15 hearty souls braved the elements - a nasty cocktail of wind and rain, about the worst L.A. has to offer, to enjoy a maddening mix of No Limit Texas Hold-Em and Pot Limit Omaha/8.
Marissa C. was the first to bow out shortly after the break - still craving excitement, she entered the world of Zelda inside the house and emerged 3 1/2 hours later much to her own astonishment at how quickly the time had passed. Yes, Zelda (and for that matter most video games) is a time warp.
The bust outs increased (including yours truly who had his trip queens flattened by an open ended straight draw that hit on the turn) as 10pm approached, and finally shortly thereafter, a final table was reached.
Speaking of me, I am overall very happy with my performance this year - finishing third in the POY race without the benefit of any bonus chips OR attendance bonus points.
Speaking of bonus chips - for those of you who weren't there for the shocking announcement at the start of the tournament - there was a secret bonus chip program in 2009 that rewarded the most attentive readers of this blog. If you missed out, the lesson in life to have learned is not "Wow, Chris is so unfair!" The lesson to have learned is - "Gee, maybe I should PAY ATTENTION!" Fear not, the bonus program is now officially retired - but I am retaining a 500 chip bonus to all players who arrive before 7pm. I will be including myself in this (unlike the 2009 secret bonus chip program) but I don't think this gives any unfair advantage. Well, maybe a little.
Meanwhile, back to the tournament. Thanks in no small part to the generous donations of players throughout the year to the house fund, everyone at the final table walked away with a prize!
The first three to bust received $10 Subway gift cards. Eat Fresh!
The next two bustees won $15 Best Buy gift cards. Use 'em quick before Best Buy becomes it's usual Holiday quagmire of endless lines and surly and incompetent seasonal clerks.
The great thing about these bonus prizes, was that I didn't pay for them - they were all a result of the left over money in the house fund. You guys are really a generous bunch!
One of the Best Buy card recipients was Barbara N., who it should be mentioned here was one of only two players this year with PERFECT tournament attendance. The extra 10 points she gets for this has propelled her into the top five of the Player of the Year standings! Congratulations Barbara, and a big thanks for your enthusiastic support of our little game.
The final four players all got paid cash money, with Michael K. winning $65 in his 2009 season record FIFTH cash! Plus he saved money on gas, because he lives down the street. In every way a great poker year for him. Cashing in nearly 50% of all the years tournaments is no small feat. He finishes 2009 tied for fourth place in the Player of the Year standings. Congratulations Mike!
The third place player was Nick B., a new player, but clearly not new to poker. He dominated much of the tournament. But his monster stack took a gargantuan hit in a three way pot - and he had to settle for "only" $100. Still, well done Nick!
The final two were Dog and David M. Although it wasn't even midnight, they were both tired and agreed on an even money chop ($190 each) with Dog taking the trophy and extra point due to a miniscule chip lead. Dog finishes tied with Mike K. for fourth place in the Player of the Year race. Nicely done Dog!
David M. finishes second in the POY race, 11 points behind the leader. Which means that even if he did have perfect attendance, he still would have been one point behind this year's winner - Marc F. Still, Dr. David, we are all in awe of your talent as a poker player, and are even more grateful to have you as an ardent supporter of Poker at Pepper St.
A huge congratulations to POY winner Marc F., who exemplifies the very best of what this game has to offer. Sure he's a good player - but even more importantly, his friendly and kind table demeanor along with unflagging support for the game (including almost always staying late to help deal and shuffle, not to mention regularly bringing in new players) helped make 2009 even better than I could have hoped for.
Finally, a very big thanks to all of you for coming out and having fun with me in the garage once a month. Words can't really express how much this game means to me - and it's all because of players like you who make it fun and friendly first.
Be sure to read the post below for what is on tap next year! The first evite for a cash game on Friday, January 8th will go out on New Years day! The next evite for our first tournament of 2010 will follow shortly thereafter.
Speaking of our first tournament, there will be a long and embarrassingly mushy bracelet ceremony for Marc F. where awkward words of appreciation will be spoken and a humiliating picture of Marc will be taken for our new garage wall of fame.
Until then, have a very safe and happy holiday season. I feel truly blessed to not only have you all as players in my game, but more importantly, as friends.
Best,
Chris
