It was a long, long, long time coming. After being shut down for almost a year, and then shut down again for a couple of months for omicron, we finally got around to the 2020–21 Tournament of Champions.
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| Missing Babs this year, a lot. |
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| Going to miss this guy too - he’s moving, probably overseas. Boo. |
1 PM arrived and we were underway! It’s always interesting to me, play is slightly different in a free roll, even with a $1000 prize pool. Action was fast and furious, and full of unbelieving people eager to get their chips in the middle. Still, we had no eliminations until after the first break. Sadly, yours truly was the first one to go. I didn’t have enough chips in my stack to convince my opponent to lay down top two pair.
Thankfully, I didn’t have too long to wait for others to bust out and help me in starting a cash game. We also had guests arrive at 4 PM, including Colin’s dad John and the one and only Stephen B. along with TOC player Kat’s other half Jessie and his chatty friend Andres. Cash game was rocking! Moving to the giant blue table when the TOC FT formed up so it could run 10 handed!
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| TOC Final Table |
I made about $10 playing cash, then I gave up my seat to be a good host so others could enjoy. So happy the cash game was successful, running well past the end of the TOC itself.
Speaking of TOC, it was a fast and furious battle to the end. Players with large stacks lost them quickly, and succumbed, with one time monster stack Joe busting on the bubble.
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| Tough to see, but the pocket pair down at the end of the table is Jacks. |
After maintaining a chip lead for most of the tournament, Jeff G had to settle for third place and $200.
His bust out hand was pretty gross…
Immediately after Jeff’s departure, Art and Colin agreed to chop the money evenly for $400 apiece and play for the trophy. This battle lasted all but one hand. Colin’s A9 ran down Art’s TT, with an Ace on the river. Brutal!
Well done one and all! Especially well done Mr. Colin, your game has grown leaps and bounds over the years and this was very much well deserved!
The cash game lasted another half hour or so, and then people were tired from playing poker so they up and left. It was still daylight and I had time to unwind and putter about, getting the garage back in shape for vehicles.
Alone in my thoughts, once again a wave of gratitude washed over me for all the good times and great people in our little game. I cannot express with words how full my heart is to have people who love poker as much as I do in my life and to be able to host an exciting and joyful game with you all throughout the year again and again.
I am so so thankful that this pandemic seems to be behind us, the virus itself is never going away but we are learning how to live with it. And I am super super excited for the rest of this year.
A week from today, that is next Sunday, I am hosting a World Series of Poker satellite. You should have the Evite, make sure to get a hold of me if you don’t. The WSOP is going to be absolutely insane this year, it’s in the middle of the strip and they are expected to break all attendance records. Poker is alive and well!
In our garage, we are continuing full force, with cash games on the first and third Wednesdays, a single table tournament here and there, plus our monthly Saturday event of course. The next one of these is Saturday, May 21, good old-fashioned NLHE. Hope you can make it!
Until then, peace and we out!
