It was a dark and stormy (for Burbank) night as 16 spooky souls gathered in the shrieking shack out back.
Speaking of psychotic, this fine fellow asked me to say hello to his little friend after he busted out. No, not that little friend. His gun, you pervert. No, not that gun. Never mind. Here is a really cool costume.
Ark S. brought real Tony Montana swagger to his costume, staying in character through his entire tournament run. Awesomely done dude!
But Ark was not the first to hit the rail, that honor went to first time PSP player Jason V.W., dressed smartly in the same Boy Scout uniform he had as a kid. It pretty much still fit him, a little short above the waist, but basically Jason is slim enough to still wear it. I would say I hate you for being so skinny Jason, but as you are my wife's cousin-in-law, you are family, so it's nothing but love here. Also, even though you busted out first I hope you had fun and will come back soon.
Jason was the first, but not the last to hit the rail in rapid fashion after the first break. Speaking of the break, the host apologizes for the guy who took forever to go.
Busting out fourth, after this prolonged bathroom adventure, was another newcomer to the garage, Matt, who was brought along by Wisnick. Great to have you Matt, and hopefully you'll come back for more poker madness soon.
It was just after 10:30 when Bill K. busted as our final table bubble boy. At the final table were two other fantastic costumes.
Our resident Player of the Year points leader Mike P. kept screaming "braaaaiiinnnns" in between hands. He was the walking undead you see. But my favorite costume of the night had to be this one.
My daughter thought this was Michael Jackson, but with a beer in hand and lotsa gold bling, I knew right away that this was the Prince of poker, Scotty Nguyen baby!
Speaking of awesome, check out this board.
I can't for the life of me remember who was in the hand, but the hour was late and the blinds were big and all the money went in pre-flop. A10 vs. AQ, a 70/30 proposition. A 10 peeled off on the flop leaving AQ dead to 3 cards or running straight cards. About an 80% underdog. A queen binked the turn, abruptly giving A10 a 4% chance of hitting 2 outs. Which of course, BOOM, hit on the river. A disgusting roller-coaster spectacle that I enjoyed because I wasn't in the hand.
Our bubble was the always dangerous Eric T. who got unlucky enough on a crucial hand to get his money in as a 75% favorite, dominating, and get sucked out on. Eric took his leave graciously as always with only perfunctory profanity and crotch grabbing.
And then there were five.
First to go, getting his entry fee back, was psychotic fairy Dan G. (Yes, Dan, I know you were actually a princess).
For nearly 45 minutes the chips were flying as a blatantly ridiculous blind structure (I need to tweak for 16 players) saw the cards and chips a flying, with very little post flop play.
But finally, after the chip lead came and went more than once his way, Jason H. succumbed. Taking his leave but doubling his buy-in and adding a bounty or two.
Three handed play was probably the shortest of all times. On the very first hand Allen R. was first in with a medium ace and yours truly woke up with AJ. Allen R. collected $100 for third and a hearty congratulations on having the coolest costume.
Heads up play went a bit longer, two hands instead of one. To start, I walked Jeff S. from the button. On the next hand Jeff shoved from the button and I called with a pair that held up. Jeff took home $160 plus a fair amount of bounties for a nice payday.
So, for only the second time in the modern PSP era of the last five years, yours truly gets to keep a trophy (as well as $240)! Optimus is pleased!
What a great night! I'm very humbled and very much aware that it is often better to be lucky than good. A big thanks to everyone who dressed up and made it extra fun. Also, thanks to Bill K. for helping out with the shuffling and to Wisnick for bringing in new blood. Always appreciated.
I have to say, I love this blog with pictures! I'm going to try to make this a recurring element. Please, always let me know if you're camera shy and/or don't want to be on the interwebs.
Our next tournament is the second Saturday of November, the 10th at 7pm. Stay tuned for the evite and I'll see you there!
