7th Place Finish in the Big Game...

It was the Big Game on Sunday at the Pomme... £260 buy-in and about £7500 in the pot. Starting stacks were 20,000 chips.

I drew a tough table with some solid tournament players but got some pretty good hands early.

I flopped trip 4s in the big blind and checked around to an aggressive, experienced player who bet out 4000. I made it 10,000 and he folded.

I then called a small pre-flop raise with pocket 2s and flopped a set. The Beast bet out and I raised it up. Fold.

I find King, Queen in the big blind and find myself heads-up with an aggressive, young player. The flop comes 3, 3, 3. I bet out and he flat calls. The turn is a 6. I bet again and he flat calls again. The river is another blank and I fire a third bet and the kid pushes all-in. I fold and he shows a bluff with something like 7, 8.

The same player who made the above bluff, loses most of his chips (and some of mine he bluffed off me) in a big hand and is left the short stack - and I find another pair of 2s in the hole in the next hand. It's folded around to me in the small blind and the kid in the big blind. I raise it up and he flat calls. I put him all-in blind before the flop is dealt and hit another set of 2s! He calls as he is pot committed and is drawing dead, so he is eliminated.

Another small stack gets unlucky when I raise it with Ace, Queen suited and he has Ace, King. I get my straight on the river eliminating another player.

The table is broken-up and we're down to the final 20 players or so. I spend 4 or 5 hours floating between 30,000 and 40,000 chips, never really hitting a big hand but managing to stay above the average chip stack.

The blinds and antes mean that every pot is worth winning and I pick-up some dead money with all-in moves.

After about 6-7 hours, I'm on the final table (10 players) and sitting on around 25,000 chips. I'm in all or nothing mode and push in with Ace, Queen and get no callers and then pocket 7s and get no callers.

2 players are eliminated over the next hour and we hit the dinner break. I'm not the short stack, but I'm only sitting on about 35,000 chips (about 15 big blinds) and I'm waiting for my spots to see if I can double-up or at least wait it out to make the money (only the top 6 get paid).

A pro gets eliminated when his pocket 9s are crushed by pocket Jacks and there's only 7 left... one more player out and at least I get my buy-in back after 8 hours of poker! I regret my 'wait it out' strategy, folding when players are all-in, only to hit my hands on the flop and see worse hands winning huge pots. The blinds and antes are eating away at me and I need a hand to move all-in with.

My King, Jack runs into pocket Queens and I can't find another Cowboy so go out on the bubble.

My head is banging after 8 straight hours of concentration but I sit down at the cash game with £140 anyway. Twenty minutes later, I'm sitting on £1300! 8 HOURS FOR NOTHING AND I MAKE A GRAND IN 20 MINUTES!!! that's poker!

I push all my chips in with Ace, King suited when the flop gives me four to the nut flush. It was pure gamble but it paid off when I get two callers, one who had flopped the straight and the other with a big pocket pair. My third heart comes with the next card and I pull-in £600.

A few minutes later, I look down at pocket Kings. The flop brings no scary Aces, no straights and no flushes. Two players go all-in and I raise it-up £100 and get called. The turn is another King but puts a flush draw out there. I push all my chips in and the other guy folds. My trip Kings win the lot and I am now sitting on £1300 chips.

Not a bad day after all, although I was really hoping to hit the top three in the tournament. Ah well.

jT

FHP BOUNTY HUNTER TOURNEY... COMING SOON!!!

HEAT ONE...

32 players turned-up, which is great for a Thursday night, and contested a £930 pot (even after the £200 was held aside for the final table in November).

The first ten players to put points on the leaderboard towards that £1000 table are:

Jason Harrison - 10 points

Ashton De Carteret - 9 points

Jamie Sullivan - 8 points

Stefan Craven - 7 points

Nick Boyd - 6 points

Glen Le Moignan - 5 points

Michael Le Guillou - 4 points

Alan Beadle - 3 points

Mike Mulhern - 2 points

Craig Hartley - 1 point

Well done, gentlemen!

I didn't get the cards at all in Heat One, and even during the re-buys when I could push with pairs or big Aces, I'd get called by worse hands and still lose. I was out two levels after the re-buy period when my suited Ace, King got called by King, Jack off and 7, 8, 9, 10 came out on the board to bust me.

We fired up a cash game, and the Market Shark had an incredible run of luck, winning the biggest pots of the night from waaaaaaaay behind. He called my Ace, King with Ace, 9 and spiked a 9 on the river. Then up against Cowboys O'Brien, who had flopped two pair, the Shark calls with the nut flush draw only to get runner, runner two pair (no flush!) It was insane...

Great night and can't wait until the next heat.

I made a bad call in terms of a decision I made at one of the tables (as tournament director) at the expense of the Klansman. The Klansman was all-in and a player flipped over his cards not realizing that someone else was still in the hand. The third player folded and I let the player's call stand... unfortunately for the Klansman, his opponent's pocket Kings won him the pot and eliminated the Klansman from the tournament.

I later learned that the player holding the pocket Kings had not verbally stated his decision to call when he showed his hand. Had I known that at the time, his hand would have been dead when he flipped it over. 

Soz, Klansman, we'll sort something out...

jT

HEAT ONE - TOMORROW NIGHT!!!

Tomorrow night is the first heat in the FHP Autumn Series... I can't wait!

Over 30 players have registered and I'm keen to see how the adapted structure works - optional £10 add-on at the end of the re-buy period.

We also agreed an Xmas special for a Saturday or Sunday in December.

The game will be a 'Bounty Tournament' - this means there is no buy-in, that's right, £0 to enter - you simply pay the player who eliminates you £25.

You can then re-buy for £5 (which goes into the pot) and of course, hope you don't have to pay another £25 for getting felted, although half the fun is collecting some bounties yourself.

This promises to be an insane tournament and I love it!

The ultimate winner will take down 60% of the re-buy pot in addition to collected bounties.

Insane Online Hands...

I'm not a huge fan of online poker, but sometimes when I get the itch, I have to play a few games if I can't get out to a live game.

Both of the hands below, happened in the same game. 

Nice flop in the big blind!!!

Above is a tasty straight flush if it isn't clear.

Please, please, please be chasing the flush!!!

Alas, he folded to my bet on the river. I was holding Ace, Queen and the board reads Ace, Ace, 2, 8, Queen (three hearts).

Despite dominating and picking up hands like the above, the gimp's pocket 3s crack my Kings when he sucks out a 3-high flush.

jT - still hating online poker!

FHP AUTUMN SERIES 2008

HEAT 1 - THURSDAY 25 SEPTEMBER

HEAT 2 - FRIDAY 10 OCTOBER

HEAT 3 - FRIDAY 24 OCTOBER

HEAT 4 - FRIDAY 7 NOVEMBER

HEAT 5 - FRIDAY 21 NOVEMBER

£1000 FINAL TABLE - FRIDAY 28 NOVEMBER

Each heat is a £20 + £2 buy-in tournament with £10 re-buys in the first hour and an optional £10 add-on at the end of the re-buy period.

As the series is a league, cash AND points are up for grabs at each heat with the top ten players on the leaderboard at the end of the series, playing the £1000 final table. A £600+ pot will be played for at each heat.

Nice cash at the Pomme... and the Fish Hook Autumn Series is HERE!!!

After three hours of rags and disciplined folding, I found myself down from my starting stack of £158, to about £56. I was deciding whether or not to re-load for another £200 if I went bust or just go home, when I found pocket 9s. I push all-in and they hold against Ace, Queen suited.

The last Sunday of the month is no-limit at the Pomme, which can be fun... or expensive! Usually the cash games are pot-limit, which usually sees better poker but can be frustrating when you have great starting hands and can't shake the speculative players with pot-sized bets. To be honest, I like pot-limit cash games and prefer no-limit for the tournaments, but you can't beat the adrenaline rush of no-limit cash games.

A player experienced some serious bad luck after turning the nut straight and pushing all-in. He got two callers, one with a flush draw and one with trip 9s. The case 9 hit on the river for Quads and he was felted. He came back shortly after with some more cash only to find himself all-in against the same player with a paired  ace on the flop and a Queen kicker. His opponent had an ace too but only with 10 kicker. The turn was a blank but the river a 10, busting him again and he left understandably disgusted with the poker Gods for cursing him.

I grinded it out, back-up to my starting stack and find Ace, 10 suited. I flop a 10, which is top pair and the other player in the hand bets £30. I push all my chips in and he calls and flips over pocket Queens. I am dominated but hopeful for an Ace. Another 10 hits on the turn and another 10 on the river for Quads! The second player of the evening is felted and leaves cursing the game we love to hate at times.

I have about £350 in chips and limp in with Jack, 6 suited. The flop comes Jack, 6, 5 rainbow. The first to act bets £13 and the six players around the table call one by one except the guy two to my right who raises another £20 on top of the £13. The player to my right calls and I push all £350 into the middle. Everyone folds around to the re-raiser, who fishes for information and eventually calls. The next player calls all-in, although he only has about £100 left. There's over £800 in the pot and I'm pleased to see the first caller with a 6 and a 5 for a weaker two-pair and the small stack has an open ended straight draw. My two pair holds and I scoop in a massive pot and easily the biggest of the night on our table.

I win a couple more pots with some small pocket pairs and end up cashing-in for £930. Not bad!

FISH HOOK POKER AUTUMN SERIES 2008

The Autumn Series is booked at the Tipsy Toad Townhouse and Heat 1 is Thursday, 25th September - Cards will be in the air at 7:30pm.

Each heat is a £20 + £2 tournament with 20 minute blinds, starting stacks of 3000 chips and £10 re-buys in the first hour and an optional add-on at the end of the re-buy period.

The series is a league of poker, and cash and points are up for grabs at each heat. £200 will be held from each heat's prize pool and the top ten players on the leaderboard at the end of the series will play on the £1000 final table. So, at each heat, players will be playing for a £600 pot and a shot at a further £1000 in November.

See you at the tables...

jT