2017

 

2016 was yet another great year at Pepper Street - but get ready, there's just as many, if not more, good times on tap for 2017!

I'm making a few changes, for the better I think!


SATURDAY NIGHT MULTI-TABLE TOURNAMENTS

Our beloved Saturday night MTT's are not going anywhere, but we will not have one every month any more.   MTTs are a load of fun, but also a load of work - and I'm pretty gosh dern busy these days.  There will likely be a Saturday night MTT every other month or so - I'm hoping to host at least 6 and as many as 8 in 2017.

Entry remains at $40.  Bounty game is the same, optional and $5.   In July we will as usual have our Main Event, an $80 buy in and no bounties, first place gets a bracelet.

Because we are having multi-table tournaments less often -

I will now allow a single re-entry if you are felted before the first break.  Same price, same chips.

If you have not re-entered you will then have the option during the first break to surrender your stack and purchase a full stack for $40.

 The current policy of allowing a 'cooler' re-entry is simply not objective or consistent.   I keep running into very subjective situations where players are either coolered or overplay their hands - depending on how one views the game.  I am an experienced recreational player, but I am by no means an expert to the degree where my judgement calls can be considered entirely fair and consistent every time.  This way the rule is the same for everyone.

I have not come to this decision lightly - in the end it is driven primarily by the recognition that for many of my regulars, Pepper St. Poker's Saturday night monthly tournament is their entire poker fix for the month.  Because I'll be hosting less often in 2017 I owe it to these folks to give them a second chance if they bomb out.

Too many times I've seen these regulars walk out of the garage, shoulders slumped, after less than an hour's play.  An event that they've looked forward to for weeks, abruptly and prematurely ended.  With a safety valve, everyone who only gets to play once a month or so will have a chance to extend their joy beyond the unfortunate turn of the cards within the first hour and forty minutes.

I have faith that this tournament will still retain the flavor of a freeze-out.  The purpose of a one time only re-entry is not necessarily to encourage reckless play, i.e. 're-buy fever', but rather to allow for a second chance if you get cold decked - as recreational players I know we don't play as often as we'd like and it can be very discouraging to have an evening of poker in front of you only to have it prematurely ended by bad luck.

As usual, if you win a Saturday night MTT, you lock up a seat in the year end Tournament of Champions!  A free roll with a guaranteed $1000 prize pool!


TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS

And speaking of the TOC - because we will only have 8 qualifying tournaments maximum, and ten seats available in the TOC, we have to have a way to fill those extra two (maybe more) seats.  Here's how we are going to do it:

As the end of the year approaches we will take stock of how many seats remain open in the TOC and we will schedule a corresponding number of Sit-N-Go's where regular attendees from the previous monthly events who have not taken down a tournament will be eligible to play for the remaining seats!

Entry to these Sit-N-Go's will be $100, (a $60+$40 where the $40 goes to the TOC prize pool).  first place will pay $300, second $200 and third gets their money back - but first place also gets a seat in the TOC!  The remaining money goes into the TOC prize pool, that's up to $400 extra dollars to play for in the TOC, per SNG!  If we have trouble filling the SNG, then I will allow people an option to forgo the $40 additional fee and simply play for cash on the day.  In this case, only players who put up the $40 are eligible for a TOC seat.  This could potentially be a very easy way to get in the TOC!

To qualify to play in one of these SNG's you must be a regular during the rest of the year and must fail to win a regular Saturday night MTT - I will be paying very close attention to who comes to every monthly tournament, and of course taking pictures as well, and those folks who come to every monthly will get first crack at the SNG seats.  After that, those who only miss one tournament, and then two and so on until each TOC qualifying SNG is full.

These qualifying SNG's will be deep stacked and have half hour levels  - a great way to get more qualifiers and juice the TOC prize pool.


FRIDAY NIGHT SIT-N-GOs

Ah, I love these so much.

The plan is to have one every month or so, but it may not always happen.  Entry remains at $60.

I will now also allow a one time re-entry before the break or a stack surrender at the break.  Again, I don't expect this will change play too much, but as the SNGs typically attract the more hard-core players, there likely will be more aggression earlier on.

If for some reason I have time to schedule a second SNG in a month, it will be Omaha/8 or H.O.R.S.E.   People have been begging me for years for this - I will try to make it happen this year.  Entry will be $40.

As space is limited, the invite for these tournaments will be restricted to more senior players and the players that present less of a personality challenge for the host.



CASH GAMES

I will of course try to have them - I do love them, but life is so crazy busy right now, that I can't see more than a handful happening over the course of a year.

That could change of course - but if I am hosting I must insist that the cash games remain mixed games and low stakes.  There are lots of living rooms and garages in the valley that run No Limit Hold-em only cash games, most of which rake the shit out of the players.  Pepper Street simply won't be one of them; and I recognize that this means that cash games here will never be in high demand anyways, but I'd rather have fun and low drama rather than rake money from my friends and have everyone uptight.

There is another option for cash games that I am a little reluctant to mention, but it could work out great.  If any of you who have played at PSP regularly for at least 5 years are interested in taking up the mantle of host for a regular weekly or bi-weekly cash game - I would be willing to talk it over with you.  It could basically be whatever game you want - though I would still insist on lower stakes and of course approval of the player roster, but other than those two things it would basically be your game with my garage and supplies.  Hit me up if you are itching for regular cash game action!

I am also open to the idea of handing over host duties for single table tournaments during the week - Sunday-Thursday nights.  There would be structure restrictions to insure that everyone is out by midnight, but other than that, sky is the limit if someone wants to go for it.  Let me know!



THE ROAD TO VEGAS


Last year I tried and failed to have a Step system towards the World Series of Poker.  This year I've modified the idea quite a bit, and I think it will fly.  I already have six core players committed so there is a much better chance of this actually happening.

For the first half of 2017 we will have a tournament series that will award as many $1500 seats as we can.  After the WSOP in July we will start another tournament series that very likely will see the winner take a seat in the Main Event!

If you are at all intrigued I encourage you to click HERE for all the details.  An evite will be going out next week to all of the regulars that play at Pepper Street.  The financial and time commitments are not that great, but the potential rewards are.  I hope you will join us!


******


There will be a cash game on Saturday, January 14 at 5pm - a follow up to the TOC and a place where dejected bust outs can gamble it up.   No-Limit Hold-em only, $50 buy in.

After that our first Step 1 tournament for the Road to Vegas series will be Friday night, January 27 at 8pm.   This means that our first regular monthly Saturday night tournament won't be until February 11!  Hope you can hang on until then - if not then you'd better join us on the 14th or the 27th!





So that's it for now.   All in all I can't wait for the year to start!   Until then, peace and we out!

TOC Preview

I will spare you my usual profanity laden tirade this year, this time around I think I'm just going to keep it simple and relatively friendly.

Here are the champions that will square off and play for a $1000 prize pool on January 14th at 1pm in The Garage Around Back.

Brian C. bundled up and took it down almost one year ago in January- now he aims to do the same in January 2017.  Hopefully he will remerge from the Philippines long enough to make it happen.

Dog replied as a 'maybe' back in February when he was sent the evite.  He still hasn't changed his response, so MAYBE I'll just forget to remind him that he's eligible to free roll into a single table tournament with a $1000 prize pool.

I assumed Sheyna would be missing the TOC, as she recently moved to Chicago.  Well I was playing poker the other night at Pepper Steet West (that would be Garner's game, or is my game GK Binion's East?) and someone was texting her, and she informed him that she will be returning to 'get my bracelet'.   More power to you Sheyna!

Hopefully Jason will be sitting on my left this time - though I suppose I shouldn't worry as I busted him in last year's TOC and he was indeed directly to my left.  Fingers crossed that he gets cold decked and spews off chips early - and then volunteers to shuffle for the rest of the night.  Yeah, that'll happen.

This fine fellow was the first to take one down with my brand new hot stamp chippies. Yes, I am jelly.  Andrew will have an uphill battle in the TOC though, because we will be using the regular tournament chips.  Ha ha so there.

Josh took down our Main Event, the annual double buy in tournament that starts in the day and goes on into the night with a ton o' chips and a very deep structure.  At the end, a bracelet was waiting there for him.  He hopes to double up on the wrist wear next month.

2016 was the year that finally saw Jessie descend on the garage and wreak havoc.  Though his wife cashes more often than he does, he did indeed take down a tournament.  Cracking my KK with A9 heads up to cripple me and shortly thereafter finish me off.  Yes Jess, I will never ever let it go.  I was so rattled I forgot to take a picture and had to steal one (of about 50) from GK Binion's.

 A bit concerned that my 2016 performance was falling far short of 2015, I put my game face on and still managed to luck box my way to a win.

      And then my luck continued.  What a jerk.

Drat, another good player in the TOC. Oh well, at least it was Garner - a hell of a guy who has a great home game of his own.

And finally another beast to add to murderer's row in the TOC this year.  Unfortunately, or rather fortunately for my wallet, Mike has a trip back home scheduled for the weekend of the TOC.  Definitely mixed feelings on that!  You will be missed my friend!





So there it is, sorry I wasn't my usual sarcastic, biting self.  Just enjoying the spirit of the season and very much looking forward to this event.  I will likely have a cash game in the early evening where us bust outs can lick our wounds and probably get felted as well.  Stay tuned for that evite.

Until then, peace and we out!

2016.11

18 hearty degenerates forsook their families and friends for the Holidays and instead descended into the gambling madness that is No Limit Texas Hold-em tournament poker in the garage around back.

Much to their delight, the usual stocking stuffer was there to greet them.

I believe we had 2 winners, 4$ and 5$ each - ship it!

Action went well past the break before we had our first bust - everyone was in the Holiday spirit and didn't want to see anyone go home early!  Or something like that.

In all seriousness - the mood really was festive, everyone seemed to be having an even better time as usual - even before it was announced that everyone who made the final table would win a prize!

The first two who busted got $10 Amazon gift cards, then the next two got $15 Target cards!  Finally the bubble, the esteemed Mr. Dog, got both cards as his parting gift.

And then we were in the monies.  Jerry C. busted next, getting his buy in back plus another $15 in bounties.   I was next out, calling off a 3 bet shove by Mike P. and running my KQ into AK.  $80 for me plus my bounty back.

Finishing in third was relative newcomer Jason H. - no not that Jason H., the veteran busted out awhile back - this Jason H. is yet another friendly fellow from Garner's game.  Garner, I owe you a lot and I will be at every game at your place unless I am bleeding out on the street or held hostage at work.  Jason scooped up $120 for third place plus a bounty or two.

And then there were two -

It was indeed a battle of titans.  Both players had rocked it throughout the evening, and it looked to be a long battle ahead.  Josh in particular seemed primed and ready to bulldoze, but the cards had other ideas and Mike also made a few deft moves of his own in the end to come out on top.   Well done to the both of youse!   Josh took home $180 and Mike got $260 plus a seat in the TOC.

Under the wire!

Mike, as one of the better players in the garage, yet again put on a clinic in aggression and patience - but I want to mention that Josh, who has always been a solid player, seems this year like he is stepping up to that next level that people who work hard on their game achieve after a few years. Congrats on another deep run Josh, and look forward to seeing you at the TOC!

Speaking of the Tournament of Champions, that is happening on Saturday, January 14 at 1pm.  Mike alas will be in Nebraska, so there will only be 9 of us. I was thinking there would be 8 of us since Ms. Sheyna has moved to Chicago, but a little bird told me that she will likely be back in town to go for the bracelet!  Right on Sheyna, now that is dedication!

I want to say goodbye to you all now for 2016 and I want to add a huge thanks to all of you who made it a super fun and super low drama time throughout the year.  I wish all of you the merriest of holidays and peace in the new year.

Stay tuned though, probably in the next week or so I will post what's coming up in 2017.  The biggest change for next year will be fewer monthly events (probably 6 to 8 total) and I'm also adding a single re-entry if you are felted before the break.  I have elaborate reasons for these decisions to be posted later, but I wanted to give you a heads up in case you don't feel like reading all of that clap-trap.

Once again, I bid you all a fond farewell for now, and I very much look forward to throwing down on the felt next year!  Until then, peace and we out!

2016.10

A surprisingly muggy November afternoon gave way to a pleasant evening which saw an astounding 27 players cram into the garage and throw down for some serious tournament poker action.

We had two bust outs just before the break, and then afterwards action heated up even more - with yours truly busting after just 2 1/2 hours of play.

The third table broke just after the second break and play continued on for another hour and a half before the final table formed.

Players moved around quite a bit as bust outs seemed to alternate tables more than usual.

Final table - does Garner know something the rest don't?

Just after 11 the bubble approached fast.  Marc busted out and was ready to blast out the door, but then realized he had actually squeaked into the money - getting his buy in back plus a bounty in sixth place.

Next to exit was the always quiet and reserved Tommy who scooped up double his buy in plus a bounty or two in fifth place.

It's hard to believe but four handed play lasted another 45 minutes, with no one wanting to crank up the aggression, patience ruled the day - and finally Kat succumbed to a fourth place finish but collected a nice $160 plus $10 in bounties for her efforts.

Three handed play again dragged on a bit as 1am approached.  At different times both Tony G. and Jeff S. had accumulated a wall  of chips, but saw them knocked down a bit by some rather nasty results courtesy of the poker Gods.  

Coming up on 1am, with everyone pretty close to even, the idea of a three way chop was floated and accepted, with each player collecting $250 and the bounties they held.

But play continued for the vaunted Tournament of Champions seat.   Jeff S. busted out next in third place, and then there were two.  Tony had the chip lead by quite a bit, but as we all know in poker...

Heads up play was brief but intense - a few suck-outs to be sure - and at quarter after 1 the dust finally settled and we had our champ!

Turns out he did know something the rest didn't!

Congrats to Garner for locking up his seat in January's T.O.C.!  A big thanks to everyone who came out and made the evening fun as always.

There's only one more chance to win a seat in 2015, this will happen on the second Saturday in December, the 10th.  Same Bat-time, same Bat-channel.   As always, the December tournament at PSP will feature surprises and goodies for our players.  Hope you can make it! Stay tuned for the evite!

Until then, peace and we out!

2016.09

It was a lovely overcast October night in Burbank, just perfect for poker!

I had 22 people coming, so I had to set up for three tables.  Cool!

Except not cool, two players decided not to show up without a text or phone call.  I understand one of them was sick and another I hope didn't fall into a sink hole because I still haven't heard from him.  In any event, they will have plenty of time to get better because they are both off the evite list until next year.

When people say they are coming and then fail to materialize, and don't bother to let me know even afterwards - they are being inconsiderate and disruptive.  We played the first hour and forty minutes with two tables of seven and one of six, and then continued on with two full tables afterwards because the host wasn't informed.  It was still fun, but a lot of extra work for yours truly.

Some nice person took a shot with me in it, too bad I was still bitching about missing players.

So the evening continued on, with two full tables, and of course eventually the bust outs picked up steam.  We had one poor fellow get his aces cracked by quads - another had the misfortune of getting his money in as an 80% favorite - we all know how that ended.

The final table formed as 11pm approached.

Big thanks to Art for dealing until his better half busted out.

Old reliable chips back in play.

As midnight approached, so did the money bubble, with Jerry being the unfortunate recipient of squa-doosh.   First to cash, collecting his buy in back, was Jeff W.  who surprisingly didn't win the whole thing as he has done for the last two years in his annual appearance.

Next to cash in fourth place was Kat, who had earlier accumulated a mountain of chips; she had her pocket pair cracked by rags on the big blind and then had the unfortunate luck to run into my aces after squeezing / letting it rip with two broadway cards.  This was the hand that crippled her and she was out shortly after, scooping up double her buy in plus another $10 in bounties - getting her and her hubby unstuck for the night.

Busting next in third, for $100 plus a bounty or two was cashing machine Randall - who once again found himself in the money.

Yours truly got hit by the deck, busting the aforementioned third place finisher with an ill advised 5 2 off suit from the button - flopped a full house and cracked pocket tens.  Easy game.   When the dust settled it was Colin H. and I to face off.

Normally I would offer a chop but I had nearly a five to one chip lead.  I doubled him up once and then we got it in again, this time I had A5 and he had K9.  My ace held and that was that.

Colin got $200 for second plus some bounty action - I was lucky enough to get $300 plus another $40 in bounties, and an extra 5K in chips for the TOC since this was my second tournament takedown this year.  As I always say, better lucky than good!

Lucky Iron Man shirt strikes again!

A big thanks to all who came out and made it a good time!  A very extra special thanks to Sheyna who was a shuffling machine for 5 handed play and beyond.  I am very sad to say that Sheyna will be leaving our game and our fair city for a new job in Chicago for the next 8 months.  I wish her the very best on her new adventure, and I hope she will return to LA when the show is done.

Our next monthly is the second Saturday in November, the 12th, 7pm as usual.  It will likely be the next to last tournament of the year, but it could also be the last tournament if December fills up.  The TOC hits at 1pm on January 14.  If you haven't locked up your seat - you have one, maybe two more chances!

Until next time, peace and we out!

2016.08

A surprisingly mild September afternoon in Burbank turned into a lovely evening and I made the call to bring the tournament back inside.  In hindsight, I probably should've kept it out on the patio as it was just a bit too hot in the garage.  20 gamblers sweated it out, despite the wide open garage door.

True the garage was hot, but there were also a few new additions that more than made up for it.

The cookies on the left tasted as crazy as they looked.

Well what do we have here?

Treasure chest.

About time.

As hot as the garage was, the action was even more so.  Especially at my table.  We had cooler after cooler, and quads a whopping 2 1/2 times. (Half because it didn't make it to showdown, but Priya was kind enough to show, after Barb had joked about me probably having quads.)

Nobody busted before the break, and it was a ways afterwards when we had our first casualty - the go big or go home poker powerhouse that is Jason.

The final table formed after the second break and it was well over an hour before the bubble burst.

Eric L. thought he had won his money back when he busted, because I told him he had.  Then I realized that he finished 6th and we were only paying 5.  Oops.

It was awhile after his exit, just after midnight when Sheyna was the 5th place finisher, winning her buy in back and also collecting a single bounty to finish even for the night.

Next to bust, returning to her cashing ways, was Barbara who scooped up $100 in fourth place.

Next out was Marc, finishing third after a good half hour of play and a brutal suck-out, courtesy of yours truly - my  K5 cracking his AK AIPF.  Good call Chris.

And then there were two.  Me and newish player Emanuel.  The hour was late and although I had a chip lead I proposed we chop the money evenly and play for the seat.  E agreed and we each locked up $250 plus $20 apiece in bounties.   And then it was on!

Actually, it just lasted 2 hands.  Emanuel got unlucky when I binked top pair, one pip above his pocket jacks and that was that.  Congrats Emanuel on the deep run and cash and congrats to me for being lucky enough to take one down in 2016.

Dork dork dork.

Thanks everyone so much for coming out and making it yet another fun evening at Pepper Street.  I feel so lucky to have such a great group of friends old and new who love the game as much as I do and also appreciate a social and friendly atmosphere and work to keep it that way.   You all rock!

Our next monthly looks like it will be the 15th.  Stay tuned for the evite.

Until then, peace and we out!