This all happened far back in the mists of time...have a look!
Prepare to be transported back in time to a magical age when men were kings, women were queens and straights never lost to flushes...
8 September 2006
And now, the end is near...actually it's all over. The last game of the year has been played and the league finally decided (not that it was ever in doubt!). Two new players appeared to mix things up at Si and Sal's, "Not fussed" Martin and "The Mackinator" (both of whom rebought!). It was in fact Martin who fell to "Assassin" Ed in last place, KT beaten by AQ with no help. From then on in it became the "Desperate" Dan show - first victim Sal, Q3 v his A9 with an A coming on the flop. Si was next (though he didn't watch Gray's Anatomy), his Q9 beaten by 67 after a 7 came on the flop. Leon next - TJ beaten by K5 - yes, a K on the flop! Flash had Q2 to try his luck, but the inevitable flopped 8 (plus another on the river for good measure) knocked him out. Ed had QT but cowboys normally don't need any help. However, Dan STILL got his K on the flop!
Then followed an epic struggle heads up, the Mackinator giving as good as he got for 45 minutes and 3 blind levels! It all came to end when the Mackinator's 82 were taken out by Dan's J5 - this time, nothing cam on the flop!
So Dan is the points winner, and close behind eventual money winner Sal. Thanks to all 35 people who have played throughout the year - see you at the 1st anniversary bash!
24 August 2006
The TPT returned to Highbury for probably the penultimate time as no less than 10 runners gazed wistfully out at the Emirates Stadium rising from the depths of Drayton Park and glowing like it had just hit a royal flush. 3 new players joined the table - resident of Highbury Matt "Diamond" Fry, cash game specialist "Dapper" Rob Raven and 7-2os visitor Kwame "Bluffski" LeStrade. The action before the hour was no less than sensational (less than sensational would be what, remarkable? astonishing? anyway...) with a massive 10 re-buys from the table bringing the pot up to the first ever three digit figure (exactly £100). "Dapper" Rob chucked in 3 of them, "Well played" Chloe and Kwame two each, with "Flash" Asher, Matt and "Medium" Dave also chipping in (no pun intended. Alright, there was. It was a bad pun. I'm sorry. But hey, I write this, not you)
Settling down after the craziness of the hour, freezeout took over. So we shut the door. (Ouch, I'm really hitting them today). First to go was, unfortunately, Rob who pushed all-in with AJ to be called by Matt and his Cowboys (Kings). Kwame went next, a total bluff Q5 called by "Medium" Dave with just A6 - A flop and 6 turn and it was his. "Assassin" Ed, who really does need a new nickname, had his 7s beaten by Sal with KJ after a K on the flop and Asher went next with 9s, "Medium" Dave doing the biz once again with A8 and an A on the flop. As if pocket kings weren't enough on his first visit to the table, Matt picked up bullets (Aces) and called Si's all-in with AQ. "Lover Boy" Si out in 6th. It wasn't to last and "More than" Sal kicked into gear by taking him out, pocket 2s v QJ with a QJ on the flop.
Down to 4 and on the bubble it was Chloe to go out 4th, pushing with QK and called by Sal's AJ. The flop came AKQ - Chloe with 2 pair. But an A on the turn gave Sal trips, and the pot. 3rd was Dave, who had been down to nothing from an earlier hand and Sal's favourite A2 beat his J8. Heads up and "Dangerous" Dave Potts lived up to his name by making it nearly all the way. The final hand saw Dave all-in with pocket 8s and Sal call with A5 suited. The river card gave Sal her flush and a massive £59 pay out. Nice one - and not bad for a fiver!
4 August 2006
At long last a brand new venue, with two brand new players (sisters no less). "More than" Sal and "Lover boy" Si's cosy new pad in Camden provided the food, the beer and table...plus the all-important chips (thanks to "Flash" for the housewarming gift). The Amber sisters were quickly into the action at the 9-handed table, Katie taking most of Si's chips with two pair with an audacious piece of acting ("I forgot to look at the board") - or so Si hopes anyway. Great play by Katie in the first hand, but sadly both she and Irena were forced all-in before the hour and had to rebuy.
So, a tasty £55 in the pot and more action round the table than at a Big Brother reunion disco. Sal, genial host that she is, retired first...but not without some excitement as her pocket Aces were cracked in the most dramatic way possible...by Matt "The Mugger's" straight flush of all things!
Seriously, they do happen...
Katie was next to fall, "All-in" Jon living up to his name and using KJ to hit a straight on the river against her A9. "Desperate" Dan looked good when he took out both Si (AT)and Irena (deuces) with his pocket Tens. Sadly for Dan, when "Assasin" Ed moved all-in with nines his AQ was irresistable...but the nines held up. 4 left on the bubble, and Matt missed out when all-in against both Jon and Asher. Flash held Q6, Matt JT and Jon an AK...but the Q on the flop held up for Flash. Flash's stack was still low however, and Ed couldn't believe his luck when he went all-in with KJ...happily turning over bullets to take down the pot.
Heads up it was Jon and Ed (always seems to be the case) and the action moved back and forth for a while. The denoument came when Ed was dealt 89s and Jon a Q5...a pair of 5s on the flop (5d 5s 6s) gave Jon a set but Ed the flush draw...on the turn the Js completed the draw and Ed went all-in. Jon called, looked angry, then perked up as a 6 came out...full-house beats a flush!
TPT is now every two-weeks - the only question is whether the excitement can be contained that long! (answer - yes it can...)
21 July
The TPT returned after a long summer break for some exciting outdoor action as the players once again took to the garden for BBQ, cocktails and cards. Only 6 players at the table but no shortage of action with 5 rebuys during the first hour (two from "Flash"!) so a fat pot awaited the winner. After a quiet night, "Assassin" Ed went first after his Kings were cracked by Matt "The Mugger"'s 78 after he flopped two-pair. "Pistol" Pete was making his first appearance for many months, and perhaps it was a lack of match practice that led him to drop the hammer (72-offsuit), coming up against Asher's AT. "Desperate" Dan went out next, perhaps distracted by Debbie's arrival but also dominated by Asher's A7 with his A6 - 7 on the river meant Dan was drawing dead.
The table had been dominated by "Well played" Chloe throughout ("so what does 'fold' mean...?!") and it was no surprise when she took out Asher on the bubble, though with A6 against 82 he was well in front until two pairs on the board gave Chloe a full house, 8s full of 9s. The damage had already been done however when Chloe took down a monster pot a few hands earlier, forcing Flash to fold a better hand.
Second hand in heads up, Matt happily goes all-in. Chloe calls. Matt turns over his fishhooks (Jacks) looking pleased with himself. Chloe reveals her bullets (Aces) and takes the cash...! "Well played"!
May and June updates
What with the World Cup and the general Summer heatwave, TPT has been taking a well-deserved rest in recent weeks. A couple of games did take place before the footy began...and here's the highlights:
Game 1: With just 5 protaganists this game was still a hard-fought battle, notable for coining Sally's new nickname "More Than" (lucky...!). Notable beats by Sal on her way to the cash included drawing a 2 on the river with A2 against Asher's A9 (with the turn card an Ace) and managing to get Si all-in with 83 against her T6 at the end, taking down the prize money with a T high! Nice one Sal.
Game 2: The first foray into the great outdoors for the TPT brought out a special guest player - 7-2 Offsuit's Dave Potts. "Dangerous" Dave set the tone for the evening by going all-in on the first hand against Matt "The Mugger" and the fun didn't stop there. By the end of the re-buy period he had rebought and topped up, with "Assasin" Ed, "Flash" Asher and Matt all re-buying as well.
"Well played" Chloe was in the mood for some action and knocked out a good deal of players along the way. "Desperate" Dan didn't seem to be a danger until he took out Matt on the bubble, his 75 beating Matt's deuces with a 7 on the river! Heads up, Chloe's 69 was beaten by Dan's queen(nudge nudge wink wink).
A trip down memory lane - the first ever TPT match report!
15 September 2005
The inaugural Flash Asher's Tottenham Poker Tournament took place on 15 September at the new multi-million pound International PokerDome, Tottenham. Small bets and constant checking marked the nervous early exchanges but the rapidly increasing blinds soon led to frenetic betting action. Chips flew across the table faster than a primary-school food fight as one-by-one the Playboy cards proved too distracting for the players and they bowed out to leave "Flash" Asher, the genial host, "Medium" Dave in his "hat" and Israeli "Uzi" Inbal as the last three standing. Asher, having bought his way back into the tournament, succumbed early on to leave the lovers to fight it out between them. Dave may have been the eventual winner on the night, but the real winner was clearly the game of Poker.