Ingram - Mike T. managed to stage a late comeback early Sunday morning over the colossal stack of head's-up opponent Eric W. and take down Event #10 of this season's Fish 'N' Chips Poker Tour! Mike was a late addition to the field as he filled the seat of Jim S. who was a late cancellation.
This is "Triple stack!" as each player started with triple the usual T100k in starting chips using the T100k blinds schedule. As 17.32 first-place points were up for grabs, the TD's had no problems filling all 20 seats. The decks were shuffled and cards were dealt eleven minutes after seven with an astonishing six million total chips in play.
No players were eliminated through the first 3 blind levels. However early in level 4, both Keith and Pat quietly exited stage left from the bronze table. Chris S. moved his sizable stack from the red table to the bronze table for balancing.
Kevin bowed out in 18th place after he re-raised Jason Tr. from 50k to 137.5k all-in. Jason called and showed As-Qs. Kevin revealed Kc-Qc. Both players flopped their top cards but Kevin could not catch up.
After being crippled by Eric's turned straight, John M. was next (out in 17th place) at the bronze table. Jason Ta. followed John after he moved his short stack in and ran into the flopped straight of Mike T. Tom was then eliminated in 15th place at the bronze table.
Jim H. was holding pocket queens when he lost a sizable amount of chips to Eric. The turn brought Eric a flush and the river brought a fourth spade. Jim sensed he was beat, but he couldn't let go of his queen high straight and made the call, losing 2/3rd's of his chips to Eric's Ace-high flush. Jim managed to hang on for quite some time but was eventually eliminated in 14th place.
After being crippled by Eric's turned straight, John M. was next (out in 17th place) at the bronze table. Jason Ta. followed John after he moved his short stack in and ran into the flopped straight of Mike T. Tom was then eliminated in 15th place at the bronze table.
Jim H. was holding pocket queens when he lost a sizable amount of chips to Eric. The turn brought Eric a flush and the river brought a fourth spade. Jim sensed he was beat, but he couldn't let go of his queen high straight and made the call, losing 2/3rd's of his chips to Eric's Ace-high flush. Jim managed to hang on for quite some time but was eventually eliminated in 14th place.
Anita was next when she made a move for her last 160k and got a caller in Jason Tr. Jason's A-K bettered Anita's A-8 and her night ended earlier than she would have liked.
Substitute player's Greg S. and Brian N. hit the rail in 12th and 11th place evening the field to 10 players with each table playing 5 handed. However just a few minutes later, Angie S. was eliminated by Mike T. and the final table of 9 was formed.
Final table play started with blinds at 20k/40k and an ante of 6k. 15 minutes into play, Jim O. got his short stack all-in and got a caller in Chris S. Jim tabled pocket jacks whilst Chris showed pocket 7's. Jim was poised to double up and make a run however a devastating flop which brought two 7's was dealt which gave Chris quads. The turn missed Jim and he was out in 9th place.
Blinds advanced to 25k/50k/7k when Nick and his surging stack of more than 800k got tangled with chip leader Eric W. After a raise, re-raise, all-in and call, Nick flipped over the "Ardmore Girls" - two queens. However Eric quickly tabled pocket kings for a commanding lead in the hand. The flop brought a set of kings for Eric. The turn and river brought no help and a devastated Nick hit the rail in 8th place. Nick commented that he put Eric on A-K -- and Jim O. quickly reminded him that he would have lost to A-K. Just a few hands later, Eric dispatched substitute player Fran in 7th place.
"Buffalo" Bill B. maintained a sizable chip stack through the first 12 levels of the tournament, however he found himself card dead and slowly getting blinded away when he decided to make a move with a suited queen. He got a caller in none other than Eric with his pocket 4's who managed to flop a set. Although behind, Bill picked up a flush draw going into the river. Bill filled his flush on the river, but unfortunately it paired the board and gave Eric a full house. Bill initially grasped his chips, began shaking slightly and nearly melted down. But he quickly regained his composure and like a true gentleman, he slid his remaining chips to Eric and wished everyone good luck as he quietly exited the premises.
Chris S. found himself in the same boat as Bill when he made his move with pocket 4's. Once again, a caller in the form of Eric came and Chris quickly found himself big time behind after Eric revealed pocket kings. The flop brought 3 bricks, but the tides changed when a 4 fell on the turn giving Chris the lead. But as fate would have it, a king came on the river and Chris was out on the bubble in 5th place.
4 handed play between Eric, Jason Tr, Lolly and Mike T. began with blinds at a staggering 40k/80k and an ante of 10k. Eric held a roughly 4-1 chip lead over his opponents.
Just a few hands into 4 handed play, Lolly raised and Eric called. Eric checked the flop of 2-3-6 and Lolly quickly moved all-in. Eric snap called and revealed pocket 6's for a flopped set. The turn and river missed her and Lolly was out in 4th place.
3 handed play continued through the 40k/80k/10k level and into the 60k/120k/20k level. Mike and Jason had roughly 800k each while Eric held approximately 4.4 million. But Mike and Jason kept the pressure on Eric by nipping away at his stupendous stack. Mike managed to pump up to 1.7 million over the course of several hands but Jason found himself card dead and getting blinded away like Broomcorn's Uncle to the massive blinds.
With a little under 600k, Jason moved with the Qc-10c and Eric called showing a better Kd-Qd. Eric led on the double-diamond flop but a glimmer of hope came for Jason in the form of the 10s on the turn giving him the lead. But a 3rd diamond hit the river, giving Eric a flush and Jason was out in 3rd place with his 3rd consecutive cash of the season.
With a little under 600k, Jason moved with the Qc-10c and Eric called showing a better Kd-Qd. Eric led on the double-diamond flop but a glimmer of hope came for Jason in the form of the 10s on the turn giving him the lead. But a 3rd diamond hit the river, giving Eric a flush and Jason was out in 3rd place with his 3rd consecutive cash of the season.
Head's-up play between Eric and Mike started with Eric holding a 2:1 chip lead over his opponent. Both players agreed to forego the ante in the 60k/120k level.
The players battled each other well into the 150k/300k level. At one point, Mike took a sizable lead, until to see it fade away when Eric's pocket 7's held up. But Mike doubled up twice and evened the stacks again. Mike took a few more small pots just before the final hand of the tournament was dealt.
Mike raised to 750k with the As-10s. Eric pushed and Mike called. Eric showed Qs-Kd and Mike led on the 8c-9c-6d flop. The 5d brought no help for Eric and he was down to his last 6 outs. But the Ah came instead and gave the 2009-2010 Player of the Year his 3rd career win.
With the Ah river card, "Buffalo" Bill took down the $37 River Jackpot. Thanks to everyone who participated in S3E10 and congrats to Mike on his victory!
~Eric W.
April 8 Update
As expected, the triple stack tournament and the extra points that came with the higher buyin event shook up the April 8.
The top three players remained the same, but Jason Tr. expanded his lead with his third straight cash (and sixth of the season); with 65.54 points, he is now all but a lock to top Mike T's point total from Season 1 (66.76). With another Final Table finish, Nick (47.47) traded spots with Jim H. and moved in to second place. He now stands alone as the only player to be in the April 8 the entire season. Despite his 14th place finish, Jim H. (46.03) has amassed enough points to stay in the top 3, dropping one place to third.
The "deepstack effect" was most prominent for Eric and Mike. Eric (41.86) jumped four places into fourth place, despite not winning a tournament this season (second place points in the deepstack was worth more points than a win in Event 5, however). With the victory, Mike (39.40) leap-frogged seven other players to land in 5th place.
With another final table, Jim O. (39.02) fell just two spots to 6th place. Coming off his second consecutive last place finish, Keith (37.17) also dropped two spots to 7th place. The fact that he is still in the April 8 is a testament to his strong results early in the season. Rounding out the April 8 is Jason Ta. (36.52), dropping two spots with an uncharacteristic 16th place finish.
On the outside looking in for the first time this season is Angie (33.72) who is only 2.8 points behind Jason Ta. A solid performance in the season's final tournament could put Angie right back where she wants to be.
Still within striking distance is Anita (25.79), Tom (25.08) and John (24.55). With the winner of the last event taking home a maximum of 14.14 points, a strong finish by any of these competitors might just be enough to get them into the Championship directly rather than having to go through the Qualifier.
