I'm back, and we are saying bye to the Herrings!

Thankfully I am back from Iraq a few months early!!! Just in time to say good bye to J and Laura Herring. As is tradition I will send them off "(Poker) Playa Style" with an event of their choosing. This time it will be a $30/30/30 re-buy. Same format as before (initial buy-in 1k, rebuy 1k, add-on 2k) and same blind structure. I have room to seat 30, so pre-register to reserve your seats!! Show up between 1800-1845 to pay and claim your pre-registered seat. If there are unclaimed seats by 1845 I will open them up to general registration. Feel free to invite a friend!

As usual, cash games will be played following the tourney "till"

See you there, good luck gamblers!

Rex Reigns...

Rex reigned Saturday night and ravaged his competition at the Farewell Freeze-out. Actually, the final 5 worked out a chop that was agreed upon by all involved. Of course, another way to say it is that the other 4 surrendered to Rex and his dominating position. Rex was so far ahead that the other 4 gave him 40% of the prize pool and split the remaining 60% equally between them (that's right, Rex earned about the same amount as he would have if he won outright). Since Rex is leaving before I get back, this was his last tournament at my place--and there really isn't a better way to go out! Congrats Rex and good luck at future tables.

This will be the last tournament of the year, but I look forward to getting back and starting again next year!! Thanks to everyone for coming out and making this another successful tournament (and cash game--that again ended after the sun came out for the day).

OK, 1 more--Farewell Freezeout!!

OK, I'm squeezing one more tourney in before I go (Thanks Lynn!). This Saturday, freeze out tourney, optional bounty. Sign in between 6PM and 6:45 PM. Cards in the air at 7PM. Starting chip count 5K. Some snacks and beverages provided--but as always feel free to bring your own food/drink. Also, feel free to drink adult beverages--but have a plan to get home. Naturally a cash game to follow.

Mike Mangles...

For the second tourney in a row Andy saw heads up action... this time a new Champ was crowned. In the end Mike B. was the last man standing in this deep stack tournament. The pivotal hand came when Mike looked up Jorge's bluff and raked a HUGE pot. After that it was smooth sailing for Mike as he rode his large chip lead all the way to the end. Congrats Mike, well played.

As usual the cash game went well into the wee hours of the morning, in fact, if Shane didn't have to work we may still be playing now! This will likely be the last tournament before I leave for Iraq, but I might try to get in one more cash game!! Thanks to everyone for showing up and helping make another successful event.

I was able to play a deep stack tourney because I ordered about 400 more chips. I'd like to take a moment to give a plug to www.HoldemPokerChips.com . If you are in the market for some high end chips I definitely recommend them. Their customer service is superior, their prices are fair, and Michael supports our troops by offering FREE shipping to APO.

2nd Annual LCN (La Casa Nostra) Tournament

Believe it or not, it has been a year since I started running games at my place. The first tournament was dubbed La Casa Nostra Inaugural and Sonny D. captured the title of Champion! So now it is time for LCN II and a new champ will be crowned as Sonny D is no longer with us (no, he wasn't "whacked", he moved away). This year we have two options:

Option A: a bigger buy-in Freeze out (double my last freeze-out buy-in)

Option B: Re-buy tournament (Same stakes as Mike B's tourney last weekend)

Obviously my preference would be to make it "special" and go for the larger buy-in freezeout, but I need at least 20 to make it happen. If we go with option A, I will buy a one troy ounce, 100% Sterling Silver, card protector/coin and award it to the winner. The front will have a small design and "Name-2nd Annual La Casa Nostra Champion" encircling the design. On the back will be the winning hand. Obviously this won't be awarded at the tournament, it will take a few weeks to produce... but in 4-6 weeks the winner will have tangible bragging rights!!


The tourney will be 22 Mar 08. Time TBD (based on format), starting chip count TBD (based on format).

Please let me know if you want option A or B ASAP!!

Andy Annihilates...

Once the field of 30 was paired down to 5 the contestants formulated an equal five way chop, but reserved about 3% of the total prize pool and played for the remaining cash. Andy emerged the champ just a few minutes later. The evening was a big success with the tournament ending around 12:15 AM. The cash game continued on until after 7 AM.

Thank you to everyone for coming out and making the event a success.

February Freeze-Out!!

We are going to change things up a bit and play a freeze-out tournament this weekend. We'll play at 7 PM on Saturday. Seats will be limited (probably at 30) , so if you want to guarantee yourself a spot be sure to RSVP.

As usual, we will have cash games to follow!

Call me/email me if you need details, directions, or would like to RSVP.

Starting Chip count = 2000
Round length = 20 min.

5/10
10/20
15/30**
25/50
50/100
75/150*
100/200
150/300
200/400*
300/600/25 (ante)
400/800/50
500/1000/75**
1K/2K/100
2K/4K/200
4K/8K/400**
5K/10K/500

* 5 min break
** 15 min break with chip color up/race off

Nick Tramples the Competition

Who says 9 4 off suit is a trash hand? Certainly not this guy! Not only did Nick win the whole thing with this hand, he also ended the tournament lives of 3 others with the very same hole cards. In our largest re-buy tournament to date Nick blasted through a field of 30 and took down a rather sizable prize (also the largest to date).

It was a great way to send Ken and Bobby Womack off. In fact Bobby took home some of the prize money, making his move a little easier. We played about 15 hours of poker and spread 11 satellites to the main event. Thank you everyone for showing up and making this a successful event. Ken and Bobby, good luck at future tables and life.

Ken's Going Away Re-buy!!

Buckle your chin strap and put your game face on, it looks like this one will be BIG! Come out and say goodbye to Ken "Crazy KZ" Zapatos on Saturday "Player" style. We are pulling out all the stops with all day satellites starting at 1 PM. The main event will be a re-buy tournament and will kick off at 8 PM. So far there is a lot of interest and I think we may shatter our all-time largest prize pool. I don't know if it will come to this, but if it is "too" popular I will cap the entries at 40.

If you can give me a call or email and let me know if you will be coming, and if you plan on bringing friends (always OK). If possible bring a folding chair or two--Mike B has already committed to bringing a few, but we may run out. Some food may and beverages may be available in the early afternoon, but you are encouraged to bring your own, or have a plan to get something. Also, you are perfectly welcome to indulge in adult beverages, just have a reliable plan to get home (God knows, I'll be in no shape to get you home).

See you tomorrow and Good Luck (gl for all you internet heroes)...