Girl Power!



Hidden Court West - Angie S. defeated head's-up opponent Anita G. to claim S6E8 of the Fish & Chips Poker Tour in the early morning hours of Sunday, December 14th!

Regulars Chris S, Kevin A. and Mike M. were out for the event and were replaced by substitutes Drew M, Kevin L. and Allan J. which kept the event filled at 20 players.

The tournament was NLHE with a full rebuy. The opening deal went out just after 7pm.

Marc H. was the evenings first elimination in level 5 (500/1k/100) after calling Mike T's 2,500 raise preflop holding K-Q. John also called. The K-J-6 flop was dealt and Mike bet 4,500. Marc moved in for 10k more and John folded. Mike called and tabled A-A. Running 2's on the turn and river gave Mike the elimination and Marc the rail.

In the same level, Jim H. raised to 3,500 and Mike T. announced all-in. Jim called and showed 7-7 while Mike revealed A-A again. A board of J-J-10-6-3 was dealt and Jim was out. Notes on the elimination sheet by Jim included "NO ACTION cause I suck".

Sub Kevin L. was out next (18th place) after he was all-in for his last 6,800 with A-5 with blinds at 600/1,200/200. An undocumented villain called with J-J and Kevin missed his OESD on the 6-7-8-K-10 board.

Bill was next after he shoved with 7-7 and got called by Drew M's J-J. Sub Allan J. followed Bill after he pushed for 12.6k holding A-4 and Chris calling with K-K. The board of 6-7-6-7-6 was dealt and put a full house on the board, however Chris' pocket kings played giving him a bigger boat.

Keith K. was eliminated in 15th place by Lolly O. The only notes on the elimination sheet listed were Keith had K-Q and he lost and Lolly won.

Sub Drew M. bowed out in 14th place after getting eliminated by Nick G. Notes on the elimination sheet stated Nick raised and Drew called. The flop was 6-7-8. Nick bet and Drew shoved with Q-10. Nick then hero called with A-7. The turn and river brought no help for Drew and he was out.

Chris Ba. was the next player to hit the rail in perhaps the second biggest hand of the night. With blinds at 8k/16k/200, Mike T. raised to 5k in early position. Fran then pushed for his last 11,600. Chris called. Jason Tr. (seated to Chris' left) looked down at J-J and thought about it for a moment before folding. John M. made the call as did Mike. A flop of 5-2-7 was dealt and Chris moved all-in for his last 22k. John then went all-in over-the-top and Mike folded. Fran showed 6-8 for an OESD, Chris flipped over J-J while John showed Q-Q. The 9 turn filled Fran's straight and the K river gave John the huge side pot.

Blinds increased to 1k/2k/300 when it folded to Eric in the SB who looked down at 10-5. He made it 10k to go and John called in the BB. A flop of ?-2-6 was dealt and Eric was all-in. John called revealing 2-2 for a flopped set. A 5 on the turn left Eric drawing dead. John "stuck-it-in" with a 6 on the river giving him deuces full.

Jason Ta. was out in 11th place in the same level after getting his last 1,800 in good holding A-10. Jim O. called with A-6 and made running trip's on the Q-9-4-6-6 board.

John M. was out in 10th place after getting his small stack in the middle with blinds still at 1k/2k/300 with Ac-5c. Fran and Jason Tr. both called. A flop of 7s-10c-7c was dealt. Both Fran and Jason checked. The turn was the Qs. Both Fran and Jason checked again. The river was the 3s and Fran checked. Jason balked and then bet 10k. Fran debated it for a few seconds and called. Jason showed As-2s for the nut flush. Fran mucked and Jason scooped the huge pot thus forming the final table.

Sean O. was the first player eliminated from the final table after blinds increased to 1,200/2,400/400 and he called Fran's 7,300 raise. Holding 7-7, Sean moved all-in for 17,600 on the A-K-9 flop. Fran called revealing A-J. The 6 turn and 3 river missed Sean and he was out in 9th place. This was the 3rd time on the night a player was eliminated holding 7-7.

In the same blind level, Lolly bet out 9,000 holding 5-5. Mike made the call and the flop was dealt Q-Q-4. Lolly announced all-in and Mike made the quick call with K-Q. The 9 turn and 10 river brought no help for Lolly and she was out in 8th place.

Nick was the next player to bite the dust after blinds increased to 1,600/3,200/500. In a multi-way limped pot, a flop of J-9-3 was dealt. Holding J-7, Nick made it 6,000 to go. John folded and Fran called. The turn was a 2. Nick pushed all-in and Fran made the quick call and tabled 9-3 much to Nick's disgust. A 6 on the river missed Nick for a higher two-pair and he out in 7th place. Note, earlier in the day, Nick predicted a win in the tournament. Despite rebuying, he only managed a 7th place finish. Good luck next month Nick.

Despite being short-stacked and card dead for most of the final table, Jim O. was still be in the tournament with only 6 players remaining. Blinds increased to 2k/4k/600 (level 11) when Angie called the minimum, Jim called in the SB with 2-3 and Fran checked the BB. The flop was 5-2-7 and Jim shoved with bottom pair. Fran called and then Angie shoved all-in. Notes on the elimination sheet indicate Fran didn't know Angie was in the hand at that point. Fran then folded and Angie revealed A-5 for middle pair. A 10 on the turn kept Angie in front. A queen fell on the river and Jim was off to the cash table.

With blinds still at 2k/4k/600, Jason Tr's chip stack was decimated after getting it all-in with A-J vs. Anita G's A-K. A short time later with less than 10k in his stack, he woke up with A-6 and pushed. Mike looked him up with J-10 and sucked out on the 5-Q-10 flop. No help came on the 5 turn and 3 river and Jason was out in 5th place on the bubble.

Four-handed play began with blinds at 2k/4k/600 and with both Mike and Fran holding the largest chip stacks. Anita was 3rd in chips whilst Angie was 4th.

Although having a gargantuan chip stack for nearly the whole tournament and 4 eliminations to his credit, Mike started bleeding chips and ironically became the tournament's next elimination. Blinds bumped up to 2,400/4,800/800 when he raised to 14k holding 8-8. Angie called and the 10-10-Q flop was dealt. Angie checked and Mike moved all-in. Angie made the quick call and flipped over A-10 for a big lead. The 5 turn and 7 river missed Mike and he was out in 4th place.

Ironically Fran was the next player out after Anita raised to 24k and both he and Angie called. The flop brought out K-8-6. Angie went all-in and Fran called while Anita got out of the way. Fran showed K-9 and Angie showed K-Q. A king on the turn gave both players trips, however Angie had Fran out-kicked. A deuce on the river sealed it for Fran and he was out with 3rd place money.

For the first time in the history of the F&CPT, both head's-up opponents were female. Both players are also current "April 8'ers". Angie had a sizeable chip lead over her opponent.

Blinds increased just one level to 8k/16k/2k when the final hand of the tournament was dealt at 3:30am.

In the hand, which would be the biggest of the night, Anita raised to 38k and Angie re-raised to 80k. Anita then pushed all-in and Angie made the instant call tabling Ks-Kd. Anita rolled over Jc-Jh and the 9h-4s-5h flop was brought out. Although behind, a jack or running hearts would give Anita the pot and another chance at a win. The 8d turn missed her and left her drawing to a two-outer. The 9d river card fell instead giving Angie the bigger two-pair and her second win of the season.

 

This was Anita's second 2nd place finish this season which all but locks her for a top 8 finish this season.

This is the second consecutive tournament this season using the T20k blinds structure where the tournament lasted more than 8 hours. Some are calling for the structure to be adjusted to shorten the length of the tournament.

Congrats again to Angie on her win and thanks to all who came out for S6E8!

~ Jason Tr.


"April 8" Update

Only 3 events remain this season. Through 8 events, the "April 8" are:

1. Angie S.     43.29
2. Jim O.        42.87
3. Anita G.     36.70
4. Bill B.        36.61
5. Jason Ta.   36.60
6. John M.     34.06
7. Mike T.     29.40
8. Lolly O.    25.87

Despite a 5th place finish Sunday morning, Jason Tr. remains in 9th place with just 0.52 points separating him from Lolly in 8th place. Chris Ba. remains in 10th place and 3.58 points back from 8th. Substitute Drew M. held in 11th place just 3.90 points from 8th. Just behind Drew is Nick G. in 12th place who actually gained a spot in the standings with his 7th place finish Sunday morning. With 21.78 points, Nick is 4.09 points from 8th. And just behind Nick is Eric W. in 13th place with 21.62 points. Eric is only 4.25 points from 8th place.

Since the inception of the league, the average points needed to secure 8th place after 11 regular season events is 36.97. The most points was by Keith K. last season with 38.98. The fewest points was by Mike T. in Season 4 with 33.57.

The Comeback Kid

Hidden Court West - Chris Ba. managed to overcome a 50:1 chip deficit and defeat head's-up opponent Bill B. to capture the seventh event of Season 6's F&CPT in the early morning hours of Sunday, November 15th!

This was the league's 3rd annual "HO" (round-by-round NLHE and PLO) tournament. Regular's Mike T, Marc H. and Kevin A. were out and all three were replaced by substitutes Drew M, Kevin L. and Kyle H. which kept the field at 20 players. The tournament start time was slightly delayed and eventually got underway at 7:20pm.

Angie S. was the event's first elimination (no elimination information recorded). Anita followed Angie after she was all-in preflop (PLO) with blinds at 600/1,200/200 holding A-9-8-4 and got called by Kyle's 10-10-?-? which ended up making 10's full of 7's.

After rebuying, Fran was felted and eliminated in 18th place (no elimination information recorded). Keith K. was out next (17th) after getting "taken out by Drew".

Blinds reached 800/1,600/200 in a NLHE round when Jason Ta. was all-in holding K-Q. Mike M. made the call with A-10. The 10-9-3 flop put Mike in the lead. The 8 turn and 4 river missed Jason and he was out in 16th place.

Substitute Kevin L. was out in 15th place after moving all-in for 1,200 with blinds at 1k/2k/300 in PLO with 5-5-8-9. Nick's A-A-?-? held up. As fate would have it, Nick was out next in 14th place on a rebuy. Hand notes included "Bulls*%t all night. 50k double-up to drew than 50k lost through several two pairs".

Mike M. was dispatched in 13th place when his A-10 was "out beat by top 2" of the unknown opponent's A-Q on a board of A-Q-?-?-?. Eric W. was next after his pocket 8's were destroyed by Jim H's pocket queens.

Despite being a huge chip leader early in the tournament, Drew M. got whittled down and found himself all-in with J-5 on a flop of 5-8-A with blinds at 1,200/2,400/400 in NLHE. Chris Ba. called and tabled A-9 for top pair. The 4 turn and 10 river brought no assistance and Drew was out in 11th place.

Blinds increased to 1,600/3,200 with a 500 ante (PLO) when Sean moved all in for his last 11,900 with 5-4-4-3 and was quickly called by Chris Ba, holding A-A-K-6. An inconsequential board followed and Chris’ A-A held up thus forming the final table.

Having been blinded down to his final 4,900 chips, Jim O. had little choice but to move all-in in the same level. Unfortunately, John’s flopped straight had Jim heading for the exit.

The action continued to be fast and furious as blinds rose to 2,000/4,000 with a 600 ante. Jim H, having been relatively quiet at the final table, finally found some action when Kyle raised from early position to 14,000 and he woke up with Q-Q. The table folded to Jim as he moved all-in. Kyle called and, to Jim’s excitement, tabled A-Q. Shockingly, the door card was unkind to Jim as the flop came A-9-3. The turn was a J, leaving Jim’s hopes on a two-out river. As he noted on the elimination sheet, it “wasn’t a f*%king Queen,” and Jim was knocked out in 8th.

Meanwhile, Chris S. was busy amassing a table-leading stack without the benefit of an elimination. That would change as Kyle, fresh off his elimination of Jim H, decided to be aggressive and call himself all-in against Chris’ flop bet. Chris showed top-set against Kyle’s one pair. The board provided no improvement for Kyle and he was eliminated in 7th place as Chris raked a massive pot.

The final 6 played two full levels before seeing another all-in moment. During that time, chips traded hands at a relatively even pace and players jockeyed to make the final 4 and grab a payout. With blinds at 3,000/6,000 and with a 900 ante, Jason Tr. raised to 20,000 holding Q-10. The action folded to Chris Ba. (BB) who re-raised Jason all-in. Jason called, tabling his Q-10 but was behind to Chris’ J-J. The board ran out with no improvement for Jason and he was eliminated in 6th place.

The five remaining players would not have to wait long to make the money as Lolly found herself short-stacked and needing to double-up for a shot at cashing. Holding 3-5 on a 6-4-10 flop, Lolly moved all-in for her last 30,000. John called, tabling 6-4 for two pair. After the turn and river came up empty, Lolly was knocked out on the bubble in 5th place.

John followed her out the door in 4th place as he was eliminated by Chris Ba. (no elimination information recorded). Shortly after that elimination, the blinds moved up to 5,000/10,000 with a 1,500 ante and began to drive action between the final three players. Chris Ba. led out for 35,000 from under-the-gun holding A-10. Chris S. called from the BB and the two players saw a flop of 3-6-8. Both players checked through and saw a 10 on the turn. Chris S. led out for 40,000 and Chris Ba. raised to 110,000. After thinking for a moment, Chris S. called and the river was another 3. Both players checked, and Chris S. frustratingly mucked his hand to the tabled A-10 for top pair. After losing another major hand to Bill, Chris S. found himself all-in blind for his last 20k. Chris Ba. called and showed 7-8. Chris S. rolled his hand and exposed A-9, good for a small lead. The flop came out 10-J-Q and when the turn came a 2, Chris S. was looking good for a double-up. However, the river felled a 9 and Chris S. was eliminated in 3rd place.

The heads-up match featured Chris holding a stack of roughly 400k against a short-stack of 120k held by Bill. The players traded pots for the first 20 minutes, waiting for a major confrontation. Bill would provide that when he raised to 40,000 holding K-J. Chris re-raised all-in and Bill called, tabling his hand against the A-3 of Chris. When the board provided a K and nothing more, Bill had successfully doubled through and the match was almost even. Two hands later, Chris looked down at 9-9 and raised to 50,000. After a re-raise from Bill, Chris moved all-in and Bill called. Bill rolled Q-10 for the “classic coin flip”. The board exposed a Q on the flop and no improvement for Chris on the turn or river. After counting the stacks, Chris was left with only 10,700 chips against roughly 510,000 held by Bill: over and done, right? NOT so fast!

Chris proceeded to double up three times in a row increasing his stack to nearly 100,000. After giving some away through blinds, the FOURTH straight double-up provided Chris a stack of roughly 150,000. Bill was clearly flustered at this point as he could feel the victory beginning to slip away. He was able to secure a few small wins over the next few hands but took yet ANOTHER hit when Chris locked in his FIFTH consecutive double-up. Despite holding a 51:1 chip advantage not long before, Bill was confronted with a dead-heat for the win. The stage was set for a final showdown; First to act, Bill looked down at Ks-8s and moved all-in. Chris snap-called and tabled Ah-Qs. The flop came 2-4-A and Bill was down to needing runner-runner to stay alive. The turn….10d! After a SIXTH STRAIGHT double-up, Chris Ba had successfully recovered from a 51:1 chip disadvantage to capture his second Omaha-related F&CPT event win.

 

The tournament lasted to nearly 4am. There was nobody left/up to take the winner's photo so the board and winning chip stack were photographed instead.

 



Thanks again to all that played and congrats to Chris!

Oh, and these snazzy sunglasses were left behind by someone.

You can claim them at the next event.

~ Jason Tr.
~ Chris Ba.