Rownder Wins Game #1 of the 2nd Season

Hope sprang eternal as the 2nd quarter got underway with eleven players, but the same old refrain played out. Rowder wins again! That is two in a row! After leaving us alone for most of the 1st quarter, Rownder decides - no more Mr. Nice Guy!

We had a new player – Bigcat1967 – join the festivities. Welcome!

Your host took the night off to relax and pound beers in Tennessee. A well deserved rest for me, having clinched a seat in the finals. It’s lonely at the top so I’ll be back to the pits next week! On to the action:

25 min: Beerhog is crippled by Boother as Beerhog’s King high flush loses to Boother’s Ace high one.

42 min: Beerhog cripples Duder as his 9 kicker takes the pot.

43 min: Obviously not Duder’s (11th) night as his (KK) lost to Aqualung’s (A4) when a flop produced both an [A] and a [4]. This opened the flood gates.

44 min: ArcticBlast (10th) had to try with his (22) and ran into Boother’s (88).

49 min: Short-stacked Tigercub (9th) gave it a go with (KJ) but ran into Rownder’s (A3) and an [A] on the flop.

Break:
Nahanni 3490
Boother 3290
Aqualung 2835
Rownder 2790
Beerhog 1575
Bigcat 1065
McGuiness 975
Matchy 480

I was sitting on the sidelines and I was still trembling from the line up at the final table. What a mine field!

66 min: A short stacked Beerhog (8th) makes his stand with (A8) and sees Nahanni’s (A9) take him out.

71 min: Aqualung on a bluff goes all-in with (A9) and is called by the short-stacked Matchy (7th) with (Qc Tc), who does not improve.

75 min: Our newbie Bigcat (6th) has to go all in with (77) and is called by Rownder with (K9). A [K] on the flop and the new guy fails to point on his first attempt.

80 min: Bad beat of the night here folks. The first of two suffered by Aqualung. A shorter stacked Nahanni makes a move all-in with (88) and is dominated by Aqualung’s (AA). But Nahanni pulls out a 9 high straight from the board.

83 min: A severely short-stacked McGuiness (5th) must call Nahanni to get chips with (54). Nahanni’s (KJ) gets help with a [K] on the flop and Spoony G is gone.

90 min: Bad beat number two for Aqualung (4th). He sees a flop with Boother with (42). Boother bets the flop of [335] with (K5) and Aqualung calls – probably planning to abandon the hand if he fails to improve. But the money card [A] appears on the turn and Aqualung has to go all-in and Boother has to call the short stack. Boother gets his full house on the river.

91 min: With more points assured, Nahanni (3rd) goes all-in with (44) and is called by Rownder’s (K7). A flop of [727] (who missed tonight’s game by the way) and the lady is singing the blues.

This sets up a great heads up battle against two giants – Boother and Rownder - that lasts 25 minute! They are about even in stacks at this point.

103 min: Boother is hurt as he hits top pair only to watch Rownder pull a straight and take a 2 to 1 chip lead.

105 min: Boother hits a flush to take a 2 to 1 chip lead!

107 min: A full house gives Rownder a 13 to 2 chip lead.

108 min: Boother claws back to only a 2 to 1 deficit!

115 min: Almost back to even, Boother (2nd) and Rownder (K8) go all in. Boother’s (A7s) has the lead, but a [K] on the flop gives Rownder the victory.

Well played guys!

1st – Rownder 10 pts
2nd – Boother 7 pts
3rd – Nahanni 5 pts
4th – Aqualung 3 pts
5th – McGuiness 1 pt
6th – Bigcat1967
7th – Mikemach
8th – Beerhog
9th – Tigercub
10th – ArcticBlast
11th – Duder

Total point race standings available on the side of blog!

The “Send Herbavor to the Iowa Rail” Game is Friday, April 4th

Friday, April 4, at 7:00pm at SpartyToJo’s in Troy.

SpartyToJo says:

“We will be playing in my HEATED basement where I have a bar, couches, cable TV, and a FRIDGE. We will be playing until AT LEAST 2:00am, and can play until morning if folks are up for it.

My house is painfully easy to find: Get on I-75, get off at Big Beaver Road, Exit 69. If you pass Hooters on your right you've gone too far.

You do not need to knock, just come right in. You also do not need to remove your shoes unless they're really nasty.

Isn't it great that I get to write Big Beaver, 69, and Hooters when giving directions to my family's home?”

I (Faldo) will send the rest of the directions out to the mopes that can make it - via e-mail. Get your RSVP’s in ASAP.

IN
SpartyToJo
Herbavor
Faldo
Larry P
Sev4TSev

OUT
Biglou (Mexico)
McGuiness (Cleveland)
Boother (SpoonyG concert)
Matchy (Ferndale - for some 'pride' parade)
Aqualung (Pistons game)
Nahanni (doesn't play limit poker)
Beerhog (Grand Rapids)

Rownder Wins NPP #12 – New Quarter Starts Next Week!

Rownder should have maybe saved this win for next week. Of course, the way he plays there will be plenty more where this one came from.

Another new player, Passen, joined us tonight! Welcome. As you will see, he held his own against the 12 NPP sharks that joined him for the action.

On a side note, this was the last game for the 1st quarter, and of the starters me (Mikeniks – Faldo), Aqualung, Sev4TSev and Matchy all had seats on the line for the Championship in December.

9 min: Sev4TSev went all-in with (AA) on a harmless looking flop of [367] but ran into Aquariums’ (33). This crippled the Airplane.

21 min: Sev4TSev (13th) finally had to make a move with (AJ) but ran into Rownder’s (AK), and 747 will have to wait until next quarter to secure a seat.

26 min: Boother gets crippled when his (AQ) runs into Rownder’s (QQ).

30 min: We get four callers to this pot and a flop of [K47]. Boother (12th) bets and only Duder calls. The turn is an [8]. The short-stacked Boother moves all-in with (Kh 2h) and is called by Duder with (Kd Td), and no help comes for last week’s champ.

47 min: Four of us see a flop of [4A9]. It’s check around to a turn of a [T]. Duder (11th) bets and Rownder calls. The river is a [K]. Duder bets, Rownder raises with (QJ) and the straight . Duder calls with (94) for the two pair - and is gone.

54 min: ArticBlast (10th) goes all-in with (KQ) and runs into Aquarium’s (A4) and gets no help.

58 min: That started a flurry as Passen (AT), Tigercub(9th)(A2) and Aquarium (T7) get all-in. Only Tigercub is a casualty as Passen’s straight wins the main pot and Aquarium gets the side pot with two-pair.

59 min: A short-stacked Matchy (8th) goes all-in with (JT) and runs into Biglou’s (AQ).

Break:
Aquarium 6412
Rownder 2770
Biglou 2470
Aqualung 2335
Mikeniks 2260
McGuiness-SpoonyG 1755
Passen 1472

An interesting twist here. If Mikeniks finishes ahead of Aqualung, they both get a seat. If Aqualung overtakes me by finishing 1st and I don’t finish 4th, only he gets a seat.

70 min: Knowing this, I push a mediocre hand out of position and give a ton of chips to Passen early. “Bad judgment!” Only years on a psychiatrist’s couch would figure out why I did that. Now I am the short stack. All I can say to myself is, ‘nice going donkey.’

77 min: A short-stacked McGuiness-SpoonyG (7th) goes all-in with (77) and gets called by Aquarium with (KQ). A [K] on the river and the big stack got bigger.

78 min: A short-stacked Biglou (6th) makes his move with (66) and runs into Aqualung’s (AA). Biglou misses his first NPP point on the bubble.

I will soon meet a similar fate, but for now, this pump up of chips for Aqualung is a concern to me. I need to get to 4th somehow. But as the short stack, it don’t look good so much.

91 min: I have not improved that much but Aqualung has sunk down a little closer to me. Aqualung (5th) goes all-in with (QJ) and a flop of [9KJ]. Passen calls with [AK] and a bigger stack.

And when a [K] hits the turn, I got my seat in the NPP Final – along with Aqualung.

97 min: I want your guy’s comment on this hand! I am the short stack and get (JJ) in the big blind.

Aquarium raises a standard raise. What do I do now? He could have three hands that beat me or he could hold a host of hands that a flop will kill me.

I have seven big blinds left in chips. I decided before Aquarium bet that I (4th) was going all-in to any heat. Aquarium raises a standard raise and I go all-in. Was it the right play?

Aquarium calls me with (AA) and I am money bubble boy again! Was I just cold decked there and had no choice? Or not?

117 min: Passen (3rd) goes all-in with a flop of [594] and Aquarium calls with (76). A [7] falls on the flop and we are two-handed. Nice job Passen, cashing in your first game. That is a rarity with this group of players to wade thru.

Break 2:
Aquarium 12600
Rownder 6900

126 min: It takes Rownder 6 minutes to even the stacks.

129 min: Rownder raises and gets called and the flop is [7AT]. Aquarium (2nd) goes all-in with a semi-bluff with (J8). Rownder calls with an inside straight draw of his own with (KQ). When neither straight gets there, the {K} plays and Rownder wins it.

Question: Did Spitzer's room service show up at both your houses or something? That was an awfully quick finish.

Not that there is anything wrong with that - contrary to any woman's opinion.

1st – Rownder 31 pts
2nd – Aquarium 7 pts
3rd – Passen 5 pts
4th – Mikeniks-Faldo 46 pts (seat)
5th – Aqualung 36 pts (seat)
6th – Biglou 0 pts
7th – McGuiness 18 pts
8th – Matchy 30 pts
9th – Tigercub 13 pts
10th – ArcticBlast 12 pts
11th – Duder 16 pts
12th – Boother 20 pts
13th – Sev4TSev 34 pts
Beerhog 26 pts
Nahanni 13 pts

Congratulations to Rownder for yet another NPP victory.
Congratulations to Aqualung for a seat in the finals!

Remember the point counts are back to zero for the next quarter.

Although grand totals will be kept as the highest point getter without winning a quarter also wins a seat!

So a minimum of four seats are still available in the final. Good luck!

Herbavor Heading to Iowa

Herbavor (Hlam14) is heading to Iowa to terrorize the poker players of the corn.

This is a blow to the NPP stable of players for sure, as the stat pages on this blog indicate. Hlam14 has four NPP titles - and if not for Aqualung - probably would have had them all!

And despite hardly playing in the internet game at all - only really playing in the few tournaments held after the ring game at NPP - he is still THIRD in NPP tournament wins!

Hlam could tell us what we had and what he had, but take the pot anyway. He is a Daniel Negreanu clone!

His first day at his new job is April 7th.

Rumor has it that if his old employer tells him to leave today, he will be at the Motor City Poker Room reloading with Michigan money before leaving to empty Iowa farmer's overalls of their government subsidy money.

Gonna miss you Herb, but I WILL make a trip out to see the soft seats you find out there at the felt and to play a little golf.

Here's hoping you continued success in your career.

And if you and Poker Stars can kiss and make up, you can still join your buds for the Tuesday Night Tourney!

Boother's Game Goes On Despite Another Dose of Global Warming

As usual, Boother was great host to a fine game - even with awful weather as the forefront.

I was late to the game due to the weather. I was waiting on McGuiness to arrive from Hudson, MI., where he had been playing in another game. I don't understand poker junkies!

The normally one hour drive to my house from there took 3 hours! Beerhog was also scheduled to make an appearance, but his drive from north of Grand Rapids took over 7 hours, so he just headed home.

Since I missed the tourney, we eventually started a side game. I held my own at the second table. Maybe up slightly. But when the tourney broke and we moved the side game to the main table, I never won a hand at that table! Not a single hand in around 2 hours.

Matchy won the tourney! I believe it was win #2 at Boother's. I know Matchy sent Rownder to the rail as he was on tilt when he showed up at the side game table.

But Rownder recovered and crushed the live action game by night's end.

Tight Race for the 1st Seat in the Championship!

Right after the NCAA Tournament Committee cleared out of the hotel ballroom where they worked on the pairings, the NPP Committee filed in - with real work to do.

The delegates were counted and the super-delegates banned, unlike some voting processes used by crooked outfits.

The decision was hammered out and ratified and it is this:

1. IF Mikeniks-Faldo gets overtaken, then that player has the seat in the NPP Championship in December..
2. IF Faldo hangs on to the total lead after the final round is played next Tuesday, the 2nd place player also gets a seat.

The Committee is being consistent with past precedence of Faldo being an invisible Wild Card.

It will be an exciting finish. Here are the players involved as Round 1 comes to a close:

Mikeniks-Faldo 43 pts
Aqualung85 35 pts
Sev4TSev 34 pts
Matchy 30 pts
Beerhog 26 pts

All have a shot at the 1st seat. Good luck to them, and we expect the same hard play from the rest of you mopes come Tuesday. - The Committee

Aqualung85 Wins 7-stud Hi-Lo Tourney

Fresh from his good 5th place finish at NPP the night before, Aqualung triumphs over a field of 83 players over on Absolute Poker!

He won 23 times his entry in the tourney with the win.

NPP players ….are players.

Boother Returns to the Winner’s Circle in NPP #11

Get the big tourney and the big money out there and the cream rises to the top. Dormant so far this year, Boother explodes to the victory against the biggest field this league has seen.

Thanks to the four new players - Aquariumco, Biglou93, KButterboy and Rennzzo, we set a record for starters with sixteen!

If this continues, points for Round 2 are going to be hard to come by. Anyway, welcome guys and get your email addresses to me at npokerp at yahoo dot com, so I have them in case I have to change the password.

On to the action!

28 min: A short-stacked Aquariumco (16th) goes all-in with (KcJc) and gets called by another newcomer Rennzzo with (A9). They both hit a full house, but the A out kicks the J.

36 min: This tourney usually treats newcomers roughly and our first two players out were newcomers. Biglou93 (15th) has to make a move and does with (KJ) when a [K] hits the flop. He runs right into another newcomer’s (KK), held by KButterboy. Ouch.

44 min: Last week’s winner, ArcticBlast, raises and gets called by Bronco and McGuiness (14th). The flop comes [3 K 7] and it is checked around. An [J] comes on the turn and Arctic bets and McGuiness calls. Bronco folds. The river is an [8] and Arctic makes a good bet and Mc goes all-in with (AK). Arctic calls and wins with (KK).

52 min: Three players see the flop of [8 8 K]. A short-stacked Bronco (13th) goes all-in with (KQ), raising Arctic’s bet and getting KButterboy to fold. But Arctic calls with (Q8). No helps comes for Bronco.

55 min: A short-stacked Sev4TSev (12th) has to make a move all-in with (A6) and is called by Duder and his (KT). A [K] hits on the flop and no there is no safe landing for the airplane.

59 min: Short-stacked Beerhog (11th) goes all-in with (QT) and is called by Rownder with (KJ). Behind as it is, a [J] on the flop leaves only ladies available to save Beerhog. And we all know how good he is at attracting ladies. Bu-bye.

Break:
Sorry guy. I didn’t get the break totals off of the two tables. I was too busy throwing furniture and suitcases around the hotel room as I lost a heart break hand - and almost all my chips at my table - right before the break.

Also, I had to run downstairs and pick up my laptop. Somehow it fell out of the 2nd story window and I had to bring it back upstairs to continue playing. But I noticed the computer didn’t work quite right when I got back in the room. Why, I don’t know. Fickle computer I guess.

So I had to load PS on my work computer and by the time I got to the table the next round was starting.

72 min: ArcticBlast (10th) is eliminated by Duder’s full house. I didn’t get the hand as the table collapsed and I was in survival mode at what was now the final table.

81 min: Now for my tale of woe.

I’ve had nights of bad cards in these tourneys. I’ve been bad beat and run down. I’ve had bad timing for hands before. But never all at the same time!

I was pretty much card and flop dead tonight. When I did hit a hand, someone hit a better one. I saw three big pocket pairs all night (TT, KK and AA) and all of them in the big blind that was folded around to me.

Then I hit a miracle straight flush(!) and won - the magical amount of - one and a half blinds. This run of hands could be the new Webster definition of ‘not your night.’

A short-stacked Rennzzo (9th) and I {Mikeniks-Faldo}(8th) go all-in. Rennzzo has (J6s) and I have (AQs). Matchy calls us with (J9) and hits a flop with [J9]. A nice double kill by Matchy.

85 min: KButterboy and Tigercub (7th) check a flop of [J 3 9]. The turn is a [K] and KB bets. Tigercub goes all-in with (K7) and is called by KB with (QT) and the straight.

Now the tourney slows down as we are near the point bubble and getting close to the money bubble.

105 min: Duder (6th) goes all-in with (AK) and is called by Matchy with (TT) and Duder loses the coin toss.
107 min: The now short-stacked Aqualung (5th) moves in with (85s) and runs into KButter’s (AK). They both pair on the flop but there is no more moisture.
118 min: The now short-stacked Rownder (4th) moves in with (Q5s) and is called by the big stack, KButter with (94s). KButter melts away Rownder by hitting his flush.

2nd Break: Well, I pieced together the furniture, got one wheel and half a strap back on my luggage and got most of the letter keys back on my original computer. I couldn't figure out how to re-attach the screen, so I had time to get the chip totals.

Matchy 9500
KButter 8500
Boother 6000

134 min: The now short-stacked KButter (3rd), having run into the Boother buzz saw, goes all-in with (T9s). Matchy calls with (J5s) and hits a [J] on the flop. Great job by KButter – cashing in his first attempt against this group!

136 min: I didn’t think they would wait too long. Matchy (2nd) has (Q9) and runs into another (KK) for Boother and it’s over. Nice job Boother.

1st – Boother 20 pts
2nd – Matchy 30 pts
3rd – Kbutterboy 5 pts
4th – Rownder 21 pts
5th – Aqualung 35 pts
6th – Duder 16 pts
7th – Tigercub 13 pts
8th – Mikeniks(Faldo) 43 pts
9th – Rennzzo 0 pts
10th – ArcticBlast 12 pts
11th – Beerhog 26 pts
12th – Sev4TSev 34 pts
13th – Bronco76 0 pts
14th - McGuiness 18 pts
15th – Biglou93 0 pts
16th – Aquariumco 0 pts
Nahanni 13 pts

NPP Game At Matchy's Saturday - Cancelled!

It's in trouble!

In
1. Matchy
2. Beerhog
3. Sev4TSev

Maybe
1. Faldo (fighting a cold)
2. Aqua (possible basketball conflict)
3. SpartyToJo (no response)
4. Herbavor
5. Larry P

OUT
Dave E
Boother
Rownder
Farell
Greg
Another guy
DavetheDog
Cigar4John
Bronco

ArcticBlast1 Wins NPP #10

Ten players made it to the table in spite of two regulars I knew would not make it; Aqualung and Tigercub.

10 min: We started on two tables and all the fireworks were on the other one! Sev4TSev, McGuiness (9th) and Boother (10th) went all-in, and the Airplane had the biggest full house.

Welcome to the final table.

32 min: Sev4TSev was on a mission. Duder (8th) goes all-in with AA after a harmless looking flop of [639], but Sev4TSev has pocket (33).

37 min: Soon after Rownder’s (7th) (99) runs into Sev4TSev’s (JJ). He is destroying the field all by himself!

45 min: The onslaught continues as Sev4TSev goes all-in on a flop of [TJ8]. Beerhog (6th) thinks for a very long time and decides his (AA) is good and calls. De Plane shows his (Q9) for a flopped straight! What is going on here? The man has 5 scalps on his belt already!

51 min: A late arrival to the game and short-stacked Nahanni (5th) takes a stand and runs into Matchy’s trip kings.

55 min: A still short-stacked Matchy (4th) makes his stand with a flush draw, but it doesn’t get there and ArticBlast’s pair close out the Match Game.

Break:
Sev4TSev 7650
ArticBlast 5210
Mikeniks-Faldo 2140

Now my run of cards begins! I take the chip lead about ten minutes into the second session and look like I might just steamroll thru.

80 min: The now shorter stacked, but not short stacked Sev4TSev (3rd) has hit a dry run of tickets and makes his stand with probably the only hand he has seen since the break (TT). But I am holding (QQ) and the early dragon is slain.

Heads up, I have a 9000 to 6000 lead and build it slowly. This is going to be a 40 minute heads up battle. Not my strong suit.

90 min: I get my waterloo moment as I have to try and end the match. I have (Ah Th) with a flop of [4h 5c 7h] and decide that it missed ArticBlast. I make the massive raise and get re-raised all-in. Another great read by me (my trademark – not!). I feel I am pot committed. Besides, if he is taking a stab at the flush, he is in a bad way. If he has a pair, I have over-cards. If he has the straight, I still got outs. He has (74) for two pair and my flush doesn’t get there.

That got us close to even, but I still have a slight lead. But that is about to change.

94 min: I get a piece of the flop with (Q7) and a flop of [7A8]. We bet and call. A [Q] on the turn and I think I got him. How much do I bet here? He could have a straight draw or A-rag and kill me with a river pair. I really think I have him beat at this point.

I make a good size bet hoping for the fold, but will call an all-in. He calls.

The river of an [A] was not the card I wanted to see at all. I check and Artic moves all-in.

Maybe my reading ability improved from 4 minutes ago because I know he has an (A). I will still have 3000 chips left after this fold and can fight on – so I do. I tell Arctic I had Q7 and he graciously shows his (AK)! Nice hand and a good play all the way around.

I went from leading 11-4 to losing 12-3 in 4 minutes! I hate this game!

What time are we playing Saturday? 7pm at Matchy’s. I’m in!

110 min: I hit a flush to get back to close to even, but lose a couple must calls and fall back to a 11 – 4 dog again.

120 min: I (2nd) go all-in with (Jd Td) and Artic calls with (Js 6s) and hits the spade flush to end it. Congratulations ArticBlast on his first win of this year – and I guess his first full win. He was already in the Walk of Fame from a split – tourney win with DavetheDog last year, however. But this will move him up the ladder.

1st – ArcticBlast 12 pts
2nd – Mikeniks-Faldo 43 pts
3rd – Sev4TSev 34 pts
4th – Matchy 23 pts
5th – Nahanni 13 pts
6th – Beerhog 26 pts
7th – Rownder 18 pts
8th – Duder 16 pts
9th – McGuiness 18 pts
10th – Boother 10 pts
Aqualung 34 pts
Tigercub 13 pts

Nik Finishes 5th on BoDog!

Ending a one tiny cash in a 23 tournament streak, I finished 5th going out when the big stack calls me down with QT against my KJ and hits a [T] on the river.

My 5 3 beat an all-in A7 suited to knock the first guy out of the final table. That gave me enough chips to hang around.

I won ten times my entry in the 141 player tourney.

The Legend of the White Whale – Part II

This part of this series doesn’t really have anything to do with poker. But it will help you to understand how The Whale could – and did – affect those around him.

As I said, in my youth as a frustrated baseball player, I had joined a travel slow-pitch softball team. We were not the top tier, but we played against the top tier often. What I liked about our Sponsor-GM-Coach was that he was a softball junkie. Actually, he was a medium sized bookie and sports betting and action junkie too - But a winner! We were called the Trailblazers because he had bet $10,000 at 12 to 1 odds that Portland would beat the Celtics in an NBA final.

Anyway, during the summer he hunted for softball tournaments to get our team into every weekend. That was perfect for me, because I wanted to play every weekend. Now the problem with our team finding tournaments in which to play in was not because there were not several going on every weekend (softball was in a boom at this time). It was because of our Class A and Class B status - and the reputation that our team had. Most tournaments were closed to us - unless they were sactioned Class A or B tournaments.

Our GM – let’s call him Frank – got us in a Detroit Recreation Tournament right in the inner city, with a fake team name. This normally would be no problem for us -blend-in wise - as easily 1/3th of our team was made up of black athletes. However, in order to not get throw out of this tourney, we were going to have to leave most of our big home run hitters off of the line up. This was no problem as most wanted the 4th of July weekend off - except for us softball junkies.

We went to this tournament with only four starters (me – 2nd base, our pitcher, shortstop and our left-center fielder - all lily white). We filled out the rest of our team with our minor-league Friday night team and our usual bench players (only one non- starting black player). This means the Whale was starting! Trust me when I say, we still had more than enough talent to win this tournament easily.

We are in the final game naturally and the only team left for us is the team in first place in the big league at this Detroit park. We had beaten them by 3 runs earlier with a last two inning rally to do it. They had to beat us twice to win the tournament. We had not lost a final game of a tournament in the 14 years I played for the team, and this was only year 3 of the streak, so you know who won it.

In that first game, our opponents had jumped on us for eight runs in the first inning – helped greatly by a grand slam hit over the head of the Whale – who had been playing right field at the time. Frank had told him repeatedly to back up – as had I from second base. But the Whale yelled in that the ‘girl’ couldn’t hit it that far.

Nice way to get the tension going in the house early. Of course the guy smoking the Whale with a blast, them taunting the Whale - and the Whale just smiling and shrugging in the outfield - quieted the agitation that had started. But the crowd and the other team gave it to the Whale when he came up to bat unmercifully. But, he deserved it.

So here we are in the finals, and most of the other teams had come to watch their complex champs beat this ‘white’ team from the East Side of the suburbs. Let me tell you, it looked like a NAACP rally – only louder and more emotional!

Frank has moved the Whale to first base. Our shortstop had a family outing to go to, and since this was not a big tourney, he took off. I had moved to shortstop. We are up by 6 runs in the top of the 6th inning, but the bases are loaded with two out. Our team bench was on the third base side and is now completely empty except for our coach, our coaches brother with his arm is in a cast and his wife, who is pregnant and keeping score. Our five big pig home run hitters and six-foot four inch shortstop are not in attendance.

As their big hitter comes to the plate, the crowd goes wild. As he steps in and the noise dins a little, Frank motions for our right fielder to shade the line a little more. Frank then yells to the Whale, “Is this the guy who burned you earlier?”

The Whale replies equally loud and in a pissed off voice, “I don’t know. They all look alike to me!”

I was much too big to hide under second base and even then - much too slow to make it to my car in time.

Beerhog Wins NPP #9

Nine of us got in from the 6th big winter storm to hit this area - caused of course by Global Warming. Nahanni just missed making it, Bronco did miss it and Tigercub was late due to shoveling …rain. (Can’t have snow on an overheated planet can you?)
Anyway, on to the action:

32 min: Matchy (9th), still trying to shake off the flu bug, gave it a shot tonight. Short-stacked, he goes all-in with (AT) and gets called by both Beerhog and Rownder! That’s trouble whether you are well or sick. Beerhog has (JJ) and Matchy is out and Rownder ‘s (55) cost him a lot of chips. Way to tough it out there Matchy.

36 min: Sev4TSev goes out in (8th) and I missed the hand. Sorry guys. Had to scold the wife. My beer was 14 seconds late on delivery. Can't have that.

48 min: A short-stacked Rownder (7th) goes all-in with (A8) and gets called by Mikeniks-Faldo (99) and a short-stacked McGuiness (KT). Kings and Tens arrive on the board eliminating Rownder.

55 min: McGuiness (6th) is forced to make a stand with (AT) and is called by Beerhog with (Q2). A [2] on the turn and it’s over for Mc.

Break:
Beerhog 5500
Boother 3000
Tigercub 2500
Aqualung 1600
MikeniksFaldo 900

75 min: I (Mikeniks-Faldo) have been set upon by Beerhog this night. So what else is new? He busted me at BWW with J4 for crying out loud. Tonight, I escaped early death by folding so his {AA} didn’t kill me and then checking down my full house to his higher full house. But as low stack, I had to make moves. As the big stack – and with the current mojo over me – Beerhog had to stay attacking my chips.

I (5th) go all-in with middle pair and an open ended straight draw holding (87) and a flop of [9c7s6s]. Beerhog calls with (Ts 2s). I hit a nice [Th] on the turn for my straight, but an ugly spade lands on the river. Not only does Poker Stars kill me – but it has to twist the knife.

Does the same computer deal for both BWW and Poker Stars – with Beerhog paying both of them? I’m just sayin’.

81 min: Hand of the night. Beerhog and Aqualung call the blinds and Boother checks. Tigercub checks his shorts and wonders. “What the heck am I doing at a table with these sharks?” Good question. I was thinking about that about my own darn self.

The flop comes [9h Jd 6d]. Boother throws out a standard bet and gets called by the Beerhog. Aqualung submerges and gets out of the way.

The turn is [5h]. This gets a bet from Boother (Jc 2c), and all-in by Beerhog (Js 9s) and a call by Boother (4th) – who is drawing dead.

90 min: Tigercub (3rd) decided to make a stand with (AK) on a flop of [4Q6]. Must have figured Beerhog whiffed. He didn’t as he had (Q2) and hit a [2] on the turn for good measure.

Beerhog holds a 3.5 to one chip lead going into heads up play.

94 min: Aqualung (2nd) and Beerhog call the blinds. The flop is [8d 8c 9d]. A routine bet and call follow and the turn is [5h]. Aqualung bets big. Beerhog raises big. Aqualung (7d 3d) moves all-in with the flush draw and Beerhog (76) calls with the made straight. No diamond and Beerhog wins for the second time this year!

He led wire to wire. Nice job Beerhog!

1st – Beerhog 26 pts
2nd – Aqualung 34 pts
3rd – Tigercub 13 pts
4th – Boother 10 pts
5th – Mikeniks-Faldo 36 pts
6th – McGuiness 18 pts
7th – Rownder 18 pts
8th – Sev4TSev 29 pts
9th – Matchy 20 pts
Duder 16 pts
Nahanni 12 pts
ArticBlast 2 pts

Faldo Wins NPP #8

Well there goes the neighborhood. How did you guys and gal let this happen? I'm the only one in the world with a longer history of losing than the Detroit Lions, Chicago Cubs and Toronto Maple Leafs - combined!

I almost played this one at BWW. But my wife was not feeling well and decided to help her out and stay home. That way she didn’t have to drive up there to make sure I had beer and didn’t need anything. Don’t tell me I’m not compassionate.

A very aggressive group of 9 players made it to the felt this night. McGuiness and Tigercub failed to register in time, while Nahanni, Rownder and Aqualung just slip in under the deadline. Maybe this is why everyone played like they had a plane to catch. It was just last week that nine players made it to the break! This week, only four survived until then.

18 min: Boother (9th) made a small raise with his (QQ) but got some callers. The flop of rags seemed to miss everyone and he goes all-in. But a Poker Stars big blind special has Duder hitting two pair on the flop with (74).

20 min: A short-stacked ArticBlast (8th) goes all-in when he gets a pair on the flop. But my (Faldo) suited over-cards catch a flush on the river.

Things slow down now until ten minutes before the break. Then Nahanni decides to gut the table like a fish.

50 min: Aqualung (7th) goes all-in with (AJ) but runs into Nahanni’s (AQ).

54 min: Beerhog’s (6th) goes all-in with (AT) but runs into Nahanni’s (AK).

57 min: A short-stacked Rownder (5th) goes all-in with (Q9) but runs into Nahanni’s (AK).

Break:
Sev4TSev 5825
Nahanni 3475
Faldo 2740
Duder 1460

70 min: The ‘sick’ hand of the night. A short-stacked Duder (4th) goes all-in with (AQ) with a flop of [Q72] and gets called in the big blind by the chip leader, Sev4TSev holding (Q6). But there is a [Q] on the turn and the death card [6] on the river.

76 min: Poor Nahanni (3rd) tried to make some moves but kept running into slightly better hands that I was holding. I probably took 7 of 8 pots from her either out – kicking her or pairing a small card on the turn or river to edge her out. Normally I am the person losing those, but not this night.

Now short-stacked Nahanni goes all-in with (QJ) and runs into Sev4TSev’s (66). A [6] on the flop ends the drama.

Heads up now –with 8500 and Faldo with 5000. Now I do to Sev4TSev what I did to Nahanni – win every small pot from here on out. This turns the tables and now I have an 11000 to 2500 lead!

We both take a flop of [Ks 7c 9d]. I make a 400 bet with middle pair (9h 3h), and why not? I have been running over the card dead Sev4TSev (2nd) to this point. He calls. The turn is the [6d].

I check here still undecided as to whether I will call an all-in or not. My hearts are not out there but now diamonds are. For some reason I am not convinced Sev4TSev has a {K}. I’m thinking (or wanting to believe) he has something like {Qd} and another small diamond like a {7d} or {8d}. When he checks too, for some reason my feeling he has a {K} goes from 10% to 40%.

The river is a [6c], and Sev4TSev goes all-in. Think time. Do I go with my original read of a busted straight or flush draw – or fold to the higher two pair or trips I may have let him draw to? I’m 60-40 that he missed his draw, so I call and he shows his (8d 7h) for a lower two pair.

I win my first NPP of the year. Is it November already?

1st – Mikeniks (Faldo) 35 pts
2nd – Sev4TSev 29 pts
3rd – Nahanni 12 pts
4th – Duder 16 pts
5th – Rownder 18 pts
6th – Beerhog 16 pts
7th – Aqualung 27 pts
8th – ArticBlast 2 pts
9th – Boother 7 pts
Matchy 20 pts
McGuiness 18 pts
Tigercub 8 pts

Matchy’s Game Great Fun Again!

Six of us made it there and a good time was had.

It was a weird night card wise. 5 sets of quads appeared. A straight flush also appeared but Sev4TSev moved the card to the other board when he saw the ‘impossible to read Faldo’ start break-dancing when the card hit. 747 then moved the 9 of clubs to the other board and my now busted flush for some reason failed to win.

He mentioned some silly rule of dealing consistently. Thanks a pantload!

How is this for a weird one? ArticBlast, DaveE and Beerhog are in a high-low seven stud game that ArticBlast must have thought of while sitting at home in his underwear and reading the back of a Brokeback Mountain video. You deal 7-stud normal – then for extra rounds of betting, you pick the cards up, discard two and roll your hand out – like we do with Screw Your Neighbor.

Anyways, all three players look like they have full houses when the 5-stud rollout is over! ArticBlast realizes it and when they declare – he declares low with a 3’s over 7’s full house and wins! That has to be the biggest hand ever to win a low pot! DaveE took high with Q's over and Beerhog got the entire sum left over in the 'I Got Screwed' pot. I think we all know how much that is worth.

In the exact same game in a different hand, ArticBlast deals this hi-lo game under the rule that you can’t go both ways. You can only declare high or low - but not both. This left Sev4TSev in the weird predicament of having to decide who to give half the pot to.

He had the 7-high straight, I (Faldo) had a pair of Aces showing and probably was going high and ArticBlast had an 8-low possible showing. In our normal game, Sev4TSev goes both and scoops, and Artic and I would then bitch about what a lucky stiff 747 was. But that is not how ArticBlast calls the game.

After much thought and careful consideration by Sev4TSev (and the fact that I pulled a .45 out of my jacket and casually mentioned it holds 7-hollow point rounds, and I’m still not quite over the straight flush pimp job), he went low and I got the high pot with my trip Aces.

I know the decision was a tough one, but gee, I wonder why he decided the way he did? I guess we will never know.

Anyways, I will be sending ArticBlast his quarter of the pot via Poker Stars. He wouldn’t take it at the game, but I think it is the only fair way to do it. The one who got really killed (almost killed? – LOL - just kidding) by the rule was Sev4TSev. It was really his whole pot. That’s a shame!

Matchy kept feeding Beerhog Apple Pucker and Crown Royal, plus the normal flood of beer. I was waiting for the Herbavor Apple Beer Reflux scene but Beerhog maintained. U da man!

Great music in the background all night. Thanks, Matchy and Mrs. Matchy for the great hospitality.

I will see if I cannot get the old NPP re-lit for the March game. - Faldo

Duder1123 Wins NPP #7

Another 1st time winner was crown tonight. Duder did it the hard way. He had to skillfully stay away from my rush of cards early – and then had to slay the most prolific tourney winner on this site. Beautifully done!

Eleven made it tonight, so we started with two tables. Maybe the cold weather kept everyone house bound. Nice turnout in spite of missing two regulars – Nahanni and ArticBlast.

Let’s get my sorry tale out of the way early. Maybe I should not write so close to the end of the tourney when the steam has not quit coming out of my ears yet! But my tourney story was early.

I (Faldo) knew I had no chance to win right away. I start off on a table of five with one sitting out - and I get absolute great cards and flops for the first 20 hands. I take down 8 of the first 20 pots and 23 of the first 40 pots, but not much in the way of chips! The guys knew I was hot and let me burn out quietly.

When the cards level out, I don’t win but one showdown the rest of the way – getting run down 3 times and missing my life-saving open ender straight draw at the end. I finished 4th – again! That is the 3rd time in a row too.

I wish Poker Stars would only pay two places. That way I could finish 3rd all the time - for more points at least. I hate this game!

Good thing I play tomorrow night. On to the rest of the action:

39 min: It was on the other table so I don’t have the particulars, but a short-stacked Boother (11th) gets knocked out by Aqualung.

58 min: If you are into computer software conspiracy theories – this hand is for you.

It is close to the break and we are still at two tables – with a few short stacks lurking about. The shortest stack remaining, McGuiness (10th) gets his dream hand (AA) – imagine that - and gets all-in with a rag flop - imagine that - of [629] against Duder holding (A8). But a [T] is on the turn and the perfect [7] hits the river. Imagine that!

And we are magically at one table. Convenient just before the break – don’t you think? I mention this idea about the software in the chat box. To quote Teddy KGB - “Bad judgment!” My cards were crap the rest of the way. Probably just another coincidence right? Right?

Break:
Sev4TSev 3660
Mikeniks 2510
Rownder 2360
Aqualung 1630
Bronco 1465
Duder 1390
Matchy 1235
Beerhog 1180
Tigercub 1070

64 min: Aqualung (9th) goes all-in with (Q5) and a flop of [QJ4], only to run into Sev4TSev’s (QJ).

71 min: Matchy (8th) and Sev4TSev hook up for a flop of [Kh Kd Qd]. Sev4TSev bets and Matchy calls. The turn [Td]. Danger Will Robinson! Matchy goes all in with his flush and runs into a full airplane – I mean house! Ouch! Another ouch comes along in eleven more minutes.

73 min: Rounder (7th) makes a move with (A9) and runs into Duder’s (TT).

81 min: A short-stacked Bronco (6th) makes his move with (35) and a board of [257], but Duder has (99).

82 min: Tigercub (5th) flopped a dream with (A7) as [2A7] came down. Beerhog laid in the weeds with (AA) and when another [7] fell on the river, the Tiger was bagged. Ouch squared!

85 min: My (Faldo - 4th) tale of woe already spewed at the opening. I get to whine early and longer - writer license. I got knocked out 50 minutes ago at this writing and I am ok now. Down to only one #@%!@#% swear word per sentence I have to fix while typing. That’s progress.

100 min: The three remaining see the flop of [Qc Kc Jc]. Beerhog (3rd) bets, Sev4TSev folds, Duder raises with his straight (Td 9c), Beerhog goes all-in with his 2-pair (KQ) and Duder calls. No ship comes in for Beerhog and he’s off the pier.

Down to two and what a battle it was! When it started Duder had a slight lead at around 8,000 to 7,000. He built it up to 14,200 to 2,300!

But Sev4TSev – as we all know – “has alligator blood. All night long – check, check, check. Can’t get rid of him.” Sorry – love the Rounder’s schick.

At the 120 min mark and 2nd break – its:
Sev4TSev 13,700
Duder 2,800

Complete reversal. But we were not finished yet! A couple of straight and flush catches and it’s a ball game again!

131 min: Finally Sev4TSev (2nd) goes all-in with his (99) against Duder’s (Ac Jc). The flop has a [J] in it and we have another 1st time winner! Great battle guys!

Congratulations Duder and welcome to the Walk of Fame!

1st – Duder (13pts)
2nd – Sev4TSev (22pts)
3rd – Beerhog (16pts)
4th – Mikeniks (Faldo) (25pts)
5th – Tigercub (8pts)
6th – Bronco
7th – Rownder (17pts)
8th – Matchy (20pts)
9th – Aqualung (27pts)
10th – McGuiness (18pts)
11th – Boother (7pts)
Nahanni (7pts)
ArticBlast (2pts)

Beerhog Finishes 6th in HORSE Tournament

Armed with his new laptop computer, Beerhog settled in on Poker Stars and almost walked away with enough to pay for it. He had the lead going into the final table, but was knocked out in a Razz lap.

He bested 234 of the players and got back ten times his entry. Nice job Beerhog.

He must have taken a break from his favorite video – Farm Animals Gone Wild!

Faldo Wins Spade Club NL Holdem Tourney

I bested 125 players in a freeroll for my eighth on-line tournament victory. I won some cash but you have to join as a member to collect it. I think the fee is $20 a month to join. I won half that.

It’s an internet poker club run by Card Player Magazine. The software is not that great and they want to know your social security number to join. I am wary of that.

But you never know. It may be the wave of the future. I'm still considering it.

NPP Live Action at Matchy's on the 23rd @ 7pm

Ok guys, lets get the RSVP's in;

IN
Matchy
Faldo
Beerhog
Aqualung

OUT
Boother
DavetheDog
Cigar4 John
Herbavor

McGuiness Wins NPP #6 – For His 1st NPP Title

Well, he no longer can be called ‘rookie’. The newest member of the NPP stable of players, McGuiness007 (Tim), wins his first tourney on one very snowy night. The weather made Nahanni, Rownder and Tigercub late and stopped Matchy from playing all together.

But the worst of it ...was finding out Boother was in the Bahamas! That - I did not need to hear. On to the action. Slow start - fast finish.

40 min: A rare three-way all-in when a short-stacked Sev4TSev (7th) went all-in with (65) and was called in two places by Tigercub (A8s) and Nahanni (TT). The flop had an [A] in it, so the plane crashed, the cat got fed and the lady lost with the lead. A sign of things to come.

50 min: McGuiness calls Nahanni’s (6th) big blind. The flop of [443] gets a bet from McGuiness and a call from Nahanni. A [5] on the turn give Nahanni two pair and she goes all-in – only to run into the Scot’s trip 4’s.

Break:
McGuiness 3800 (taking pots from tourists)
Mikeniks 2465 (made up from slow start)
Rownder 1765 (dangerous amount of chips)
Tigercub 1540 (Not the best card run)
Beerhog 930 (Mikeniks hurt him 5 min before the break)

78 min: A short-stacked Beerhog (5th) goes all-in when his (K2) hits the flop of [229]. But McGuiness calls with (99)! Beerhog ran into a hot player. Watch this.

80 min: Mikeniks (4th) - I got hurt by McGuiness earlier in a blind battle and now I am the short stack. I hit the flop [Q64] with my (J6s) in the blind - again - and make my stand. But McGuiness is holding (99) and I get no pardon from the governor.

82 min: Rownder (3rd) also had his two pair run into a McGuiness set of trips. Sorry I don’t have the details. I wrote down the wrong hand number. Hands were flying by. Note the minute counts.

83 min: Tigercub (2nd) goes all-in with (Q7) and a flop-turn of [766A], but McGuiness has (AJ) and no lucky seven for the Cat.

Congratulations on your first win at NPP, McGuiness - and welcome to the Walk of Fame!
(by the way that also only puts you 12 wins behind Sev4TSev (another Tim) in the Grand Total count!)

1st – McGuiness [18 pts]
2nd – Tigercub [7 pts]
3rd – Rownder [17 pts]
4th – Mikeniks [22 pts]
5th – Beerhog [11 pts]
6th – Nahanni [7 pts]
7th – Sev4TSev [15 pts]
Aqualung [27 pts]
Matchy [20 pts]
Boother [7 pts]
Duder [3 pts]
Articblast [2 pts]

FYI – a note from Poker Stars to your host:
“I appreciate the time you took to write us regarding your concern. After reviewing the chat log, ChipMe01’s chat privileges have been removed for repeatedly accosting players for chips.”

I told you guys I would turn them in if I was at my email. – Nik Faldo

Aqualung Wins #5 – and is the 1st Double Winner

Aqualung called it with a “Here I come!” and then proceeded to roll his opponents. I'm smelling the start of a Boother-then-Rownder-then-Sev4TSev - NOW Aqualung steamroller. I hate when that happens!

Nine of us made the game, which is the average this year – two players higher than last year even with some regulars from last year missing! Nice job.

15min: Beerhog (9th) is the first casualty as his (AK) runs into Sev4TSev’s (AA).

33min: A rare three-player all-in! Very exciting! The short-stacked Boother (8th) rightly goes all-in preflop with (AQ), but is called by ArticBlast and Nahanni. “Danger Will Robinson!” The flop is [Tc 6c 8c] and ArticBlast goes all-in with (Kc2c), Nahanni calls with (AhAc) and Boother is drawing dead! The turn is a [Qc] and now ArticBlast is drawing dead!

The turn was deadlier than the river tonight.

35min: Crippled ArticBlast (7th) has to go all-in with (KT) and gets no help when called by Sev4TSev’s (A7).

43min: McGuiness gets crippled when his (AK) runs into Rownder’s (QQ) and he over-bets his straight draw with a flop of [J7Q].

McGuiness then proceeds to run that 300 into over 2000 in seventeen minutes!

Break:
Rownder 3845
Sev4TSev 3420
McGuiness 2010
Nahanni 1990
Aqualung 1705
Mikeniks (Faldo) 530

85min: McGuiness (6th) slow-plays his (JJ) and doesn’t believe Nahanni’s bet on a flop of [9K5] and goes all-in. But Nahanni’s (KJ) holds up.

96min: A short-stacked and card-dead after the break - Sev4TSev (5th) has to make a move with (KhQh), but gets no help against Nahanni’s (A9).

100min: Mikeniks-Faldo (4th) (I) make my last stand in the big blind with A-rag. But I get no help and Rownder’s pair of Jacks on the flop finish my night.

106min: A now short-stacked Rownder’s (3rd) (Q8) can’t catch Aqualung’s (AT).

Aqualung has a 10,000 to 3,500 lead at this point.

111min: Nahanni (2nd) goes all-in with (Qc5c) and is called by Aqualung (1st) with (QsTs). The board of [Js 6s 4h] [Tc] [Qh] takes the lady home from the prom.

Congratulations to Aqualung who is the first double winner of the year so far!

1st – Aqualung [27 pts]
2nd – Nahanni [7 pts]
3rd - Rownder [12 pts]
4th - Mikeniks-Faldo [19 pts]
5th - Sev4TSev [15 pts] card dead after the break
6th – McGuiness [8 pts]
7th – ArticBlast [2 pts]
8th – Boother [7 pts]
9th - Beerhog [10 pts]
Matchy [20 pts] missed tonight
Duder [3 pts]

The Legend of the White Whale

During my softball career, I had the fortune to meet some real…characters. One of the most unforgettable was a reserve 1st base – right fielder we called the White Whale. About five-eleven and around 220, he was not fat by any means, but was stocky and very, very …white.
Redish-brown hair and skin that turned bright red as we played softball tourneys in the hot Saturday sun. He had his jersey off in between games showing a bright red face and arms with a white trunk and someone stuck the nickname on him.

The White Whale was an average ball player, a practical joker and one of the funniest comedians I ever met! What a quick wit, sharp tongue and a riot to be around. He was also a gambler. He liked to bet sports and did so. But successfully?…not so much. He once owed me over $10,000…on $50 and $100 football bets!

Of course he couldn’t pay (he never did or could – which is why he could only bet with me), but I kept taking his action. Why? Simple. I simply took his bets and if I liked the same team, I didn’t bet it and if I liked the other side, I bet it extra heavy. I made a fortune! At the end of the football season, I let him bet what he owed …and no more – until he won and we could be square when softball season started.

Actually, on week 14 (that was all there was then), I miscalculated and when the day was over, he had gone from $9900 in the hole to $20 up! This of course meant that I had one of my worst days ever! The games were not over 10 minutes and my phone rings and it is The Whale - wanting to know where we could meet so he could collect!

Anyway, we were in Las Vegas for a softball tournament and of course we were in the casino at night. We all had to play eight hours of blackjack or craps ($5 minimum bet) to get our rooms comped. So our team is scattered around the tables trying to grind out the time.

Someone asks the Whale why he is not playing and he pulls out his bankroll...of $2. Now that we all know why he is not playing, he feels he can hit us all up for loans. We all say ‘nothing doing’ as the only thing he is worse at than paying off bet losses…is paying loans back.

Finally ‘Big Bill’ gives him $100 to shut him up and the Whale sits down at our blackjack table.

His first bet is for $50. Before Bill can stop it the dealer deals. Twenty-one for The Whale. The Whale lets it ride on the next hand. Big Bill is beside himself and says, “If you are going to throw my money away on one hand, I want it back!” The Whale says it’s my money now and an argument ensues.

Meanwhile, the Whale’s 19 holds up …for his third win in a row and he now has close to $400. He continues to bet either $50 or $100 a couple more times with Bill going ballistic every time The Whale bets. The rest of us are all $5 or $10, and trying to survive. This size bet is killing Bill for some reason and he is demanding his money back. After a few plays, The Whale has $500 and finally gives Bill his $100 back... to shut Bill up.

The dealer tells The Whale he can’t give chips to a player at the same table he is playing at (remember he came to Vegas with only $2 for four days), so the Whale moves across the casino and out of sight. First, there is some name calling with a teammate and man who was not only was just nice enough to loan him $100 – but could crush the Whale like a grape.

As I said, The Whale could come up with the barbs that would make the victim mad and everyone else laughing so hard they can't stand up. It was just hard to punch the guy out under those conditions - which is how The Whale made it to the age he did. I'm serious, Don Rickles was an amateur compared to The Whale.

We all play like four hours – so we are half way to our comp. As we are heading to our rooms (we did have softball to play tomorrow) I pass by The Whale’s table and he has over $4000 in front of him! He is playing three hands at $100 to $300 a hand! Because of his rate of play The Whale tells me he is already comped!

We come down for breakfast and The Whale is still at the same table with close to $12,000 in front of him! I tell him he has to eat and we got a game and he reluctantly cashes out with a marker from the pit boss. He still only has his $2 in cash and charges his breakfast to our coaches room.

The next night, The Whale comes down from a nap after dinner at around 2 am. We are out of the tourney and most of us are still working on our comp. He joins us at the craps table and immediately asks the pit boss for his entire $12000 bankroll.

You guessed it. In a little less than 15 minutes, the casino has it all and The Whale is again asking for a loan. The smile never left his face and he continued to make fun of the way the rest of us were betting and playing. – Nik Faldo

Beerhog Crushes the Field – That is How He Rolls!

Eight of us made the felt tonight. McGuiness and I playing from the Cleveland hotel lounge again, but this time the internet connection was fine.

32min: A short-stacked Nahanni (8th) went all-in with KQ and ran into Rownder’s KK and the lady had to say good night.

41min: Tigercub (7th) went all-in when he flopped trip aces but ran into McGuiness and his full house!

59min: A short-stacked Matchy caught a nice (QQ) and went all-in only to be called by Rownder and his (KK) AGAIN. But, a [Q] spiked on the river and Matchy went from the basement to 3rd place.

Break:

Aqualung 2800 (sitting out early then hit some hands when he sat down)
McGuiness 2520 (had a monster chip lead but dropped back)
Matchy 1990 (rose from 'one card from dead' to 3rd)
Beerhog 1795 (usual yo-yo chip stack)
Mikeniks (usual card dead situation – 3 pots in 68 hands)
Rownder 1260 (waiting to pounce)

The river hit by Matchy started a frickin Katrina flood on the river. Only Aqualung (get it? – water?) was able to survive until the end.

70min: McGuiness (AA) is all-in against Beerhog’s (AJ). Beerhog is a 13 to 1 dog but the flop of [4JJ] makes McGuiness a 27 to 1 dog instantly. The once monster chip leader is now crippled, and the Beerhog rush began!

76min: Rownder (6th), being the great card player he is, read Beerhog as weak and ran a bluff for all his chips. He takes his read and has the stones to play it. But Rownder’s radar was off this time as Beerhog had the straight.

81min: I (Mikeniks – Faldo – 5th) flopped a straight and got my 2nd short-stack all-in – and Beerhog hit a flush on the river.

86min: McGuiness (4th) got his short-stack in with (66) after a safe flop of [943] but Beerhog had (T9) and no more help came for the Scot.

Beerhog obviously has a monster stack at this point and makes quick work of the rest.

97min: Matchy (3rd) goes all-in when he pairs on the flop, but Beerhog hits another flush.

98min: Aqualung (2nd) gamely tries to come back going all-in with (KK). How can you expect to win with that trash???!!!!!

Beerhog has (A9) and hits an [A] on the turn. When you are hot, you are hot! Congratulations Beerhog!

1st – Beerhog (10 pts)
2nd – Aqualung (17 pts)
3rd – Matchy (20 pts)
4th – McGuiness (8 pts)
5th – Mikeniks (Faldo) (16 pts)
6th – Rownder (7 pts)
7th – Tigercub
8th – Nahanni
Sev4TSev (14 pts)
Boother (7 pts)
Duder (3 pts)
ArticBlast (2 pts)

Nahanni Cashes in the Sunday Millions on Poker Stars

Hey boys...thought I would share with you my semi-decent performance at last week's Sunday Millions on Poker Stars. I've played this grueling long-ass tourney about 4 or 5 times now and finally cashed on Sunday. It wasn't a huge amount ($300), but it is a start...I am hoping that future performances will only get better. In case you know nothing about the weekly PS Sunday Millions game, I'll tell you. It is a $200 + $15 game with usually 6500 - 7500 players (HUGE FIELD!). The game starts at 4:30 pm on Sunday and from start to finish is about 10-12 hours...if you are still playing in the 12th hour, you don't care that you have been playing for 12 hours because all you can think about is the amount of money you are going to win...first place is usually in the $200,000 range (final table is in 5-digit cash).

PS has a bizzilion qualifiers for the Sunday million (SM) that run all week long. The ones that are easier on the bank roll are the $11 double-shootouts...(with a full field of 100 players) you play 10-handed and have to win that table to move on to the next table where all the winners from the first level square off...usually the top 4 will win a seat and 9 - 5 will win about $35. When I have enough money in my bank roll, I REALLY like the $58 4-handed, 8-player max SNG...that one is sweet and takes less than an hour to play (the DS can take over 2 hours to play).

Anyhow, the 4-handed game is great and as people get eliminated they even out the tables until the final 4 are at the "final table"...and then the top 2 finishers get a seat. Oh and the last Sunday of each month the buy-in is $500+30 for the SM...the qualifying tourneys are a bit more and less seats advance to the SM. Usually there are only about 2500 to this bigger buy-in event and because of that first place pays out nearly the same as the $200 event.Anyhow...at last Sunday’s game there were 7520 players and payout started at 1050. you start at 10,000 in chips and the blinds start at 25/50...it sounds like a lot and that you could just sit there for an hour not doing anything...but you really can't...it gets up there pretty quick (even though blinds go up in 15-minute intervals)...the first hour is crucial to gain some chips.

Anyhow, it was amazing how the play commenced just before the bubble...if I had more chips and more balls (or female equivalent) I'd be raising every hand to steal because nobody wanted to go out being so close to money (which took about 4 hours to get to). I was amazed that I was able to survive as long as I did because I didn't have any cards and nothing that I wanted to attempt to steal with.

I had 3 key hands that kept me in it and actually pushed me up to above average chip stack before we hit the money. Once money hit, people were going all-in every hand as though their chips were made of nuclear waste...it was unreal...the first hand into the money there was a 4-way all-in at my table!

Anyhow, I was fairly confident that I could last until at least the second pay level which would have paid out $450 at 810 players...but...things can change sooooooo fast at the poker table, you are kicked out before you even realize what just happened. I get AQ in middle position and raised 4xbb (to 16,000) and a short stack person moved all-in for an additional 24,000....there was already 26,000 in the pot because of the 10,000 in blind+ante money.......and at this point, the short stacks were moving in with just about anything...plus I had this guy covered (started the hand with over 70,000)...so I called and ran into AK. whaaaaa!!!! whaaaaaa!!!

That dropped me to under 40,000 and the very next hand I had 66...with less than 10BBs I decided to move in...And I would guess that under average circumstances, I would be able to pick up the blind money or even double up...but I ran into QQ and boom...just like that I was out! Went out 860...50 away from the next level which I know I could have easily cruised to. Sometimes I wonder if not getting any cards is really a better than getting decent/semi-decent cards. Anyway, I won't complain...$300 is better than a kick in the ass! - Nahanni

747 Wins NPP #3 – with yet Another Big Comeback!

What is going on with this group? In order to win the tournament I guess you almost have to get felted early? Last year the standings at the break were pretty much the way we finished - usually. This year so far, the almost out player has come back to win. Amazing stuff.

We also welcome a new player, McGuiness007. He works at my corporate office in Cleveland. I know he lives in Ohio, but try and like him anyway.

We had nine players , and should have had ten. Tigercub, fresh off his tourney cashing was looking to smack down us mopes, but he seems to have an “I thought it was at 8:30?” obsession - for three weeks in a row. Well, he got in a qualifier instead and won a seat in the Poker Stars Sunday $100,000 tourney. When you are hot, you’re hot!

I told him to tattoo "8:00 PM" on the underside of his right wrist so he would see it everyday – if you know what I mean.

On to the action:

34min: Sev4TSev gets crippled with (AA) by Matchy (QQ) when a [Q] hits the flop AND the river! PS: Thirty four minutes before a serious hand and the early crippled guy wins the tourney??? This group is scaring me.

51min: Nahanni (9th), I think frustrated with the computer problems McGuiness007 and I were having in Ohio got her motor racing. She fires a semi-bluff with (22) at a flop of [864] and ArticBlast calls her with (Q4).

59min: Rownder (8th) got caught in a PS special as his (A9) hit a flop of [49A] against ArticBlast’s (JJ). But a [J] on the turn ended his night.

Break (7 players!!!)

ArticBlast 4215
Duder 1990
McGuiness 1785
Mikeniks(Faldo) 1775
Matchy 1370
Sev4TSev 1290 (up from 495 at one point)
Boother 1075 (work had him sitting out until 2 hands before the break)

65min: ArticBlast raised with (KQ) into a flop of [K93]. Boother (7th) didn’t believe him holding (22) and no help came. Boother was then given the new nickname of LIFO by ArticBlast – “Last In, First Out”. Ouch

71min: Matchy (6th) is getting close to go time with his stack and hits the flop of [7Q4] with his (AQ). When a [Q] comes on the turn, he goes all-in only to run into McGuiness and his (44) and full house. No seven or Queen on the river and the slow play of McGuiness paid off.

84min: ArticBlast (A5) loses the chip lead to Duder (KQ) with a flop of [K5K]!

96min: Now it is my turn to smack down the former chip leader with a PS SB vs BB special. Duder, ArticBlast and I all see the flop of [TTJ]. I bet and only Artic calls. The turn is an [8] and ArticBlast (J8) moves all-in. I call with (KJ). I have him out-kicked but a lovely (for me) [K] falls on the river to seal it.

98min: The now short-stacked ArticBlast (5th) loses to Duder’s straight.

109min: Duder gets crippled when his (88) trips on the flop runs into Sev4TSev’s (TT) trips on the flop. I’ve been there and done that! And against 747 too!

117min: Duder (4th) and Sev4TSev see the flop of [Q68]. Sev bets and Duder calls. Turn [4], and they both check and wait to drown on the river [5]. Duder goes all-in with (Q5) for 2 pair but Sev4TSev has the straight with (97).

This means the newbie is taking some cash home. That like never happens!

Will we make it to a second break? Uh, no.

118min: A short-stacked (of course compared to 747, we are both short-stacked) McGuiness (3rd) has to go all-in. On the river, I bet Sev4TSev off the pot as my flush ends the rookie’s night. But a great showing none the less against this group of sharks.

119min: I – Faldo (2nd) succumb right after as my (Ac4c) loses to Sev4TSev’s (Qc7c) as a [Q] hits the flop. Great comeback 747 from a hard smack down early!

1st – Sev4TSev (14pts)
2nd – Mikeniks (Faldo) (15 pts)
3rd – McGuiness (5 pts)
4th – Duder (3 pts)
5th – ArticBlast (2 pts)
6th – Matchy (15 pts)
7th – Boother (7 pts)
8th – Rownder (7 pts)
9th – Nahanni
Aqualung (10pts)

This win gives 747 the NPP tournament win lead over everyone – including Faldo!
"He beat me, straight up. Pay that man his money!"

Tigercub Finishes 2nd in Ferndale Charity Tourney

Back to the wars for Faldo after the tough battle at Herbavor's. Doesn't my life suck when I am forced to play poker on back to back nights? But somebody has to do it.

I was skepical before I got there, but guys, this was a pretty nice set-up for the 60$ entry ($50 tourney and $10 fee). Oval holdem tables seating nine, casino quality chips, two decks per table, "Tournament Director" software for auto seating and player moves, tourney clock, players left and blinds projected on the entire front wall, open beer tap, pepperoni pizza and that first class "Garden Fresh Gourmet" salsa and chips. There were 10 different varieties of salsa to choose from, and two types of chips. And cigar smoking allowed!

You got $4500 in tourney chips and for another $10 - which went directly to the charity, you got another $500. Who was going to say no to that? Blinds started at $25 - $50 and changed every 15 minutes. Payoffs were five places - $500, $250, $150, $100 and $50. Plus $50 for biggest hand of the night, $25 back to the first one out, and $100 if you hit a royal flush.

Thirty-seven players entered, but there was a poker league going in the back with two more tables of ten players and other tables already set up for ring play as players got eliminated. And the ring tables filled up too - getting fed by the main tourney and the poker league.

Onto the action. Tigercub (table #1) got off to a great start hitting a couple straights and I (table #3) took a ton of chips off of two players who called all my bets with next to nothing. I also called a guy down who bluffed a flush at me, so my ESP was working early. However, it failed me late.

Thai Food stopped by for a gander at the set up on his way back from getting - what else? - Thai food at Pi's Thai in Hazel Park.

I made the final table also, but I got eliminated at 6th. And yes, of course they were paying 5 spots! Here is where my ESP failed me - and where it usually does. I was the short stack and did not call a raise with (55) when I maybe should have and the 9-8-7-6 hit the board and a pair of 8's won the hand.

I folded an A9 to a good size raise and an [A] came on the flop, and a pair of kings won the pot. But the next hand, I did go all-in with (As 9s) and ran into (Ah Kd). The flop and turn was [Ad Kh 8d 3s] and it was time to hit the salsa.

Heads-up Tigercub got down to $6000 in chips of the $185,000 in play, but fought all the way back to only a 3 to 1 deficit! But the comeback was halted when his (A5) lost to a (Kh 3h) when a [3] hit the turn.

Great job Bro! Once again NPP represents with two final table finishes, and if I knew how to play, it would have been two cashes!

Matchy Corner - 1 (Plus Herbavore recap)

Matchy posts this:

My discussion topic would be: do the crazy ring games we play take away some of the advantage of guys who are more skilled at poker reads and bluffs than myself (if you are reading this, then this means you)?

If we are playing say gridlock, or double bed hi-lo then the possibilities for hands are obviously much greater than plain old hold 'em.

Add to this a $1 or $2 limit in betting and it makes bluffing harder and chasing a hand more realistic. In my opinion this makes many of our ring games closer to lottery or slots than pure poker.

Still alot of fun, but taking some of the edge away from players with more skill. Please discuss!



Now Faldo's report on the Herbavor game:

Another great time was had by all. Anytime I can laugh to the point of having tears in my eyes it's a great night. Plus I had 747 doubled over in laughter too.

Around the table: Herb (thanks for the great sandwiches and the full line up of liquor - just like Boother's game),
Faldo,
747,
Beerhog,
SpartyToJo,
Matchy and
Thai Food

It was a great time after 8 hours of play and we left Herb alone in his house with his dog and a jar of creamy peanut butter he was getting out of the kitchen. The dog seemed to want to leave with us for some reason.

FYI: Faldo may re-open the Palace for the February game and SpartyToJo is contemplating the March game.

Matchy Wins NPP #2 – With a Great Comeback!

Ten players made it to the felt this evening! It was the usual brutally tough NPP game. Broke up into two 5 – player tables, it took quite a while for the first casualty to occur so we would move to one table.

Min 39: A late arriving (blinded down) short-stacked Aqualung (10th) made a stand with (AQ) but ran into Beerhog’s 55 as was gone.

Min 50: A late arriving (blinded down) short-stacked Duder (9th) called a kind of short-stacked Rownder’s raise. The flop is [AJ8]. Rownder goes all in with (AQ) and Duder called with (A7) and got no help.

Min 59: A short-stacked Nahanni (8th) goes all-in with (A8) and runs into Rownder’s (AA).

At the break:

Rownder 5340
Mikeniks 2290
Beerhog 1855
Boother 1770
ArticBlast 1640
Sev4TSev 1510
Matchy 595

Min 67: We had a rare three-way all-in; Boother (7th) all-in pre-flop with (A7), Beerhog (6th) with (QJ) and Rownder with (77) after the flop of [79T]. No {K} for the Hog and Rownder goes from chip leader to monster chip leader!

Min 68: ArticBlast (5th) goes all-in with (77) and runs into Rownder's (QQ).

Min 72: Sev4TSev (4th) goes all-in with (Q6) after a flop of [Q94] and Matchy makes the call with an over card and a inside straight draw with (KJ). A {T} arrived on the turn and the plane is grounded.

Min 83: Matchy continues his comeback with (KJ) against Rownder’s (QT) and then an (AK) with (AQ). Now Matchy has the chip lead.

Min 94: I (Mikeniks-Faldo) went card dead pretty much from the break. I have to take a flyer with an open ended straight draw and it fails (3rd).

Min 100: The hand that ended it had a board of [8d 4h Jd] [4d] [3s]. After bets on the flop, turn and river, both guys hit hands: Rownder (2nd) a flush (Kd Qd) and Matchy a full house (84). Congratulations Matchy!

1st – Matchy (15pts)
2nd – Rownder (7pts)
3rd – Mikeniks (Faldo) (8pts)
4th – Sev4TSev (4pts)
5th – ArticBlast (1pt)
6th – Beerhog
7th – Boother (7pts)
8th – Nahanni
9th – Duder
10th – Aqualung (10pts)

Hlam's game is on Friday, Jan 18. Here are the RSVP's so far:

IN
Herbavor
Faldo
Beerhog
Matchy
SpartyToJo
LarryP
Thai Food

OUT
Cigar4John
DavetheDog

Then on Jan 19th, we have this:

Wayne-Oakland Police Softball, Garden Fresh Salsa, and Line Drive Sports Presents the Calcaterras NL Holdem Tournament

Where: Ferndale FOP Hall, 2233 Burdette - 1/4 mile north of Nine Mile Rd and 3 blks west of Hilton Rd.

Doors open at 6:30 - Registration til 7:20 - Deal at 7:30 sharp!

$60 buy-in and rebuys for the 1st half-hourEntry includes beer, food and pop.

Proceeds to benefit The Calcaterras FamilyTheir daughter Alissa, 16 yrs old, has undergone several brain surgeries for a re-occurring tumor with another procedure in sight.Pre-register at wayneoakland1@aol.com

Dave the Dog Found Innocent of Cardroom Assault

DavetheDog was playing poker at the poker room in Flint when a disturbance broke out. Someone had lost a hand and had thrown their drink at a dealer.

Since there are no cameras in Flint, they had to round up all the players that had ordered Shirley Temple drinks and give them lie detector tests. When the truth is told – the machine [dings]. When a lie is told – the machine [buzzes]. Here is the just released transcript of Dave’s interrogation:

Flint Officer #1: “Is it true you held a grudge against the dealer for not hitting your two-outers?

Dave: “Yes!”
Machine: [Ding!]

Flint Officer #1: “Did you throw your umbrella drink at him?”
Dave: “No.”
Machine: [Ding!]

Flint Officer #2: “He checks out.”

Flint Officer #1: “Ok, sir. You are free to go.”

Dave: “Good! Because I got a big live cash game to play in tonight.”
Machine: [Buzz!]

Dave: “A big live tournament to play in tonight.”
Machine: [Buzzzzz!]

Dave: “A big on-line tournament.”
Machine: [Buzzzzzzzzzzzz!]

Dave: “A freeroll tournament.”
Machine: [Buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!]

Dave: “All right!! When I get home and after I do the dishes and vacuum, I’m going to ogle the girls in my wife’s Victoria Secrets catalog.”
Machine: [Buzzz!]

Dave: “Target Stores newspaper insert flyer.”
Machine: [Ding!]

Dave: “Now, will you unhook this thing already? I don’t deserve this kind of shabby treatment.”
Machine: [BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!]

NPP#1 for 2008 – Aqualung Wins

The kickoff to the 2008 season was a success (nine players) and a failure (not one new face). But with the new format – there is always hope.

10 minutes: (I didn’t get the hand - sorry) Beerhog put a hurt on Farrell early to take the chip lead.

21 min: I (Faldo) got a short-stacked Nahanni (9th) all-in with her (AJ) against my (T9) with a [9] on the flop. No help came – and the lady responsible for our great statistics sheet to keep the standings update easily – was the first victim of 2008.

33 minutes: The short-stacked Farrell (8th) makes a stand with (KJ) and runs right into Aqua’s (AQ), with a [Q] on the flop and the river no less.

43 min: A short stacked Rownder (7th) goes all in with (A8) and an [A] on the flop. But I am holding (AT) and one of our 2007 co-champs is out.

52 min: Beerhog (6th) decides to chip up or go out right before the break and comes at the current chip leader, me, with (AJ). I have (AQs) and decide to gamble with him and I win.

55 min: What can go wrong before the break? I have a nice chip lead and I my better hands are holding up. Isn’t everything just peachy? Uh, no – not for long.

Boother and I hook up in a BB vs Button special. It folds around to me and I raise to steal the blinds. Boother decides to call. The flop is [KQ5]. Boother checks and I throw a small raise in, hoping for a fold, but he calls. Darn, he must have some of that flop.

The turn is another [5]. Let me check my hole cards again. Yep, the (6h 5h) is smiling back at me (or thinking back - laughing at me?). Anyway, I got to value bet here and do, and Boother calls again! Hmmm. Did he hit two pair on the flop or is he pressing a straight draw?

No matter. The river is a beautiful [6]. I runner-runner a full house. Only three hands can beat me and I have a chance to get a dangerous player out before the break. I go all-in and Boother calls with (KK).

Ok, I over-bet at the end and my read was wrong as usual, but that is just cruel to runner-runner a big loser. But that’s poker (and poor play) and my original read of things being peachy was wrong too!

The break:
Boother 4330
Matchy 4050
Aqualung 2330
Mikeniks (Faldo) 1850
Sev4TSev 1040

68 min: Sev4TSev (5th) goes all-in with (KQ) and runs into Matchy’s (77) and no help arrives.

72 thru 78 min: A nice battle ensues between Boother and Aqualung. They trade the chip lead as first Aqua wins it with (66) and then Boother wins it back with…you guessed it (66).

But Aqualung finally holds to the chip lead as his (A9) defeats Boother’s (Q9) when a flop comes [239].

80 min: Matchy gets crippled as his (99) got hit with a [J] on the flop when Boother went all-in holding (AJ).

82 min: I (Faldo) have re-built my stack and try unsuccessfully to eliminate the short-stacked Matchy a couple of times - for much needed ammo. For example, his (97) survived my (AJ) by hitting a [9] on the river.

85 min: It just was not going to be my night as I (4th) am eliminated as I get all-in – hitting two pair on the turn, but Boother already had hit trips on the flop.

90 min: Aqualung has a huge chip lead at this point, but things get a little closer to as his two pair on the flop get run down by Boother’s all-in with (AT), hit the straight on the river. We could have a ball-game now.

But instead it ends quickly with a rare three-way all-in!
Matchy (AA)
Boother (KQ)
Aqualung (A6)

The shortest stack has the best hand, the middle guy has the most outs and the chip leader is dominated. But folks, this is Poker Stars.

Flop [66J] and blanks of [8] [4] follow. Congratulations Aqualung!

1st – Aqualung
2nd – Boother
3rd – Matchy
4th – Mikeniks (Faldo)
5th – Sev4TSev
6th – Beerhog
7th – Rownder
8th – Farrell
9th - Nahanni

Boother in Tunica!

Boother sent me this write-up. Thanks Boother!

And a reminder - the Tuesday tourney starts at 8pm and the password is the same as the end of last year.

Boother Report:
Elroy and I went to Tunica Mississippi for a World Series of Poker Circuit event. We played the first few, lower limit tourneys. The structure was better than in previous years with $10,000 in starting chips, $50-$100 starting blinds and 40 minute levels. The play format was start at noon and play till 2:00 am or until the final table was set. Then, play would resume the next day at 2:00 pm.

The first tourney we played in was on Thursday the 3rd, was a $300 buy-in and had 780 (give or take) players. I only lasted till about 4:00 because I never got any cards and I couldn’t get my chip stack above $15,000. Elroy lasted a few more hours than I did, until he took a big hit when his QQ got beat by 68 off suit. Then he got knocked out when his short stacked 66 got beat by Q10. Neither of us got an official finishing position, because they don’t do that for people that get knocked out that early!!!

The second tourney was on Friday, was a $500 buy-in and only had 380 or so players. My streak of bad luck continued as I got bounced before 3:00. Elroy only last an hour or so longer than me…again!!! Neither of us got any cards or an official finishing place.

I also played in a few sit-n-goes but got no luck there either, in fact, in 1 of them I got bounced on the first hand!!! With this less than desirable luck, we cut out trip short and came home a day early (I had planned to play in the $700 game on Saturday, but decided to same my cash for when I am running better!!).

The one thing that Elroy and I took from our adventure is that tourneys are marathons, not sprints and you have to be lucky all the time. You have to win the races and suck out a few times too. All the skill in the world can’t over come pure luck. If any one person is running hot, they have a chance to win!!!

Even though we didn’t fair well this year, we do plan on going again next year. The trip will be in January, February or March of 2009. We welcome anyone that would like to join us. More details will follow as the trip gets closer.

p.s. Sorry Jim for not getting you more text message updates. My phone took a crap on Friday right after the tourney started and I lost all my numbers. - end of report

6th - the Double Bubble Boys of 2007

This one really hurts! Out of the money and just missed the points! This finish is the worst!

1st - Articblast 17
2nd - Rownder, Sev4TSev, Matchy 9
5th - Mikeniks 8

Ok - who is missing from this list????
It is obvious now how Boother got his co-POTY finish and why Rownder missed first alone.

Point Scammers in 2007

Ah, 5th place! The last spot that earns anything. Who got there the most?

1st - Matchy 6
2nd - Sev4TSev 5
3rd - Boother, ArticBlast, Beerhog, Duder 4

Grabbing something is better than nothing
My thoughts exactly in a crowded subway train in Tokyo!

Money Bubble Boys for 2007

The dubious list of who 'just missed' the cash.

1st - Mathcy 11
2nd - Boother 10
3rd - Mikeniks (Faldo) 7
4th - Sev4TSev 6
5th - AtricBlast 4

On the plus side, this group are 'point whores'.

Locks for 3rd Place in 2007

Who is not on this list is as telling as who is.

1st-2nd - Mikeniks (Faldo) and Matchy 11
3rd - Sev4TSev 6
4th-5th - Boother and ArticBlast 4

Well, I was a given - given my short table shortcomings.

Conspicuously absent from this list is Rownder - who made it a habit of closing the deal when he gets 'in the money'.

2007 Runners Up in the NPP Tourneys

I was the runaway winner of this Bridesmaid position.
It is a total condemnation of my ability to play heads-up poker.

A credit to the quality of players at NPP is that everyone finishes in statistically reasonable amounts evenly across the 'less than 1st place positions' and secondly - they can all beat me like a drum heads-up.

Things are not all bleak. I know what I have to work on.

Most 2nds
1st - Mikeniks (Faldo) 13
2nd - Boother 7
3rd - 5th - Rownder, Sev4TSev and ArticBlast 4

The Winners in 2007

Who won the tourneys on-line at NPP?
The suprise is who did not - if you look at the point standings.

1st - Rownder 11
2nd - Sev4TSev 8
3rd - Boother 6
4th - Matchy 4

That would be yours truly - Nik Faldo. We will discuss my poker problems on a later post.

We played 49 tourneys and only 29 tourney wins are shown here.
That means there are plenty of tourneys left to win - if you PLAY!!!!!!
So, lets get in on the action next year you PT players!

2007 Average Points Per Round Standings

As you know, 2007 had this scoring system:
1st - 10 pts
2nd - 7
3rd - 5
4th - 3
5th - 1

We will probably have the same system for next year - although if we were to average two tables at the start - I think awarding the 'final' table has some merit. Giving points just for showing up I don't think is a bad thing here. What do you guys think?

Here is the average points per round standings (minimum 12 starts):

1st - Rownder (4.9)
2nd - Mikeniks (Faldo) (4.6)
3rd - Sev4TSev (4.3)
4th - Boother (4.2)
5th - Beerhog (4.0)
6th - Aqualung (3.5)
7th - Momo (3.5)
8th - Matchy (3.4)
9th - Nahanni (3.2)
10th - ArticBlast (2.3)
11th - Duder (2.1)

Bronco76, BonAir, Hlam14, and Cigar4John - all had good seasons (top 10), but didnot play enough to make the list.

Next year should be alot of fun!

Who is the Merriest at NPP?

What better way to celebrate Christmas than to show the results of the he judges verdict as to who is the Happiest players at NPP.

The judge's committee is made up of the Coaches' poll, the BCS, AP, the Nobel Peace Prize Committee, the Oscar Academy, the Toni, the ESPI and of course the world famous Dart Board Board.

All decisions are final - (unless bribes are issued).

1 - Beerhog
2 - Matchy
3 - DavetheDog
4 - ArticBlast
5 - Cigar4John

Now, I am sure I failed to make the list because I once agreed with Hlam14 - when he once said, "Oh darn" after a Poker Stars bad beat.

This list is not to say that there are other players at NPP that could of been considered - like me.

I'm sure I will be on this list next year. Especially if THAT LOUSY POKER STARS DOESN'T FLOP AND RIVER SOME BULL..... nevermind.

That doesn't count against next year's voting...does it?

Spadeclub offer

I ran across an interesting tidbit in Card Player magazine.

There's a new site called SpadeClub that needs beta testers. They will have a freeroll each day with cash prizes. All they ask is for some feedback regarding their site's software.

Final Point Standings for 2007 NPP Internet Tourney League

Your host Nik Faldo (mikeniks on Poker Stars) is living proof that if you play more than everyone else, you will get more points than everyone else. I can't consider myself for the Player of the Year on my own site, anyway. That doesn't make any sense.

That is why the format change for next year. I can legitimately win the NPP Championship tournament next year, however. But the Player of the Year still will be at the discretion of the NPP Committee.

Who is on the committee? Well, every living winner of the WSOP Main Event, the WPT, the Aussie Millions, the Monte Carlo Open, and Nik Faldo. Once the votes are tabulated the ruling will be final.

Other news, I will be coming out with other 'standings' based on the results of this year's play. And then some 'standings' based on other 'stuff'.

Now here are the final point totals:

1 - Nik Faldo 199
2,3 - Boother and Rownder 163
4 - Sev4TSev 152
5 - Matchy 120
6 - ArticBlast 82
7 - Nahanni 54
8 - Beerhog 52
9 - Aqualung 45
10 - Momo 42
11 - Duder 41
12 - Bronco 37
13 - Cigar4John 28
14 - BonAir 28
15 - Hlam14 24
16 - DavetheDog 10
17 - Farrell 8
18 - Cheif 7
19 - 1stout 3
20 - SpartyToJo 1
21 - Tiger 0

Matchy Wins NPP #49 – Creating Co-Champions! Boother and Rownder!

Rownder and Boother had to feel like they was set upon by the masses. We had a record tying TWELVE players at the game tonight! Nice job guys!

Boother needed to win with Rownder finishing no better than 5th – in order to wrestle the title away from Rownder. On to the show:

On hand #10, Sev4TSev (12th) – who had a great year in his own right – had his (AK) hit a [K] on the flop – only to be looking down the barrel of Duder’s (KK).

As least he went quickly. Me and Farrell – not so much.

On hand #64, a short-stacked Farrell(11th), who had his (AK) run down to cripple him, gets all-in with (QQ), only to see Rownder spike an [A] on the flop while holding (A6).

My (Faldo – 10th) end came on hand #72. After ducking two lethal hands against Boother that could have ended my night (trips against a FH and a flopped two pair against a flopped straight), my crippled stack gets all-in with (TT) but lost to Duder’s flush.

At least I now have a front row seat for the drama unfolding!

At the 57 min mark, ArticBlast (9th) – who missed the first 20 minutes of the tourney, raises and gets called by Cigar4John {welcome stranger} and the prodigy Bronco76. A flop of [Jc 4h 8d] gets another round of betting with Cigar folding. The turn of [3c] has Artic bluffing all-in with (Kh 2h) and getting called by Bronco with (KJ) – and it was over.

Right before the break, a shorter stacked Cigar4John (8th) makes a move and gets all-in with (QJs) and is called by Boother’s (55) and no help arrives for the Queen and her jester.

At the break, only one man has Boother covered, and Rownder still is lurking:
Duder 3900
Boother 3100
Aqua 3100
Matchy 2550
Bronco 2150
DavetheDog 1900 (welcome back too!)
Rownder 1300

At the 70 min mark, Bronco76 (7th) gets all-in with (Q8) with a flop of [8KT], only to run into Duder’s (K8).

At the 75 min mark, Rownder (6th) gets all-in with (JJ) and Matchy calls with (K9) and the flop comes down [KQ6] and no more hooks arrive. The back door swings open for Boother!

At the 80 min mark, DavetheDog (5th) checks his BB to Duder’s call and a flop of [4c 4h 8h] arrives. Dave goes all-in with a semi-bluff holding (Qh 2h) and gets called by Duder with (KQ). No hearts or duck arrive and the King kicker plays.

Duder (4th) has the chip lead but runs into some better hands at this point – mostly losing to Boother, who took over the lead. At the 100 min mark, Duder’s bad luck continues as his trip 4’s run into a quiet Aqualung’s straight, and we are three-handed.

At the 105 min mark, Aqualung (3rd) spikes a pair of Jacks on the turn and makes a move with a board of [8AQ] [J], but Boother is holding (AT).

We are two-handed and Boother has a 2 to 1 chip lead. His buddy Matchy stands between him and the 2007 NPP Player of the Year Award. But there are no friends on the felt, so the battle is on!

Ok, I screwed up here. I will admit it. The end came fast after about a 15 minute battle where Matchy was gaining no ground at all. But he hit two big hands back to back and it was over. Win #4 of the year for Matchy. Congratulations!

I didn’t get them because as I started to write them down, the tournament ended – which is normally no problem.

But Matchy, Boother and I started chatting and PS closed the table down before I got the hand numbers! I have written Poker Stars twice but can only get the hands up to the break for some reason. My bad.

So, guys – can you comment on the last few hands at the end there for everyone?

1st – Matchy
2nd – Boother
3rd – Aqualung
4th – Duder
5th – Dave the Dog
6th – Rownder
7th – Bronco76
8th – Cigar4John
9th – ArticBlast
10th – Mikeniks (Faldo)
11th – Farrell
12th – Sev4TSev

The point totals to be posted later show a tie at the top between Boother and Rownder!
Co-Champions for 2007!

Matchy's NPP Game was Ten Star!

The laugh of the night was the cigar given to Beerhog by Aqualung. It was a 1/2 star. Beerhog had me laughing so hard I almost played a hand. But Aqua came thru with some QUALITY smokes at the end.

A good time was had by all! Thanks Matchy.

Line up and seat assignments were:

Matchy
Sev4TSev
LarryP
SpartyToJo (triumphant return)
Hlam14,
Beerhog
Aqualung
Faldo,
Farrell
DaveE

Kevin stopped by but did not take a seat. Some guys don't like big tables, while I don't like short tables.

Thai Food had to cancel due to some bad Pad Prik, I guess.
Abe didn't make it because he went to the theater. ???? Hope he is ok.

The 5-stud Hi Lo with the card purchases made a come back for a few hands.
But the game of the night was the old reliable Omaha Hi Lo -double bed.
Gridlock was played in tribute to ....well, Gridlock.

The winners I know about are Aqualung, Matchy, Farrell, DaveE, LarryP and Faldo. Matchy, let me know how right I am will you.

A couple notes:
1) Look for the new Cigar Corner on this poker site soon. There are a couple nice on-line cigar shops on-line with great deals. I can hook you up with an 'oasis' to build a humidor big enough to hold whatever volume of cigars you buy! Life is short - cigars are good!

2) Herbavor (Hlam14) - who swore off PokerStars again until he moves to Iowa and has to play in the league to stay in touch (and that is an order from Faldo!) - has offered to have the first NPP live game of 2008 in January.

3) Boother is having an invitational on New Years Day. Details to follow.

4) Merry Christmas everyone and see you on the virtual felt on Tuesday!

Matchy is Hosting an NPP Game Friday, 7pm!

Here are the participants right now. Matchy, comment in any changes and I will make them.
I am busier than a one-arm paper hanger with crabs but I will manage to keep it updated. Get me your address/directions to the npoker email, so I can send them out to Herbavor, Larry, etc.

IN
Matchy
Faldo
Hlam
Larry P
Tolly
Kevin
Sev4TSev
Thai Food
Abe
Abe’s neighbor
Farrell
Dave E.

OUT
Boother
DavetheDog
Bronco76
Nahanni

Boother Returns to the Winners Circle – Wins NPP #48

Nine players made it tonight. I started out like gang-busters – winning 4 of the first 6 hands and 8 of the first 24. But a key fold early in the festivities probably cost me the tournament.

On hand #9, Farrell’s (AA) eliminated last week’s winner Bronco (9th) holding (JJ).

On hand #29, Boother (AQ) re-raised my middle position raise and ArticBlast (8th) decided to make a short-stacked all-in move with (K2). I thought about it and folded. The flop was [TQT] and my T in the muck was wondering why I was an idiot. I probably get Boother out of there too and my stack would be too big to mess with. Oh well.

On hand #38 Duder’s (44) eliminates Aqualung (7th) with (A8), but not without some Poker Stars torture – an [A] on the flop and a [4] on the river.

On hand #41, Boother (AKs) ends Rownder’s (6th) night (ATs), so the coveted NPP Player of the Year has yet to be decided.

On hand #55, Duder (5th) gets taken out by Boother in an ugly fashion. The flop is [AKJ] so the short-stacked Duder goes all-in with his (A9) and Boother calls with his (J4). A [J] on the river and all I can say is …(see the latest Bud Lite commercials) DUDE!?!?

Boother’s luck takes a slight detour on hand #60 however. Boother calls the BB from the SB and the re-raise from Sev-4T-Sev in the SB. The flop is [8d 9c 7s] and Sev4TSev goes all-in with (QQ) and Boother calls with (KcTc) – and Sev4TSev gets healthy.

On hand #74 – the last hand before the break, the short-stacked Boother (33) gets healthy off of me as I try to what I should have done on hand #29 - that is to take Boother out - with (AJ) – but I got no help.

At the break:
Sev4TSev 4210
Farrell17 3965
MikeNiks(Faldo) 3305
Boother 2020

Sev4T and Boother know they need at least a 2nd place finish to keep their hopes up of catching Rownder. The two guys left in this for them to try and eliminate are not exactly ribbon clerks, mopes, Greeks from the diner, judges, golf pros or tourists in Atlantic City. Ok, I am a mope - but Farrell is not.

Still anyone’s tourney, but Sev4TSev puts the hurt to me on hand #80 as my flopped trip 6’s run into his turned straight.

Boother is aggressive and stealing some pots but still a low guy like me. But on hand #111, he gets healthy as his (TT) holds up against Sev4TSev’s (AK).

On hand #115, Boother hits a runner-runner full house to take more of Sev4TSev’s chips.

So on hand #120, Sev4TSev returns to the one guy he knows he can get chips off of – me – Mr. Bubble (4th). I am short-stacked and try to hit my open-ended straight draw but I don’t.

Ten minutes later, the short-stacked Sev4TSev (3rd) gets all-in with (A4) but runs into Farrell’s (AA).

And about five minutes after that, Farrell (2nd) misses his straight attempt and Boother’s (TT) hold up. Nice win #6 Boother.

1st – Boother (156)
2nd – Farrell
3rd – Sev4TSev
4th – MikeNiks (Faldo)
5th – Duder
6th – Rownder (163)
7th – Aqualung
8th – ArticBlast
9th – Bronco76

This sets up a showdown next week for the title! Boother needs to win with Rownder finishing no better than 5th, as Rownder wins all tie-breaks. – Nik Faldo

Aqualung Finishes 2nd in Absolute OM H/L Tourney

Qualifying in a FPP tourney, Aqualung gets into a $1500 tourney and works his magic.

I am telling you the NPP crew could crush Vegas! I'll let him tell the story:

Aqualung: "I finished in top 5 in a 200 rewards pt tourney to qualify for the 1.5k guaranteed tourney and 101 players hit the gate and I just finished 2nd place for $$$.

I had chip lead all through final table and when we got to 2 players I had ATT5 ace suited and I put him all in he had AQ95, two aces hit the flop I got no help and his Q out kicked me, no low.

I was in a funk after that and lost."

Still, a fine job and more proof that NPP rocks!

Matchy Offering to Host an NPP Game Friday!

I'm in!

Lets see what other of you strokes can make it Friday, 7pm at the Matchy crib.
He says he will go with four - but I think we can do better than that.

Matchy said it will be NPP format. I think that means;
Limit Poker 1-2-3-4
No burn, Acey-Duecey, blackjack or Pass a card Screw Your neighbor.
I think that is what it means.

Regardless, I'm in. Faldo money available for the taking!
Get your RSVP's on this blog NOW!

Bronco76 Wins NPP #47

It was a very strange and frustrating night. We had nine players – which was good - but six players had internet issues at some point in the night. Boother was disconnected until well after the break. The tourney didn’t take that long, but maybe the slow site play made the players play faster.

We only saw 49 hands by the break when 75 hands is closer to the average. But it still wrapped up in less than 2 hours. By the way, it was a rough night for the hand (AK).

On hand #22, Farrell (9th) got all-in with (AK) against Aqualung with (AQ). The hard-luck Farrell saw a [Q} land on the turn. PokerStars has not been kind to him. Join the club, Farrell.

On hand #25, Matchy (8th) got all-in with (AK) and ran into Bronco’s (JJ).

See what I mean? But that hand did kill two players for revenge in a rare three-handed all-in. On hand #31, Rownder (AQ), ArticBlast (K8s) and Bronco (AK) lock it up.. An [AQ8] gave Rownder (6th) the lead and Artic (7th) some hope, but the runner – runner [J][T] gave Bronco the straight.

That got us to the break:
Bronco 7000
Aqua 3700
Sev4TSev 1000
Boother 975
Mikeniks (Faldo) 925

On hand #50, Sev4TSev (5th) gets all-in with (A5) and runs into Bronco’s (JJ), and got no help.

Boother (4th) got re-connected on hand #51 in time for his (KJ) all-in to lose to Bronco’s (AT).

I won’t bore you with the details, but as the short-stack, I survived four all-ins – all with the worst hand - but managed to hit something to stay alive. In the middle, I missed a chance to eliminate Aqualung when my (55) lost to his (QJ). That crippled me none the less. I wish I could bottle those saves for a time when they really would help me. They were wasted here.

Finally my (3rd) luck ran out on hand #97 as my (AT) was out-kicked by Aqualung’s (AJ).

Very quickly Aqualung (2nd) got all-in with (AJ) and ran into Bronco’s (KK), and it was over. Congratulations to Bronco for his 3rd win of the year.

1st – Bronco76
2nd – Aqualung
3rd – Mikeniks (Faldo)
4th – Boother
5th – Sev4TSev
6th – Rownder
7th – ArticBlast
8th – Matchy
9th - Farrell

Player of the Year Totals - With two rounds left!
Rownder - 163
Sev4TSev - 147
Boother - 146

Boother and 747 need to finish at least second in the next tourney - with Rownder finishing no better than 4th!

NPP Internet Tournament Standings - Three rounds left!

Here are the standings. Thanks to Nahanni's work on my Excel spreadsheet, things are alot easier.

Rownder is still catchable, and I am still catchable by Rownder!

What a log-jam we would have if we could of had full attendance by all the players 6th thru 15th! My stats are inflated by the short tables early in the year and the fact I have 10 more starts than everyone else.

Except for the great years Rownder and Sev4TSev have had, I think you could throw a minnow net around the rest of us. Add those other tough players for a full season, and I could see a 10-way tie for 1st - with me 16th.

With the new format next year, it should be a load of fun - with more important tourneys sprinkled throughout the year, due to each quarter ending.

Here is what the stats are:
Name - Total points - Points per round - Win % - In the money%
Mikeniks/Faldo - 191 - 4.8 - 8% - 65%

1st - Rownder - 163 - 5.4 - 37% - 53%
2nd - Sev4TSev - 146 - 4.6 - 25% - 53%
3rd - Boother - 143 - 4.0 - 14% - 42%
4th - Matchy - 110 - 3.3 - 9% - 45%
5th - ArticBlast - 82 - 2.6 - 3% - 28%
6th - Nahanni - 54 - 3.2 - 18% - 29%
7th - Beerhog - 52 - 4.0 - 23% - 38%
8th - Momo - 42 - 3.5 - 25% - 42%
9th - Duder - 37 - 2.1 - 0% - 28%
10th - Aqualung - 33 - 3.3 - 10% - 40%
11th - Cigar4John - 28 - 3.5 - 0% - 50%
12th - BonAir - 28 - 3.5 - 0% - 38%
13th - Bronco76 - 27 - 3.9 - 29% - 43%
14th - Hlam - 24 - 3.4 - 29% - 29%
15th - DavetheDog - 9 - 3.0 - 0% - 0%
16th - Chief - 7 - 7.0 - 0% - 100%
17th - 1stout - 3 - 3.0 - 0% - 0%
18th - SpartyToJo - 1 - .5 - 0% - 0%
19th - Farrell - 1 - .5 - 0% - 0%
20th - Tigercub - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0