SuperPoker Sunday

Some of you might remember that I helped to run a Super Bowl Sunday poker tournament on my birthday last year. A friend (not Zerb) and Khanwoman even traveled in for the event!

I wasn't lucky enough to have them come in for this year's event but Scoot from my home game did come out! The buy-in was raised from $50 (last year) to $100 this year but we only lost 8 runners from last year (34) to this year (26).

I ran out of the house hoping to get there about 30 minutes ahead of start time to get everything set up but I was about 1/3 of the way there when I realized I LEFT MY DAMN CHIPS AT HOME. Sigh. I called home and had them ready for me to throw in the car and I was off again at breakneck speed. I still, somehow, managed to show up about 20 minutes early. Scoot helped me get everything set up while I registered and bought-in players.

Last year's winner was noticeably absent even though he'd said he was going to play. Turns out it was his birthday the night before and he was hung over but good. We went ahead and bought him in after a phone call said he was on his way. He was so drunk at last year's final table that he had somebody else put his chips in the pot! Khan was so mad when she got all her chips in good HU and he managed to suckout for the win! Second place still payed a nice $400 though!

We started with 3000 in chips and the blind structure was very slow. Very very slow compared to any casino tournament you will play. We ended up paying the top 5 spots. I used the payout that Tournament Director suggested even though it was a little top heavy for my taste but I just didn't have the time to mess with it.

The first hand I played was AA and I, of course, raised it up. This table was easily the most limp happy table I had ever seen and several players played darn near every hand. One of the "every hand" players called my raise. The flop came out A high with two clubs. I checked intending to check raise and sure enough he obliged me by betting. I raised him 3x his bet and he called. The turn was a blank and I bet out about the pot and he finally folded. Scoot told me later than I must have been thrilled when another club didn't fall knowing I was trying to lose him if he was drawing to a flush.

Brett, last year's winner was blinding off between Scoot and I for the first level. He finally showed up and was pretty quiet until this hand. I raised UTG with KK. It folds around and Scoot in the SB says, "If it was anybody but you I'd play this hand as he mucks." Brett in the BB looks at his hand and says, "I call". Oooooooookay. The flop came 7K5 all clubs! Ewww. He checked to me and I said I was all in - I had him covered. He starts mumbling that he has to call. WTF? Have to call? I knew if he had the clubs he would have insta-called but I really didn't want to see any club in his had since I sure didn't have any but I did have a boat redraw. He ended up calling with QQ - NO CLUBS! I was thrilled. Had he had a club he would have hit it on the river. Woooooot! Turns out Scoot had 77 and would have gone broke to me on the flop! Lucky he folded.

We start having some bustouts - mostly from our table -and I eventually get moved to another table with some very active players with some huge stacks. I go card dead on yet another limp happy table. Every time I pick up a hand it's in the BB after half the table has limped. I ended up sticking it all in preflop once with AA, once with KK and a final time with AQs and get no callers after at least 2 people limped in. The AA hand 4 players had limped in. I was glad to take down just the bets on the table that hand. Ironically, the old hand I would show down the entire day was the KK hand with Brett.

Scoot ends up on my table again when we get down to two tables. He's about a short as me but we managed to outwait a lot of other players and before we know it we are now short stacks at the final table of 9 with top 5 getting paid. I continue to be card fricking dead while Scoot manages to pick up some hands and doubles up once.

We are on the bubble and this one player that is in a regular limit game gets involved in a hand and spews a ton of chips when he gets bet all in on the river. He pays off the guys turned flush with second pair. D'oh! Scoot and I enjoy a look of "I can't believe we just made it into the money on a hand like that!"

I continue to be card fricking dead - notice a trend here? I see a free flop in the BB with 73o vs. an UTG limper. The flop is Kx3 and I thought about shipping it then and there but didn't. The turn was a Q and like and idiot I ship it and he calls me with Q9o. Sigh. At least I made it to the money!

While we were playing the weather was having a field day. It had been thundering something fierce and it had also starting snowing like crazy. It was almost a white out with a good 3-4 inches of snow on the ground. I finally said I needed to get going home; they swapped out my equipment so I could leave. Once on the road I noticed the most amazing sheet lightening I had ever seen. IT WAS SNOWING AND LIGHTENING! And there were an absurd number of people on the road. The Super Bowl was going to kick off in about 30 minutes and all these people were on their way somewhere. Go figure.

I did make it home safely with my ill gotten gains. Mike, the host, was kind enough to pass me some $$ for organizing and running the tournament which I really appreciated. I have already purchased my plane ticket to Vegaspalooza '08 so that extra cash will come in handy. I'm going to be out during the WSOP, June 6th-14th, so come join us Effers and Ante Uppers if you can!