Before I get into the detail of the results and how they impact on the final table, I just want to thank everybody who has taken part in the series, we managed to raise £2500 for Cancer Research Jersey, Jersey Headway and Jersey Hospice, which is fantastic!
I also want to remind everyone to fill out the membership forms for Fish Hook Poker, so we can continue to run tournaments in the future. We already have 25 members! Click HERE to download the application form and anybody who has taken part in the Charity Series can join for FREE.
We have some exciting events planned at the club, including a £20 buy-in Autumn Series of Poker, and a WSOP 2009 All Expenses Paid Package Series! Anyway, if you join the club, you'll find out all about it and how to logon to the new Website where all tournament results are stored against the members' profiles. Plus you have to see the swanky new membership cards to believe them!
Anyway, onto Heat 5 of the Mourant Charity Poker Series.
Least interesting for anyone other than myself (and maybe the other 10 finalists), is that I have made it to the final table on August 22... by the skin of my teeth, but I'll get to that later.
Congratulations to Garret O'Brien, who played some amazing poker to win Heat 5 and with his other two final table appearances (and 10 bubble points) he is officially The Mourant Charity Poker Series Player of the Year.
I'll be presenting Garret his trophy in August. This means that anyone who takes Garret out of the final, wins a terminator bounty prize. Of course, if Garret wins the finals, he takes down the main prize (Widescreen TV) AND keeps the bounty prize!
Garret grinded it out against Stewart Daynes who also played some patient and sophisticated poker. Stewart is also on the final table with his 10 points for second place. Barry Cameron was unlucky to finish 3rd, as he was the chip leader by some way for most of the heat. Scrooge (his Fish Hook nickname of course) was like a chip hoover early on in the heat and was building a great wall of China out of chips!
The final table of Heat 5 was interesting, as Martin Le Guillou did just enough to move ahead of his buddy, Jason Derrien, for winning Player of the Year. Jason had 5 bubble points and Martin picked-up 3 additional points for finishing 8th in Heat 5, putting him one point ahead with 6 bubble points! The only person who could knock him off the top spot... was Garret. And of course, Garret pulled it off, his 10 bubble points putting him in the top spot.
Another interesting outcome is that we actually have three players on the leaderboard, tied for the 10th seat at the final table, so we need BT Hansford, Tony Two-Cards and Scrooge McDuck to slug it out in an eliminator to see who makes it to the final table (before August 22)... so you've all been given one more chance, lads!
Now onto my second chance as it were. Heat 5 was important for me as I was in a race against Garret and Peter Quenault for the 11th seat at the final table, as we were all tied on 10 bubble points. Basically, the player who finished deepest, was going to win that seat. I either needed to finish deeper than the other two, or have them finish in the top three for me to win it. Of course I wanted to win the whole heat and was in good shape to do so, but I'd take the seat however I could win it.
Obviously, Garret won the heat so was no longer in the race for bubble points and unfortunately for Peter, he just didn't get the cards last night and went out pretty soon after the re-buys ended. So that's it, I beat one of the guys in the race and the other won the whole damn thing so I snaked the 11th seat! See you at the final table Gentlemen!
I was happy with my play last night and was in the top five chip leaders for most of the freeze-out period. The hand that took me out would have made me chip leader and started for me with Pocket Aces... I'll get to that hand!
My luck was shocking in the first hour, I burned through about four or five re-buys, I had Ace, Queen beat by Jack, Queen (Jack on the River), pocket 7s ran into pocket Queens, and when I rivered two-pair, someone had a better two-pair! I nearly cried into my scampi and chips!
But then I started hitting. Another pocket 7s turned into a flush (I was the only one holding a Heart), a King, rag held as top pair and I turned a beautiful flush with straight flush possibilities that won me a huge pot against the guy's paired Queen (top pair unluckily for the Market Shark - gotta love these club nicknames!)
When the re-buys ended, I was sat on over 20,000 chips (we started as always with 3000). My table broke-up and I joined Garret's table with about 20 players left in the field. Garret and I were about even and we grinded away at our table to become the chip leaders. We saw Peter get eliminated so there was a good chance we had both made it to the final table in August anyway on bubble points, but we both wanted to finish deep.
With about 12 or 13 players left, spitting distance from the final 10 of the heat, I was sat on 33,000 chips and Garret had about 30,000 chips. We'd been avoiding each other really, apart from one big hand when my paired King won me a few of his chips. I look down at pocket Aces.
With a few thousand in blinds already in the pot, I push them all-in and the only caller is Garret. Now I know he's playing Ace, King at the very least as he wouldn't be risking his chips with anything less as I am the only player who can take him out. He flips over pocket Kings!
The flop is Queen, 10, 9. The turn is a rag, and the River is a Jack, giving Garret an outside straight. He cracked my Aces! And I'm left with one blind. I push them in on the next face card and get taken out by bottom pair. Bollocks!
I said to Garret, "You better win the whole thing, as then I'm guaranteed a seat at the final!" and he didn't let me down. Fair play, that's poker and nobody it walking away from Pocket Kings. Garret is a gentleman and an excellent poker player so if I'm getting spiked, it couldn't happen against a nicer guy.
Aces in the hole proved to be no good all night - after my exit, they were cracked another couple of times by two pair and flushes. Down to the final 6, and Garret gets pocket Kings AGAIN, and they pay, AGAIN, earning him the nickname 'Cowboys' at Fish Hook Poker.
In fact, the only time pocket Aces held was when, yep, you guessed it, Garret 'Cowboys' O'Brien was holding them!
The Final Table - August 22 - Tipsy Toad Townhouse
Garret O'Brien
Martin Le Guillou
Jason Derrien
Stuart Rowsell
Jonathan Queree
Stewart Daynes
Lawrence Hansford (Renzo - Fish Hook Crew)
Chris Shield (The Fish - Fish Hook Crew)
James Shwarz
Richard Hansford, Tony Reed or Barry Cameron (To be contested and all three are Fish Hook Crew!)
Justin Thorne (AnteVirus - Fish Hook Crew)
Jason Derrien
Stuart Rowsell
Jonathan Queree
Stewart Daynes
Lawrence Hansford (Renzo - Fish Hook Crew)
Chris Shield (The Fish - Fish Hook Crew)
James Shwarz
Richard Hansford, Tony Reed or Barry Cameron (To be contested and all three are Fish Hook Crew!)
Justin Thorne (AnteVirus - Fish Hook Crew)
That's a pretty sick final table, folks, we have some maniacs, some tight aggressive players and one or two fish!
I love it. I love poker, and last night everyone got to play in a competitive heat with some sick calls, bad beats and great moves... that's why we love it, folks.
jT
