Wednesday, December 28, 2005

Stone Cold Nuts II is coming

The big event - the Stone Cold Nuts II is coming up in January on UB. How many of you are entered?

I watched von ebb win his entry last night but I couldn't find any other names on the list. Now there are over 1200 names so I easily could have missed someone.

Send me a note and tell me you are in. I can let everyone know so we can cheer you on. The way some of you have been so successful in the other big events - someone from HA should be able to go far in this one.

Good Luck.

Saturday, December 24, 2005

Slotcrazy45 Survived

Slotcrazy45 survived an excellent final table to post her first Holdem Affair win.  Aktim and Jennifear were the competition tonight and the action was strong.  Jennifear was the chip leader when we got to the final three and the money with Aktim a decided short stack.  Aktim showed some marvelous moves to climb into second and eventually send Jennifear to the observer’s lounge.  The heads up was marred briefly when Aktim lost his connection but in true Holdem Affair style Slotcrazy45 stalled until he was able to reconnect. Then she proceeded to put him away.

Only 25 players sat down this week.  I’m sure the holidays and the change in day made a difference this week in the numbers.  But it was a great tournament none the less.  I was limping along in the first hour getting absolutely nowhere.  About 45 minutes into the event my daughter called and needed me to come get her at work. She had locked herself out of her car.  Oh well, family comes before even the Holdem Affair so off I went. I figured  my night was done when I left.  Because of this I totally missed the first hour break. Sorry, but no leader board for the first hour.  When I got back I was pleased to see that I still had about 1000 chips and wasn’t in too bad of shape.  When I looked back over the hand history I saw that I hadn’t missed any decent hand to play so I felt better.  I figure I would have been in the same position if I was sitting in and probably would have been very frustrated with the lousy cards I was getting.  But then I got some cards and was able to make it to the final table.  With the smaller field the final table was seated  one hour 35 minutes into the Holdem Affair.  Here are your leaders.
  1. slotcrazy45 =  9740

  2. J Dub 1234 = 7025

  3. Mellow Yellow = 4860

  4. DebiMac = 3420

  5. Sunbob = 2855

  6. aktim = 2720

  7. Jennifear = 2670

  8. winforlife = 2310

  9. denniem = 1900

Laeshalady was actually tenth but busted out before the final table was seated.  That happened on the other table so I don’t know what happened but I heard that 3 people were eliminated in one wild hand.

Jennifear didn’t take long to make her presence known at this table.  The second hand she re-raised J dub all-in holding Ad Td.  J dub called with his pocket sevens.   The Ac on the flop was all she needed and J Dub was wounded.

I note this hand because I think it had a bearing on the fourth hand played. J Dub went all-in from middle position holding Kd Qs and DebiMac made the call holding Js Jc.  Deb was covered so was all-in.  The flop was bad for Deb when the Qh came on the board and then no jack showed up to bail her out.  DebiMac was our first victim of the final table.

It was only hand 8 and winforlife  re-raised aktim all-in before the flop holding pocket tens.  Oops, aktim was glad to look him up with his pocket Queens.  Winforlife had to settle for 8th place this week.

Hand 19 and I am languishing in last place when I see a cheap flop in the big blind come Qs 7d 5d.  Hmmm, I’ve got Tc 7c and hit second pair.  Let’s see if anybody else caught part of that flop.  I led out for 750 and slotcrazy45 immediately called.  Oops.  But the beautiful Ts came on the turn to give me two pair.  How about that, a big blind special.  I went all-in and slotcrazy called holding Kc Qh – top pair looks good on that board.  The Js was no help for either of us and I doubled up. Now I was back in the game.

We danced for the next 15 hands and then on hand 35, J Dub woke up and pushed all-in for 3085 holding 8d 7d.  His steal was looking good until aktim called in the big blind.  He showed pocket fours to make the gutsy call.  The fours held up and J Dub 1234 finished his first Holdem Affair in 7th place.  Good showing J Dub, we all hope you will be back for more.  You will be a force to contend with.

Hand 46 and Slotcrazy is in deep trouble with only 735 chips.  The antes were 25 and the blinds 150/300.  I was in the small blind and slot was in the big blind when I min-raised to 600 trying to steal.  Slotcrazy pushed all 710 into the middle and I had to call the extra 110.  I only had Qc 2h (yes, it was a steal attempt) and slotcrazy showed Ad Qh.  Oops, wrong time to steal.  Slotcrazy doubled up through me and was on her way.

Hand 48 Slotcrazy decides to mix it up with the chip leader.  Jennifear raised to 1200 and slot pushed for her last 1370.  Jenny had Ad Jd but slotcrazy held Ac Kh.  No help from the table and the king kicker held up. Slotcrazy had doubled up again.

Hand 53 and I’m in second place holding pocket nines.  I raised to 1500 and aktim pushed for 4880. I made the loose call and aktim showed his pocket kings.  I went from second place to last place in one hand.

Hand 55 and Mellow Yellow likes his pocket queens. Who wouldn’t?  All-in for 3145 pre-flop and Jennifear makes the call holding Ad Qh. Oh oh, Jenny, what have you done?  The Ac on the flop hit her three outer and Mellow Yellow was gone in 6th place.

Hand 58, I min-raised to 600 from EP and got two callers.  Bummer, didn’t want that.  The flop came 7s Qh 3c and we all checked.  The Ad was the turn card, slotcrazy bet 1925, denniem called and I dove for cover.  The river was the Js.  Slot pushed taking denniem all-in with her call.  Denniem showed Ah Th and had hit top pair with a very strong kicker.  But slotcrazy held pocket threes and had flopped her set.  It was all over for denniem – 5th place.  Excellent showing for this Holdem Affair newcomer.  Please come back – we loved playing with you.

Okay, I have to set the stage for this next hand (#61).  I am in the big blind with my last 1395 chips after posting the 400 blind.  Jennifear is to my right and the commanding chip leader (18605).  Folds to Jenny who raises 1400.  Of course I call even though I am only holding 8c 3c. Maybe they are not dominated.  Jennifear showed 6c 4c.  The final board showed  Ts 5c 4d Ah 2s and to be honest I had to look at the hand history to figure out how I had won with the wheel straight on the river.  What a weird hand.  That doubled me up but I was still in deep trouble.

Hand 70 and I have only 2190 before I post the small blind of 200. All fold to me and I pushed holding Ts 8s.  I’m hoping that slotcrazy will fold but if not, maybe I can get lucky, again.  But slotcrazy has 15000 chips and rightly makes the call with her Ac Tc.  No help for me on the board and slotcrazy even makes her flush so I was gone in 4th place.  That hand also gave slotcrazy the chip lead.  Glad I could be of help to you slotcrazy – LOL.

For the next 30 hands slotcrazy and Jennifear dominated the action with the two big stacks. Aktim carefully picked his spots and stayed with them with a much smaller chip stack.  Slotcrazy had been getting the best of the action with Jennifear but on hand 99 it was actually Aktim that landed the final blow  to Jennifear.  They were both about equal in stacks with aktim having only 150 more chips.  Jennifear pushed pre-flop holding Ac 6d and aktim called with Ks 9h.  Jenny was a slight favorite but the Kd on the flop and the 9c on the turn sent Jennifear out in 3rd place.

We were now heads up and slotcrazy held a 2:1 chip lead.  But that lasted only a few hands when on hand 104 Aktim caught a full house and won a 22390 pot.

Hand 111 and Aktim takes another big pot.  Now he is better than 4:1 in the lead.  By hand 128, the antes are 75 and the blinds 30/600.  Aktim has 28015 chips and slotcrazy 9485.  Both see the cheap flop come 7c 2c 6h.  aktim bet 1350 and slot re-raised to 2700.  Aktim pushed it all and slot called.  Aktim showed 6d 9s and second pair but slotcrazy held Js 7d and top pair.  Slotcrazy caught a jack on the turn and a huge pot of  18970. The stacks were now even.

Unfortunately on 131 Aktim lost his connection.  Slotcrazy stalled and waited showing some great sportsmanship. Aktim came back for hand 146 and immediately pushed all-in.  By now he was down to 12230 and a 2:1 chip underdog.  Hand 147 was the end.  When the flop came 4s 8h 3s they got all the chips in the middle.  Aktim had Th 8s and top pair but slotcrazy held 8c Jd and the better kicker. The jack was the deciding card.  Slotcrazy had gone from all but dead on hand 46 to the win 100 hands later.

Great game for everyone and an amazing win for Slotcrazy.  This is a great tournament.

I wish you all a Happy New Year and

PEACE,

Sunbob

Friday, December 23, 2005

Fraud Alert

BEWARE
There is someone, or a group, that is going around and trying to hit up HA folks for money. He has come to me under the name stopbettingok, and other names for others. Ubmoneymaker was one that talked with Jewelcard. Stopbettingok told me he was puppypower and the same night told Woody13 that he was Guran. He asks for just one dollar. He also hit up Tai Pan and tried to get to Marti before Woody and I ran him off.

For those of you who got DebiMac's email about Ubmoneymaker trying to scam the Brainsturgeon tournament - I think this is the same person under a new name.

Folks, what you do with your money is your business, but I'm going to suggest that there are better places to spend it.

Monday, December 19, 2005

Papoorboy Couldn't Do 3

For the third week in a row our HA friend, papoorboy, earned an entry into the $150,000 Sunday night tournament on UB. The past two weeks he has won it. This week he was going for three in a row. And, WOW - did he come close. He made it to the final table for the third week but just couldn't close the sale this week. On the second hand of the final table his pocket sixes ran into pocket kings and Papoorboy had to settle for 10th place.

WTG, papoorboy. You are an inspiration to all of us who play together on Saturday night.

Oh, by the way, I forgot to mention that Annie Duke, Antonio Esfandiari, KrazyKanuck, and some other pros - didn't make the final table.

Sunday, December 18, 2005

Coachstove Returns

Coachstove hasn’t been with us for awhile but tonight he stopped by just to remind us that he still knew how to play.  No, I really shouldn’t say that – it sounds like he was being cocky and any one who knows coach knows he is a pleasure to have in the tournament.  He is one of the early regulars but he has been away for awhile playing at Bodog (boooooooooooo).  Coachstove has logged two other Holdem Affair titles and tonight he added another to his trophy case.  Stevob19 finished second and Jennifear third.  Mellow Yellow and Glenso rounded out the money table.

It was a real treat to have Coachstove back again.  Maybe he will be able to join us some more this coming year.

Thirty-four people entered the Affair this week.  This was a small but strong field with several who have been showing their skills in the big tournaments on UB this month.   I made it to 14th again this week.  DebiMac doubled up through me early in the second hour and I just didn’t recover.  Oh well, I’ll be back in the next one.

The final table was seated just before the second hour break.  Here are your leaders:
  1. Jennifear = 7380

  2. coachstove = 7205

  3. Glenso = 7075

  4. Tai pan = 6255

  5. Hemi Henry = 5800

  6. LazerRic = 5180

  7. Stevob19 = 4595

  8. onelunatik = 4180

  9. Jewelcard = 1980

  10. Mellow Yellow = 1350

The stacks were solid and no one really desperate when the final table was seated.  It was the fourth hand though, when Stevob19 went all-in and Jewelcard looked him up with his pocket sixes.  Oops, Stevob19 held pocket nines and then a nine came on the flop.  Jewelcard was done in 10th place.

Hand 13 saw onelunatik make the push on the river.  He held 6s 4s and the board showed 3d Kd 3s 5c Ac.  It was a total bluff when the ace fell on the river but Mellow Yellow had come along to that same river holding an ace and onelunatik was gone in 9th place.

Hand 21 and Tai pan was very short going all-in for his last 355 chips holding Ac 4s.  Coachstove held Ks Kh and that was all it took.  A king on the flop was only window dressing.  The Pacific Islander had to settle for 8th place.

Hand 33, Coachstove in the small blind and Hemi Henry in the big blind saw a cheap flop come 9h Ts 9c.  Coachstove checked and Henry just mini bet 600.  The turn added the 4s.  Coach checked again and Henry pushed his 1800 chips to the middle.  He held Jc Td and figured his two pair were good.  But Coachstove held 9s Th and was trapping with the flopped full house.  No miracle ten on the river and Hemi Henry settled for 7th place.

The bubble lasted 15 hands until LazerRic and Jennifear saw a cheap flop -  7c 3s 9c.  It looked pretty ragged to me but LazerRic seemed to like it when he bet 3000.  Jennifear pushed back all-in for 7700 and LazerRic made the call.  Not a bad play.  Jenny had been pushing the table around, which is her style.  In fact she and coachstove had been battling for table dominance almost from the first hand.  But this time Jennifear held Kh 9h and Ric was done for the night.

We were down to the money table with Jennifear in the chip lead and Coachstove close behind.  Stevob19 was the short stack but took 4 of the next six hands to actually take the chip lead by hand 55.  Coachstove raised to 200 UTG on that hand and Glenso fired back with his last 4695 holding Kc Qd.  Coachstove thought about it but he was holding As Qs ands figured it was a good call.  When the flop came 3h Ad Jh Coach was golden.  Glenso was sent to the lounge with fifth place money.

Stevob, Coach and Jenny traded chips around for the next few hands until Mellow Yellow woke in hand 62 with Ac 8s.  Jennifear had no respect for his pre-flop raise and pushed back taking M Y all-in before the flop even hit the table.  Jennifear had Ad 9h and that was all it took.  The 9h on the turn just reinforced the result.  Mellow Yellow was out in 4th place.

When we got down to three the stacks were pretty even.  Jenny had 19K, coach 15k and Steve 15k.  The battle was on.  The very next hand Stevob19 tried a play and coachstove pushed back and won the hand, but it cost Steve 9000 chips.  From there it was a battle between Jenny and coach for control of the board.

This battle ended on hand 72.  Jenny raised to 2400 pre-flop and Coach fired back for 6200.  Jennifear pulled out the heavy artillery and pushed all-in.  Coach made the call.  Jenny held Ac Kh and Coachstove showed Ah Qs.  This was an interesting hand.  Before the flop Jenny was  a 3:1 favorite.  The flop came Jh 5h 9h.  Coach now had a flush draw and the odds changed to 59:41 for Jenny.  The turn was the Tc adding a straight draw for Coachstove.  But the odds looked better for Jenny with just one card to go 68:32.  The Kd on the river hit them both.  Jenny had top pair but Coachstove had the straight.  Jennifear was gone in 3rd place.

With a 10:1 chip lead it just took Coachstove three hands to finish this tournament.  Stevob19 really needed some cards to come back and they didn’t come for him.  

Another great night.  I know, I know – I say that each week.  But am I wrong?  Isn’t this one of the best ways to spend a Saturday Night?  Good friends and good competition, isn’t that enough for you?  Well if that alone isn’t enough of a reason to play each week then remember that this tournament is turning out some very good players who are having success in the big events on UB.  If you can play in the Holdem Affair you can play in the biggest tournaments offered.

Merry Christmas and PEACE.

Sunbob

Sunday, December 11, 2005

MagikCowboy Won a Wild One

In what had to be one of the wildest final tables ever for a Holdem Affair, MagikCowboy defeated BunaBoy1234 to post his first Holdem Affair victory. Froth had a huge stack going into the final table and with some terrible luck ended up finishing seventh. MagikCowboy started out in 6th place and just put on a clinic of final table strategy to come out on top. ThreesRWild came in third, DebiMac fourth, and Mellow Yellow placed fifth.

This is a growing field. There were fifty-two entries this week. There was a lot of action this week in the first hour. Froth dominated the table that I was on. Much of that came from one new entrant that just did not quite understand the level of competition that sits down each Saturday in this event. For those of you that haven’t noticed yet, a rather large number of our regulars are doing very well in the larger tournaments on UB.

We were down to 34 when the first hour break allowed us to relieve our bladders. Froth was leading the pack. Here is your leaderboard.
  1. Froth = 7485

  2. Taximan = 4585

  3. Hazy Cat = 3870

  4. DebiMac = 3720

  5. burldog44 = 3535

  6. Txmom22 = 3385

  7. MdnghtSn49 = 3365

  8. MagikCowboy = 3360

  9. winforlife = 3290

  10. RayNCallie = 3180

It was interesting that the second hour break and seating the final table came at the same time. I don’t think that coincidence had ever occurred before in a Holdem Affair. Froth was still the dominant factor. Here is your final table.
  1. Froth = 20700

  2. RayNCallie = 10865

  3. BunaBoy1234 = 8960

  4. msrinny02 = 8570

  5. Jennifear = 7485

  6. MagikCowboy = 6220

  7. DebiMac = 4995

  8. Mellow Yellow = 4020

  9. Taximan = 3100

  10. ThreesRWild = 3085

No one was desperate going into the final table so the early action was solid. It was hand 20 with the antes 75 and blinds 300/600 before the first player was eliminated. Taximan was down to 450 chips and had to make a play. Jd 9d looked good enough and he pushed it all-in preflop. Jennifear was the only taker holding pocket tens. The tens held up and Taximan was gone.

Just two hands later and the action is picking up. Mellow Yellow raised to 1800 and msrinny02 made the call from the small blind. When the flop came 7d 2h Ts, rinny pushed in the rest of her 4395 chips. Mellow Yellow made the call and they showed pocket jacks for rinny and pocket queens for Mellow Yellow. Bummer rinny. No miracle jack for msrinny02 and she was out in 9th place.

Two more hands and Jennifear calls from the small blind and MagikCowboy sees the free flop come Kc 5d 7d. Jennifear held Qd 3d and made the push (2950) with the flush draw. MagikCowboy held 5c 3h and had caught bottom pair. MagikCowboy made the gutsy call and it turned out to be the right one. The fives held up and Jennifear was done for the night.

At the end of this hand Froth had 24,575 chips. Mellow Yellow was second with 15890. Froth was holding court. But on this next hand the momentum would shift. With two limpers ahead of him, Froth raised from the big blind to 2925. MagikCowboy was the only caller. The flop showed 7s 8d 9d. Post flop, MagikCowboy checked and Froth bet 6975. MagikCowboy over the top for all his chips. Froth was holding Qd Qs and was happy for the action. Oops, MagikCowboy showed 6d 5d. He had made the call with suited connectors and had flopped his straight. That play earned MagikCowboy a 22215 chip pot and the lead.

The very next hand Froth raised from the small blind to 1200 holding As 9h. RayNCallie made the call. The flop came 8d 6d Ad and Froth bet out 4725 with top pair. RayNCallie pushed in all his 7515 chips and froth had him covered so he called. RayNCallie turned over Ah Qd and it didn’t look good for Froth. The board offered no more help and now Froth was down to 5165 chips.

Hand 28, the third consecutive hand in this sequence, saw everyone fold to Froth on the button. Froth bet 2625, a solid raise for a steal or a play. Mellow Yellow called from the big blind. The flop showed 6d Kh 4s, Mellow Yellow bet 2500 and Froth pushed all 2465 into the middle. Froth held Ad 4d and had caught the bottom of that flop. The flop had missed Mellow Yellow but it didn’t matter when he turned over Jh Jd. The Js on the turn and it was all over for Froth. At first glance this looked like a Mike Matusow blow up but when you look at the play, it was really sound, solid poker at every step. The kind of solid play that had served Froth very well for over 200 hands. The breaks just went all against him for three hands straight and that is often the deciding factor in a tournament.

We got to breathe for just one hand because hand 30 saw even more action. RayNCallie raised UTG to 1200. MagikCowboy smooth called and Mellow Yellow re-raised to 2400. Both RayNCallie and MagikCowboy said they liked their hands well enough to see the flop - Td 9h Kh. RayNCallie bet 8550. MagikCowboy called and Mellow Yellow pushed with 18730. Wow. But wait, RayNCallie said – not so fast oh mellow one and pushed in his stack. And MagikCowboy just calmly made the call. What is going on here? We have the three biggest stacks playing for the pot and all of the chips are in the middle. RayNCallie showed Ad Kc – okay, that explains his play.
Mellow Yellow showed Ac Kd. – wow, both had flopped top pair with the top kicker. No wonder they pushed it all.
MagikCowboy chuckled and turned over his Th 9c. He had flopped two pair. Oh my, this turn and river could decide the tournament. The turn was the 7d (no help), and the 4d on the river didn’t change things either. MagikCowboy had knocked out numbers two and three and now had 62725 chips, out of the 78000 chips on the table.

The very next hand DebiMac fell when MagikCowboy called her all-in holding just 6d 3s and Deb had Kd Qc. The flop came 2d 4d 5d giving Deb the flush draw and Magik the straight. No more diamonds and DebiMac was gone in 4th place.

Hand 40 and all three see the cheap flop come Qs 6s 6d. MagikCowboy bet 800 and ThreesRWild raised to 5100. Magik re-raised to 9400 taking TRW all-in when he made the call. ThreesRWild held Ks Qd and had flopped two pair but MagikCowboy had been in the big blind holding just 6c 3c. That was just enough to flop trips and TRW was done for the night.

Heads up lasted 10 hands. Going in Magik had 60955 and BunaBoy only 17045. But hand 43 BunaBoy took a 16000 chips pot and two hands later a 43000 pot. Hand 46 and BunaBoy was ahead. MagikCowboy took the lead back on hand 48. At the beginning of hand 50 BunaBoy had 38890 chips on front of him and MagikCowboy 39110. A difference of only 220 chips. Now that is close.

They both saw the cheap flop come 9s Th 5d. Magik bet 1800 and BunaBoy called. The turn was the Qh. They both woke up to that queen. Magik bet 5400, BunaBoy raised to 21600, and Magik made it 36190 – all of his chips. BunaBoy called.
BunaBoy showed 9d Tc – he had flopped two pair.
MagikCowboy held 8s 2h and only had a gut shot straight draw. It was looking bad for the cowboy. But sometimes it is just your night and this night the poker gods smiled on MagikCowboy. The Jh came on the river and gave MagikCowboy the straight and the win.

What a wild final table. This definitely one of the most amazing tables we have played.

Another great week. Just getting to the final table of this event is an accomplishment.

Enjoy the holidays.

Sunbob

Friday, December 09, 2005

Picture of Dime04


New pictures are arriving. Thanks Jenn for sending this one on to me.

Here we have Dime04 (Isaac). Check out the name on the head of the guitar.

Wednesday, December 07, 2005

Travdaddy11 Picture


Since my photo gallery is full on the old site I will have to start posting pictures on this site. At least it will keep them and people can access them directly via the links. We may even find that we like this better.

Here is Travdaddy11 and his nephew. Thanks to DebiMac for sending it in.

Tuesday, December 06, 2005

Addicted to Sudoku

Yes, it is true. I have found a new addiction. It is called Sudoku. If you aren't familiar with Sudoku consider yourself lucky. Sudoku is a (new?) type of puzzle that uses numbers. Digits 1 through 9 in a row, column and box. It can be infuriating and, I guarantee, very addictive. Once you try it look out. You will find yourself going nuts trying to figure it out. Once you get the hang of them it is even worse. Then you find yourself carrying the puzzle around in your pocket - stealing moments of free time to work on it.

We have gotten started working on them at the store. (Can you tell business has been slow lately?) When you solve one you find yourself running off to your co-worker to show him your prize.

If you haven't tried them yet, or just want more puzzles to feed your addiction I have placed a link to Web Sudoku in my links section. But be duly warned - this activity is very addictive. You may find it will even cut into your poker playing time.

Sunday, December 04, 2005

Froth Wins Again

Froth did it again this week. He overcame 37 sharks to win this week's Holdem Affair. It was down to Jennifear and Froth in the heads up match but Froth was too much for Jenn tonight.

BTW, Marti has an important announcement that will be coming out soon. As soon as I get the details I will post them here.

This was an average sized field this week but the competition was fierce as always. We were down to 25 by the first hour break. Here are your leaders:
slotcrazy45 = 3745
greatape = 3720
aktim = 3660
Laeshalady = 3195
Kate Starbird = 3180
ThreesRWild = 3040
winforlife = 2035
Fatalis Macina = 2875
froth = 2760
Stevob19 = 2490

We were down to the final table before the second hour break this week. Althoug it was close. My records show the event had run for an even 2 hours when the final 10 was determined. During this time, Aktim had taken the lead and msrinny02, Jennifear and Froth had made strong moves to leading positions when we all sat down. Here are your final table names.
Aktim = 11470
msrinny02 = 9625
Jennifear = 7510
froth = 6860
Kate Starbird = 5990
Jewelcard = 4000
JesusFish = 3835
Sunbob = 2420
Idblondee = 2195
NDIrish60 = 1595

Looks like some pretty familiar names on that list. And, yes kind reader, I did make it back to the final table this week. The frozen one was dominating the tables and those two sharkettes were close behind.

Msrinny02 took a big hit on just the second hand when she was all in holding Ah Kh and the turn board showed 5c 3s 8d Ks. Unfortunately Froth was holding 5d 5h and had flopped a set. The Ace on the river wasn’t enough help for msrinny and she went second to ninth in just one hand. Hand 9 and Msrinny has to push her pocket fives when the flop came 2d 6h 7c. Kate Starbird was the only one seeing the flop with her. Surely that flop didn’t hit her, did it? Sorry Rinny, yes it did. Kate had raised pre-flop holding Ah 7h and had hit top pair. Those sevens were all it took and Msrinny02 was the first victim of the final table.

Hand 16 and another tough beat befalls the field. Kate Starbird raised pre-flop and Jewelcard made the call holding As Qc. The flop looked great for Jewelcard - 8c 7c Ad. He held top pair/good kicker with the backdoor flush draw to boot. All-in was the play and Kate made the call. Oops – Kate only held Ac 5h – she looked to be in trouble. The turn was the Kc and now Jewelcard looked even stronger. Kate was down to just two outs – she had to match her 5 and the 5c would give Jewelcard his flush. But it was the 5s that floated down the river and poor Jewelcard was gone in 9th place.

Hand 27 and now we’ve got some serious action. The antes were 50 and the blinds 200/400. Aktim raised to 1000, Froth called and two of us dove for cover but JesusFish raised all-in for 1690. One more fold and Aktim pushed all of his chips (10095) and Froth made the call. We now have over 22,000 chips in the middle. This is a serious pot.
JesusFish shows 8d 9d.
aktim shows Kd Jd.
froth shows Qd Qh.
The flop came Th Jh 9c. Aktim was still in the lead but JF had a pair and a straight draw to go with it. The turn was the Ah and Aktim was still looking good. The river was the 6h and, oh my goodness, that gave Froth the four card flush. The miracle river knocked out Aktim and JesusFish. The man from the far north had gone from first to seventh. I’ll resist the temptation to make reference to his cards running cold. (Okay, I lied.)

NDIrish60 was short stacked and after posting the small blind, he had to go all-in for his last 565 on the next hand. Qh 8s may not look like much but, hey, you got to do what you got to do. But Kate Starbird showed pocket tens at the showdown and that was all she needed. NDIrish60 was our bubble winner this week. Bummer.

We are now down to five and the money table. Froth was in command with Jennifear and Kate in second and third. I was a distant fourth and Idblondee was down to her last 1765 chips. Idblondee was all in on the next hand and won a 4655 pot. Looking good girl.

Three times at this final table I was all-in only to split the pot. Hand 35 was a classic example of this frustration. I flopped a set holding pocket sevens against Idblondee and her pocket kings. The table ended up 7c 8s 6s 9c 5d and the straight on the table was high hand.

Hand 46 came along and I had Ah As and was first to act. Like an idiot I just limped hoping one of these sharks would raise pre-flop. Jennifear made the call and Idblondee saw the flop from the big blind. The flop came Qc Jc 8d. Well that’s not a great flop for me but maybe not too bad. Okay, all-in is my play – and Jennifear made the call. Well, I got some action but what could Jenny have to make that call? Oh chit – she has Ac Tc. I’m ahead right now but she has a flush draw and a double gut straight draw. I was ahead but actually a 54%/44% underdog to win the hand. The 9c on the turn was just an insult giving Jennifear a straight and a flush. I was gone in fifth place.

Four hands later and Kate Starbird raised to 2400 only to see Froth come along for the ride. The flop was 4h Jc 2c. Froth bet 6000 taking Kate Starbird all-in for her last 2315. Kate had actually hit part of the flop with her Kh 2d and was ahead of Froth’s Kc Qd. It looked good for Kate until the river Qh. Froth had hit one of his three outs and Kate had to settle for 4th place.

Idblondee had climbed the ladder to third place, milking her short stack for all it was worth. But hand 53 was the end of the run. Blondee had Jc 5s and went up against Froth holding Kc 3s. The flop actually hit them both but Froth held the pair of kings and that was enough. Idblondee was out in 3rd place.

The heads up match between Jennifear and Froth was brief. Froth had 41,000 chips and Jennifear had 13,000. I’ve seen Jennifear come back was longer odds than that but this wasn’t the week. The final hand – hand 58 of the final table – was a classic heads up encounter. They saw a cheap flop come 2s 7s 8s. Jennifear had limped with her pocket queens but now it was time to push. All-in and – oops- Froth called. With 7c 5s he had flopped second pair and the flush draw. The 6s on the turn was all it took and Froth had his second Holdem Affair win.

What a great night. This event is so competitive that on any given week just about anyone can win it. And the practice must be good because I’m seeing many of the HA regulars at final tables of other MTTs during the week. Folks this is a tough field. If you win this, or even just make the final table, you know you are doing something right.

Peace,

Sunbob

Friday, December 02, 2005

We Are Taking Over

We are taking over. The Holdem Affair regulars are on a run. If you haven’t already done so, check out Jennifear’s site to see the chronicle of how well our friends are doing in the MTT’s at UB. Dime04, Sengar, Dissident, Papoorboy, Hays, Travdaddy, just to get the list started, have done well this past week in the various tournaments that they have entered. I watched Sengar just destroy a final table a couple nights ago. I’m not going to try to duplicate Jenny’s reporting here. Just go to her site and see what we are doing.

It just goes to show the strength of the Holdem Affair field each Saturday night.