Park Woods Drive - Mike M. took advantage of home field advantage and defeated head's-up opponent sub Ed A. to claim the F&CPT's 2nd annual no-ante hold 'em tournament in the early morning hours of Sunday, January 11th. This was also Mike's first F&CPT regular season victory!
The event filled at 20 players ten days prior with Chris S. being the only regular out. He was replaced by sub Drew M. who ended up backing out the day before. Drew was replaced by sub Ed A. the day of. Just a few hours before the event, regular Keith K. came down with the sickness and had to cancel. Amazingly, the F&CPT coordinator was able to fill the seat with sub Andrew G. keeping the event full at 20 players.
The opening deal went out just a few minutes after 7pm with a handful of players running late. Within 30 minutes, everyone had arrived.
Jim H. was the first player eliminated after raising to 75 with A-A with blinds at 10/20 and getting callers in Fran and Eric. The flop was J-5-7. Jim bet 100. Both Fran and Eric called. The turn was another 7. Jim bet 500 and Fran moved all-in. Eric got out of the way and Jim called. Fran showed 6-7 for trips. And a 6 fell on the river giving Fran a full house and Jim another early exit.
Eric was out next in level 5 (30/60 blinds) after calling a middle-position raise by Nick in late position with 5-5. The flop was Q-4-8 and Nick bet 225. Eric sensed Nick was trying to steal so he moved all-in. Nick called and showed K-Q for top pair. Eric revealed his pocket 5's. Running blanks on the turn and river gave Nick the elimination. Eric briskly exited the basement and premises avoiding any and all eye contact.
Marc was out next (18th place) after re-raising Jason Tr's PF 200 chip raise to 700 all-in with K-J. Jason called and showed A-J. The board missed Marc and Jason took it down with ace-high. Marc then became the bronze table's dealer.
Kevin A. returned from a two month hiatus but unfortunately found the rail in 17th place after his two-pair was bettered by Nick's flush. John followed Kevin after Jim O's rivered heart flush dispatched him 16th place.
Blinds remained at 60/120 when Anita took a stand with A-J and pushed for the last of her chips. Both Jason Ta. and Fran called. The 9-Q-5 flop was dealt and Jason quickly moved all-in. Fran folded and Jason showed A-Q. The turn/river cards brought no help for Anita and she was out in 15th place.
Sitting at 9th place in the overall standings, Jason Tr. needed a deep run to try and overtake Lolly O. in 8th place. But the run was halted when he was eliminated in 14th place after it folded to him in the SB with blinds at 60/120. He looked down at 6-6 and raised to 500. Jim O. re-popped it to 1,300 in the BB. Jason put Jim on over cards and pushed for 1,900 more hoping he would fold. Jim thought about it for a few seconds before making the call and tabling 10-10 which caused Jason to grimace. The 5-7-9 flop gave Jason a GSSD. A 3 on the turn gave him a DBBSD. But a 5 on the turn gave Jim the better two-pair and the elimination.
Sub Andrew G. was out next (13th place) after going all-in PF for his last 635 with A-K with blinds at 60/120. Fran made the call in the BB with Ad-2d. Andrew led until the river brought a 5th diamond which filled Fran's flush.
After purchasing a rare early rebuy, Mike T. bounced back and started building his stack. With blinds at 75/150, he looked down at J-J and raised. Jim O. called only to have Bill B. push all-in holding As-Qs. Mike M. made the call as did Mike T. Jim folded. Mike T. led until a 5th spade reared it's ugly head on the river giving Bill the suck-out win.
Fran followed Mike in 11th place after Jason Ta. raised over-the-top of Fran's 500 chip raise all-in. Fran made the call with Q-Q. Jason showed A-K and got lucky when a river ace fell to give him the elimination.
With blinds still at 75/150, Sean pushed PF for 1,000 holding Q-10. Angie then pushed for her last 1,225 with K-Q. Nick called with A-10. The 3-7-8-8-2 board was dealt and Nick took it down with a pair of 8's and his ace-kicker. This then formed a final table of 8 players.
Bill was the first player eliminated from the final table with blinds at 100/200 after moving all-in for 3,175 with J-10 ahead of Lolly's PF raise of 700. Lolly made the call with 6-6. The 5-9-3-5-4 board was dealt giving Lolly two-pair and the elimination. In the same level, Chris Ba. put in his last 1,325 chips holding K-J against Jason Ta's A-K. The A-3-10-10-9 board was dealt which gave Jason two-pair and the elimination.
Blinds increased to 150/300 when sub Ed A. raised to 900 and Jim O. looked down at A-10. Jim shoved for his last 1,350 and Ed made the quick call with A-Q. The A-2-4-5-J board gave both players aces, however Ed's queen-kicker gave him the elimination.
Blinds advanced 2 levels to 300/600 when Nick was eliminated on the bubble in 5th place. After licking his wounds and chip stack from a prior hand versus Ed, he decided it was time to get things back on track so he raised to 1,500 holding A-9. Mike M. announced "all-in" for 4,000 more. Nick called with his last 3,000 and was disgusted when Mike revealed the "Ardmore Girls". The J-10-6-2-9 board was dealt and Mike took the pot and elimination with two queens.
Blinds jumped a level to 500/1,000 when Lolly bowed out in 4th place. Holding 9-9 she was all-in versus Mike's K-7. The Q-4-Q-10-10 board counterfeited her and Mike took the pot and elimination with his king-kicker. Despite an early rebuy, Lolly managed to pick up some much needed points by cashing in 4th place.
Blinds increased another level to 700/1,400 when Jason Ta. on the short stack checked his BB with 3-4 after Mike limped on the button. A flop of 4-3-2 was dealt and Mike bet 1,400. Jason eagerly raised all-in and Mike made the quick call tabling 5-6 for a flopped straight. Jason revealed his two-pair. A 9 on the turn and a 7 on the river missed him and he was out with 3rd place money and a membership to this season's 40 point club.
Head's-up play between Mike and Ed continued with blinds at 700/1,400 with Mike holding an approximate 2-1 chip lead over his opponent. Mike had only one F&CPT cash to his credit and it wasn't even a real cash as it was only a few bounties from this season's bounty tournament. This was Ed's first F&CPT event. Both players were guaranteed at least 2nd place money!
Play advanced into the next level (level 16) where blinds reached 1,000/2,000. Mike managed to wear Ed's stack down to 5,600 before the final hand of the tournament was dealt. Ed moved all-in blind and Mike called. Ed rolled over a very unimpressive 3h-10c whilst his opponent revealed As-4d. A board of 8s-Ks-3s-4c-6d was dealt and Mike took the final pot and his first F&CPT win with a pair of 4's.
Despite purchasing a rebuy in the early stages of the tournament, Mike still received 10.00 points for the win. This catapulted him from 19th place in the standings to 12th place.
Thanks to everyone who participated and congrats to Mike on his win!
~ Jason Tr.
"April 8" Update
Only 2 events remain this season. Through 9 events, the "April 8" are:
- Jim O. 46.91
- Angie S. 46.12
- Jason Ta. 43.67
- Bill B. 39.75
- Anita G. 38.47
- John M. 35.72
- Mike T. 30.94
- Lolly O. 29.87
For the second straight event, the top eight players remained the same. However, the pecking order changed. With his 5th place finish combined with a 9th place finish by overall leader Angie S, Jim O. managed to overtake the top spot in the standings by a measly .79 points. With his 3rd place finish, Jason Ta. moved from 5th place to 3rd place. Bill B. maintained his 4th place status. Anita dropped from 3rd to 5th with a 15th place finish. John, Mike T. and Lolly all maintained their 6th, 7th and 8th places respectively.
Jason Tr. remained in 9th place with a 14th place finish. But the gap widened from last month's event. He is now 2.63 points from 8th place versus just over a half point last month. With a 5th place finish, Nick jumped from 12th place to 10th place and just 3.38 points from 8th. Chris Ba. dropped from 10th to 11th and 4.04 points from 8th. With a win and rebuy, Mike M. jumped from 19th place all the way to 12th place. He is now just 5.63 points from the bottom rung of the "April 8".
The next event is the league's first 7 Card Stud tourney. This could put some players outside their comfort zone. It will be interesting to see who is in and who is out with only 2 events remaining.
Jason Tr. remained in 9th place with a 14th place finish. But the gap widened from last month's event. He is now 2.63 points from 8th place versus just over a half point last month. With a 5th place finish, Nick jumped from 12th place to 10th place and just 3.38 points from 8th. Chris Ba. dropped from 10th to 11th and 4.04 points from 8th. With a win and rebuy, Mike M. jumped from 19th place all the way to 12th place. He is now just 5.63 points from the bottom rung of the "April 8".
The next event is the league's first 7 Card Stud tourney. This could put some players outside their comfort zone. It will be interesting to see who is in and who is out with only 2 events remaining.
