Mike T. cracks the "April 8" just in the Nick of time

Ingram - Mike T. managed to overcome a 10:1 chip deficit over head's-up opponent Nick G. to take down the regular season finale of Season IV of the Fish 'N' Chips Poker Tour!

This was the first time the season finale was the deep (triple) stack. This meant more points being awarded and a chance for anyone in 9th to 19th place to get into the "April 8".

The event nearly filled at 19 players with 16.88 points going to the winner. The first deal went out at 7:05pm.

Jason Ta. was the first player out earning 1.69 points and locking himself a seat in this season's Championship in 4th place overall. Sub Mike M. was out next followed by Tom W. who despite an early exit also locked a seat in the A8 in 6th place overall.

Kevin A. was out in 16th place followed by Jason Tr. who was mathematically eliminated from the top 8 after failing to finish higher than Keith K. and Marc H. The two-time reigning POTY will be remanded to the Qualifier.

"Buffalo" Bill B. was out in 14th place after getting it in good with K-K against opponent Fran D's A-K. Unfortunately for Bill, the flop brought an ace. No help came on the turn and river and he was out. Best thing for him, really. His therapy was going nowhere. Bill finished 3rd overall and earns an A8 berth.

Lolly was out next when she moved-in with Q-J but ran into Chris Ba's set of 9's. Anita followed Lolly to the rail in 12th place who was followed by Sean O.

John M. managed to hang around for many orbits on the short stack. All-in and on the brink of elimination several times, he somehow managed to stay alive. But the staggering blinds finally caught up with him and he was out in 10th place. His POTY dreams were dashed as he was outlasted by front-runner Jim H. who will earn the honour this season. But John will still have a shot at the league's top honour in this season's Championship as he finishes 2nd overall in the standings.

Phil J. was the first player eliminated from the final table. Marc H. was next after he found himself short and all-in with 9-10. Fran looked him up with K-J. A king fell on the river and Marc was out.

POTY Jim H. was out in 7th place when his Q-9 ran into Keith's A-K. Angie followed Jim when her pocket 8's were called by Nick's A-3 which flopped, you guessed it, an ace.

Keith bubbled in 5th place after being eliminated on the same hand with Chris Ba. by Nick. On the hand, Keith was the SB and Chris the BB. Nick bet out 500k with blinds at 100k/200k and a 20k ante. All the chips went in and Keith revealed A-8, Chris A-9 and Nick 6-6. The board stayed clean and both players were out. Chris had more chips than Keith so he got 4th place and prize money. But with a 5th place finish, Keith maintained his top 8 position in the standings and is Championship bound. Meanwhile, Nick's chip stack quickly grew to great proportions.

Fran was next when he moved-in his short stack with 10-6 and got a caller in Nick. Nick once again showed pocket 6's. The board, once again, stayed clean and Fran was out in 3rd place. Despite earning 8.44 points for his 3rd place finish, Fran finishes in 9th place overall at 33.19 points, just 0.38 points back from 8th place. Fran will have to earn his seat into the Championship via the Qualifier. But this is familiar ground for him as he did just that last season.

Head's-up play between Nick and Mike started with Nick having a 10:1 chip advantage over his opponent but lasted only 5 hands. Both players needed a first place finish to penetrate the "April 8". Second place wouldn't be enough. The runner-up was Qualifier bound. The order went all-in, double-up, all-in, double-up, Mike folds the SB and then all-in, double-up. With blinds at a mind-blowing 150k/300k and an ante of 40k, the final hand of the tournament was then dealt.

Mike was all-in and Nick called. Mike showed Qs-Qd whilst Nick turned over Ah-8h. Was this a premonition for Nick? The Ah-8h? The "April 8"? 

The Kc-7d-8d flop hit Nick but kept Mike in the lead. The 9d turn brought no help for Nick and gave Mike a flush draw. Nick was down to 4 outs and 4 outs only. But it was not to be for Nick as the 2d fell giving Mike a winning flush, a berth into the "April 8" and Jason Tr. the $140 River Jackpot!

This is Mike's 4th regular season win. He went from 19th place in the standings to 8th place.

Thanks to everyone who participated in S4E11 and congrats to Mike. Good luck to everyone in the Qualifier and Championship!

~Jason Tr.


April 8 Update

After the theatrics early Sunday morning, the "April 8" was finalized. Congratulations to Jim H, John M, Bill B, Jason Ta, Eric W, Tom W, Keith K. and Mike T! All have earned a seat in this season's Championship.

Defending two-time FNCPT Player of the Year Jason Tr. held the 8th spot going into S4E11 but was bumped out after a dismal 15th place finish. Despite a 3rd place finish, Fran D. ended up just 0.38 points out of 8th place. Marc H. was in 9th place going into S4E11, just 0.13 points behind 8th place. Despite finishing 8th in the tournament and earning 3.75 points, it proved to be not enough as he fell to 10th place in the overall standings. Had Nick G. pulled off a win early Sunday morning, he would have claimed 8th place in the standings. Instead he moved from 17th place to 12th place. Jason, Fran, Marc and Nick will have to earn their seat in the Championship via the Qualifier.
 
2012-2013 Fish 'N' Chips Poker Tour Player of the Year

Congratulations to Jim H. who managed to hang on to the overall points lead and earns the Season IV Player of the Year honour! Despite missing 3 events this season, Jim finished with a league leading 51.39 points which included back to back wins in S4E9 and S4E10. Jim follows up his win in the Championship last season with the Player of the Year honour this season. Will Jim be the first player to earn the POTY and Championship in the same season? We'll see. The POTY has not had any success at the Championship. Mike T. finished 7th in Season I's Championship and Jason finished 6th in Season II's Championship and 5th in last season's Championship.

Championship Qualifier

Positions 9-17 in the final standings have earned a seat into this season's Championship Qualifier. The winner of the Qualifier will earn the 9th and final seat into this season's Championship. Positions 9-17 include:

9.  Fran D.
10. Marc H.
11. Jason Tr.
12. Nick G.
13. Chris Ba.
14. Angie S.
15. Jim O.
16. Lolly O.
17. Sean O.

If one of the above players cannot participate in the event, their seat will be offered to the next player (18th place) in the standings. Players participating in the Qualifier will receive bonus chips based on the number of points they earned during the season. A total of T225,000 bonus chips will be distributed over the 9 starting T100,000 stacks. 

Jimmy raked in pots today

Ingram - Season III Champ Jim H. claimed his second straight win of this season early Sunday morning after chopping 1st and 2nd place prize money with "Buffalo" Bill B. and coming out on the winning end of the coin flip for points.

Season IV's Event 10 filled at 20 players and the cards flew at 19:06 hours.

Jason Tr. was the first player felted when he just couldn't get away from the "Ardmore Girls" and pushed all-in against sub Chris Ba's flopped two-pair. Chris called, the river brought no help and Jason promptly rebought. A short time later Jason was officially eliminated in 20th place when his flopped 2 pair (aces and jacks) ran into a buzz saw in the form of a flopped broadway straight courtesy of Keith K.

Phil J. was out in 19th place after Keith called his short-stack all-in with K-J. Phil's 9-7 didn't get any help after Keith paired his jack and he quietly exited the premises. Lolly was out next when her short-stack all-in with Q-7 was called by Angie who flopped a set of jacks. Kevin exited in 17th place after his move with J-8 of spades was picked off by John's A-9.

Fran was out in 16th place after he moved in on a board of 10-K-8-5-J and was quickly called by John who tabled J-10. Fran mucked and hit the rail. Jim S. followed in 15th place after running into Anita's "Pocket Rockets". Eric followed Jim after running into Jason Ta's "Pocket Rockets".

Jim O. was eliminated by Keith in 13th place when he made a move with A-Q versus Keith's K-K. Sub Chris Ba. was out 12th when (just like Jim O.) he ran into Keith's K-K.

Anita and Angie were the tournament's next eliminations (out 11th and 10th respectively) thus forming the final table.

Mike T. and Sean O. were the first eliminations from the final table after Jim H. made a flush and dispatched them both on the same hand. John M. was next (out 7th) when his pocket 9's led until the river made Keith a straight. Keith followed John after his pocket jacks ran into "Buffalo" Bill B's pocket queens. Nick was eliminated on the bubble in 5th place (no data) thus putting the remaining players in the money.

Jason Ta. bowed out in 4th place (his 3rd cash of the season) after his A-9 was out-flopped by Tom's J-10.

Tom followed Jason a short time later after being crippled by "Buffalo" Bill and moving in blind with 10-4. Jim called and took the pot with queen high.

Jim and Bill sparred back and forth for a short time before eventually making a deal to chop the prize money and play out the next hand for points. Both were nearly even in chips.

On the final coin flip of the tournament, Jim was dealt Jh-Jd whilst Bill was dealt 4h-5d. The 8s-9d-As flop kept Jim in the lead and left Bill needing running 4's, 5's or a running 6 and 7 to make a straight. Bill managed to pair his 4 on the 4d turn, but the 6c river sealed the deal and Jim was awarded first place points.

This is Jim's second consecutive win this season and his third cash. Although only playing in 7 of the 10 events so far this season, he has surpassed overall leader "Captain" John M. in points and is now the overall leader with 47.17 points. John is just 1.91 points back at 45.26.

Thanks to everyone who came out for S4E10 and congrats to Jim on another win!

~ Jason Tr.

April 8 Update

Through 10 events and with only 1 event remaining, the updated "April 8" are:

1.  Jim H.  (47.17 points)
2.  John M.  (45.26 points)
3.  Bill B.  (42.33 points)
4.  Eric W.  (39.84 points)
5.  Jason Ta.  (38.84 points)
6.  Tom W.  (34.98 points)
7.  Keith K.  (29.74 points)
8.  Jason Tr.  (29.40 points)

Marc H. missed E10 and it cost him his April 8 spot dropping to 9th place overall. With a 6th place finish, Keith managed to find his way back into the top 8 landing in 7th place with 29.40 points. Jason Tr. had a horrendous 20th place finish Saturday night and fell one spot to 8th place with 29.40 points, just 0.13 points ahead of Marc in 9th place.

On the outside looking in are Marc in 9th place (29.27 points), Angie in 11th place (25.01 points), Fran in 12th place (24.75 points), Chris Ba. in 13th place (23.09 points), Lolly in 14th place (20.65 points) and Sean O. in 15th place (20.10 points).

With a full field of 20 players, the winner of E11 will receive a staggering 17.32 points. This will give several players in the standings the opportunity to crack the April 8.

Bill B. (3rd place overall) and Eric W. (4th place overall) will be missing E11. But with their high point totals, they are guaranteed seats in this season's Championship Event. Jim O. will also miss E11 and will have to take his chances in this season's Qualifier.

2012-2013 Player of the Year

The overall points leader at the conclusion of E11 will earn this season's Player of the Year honor. With Bill and Eric both missing E11, the POTY will be limited to Jim H, John M, Jason Ta. and Tom W. Good luck gentlemen!