior to the game getting underway, Mike T. was presented with his Player of the Year Trophy for an outstanding season that included five cashes (including a win in Event #2) and two bubbles en route to an amazing 66.76 points, a benchmark for future seasons. Congrats, Mike. (Shout out to Mike's wife and all her facebook friends who are reading this and making fun of Mike right now...)


Every player started with T100,000 in chips and T225,000 chips were awarded as a bonus, based on each players' cumulative season points. Seats were randomly drawn and before play started, the starting stacks looked like this:

Seat 1: Jeff R., 127,500
Seat 2: Jason Tr., 121,000
Seat 3: Mike T., 137,500
Seat 4: Anita G., 125,000
Seat 5: Eric Wej., 120,500
Seat 6: Bill B., 125,000
Seat 7: Nick G., 128,500
Seat 8: Kevin An., 118,500
Seat 9: Jim H., 121,500


The Championship followed the standard league T100,000 blind structure, but all blind levels were lengthened to 30 minutes. The players arrived and the cards flew! The pictures of the full table below had to be snapped quickly, because in the blink of an eye, the first elimination came.



Before the first break, Eric Wej. found K-Q offsuit UTG and made it 3xBB to go. Two smooth calls later, the flop came with a Q-J-7. Eric led out with a pot-sized bet and Bill thought briefly before making it 50,000 more. Bill correctly read Eric as committed to the hand; Eric pushed and Bill insta-called, rolling over pocket sevens. The turn was an ace, giving Eric a glimmer of hope, but the river brought a brick and we were down to 8-handed. At the first break, Bill and Anita were neck and neck at around 300k and Nick was nearly down to the felt with 30,000 chips.

The next elimination of the night came shortly after the break. Jim H., who was unable to get anything started all night pushed his last 16,000 into the pot preflop. Jim would have been satisfied with a fold-around, but instead got three callers. While Anita folded after the flop, Mike and Bill bet to the river. Bill's queens eventually took down the pot and Jim unceremoniously mucked his pocket deuces, settling for an 8th place finish.

Player of the Year Mike T. was out next while playing the BB. Nick limped preflop and the board showed A-Q-J with two hearts. Mike checked and Nick bet out 16,000. Mike tanked momentarily before pushing in for 79,000 more. Nick, holding Q-9 of hearts, analyzed the hand and could not put Mike on an ace; at the most, he put Mike on a queen and if he was out-kicked, he figured he at least had a re-draw to the flush. Nick made the call and when the cards were tabled, Mike showed only a pair of Jacks. Though he was ahead, the turn filled Nick's flush and sent Mike packing.

Another player who couldn't put much together all night was Jeff R. He managed to drag a few pots and took down blinds when his short-stacked all ins weren't called, but overall, he was card-dead. Jeff pushed all in preflop for 77,000 and got a caller in Anita. Jeff rolled over AQ while Anita showed 8-8. The eights held and Jeff headed for the door. Five players left, one spot until the bubble, two spots until the money.

Jason was also relatively card dead for most of the tournament. He got involved in some pots but was pushed out by bigger bets. On his final hand, he limped preflop and was called by Anita. The flop brought Jason an OESD. Determined to make a stand, Jason pushed the rest of his chips in the pot. Anita called and showed pocket kings. The turn and river did not fill Jason's draw, and he was out in fifth. Best thing for him really. His therapy was going nowhere.

From a severe short stack at the first break, Nick settled in and built a nice stack. It was all gone in a matter of two hands. Nick was crippled after calling Kevin's preflop all-in of 170,000 holding A-8 of clubs. Kevin's pocket 5's held up and Nick watched a substantial amount of his chips and hours worth of work shipped to Kevin. The very next hand, Bill raised to 43,000 before the action reached Nick. He peeked at A-Q and pushed in his last 53,000. Bill called the 10,000 and turned over AK. Nick's miracle comes on the flop making top two on a board of A-Q-8. Nick barely had time to celebrate when a Jack hit the turn, giving Bill four more outs. The ten on the river drowned any chances of Nick taking home the top prize.

Starting three handed play was Anita, Bill and Kevin. Kevin has some Championship experience, winning the Wedgerock Poker Tourney in 2006 and 2008. Anita bubbled in the Old Rosedale Poker League in 2007/08 and 2008/09. Of course, Bill earned the title "Buffalo" by finishing second in the WPT (2008) and the ORPL (2007/08). Early on, Bill and Kevin traded punches while neither seemed to challenge Anita's occasional pot.

A preflop raise by Bill was not respected and Kevin re-raised. Bill pushed all in and Kevin called, tabling pocket kings. Bill rolled over pocket aces and doubled up through Kevin. Kevin took it right back from Bill, pushing all in after hitting top pair on the flop; Bill called with second pair.

A casual remark would become the death knell for Bill. When the button and SB folded, Kevin rolled over his cards to reveal a 9-10 and remarked that it was one of his favorites hands. A short while later, Bill got involved with Kevin. The flop gave Bill top pair and a gutshot and he led out. Kevin called. The turn paired the board, showing 6-7-8-8. Bill bet 150,000 and Kevin pushed all in. Bill called and Kevin rolled over "his favorite hand" for the nut straight. The river could not save Bill's night and we were down to two players.After taking Bill's stack, Kevin started heads-up play as the chip leader. He offered Anita a chop of the prize money and they'd play it out for the trophy. Anita declined and set about to whittle away at Kevin's sizable chip lead.


Anita's first strike came holding pocket threes. When the flop showed a 3, Anita checked and Kevin checked behind. The turn brought a blank and Anita checked again. This time, Kevin bet out, and Anita check-raised all-in. Kevin called with middle pair and an ace and after a harmless river, Anita had doubled up.

The next blow came with Anita raising 70,000 preflop and Kevin re-raising 80,000 more. Both players checked the flop; Kevin bet the turn and Anita called. The river brought a fourth club and Anita led out with a value bet of 70,000. Kevin called and Anita showed 5-6 clubs for the winner. Anita now had more than half of the 1.125m chips in play. Kevin pulled some chips back with his characteristic aggressive betting, but Anita folded several hands, refusing to give Kevin action with marginal holdings.

Anita took charge by min raising preflop. Kevin min re-raised and Anita called. The flop comes Q-6-4 and Anita checked. Kevin led out and Anita check-raised all-in again. Kevin made a remarkably quick call, rolled over pocket tens, and said, "You don't have a queen, do you?" Anita indeed had the queen. The turn brought Kevin a spade draw but the river was a blank and Anita now held a commanding chip lead.

Kevin tried to steal some chips back by pushing all in preflop for his last 130,000 holding 4-7 offsuit. Anita called with K-8 offsuit. The river was A-5-10 rainbow and it looked like Anita's king might hold up. Kevin made his six-outer on the turn when the 7 of spades hit. One card to go and it looked like Kevin had a little life and a 5:1 chip deficit. But just as quickly as it came, it was gone as the river brought Anita's six-outer in the form of the 8 of spades, giving Anita a bigger pair, a bigger payday, and the first plaque on the FNCPT Championship trophy.


Congrats to Kevin on a strong finish to the season, finishing 2nd in Event #11 to squeak into the Qualifier, first in the Qualifier to secure a seat in the Championship and then second in the Championship, earning nearly $700 along the way. But top prize goes to Anita G. who quietly had a good season with two cashes and a top five overall finish, but who ultimately finished on top when it mattered the most.


Congratulations, Anita, on your 2009-2010 Fish 'N' Chips Poker Tour Championship victory!

Kevin An. takes down qualifier and claims final seat in championship

Berwick - Kevin An. defeated a field of 8 players to claim victory in this season's Fish 'N' Chips Poker Tour Championship Qualifier Saturday night. With the win, Kevin win's the 9th and final seat in this season's championship.

The evening began with the following player's, position's and chip counts:

1. Matt Pe. 130,000
2. Lolly O. 119,000
3. Jim O. 123,000
4. Keith K. 124,500
5. John M. 123,500
6. Kevin An. 128,500
7. Pat M. 120,500
8. Jim S. 127,500
9. Angie S. 131,000

Action began with blinds at a minuscule 500/1,000 however play started rather aggressive. Less than 20 hands into the tournament, Keith K. announced "all-in" on a board of Qh-Kd-Jh-3h-8c to head's-up opponent Jim S. Jim tanked for about 2 minutes before the clock was called by Kevin An. Jim took the whole minute before calling and showing Ks-Qs for two-pair, however Keith revealed pocket king's for the winning set. The hand left Jim S. with just 2,000 in chips. A few hands later brought the the night's first elimination. Jim S. moved all-in for 7k. Angie then re-raised all-in for about 120,000 more. Matt Pe. with about 70k in front of him thought about it for a few moments before stating "let's gamble" and calling. The action folded around and Jim S. revealed pocket deuces. Angie turned over pocket ace's while Matt rolled over pocket 4's. Jim flopped a set of deuces however the turn and river brought no help for Matt who shipped 63k to Angie. A few hands later Jim S. was eliminated in 8th place when he moved 16.5k all-in with Kc-10c and was called by John M's Jc-Qc. John hit top pair on a board of Q-10-8. The turn (4) and river (A) brought no help for Jim who was the evening's second elimination.

Angie was out next when she raised to 13k in early position with blinds at 1,500/3,000. The action folded to Kevin in the BB who called with a growing chip stack. The flop came out 7-9-J. Angie announced all-in and Kevin quickly called showing 7-9 for two-pair. Angie flipped over pocket king's. The queen on the turn and 5 on the river missed Angie who was eliminated in 7th place. Lolly was next when she re-raised John M's 10k raise all-in to 26k total with pocket king's. John called and showed pocket queen's. Lolly led all the way until the river brought a queen giving John the winning set. Keith followed Lolly when his 36k preflop all-in holding 10c-Jh was called by Kevin's 7s-8h. The 4d-7d-8s gave Kevin two-pair and Keith a gut-shot straight draw. The 5d turn was no help to Keith and the 8c river card made Kevin a full-house and sent Keith packing in 5th place.

After having his chip stack crippled to 32k when his pocket 5's ran into Jim O's pocket rocket's, Pat M. was out in 4th place when he moved his remaining 32k all-in holding 5-6 o/s. John M. called and showed pocket 10's. The 3-10-A flop gave John a leading set, however Pat picked up a gut-shot straight draw with the 7 turn. However John boated up with a 3 on the river which eliminated Pat in 4th place.

BSB play started between chip leader Kevin, Jim O. (3rd in chips) and John M. (2nd in chips) with the blinds at 5,000/10,000 and an ante of 1,000. Jim was out in 3rd when he raised to 30k with K-10 o/s and was called by Kevin. The flop came out 2c-10c-2s which Kevin checked. Jim instantly moved all-in for 58k more. Kevin quickly called and turned over pocket ace's. The 8h and 7d brought no help for Jim who went out in 3rd.

Head's-up play between Kevin and John started with blinds at 7,000/15,000 and a 2,000 ante with Kevin holding a 2-1 chip lead over his opponent. John continued to chip-up and and nearly evened the chip count but Kevin stayed aggressive and kept his lead. Little by little, Kevin wore down John by making him fold several raised and re-raised pots. On the last hand of the tournament, John moved-in with Js-7s for approximately 80k and was called by Kevin's Ah-10c. The Ks-Ad-8c put Kevin out in front with top pair. The 2h turn and 7d river missed John and gave Kevin the victory. With his win, Kevin will join this season's top 8 point finisher's in the league championship event.


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


Congratulations to Kevin and good luck to him in the championship!

~Jason Tr.

"Buffalo" Bill surges to capture Event #11

The regular season finale of the 2009-2010 FNCPT took place on Saturday night in Livonia. When the smoke cleared, “Buffalo” Bill B. defeated Kevin An. in heads-up play and took home his first win since WPT Season 4, Event #5 on 08-16-08. With the win, Bill also solidified himself a seat in this season’s championship event.

With six regular players absent (four active and two idle) from the tournament Saturday night, Substitute players Jason H, Jeff O, Pat M. and Phil J. rounded out the field to 17 players. The night got off to an ominous start with the first flop at the bronze table being 6-6-6. Shortly after Jason H. rolled over a pocket 6 to quad up on the first hand, the power went out. However a few minutes later it was restored and after a brief delay the tournament resumed.

Nick G. was the first player eliminated after taking a huge hit to his stack early on. Left with less than a quarter of his starting chips, Nick moved in after hitting a queen (top pair) on the flop however Jeff O. called and hit his opened ended straight draw on the river. Nick was done for the night without even pulling a pot. Keith K. was next after raising to 6,500 in early position and then getting re-raised by “Buffalo” Bill to 15,000 preflop. Keith raised an additional 21,000 and Bill shoved. Keith called and turned over pocket jacks. Bill rolled over kings which held up and sent Keith home. Kevin An’s chip stack was on a roller coaster in the early stages of the tournament and was down to about 20,000 chips until he doubled-up (and eliminated) Pat M. in 15th place. Jeff R. was out 14th after his pocket queen’s were crippled by Eric Wej’s A-K which eventually made a flush. A few hands later, Jeff moved in with Jh-4h and was called by “Buffalo” Bill’s A-J o/s. Bill hit his ace and sent Jeff packing.

Anita was bounced in 13th place after she called Eric Wej’s 11,500 chip raise as did Jason H. The flop came out 2-3-5. Eric checked the board and Anita made a 35,000 chip bet. Jason H. then moved all-in. Eric got out of the way and Anita tanked for a minute before calling and turning over pocket aces. Jason showed A-4 for the wheel straight which held up through the turn and river. Jeff O. was the next player to fall in 12th place when he pushed his short stack in after hitting top pair (queens) on a flop that brought 2 diamonds. John M. called and rolled over the nut diamond flush draw. John filled his flush on the turn and scooped Jeff’s chips. Jason H. was the next player to hit the rails in 11th place when his flopped set of 5’s was bettered by Kevin’s flopped set of 9’s. Substitute player Phil J. was eliminated next when he called Kevin’s preflop raise holding a wired pair of 10’s. The flop brought a board of 2-8-A. Kevin made a pot size bet and Phil moved in. Kevin called and turned over pocket queens. The turn and river cards brought no help for Phil who was out in 10th place.

The final table formed and included chip leader Kevin An., Angie S., Eric Wej., “Buffalo” Bill B., Jason Tr., Jim H., Jim S., John M. and Mike T. Mike was the first casualty of the final 9 when he moved his less-than-half stack all-in in early position. Jason Tr. also moved all-in for an additional 165,000 on top. The action folded around back to Mike who flipped over A-J. Jason showed pocket queens. Jason led on the J-5-5 flop. The turn was no help to Mike but Jason made a full house when a queen fell on the river. Eric Wej. was eliminated in 8th place when he moved his micro stack in with A-10. Kevin called with J-9 and made a straight on the river. Angie followed Eric after moving all-in with Ah-8h and being called by chip leader Kevin’s 5d-6d. The flop missed both players however Kevin hit a 5 on the turn which proved to be the winner. Jim S. was out in 6th after being crippled to 4,000 chips by “Buffalo” Bill a few hands earlier. Jim was eliminated when his Q-5 was defeated by Jim H’s K-10 which hit a 10 on the ensuing board. John M. was out in 5th on the bubble after going out like Broomcorn’s Uncle. On a short stack, John made a raise to 30,000 chips. Jason Tr. re-raised him all-in. John called and showed pocket 9’s. Jason turned over pocket 10’s which held up.

Kevin maintained the chip lead by a wide margin when the table started 4 handed play. “Buffalo” Bill, Jim H. and Jason Tr. all had comparable stacks with the blinds at 15,000-30,000 and a 5,000 ante. Jason Tr. was eliminated in in 4th place when his preflop all-in was instantly called by “Buffalo” Bill. Bill showed pocket 7’s and Jason turned over K-Q. The board brought no match or help for Jason who managed to cash for the second consecutive time this season. Jim H. was out in 3rd when he was eliminated in a three-way pot holding A-9. Kevin paired his king and scooped a large pot. Jim also cashed in his second consecutive event this season.

Head’s-up play started with Kevin maintaining a large chip lead, however “Buffalo” Bill managed to wrestle it away over the course of several hands. On the final hand, Kevin limped with 7s-4s and Bill checked holding Ks-5s. Both players flopped flush draws on the Qs-Ac-10s board. Bill moved in and Kevin tanked for a few moments before calling. The turn was the Qd, pairing the board but keeping Bill in the lead. Kevin was down to a 4 or 7 on the river. The 6c came instead and gave “Buffalo” Bill his first win in nearly 19 months.

Congrats to Bill on his victory and to securing a seat in this season's championship!


Complete results can be viewed at www.wedgerock.com/fishnchips


Notable: When the dust finally cleared Saturday night, Mike T, Nick G, Jeff R, "Buffalo" Bill B, Anita G, Jim H, Jason Tr. and Eric Wej. secured the top 8 spots in the standings along with the 8 guaranteed seats in this season's championship event. Congratulations to these players on a season well played!

Matt Pe. and Angie S. were both in the top 8 going into Saturday night's event however fell into qualifier positions at the conclusion of the tournament. Matt missed the event and earned no points while Angie finished 7th for 3.26 points which unfortunately wasn't enough. The qualifier will include Angie S, Matt Pe, Kevin An, Jim S, Keith K, John M, Jim O, Pat M. and Lolly O.

In by the skin of his chinny, chin, chin: Eric Wej. securing the 8th and final guaranteed spot in the championship event ultimately came down to where Kevin An. finished Saturday night. Had Kevin won the event, Eric would have been qualifier bound and Kevin would have taken the 8th seat. Unfortunately for Kevin, he finished 2nd and this gave Eric the seat instead.

~Jason Tr.