Ingram - The ninth event of season 5 of the FNCPT was held Saturday night and in the end, Nick G. held all the chips after defeating head's-up opponent Jim O.
The event was this season's third freeze-out event and it quickly filled at 20 players. Everyone arrived on time and the opening deal went out just after 7 PM.
Bill B. was the first player eliminated when he moved his last 17k in holding A-8. He got a caller in Marc H. who tabled A-9 which held up. Anita quickly followed after being dispatched by Kevin and almost simultaneously at the blue table, Jason Tr. exited in 18th place after his pocket 2's were defeated by Marc H's K-9 which rivered a straight.
Kevin A. bowed out in 17th place after he found himself short-stacked and all-in holding J-4. Jason Ta. looked him up with A-J which held up on the A-6-4-3-8 board. After being eliminated, Kevin worked his magic and convinced Anita to join him at a local neighborhood bar.
Angie S. was eliminated in 16th place after three-betting all-in to Nick's initial raise. Nick called revealing K-Q whilst Angie showed Q-J. The 4-2-8-5-K board gave Nick the elimination. Notes on the elimination by Angie included: "Nick is an ass".
Super substitute Sean O. was out next after he made a move with Q-8 on a flop of A-Q-2 and was quickly called by John M. who showed A-9. The turn and river missed him and he exited in 15th place.
Keith followed Sean to the rail in 14th place after his A-Q was bettered by Jim H's A-A. Tom followed Keith (out 13th) after his J-J ran into Jim O's A-A.
Mike M. found himself short-stacked and all-in holding pocket 5's. Jim H. called him with A-10. The K-J-J-K-A over-board was no help to Mike and he exited in 12th place.
With blinds at 5k/10k/1k, Jason Ta. got it all-in for 28k holding K-7. Nick made the call with A-7 which took the pot with ace high.
Chris S. looked down at pocket 10's and quickly moved-in. Jim O. called with A-J. The 10-9-Q flop gave Chris the lead with a flopped set of 10's, however Jim picked up an OESD. The 8 turn filled Jim's straight and Chris needed the board to pair for a win. But a 7 came instead and Chris exited in 10th place thus forming the final table.
Eric W's bid for a deep run was cut short after he was eliminated in 9th place. With blinds at 7k/15k/2k, Eric was all-in for a measly 5k and got a gentleman caller in Jim H. who subsequently raised Jim O. out of the pot. Eric showed K-Q and Jim revealed A-Q. An ace hit the flop and put Jim in the lead, however the turn gave Eric a flush draw. Unfortunately the river missed him and Eric headed to the cash table where he went on to have a record night cashing for nearly $700.
Marc H. was next (out 8th) when his pocket 5's went up against Jim O's A-J on an over-board of J-7-J-Q-10. John followed Marc in 7th place when his J-5 was bettered by Jim O's K-J.
Mike T. was eliminated in 6th place after his pocket 8's where out-flopped by Nick's A-Q. Chris Ba. followed Mike on the bubble (5th place) after his T-T was out-boated by Jim H's K-Q on a board of J-2-J-J-Q.
4-handed, Jim H. took a huge hit to his stack losing nearly 90% of it to Fran. A few hands later, he was all-in blind. The other Jim, Jim O. called and showed A-10. Jim prayed for a hand, turned over the 6-4 of spades and was devastated and dejected. But the 10-5-7 flop gave him hope in the form of an OESD. The turn brought a 4th spade for Jim but kept the other Jim in the lead. The river was a blank and Jim O. was awarded the elimination and pot. Jim H's comments on his elimination included "F**K THE WORLD!" previously confirming he was indeed devastated and dejected.
Three-handed play continued between Fran, Nick and Jim O. when one of the evening's most dramatic eliminations occurred. Although short-stacked, Fran was poised for a certain double-up when he moved all-in holding "American Airlines". Jim made the call with 6-9 o/s. A 6 appeared on the flop but Fran remained confidently in the lead. Incredibly, running cards on the turn and river gave Jim a straight and sent a shocked Fran to the rail in 3rd place.
The tournament was now head's-up between Jim and Nick for all the roses. Each player agreed to keep the ante in play.
A long head's-up battled ensued lasting over 45 minutes. Nick stayed ahead the whole time, but Jim came close on a few occasions to overtaking the chip lead.
On the final hand of the tournament, Nick raised from the button to 160k with blinds at 15k/30k. Jim looked down at Ad-Js and quickly re-raised all-in. Nick snap-called and revealed Jh-Jd.
The 9h-2s-10s flop kept Nick in front. The 5d turn eliminated a flush draw for Jim and reduced his outs to one of the three remaining aces for a double-up. But it was not to be as the 6s came instead giving Nick his 4th career regular season victory!
With the win, Nick now re-enter's the "April 8" with a comfortable cushion. And with a 2nd place finish, Jim O. climbs out of the 8th spot.
Thanks to everyone who came out and continues to come out to our league events. We would not have a league without you!
Congrats again to Nick on his win and his reemergence into the "April 8"!
~ Jason Tr.
Excerpts from the S5E9 Champ
"(The first) one with me and Marc where I was betting pretty sizable amounts on a flush draw with A-10 and eventually going all-in on the river when I missed. Marc called pretty quickly. I said "you got me" and almost mucked, but (I) said "ace-high" and turned it over. Marc said "chop it up" and revealed A-10 also. The table was shocked. He was not pot committed on the river either".
"Other hand was Jim O. calling all-in on the river versus Fran. Jim turned over his cards and announced "straight". Fran almost mucked, but then realized Jim misread his hand. It was only 6 -high. Fran had, I think, ace-high".
"Anita got tangled-up with me early on for about 50k with her calling my rivered straight. She says she was on tilt a couple hands later eventually losing to Kevin. She did not recall exactly what she had".
~ Nick G.
S5E9 Champion
April 8 Update
The strong keep getting stronger! Fran finished 3rd in S5E9 and overtook Jim H. to 3rd overall in the standings. Jim, who sat in 3rd place prior to S5E9, ended up finishing in 4th place but still dropped one spot to 4th overall. Despite a dismal 20th place finish Saturday night, Bill still sits atop the A8 by a full 13.69 points over 2nd place Sean. Sean finished a season low 15th place Saturday night.
With his S5E9 win, Nick went from 9th place to 5th overall and now has re-established himself comfortably in the A8 by 8.03 points over the 8th spot. The S5E9 runner-up Jim O. jumped from 8th in the standings to 6th overall, however he is just 3.47 points over the cutoff.
Chris S's 10th place finish dropped him 2 spots in the standings to 7th overall; just a miniscule 0.31 points over the 8th spot Jason Ta. who finished 11th and dropped 2 spots to 8th place. The top 8 spots now include:
1. Bill B. (61.78 Points)
2. Sean O. (48.09)
3. Fran D. (39.15)
4. Jim H. (38.21)
5. Nick G. (37.64)
6. Jim O. (33.08)
7. Chris S. (29.92)
8. Jason Ta. (29.61)
Jason Tr. (now officially a "has-been") finished in 18th place Saturday night and dropped from 7th in the standings to 9th overall; a full 3.52 points out of the 8th spot. Marc H. managed to stand pat in 10th place overall with an 8th place finish and 4.65 points out of 8th place.
The gaps now start widening in the standings with only 2 events remaining. But, this season's final regular season event will most likely fill and if it does, first place will be worth a season high 17.17 points!
Kevin A. sits in 11th place just 6.47 points out of the 8th spot. Eric W. is in 12th place, just 7.23 points off the final spot. Mike T. is in 13th place, just 7.30 points out. Keith in 14th place is just 8.23 points off the mark. Mike M. is in 15th place and 8.77 points out. And Anita is in 16th place at 9.70 points off the final spot.
Anything can happen going into the final 2 regular season events. Everyone is in control of their destiny!
Good luck to everyone in the final 2 regular season events!
Rare Images from the FNCPT Cash Game Underground
Cash games post FNCPT events are common, however they are very secretive. Sometimes they include as many as 10 players. Sometimes they only include 5-6 players. Last night, at one point, the cash game had amassed 10 players!
It was a good time. Eric eventually ended up cashing out for nearly $700 in winnings from an initial $60 buy-in! Hot Damn!
So, here are a few rare images from the aforementioned cash game from last night:
Included in this photo from the lower left of this image is: Jason Tr. (taking photo), Marc H, Lolly O, Kevin A, Bill B, Eric W. (taking a photo as this photo was taken) and Jason Ta.
Here is the image from the point of view of Eric who took the above photo with his camera as seen above:
Included in this photo which Eric took is Jim O, (left).
Congrats to everyone who cashed in the cash game!
~ Jason Tr.
