Season 28 Week 2

Season 28 Week 2

This week the VPL hosted a bakers dozen.

13 players sat down for their luck at the prize.

Even though these numbers are lower from last week, don’t get it twisted because this was no quick tournament.

The tournament ended around 12:00am with the blinds at 500/100.

This was ironic because last week with 20 people was one of the quickest tournaments at the VPL which ended around 11:20.

Week 2, was the last week of 2010.

That means that January 4, 2011 will start the player of the year points race.

There will be a listing of the points in the sidebar. Top 10 each week will get points.

Back to the action on hand.

Where should I begin…………..oh yeah, the bubble list:

Joe, Alan, Andy and James.

This list contains one previous qualifier: Andy.

There will be at least one new qualifier this week.

Who had the magic pin to pop the bubble?

This week, going out in 4th place was……………Andy.

With Andy going out in 4th means that there will be TWO new qualifiers.

We now proceed to the money list:

James, Alan and Joe

Should I being a new subject before listing the 3rd place finisher?

I could begin with how crazy the night was or start talking about with the lower numbers there has been lower drama.

Or I could say that March 2011 will be the 5th year of the VPL.

But I won’t do any of those things.

Now onto the subject at hand……………….3rd place.

Exiting the table, in 3rd place with a win of $31 was Alan.

This means that we have come to our new qualifiers: Joe and James.

Before I announce who the winner of week 2 was I have to talk a little bit of this heads up battle.

First off, we have two veterans of the VPL squaring off on the felt.

It does take skill to make it to top two and win a tournament.

Not taking away from either one of the participants skill level, but this week came down to plain luck.

With one person going all-in and being called with the losing hand, they would hit the river and survive.

Both players hit the river to save their tournament life at least two time EACH.

It was pretty crazy.

Okay, now time to the announcement at hand..

Coming in 2nd place with a win of $52 and a set at the TOC was……….Joe.

With that, I announce the winner of week 2, with a win of $104, the chip and a seat at the TOC was James.

Congratulations to both James and Joe for qualifying for the TOC.

What will 2011 bring to the VPL?

Only one way to find out…………………come and play.

Good luck everyone.

Season 28 Week 1

Season 28 Week 1

What a week to start off the new season.

This week by the break, the VPL was host to 20 people.

With one person coming in as we were coloring up. You couldn’t get any closer than that.

I know I say this every week, however, this week proved to be crazy with action.

I don’t just mean a lot of betting, but the cards that people were showing were insane.

I understand that there is no 1 way to play poker………….but WOW.

We had multiple handed pots, big pots, small pots. Sometimes it seemed like money was just being exchanged around the table. (HaHa I know that’s exactly what happens when you play poker……….but this week was more strange than usual)

Here is another example on how it was a little different.

Okay, we had 20 people. That’s 3 tables of poker action, however, the tournament ended around 11:20. That by itself is crazy.

This next part is the information that everyone is looking for.

People, I present……………………..the Bubble List:

There are always 4 names on this list (when the attendance is 20 and lower).

This week is no different. I now present you with the following names:

Brandon, Andy, Joe and David SL

Bowing out gracefully after about 3 hours of play was Brandon.

We are now one step closer to crowning a winner of week 1.

This next rung on this ladder is the money list, which I present to you now:

Andy, Joe and David SL

The question now becomes who will be the first two qualifiers for season 28’s TOC.

Keep reading, I have an answer for that question.

Leaving the table in the 3rd position with a win of $48 was Joe.

As we continue to climb this ladder the next rung is heads-up.

Congratulations to both David SL and Andy for being the first two players to qualify.

The last hand went something like this (and if I’m wrong, I’m sure Joe will let me know).

Before that I want to give a big THANK YOU to Joe for dealing the heads-up.

The VPL rule is that when the tournament is heads up there is a 3rd party dealer.

Now back to our regular scheduled program:

Last hand:

Andy moves all-in.

David SL says (I’m paraphrasing here)”Screw it, I’m tired. I call”

Andy is the chipleader at this point.

Andy shows K J and David shows 3 5

The flop comes A 5 10.

David hits a pair on the flop to take the lead.

But don’t celebrate too early, because the turn brings a Q for Andy to seal the deal.

David SL leaves in 2nd place with a win of $80.

We crown our first champion for Season 28.

With a win of $160 and the chip it was Andy. This is Andy’s first win at the VPL.

What will next week bring?

Don’t forget starting, January 4, 2011, we start keeping track for Player of the Year.

Top 10 each week get points.

Good luck everyone.

Season 27 Tournament of champions

Normally the TOC has a video. This week I wasn’t feeling very well so you will have to read about tourney.

Season 27 Tournament of Champions had a total of 15 players.

Among this group there are people with 1, 2 and 3 bracelets.

There are people fighting for their first bracelet.

The first level we didn’t see anyone go down.

In the next level (10-20) we saw the first casualty of the night. It was 3 time bracelet winner james.

The next level (15-30) saw another bracelet winner find his way off the table (Alex).

After the break, two victims fell prey to the game of poker at 25-50 (David SL and Valerie).

At the level 50-100, there was plenty of action. 4 people were dropped (Clay, Todd, Brandon and David P)

At this point there were 7 players left:

TC, Scott, Michelle, Jason W, Steve, Janna and Alan

Out of this group there are two previous bracelet winners (TC -2 and Alan-3).

75-150 was the doorway that led Michelle off the table.

100-200 Brought Scott his ticket off the table.

At this point we are at the Money Bubble:

TC, JasonW, Janna, Steve and Alan

The person who popped the bubble, leaving in 5th place with 0.00 was………TC

Money time: Jason W, Steve, Janna and Alan

One of these players could win their first bracelet or history could be made if Alan wins his 4th bracelet.

At the level of 300-600 we saw Janna bow out with a win of $70.

Next to leave the table at the same level was Jason W with a win of $105.

That means that we are now heads-up: Steve and Alan

Will it be a first bracelet win or a fourth bracelet win.

With an all-in and a call, plus both players pairing one of their cards on the flop we have a 1st place and a 2nd place.

When the dust settled and the river cards was placed , it was Steve coming in 2nd place with a win of $175.

Which means that history has been made.

Alan has become the 1st person in VPL history to win 4 bracelets.

His win earned him $350.

Who will start of Season 28 with a win?

Don’t forget that starting in January , the race for Player of the Year begins.

Good luck everyone!!!!

Season 27 Week 8

Season 27 Week 8

Coming off the heals of a very successful Holiday Invitational, we cap this season 27 off this week with week #8.

Compared to the big turnout we had for the holiday inn, the VPL hosted a modest 17 players for week #8.

Don’t let that fool you, this week was full of surprises. Early outs and surprisingly deep runs.

By the end of of it all, we want to say congratulations to Brandon for winning season 27 points. He totaled 119 points.

For this great feat, Brandon earned himself $267.

Congratulations to Brandon.

Even with two tables of poker action, the tournament lasted a little after midnight.

No sense in putting this off…………the bubble list:

David P, Valerie, Scott and Brandon

With the points secured, Brandon left the table in 4^th place.

Which leads us to the money list:

Valerie, David P, and Scott

Out of this bunch, there is only one previous qualifier…David P.

That means that we will add at least one new name to the TOC qualfiers (maybe two)

In 3^rd place with a win of $40 was Valerie.

Heads up: David P and Scott

This battle ended almost as quickly as it started.

Going out in 2^nd place, with a win of $68 was David P.

That means week 8’s victory, along with chip and $136 went to Scott.

*** Interesting side note here:

Scott came in 2^nd at the Holiday Invitational with a win of $442.

And now 1^st time playing this season, takes down week 8 with a win of $136.

For a total of $579 in two weeks.

How will he do at the TOC?

Will he take it down? Will he make some more money.

The only thing that is for certain is that you have to come and play to find out.

There are officially 14 players qualified for the TOC:

Brandon, David P, TC, Michelle, Jason W, Todd, Janna, Bill, Andrew, Alex, Scott, Quentin…..two points qualifiers are Bryan and Alan.

Good luck everyone.

2010 Holiday Invitational

December 5, 2010

Part 1

Part 2

Holiday Invitational 2010

Sunday!!! Sunday!!!! Sunday!!!!!

2010 Holiday Invitational

Sunday December 5th, 2010

Valdez Casino

1:30

Be there before 1:15 to receive the early bonus.

Add-on of $10 for 1,000 chips at the break

Same rules apply for the holiday inn as with any tournament.

Same bonus rules.

Be there before 1:15 to pay and draw for your seat to receive the 200 chip bonus.

The add-on will be at the break. You must make it to the break to qualify for the add-on.

If you bust before the break, you will be out of the tournament.

Season 27 Week 7

Season 27 Week 7

This was it! The last chance to qualify for the Holiday Invitational!

This week the VPL was host to 19 players.

This week was interesting because at the break, there was only 2 players out of the tournament.

However, once the blinds hit 75-150, they started dropping like flies.

The tournament was completed around 11:50pm.

A tournament ending before midnight at the VPL, that very rarely happens.

Stranger things have happened at the VPL.

The only constant thing you will hear at the VPL is “Wow, did that really just happen?”.

We started off strong with 3 tables of action.

Of course, 3 tables becomes 2 tables. Then 2 tables turns into the final table.

Then with half of those people gone………………we’ve got the bubble list.

This week the bubble list had: Andrew, Michelle, Janna and Jason W.

This is interesting because Janna and Jason W have previously qualified for the TOC.

Will there be a new qualifier? Two?

Which one will pop the bubble, a previous qualifier or a non-qualifier……..

At this point it became the battle of skill, patience and short stack play.

The answer is………………..a non-qualifier.

This week the bubble king was Andrew.

The evolution of the bubble list is that it blossoms into the money list:

Janna, Michelle and Jason W

The question still remains, will there be a new qualifier?

Coming in 3rd place with a win of $48 was………..Janna.

So the answer to the questions is: Yes, there will be at least one new qualifier this week.

After the money list retires, it transforms into Heads-Up: Michelle and Jason W

After a few hands it was over.

With the final all-in and call, coming in 2nd place with a win of $80 was Michelle.

That means that the final man standing for week 7, with the chip, and $161 was Jason W.

Congratulations to Michelle for qualifying this week.

Going into the money list, Jason W had a chip a good chip lead over Michelle and Janna.

The action does not end here folks.

In fact, the plot now thickens.

With Michelle qualifying this week it opens up the race to who will be the two non-points qualifiers.

There is only one more week left.

Bryan has the 1st spot pretty well secured.

Now the 2nd spot difference is only one point.

The fight for the seat is with James (70 pts) and Alan (69pts).

If they happened to tie, they both could possibly get a seat in the TOC.

Wait, there’s more!

If they both happen to qualify, then someone new could sneak up and get the seat.

Who will be the next qualifiers.

Who will be the top two points qualifiers.

So many questions, not enough answers.

Come next week and see.

Good luck everyone.

Week 8, the VPL starts a new pot for the 2011 Holiday Invitational!