Nothing but LOVE

 So what the hell just happened?   Chugging along, another great year getting underway and then - BOOM.  

Crazy.

A worldwide pandemic descended and our little game ground to a halt.

Look - I'm not going to get into the weeds on this whole matter, because I know we are a divided nation and there's lots of different points of view on just about every aspect of this virus and the havoc it has wrought.    It doesn't seem like it should be political it all - but the reality is, it is.  And that sucks.

I prefer to keep my blog and my game separate from politics, and the best way to do that is to keep things really simple.

In that spirit - there are two fundamental truths that I hope we can all agree on.

1 - The pandemic will end.

2 - It now looks like it will end soon thanks to the promise of the vaccine.

You may notice I have a new photo/banner for the website - yes, I ordered a custom plaque from Smart Sign and had it read "Pepper Street Poker WILL Return" - just so I could take a photo and post it on Facebook and here on this website.

There's also a countdown.  It's for sure on the underside of the over/under - but every expert is saying this thing will be almost done by late spring early summer, including Fauci.  So I'm just going to take a cue from all the experts, who have been wrong about a lot of stuff, and take a gamble that they will be wrong about this too and that we will be turning the corner by the end of March and at that point an overweight 50 year old like me can go to CVS and get jabbed.

14 days after that second needle hits my arm we are back open for business in The Garage Around Back.

We will not start right away with monthly tournaments for the TOC seat - the first get together will be a cash game.

The next several poker nights will alternate between single table tournaments and cash, and I will likely be hosting every other week for awhile.

I would ask that before you come, you too also please be 14 days past your second shot.   I'm not going to be wearing a mask and I'm not going to worry about social distancing, because my wife and I will be vaccinated and I presume everyone else showing up will be as well.   

I know there are many of you who want to get together right now, and even some who think we should've been back playing months ago.

I confess, as an ornery American/jingoist/redneck at heart - most of me agrees with this - but I stop short of saying FUCK IT, because of one thing - and that thing is a deep and abiding love for you all.

I could never forgive myself if one of you caught this thing at my game, or even worse God forbid if someone got super sick and even worse than that if someone up and died.

If that happened, there would never be poker at Pepper Street again.

So really, part of it is selfish too - I want to be hosting poker for the rest of my hopefully many years left on this earth!  Can't do that if I kill one of you! (Or myself for that matter!)

Also, it would just be devastating to lose any of you.

There is nothing but love in my heart for you all - and I can't wait to see your faces in person again.

It has been great seeing you on Zoom, I've had a blast playing online with you.   But nothing compares to the real thing, and here's hoping that the real thing returns, sooner rather than later.

2020.02

At some point a couple of weeks ago I had a brain seizure and decided to lift our normal cap of 27 players, so last night we had 33 of the nicest poker players you'd ever want to meet CRAM themselves into the Garage Around Back.

Sure we were super squashed - but we had treats and a neat new way to pick seats!  (I'm a poet and didn't even know it!)

I announced online a few days ago, and I re-announced before we started - NO RE-ENTRY!  Too many players and I didn't want to do the 3am thing.  So, we had four bust outs before the break!

Action continued after Pizza - more bad beats and bust outs!  The first table broke at 740pm, the second table a mere half hour after that.

New player Roel busted very early on, boo!  Other new player Christian fell just short of the final table after mounting a comeback from being down to just one 1K chip!  Nice!

Mike K. from down the street was our final table bubble, I had busted out awhile before that - we sat down with our final 9 at 930pm.

Finishing in 9th was Legacy Player Josh "The Poker Maniac" F.

Busting right after in 8th was another Legacy - Allen R.

And alas our unfortunate bubble boy was Stephen B. who nonetheless had 2 bounties and got an early collectible chip to take home to his daughter.   Yes, you read that right, next month's tournament has a collectible chip!   Don't miss out!   Read down below for the deets.

Finishing in 6th for an $80 payout was coffee and fishing enthusiast Colin, he busted right at 10pm so he still was going to get 6 hours of sleep before having to wake up!

Next out in fifth, returning to the money circle after a bit of an absence, Mr. Ian - pocketing $120 and 4 bounties at 10:15pm.

Busting in fourth place at 10:30 for $180 plus 4 bounties was Ms. Teresa.

And then there were three!

Finishing in third place, a long overdue deep run from LA Rounders legend Mr. Stephen S.  He took home $230 plus bounties at around 10:45.

And then we were heads up!

In the end, the monster stack of Mike P. was just too much for Mike Km. to overcome and he had to settle for $260 plus $25 in bounties for second place.

And so this guy was at the top of the heap - once again!  Taking it down right at 11pm!

Mike P. took home $360 plus $25 in bounties and an early hammer lock on the Player of the Year points race.  He also locks up his seat for the TOC and further cements his Legacy in the Garage Around Back.  Well done Mr. Mike!

So our next tournament isn't until Saturday March 21st at 5pm - it will, as always in March, be Omaha/8!   As mentioned earlier, there WILL be a collectible chip for this one to help encourage more of you to come.   Also, as always, non NLHE events will be worth  DOUBLE Player of the Year points.

Speaking of points, I appreciate each and every one of you who remembered to sign out - and that was all but one of you.  Good job!   Signing out saves me a ton of work and it also is great because most of you signed out the time that you busted as well, which helps paint a better picture here on the old blog. Keep it up!

I hope you all can make it out for Omaha/8 - if you don't know how to play, come at 430 and I will give a tutorial - it's a ton of fun and it's always great to mix it up.  Just so you know, the next No-Limit Hold-Em tournament I host will be capped at 27 players total, NO EXCEPTIONS this time,  30+ is just too much to squeeze in.   If you come to Omaha/8 you will automatically be sent the Evite for NLHE before everyone else, so you will be guaranteed a spot.  It pays to play Omaha/8.

In any case, I hope to see you all soon - I may or may not host a cash game between now and then.

Until that happens, peace and we out!

Longtime Regular - POY and Soul Crusher

2020.01

New year, fresh start!

25 gambling fools crammed in to The Garage Around Back for the start of another year, the 12th year, at Pepper Street Poker.

Players had a few restrictions imposed right away - no walking on the lawn!  No flushing the toilet!  (Re-seeding and a sewage line problem) - but they all took it in stride and immediately threw down with ferocious action - we had 6 re-entries before the break!

The stage is set!

First, a little hardware for Mr. Jerry!

Then a new member of the Legacy Hall of Fame - can you spot the new addition?

 I'm not sure what was going on - but the chips were flying!  Both Jerry and Dog built up mountains early!

I did ok - chipped up a bit, but had to bluff every single board.  Tough way to play!

Folks enjoyed a bit of pizza and then returned after the dinner break. Just before 8pm the third table broke and the action continued...

I busted shortly thereafter, boo!  Already stuck in the new year!   But plenty of others busted as well.  The final table formed about an hour after the third table broke.

There were three Legacy players at the final table, including our latest addition - poker soul crusher Julie A.   Action at the FT was just as fast and furious as the rest of the tournament, we got down to the money quick.  Ken S., 2018 Player of the Year, was our unfortunate bubbler.

Busting in 6th place for a $60 payout was Jeff G.

One nice thing - of the final five, three were women!

Taking home $120 for 5th place, the aforementioned Legacy inductee Ms. Julie.

Finishing next in fourth place for $160 - she's now two for two in cashes at PSP - my good neighbor and fellow Burrough's parent, Leaane.

And then there were three...

I didn't see any hands, but I heard several whoops and hollers - Dog presumably was on the wrong end of a few big hands because his Mount Chipmore succumbed in third place for a $200 payout PLUS a near record 9 bounties for an additional $45!

And then we were heads-up for the title - a deal was floated - and rejected!  We played down to a winner.

Since Mike K. was the last Legacy player standing, he collected his buy in back - and then battled a bit with Priya and when the dust settled he had to settle (see what I did there) for second place and a very nice $260 payout.

And so we had our winner - a new champ for a new year!

Photo courtesy Mr. Art

Priya took down her first MTT title at PSP and locks up her seat for the Tournament of Champions next January.  She also received $340 and a brand new PSP Card protector / trophy.   Well done Champ!

Oooooo!

Our next tournament is looking like Saturday, February 15th at 5pm - save the date and stay tuned for the Evite.  It will be No-Limit Hold-Em once again - Omaha/8 will be after that in March. So happy and grateful we've started another fun year of the pokers!  Looking forward to lots more good times in The Garage Around Back.

Until then, peace and we out!

Back in the day OG - Won 3 tournaments in one year!

2019 Tournament of Champions!

A beautiful and brisk Burbank afternoon unfolded on a Saturday in the Garage Around Back, and 14 eager degenerate gamblers gathered 'round for some good old fashioned cash game action.

The chips were flying, both at the mix games table and at the No-Limit Hold-Em only table.  And before we knew it, 5 hours had come and gone, and it was time to break out a different set of chips for the Tournament of Champions.

But what a set of chips though!  Staring back at the players, was other players!  Legacy Players who have now found a permanent home on the faces of some of the chips in Pepper Streets newest tournament set!

Don't worry, if you don't see your face, there's a good chance it will show up down the road in the furture.

So all of these chips had to be bagged and tagged.  Turns out every tournament at Pepper Street is actually a two day event for the winners... with day 2 being the TOC!

Plus some hardware for the winner!

And so we were underway!

Photo Credit: Dog

Several hours passed, the sun went down - and it wasn't too late before we had lost 11 players and it was final table time!

I was having a great tournament and playing well as the bubble approached, but my QQ ran into KK and then I flopped a straight and nut flush draw along with an over that was good - all the chips went in and I bricked out and shortly thereafter was out.  

With four players left they agreed on a bubble safety and the remaining players were in the money!

Barbara was next out and got $50 for her trouble, not bad for a free roll!   And then there were three...

A hand from earlier, Dan L had Mike P on the ropes, flopping 2 pair - but the Q hit on the river.

Stuver was out next - he had attended every cash game so he got the TOC invite and managed to spin up a 30K starting stack (when the avg starting stack was 40K) to a third place finish and a $200 pay day.

And then we were heads-up!

Bracelet on the line!

This time Mike had Jason on the ropes, but the river gave Jason broadway!

The battle was a good half hour - but when the dust settled, this guy was left standing.

Mike had a tremendous year, consistently going deep, as well as taking down a tournament and narrowly missing out on Player of the Year, and this was the culmination of those great results - Congratulations my man, well deserved!

Jason was pleased enough to finish second for $300.   Mike got the bracelet and a $450 payout.

A huge thanks to everyone who came out for a fantastic poker marathon - from the cash game players to the TOC runners - it was a truly great day and I'm super grateful to have such a great bunch of poker enthusiasts who win or lose, always make it fun!

And now it's time to get going with a brand new year of the pokers!  Our first monthly of the year will be Saturday, January 25th, stay tuned for the evite!

Until then, peace and we out!