PSP WSOPS.01 & T2011.5 - 03/26/2011

Just look at this face.



That is one happy dude. And he should be, he just won a seat to the World Series of Poker, with the very same iconic hand that poker legend Doyle Brunson won both of his Main Event titles with.

It was truly a great day, as 12 players were gradually whittled down to a single table of 9 and then down to a handful and finally heads up between Allen Q. and Mike P.

It was a fairly prolonged battle, as the double stacks I had given players, instead of a paltry 3K, gave everyone plenty of room to maneuver all the way through - even until the final hand.

In the end Mike P. succumbed to a flopped two pair with Allen Q.'s famous, but still trashy, ten duck.

Proof positive that anyone can win, and indeed - any two will do.

The good news for all of us who didn't take it down - and for a few who couldn't make this first one, we're having another one! Mark your calendars for Saturday at noon, May 7th at 130pm. Note the later starting time, so the good doctor can make it from his baseball game.

If you haven't gotten the evite for some reason, be sure to let me know. This time since I anticipate a few fewer players, it costs $125, we've already got 8, enough for a 1K seat, it would be great to get a few more and play for a $1500 seat, which has many more choices and a far better starting stack and structure.

There has been a lot of poker in April at Pepper Street, and it concluded last Saturday night with our fifth No Limit Hold-Em tournament of the year.

21 players graced the garage, and it was a good time for all. The first bust out occurred right after the break, and it was a classic case of "go big or go home" - Amy L. knows very well that it's better to try to accumulate massively early on than to fold down to the bubble, and so she was our first casualty.

Yours truly followed suit in shabby fashion shortly thereafter, and the bust outs continued at a moderate pace before we approached the money and final table at just after 1030pm.

Dan I. was DVD boy, and scooped up Toy Story 3 for his little ones.

Marc F. extended his lead in the POY race by grabbing the 6th place refund spot of $40.

Jason H. took down fifth place and $75 smackers.

Mike M. ended his two tournament first out streak with a lovely cash in fourth place for $100 even.

Dog D. pulled up just behind Marc F. in the POY race with yet ANOTHER cash, his third of the year - this time third place and $120.

My brother doctor Dave at one point not too long ago in the evening was down to two single purple chips, after the color up when the antes were 500 and the blinds at 2000 and 4000. He managed to double up, double up, double up, to find himself pocketing $180 and second place!

Truly though, ever since the final table lost it's first victims, everyone was indeed playing for second - Bill K. amassed the biggest chip lead in my memory, at one point literally having a 6 to 1 chip lead over the 3 other remaining players.

Yes, he did have a horseshoe lodged up his butt, but he certainly wasn't hurt either by solid play and timely reads. Well done Bill! If Bill hadn't missed a few tournaments this year, there is a good chance he would be atop the leader board.

All in all it was a groovy night, not too hot or cold - and everyone was in good spirits as usual. You all have my profound gratitude for making my home game the friendliest one I know of.

A special thanks also goes out to Marc F. who as usual stayed to help shuffle and show support - but most of all, brought in yet ANOTHER new player (what is that, like ten?) the delightful Steve S. Marc, I can't tell you how great it is having you as Pepper Streets official recruiter, you rock man!

Our next regularly scheduled tournament will be Saturday, May 21st at 7pm. Hope to see you there! And don't forget the WSOP satellite at 130pm on Saturday, May 7th! If you have any lingering doubts, just scroll back to the top and take a good look at who won the first one! (Love you man!) You gotta be in it to win it!

It's WSOP time!

This upcoming Saturday we'll be having the first of hopefully two 2011 World Series of Poker satellites.

These satellites are completely unrelated to our 2012 WSOP League, which is on going this year.

The satellite starts at noon on Saturday, April 15 and the buy in is $105. This is a winner take all event, meaning the winner takes all the cash and must enter a 1K Bracelet event in the 2011 WSOP.

If this winner should happen to cash in this WSOP event, then all satellite participants get a share of the winnings.

60% of the WSOP payout goes to our representative, the remaining 40% is divided evenly among the remaining satellite participants.

Here are some rules to remember -

1. Starting stack will be the exact same as the WSOP 1K Bracelet events; 3000 in tournament chips.

2. The structure will also be the same as the WSOP 1K Bracelet events and can be found by clicking here.

3. Level times, however, will be cut in half - instead of hour long rounds we will play 30 minute rounds with a 5 minute break every 3 rounds.

4. With 10 or less players to start, we will play with on a single table. With 11 or more we will play two tables, and merge to 1 table when we reach 9 players total.

5. Participants must sign the staking agreement prior to playing. The agreement can be found here.

This agreement is not a legal document, but it is an agreement - to be made in good faith that we will all comply with it's stipulations.

6. If the winner decides not to go to the WSOP or can't give me a final decision on which event to play within 2 weeks of our satellite, the seat will be passed to the second place finisher. In this event, the original winner will get a full 10% of any WSOP payout while the second place finisher who actually plays in the event will receive 50% of the payout instead of 60%.

7. Taxes - We are all legally obligated to report our winnings to the IRS individually once we receive a payment.

Obviously the Rep is responsible for all taxes on his/her 60% share.

The host will be responsible for collecting and then meeting tax obligations on the remaining 40% before distributing the remaining money.

HOWEVER, if the payouts are of an amount that would result in an automatic withholding for every player, that is, an amount greater than $5000 per player, then every single player will be responsible for providing the host with all tax payer information including SS #'s.

8. All applicable PSP rules apply, including most importantly - If there are any disputes involving the outcome of a hand, and potentially the outcome of the satellite - the host, that would be me, Chris Merrill, will make the FINAL DECISION.