Pokerbrat & AnteVirusjT Heads-Up Twice!

It was a great home game tonight. We played two, deep stack , £10 buy-in games with re-buys in the first hour.

In the first game it was a tough field with newcomer, John 'The Mountain' Michel joining us for the first time, Pokerbrat was on top form, Kermit was making some moves, the Fish was fishing, Scrooge McDuck took early chip lead, Lethal was playing tight and I kept hitting the cards.

My streak gave me the chip lead towards the end of the first hour and I'd trebled-up before the re-buy period ended. Kermit and The Fish had to re-load in the first game taking the pot to £90.

I have a chance to take Pokerbrat out and call his King, 10 with my King, Jack. He hits a 10 on the flop and I hit my Jack. The turn gives him another Ten and he doubles-up. This is bad news as he's dangerous with chips.

Kermit made a gutsy all-in call with Ace, King and was happy to see Pokerbrat with Ace, 5. The flop brings dead cards, but the brat turns or rivers a 5, taking Kermit out.

I'm desperately needing a double-up and I push with pocket 7s, when Pokerbrat raises pre-flop. The brat is the chip leader by some way so I'm hoping for a call, as I get to double-up and take some of the brat's chips. I get my wish and I'm pleased to see Ace, Jack as I always prefer to have the pair going into a coin flip. I flop my trips and river a full house so am back in the game in terms of chip stack.

Pokerbrat takes out two guys in one hand and by the time it gets to heads-up, he is a 2-1 chip leader.

We both adopt a push or fold strategy and rarely get to see a flop. I work my way back to even chips and then it's crunch time. I'm tempted to give it the Scotty Nguyen "If you call it's all over baby." Pokerbrat pushes all-in and I turn over my first card - King, so I insta-call and turn over my second card, 4... shit!

Pokerbrat has King, 2 so I am slightly ahead and breath a sigh of relief. Bastard flops a 2... shit! I turn a 4, putting me ahead again and I think the river brings another King, so I take down the first game and a £90 pot (after Pokerbrat takes his buy-in back for coming in second).

Extremely happy, I play too loose in the six-handed, second game, and have to re-load twice. Scrooge McDuck's luck is just as bad and his double re-load takes the pot to £100. At the end of the re-buys, I'd doubled-up but was way behind the chip leader, Chris the Fish, who had been enjoying some crazy calls. Before one of my re-buys, I move all-in with suited Ace, 2 and Fish calls me with King, 8.

I hit a two on the flop, so I'm looking good but you guessed it, the Fish rivers his King, AGAIN!!!

Kermit and me are in a similar position chip-wise and after my raise pre-flop, he pushes all-in. I'm looking at Ace, Queen but with Kermit's tight (as a frog's ass - hence the nickname) image, I wonder if it's enough. I take a long time to make a decision and start drawing tells from the frog. He doesn't seem to want the call but is acting like he does. The problem with Kermit is, he's so negative sometimes, he could be sat on pocket Kings and he's convinced you've got Aces so genuinely gets nervous in these situations anyway. I turn my cards over and ask him how he feels. To be fair to him, he doesn't give much of a reaction but he does reach for his drink, which I take as an insta-call, so push my chips in.

He turns over Ace, Queen and we watch a flush-less board hit, and split-up the pot, both a little relieved.

Kermit is taken out soon after the re-buy period and Scrooge McDuck is unlucky against Pokerbrat with four cards to the nut flush on the flop, a potential straight and the potential royal flush on the board for him! Any Jack would give him the straight, any heart the flush, and the Jack of hearts the royal flush! With two cards to go, he would be mad to fold and he calls only to see black cards turn and river him out of the second game. 8 or 9 outs and he misses! Unlucky.

The Fish is in the chip fryer soon-after, although he looks-up the brat repeatedly, revealing some big moves and giving us all some free information on the brat's range of cards that he's happy to risk his chips with, but it's the Pokerbrat who out-fishes the fish in the end! Good for the rest of us, bad for the Fish and the brat.

Mountain played really well in the second game and using a combination of the table image he built-up during the first game, and some good cards, he makes it to three-handed with Pokerbrat and myself. I need to take Mountain out to bring me about even in chips with the brat.

Mountain makes the fold of the night, when his flopped flush is crushed by a fourth club that gives me the Jack-high flush. I bet big on the river, and he folds his six or seven high flush. He lost a lot of chips as he bet-out right through to the river but he's still in it and made a great fold.

I'm on the big blind and The Mountain calls the 8000 to see the flop. I decide to try and outplay the newcomer and raise without even looking at my cards. The flop is 10, 10, Jack. Mountain bets 12,000 and I call without looking at my cards. The turn is a Queen. Mountain bets most of his chips and I decide it's time to take a peak at my cards. I have a Jack and an 8 so I have top pair and a potential straight. I call the 12,000 and see another Jack on the River, giving me my full house. Mountain pushes all-in and is really unlucky, as he shows pocket Aces. Although out the game, The Mountain has shown some sophisticated play in his debut, making an incredible fold and slow-playing pocket rockets, which could have paid off for him if the second Jack hadn't hit.

Pokerbrat and I are heads-up again, for £100 this time. In the second game it's winner takes all, as there will be no third game and the house rules are that you only get your buy-in back if you play the next game.

It's getting late and all the other players have gone home so the brat and I face-off with 150,000 each.

It goes back and fourth for well over an hour and by 4am, it's not looking like anyone is giving up their chips. I fold pocket tens on a suspicious board that could have trips or a flush but apart from that, we don't get involved in any major hands.

The sun is threatening to peer over the horizon so we agree to split the final pot straight down the middle, leaving me £100 up for the night and the brat £40 up.

We both hate splitting the pot, but respect wins out and we know it could be a long slog!

Great games tonight with some solid poker, plenty of moves and some monster hands.

Welcome aboard, Mountain, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY to fellow-founders, BT and Renzo Hansford!!! You were missed!

jT