A tremendous night of tournament poker took place last night at Pepper St.
21 enthusiasts squeezed into the garage and a record number of rebuys (20!) along with a first ever 100% add-on participation, propelled the prize pool to an as yet unheard of $620! Wow!
First out was Jason H., a tremendous poker player who took losing two races in stride.
It was another hour and a half before the final table was set, with yours truly busting out early this time in 6th place.
The aggression that had been rampant all night suddenly receded as the money approached.
On the bubble was David M. who got a nifty double prize - a brand new Excalibur Las Vegas hat (from my recent trip there) and a sweet deck of Elvis Presely playing cards direct from Dog's trip to Graceland.
Once the money was made, the table continued to play tight, and we ended up finishing near 1 in the morning - another record for Pepper Street.
Tony G. finished in fifth place and collected $55.
Dog was next, pocketing $70.
Barbara N. returned to form, finishing third for $93.
Gabor V. had to face monster blinds and a bit of bad luck that put a first place finish out of reach. Still, he took home $155, an amount bigger than many first place finishes at Pepper Street.
And finally, there was one! Robert A., a brand spanking new player at Pepper Street, brought along by Marc F., played a solid game and put a stranglehold on first in the end - taking away a whopping $250! A record at Pepper Street that will be hard to beat!
A big thanks to Marc F. for bringing Robert. Big thanks also to the UCLA medical consortium for introducing us to Hugh B. And finally, big thank you as well to Allen Q. for bringing Longmont Colorado resident (the town in which I was born) Tony P.
Along with Thomas P. (a swell guy and fellow editor from my workplace) we had FOUR great new players! Pepper Street is growing fast!
It was a true pleasure having all of you, and I hope you all had fun and will return again!
With so many new players, I realize the potential for having too many bodies in the garage is getting very real.
For the next tournament I will have to CAP the total number of seats at 24. Be sure to reserve your seats early in the next evite! Responding "maybe" is fine, but it does not reserve you a seat. Only a "yes" locks it down.
If the tournament is full, the "maybe" list will be used a list of alternates, and those on the list will be called in the order in which they responded if there are any last minute cancellations on the "yes" list.
I'm afraid I'll have to be strict on this, as the game has literally grown too big for the room! Please do your best to respond promptly and honor your commitment.
Also, don't forget that the player of the year race is tightening up! Marc F. and Dave M. are now tied for first, and believe it or not, with 9 more tournaments scheduled, most of the group is still within striking distance! I'm cooking up a special prize along with the priceless bragging rights that go along with this honor. Good luck to all.
One final note, I will be polling again as to what kind of tournament people prefer - last month we had a 60% preference for No Limit Hold-Em, so that's what we'll keep doing for now! Remember, if you'd like to mix it up, the power is in your hands! Also keep in mind that we are scheduled for a classic H.O.R.S.E. tournament in June, and an Omaha/8 tournament in July.
Our next tournament, which will be NLHE, is scheduled for Saturday, April 18 at 7pm. The evite will be out shortly. See you there!
