I would like to thank Joe and Tina Fuller for hosting the first tournament of the 2013 RPT season. We are now in our 9th year and I would personally like to thank all the players that come every year. I am always amazed how a simple idea of getting friends and family together every month to play cards has evolved to what it is today.
As is typical, the January tournament was a big one. Up until game time, we were at max capacity of 27. After a no-show, we had 26 players. With the new 50 RPU buy-in, the stakes were a bit higher (technically 40% higher… but who is counting). Also, we had some new blood in the inaugural tourney of 2013. A special welcome goes out to Michael Bayle, Yoni Glaser, Brandon Smyth, and Mark Mandell. The infusion of new blood into the tour is what keeps it going and also brings new people together.
The tournament started with a few technical difficulties thanks to my recently restored laptop. The Tournament Director software we use needed a little more love before we were able to play. Play went pretty steady. Our first Beer Bitch of 2013 was earned by young Alex Johnson. The “Irish Streaker” got caught with his pants down it would seem. Don’t worry Alex… Everyone is a Beer Bitch eventually. Consider it a rite of passage.
Early on in the tournament, Vince Powers was establishing himself with aggressive play. He became a chip leader pretty early and was cruising for most of the tournament. He had some great moments with me as well… which I am happy to tell…
Early in the tournament, I raise preflop to 4x the big blind. Vince goes over top of me. I regret how I played this hand. I was under the impression that I was playing wild card Vince who wasn’t going to get off a big hand. I go all-in thinking he has a big hand like Q’s, K’s, of AK and that he is going to call me. He thinks about it and throws it away. Talking about the hand later, Vince laid down his K’s to my A’s. I regret not simply raising the minimum to see if Vince would push all-in. I think he would be more willing to do that than to call an all-in… I guess I will never know.
Another big hand with Vince came a little later. I had pocket 9’s in late position and raised pre-flop. My Dad calls which puts him all in. Vince called in the blinds. The flop came up 4-4-Q. Vince checks into me. I am thinking that I might have the best hand with perhaps Vince playing an A-10 or something like that. I bet the pot at him and he promptly goes all in…. I am now thinking my hand might not be the best hand… I think back to some of Vince’s body language and realize he probably does have a better hand. I fold. Vince turns over Q’s. He flopped a boat. My Dad who was all-in flips over his A-J. I deal out the remainder of the hand… and what do you know: The turn is a 9 and the river is a 9. I would have made quads if only I would have called but I am still glad I didn’t. Needing runner-runner on my only 2 outs in the deck is not a very good position to be in. In looking up the odds, if I would have called his all-in after the flop… I had a 0.11% chance of winning the hand. Wow.
There were other big hands on the side but I never remember the stories… If there is a big hand that you have, send me an email and I will include it in the write-ups. Everyone likes a nice poker hand story.
The final table ended up being Darryn Graham, Tina Fuller, Michael Bayle, Vince Powers, Michelle Swoboda, Yoni Glaser, Brian Ross, Brian Bennett, and Tina Fuller. Darryn and I only had a few chips. I had the misfortune of pushing all-in with my measly stack with a K-10 and he called with a K-Q. Whoops. Darryn was out shortly after me and then Brian Bennett was out on the bubble.
Our newcomers Michael and Yoni finished in the money. Michael “Bucket” Bayle was having a good time with his big chip stack but got caught in some hands with Vince which hurt him. Tina ended up 5th and Yoni in 4th. Michelle, Mike, and Vince battled hard with Michelle eventually getting out in third place.
The heads up battle between Vince and “Bucket” was epic: it lasted 1 hand. Mike went all-in and Vince immediately called which made Mike simply say “Shit.” Mike flipped over 6-2 offsuit to Vince’s A-10 offsuit. The board held and the tourney was over.
This was Yoni and Mike’s first tournament and they played well. This was Tina’s first money finish since Feb-2011. For Michelle, this was her first top 3 or money finish since Oct-2011 and her 11th top 3 finish in her RPT career. For Vince, this was a return to greatness. This was his 3rd RPT victory. His last victory was in Nov-2009. After a disappointing 2012, this is a great start to the 2013 season for Vince Powers.
Next month’s tourney will be at Grover’s Playhouse in Mt. Washington. Can’t wait to see everyone there.