Thunder rumbled in the distance but the drops were not falling, yet, as a post-pandemic record number of players (26!) squeezed in and threw down over three full tables in the garage around back!
Action was hot and heavy from the jump, with the chips flying and no less than 10 out of 26 players re-entering before the break!
Yep, it was just like the pre-pandemic days, with nearly every seat full! Some with some very familiar faces that we are so happy to see again! Kat and Jessie returned after a long absence, and two folks we haven’t seen since probably 2016 - Lalaine and Brian! Great to have them all returning to the fold.
Chips were flying and the cards were hot! But some might say the decks were chilly, especially those on the bad end of not one but two straight flushes! Both held by the same player, the newish Mr Jonathan H.!
Allen R was the first to bust out and he did so before the break. Mr. Peter was out next, his stack turning to crumbs on the last hand before the break.
After we got back, the eliminations cranked up, with Ken, Andrew, Tony and Lea Anne exiting in that order.
Laura, Jessie and Gareth were out next and we were at two tables.
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Jeff S busted next, followed by Mark S., Eric P., Lalaine, Emanuel, and Chris R. Kyle was next out and was the final table bubble.   As 10pm approached the rain was finally coming down and the big battle to the money was underway. Kat was the first to fall, followed by Joe, and then it was bubble time. Speaking of Joe, we are very distressed to learn that he is moving to Florida in March. Hopefully he can squeeze in another poker night before he goes, but in any event- we, I, really hate to lose such a great player and an even better guy. I’m happy for you Joe and excited for your new adventure, but you will be missed! We were paying six, and unfortunately for Dan G. he was the unfortunate bubbler. Busting next, after expertly maneuvering his short stack for several hours, and pocketing double his buy-in ($120) was the long missed Mr. Brian! Congrats my friend, hope we see you and Lalaine again soon. Out next in fifth place was Mr. Stephen B., pocketing $200 and waving goodbye with his usual gracious aplomb. And then there were four!  Your humble host had managed to spin up a nice stack after being down to less than 5bbs post-break early on.   As 11pm came and went, four handed play was fairly ferocious, with 3-bets and cold 4-bets flying. Finally, last month’s champ succumbed in fourth place, Colin bowed out with a $220 payout in fourth place. Ian and I got all the chips in with the same hand, but Ian was free rolling to a flush which hit on the river, and I was out in third. I happily took $300 for third and commenced with the shuffling!  Before commencing, as both stacks were about even, both players agreed to chop the money evenly at $555 apiece (from the $420 and $680 2nd and 1st prizes) and play for the photo and guaranteed seat. Heads-up play was brief but intense. I want to say the chip lead swung back and forth more than once, but my memory might be playing tricks. The dust settled and we had our monthly champ…  Been seeing a lot of this guy on the wall lately, looks like yet another pic is going up! I want to say a huge thanks to all of you - all 26 of you wow! - who came out in the cold and rain and made poker at Pepper St. a great time as always. Thanks for keeping it funky and fun! Our next monthly event is Omaha/8, so I know the numbers will drop a bit, but not too much I hope! It’s always a great time. $60 entry as always, plus a $20 Last Longer if we keep the format Fix Limit as we have for almost a decade. I’m thinking about switching to Pot Limit, I will likely poll on our private Facebook group, so be sure to email or text if you don’t do socials and you have an opinion on this. Very much looking forward to some non-NLHE action, don’t forget as with all Mix events this one is worth double Player of the Year points. Very much looking forward to it, hope you can make it! Until then, peace and we out! |
