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.
