Captain Tahoe

Ingram - John M. defeated head's-up opponent Marc H. early Sunday morning to claim his 3rd FNCPT win in Event #7 of Season IV of the Fish 'N' Chips Poker Tour.

Event #7 introduced a new game to the league, No Limit Tahoe. This is basically Crazy Pineapple but without a discard.

The field was full at 20 players, however just a few hours before the start of the tournament, Joe H. was hit with sudden illness in the form of uncontrollable projectile vomiting and had to back out. The field settled at 19 players and the opening deal was dealt out at 7:12 P.M.

The evening's first elimination was Jason Tr. who did not elect to rebuy. Suffering from tournament fatigue due to playing in the QPT Satellite Tournament just prior to the Tahoe tourney, Jason made a move with J-J-9 against Nick's K-K-8. The turn and river missed him and he quietly exited in 19th place.

Jim H. was next (out 18th) when his 5-7-9 failed to outdraw John who held an 8 on a board of 10-8-8. Keith followed Jim (out 17th) who was followed by Mike T. who was eliminated in 17th place by Kevin A. Mike's K-K-3 was defeated by Kevin's 10-10-Q which eventually made a straight.

Chris S. was out in 16th place when he made a move short-stacked with J-J-8 and got two callers in the form of Lolly and POY point leader Jason Ta. Jason showed K-K-7 and Lolly tabled A-A-6 which scooped the huge pot. Jason was crippled from the blow and soon found himself the next elimination when he pushed with 6-6-7 and got looked up by Sean O. who showed J-10-7. A jack hit the flop and the turn and river missed Jason who checked out in 14th place.

Anita and Tom were the evening's next eliminations (out 13th and 12th respectively) on the same hand involving 4 players. With blinds at 7k-15k-2k and all involved players short-stacked, Anita, Tom, Bill and Angie got it all-in. Anita flipped K-K-7, Tom showed K-2-2, Bill revealed 10-10-4 and Angie tabled A-Q-6. The flop brought 2 queens giving Angie a huge lead. The turn and river stayed clean and Angie scooped the huge pot.

Eric was the tourney's 11th player eliminated after he pulled the string with 2-2-10 and got a caller in Lolly who showed K-K-4. A faint glimmer of hope appeared for Eric in the form of a 3-4-5 flop but it quickly dissipated as dual bricks fell on the turn and river.

"Buffalo" Bill B. was out in 10th place after he pushed all-in blind for 56k and got Kevin to call who's unreported holdings held up and thus formed the final table. Best thing for him, really. His therapy was going nowhere.

Sean O. was the first casualty of the final table when he pushed his last 92k in with A-7-3 and was called by Nick who held 5-5-3. Nick's 5's held up sending Sean away in 9th place. Chris Ba. was eliminated in 8th place after falling to John M's A-K-7 which eventually made kings. Fran was next (out in 7th place) courtesy of Marc H.

Fireworks erupted in a three-way all-in pot between Angie, Kevin and John which ended with Kevin out in 6th place and Angie out in 5th place. John made a king high straight whilst his two opponents made queen high straights.

4 handed play between John, Nick, Marc and Lolly continued with blinds at 20k/40k/6k. Just a few hands in, Nick announced all-in for over 400k on the J-5-6 flop. John quickly called revealing A-J-8. Nick rolled over K-K-9 for a commanding lead. The turn brought a queen keeping Nick in front. But the river brought an ace giving John a better two-pair and the 850k chip pot. Nick hit the road in 4th place.

John eliminated Lolly in 3rd place on the very next hand. John's A-A-8 held against Lolly's 9-9-5.

Head's-up play between John and Marc didn't last very long as John held a 5-1 chip lead over his opponent.

On the final hand of the tournament, Marc moved-in with Qc-4c-Js and John called with 8d-8c-6c. The 6h-Qh-8s flop gave John a commanding lead with a set of 8's. Marc needed running queens to win. The Ac turn left him drawing dead. The meaningless Qd river gave Marc three of a kind but improved his opponent to 8's full.

This is John's 3rd career Fish 'N' Chips Poker Tour regular season win. With the win, he also moves into first place in the overall standings by a wide margin.

With the Qh river card, Angie hit the $160 River Jackpot. Congrats Angie!

Thanks to everyone who participated in S4E7 and congrats to John on his win.

~ Jason Tr.


April Eight Update

With his S4E7 victory, John is now the overall POY points leader through 7 events with 37.36 points. This is a full 7 points over second place Jason Ta. who moved down a spot with 30.35. "Buffalo" Bill B. dropped one spot to third overall with 26.29. Positions 4 through 7 remained unchanged as all 4 players participated in S4E7. Joe H. held the 8th spot in the "April Eight" going into S4E7 by 0.01 points but had to back out just hours before the tournament due to illness. This would prove disastrous as he received -1.38 points (by rule, negative last place points) and fell 8 spots in the overall standings. With a 7th place finish in S4E7, Fran D. earned 2.44 points which was enough to crack the "April Eight" in 8th place. Here are the updated top eight through 7 events:

1. John M.     37.36   +2
2. Jason Ta.   30.35    -1
3. Bill B.       26.29     -1
4. Eric W.      23.81     -
5. Keith K.    21.67      -
6. Jason Tr.   19.42      -
7. Tom W.     18.19      -
8. Fran D.     17.74    +1

Just on the outside looking in are Angie S. in 9th with 17.69 (0.05 points out of 8th), Lolly O. in 10th with 17.59 (0.15 points out of 8th), Marc H. in 11th with 17.01 (0.73 points out of 8th), Chris S. in 12th with 16.61 (1.13 points out of 8th), Jim H. in 13th with 15.74 (2.00 points out of 8th) and Chris Ba. in 14th with 15.71 (2.03 points out of 8th). Never before have the top eight seats been so hotly contested.

Through 7 events, John is just 0.52 points behind the pace of Jason Tr's single season points record of 69.07. Actually John is ahead of where Jason was this time last season. Through 7 events last season, Jason had 34.33 points. John now has 37.36 points. Can John keep up the pace and make a run at the record? Only 4 events remain this season. To break the record, John will have to average at least 7.93 points in each of the 4 remaining events. Good luck John!

"Buffalo" Bill three-buys his way to first place

Hidden Court West - It took "Buffalo" Bill B. three rebuys to defeat heads-up opponent Keith K. early Sunday morning to claim victory in the FNCPT's third installment of unlimited rebuy tournament poker!

Six regulars were unable to attend the event including Jeff R. who was a late cancellation. With five substitutes in attendance, the field settled at 18 players. The cards flew at 7:13 PM.

Greg S. was the evening's first elimination after purchasing the evening's first rebuy. He missed his flush against Angie's two-pair which eventually made a full house. Greg was followed by Sean O. who also rebought. Incredibly Sean was eliminated both times holding pocket aces.

Marc H. was out next in 16th place followed by Jason Tr. who was out in 15th place. Both players purchased 2 rebuys each.

Nick G. bowed out in 14th place after he had his head cracked twice holding A-K. Angie was next (out 13th) followed by John M. who rebought once.

Jason Ta. was next (out 11th) after being one of the chip leaders for most of the evening. Substitute Jason H. followed in 10th place after purchasing two rebuys.  The remaining players then drew seats and the final table formed.

Fran D. hit the rail in 9th place when his "small in" of A-7 was called.  He was followed by substitute Mike M. Last season's unlimited rebuy champ Tom W. was out next in 7th place.

Eric finished the night in 6th place after getting greedy. Completely card-dead for most of the night, Eric was all but blinded-off and re-bought. After his re-buy, Eric doubled-up and doubled up again, both times through Tom. By the time the final table formed, he was below the average chip stack and dwindling because of the blinds. On the second orbit, he looked down at JJ -- Dy-no-mite! After one MP caller, it folded around to Keith in the SB who popped it. Instead of pushing, Eric decided to try and double-up by raising it barely above the minimum, though it was for about 60% of his stack. Keith insta-shoved even before middle position folded. Eric called and found himself a 70% favorite holding J-J against Keith's A-J. Keith was looking for 3 outs, but the flop brought a K and a Q thus giving Keith 4 more outs to broadway. A brick on the turn made Eric a 5:1 favorite, but an Ace on the River gave Keith the better pair, and the last of Eric's chips.

Five-handed play continued with chip leader Keith K. holding approximately 50% of all the chips in play. Keith, "Buffalo" Bill, Anita, Kevin and substitute Joe H. passed chips around to each other for about 40 minutes until Kevin was sent out on the bubble in 5th place.

Despite an early rebuy, substitute and newcomer Joe H. managed to hang around long enough for a 4th place finish picking up his second cash of the season. Anita G. was out next in 3rd place which happened to be her highest regular season placing since S2E1.

Head's-up play between "Buffalo" Bill and Keith lasted for only a few hands before each player agreed to chop first and second place money and play out the final hand for points.

The final board of Kc-10c-7h-9d-3c was dealt. Bill paired his 9 and earned his third career FNCPT victory! Bill's last regular season 1st place finish was way back in S1E11 on 03/13/10.

This was Bill's 3rd straight cash this season. With 3 rebuys, he earned a feeble 5.81 POY points for his 1st place finish early Sunday morning. Keith didn't rebuy and picked up 7.75 POY points for 2nd place. But Bill will take it. He is now 2nd overall in the league standings.

Nobody hit the 3c for the RJP. $60 will carry over to next month's event.

Thank you to everyone who attended S4E6 and congrats to Bill on his victory!

~ Jason Tr.

Jason Ta. comes out with both barrels blazing

Norborne - Nineteen players sat down for S4E5, knowing the higher buy-in would result in more Player of the Year points being awarded. Each had their sights set on first place, earning enough points to put them atop of the "April 8". In the early morning hours, Phil J. dueled Jason Ta. for the top spot and when the dust settled, Jason Ta. was the only man left sitting.

The event was full a week before the cards were dealt. But playoff tickets and personal matters forced 5 people out of the event. Four seats were filled last minute and the event started with 19 players.

The first casualty of the night was Angie, who lost a considerable amount of her stack an orbit earlier to Eric who was playing deuce-five of spades and got lucky by hitting runner-runner boat to beat Angie's flush and take down a 100k+ chip pot. Crippled, Angie shoved at her first opportunity, thinking she had a good chance of doubling up after being dealt T-T. Unfortunately for Angie, she was called by Sean who showed pocket cowboys. The board stayed clean for Sean and Angie was sent home in 19th place.

Kevin A. became the second red-table casualty after being consistently out-flopped. On his final hand, he tangled with Chris S. Both players meekly played an uninteresting board, but with an ace on the river, Chris led out, and Kevin re-raised him. Chris came over the top for all his chips and Kevin went in to the tank. Kevin convinced himself that Chris was playing A-T, but amazingly, he made the call anyway and tabled K-K. Chris showed A-A for a set of aces and a huge pot, giving Chris some much needed life and sending Kevin home in 18th.

Jim O. was afflicted with bad cards from the get go. When he finally found a hand worth pushing in the last of his chips, he was re-raised by Chris S. and then Sean O. went over the top of that, putting Chris to a difficult decision. Ultimately Chris was forced to fold and Jim turned up A-3 while Sean showed A-A. The flop brought hope in the form of a 3, but bricks on the turn and river left Jim felted in 17th place.

John got his money in good with K-K preflop and was called by Mike T. holding A-K and Keith holding A-Q. John's 72% advantage quickly evaporated when one of the two remaining aces hit the flop, giving Mike a 80% chance of winning. But Mike's suckout was sucked-out-on when a queen hit the river, giving Keith a huge pot and sending John out in 16th place.

Phil and Fran tangled in a pot with Fran holding A-J and a comfortable lead over Phil's Q-9. That is, until the flop brought Q-9-9.  A seven on the turn and a deuce on the river sent Fran home 14 places too early.

Tom pushed all in preflop for his last 52k holding K-T. Phil called him holding 3-3, putting Tom in a coin flip for his tournament life. Phil's 3's held up and Tom was sent packing in 14th place.

Kyle had not been able to muster much action at the red table. As he got short-ish, he was able to push the remaining stack in and take down some pots uncontested. He finally got it all in PF with a caller. Kyle showed A-3 while Lolly tabled "German Virgins". The board brought no help to Kyle and he was down to the felt in 13th.

Mike T. got his last 17,000 in the middle holding A-6 against J-9. Unfortunately for Mike, the river put him up against a straight and he was next out in 12th.

As the final table bubble neared, some players tightened up trying to hold on and others took advantage of that by getting more aggressive. Jim H. attempted to raise the pot, but his bet was declared a string raise and he had to pull back some of his chips. As action got around to Lolly, however, she raised more than Jim had intended and he called, getting his chips at risk anyway. Lolly was ahead with J-J to Jim's A-K, but Jim caught an ace on the flop and sent Lolly home in 11th place.

The final table bubble burst when Joe H. and Jason Ta. got involved in a big pot. Jason was holding K-J suited, but Joe showed A-J. The flop gave Jason a flush which was good enough to take down the pot, leaving Joe out in 10th place and setting up the final table.

Chris was the first one out at the final table when he was outdrawn by Jason Tr. Chris called Jason's all-in of 158k and showed A-K versus Jason's Ac-Tc for a commanding lead. The four-card flop brought three clubs, but after it was re-constructed, one of Jason's clubs was ruled to be the burn card. The turn gave Jason the lead when a T hit. Then the river fell, the third club, giving Jason a flush and ending Chris' night in 9th place.

With blinds at 15k/30k, Sean raised the pot to 200k. Jeff called all-in for 108k and Jason Ta. called all-in for 217k. Sean made up the difference and the three players went to the flop with Jason showing 5-5, Jeff showing K-J and Sean showing A-A. A five hit the flop, giving Jason a set and a huge pot while Jeff was out in 8th place.

Phil pushed the action to 110k PF holding pocket sevens. Jim, impatient and frustrated called the raise all-in blind and then revealed 7-8. Phil's 7's held up and Jim's night was ended in 7th place.

Eric pushed the action to 500k and Jason Tr. tried to extend his deep run by calling for his last 158k out of the big blind. Eric showed pocket 6's and Jason turned up 7-8 suited for 2 live cards. A clean board sent Jason home in 6th place and formed the money bubble.

Keith had been pulling in pot after pot with aggressive play. He pushed a huge stack of chips in the middle with T-T PF and was called by Phil, who rolled over A-A. That's all she wrote for Keith as Phil's aces held up and all Keith's work was for naught, heading home on the money bubble in 5th place.

Sean pushed all-in UTG and Eric called behind him for the last of his chips -- a bizarre move for his holdings (Ac-8c). However, Sean held only K-J offsuit and Eric was ahead. A flop of Q-T-3 gave Sean a world of outs however, and an ace on the turn gave Eric top pair, but gave Sean Broadway. A meaningless ace on the river ended Eric's night in 4th place, his second straight cash.

Three-handed play looked set to be a long ordeal, Sean, Phil and Jason Ta. were all flush with chips. After some pots traded hands, action came around to Jason and he made it 250k straight.  Sean re-raised all-in. Jason quickly called putting over 2 million chips in the pot. Sean turned up Kc-Tc whilst Jason showed A-Q for a slight lead. Jason's slight lead widened with a 7-Q-5 flop. A jack on the turn and a 7 on the river gave Jason a huge pot and sent Sean home in 3rd place.

With the elimination of Sean O, the two remaining players squared off for a prolonged heads-up battle.

Most of heads-up play involved trading pots back and forth without either player getting out to much of a lead. Then, the hand before the final hand was dealt, Jason and Phil got everything in the middle with Phil holding a slight chip advantage. Jason tabled K-J and Phil showed A-3 for the lead. But the flop brought Jason a jack and the turn and river were bricks, giving Jason the 3.7 million chip pot.

The final hand played itself out as Phil didn't have enough chips to cover the blind and he was all-in and at risk preflop holding 9-2. Jason turned over Q-T and promptly hit a ten on the flop to all but ice the victory. The three on the turn paired the board and guaranteed Jason the victory. The river 3s was meaningless for everyone except Tom W, who matched the card to take down $75 in River Jackpot #4.

Thank you again to everyone that participated in S4E5 and congrats again to Jason Ta!

~ Eric W.


April 8 Update:

Everyone knew the steep buy-in for E5 could shake-up the "April 8" heading into the halfway point of the season. It did exactly that. John was finally knocked from the top spot and Jason Ta. picked up 9 spots with his win. A second straight cash gave Eric enough points to leapfrog Bill, who was idle for E5 (but still has enough points to stay in the top four despite playing in one less event). Jason Tr. and Chris S. both moved up the leaderboard while Jim O. hung on to 7th place. And after missing the last 2 events, Jim H's 7th place finish was worth enough points to get him back into the top eight. After 5 events, here's how the leaderboard stands:

1.  Jason Ta, up 9 spots
2.  John M, down 1 spot, 4.27 points out of first place
3.  Eric W, +2, -7.41
4.  Bill B, -2, -8.61
5.  Jason Tr, +1, -9.37
6.  Chris S, +2, -11.69
7.  Jim O, -4, -11.75 
8.  Jim H, +4, -12.29

Five players are within two points of the eighth spot: Tom W. remained in 9th place and is just a half point out of the April 8; Fran D. inched one spot closer only 1.31 points behind; Chris Ba. was idle this week, slipping 1.64 points out of the April 8; Phil J. has only played in 2 events this year, but has earned enough points to be just 1.65 points behind Jim H.; and with a deep run, Keith K. stands just 1.90 points behind the final April 8 seat.

The two players who fell out of the Top 8 both planned on playing in E5, but ended up going to ALDS Game 1 instead. Matt Pe. dropped 11 spots (to #15) after being handed tickets the night before the event; Chris Ba. knew earlier in the week and backed out before being assessed the late cancellation penalty and dropping just 4 spots (to #11). The good news for both players (and the five who are on the heels of the April 8) is that there are 6 events left in which to make up ground, more than enough time to get into the Top 8.

Master of Potbets

Ingram - Newcomer Chris Ba. of Detroit Jokers fame defeated heads-up opponent Eric W. to take down S4E4 PLO early Sunday morning and in the process became the "Master of Potbets".

What was poised to be another PLO near sellout (19 seats filled) was abruptly dashed by the late cancellations of Fran D. and Nick & Anita G. When the tournament bell tolled, 16 players were to compete for the FNCPT's 3rd installment of Pot Limit Omaha.

Playing at the blue table, Jeff R. was felted and rebought, but still couldn't get any traction.  On his last hand, he pushed all in and made a baby flush, but sub Mike M. had a bigger flush and Jeff became the night's first elimination. Lolly was next (also at the blue table) when her two-pair was called by "Buffalo" Bill B's flopped set of kings. Chris S. quietly exited in 14th place from the bronze table followed by Jason Ta. back at the blue table. Jason, the season 2 PLO champ and season 3 PLO third place finisher, found himself card dead and short-stacked.  He flopped a straight and pushed all in, but was mathematically behind to Eric's draw to a straight, flush, OESD and full house.  The river gave Eric the full house and sent Jason packing.

Jason Tr, last season's PLO champ, got it in good in a few pots but was outdrawn each time and crippled. Down to just 5,500, he managed to quad-up after he slow-rolled a winning flush. But a few hands later, he woke up with A-A-8-10 and the few chips he gained were all in the middle.  "Buffalo" Bill called with J-J-Q-7 and flopped a set of jacks. No help came on the turn/river for Jason and he was out in 12th place.

Angie S. quietly exited the tournament in 11th place followed by sub Mike M. who got all his chips in the middle in a three-way pot between "Buffalo" Bill and Jim O. When the smoke cleared, Jim took the main pot with a runner-runner straight, Bill took the side pot with aces up and Mike took the rail in 10th place thus forming the final table.

Final table play began with blinds at 3k/6k/500. Jim O. was the first casualty when he pushed with top two-pair against "Buffalo" Bill who insta-called with trip queens. It was Bill's third set against Jim in 15 minutes, and this was a fatal blow.  [Editors note: if eventual winner Chris Ba. was the "Master of Potbets" then Bill was easily the "Master of Flopped Sets" this evening].

Eric and Marc H. tangled in a hand with two queens on the flop.  Each player checked the double-queen flop, but when Marc matched the turn for a full house, he pushed all in.  Eric called to find out the bad news, but then made a bigger boat on the river, sending Marc out in 8th place.

Despite an early rebuy, Keith managed to build up his stack and found himself in a position to compete for a top four spot. But after a run of too-many-flops and second-best hands, Keith was all-in with 3 callers. With a flop of A-A-A, the bets checked around.  With a 5 on the turn, John led out, getting one call, but pushing Eric out of the hand.  John got the rest of his chips in the middle on the river, showing the case ace (which he initially declared was only aces full of fives -- "because you have to play two hole cards in Omaha"), taking down the pot and felting Keith in 7th place.

A few hands later, John found himself all-in on the flop and got a caller in sub Greg S. Greg rivered a set of queens to send John out in 6th place. 

With five players remaining and the bubble looming, fireworks erupted when Mike T. and sub Chris Ba. exchanged pot, pot, all-in and call raises totaling 750k preflop. Mike revealed K-K-8-5 whilst Chris revealed a better A-A-6-T. But the T-8-8 flop gave Mike the lead with trip 8's. The turn brought a 7 which gave Chris an inside straight draw. The river brought just that, a 9, giving Chris a winning straight and sending a stunned (but gracious) Mike out on the bubble in 5th place.

Sub Greg S. bowed out in 4th place after he got it all-in preflop and got called by Chris Ba. who eventually made trip 10's. 

Greg was followed by "Buffalo" Bill (out 3rd) who was all-in preflop and called by Chris. Bill managed to river a flush but that same river card gave Chris aces full of jacks.

Head's-up play between Eric and Chris started just after 1 AM with Chris having a 2-1 chip lead over his opponent. Both players exchanged pots into the 20k/40k level with neither player gaining much of an advantage.  Then Chris started stringing together pots, taking them down PF with pot-raises.  With the enormous blinds of 60,000/120,000, Eric found himself short-stacked with only about 350,000 chips.

On the final hand of the night, Chris button-potted it and left Eric with a decision: make a stand, or surrender the big blind and look for a better spot.

Holding middle pair and a suited connector, Eric pushed for another 80,000 on top of the button pot, knowing full well that the raise was not enough to get Chris off any four cards.  As expected, Chris called, revealing Qc-Kh-4d-5c: a 51-49 favorite.  

Chris immediately took the lead on the flop by hitting a queen in the window for top pair and a commanding 4:1 lead in the hand. The Kd turn gave Chris top two-pair, and left Eric with only 4 outs. The 10s river missed Eric and gave Chris his first FNCPT victory in as many tries.

Chris joins a now growing small group of players who have had immediate success in the FNCPT. Despite rebuying, Eric managed a 2nd place finish gaining much needed POY points. A total of 5 rebuy's were purchased Saturday night which helped bloat the shortened field's purse.

 

Thanks to everyone who showed up for S4E4 and congrats to Chris Ba. on his win!

~Jason Tr.

River Jackpot
An increase to $2 a card had no effect on sales of RJP cards Saturday night as all 40 cards easily sold. With a carry over of $35 from S4E3, the jackpot grew to $115. The 10s river card gave "Buffalo" Bill the jackpot. Congrats to Bill on the hit and his 3rd place finish in the tournament.

All future RJP cards will be sold in pairs for $5. Sales in each event will be limited to 20 pairs (40 cards).

April 8 Update
As the PLO event drew to a close, only one thing remained the same:  John M. was still out front.  Three idle players dropped out of the top 8 while the top three finishers all vaulted upward.  With his victory (without a rebuy), Chris Ba. planted himself in 7th place with only 1 event under his belt.

1.  John M. (20.50 points)
2.  Bill B. (17.97), up 3 spots
3.  Jim O. (13.11), up 3 spots
4.  Matt P.(13.08), down 2 spots
5.  Eric W. (13.01), up 8 spots
6.  Jason Tr. (12.80), up 1 spot
7.  Chris Ba. (12.65), debut
8.  Chris S. (11.81), up 1 spot

After missing 2 events, Tom is only 0.07 points out of the April 8.  Likewise, Jason Ta. is only 0.64 points back.  Fran is also less than a point out, sitting 0.76 points down.  Jim H. has missed two straight events and is only 1.3 behind the April 8 pack.  And despite sitting in 13th place, Angie is only 2 points out of 8th.  Even Joe H., with only 1 event under his belt, is only 2.59 points behind.  With a good showing in Event 5, any of these players can crack the top eight.

If Event 5 fills up at 20 players, first place will be worth 15.81 points, which is more points than six of the top 8 players have accumulated for the season.  Needless to say, anyone in the field can do well (even another newcomer which seems to be the current trend) and find themselves in the top eight.  As we get toward the middle of the season, there are still ample opportunities for players to gain significant ground.

PLO will return this season. Well, sort of. We will be playing HO (NLHE/PLO) in Event #9 in January.

Good Showing for the Rookie

Norborne - Saturday was a soap opera -- mundane at times and overly dramatic at others.  Two reserved seats failed to show and the event started at 7pm sharpish with only 15 players seated. Before the end of the first blind, two more players arrived, bringing the total up to 17. In the end, the players went off script for an improbable ending and after the last card was dealt, it was the new guy who had all the chips in front of him.

The night ended earlier than expected for Greg S. He was crippled when he pushed on every street with Jack-King off. Kevin called 5k preflop, 10k on the flop and 20k on the turn with just king-high. Although Kevin's K-Q was ahead the whole time, Greg's river bet of 50,000 might have worked, except that it gave Kevin top pair. Greg was out a few hands later, the first casualty of the night.

Meanwhile at the red table, Keith and Jim O. tangled for a ton of chips. Keith looked down at pocket fives and after a flop of 3-4-4, he quickly made a 20,000 bet only to be called by Jim. When a jack hit the turn, Keith decided to end the hand right then and there with an all-in. Unfortunately for Keith, Jim O. turned over A-J for top pair. The river was a brick and Keith was out in 16th place.

The game changed considerably when Chris moved over to the blue table. Chris, who didn't win a hand at the red table couldn't lose a pot at the blue table. Anita just couldn't gain any traction and she was the next to be eliminated in 15th place. Kevin then tested his luck against Chris in a limped pot preflop while holding deuces. Three clubs hit the flop and both players checked. When a deuce hit the turn, Chris bet and Kevin raised. Chris re-raised and after Kevin put the last of his chips in the middle, he found out his set was no good.

Jeff R. left the red table in 13th place whilst John bowed out in 12th at the blue table. John had survived on the maxim that discretion is the better part of valor; that was until his last hand, when he pushed with a weaker hand. Eric succumbed to a similar fate when he called Bill's PF raise and hit middle pair on the flop. When Bill led out with a bet, Eric decided he was facing a king (for top pair); he also figured Bill wouldn't call an all-in raise. Eric was right on the first count and dead wrong on the second, ending his night in 11th place. The final table bubble burst when Angie was eliminated in 10th place.

Lolly was the first casualty at the final table, being eliminated in 9th. Jason Tr. became the next victim when he got unlucky against Nick and was crippled. Jason was at-risk PF, but felt comfortable holding A-Q to Nick's Q-J. Nick hit an improbable jack on the flop and a more improbable second jack on the river, busting Jason out in 8th place.

Jacks would prove lucky once again for Nick as the underdog. Sean played A-A perfectly, raising and inducing a shove out of Nick. Sean insta-called Nick's push and Nick tabled J-J. But once a jack hit the flop, Sean was drawing thin and was eventually eliminated in 7th place.

Jim O. mis-read his hand to a 6th place finish. Joe H. had shoved in front of him on a one-suit flop.  Jim O. believed he had made a flush and thus went all-in over the top of Joe. Chris called Jim's bet and on the river, when the cards were revealed, Jim realized he was only 4-to-the-flush. Joe took the main pot with top pair and Chris took the side pot, sending Jim to the rail in 6th place.

The money-bubble began with Nick as the chip leader; his fortune was short-lived. In an unraised pot, Nick flopped top two-pair on an all-heart flop and he led out. Chris moved all-in for approximately 600k and Nick quickly called. Chris showed a king-high heart flush and Nick desperately needed to boat-up to survive. The board did not pair and Nick lost about half his stack. That loss sent Nick reeling; he lost some minor pots after that and never put things back in order, bursting the bubble as he was eliminated in 5th place. (FWIW, Nick guaranteed that if he could start five-handed play all over, he would win the tournament.)

Jason Ta. was out in 4th after playing the short stack for one hand too many. Play checked around to him and he shoved with Td-4d. Chris thought about it for a moment before calling with Q-9. The board was complete air and Chris took the pot with queen high.

Bill doesn't recall the hand that eliminated him. He just remembers that he wanted to punch his opponent in the throat. This is a typical response from Bill after he is eliminated. But in this instance, he did manage to cash for the first time since Season II.

Head's-up play began with more than 2M chips in play -- Chris held about a 12:1 chip lead against his opponent. And then Joe went to work. On the first hand of the 45k level, Joe got all-in with 5-6 against Chris' A-6; Joe straightened out on the river. The two played fold'em for about 15 minutes until Chris got Joe to commit holding A-8 versus Chris' AJ; but Joe hit an 8. Another 15 minutes of fold'em followed and with antes at 80k, Chris had Joe dominated again with A-Q vs. 8-2; the turn gave Joe a queen-high straight and Chris missed the king on the river for the higher straight! Another 15 minutes of fold'em and with antes still at 80k, another big pot developed.  With Chris holding 7-7 and Joe tabling K-2, Joe hit a king on the river leaving Chris with just 160,000 in chips.

On the next hand, Chris pushed all-in pre-deal for his last 160k and when Joe called; the cards were dealt face up. Chris got two rags and Joe was dealt A-K. To add insult to injury, Joe hit an ace on the flop and took the last of Chris' chips.

Joe joins a small group who has had immediate success in the FNCPT. The real test of his talents will be how he fares in the next few events. Congrats again to Joe H. and thanks to everyone who participated in S4E3.

~ Eric W.

April 8 Update

There was absolutely no shakeup in the top four spots, despite Matt P. being penalized for a no call/no show to Event #4 and Fran and Tom both missing the event. Even with a 12th place finish, John stretched his lead, now more than 3.5 points ahead of the field. A good showing by Bill vaulted him into the April 8 for the first time this season, and Jim O. also managed to leap frog the idle Jim H. And while Jason Tr. also jumped ahead of Jim H., he was passed up by Bill and Jim O., leaving him back one spot from where he started. Through 3 events, the April 8 looks like this:

1.  John M. (17.77 points)
2.  Matt P.(13.08 points)
3.  Fran D. (12.18 points)
4.  Tom W. (11.74 points)
5.  Bill B. (11.65 points)
6.  Jim O. (11.20 points)
7.  Jason Tr. (10.86 points)
8.   Jim H. (10.44 points)

An the outside looking in is Chris S, who is 0.3 points away from 8th place. Jason Ta. jumped into 10th place, just about a point away from the April 8 with his best finish of the year. And a strong start by Joe H. has him in 11th place, just 1.2 points out of the last seat in the Championship.

Look for the race to heat us as we get into the middle of the schedule.

Tom plays through bad cards and rides rebuy + add-on to the finish line

Norborne - Seats were randomly assigned and I thought the blue table was much tougher. There was a deadly combination of skills and gamble that I thought would make survival a difficult task. As S4E2 started, 20 seats were reserved, but only 17 seats were filled. Keith, Angie and Jason Tr. all pre-paid and showed up late because of conflicts. Although only 4 players re-bought, 65% of the field took the addon, putting 2.6m chips in play. After a "smashing" end to Round 3, the players continued to battle going in to the first break. Fran and John both cashed in their second straight event and in the early morning hours, Tom felted Jimmy H. to take down Event #2.

The players were allowed to add-on either before the event or at the first break -- no other time. Only a handful of players purchased the add-on before the tournament began, but nearly half the field added-on at the first break. Of the four players that rebought, all of them added-on too, giving them nearly two full stacks of chips in play.

Anita made her first appearance of Season 4 and just couldn't get anything going, as she was the first player eliminated. Even though she had the option, she chose not to rebuy and instead, took a 20th place finish. First time player Steve B. followed Anita to the gate with a 19th place finish. The first two eliminations of the evening came from the blue table.

Kevin got healthy as he bested Eric for a big pot, but he lost it back in another huge pot right before the first break. Unable to get his chips all in the middle before the dinner break, Kevin missed the opportunity to rebuy and limped his way into the fourth blind level before eventually being eliminated in 18th place.

Bill was patient, but card dead. Not a good combination. He exited the tournament in 17th place without much fanfare. Best thing for him really. His therapy was going nowhere.

Matt P. followed up his S4E1 win with a disappointing 16th place finish, as the blue table continued to be punished by John and Keith. Making his season 4 debut, Nick settled for a disappointing 15th place, making 4 of the first five eliminations from the blue table.

John and Keith had the majority of the chips at the blue table when the two become tangled in a huge pot. There was at least 100,000 in the pot when Keith pushed for another 200,000 or so. John went in the tank and admitted later that he almost folded. But he was in a gambling mood and he called, showing two pair. Keith showed only top pair and went from 2nd in chips to out-the-door in 14th place. With just 13 players left, John controlled approximately 20% of the chips in play.

The eliminations at the blue table continued as Chris S. came up short and finished 13th after suffering yet another devastating suckout elimination. Chris got all his chips in preflop with pocket aces against pocket 6's. Unfortunately for Chris, a 6 fell on the turn and the river brought no help for him. Chris kept his cool and quietly exited the Norborne Solarium wishing the remaining players good luck. I have personally witnessed Chris suffer at least 3 similar eliminations in the last 2 seasons.

The second red table casualty was Jason Ta, as he was eliminated in 12th place. Marc H. followed, bowing out in 11th. The two tables played five-handed while the cash players waited for a table to open up.

Mike T. granted the cash players their wish, being eliminated on the Final Table bubble. Just prior to being eliminated in 10th place, the blinds folded to Mike in the SB. Mike raised his option 3X to Jason Tr. in the BB. Jason quickly announced "all-in" and Mike tanked for a minute before calling. Jason revealed A-Q whilst Mike tabled the "Ardmore Girls" (pocket queens) for a commanding lead in the hand. But as fate would have it, a river jack made Jason a straight and Mike was crippled. As Jason collected the 300k pot, Jim H. was overheard saying "you (Jason) alway's get lucky like that at least once in each tournament". As the remaining 9 players moved to the red table, the cash game began on the blue table.

Eric had been posting blinds and folding on the blue table and got some relief when the final table formed. With the increase from 5 players to 9, Eric was able to see (and fold) more hands. If there was a time to be card dead, it was at a full table. When John bumped the 5k/10k blinds up to 30k under the gun, Eric looked down at "Big Slick" in the cutoff. The players folded around to him and Eric pushed in for his last 150k, content to pick up the blinds, antes and John's raise. But John had other plans. After mulling it over for a moment, John called and showed A-9 suited. But it was a charmed life John was living as the flop brought a 9 (and an ace), giving Eric three just three outs. The turn and river stayed dry for John and Eric was eliminated in 9th place.

When Fran raised, Jeff pushed all in and Fran called. Fran showed A-K and Jeff showed K-Q. The flop brought both players a king, but Fran's kicker held up and Jeff was eliminated in 8th place.

When Angie pushed in her for last 43,000 in the dark, Tom called with A-Q of diamonds. Angie rolled over T-5 of hearts. The board missed both players and Tom eliminated Angie in 7th place with ace-high.

Tom had no luck in the season opener and that continued into the early rounds of S4E2, but as the tournament progressed, Tom started to string some cards together and his chip stack grew. With a board of As-Qd-8d, Tom raised to 60k holding K-Q of spades. When Jason Tr. re-raised all-in for another 175k, Tom was left with a tough decision. He went into the tank for roughly 90 seconds before calling with middle pair. Jason turned over Jd-4d for a flush draw. The turn and river stayed clean for Tom and Jason was eliminated in 6th place.

As the players continued to play on the money-bubble, Tom called the big blind under the gun, but Jim O. pushed all-in for another 155,000. Play folded around to Tom and left him with another tough decision, holding pocket sixes. Tom decided to call and Jim showed Ac-8h. The board of Qh-2s Ks was no help to Jim, but the Jd on the turn gave Jim four more outs. Not only did Tom manage to dodge the outs on the river, but he linked up "Route 66" with another 6 on the river, eliminating Jim O. on the bubble in 5th place.

With a fold-around to him in the SB, Jim H. pushed all-in with pocket fives. Fran called with Ah-3h in the big blind. With a flop of T-T-4, Fran's options expanded as he had the possibility of counterfeiting Jim's small pocket pair. But a 2c on the turn made Fran dead to an ace. The 7h on the river sealed it for Jim and Fran was eliminated in 4th place. It was Fran's second straight cash. Even more impressive, Fran did it without a rebuy or add-on.

Three-handed play continued as the ever-increasing blinds ate John's chips away like an unstoppable rebel force and left him short-stacked. Jim H. was not about to make it easy for John and he raised enough to force John all-in. Holding Jc-8c, John called, putting himself at risk. Jim tabled Ks-6h and the race was on with Jim holding a slim 54/46 edge. A flop of 6s-7h-7c put Jim in a commanding 70/30 lead and a Qs on the turn and Th on the river ended John's night in 3rd. It was also John's second straight cash and he was also able to make it into the money without a rebuy or add-on.

Head's-up play between Jim H. and Tom began and the two traded pots, but ultimately, Tom took a sizable advantage, leaving Jim as the short stack.

With blinds at 60k and 120k, Jim raised to 300k holding 2c-2s. Tom played big stack poker and pushed all-in with Kc-Qs and Jim called. Another coin flip, Jim looked to double up after a flop of Ac-3c-Ah. But a Js on the turn gave Tom a straight draw and 4 more outs. The Kh on the river gave Tom a bigger two-pair and his second career FNCPT win!

Tom took full advantage of the structure, rebuying and adding-on. And although the extra help affected his points (he only earned 10.00 points with the rebuy and add-on), he did manage to take home a huge first place prize, fattened up with a handful of rebuys and a ton of add-ons. In fact, Tom became only the second player in FNCPT history (and the first since S3E5) to win a tournament after a rebuy.

Thanks to everyone who participated in Season 4 Event 2 and congrats again to Tom on his win!

~ Eric W.

April 8 Update:  Log jam at the top!

After two events, five players have cracked double digits making the top of the April 8 leaderboard a tight race. With another strong showing, John managed to leapfrog Matt for the top spot, and despite a disappointing finish is S4E2, Matt's S4E1 win gave him enough points to stay near the top of the pack. Fran maintained his third place spot with another cash and Tom jumped up 10 spots after his E2 win. Jim H. finished strong and climbed 7 spots to 5th place. With final table showings, both Jason Tr. and Jim O. managed to hold on to their April 8 spots. Angie rounded out the top 8 with a final table appearance after a good showing in S4E1.

Through 2 events, the leaderboard looks like this:

1. John M. (15.76)

2. Matt P.(14.53)

3. Fran D. (12.18)

4. Tom W. (11.74)

5. Jim H. (10.44)

6. Jason Tr. (7.96)

7. Jim O. (7.48)

8. Angie S. (5.34)

Four players are within 1.19 points of breaking in to the April 8 including Bill (5.13 points), Eric (4.46), Marc (4.22) and Jason Ta. (4.15).  Also, Lolly is within striking distance at 3.94 points which is even more impressive when you consider that she has only played in 1 event.

Matt P. 'Memorializes' Event #1

Norborne - The Fish 'N' Chips Poker Tour made its first stop of Season 4 with Wedge-a-Palooza II, a T100,000 Rebuy tournament on Norborne held on Memorial Day weekend.  18 players reserved a seat, but after a last-minute cancellation, 17 players hit the felt on Saturday.  The last encore saw sub Matt P. battling John M. heads up and when the roadies packed up the gear for the next stop on the tour, Matt had all the chips in front of him.

No sooner did the house lights go down and the show started then Keith K. was eliminated.  Rather than rebuy, Keith called it a night, finishing in 17th place.  After the rebuy period ended, Kevin A. was the next to be eliminated, finishing 16th

Eric W's stack was devastated by Marc H. late in the rebuy period.  After flopping three 8's, Eric let Marc do all the betting.  But when an ace hit the river, Eric sensed trouble and rather than raising, Eric just called the big river bet.  Marc tabled pocket aces and took down the pot, crippling Eric.  Going card dead at the worst possible time, Eric had no opportunity to get his chips in the middle before the rebuy period ended.  Though he treaded water for a little while, Eric was ultimately eliminated in 15th place.


Tom was unable to pull any big pots and bled chips to a 14th place finish.  Marc H. was next out in 13th place.


The blinds and antes began to reach oppressive levels and players started dropping.  Season 3 Champ Jim H. found himself eliminated in 12th place and Angie managed to hold on long enough to secure an 11th place finish.  The two tables played 5-handed, waiting for one additional elimination before forming the first Final Table of Season IV.  That elimination had Phil J's name on it.


The carnage continued into the Final Table, taking Jason Ta. out first in 9th place.  Down to 8 players, the rising blinds forced action; Pat looked down at J-9 off and moved in for his last 70,000.  Jason Tr. called with A-9.  The board was completely dry and Jason took the pot with ace-high, sending Pat home in 8th place.  Jim O. was next out in 7th place.

After promising to cash in the first event on the league's G+ page, Bill played well enough to make that happen, but he fell short after moving in with AQ.  John looked him up with pocket kings.  Finding no help on the board, Bill finished in 6th place and moved on to the cash game.

Five-handed play began with the blinds at 15k/30k/5k.  Pots were pushed back and forth into the 20k/40k/6k blind level before the money bubble burst.  Two-time Player of the Year Jason Tr. pushed his last 270k in the middle with QT of diamonds and was called by John showing KQ offsuit.  John ended up taking down the pot with king-high, sending Jason to the rail in fifth place.

Four-handed play began with Lolly, Matt P., Fran and John; Matt P. was congested and suffering from seasonal allergies, but he managed to press on.   Lolly became the first casualty, finishing 4th.  Being the only player to rebuy in the tournament, Lolly did well to take her stack all the way to the money.  But the rebuy cost her precious points and her fourth place finish netted her less points that Jason Tr. in fifth.


It was anybody's tournament when three-handed play began.  Fran was coming off a strong finish to Season 3 with five straight final tables and a win in the Season 3 Qualifier.  And although he missed most of last season, Matt P. ended Season 2 on a high note with a second place finish in the Championship.  No one could count John out, however.  Though his stack was on a roller coaster all night, the deck hit him just hard enough to hang around.  He survived a huge blow to his chipstack when Matt took a big pot five-handed, leaving John with 8-10 big bets.  But John persevered and he continued to add to his stack.


With Fran's elimination in 3rd place, John and Matt would go heads up.  Both had a sizeable chip stack and it looked like the battle go go into the wee hours.  However, in just a few hands, John's chips were in the middle and Matt had him covered.  Matt took down the hand and won S4E1.


Here's where we'd typically put a shot of the final board and the winner with his winning hand and all the chips.  That's on me. I didn't get a shot.  I can tell you that the four of spades on the river of the last hand matched Lolly's draw, and she won $32 from the S4 River Jackpot #1.

Thanks to everyone who participated in S4E1 and congrats again to Matt P. on his victory.

~ Eric W. 

April 8 Update:

Starting strong is always a good thing for those looking to make the April 8.  With his win in Event #1, Matt jumped out to an early lead.  Jason Tr. gained one spot over Lolly O. because of Lolly's rebuy.  After 1 events, the April 8 shakes out like this:

1.  Matt P., 13.04 points

2.  John M., 8.69
3.  Fran D., 6.52
4.  Jason Tr., 4.35
5.  Lolly O., 3.94
6.  Bill B., 3.73

7.  Jim O., 3.26
8.  Pat M., 2.90

Nevermind Season III, here's Season IV

Norborne - After another grueling 13 events over 11 months, Season III of the Fish 'N' Chips Poker Tour is in the books and Season IV is here. Congratulations again to Season III Champion Jim H. Here are some facts and stats from Season III:

• A total of 33 players participated in the 11 regular season events last season compared to 37 from Season II.
• Out of the 33 players, the top 8 in the overall final standings earned a seat in the Championship.
• Out of these 8 players, 4 of them played in all 11 regular season events. This was a repeat from last season.
• Jason Tr. finished 1st overall in the league standings with 69.07 points and earned his second consecutive Player of the Year honors. With his 69.07 points, Jason broke the now defunct benchmark 66.76 points put up by Season I Player of the Year, Mike T.
• Only 2 players earned 2 regular season wins last season. This included Jason Tr. with wins in S3E4 and S3E6 and Jim H. with wins in S3E7 and S3E9. In Season II, Jason Tr, Jim S. and Matt Pe. each won 2 events.
• The rebuy returned in Season III. 6 of the 11 events offered a full or partial rebuy. In Season II, only 4 of the 11 events featured a rebuy.
• A total of 40 rebuys were purchased in Season III. This was up from 32 purchased in Season II.
• Out of the 40 rebuy's purchased last season, an unprecedented 9 players cashed. This was up, way up, from the 3 players who cashed on a rebuy last season.
• Overall odds of cashing on a rebuy increased to 9:40. As always, 100% of all rebuy proceeds go to the event prize pool.

Like Season III, Season IV will include:

• 11 regular season events with the same scoring formula.
• The top 8 point finishers earning a seat in the Championship Event.
• Positions 9-17 earning a seat in the Championship Qualifier. The winner gets the 9th and final seat in the Championship.
• A majority of the buy-in's will remain at $40.
• A majority of the events will be no limit hold'em.
• The PLO event with a full rebuy is back.
• The unlimited rebuy NLHE event returns.
• And the $60 triple-stack freeze out returns. This will become this season's final regular season event.

Changes in Season IV will include:

• 9 events this season will offer a rebuy. This is up from 6 last season.
• S4E5 will include an increased starting stack of T200,000 in chips (up 50k from last season) and use the standard T100,000 blinds schedule. The buy-in for this event will remain at $50.
• Position Poker is gone.
• The Head's-up event didn't make the cut.
• S4E3 will be an "Ante Only" tournament. There will be no blinds or bring-in's, just an ante. This event will offer a full rebuy.
• S4E7 will be No Limit Tahoe. In Tahoe, you get 3 hole cards instead of 2. There are no discards. You continue to hold all 3 of your hole cards through the hand. You can use 0, 1 or 2 of these 3 cards to make the best five card poker hand from a standard hold 'em board (flop, turn and river).
• The River Jackpot returns. We'll sell 40 cards per event (everyone can buy 2, then if less than 40 are sold, you can buy more at the first break) for $1 each. If you pick the card that becomes the river card on the last hand of the tournament, you win the jackpot (if we sell all 40 cards, you basically get your $40 buy-in back). If no one picks the river card, the jackpot rolls over to the next tournament. The last tournament of the season, we'll sell all 52 cards. 
• The season long props bet won't happen this season.

Good luck to everyone in Season IV!

~ Jason Tr.

Laurels and Hardy

Ingram - Jim H. defeated head's-up opponent Mike T. early Sunday morning to become the Season III Fish 'N' Chips Poker Tour Champion!

Just like last season, each player started the tournament with T200,000 in chips and T450,000 chips were awarded as a bonus based on each players' cumulative season points. Seats were assigned randomly and the stacks looked like this:

Seat 1: Mike T., 247,500
Seat 2: Jim O., 245,500

Seat 3: Eric W., 254,500

Seat 4: Nick G., 259,000

Seat 5: Jason Tr., 276,500

Seat 6: Jason Ta., 243,000

Seat 7: Fran D., 220,500

Seat 8: Jim H., 261,500
Seat 9: Keith K., 244,000

Everyone arrived on time and the tournament began at 7:03 P.M. sharp. Coincidentally, last season's championship also started at 7:03 P.M.

Not much occurred in the first blind level as everyone settled in. However early in level 2, Eric raised PF and got callers in Fran and Keith.  The flop came As Ac 6s; Keith and Eric checked, both both made the call after Fran bet.  The turn brought the 7s and again Keith and Eric checked and Fran bet.  Keith called and Eric re-raised.  With action back on Fran, he pushed all in.  Keith got out of the way and Eric snap-called. Fran tabled Ks-Qs for the nut flush, but Eric flipped over Ah-6h for a full house, making Fran the evening's first elimination.

Level's 3 and 4 came and went and then fireworks erupted midway through level 5 after Eric's 12k raise was three-bet to 36k by Jason Tr. Eric re-popped Jason's 36k to 90k. Jason thought about it for a moment before announcing "all-in" however Eric snap-called and tabled pocket aces. Jason turned over pocket kings and was big time behind. The 9c-8d-7h flop kept Eric in the lead. The 5s turn gave Jason a few more outs in the form of a tie. But the Kh fell on the river sending an atom bomb into Eric's chip stack which was reduced to only 6,500.

Blinds advanced into level 6 when Jim O. and Mike T. became involved in a big pot. After a raise and a call, the flop came out 8s-Jc-Qs. Mike led out and Jim moved all-in. Mike had Jim covered and tanked for a minute before calling and showing Qc-Jd for two-pair. Jim flipped over 9h-10c for a flopped straight and a commanding lead in the hand. The 2c turn kept Jim ahead but the Jh river made Mike a full house and Jim was out in 8th place.

Keith found himself card dead and bleeding chips into level 7 with blinds at 5k/10k/1k when he made a move with Qc-Jh for his last 70k. Jim H. looked him up with pocket deuces and led on the 4s-3d-10d flop. The Ad turn gave each player straight draws but Jim remained in the lead. The 10c river sealed it and Keith bowed out in 7th place.

Despite being reduced to just 6,500 in chips three levels earlier, Eric managed to claw his way back into the game. With blinds at 7k/15k/2k, Mike min-raised preflop and Eric called.  The flop brought the 2h-5h-Jc and Mike led out with 50k. Eric pushed in his last 130k and put Mike in the tank.  Eric admitted that he moved in because Mike looked uncomfortable with the board, and Mike conceded that he almost folded.  But Mike stuck with the hand and called, showing pocket 10's. Eric revealed Ad-6d. The 7h turn kept Mike in front and left Eric with just two outs. The river was the Qs and it was curtains for Eric who exited in 6th place.

The blinds advanced to 15k/30k/5k in level 10 when Nick moved in with Qs-Jh for roughly 400k in an attempt to steal the blinds and antes. But Mike quickly called revealing Ah-Ks and paired his king on the 2s-Kc-6h flop with TPTK. Nick picked up a straight draw on the 10c turn but the 5c river gave Mike the win and left Nick with one BB.

Nick miraculously managed to run that 1 BB all the way back up to 346k into level 11 where blinds reached a stupendous 20k/40k/6k.  Jason Tr. bumped the action up to 140k PF. The action folded around to Nick who went into the tank for over 4 minutes before announcing "all-in". Jason called and tabled Kh-Qs. Nick turned over Ad-10d for the lead and paired his 10 on the 2h-2d-10s flop. Jason picked up a GSSD on the 9c turn but the 7c river gave Nick the huge pot and reduced Jason to just 150k.

A hand later, Jason, short-stacked and steamed, looked down at pocket 5's and jammed it. Jim H. called with Ad-9d and quickly paired his 9 on the Kc-9s-3s flop for the lead. Running 6's on the turn and river brought no help for the two-time Player of the Year and he was out in 5th place.

4 handed play between Mike, Nick, Jason Ta. and Jim H. continued into level 13 where the blinds increased to a ridiculous 40k/80k/10k. Mike was the chip leader with roughly 600k whilst everyone else held stacks between 400k-500k. Then Nick pushed with pocket 8's and he was insta-called by Mike T's "American Airlines". The Ad-2d-Jd flop put Mike in a commanding lead with a flopped set. With no diamonds in either player's holdings, Nick needed running diamonds or running 8's to chop or suckout on his opponent. The 9c turn sealed it for Mike and Nick hit the rail on the bubble in 4th place, ending the family Championship legacy.

3 handed play continued in the 40k/80k/10k level when Jim pushed all-in for 700k after a 250k raise by Mike. Mike called with Kd-Jc only to see his opponent table pocket queens. Mike paired his king on the As-Kh-9h flop and took the lead. But the Qh reared her ugly head on the turn thus turning the tables back Jim's way. Mike needed a 10 for a straight for any hope of winning the pot. But it was not to be as the 4h came instead and Mike's stack was reduced to a measly 170k.

With blinds still at 40k/80k/10k, Jason Ta. shoved his last 450k in with 7c-2c in hopes of picking up the precious blinds and antes. Unfortunately for Jason, Jim looked down at Ah-9c and made the quick call. A glimmer of hope came for Jason on the Js-4c-5c with a flush draw. The 4d turn kept Jim ahead. The Qh river failed to bring a club and Jason was out in 3rd place with $325 in prize money.

Head's-up play between Jim and Mike began with blinds still at 40k/80k and with each player agreeing to forgo the ante. Jim had his opponent out-chipped 8-1 and it didn't take long for the final hand of Season III to be dealt.

Mike bet his last 200k with 4d-7h. Jim called with the As-8h and led on the 10s-10d-8s flop. The 5d turn gave Mike a GSSD. But the Ah river came instead and Season III's Champion was crowned.

This was the second straight season that the winner of the Championship was named "Jim" and held "A-8" on the final hand. Last year, Jim S. turned A-8 into a straight to better Matt P's flopped pair of 7's.

 Congratulations Jim on your 2011-2012 Fish 'N' Chips Poker Tour Championship victory! 

On behalf of the FNCPT Tournament Directors, I would like to thank everyone who played this season and we look forward to seeing you in Season IV.

~ Jason Tr.