Season 4 Gets Underway

Several players were chomping at the bit to get started on season 4, which was originally planned to start in September. In a Moses Malone type moment, we were accompanied at the last minute by our illustrious season 2 champion, MiniMuth. Too scared to come back in season 3 to defend is title, he's apparently been reading poker books, taking notes on his opponents and is moving ever closer to being able to rightfully claim "I am absolutely without a doubt the best poker player in this room!"

Action got underway in the newly upgraded poker palace deep in the back-woods of Kirkland. With last season's additions and MM coming back, the league stands at 14 participants in season 4. We were minus Motown (has some kind of event coming up), TheCanuck (parents visiting is no excuse to miss poker), and Mojo (cancelled two hours before the tournament started and owes everyone $20).

With 11 players we split into two tables. I started at the green table and don't remember very many exciting hands during the rebuy. Everyone seemed to be playing tighter than normal - we ended up only having four rebuys during the first hour of play. One hand of note - I was on the button with Q4s. I don't fold during the rebuy period, and Q4s is a monster compared to some of the crap I had been playing. StillNotFat decided to raise minimum from late position and got about a billion callers (okay, 5 callers). The flop came down something like T74 with two hearts (I had hearts). SNF bets again, and I call knowing I have more outs than God. The turn comes another 4 (not really the out I had in mind, but good enough). SNF comes out betting and once again I just call trying to trap. DoctorLove comes along for the ride. The river is... the case 4. Yikes - now what do I do. Doctor checks - SNF pushes all in for about 1700. I figure if I raise here I'm only going to chase out my other customer, so I flat call. Doctor calls with JJ (where's the raise man, this is the REBUY period!). SNF shows KK and I take it all down with quads.

The last hand during the rebuy period saw Kattaclysm pushing all in blind with his last 1800 chips and being called two ways. I don't remember exactly what he had, but he was way, way behind (something ridiculous like 53o versus JJ from Sunshine's Bitch). He ended up with some kind of straight, tripling up just before the rebuy ended.

Once the rebuy ended we saw an unbelievable flurry of deuce-deuce hands. The bonus stood at $100, an all-time high. Meatsock tried first unsuccessfully to take down a pot with 22. Amazingly, only two hands later he came out betting into a T500 pot with T1000 and took down the pot uncontested, showing the 22 and taking the $100 bonus. Two or three hands later DoctorLove showed the 22, and about five minutes after that someone on the red table showed it. After four consecutive tournaments with no bonus paid we theoretically could have paid it four times in about 15 minutes.

The glory of the 22 bonus was short-lived, as the 'sock went down in flames a few minutes later (I can't remember his hand or the situation), but he was out 11th.

Not to be outdone, younger brother StillNotFat went out 10th on another hand I just can't remember. I think I may have eliminated him but I can't recall. I wish we had a picture of the brothers on the floor putting their shoes on together to leave... in bed by 9:00 on poker night is their motto! About the same time SillNotFat exited, Coopzilla bounced Dice Man from the red table (no details on this hand) and we consolidated to the final table with 8 players.

With 8 left, SunshinesBitch started going on an impressive run. In the game of "kicking ass and taking names" he didn't take a whole lot of names - just a whole lot of chips. MiniMuth, hoping to make a big impression on the new players, fizzled out in 8th place when his short stack KQo push was called by SunshinesBitch with 66. The coin flipped the wrong way for MM and he left to go review his notes.

In a "I can't f'ing believe this is happening again" moment, it seemed that once again Coopzilla has my number. My twin brother, separated at birth, always seems to have the right combination of cards, position, and chips to do serious damage. I was the chip leader with 31,000 chips and he was in 2nd or 3rd chip position with around 22,000. Coopzilla limps in from early position and I get a free look at the flop with Q3o, blinds were 400-800. The thing about free looks is, they can cause you to face situations you wouldn't normally face. The flop came down Q63. I came out betting about the pot (3,000) wanting to protect the split two-pair. Coop smooth calls the 3,000 as does SunsinesBitch. The turn is a harmless deuce. I decide to put more pressure on and come out with T6,500. Coop ponders for a moment and mumbles "all in". SunshinesBitch folds, and I don't have much to think about here. I call, already counting his chips in my stack. I figure him for the KQ, or maybe even AQ. He turns over pocket 33, showing me the set with the case 3 coming on the flop. Ouch... only a Q can save me and it doesn't come. That pot would have given me about half the chips in play. Instead I was left with 9,000 and blinds moving to 500/1000. Two hands later, down to 7,500 I pushed all in with 88 and was called by SunshinesBitch with KJ. The J on the flop was enough, but another came on the turn leaving me with two outs. Once again going out in a blaze of glory, from chip leader to bust in three hands, no help came and I went out 7th (and SB took the $50 bounty).

SunshinesBitch continued his assault, busting his third consecutive player when DoctorLove decided to push it all in with 99 on a flop of K77, only to be shown, of course, K7. The 'docta out 6th.

Getting very short stacked HumpinHorses limped in with QJ, giving Kattaklysm a free look at the flop with a monster 52o. It took a big blind special, and an extremely short stack to create the rarest of occurrences, someone getting busted by Katt. The board showed 52XXX at the end and HH busts out in 5th against Katt's bottom two.

With even more support for a possible name change, Jodizzle (aka "Bubble Girl"), put in a brave bluff at the wrong time. Seeing a cheap flop with Q7s and blinds at 1000-2000, there was 6000 in the pot with the flop showing 985 rainbow. Acting first 'dizzle pushed all in for her last 7500 chips and Coopzilla happily called with 76, having flopped the nuts. A potentially great play, thwarted by some bad timing. Jodizzle out 4th with some valuable DDR points but no cash.

Down to the money, the final three players were Kattaklysm and Coop with relatively similar stacks, and SunshinesBitch with a truly monstrous pile of chips. In one of the fastest three-way finishes in tournament history, it was over in three hands. Katt made a stand immediately with his short stack and 98s. SunshinesBitch called with AJ (monster stacks, big aces... the guy was unstoppable). The flop was harsh with both an ace and jack, Katt busts 3rd.

The heads up battle lasted two hands. SunshinesBitch limped from the button with A2 and Coopzilla saw a free flop with 83. It came down A86 and Coopzilla pushed immediately (gotta say, good play short-stacked Coop). Unfortunately for Coop, SB had the ace, and it held up giving him is first DDR victory.

The total prize pool was $520. With $20 taken out for the DD bonus, $50 for the bounty, and $50 for the champion prize pool, the remaining $400 was presented to the winners:

3rd Kattaclysm $60
2nd Coopzilla $120
1st SunshinesBitch $220 (and $50 for the bounty)