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.

Season III Championship Table Preview

Ingram - Nine players will compete for the FNCPT Season III Championship Saturday. Here is the final table preview.

Seat 1:  Mike T.   247,500 chips : The Season I "Player of the Year" crept into 5th place in the overall standings this season with a late win in S3E10. Mike leap-frogged 7 other players with the victory and in the process guaranteed himself a seat in "The Big Dance". Despite putting up 66.76 points in Season I, Mike finished a disappointing 7th place in the Championship. In Season II, Mike finished in 13th place in the standings and earned a seat in the Qualifier, but had to back out due to prior obligations (opening up a seat for the eventual winner "Buffalo" Bill B). Mike cashed three times this season for a total of $865 and will be looking to add to this total in the Championship.

Seat 2:  Jim O.   245,500 chips: Unsatisfied with two prior Qualifier appearances (finishing 3rd in Season I and on the bubble last year in Season II), Jim set his sights on the Championship this year.  He started out the season strong with final tables in his first four events, including a win in Event #3.  But missing events 4 and 7 put Jim in a position of needing to catch up.  He did just that with a 2nd place finish in the re-scheduled Event #6, earning him enough points to coast into the Championship with the 6th most points overall.  Jim managed to reach the final table 7 of 9 events this season, and will be looking for another strong showing in the Championship.

Seat 3:  Eric W.  254,500 chips: After suffering a devastating suckout late in last season's Championship, Eric went on to settle for 3rd place. He looked to carry that momentum into this season. He bubbled in S3E1 and managed back-to-back 10th place finishes in S3E2 and S3E3 before finishing runner-up in S3E4 for his first cash of the season. He then went on to tie for second place in this season's head's-up event (S3E7) and finished the season with a runner-up finish in S3E10 and a third place finish in S3E11 earning a total of 48.93 points (4th in the overall standings) and $645 in prize money. Eric will look to build on his late season success in the Championship.

 

Seat 4:  Nick G.  259,000 chips: Nick got off to a red hot start this season with 3 straight cashes (4th place in S3E1, a win in S3E2 and a 3rd place finish S3E3) but he soon found himself in 2nd place and chasing eventual Player of the Year Jason Tr. in the standings. Despite 4th place cashes in the rescheduled S3E6 and S3E11, Nick slipped to 3rd in the standings just behind Jim H. But his 5 cashes were the second most this season netting him $770. Nick is 3rd in career earnings in the FNCPT. Nick's loose-aggressive style will keep his opponents guessing and on the defensive in the Championship.
 

Seat 5:  Jason Tr.  276,500 chips:  In Season I, Jason finished 7th overall and 5th in the Championship.  In Season II, Jason improved to first overall , but he finished 6th in the Championship.  In Season III, Jason is looking to put it all together.  He stumbled out of the gate with a disappointing 16th place finish in E1.  Since then, he has been a machine, making the final table 9-out-of-10 times with an active streak of 8 consecutive.  He has cashed 6 times including victories in Event #4 and Event #6.  He has added more than $1400 to his bankroll this season.  He finished first in points (for the second straight year), setting the record for single season points with a whopping average of 6.28 points per event -- the equivalent of finishing 4th every time.  Starting the Championship with the chip lead will suit Jason's tight-passive-aggressive style well, as he attempts to put his season earnings over the $2,000 mark.

Seat 6:  Jason Ta.  243,000 chips:  Jason played in all 11 events during Season III, final tabled 6 of them and cashed three times. This included a tie for second place in S3E7 (Head's-up Event), a third place finish in S3E8 and a third place finish in S3E6 (PLO). Jason locked up the 8th place position in "The April 8" with 38.69 points. He managed to hang on to the final spot despite Chris S's victory in the regular season finale who finished just 1.14 points behind Jason. Jason finished a disappointing 7th in last season's Championship. He will be looking to change this with a Season III Championship victory courtesy of his tight-aggressive playing style.

Seat 7:  Fran D.  220,500 chips:  Starting out as a reliable sub in Season II, Fran finished 22nd overall, playing in just 4 events.  In Season III, Fran played in 5 events, making the final table in all but one event (he was the final table bubble boy in Event #3).  He earned enough points to finish 17th overall and take a seat in the Qualifier.  He made the most of that event, playing pocket jacks to the victory and securing the last open seat in the Championship.  Past Qualifiers have finished second (Kevin A. in Season I) and fourth (Bill B. in Season II) in the Championship.  Fran intends to be the first Qualifier to take down the Championship.  Although he will be starting as the short stack, Fran's patient style should be well-suited to the slow blinds and longer levels in the Championship.  

Seat 8:  Jim H.  261,500 chips:  Jim is no stranger to success, earning over $2,000 over the last three seasons. But on the big stage, he has stumbled, finishing last in the Season I Championship and 8th in Season II.  This year started out slow for Jim, making the final table only once in the first half of the season (4th place in E4).  Starting with the heads-up event, however, Jim turned things around and has been playing solid poker.  He won Event #7 and Event #9, added a second place finish in Event #11 and another final table in the rescheduled Omaha event.  In the last half of the season, Jim has added nearly $800 to his bankroll and he looks to increase that amount with a Season III Championship victory.

Seat 9:  Keith K.  244,000 chips:  Keith missed the Qualifier last year after finishing fifth in the Season I Qualifier.  This year was to be different.  Keith started out with a fizzle, finishing 15th in the first event.  With a trio of second place finishes (in Event #2, Event #7 and Event #9), Keith grabbed ahold of the April 8 and never relinquished it, finishing 7th in overall season points.  And although Keith posted a win in the Play-in Event of the 2006 Wedgerock Poker Tourney Season, he is still looking for his first FNCPT victory.  He has intentions of making the Season III Championship his first FNCPT win.


~ Eric W. & Jason Tr.

Qualified!

Hidden Court West - Fran D. defeated Angie S. in a thrilling head's-up battle late Saturday night to claim Season 3's Championship Qualifier! With the win, Fran earned the coveted 9th and final seat in this season's Championship.

The seating order and starting chip stacks were as follows:

1. Chris S.  27,500
2. Greg S.  21,900
3. Anita G.  25,700
4. Lolly O.  24,600
5. Bill B.  24,700
6. Kevin A.  24,800
7. Fran D.  23,700
8. Tom W.  25,000
9. Angie S.  27,300

John M. who finished 12th overall in the league standings bowed out of the Qualifier and was replaced by substitute Greg S.

The cards for this winner take all STT flew just after 7 P.M.

"Buffalo" Bill B. was the evenings first casualty after moving all-in for his last 9,600 on a board of 5d-Qs-7d-4h. Fran D. thinking Bill might be flushing made the call and revealed 3d-4d. Bill showed Jd-10d giving Fran the lead with bottom pair. A 2c missed Bill and he was out in 9th place.

Kevin followed Bill when he bet his last 5,200 with K-J on a king high board with a pair of 7's. Anita looked Kevin up and revealed 7-3 for trip 7's leaving Kevin drawing dead. Greg was next after he moved in for 8,700 PF with A-4 o/s and got a caller in Fran with A-J.

Lolly was next, out in 6th place, when she made a move with her last 5,700 with pocket 8's after a 5k raise by Tom W. Tom called the extra 700 and tabled pocket kings. The board brought no help and Lolly was out.

Fran's chip stack began growing like an out of control fungus. It got even bigger after Chris three-bet Fran's 2,900 raise to 10k with blinds at 500/1k. Fran moved in and Chris snap called and showed pocket 10's. Unfortunately for Chris, Fran unveiled pocket aces. The board stayed clean and Chris headed to the nearby cash table.

Four-handed play included Fran, Tom, Angie and Anita. Fran easily held 50% of the 225,000 chips in play. Tom was second with about 60k. Angie and Anita manned, rather womanned, the short stacks with about 20k each.

Tom was eliminated next after he moved-in after flopping 2 pair against a raise by the behemoth stack of Fran. Fran called and showed a flopped 9-K straight. The board failed to pair one of Tom's two cards and he hit the rail in 4th place.

Three-handed play continued through the 1,200/2,400 blind level with Fran having each of his opponents out-chipped 8-1. However Angie and Anita didn't go easy. Each of them managed to take down several small pots and slowly built up their small stacks. Angie got up to nearly 60k when suddenly all three players found themselves all-in preflop. Fran showed 8h-9h, Anita revealed K-Q and Angie flipped over the "Ardmore Girls", pocket queens. Angie was in the lead, poised to triple-up but a king hit the flop and put Anita in the lead. Blanks fell on the turn and river and Anita scooped the main pot, however Angie took the nice side pot of 60k and remained alive.

Fran turned up the heat with several preflop raises and c-bets in the 1,600/3,200 blind level sending the ladies into retreat mode. Fran managed to whittle down both of his opponent's stacks to about 30k each. Then Angie made a move for her last 32,200. Anita had 1k less and made the call with pocket 5's. Angie tabled A-Q. The 8-6-3 flop kept Anita in the lead. But the turn brought an ace and put Angie on top. The 3c river missed Anita and she was out in 3rd place.

Head's-up play between Fran and Angie continued in 1,600/3,200 blind level with Angie having about 60,000 and her opponent having about 165,000. Over the course of several hands, Angie managed to build her stack up to roughly 70k when the final hand of the tournament was dealt.

In the big blind, Angie raised it up to 10k. Fran thought about it for a moment and moved all-in. Angie called and revealed pocket aces. Fran turned over pocket jacks and was big time behind at an 81.2 to 18.8 disadvantage. The 8h-5c-5h flop increased Angie's probability of winning the hand to 88.0%. But the Jd reared it's ugly head on the turn giving Fran a 95.5 to 4.55 advantage with jacks full. The meaningless 9c river gave Fran the win and the final seat in this season's Championship.

Thanks to everyone who came out for the Season 3 Qualifier and congrats to Fran on his win and good luck to him in the Championship!

~ Jason Tr.