Mourant Charity Poker Series - Final Two Heats!

Things are hotting up as participants jostle to hit the final table on August 22.

Apart from competing to win the inaugural championship trophy AND the Player of the Year award, the prizes have now been confirmed for the top three finishers:

1. 37" LCD Widescreen TV
2. Digital Camera
3. iPod Nano

As things stand, with two heats still to go, the following players are pretty much guaranteed to make the final table:

• Martin Le Guillou - 20 Points
  
• Jason Derrien - 20 Points
  
• Jonathan Queree - 15 Points
  
• Renzo Hansford (Fishhook Player!) - 10 Points
  
• The Fish (Fishhook Player!) - 10 Points
  

In pole position for Player of the Year is Martin Le Guillou, with 4 bubble points in addition to his 20 points on the leaderboard. He either needs to hit another final table to extend his lead (or of course place in the top three to be clear leader) or he needs anyone with 5 or more bubble points NOT to win a heat, as he will be pipped on bubble points.

Almost tasting the final table but still with things to do with 5 points each are:

• Tony Reed (Fishhook Player!)
  
• James Shwarz
  

The final two heats (the next one is June 27) will see four more players win their way onto the final table, we then have a bubble point seat for the player with the most final table appearances.

At the moment, John Pendergast, Garret O'Brien and yours truly, are tied with 10 bubble points for two final table appearances each, out of the three heats already played. 

I'd prefer to win my way to the final table, but a backdoor ticket for consistency will do me!

I've been happy with my play so far, although I should have won heat 3 easily as I was chip leader for almost three hours. When the tables started breaking-up and the re-buy period had ended, I was sat on over 60,000 chips (starting stacks were only 3000!)

I was still chip leader with only half the field left and then shed most of my stack chasing a nut flush that never hit. I also need to remember that at these games, you ALWAYS get called... absolutely no point attempting a bluff if you are anything other than heads-up and even then, 9 times out of ten, the guy will call with bottom pair no matter how big you make it to call.

One consolation is that I hit my first ever Royal Flush (live or online) and trebbled-up to give myself a second chance at winning the heat. In the very next hand I was dealt pocket 10s and pushed all-in, hoping to win back a very healthy chip stack. Of course a player called with Ace, King and hit a King on the flop kicking my ass out of the heat.

So, I have two heats left to either place in the top three - a win puts me in the lead for Player of the Year with 10 bubble points, or I skulk into the final via the 11th seat by hitting another final table (assuming Garret and John do not of course!)

The play has been pretty good, and there are some familiar faces on the final tables, although only three players on the leaderboard have hit a final table twice. Of course there is plenty of bad play, especially during the re-buy period, but then that's how some players manage to start the freezeout period with tens of thousands of chips!

I'm very happy that three of the fishhook crew are heading for the final table and I hope a few more will make it in the final two heats.

The biggest threat to my final table appearance, is Garret & John, I don't need them to finish ahead of me in the top ten at either heat. Of course anyone with 5 or more bubble points already is also a threat as they could get a high finish (6th or better) and I crash out of the next two heats, putting them ahead of me.

There's a home game tomorrow night at the Fish's place and a cool one on Sunday at Renzo & BTs...

jT