Well folks. It was predicted by all the
top poker writers and it has been the talk of all the
Poker Blogs for weeks and it finally happened. I won. That's right. Your friendly neighborhood fishy brought home the bacon Friday night and it was a sweet victory. $200 worth of sweetness to be exact.
We started the night with 15 people which is about average for our game. A few regulars didn't make it.
All In didn't have the dough but showed up to hang out and
cousin BJ had to work late. The buy-in was the usual $20 for 1000 tourney chips and we had two tables going at the start. Blinds start off at $10-$20 and go up each hour.
The night got off to a rocky start for me as I picked up a pair of fours in early position and limped. A rag rag rag board made me feel ok to bet out against the one remaining player,
Uncle Bill, who proceeded to call me down with each bet til the river and then he showed us Ace Ace. This was the first of four times I would run into Rockets this night and survive to tell the tale. So after one hand I am down to just a little over 600 in chips.
Hand number two I catch AKo a hand I have truly learned to hate but I make a raise like I should for $80 and I get 5 nasty callers. The flop has no ace or King and I get out amongst a flurry of betting. I fold for a long while and steal a few pots here and there and before you know it, I am back just above the $1000 original buy-in.
Our table is still full but the other table has lost one of the perennial powerhouses and 5 time winner
Jimmy the Man (aka Lucky @$$) and the news of his departure in 15th position delights the whole room. Jimmy took me out with trip nines in the last hand I played two weeks ago as some loyal BBQ fans will remember from my May 8th post. In late position I peer down at a hand that has been good to me lately (9d 10d) and I limp with it. The flop of the night falls. (6,7,8 rainbow) giving me the nuts. It feels good to hold the nuts but you must not squeeze the nuts so I check when my turn comes and the button raises $40 and eveyone calls including me. The Turn is just what I wanted to see, the Ace of Diamonds, which also puts two diamonds on the board giving me a flush draw. This time I bet $80 and get raised by
the button and I call. The River is a King of Clubs and I still hold the nuts so I put out a feeler bet of $400 into a pot of about $900. Bosey thinks for a good 30 seconds and calls showing AK. I couldn't beleive he didn't reraise but oh well, I took a big pot and am now among the chip leaders.
I go up and down for the next hour. I call a $200 raise by
Sammy who sits directly to my right. I'm not laying down A 10 suited at this table. The flop brings and ace and I am not sure if I like that or not. But I bet $300 at it and Sammy immediately pushes his last $770 into the pot muttering "all in". I quiclky call and he shows Ace Ace. He makes a FH
and doubles up through me. I am left with under the $1000 buy-in again. I vow to fight on.
The blinds move up to $40 and $80 and I've scraped my way back up to around $180 with a series of All In bets that get no callers. Almost everyone limps in our game and only a few people ever seems to raise with any regularity so my All In bets are pulling in over $200 each time before the flop. I decide to sit back awhile and wait on a big hand and one finds me. I hold 44 on the button and I just call the BB. We have 4 players in at this point and the flop brings a ravishing (A 8 4) giving me my first set of the night. Unlucky for
TJ's Dad he makes his flush on the river when another 8 falls giving me my only FH of the night. I take over $2000 and now have a formidable stack.
We have now lost anough people that we combine to one table and the action heats up. I make some money with (9,10) when I flop two pair. I gain some real confidence when I lay down (A8) to another $200 raise from Sammy who I bully into showing me yet another Ace Ace. Uncle Bill is the huge chip leader as we color up to Black chips and he has nearly all of them. Bill likes to chase big draws and I used that to my advantage and take all his chips in two hands with cards I can't even remember. Jack sits across from me and has been making several All In bets that I read as bluffs so I call one of them with (99) and he shows (88) and he is gonzo.
We are down to 4.
Bosey, Me, TJ, and Sammy.
Bosey is on the short stack and I put him all in with my suited (J,10h) and he calls with (A7) and he gets his Ace. The very next hand I take him out with a straight I make on the turn and he calls when I put him all in onm the river with his pocket Jacks.
Down to 3 players and only two will be taking home any money. $200 for first and a measley $40 for second. I was under the impressions however that 2nd would be getting $80 but I only found out once I had won what 2nd really paid out. I go to the bathroom and take the picture you see at the top of this post and I tell myself to not do anything dumb until I am in at least 2nd place. I have had a record number of "one out of the money" finshes in the last few months and I am not mentally prepared to handle another one. So I splash my face with water and head back into the smoke filled basement and I fire up a
to calm my nerves. I crack a Miller Lite and nestle down.
By now I have well over $12000 in chips and I decide to fold alot and hope the other two will do the work for me. But when I catch (QJc) on the button and TJ raises $400 (as usual) I call. The flop is all bricks so I check and he bets $800. I stare long and hard at him looking for a tell. He smiles. I lay my hand down face up and he shows me pocket kings. A few hands later TJ pushes all in on a board of (22347) and Sammy thinks a few seconds and then calls showing AK. TJ looks stunned and then mucks. TJ, a multiple winner who is by his own admission up over $1000 in this game this year already is gone. It's down to me and
Sammy.
Sammy is a quiet player. He raises infrequently and from my little black book, he always has a pair or (AK) when he raises. So my plan is to play conservative, especially since now he has TJs chips in a huge pile in front of him and I fear I may be outchipped. I see (A7) on the first heads up hand an announce "All In". Sammy folds and I take down the blinds which are now at $200 - $400. The very next hand I squeeze out (A4s) and go All In again. Fold. So far so good.
With our stacks both over $10000 we might be here awhile. It is almost midnight and the cards are coming out faster because
All In ( Tim ) has been so kind to deal for us.
There are alot of boring hands and folds for about 5-10 hands. I am chatting away with everyone, trying to get Sammy to loosen up a bit and then come the last hand. I don't even remember is I was on the button or not but I remember the rest. I was holding (Kc,7h) and the flop came down (2,2,7). I remarked to TJ that I wish I had
"the hammer" and he laughs. Sammy asks what "the Hammer" is and I tell him it's (2,7). He looks at his cards again and looks at the board and says "All In". I call so fast my head spun off and turned over my (K7) and he shrugs and turns over (4s,7s) and hangs hs head. I cringe as the turn and river come slowly as TJ is now dealing and he milks the suspense as if
Matt Savage were walking around with a microphone and hadn't given him the nod to flip the last two cards. Finally he peels off (Qc,10d) and I have to look at it for a second before I realize it is actually over. I extend a hand a Sammy shakes it, exclaiming "I never figured you for a Seven in that spot".
We had to count all the chips down to see if I had him covered. It took a few minutes but we found out I covered him by less than $50 in chips out of $15,000.00. Game over.
Next Stop.........VegasI forgot to mention,
Jimbo took home the cabbage at the 2nd chance table. $80 ain't chump chage. Jimbo is the King of the Bad Beats and he'll be the first to tell ya. Look up BarbiesBoyToy on
and try to knock him pout of a $1 SNG. I might even offer a bounty. Jimbo is actually my old man and he once took me out heads up with Ducks against my AK. That's what I get for teaching him how to play I guess.
See the whole Cast ........
My Homegame crowd
Johnny Calls managed to drag home a fair ammount of chips with his "call everything" and fold if you don't hit strategy. 
were locked in an ongoing battle that eventually saw TJ exit stage left in his 3rd straight week in 3rd place. 
then proceeds to go on to win the whole tournament and $200. Not since Jack Treetop Strauss has the poker world seen such a turnaround of fortunes.
