Hidden Court West - Jim H. defeated head's-up opponent Keith K. early Sunday morning to claim victory in Event #9 of this season's Fish 'N' Chips Poker Tour.
The event was the standard T20,000 NLHE with a partial rebuy. Substitute Brian N. was a late cancellation however substitute replacement Dan C. filled the seat. The cards flew shortly after 7 P.M. with a field of 17 players.
First time substitute player Chris B's FNCPT experience was short lived as he was the evening's first elimination after declining the option to rebuy. S3E8 Champ Tom W. exercised his rebuy option, but followed Chris to the rail. FNCPT Season II Champion Jim S. was the third out.
Angie was eliminated in 14th place when she re-raised Jason Tr. from 5k to 9,500. Jason called and turned over pocket ace's. Angie's K-Q flopped a queen however the turn and river brought no help for her and she was out. Rebuys allowed Nick G. and John M. to stay afloat a little longer, but they exited in 13th and 12th respectively.
Jason Ta. was eliminated in 11th place before Lolly ran in to trouble with Jim H. She called his re-raise to put herself all-in on a 10 high flop. Lolly showed Q-10 and Jim tabled K-10 to out-kick Lolly. The turn was a blank and even though the Qc on the river gave Lolly two-pair, it completed Jim's king-high flush. Lolly was out in 10th place and the final table was formed.
Replacement substitute player Dan C. was the first elimination from the final table after he called Jason Tr's all-in on a board of A-Q-7. Jason revealed A-Q for a flopped two-pair whilst Dan turned over A-K. The turn and river missed him and he was sent to the rail in 9th place. Anita was out in 8th place, just before a clash between Mike T. and Keith K. With blinds at 1k/2k, Keith pushed all in for 22k and Mike called. Keith tabled K-J and Mike showed J-10. The board missed Mike (and Keith) and Keith scooped the huge pot with king high.
Substitute Fran D. found himself short-stacked and got his last 5,500 in with pocket 9's. Jason Tr. made the call with A-J and immediately paired his ace on the flop. The turn and river gave Jason a full house and Fran was sent to the rail in 6th place.
Heading into the bubble, the final 5 players remaining in the tournament all held sizable, comparable chip stacks and exchanged pots through the 2k-4k-400 level. Jason was the first player on the brink of elimination after he lost a 80k pot to Keith only to double-up through Keith a few hands later when his flopped set of jack's bettered Keith's flopped set of 9's.
Play continued until Jim O's stack took a critical blow at the hand of Kevin reducing it to a little better than 1 BB. Short stacked and steamed, Jim moved in his last 4,300 and got two callers in Jim H. and Jason Tr. Jim H. rivered two-pair to Jason's top pair, top kicker and scooped the sizable side pot. Jim O. mucked his cards, headed to the rail in 5th place and in the process became the S3E9 "Bubble Boy".
Play continued until Jim O's stack took a critical blow at the hand of Kevin reducing it to a little better than 1 BB. Short stacked and steamed, Jim moved in his last 4,300 and got two callers in Jim H. and Jason Tr. Jim H. rivered two-pair to Jason's top pair, top kicker and scooped the sizable side pot. Jim O. mucked his cards, headed to the rail in 5th place and in the process became the S3E9 "Bubble Boy".
Four-handed play continued through the 2k/4k/400 level and into the start of the 2.5k/5k/400 level between Kevin, Jim H, Keith and Jason Tr. After taking a huge dent to his stack by Keith, Jason got his remaining chips in the middle with Jd-10d and got a caller once again in Keith who revealed K-Q. The flop quickly paired Keith's king and after a blank on the turn, Jason was drawing dead and exited in 4th place.
Just a few hands later on an unraised, checked pot, a flop of 4-5-K was dealt. Both Jim and Kevin checked. The turn brought a 2. Kevin bet 15k only to be raised by Jim to 40k. Kevin paused and after a few moments announced all-in. Having just a few thousand more chips than Kevin, Jim called and flipped over pocket deuces for a turned set. Kevin exposed K-Q, was drawing dead and quietly exited stage left in 3rd place.
Jim held a nearly 3-1 chip lead over opponent Keith starting head's-up play however Keith battled back and both players exchanged pots into the 3k/6k level when the final hand of the tournament was dealt.
Thanks to everyone who came out for S3E9 and congrats to Jim on his win!
APRIL 8 UPDATE:
The last two years, it has required 36.36 and 37.29 points respectively to secure a seat in the April 8. Only Jason Tr., Nick and Jim H. have eclipsed those points totals this season. The other five seats remain up for grabs.
With his strong showing in E9, Jason Tr. moved to the top of the Player of the Year leaderboard. Nick's rebuy and low finish dropped him to second, his lowest position all season. The win vaulted Jim up four places and into third place in points, and with a second place finish, Keith K. bumped up two spots to fourth place. Jason Ta. held steady in 5th place and Angie S. dropped two spots to 6th place; she is the only other person (with Nick) to be in the April 8 the entire season. Eric W. missed E9 and his absence cost him four spots, dropping him to 7th place. With his bubble boy finish, Jim O. clings to the final spot in the April 8.
The top 8 are dogged by some close followers, including Tom W. (-3.45), Mike T. (-5.31), John M. (-5.36) and Anita G. (-5.81). With three events left in the season, all of these players are within striking distance, especially considering Tom and Mike have only played 5 and 6 events, respectively.
~ Eric Wej.
He breaks late, everyone knows this...
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