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.
Monday, December 19, 2005
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:
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
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:
- Jennifear = 7380
- coachstove = 7205
- Glenso = 7075
- Tai pan = 6255
- Hemi Henry = 5800
- LazerRic = 5180
- Stevob19 = 4595
- onelunatik = 4180
- Jewelcard = 1980
- 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.
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.
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
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.
- Froth = 7485
- Taximan = 4585
- Hazy Cat = 3870
- DebiMac = 3720
- burldog44 = 3535
- Txmom22 = 3385
- MdnghtSn49 = 3365
- MagikCowboy = 3360
- winforlife = 3290
- 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.
- Froth = 20700
- RayNCallie = 10865
- BunaBoy1234 = 8960
- msrinny02 = 8570
- Jennifear = 7485
- MagikCowboy = 6220
- DebiMac = 4995
- Mellow Yellow = 4020
- Taximan = 3100
- 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.
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