For the second month in a row, we had 16 players. But with Omaha/8 thrown in to the mix the rebuys and action were even more furious, with the prize pool swelling to over $400. This was also one of the longest tournaments in recent memory, with the final hand playing out at 12:30!
The first player out was Bill K. who has gone deep on many occasions at Pepper Street.
We got down to one table at approximately 11pm, I made a unilateral decision to go to one table during the third break, even though we were still at 10 players. I didn't want to have to break again, right after a scheduled break. It didn't take long for one of the many short stacks to go out and bring it to an official final table of 9.
The bubble this time around would receive an amazing prize - a DVD of "Goonies"! Dan G. set his eyes on this prize, and masterfully maneuvered his stack into position to bust out just in time.
Fourth place went to Tony G. who finished his evening after a roller coaster run of both enormous and tiny chip counts with a $42 cash.
The third place finisher was John S. who was out when the board failed to improve his high ace against a pocket pair of jacks. He pocketed $63 and his carpooling buddy Bill K. was finally able to get home.
Finally, it was down to Dr. David M. and yours truly, his brother. Let me take this moment to say a big thanks to Marc F. and Jason H. who stayed to help shuffle and deal respectively.
The epic heads up battle ended with a wimper when my A6 failed to improve against David's pocket 3's. This was David M.'s THIRD title this year, the most of any player at Pepper St. in 2008. He took home the "World Class H.O." trophy as well as $189. This was my third second place finish out of the last four tournaments - always a bridesmaid! (Though a bridesmaid with $126!)
And so that will do it for tournaments this year! Thanks so much to everyone who made poker at Pepper St. such a success; I'm truly blessed to have such a great group of skilled and friendly poker players.
There is one more evening of cash game play scheduled for Friday night, December 5th. Seating is limited, so be sure to secure your spot! For those who can't make it, have a very Happy holiday season and new year!
