PSP 2025 TOC

After a hellacious 2024 that was cut short, and an incredible 2025 that blissfully seemed like it would go on forever - we finally reached the conclusion of the latest epic season at Pepper Street Poker, the Tournament of champions.

17 eager gamblers filled the garage and we immediately felt the absence of what should have been player number 18.

Our dear Ian is in the hospital and not doing so great - we are praying and will continue to pray for his expected full recovery - but it really really sucks right now.  I do know that Ian would want us to play very much, so that's of course what we did.

Every player starts the TOC with 35K, for every tournament actually won - players get an extra 5K per.  There were only two players this season that were getting 3 extra 5K chips, yours truly and the poker wrecking ball and exemplary human being known as Ian (had he been able to attend).

A few others were getting an extra 10K (Lea Anne, Dan L and Jeff G) and five more had won a single tournament and so got a single 5K chip per.  Allen R (plus it was also his birthday!), Colin, Priya, Jason and Marc S.

The remaining players were invitees - based on their tournament success, attendance and legacy.  Debbie, Dan G, Art, Peter, Stuve, Wiz and Alan S. It should also be noted that Rich was invited and was unable to attend (though he could make the evening cash game) and the legendary M.C. of course also got the call, but had to cancel as he was a bit under the weather.

And here's where I must apologize, action was so hot and heavy right from the jump that I neglected my photographer duties and didn't take a single picture of play getting under way, or for that matter any play at all until it was final table time.  Boo!

Suffice it to say, everyone had a blast and the chips were flying early as is typically the case in a free-roll.  We started right on time at 1pm.

Our second break was the dinner break - around 430pm, and your host brought the pizza naturally.  Shortly after chow-down the final table bubble burst - and I finally remembered to take some pictures!

Yours truly was having a great tournament, playing well yes - but ultimately winning most of the flips and largely getting hit by the deck.

Interestingly there were only 4 of us out of 9 who had started with bigger stacks, 5 players had begun with the 35K min - and several of those were in serious contention.

All the same, attrition at the FT was indeed swift, as average stack was just over 20 bigs - we'd started with a ton of chips but the blind structure was designed to find a winner after about 6 hours and we were right on target as 7pm approached we had lost all but 3 players!

Stuve was our unfortunate bubbler, he who loves tournaments so much, finishing in 5th with as much good humor as he could muster, which to his credit was a decent amount.

We had intended as always to just pay 3, but decided instead to do a safety for 4th place and give them their money back.  Oh, it was a free-roll, so we landed on $50 (20 taken from 1st and 2nd and 10 from 3rd) and Lea Anne, though not super pumped to finish in 4th was indeed happier than she would've been if she'd busted and collected only a hearty handshake for her efforts.

And then there were three -

Debbie had put on a poker master class all day, and grinded up quite a stack from her min starting chips.  She had also run well of course, and her luck just happened to run out a bit at the end.  Though it had seemed at times she was destined to win the whole thing, in the end she had to settle for $180 and third place.

I should also mentioned that a gang of cash game players arrived right on time at 7pm to fire up the felts and get it going.  Some players were returning TOC bust outs, and others were new arrivals eager to get their gamble on, including Mr. Rich who had been unable to make the free-roll.

As Jeff and I entered into heads up play (he with a 2 to 1 chip lead) I just felt so gratified; not because I had a shot at taking it down - but because I had a garage full of players from 1pm likely through midnight, that were joyfully partaking in the poker streets, both tournament and cash.  How blessed am I?

New arrivals included Jeff M, John L, Mr. Brent and George J who hasn't been seen in these parts in a minute!  TOC returns included Peter, Wiz, Allen R, Lea Anne, Colin, Priya and Alan S.  (More on Alan S in a minute)

Oh mighty trophy, how I covet thee...

Jeff started off, as he should have, super aggressive and I had to fold a handful of times before I realized I was too short to wait and would have to get it in sooner rather than later.  He opened again for the umpteenth time and I ripped with A7 off suit and prayed.  He called quickly with broadway cards and somehow my hand held.

This was THE hand of the tournament for me, just a huge 60/40 flip that I happened to win.  It easily could've gone the other way.   Play continued on, with some chat about a money deal, but that never materialized - at one point I foolishly offered Jeff 1st place money if I could get the trophy, Jeff is such a good friend that he pointed out that I was a moron for basically offering him $200 for a plastic trophy (he said it much nicer of course) and it dawned on me that he was right.  But truth is, we were both fighting hard for the glory and the money meant less than who was going to be the champ.

Anyways, we soldiered on for awhile more, and then eventually the money went in - and you can see the final hand (and the result) in this pic -

I have been on a home (and Moose Lodge) heater of a lifetime this past six months, and this is a real culmination.  To win back to back trophies in the garage is something I never ever counted on as happening.  I can't tell you how humbled I am to take down this tournament among so many excellent and admirable friends as you all.

As the poker nights in the garage wind down over the next month or so (with our last garage tournament scheduled for the 24th in two weeks) I'm sure I will get more and more mushy and unbearably sentimental.  Hopefully you can put up with it.

Meanwhile, the cash games continued on - I tidy'd up a bit before joining in after an hour or so.

Most players made it past 10pm, we had a final hardy group of six (including yours truly of course) who nearly made it to midnight!  Allen R, Priya and myself were the three who had been playing poker for nearly 11 hours.  Dang!

Oh and remember I said I'd go back to Alan S?  Yeah he walked away from the cash game streets as the biggest wiener - a $500+ cash out!  Sorry the free-roll didn't work out, but in the end you won more than I did my friend!  Nicely done!

So that's it for now.  As I'm writing this I was just updated by Ian's dearest friend Becca, there is good news that I will leave to her to share on Facebook in detail - but suffice to say he has improved quite a bit and though still intubated is awake and will have this blog read to him very soon!  

Ian - we love you SO SO SO much man, I mentioned to Becca what a role model you are to me and to others in how you carry yourself at the table - we all want to be like you dude!   Calm and thoughtful, and a hell of a poker player to boot.  Can't wait until you beat this fucking thing and get back after it on the felt.

That's it for now - please keep our compatriot in your thoughts and prayers - and I will post again soon.

Peace and we out!

 

PSP - 2026 - Big Announcement!

 

Friends - all is good all is well, but you need to brace yourself a bit; things are going to change. 

After January there will be no poker at PSP for likely at least the first half of 2026.   Read on to learn why...

THE BIG MOVE

Our 2024-2025 Tournament Of Champions will be Sat Jan 10 - and our FINAL tournament ever in the Garage Around Back will be held on Saturday, January 24 at 1pm!

Birth of the Garage Around Back - 2006

First tournament? 2007

The Garage - 2025

Do not let your heart be troubled, this is in no way shape or form the end of PSP, this is merely a pause in the action because my wife and I are selling our home and moving to a new residence nearby, but away from the end of the runway at the increasingly more active Burbank Airport, away from the traffic on Hollywood way and away from the increasingly Mad-Max-esque border of North Hollywood.

Our house will be on the market by February, and depending on how fast it sells and how fast we find a new place - we could be back on the road to poker in a new place by late summer at the earliest and more realistically by October/November or even December.

We want to stay in Burbank, and if we can't - we will still be in the Valley, hopefully Burbank adjacent to the north, or east.

We want to get away from the airport and we want just a bit more space in the home for my wife's sewing/crafts and a dedicated guest room and indoor laundry facilities. Ideally I am also looking for a better poker space that is temperature controlled, has a separate entrance and it's own bathroom.  I don't know if we will get everything we are looking for, but we are going to give it our best shot.

One possible outcome is that we will find a property that doesn't have the poker facilities I want, but does have the space where we can build one.  If this happens, there's a strong chance that we won't see PSP Poker until 2027.  The good news, in this scenario, is that we will most likely eventually end up in a turnkey facility that should be pretty fantastic.

But before all this happens - 

As mentioned - our Tournament of Champions will be Sat Jan 10 at 1pm.  

And our very last tournament in the garage will be two weeks later, Sat Jan 24, also at 1pm. (THIS COULD ALWAYS CHANGE OF COURSE, but right now this is the plan).  

We will have a bit deeper stack and structure than normal and some special surprises and happenings to celebrate the end of an era.  I really hope everyone, especially those who were longtime regulars back in the day - can make this one, it will be pretty special!

Following this, there will also be a final cash game - the following Friday Jan 30 at 730.  I want this one to be less formal and final, and more a reminder that Poker is a long game, and in the case of Pepper Street, this is not an end but merely a lateral move.

So yes, we are absolutely keeping the wonderfully alliterative name - Pepper Street Poker - no matter what street we end up on!  Pepper Street Poker is not a place, it's people - and the folks who made and continue to make our game great will carry on in new digs!

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And when poker continues - there will be a few changes, nothing too major I think.

Cash Games - 

Starting in the new poker room - we will be changing our "Big Bet" format. This is the once a month cash game that saw No-Limit Hold-Em only for the first three hours, followed by a NLHE/PLO 2/1 mix.

We always had a serious drop in numbers for this game, usually the numbers fell by half.  Hopefully with this fresh format we can recover some interest from players who formerly passed, and maybe some new interest from players who don't care for Fix Limit.   

Going forward instead of NLHE only, this will be a pre-set rotation of two orbits of NLHE alternating with one orbit of a pre-set Omaha variant. The Omaha variants are as follows and in this order as well - 

• Pot Limit Omaha
• Pot Limit Omaha/8
• Big O (9 players max - no burn on river with 9 players)
• SOHE (7 players max)

As always, we play with a single $1 blind.  In Pot Limit games (ie every game except No-Limit Hold-Em) it is $3 to open for "Pot" with no limping behind.  It's $3 plus a dollar for each caller behind if there is limping.  If it is the big blind who is potting, we don't include his/her blind in the total amount. 

The side games will remain - the Nit Game however will change format slightly.  It is, I believe, a gentler version that will still generate action and interest. 

The NIT GAME is now the SQUID GAME 

First, the Squid Game will still go at 930.  Starting at 930 we will keep playing and then finish whatever game we are on (including NLHE if it happens to be that) and then the game will be No-Limit Hold-Em until the Squid Game is concluded, which with this new format is exactly 10 hands.  This will be explained shortly.

Instead of everyone getting a Nit button to start, there will be 10 Nit buttons set aside in a stack.

When you win a hand you win a Nit button.

When all 10 buttons have been won, every player who has not won a button will pay $1 per button to the button holding players.  So the nice thing is, losing player(s) are only on the hook for $10 total each, as opposed to up to $18 in the previous format.  Also a benefit - the Nit Game always only goes for 10 hands. 

When the Nit Game starts, there is no moving of the button beyond it's normal movement.  Play doesn't change order.  When the Nit Game concludes, the button carries on as normal.  The game changes to the next Omaha variant.

This also means that if you win a bunch of Nit buttons, you are going to win potentially quite a bit more.  For example if you win 5 buttons, and there are say 6 players who have no buttons, you're getting $30! (as opposed to $2 max in the previous format).

I really like how this rewards aggression and action, and yet is gentler to the losing player(s).  The most you can ever owe as a losing player is $10, not up to $18 as it was previously.

As always - you are expected to reload if you bust in the Nit Game and honor your commitment to the game by paying out if you lose the game.  If you are unable to reload and/or pay out, the house will pay the $10 you owe and you can pay me later or venmo me.  This is especially so if it means the difference between you leaving and staying for more poker.

The other side game we are keeping, but adding a few wrinkles, is of course Bomb Pots!

BOMB POTS

As before, each player starts the night with one Bomb Pot token that they can play any time they are on the button.

As before, when these tokens are played the button movement doesn't change or alter the order of play.

NEW - For every game we play players now have the option to call either a single board NLHE OR a double board PLO (high only) Bomb Pot - regardless of what the game currently being played is.  There are NO High-Low bomb pots. 

There will also be TWO bonus double board PLO Bomb-Pots, both will high card for the button. (The button returns to where it was after the Bomb Pot hand).

The first Bonus DB PLO Bomb Pot will go at 10:30 - the second will go as the final hand of the evening.

Scheduling

We are keeping our "Big Mix" Dealer's Choice and our "Fix Limit" Fiestas pretty much the same.  As with last year will alternate between all three of these cash game formats (Big Bet, Big Mix, and Fix Limit) every Friday night, up to three Friday nights a month with a Friday off when we are hosting a Tournament the next Saturday. (Holiday weekends also typically don't have poker - Halloween, 4th of July, Thanksgiving, etc.)

During the cooler months we will frequently host 1pm day of pre-tournament cash games and these sessions will be the Big Mix Dealer's Choice format, independent of the alternating Friday night games.

If, God willing, we find ourselves in a temperature controlled poker room, then I'd anticipate most 5:30pm tournaments to be preceded by 1pm mix cash games!

New Fix Limit Ante

One note on our Fix Limit games that require an ante (all the stud variants) - while I love the extra action that a 50% of one full bet ante brings ($1) this is actually wildly out of line with likely every stud game that is still spread in casinos across the country.  The ante should be 10%-25% max of a full bet.  50% is entirely incorrect, and may make more conservative players feel taxed just to play.

I would rather be correct and fair, rather than bend the standards to something that I and other action players prefer.  I love the game playing bigger than $2/$4, but I understand that mathematically it's just straight up wrong, and even worse - I know for sure that it rubs a few players the wrong way.

Going forward, since I don't want to bring fracs back into the game - we will now have a Button Ante - meaning that we will use the button as an indicator of who's turn it is to post the ante for the entire table.  If we are at 6-8 players, the button ante is $4  It will drop to $3 at 4 or 5 handed.   Everything else stays the same - bring in is $1, unless we are in a Kill Pot, then it's $2.

Seating

Finally - maybe an even bigger change, going forward in cash games - we will be drawing for seats.  No more "first-in, last-out" as this gives an advantage to players who can get off of work earlier and/or live closer.   

I've also realized that when we do have two tables, it's almost always the same players at table one and the same players at table two - this means I hardly ever play with Rich or Stuve or Alan S. among others.  I'd really like to make it more random.

I know one of our players often brings a laptop, so they will be given the option of the end seat of whatever table they draw.   I know another player who needs to be in the middle section to see the cards, they will be given the middle seat option or the closest seat available to the middle of whatever table they draw.

Table #2 Dealer

The other wrinkle of course is I will always try to procure a dedicated dealer for table #2, and they of course will get one of the two middle seats at their table.  If no one agrees to do it, then the table can pass the deck and still have a fun night, we did it for over a decade and a half prior to our recent dedicated dealer format, and things worked just fine.

Tournaments - 

Not sure how many tournaments I will host once we are in the new room, but I'd like to keep up a once a month pace, with likely breaks during the WSOP and around the holidays at the end of the year.  As usual, all tourneys will still be NLHE with a $60 entry for a 20K starting stack, with x2 $40 re-entries. The one exception will be our Main Event, which we will likely have in May 2027 - which will also serve as a WSOP Warm-Up with a $100 entry and x3 optional $60 re-entries before level 8.

All tournaments will be No-Limit Hold-Em.  There will very likely be no tournaments in June or July.  I'm always ready for a break in December, but I always forget the Legacy Dealer's Choice Tournament, we will still have Legacy IV come Christmastime for sure!

If you win a tournament (either outright or make a deal) you guarantee yourself a seat in the TOC and a 40K starting stack for that event.

If you don't win a tournament, you may still be invited to the TOC based on your attendance to tourneys and cash games, your Legacy status and any second place finishes.  Invited players get 35K to start.  18 seats total will be available, so that really translates to if you are a regular in cash games and tournaments, you very likely will get the invite.

Winner of the TOC is the PSP Player of the Year.

Once in a blue moon we may forgo a Friday night cash game for a Mix Game Sit-N-Go - if your host is really itching for it, or if multiple other players start asking for it.  These events will not count for a TOC seat, but of course will factor heavily to the invite list for those who participate and those who win the sit-n-gos outright.

One last minor change - for the past 5+ years I've electronically assigned seats.  Starting last month I'm going back to seating cards for players to draw themselves and for me to keep track of everything.  Just removes a bit of work of me entering names and such.  

**********

After we play our final tournament in the garage next month, I will certainly post pictures and thoughts here about all the great memories in the Pepper Street Garage Around Back - going back nearly two decades.

But right now I'd be remiss to forget to mention just how special this last year, 2025 has been to me.

While 2024 was the worst of times, with my wife's hellish cancer ordeal and a heartbreaking lack of poker in my life - 2025 has truly come full circle with Beverly in full remission (just got another stellar 3 month blood panel results as I'm typing this) and the game back in full swing.

So many fantastic cash games, so many exciting tournaments.  Good results for me yes, including a late year surge that saw my poker bankroll grow quite a bit with no less than 4 tournament takedowns (one of them in the garage) - but even more important than winning money (really just the way we keep score) has been the absolutely great times had with all you wonderful people.

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Just amazing, amazing memories from a truly amazing year!  So grateful I have all of you as fellow poker players and good friends!

I am genuinely excited, and a little bit nervous (but in a good way) about the future of our game.  I know we will get there, and when we do it's going to be great!  Can't wait for 2026 to get going, and I'm super eager to get going with a new place for poker!!!

2025.35

 

I thought that tournament poker was all over for 2025, and then I remembered I had a nice shiny trophy to award for the winner of what was supposed to be a yearly event - the Legacy Hall of Fame Invitational Tournament!

Of course we didn't have the event in 2024, because of the aforementioned cancer thing - so I was pretty eager to get it going again this year, despite the scope and difficulty of hosting a dealer's choice event!

I was pretty shocked, that after a year of never cracking 20 players hosting No-Limit Hold-Em events, that at one point we had 24 players coming!  Of course the usual flaking and geriatric memory loss these days (people saying they couldn't make it after all, even after they never responded to the evite, etc) we ended up with only 21, which was perfect across 3 tables because it meant we could play ALL the games!

Playing 20+ different games is challenging enough, but playing AND dealing them as well is a real test of poker expertise!  Thankfully all three of our card slingers were up to the task.   Jumping from stud variants, to pot limit games to draw games - not for the faint of heart!  I myself was in poker heaven, but I imagine there were more than a few folks who were a bit rattled!  Hopefully they still had fun overall.

Early on in the tournament, after the first break - I was felted.  But then I reloaded and on the very next level there was a four way all-in that saw me turn the nuts (with a 4 card wrap in Big O) and my hand held and there was no low and no one else had what I had!  Holy crap!

Yes I had the first greenies of the tournament!  25K chips that gave me a rather commanding chip lead early on!

It was almost 4 hours until dinner break - we had only lost a few folks, so everyone was around for fabulous Dominoes pizza - which was quickly and totally consumed.

Afterwards, as the sun set, we eventually broke the third table and play carried on!

Special shout out to Q for making it all the way from Palmdale!

The final table bubble was long and painful and alas, the two time 2025 champion Lea Anne was the unfortunate bubbler.

I hadn't planned on paying the money bubble (we were paying 6) but looking at a few very short stacks and sad faces, made this grinch's heart grow ever so slightly.  We took 40 from 1st and 2nd and agreed to pay 7th place $80 (entry back) as we got underway with the FT.

The bubble safety was the honorable Mr. Steve A who had expertly remained very active by rocking a shorter stack all the way to the FT.  He scooped up $80 and then came back for a less candid FT picture.

The next out ended up being NOT one of the tiny stacks, but rather one of the mediums - the one and only Allen R. who was brutalized in PLO, flopping top and middle pair only to run into top top.  Boo!   Allen graciously made his exit with $80 and a hearty handshake.

And then there were five - and I managed to accumulate an even bigger stack as Alan S., he of the baptism by fire school of mix game dealing - got to take home $160 for his trouble.   Well done good sir!

We played on for a little bit and I was thinking I had so many chips I might want to look at what an even money chop might mean if I got the trophy.

No sooner had this thought entered my head than the math minded Peter pointed out that it would be $450 apiece if we divvied up the spoils.   Everyone it turns out was on board, so I was super happy to make a deal (with remaining payouts ranging from $280 to $620) and lock up a nice score, and more importantly lock up the trophy!

And so it was, ranging from 4th to 1st in chips - Jason, Peter, John L and yours truly took home $450 and I snagged this bad boy -

This would be my 3rd tournament win this season (second in 2025) and I am beyond grateful and humbled to have run so well and to take down this super cool tournament with all the games of the pokers.

It's been an amazing year indeed - I will be previewing what's in store for next year in an upcoming post soon.  For now I will just say that our next event is our TOC on Jan 10 (with a cash game hopefully to follow) and our next regular tournament after that is right now scheduled for Jan 24.

Can't wait for the new year to start, in the meantime I hope you all have the happiest of holidays and a safe and fruitful new year!   See you on the felt soon!

Until then, peace and we out!