The August RPT found itself at a new spot: my house here in the back woods of Essex. 26 players came out to play. Compared to last year, our overall average players per tournament are up and it is creating a great race for the Final Table as there are many players still in the running. In addition, this tournament saw the return of many faces that hadn’t been seen much this year… Eric Johnson, Drew Frank, Tom Ross Sr, and Michelle and Corey Swoboda… Always good to see everyone again.
We also had a new player: Owen Duffy. Owen is a childhood friend of Rob Herd (The Younger Herd). On behalf of the entire RPT, welcome to the group.
Our Beer Bitch for the tournament was our beloved Eric Johnson. Eric has a very casual playing style and the cards were not going his way early. This was Eric’s first ever Beer Bitch finish and it took him eleven tournaments to get it. I will say that Eric has 5 “almost Beer Bitch” finishes where he was the second one out of the tournament.
Time to highlight some cool hands. The first was between Voldemort, Tony, and Angie. Pre-flop found Voldemort and Angie all-in where Tony (big stack) called. They flip over and Tony has A’s, Voldemort has K’s and Angie has 5’s. Preflop, Tony is 66%, Voldemort is 18%, and Angie is 16% to win the hand. The flop hits 10h-7c-5c. Angie has hit her set. At this point, Angie is now 82% favorite, Tony is 10%, and Voldemort is 8%. The next card: Ks. This now gives Voldy the better set and now he is a 93% favorite. The next card is a 7s which seals the deal for Voldemort. Poor Tony had Aces that were busted two times in one hand…
Now, I have had some crappy luck the last few tournaments and getting the wrong side of odds. Last tournament, my aces were beat by 9’s. The one before that, my 10’s were beat by 8’s. This leads into me calling Glen’s all-in with my pocket Q’s. Glen flips over As-9h. Pre-flop, I am a 72% favorite. The flop comes 7c-5h-8s. This now gives glen an inside straight draw but I am still a 70% favorite. The turn brings a Jc. Now Glen can beat me with an A, 6, or 10… It’s ok, because I am still a 75% favorite to win… until the river when he gets his A. Woe is me…
…but that is nothing compared to the injustice that Trueman suffered. Trueman has been Mr. Volatility this year having won 2 tournaments and been an almost non-factor in the rest. This tournament, Trueman had a fair amount of chips and went all-in against Mr. Tinker after hitting a set with his pocket 7’s. Mr. Tinker calls after hitting an A on the flop to get a pair. At this point, Trueman is a 94% favorite to win the hand and there is a 4% chance of a split pot if the board gets two more hearts… There is just a 2% chance of Mr. Tinker winning this hand. Trueman has to feel pretty good at this point. The turn brings a dagger: an A. This gives Mr. Tinker 3 aces but Trueman now has a Full House with his 7’s over Aces… however, Mr. Tinker’s odds have improved to 16% as he can now win with any Q or 5… or another A… which is what hits… Mr. Tinker makes quad aces on the river to take a huge chunk out of Trueman’s chips. Sorry about that Trueman. It just sounds terrible to realize that a 2% event happened… and that is me rounding up…
Trueman had predicted that a woman would win the tournament and we had 3 women at the final table with Nita, Michelle, and Angie but alas, his prediction did not pan out.
I usually deal the final table and have a bunch of insight into some key happenings but I was too busy drinking and entertaining to be bothered with that… so I will cut to the chase with the folks how got some RPUs.
5th place went to Corey Swoboda. Corey has not played much lately and this is his 4th tournament in the past two seasons. This is his first RPU finish since March of 2012. Good to see you again Corey.
4th place went to Brian Bennett. Brian played a great tournament and had several kills. This is Brian’s first RPU finish since April, 2013.
3rd place went to Darryn Graham. “The Dark Horse” is a consistent and methodical player who is quietly having a really solid season. This is Darryn’s first RPU finish in 2014 and his first top 3 finish since he won the November, 2013 tournament. Darryn now has 12 all-time Top-3 finishes which moves him up to 5th place in the career leaders. Congrats Darryn. Darryn now sits in 4th place in the RPT standings.
2nd Place went to Rob Schilling. Rob had a phenomenal season in 2013 where he had 4 top-3 finishes but he has not had the same success in 2014. Regardless, this is Rob’s 10th Top-3 finish in his career and his first this year. Rob is now sitting in 8th place in the RPT standings.
Our winner for the August tourney is Brandon Smyth. Brandon has played well in his short career in the RPT. This is Brandon’s second win of the year after winning the February tournament. That tournament also had 26 players so… might be just coincidence… or it might not… Brandon has played in just 5 tournaments this year yet he finds himself in 10th place in the RPT standings and the current RPU leader… even more than the juggernaut Tony Huckestein. Congrats to Brandon on his great victory.
Next month, we will be in the friendly confines of Grover’s Playhouse in Mt. Washington. Looking forward to seeing everyone there.