Season 21 Week 1

This is it! The start of a brand new season for the VPL.



That's right, Season 21 is under way.



What a way to start off Season 21.



This week the VPL was host to 20 people who sat together in harmoney (well...............I don't know about harmony) to play nicely (well...........I don't know about nicely) and see who would take this weeks prize.



This week was crazy because for the first time in a very long time, the blinds were capped at 500/1000.

* if one more person would have come then the cap would have been raised to 1000/2000.



This week's game also proved to be one of the longest games. This week the tournament finished after 1:00am.



It was the battle of the wills, because when the break came only 2 people were out, but that isn't where we begin our tale this week.



That's right bubble time: Angela, James, Joe and Mark



This week it was James who was the magician and made himself disappear when the bubble popped. He left the table in 4th place earning 18pts.



This week the money got distributed to: Angela, Mark and Joe



Very interesting position here. Who is going to be heads-up?



I would like to see the result of Joe vs Angela.



Unfortunately for me that didn't happen because it was Angela going out in 3rd place with a win of $51.



Head-Up: Joe vs Mark.



This battle was very interesting. Two players with two unique styles of play.



The blinds were capped at 500/1000 before a winner was declared.



There were a few times with an all-in and a call..........only to see a double up.



In the end, there was a final all-in and a call.



When the river hit the board, it was Mark who saw himself on the lower end.



Mark finished in 2nd place with a win of $85.



That means that Joe was the winner of Season 21 Week 1 with the chip, and a win of $170.



Congratulations to Joe and Mark for being the first two players to be qualified for the TOC.



Will next week bring the same action? Only one way to find out.........come to the VPL and try



your luck.



Good luck to everyone and we will see you next week.

Season 20 Tournament of Champions

This was it! The biggest payout for a TOC to date.

A very good TOC.

Shouldn't be any surprise because the VPL is where the best poker is played.

14 players qualified for Season's 20 TOC.

Congratulations to Clay for winning the points. For this great effort, he won $280.

Let's get on with the action.

First to leave the tables was Todd at 15-30.

After the color-up saw a number of people leave:

TC, Michelle, James were the people who 25-50 level was not good to.

At the next level 50-100 the following people saw their chips leave with allins and calls:

Randy, Andrew and Brandon

No one left at the blind level 75-150.

It was a different story at the next level of 100-200:

David and Clay both had to leave.

This brings us to bubble time: 150-300.

This level included: Jeremy, Brian, Alan, Joe and Angela

Going out in 5th place was Brian popping the bubble.

At the same leve it was Jeremy leaving in 4th place with a win of $70.

Next to go (at 150-300) was Angela in 3rd place with a win of $105.

Head's up - Alan and Joe (at 200-400)

Chips passed back and forth but the in the end, there was a victor:

Joe ended his TOC in 2nd place with a win of $175.

That's right we are adding a new bracelet winner to the list.

Congratulations to Alan for winning Season's 20 Tournament of Champions.

This win earned him the conveted bracelet as well as $350.

Congratulations to everyone who participated this season.

Let's hope season 21 brings new records and higher payouts.

On a side note, congratulations goes out to Angela. She has been in 3 TOCs and has taken a 1st, 2nd and a 3rd. She has made the money every TOC she has entered.

Hope to see everyone next season!

Season 20 Week 8

This was the final week of Season 20.

Let me tell you, what a season it has been.

First, The VPL had set a record this season. Week 5, was the first time in history that there was 23 people in one night. That tournament also set a record for the longest tournament. That week ended at 2:06 am. with the blinds at 600/1200.

Now in week 6, again, the record was tied at 23.

This season the record was set and not only tied once but tied twice.

That's right week 8 proved to be one of the biggest weeks to date. Also one of the tightest battles for points to date.

Week 8 had 23 people battle it out for the money. And we are talking big money.

We crowned the winner of the biggest points pots in VPL history.

That winner was.....................................that's later in the blog.

As per the rules, after 20 people there are 5 places paid (4 payouts and the 5th to the points/TOC pot).

This week also showed that after the final card was laid, there were 5 people with over 100 points. This feat was previously unheard of in the VPL.

Okay there are 5 people on todays list. That's right..............the bubble list:

James, Clay, Steve, Randy and David.

Hard fought battle proved to be a little too much for our 5th place finisher.

The person who won 19 points for 5th place, and popping the bubble was Steve.

Money time: Clay, Randy, James and David.

With a win of $31 and a 4th place finish was James.

James ended up with a total of 108 points without having a Q by his name.

Next to leave the table in 3rd place with a win of $39 was Clay.

That means the qualifers are David (already previously qualified) and Randy.

Randy is a new qualifier for the TOC.

Going into heads up with a crazy chip lead was David.

The heads up wasn't very long as Randy only had a few bets left, which meant that Randy finished in 2nd place with an impressive win of $97.

That meant that David was the winner of week 8 with a win of $195.

At the end of the tournament, it was Clay who ended up with the most points. He finished week 8 with a crazy 129 points.

This was the biggest points pot to date: Season 20 points pot ended up being $280.

Congratulations to Clay with the win of $280.

Now there are 14 people qualified for the TOC: Clay, Alan, TC, Todd, David, Angela, Brian, Joe,Brandon, Jeremy, Andrew, Randy and the two non-points qualifiers are James and Michelle

What can I say about Season 20. This season has proven to be no less that incredible.

With attendance records being set and tied along with a record for the highest points payout.

Simply put: AWESOME!

Now if all 14 players come to the TOC, the following will be the payouts:

1st - $350

2nd - $175

3rd - $105

4th - $ 75

This is the TOC to win.

Only way to find out who wins. You have to come and see.

Everyone is welcome to come watch. Good luck to everyone.

Let's hope Season 21 sets new records.

New Tournament

Just got the word from Tom in Lamar.

On September 26, 2009 at 1:00 at the Eagles in Lamar.

STRICTLY HOLD'EM.

This tournament will be a hold'em only tournament.

Buy-in will be $100 with no re-buys.

I believe starting stack will be $1,500.

Also at the Eagles at 6:00pm they will have a steak dinner (this will have to be purchased separately from your buy-in).

They also have a cash bar.

I highly recommend this tournament these are a great bunch of guys.

Good luck to everyone who can attend.

Season 20 Week 7

2nd to last tournament for Season 20.

18 players and alot of action.

This week 18 players sat down on the felt to fight it out.

Alot of action. Two very full tables of hungry players.

This week's bubble action has 4 names on the list:

Jeremy, Andrew, Bill and Angela

It was Bill who produced the magic needle this week to pop the bubble. Putting his name in the 4th place spot.

Money time: Andrew, Angela and Jeremy.

Within this group, there is only previous qualifier (Angela).

Chips had to fly and an all'in was called.

Then there was a 3rd place finisher. That 3rd place finisher was Angela with a win of $45.

Heads-Up: Jeremy and Andrew.

Jeremy and Andrew have now qualified for the TOC.

This week's action was about pure poker.

Patience along with skill was tested with this heads up battle.

With any race, there is a 1st place and a 2nd place.

This week the last person to be knocked out was Jeremy. Jeremy's hand was beaten by Andrew.

Jeremy's 2nd place finish earned him $76.

Which means that Andrew was the winner of week 7 with a win of $153 and the chip.

Congratulations to Jeremy and Andrew for being the latest qualifiers for the TOC.

This seasons TOC will be a big payout. Not to mention the points race.

This week it will come down to week 8 to see who will win. 3 players in line for a very big payout.

If you want to know who wins the points, you will have to come to the VPL for week 8.

Good luck everyone, we will see you next week.

Season 20 Week 6

What can I say.

Is it possible to hit a record two weeks in a row?

If you would have asked me last week I would have said impossible.

VPL has proved the impossible.........possible.

That's right! Week 6 has tied the record.

Week 6 tied the all time attendance record for a single week at 23.

However, this week proved to be the week of action.

This week, there were 3 people out in the first set of blinds.

Two people saw their exit at the same time in one hand.

The final two tables were around 10:30.

This action was fast and furious. Glad to report that the tournament did end before 1:30am.

So let's get to it: everyone's favorite spot...........................the bubble.

Michelle, TC, Alan, Mark and Clay

This week was the battle of the wills.

With all-ins and double ups. It was betweeen Michelle and TC to see who was the one to pop the bubble.

One would be down. Then the other would double up.....then the other would steal the blinds.

Finally there was an all-in and a call, then the bubble being popped.

This week the person who popped the bubble was Michelle in 5th place.

Money time: Clayh,k Alan, TC and Mark.

Because there was a battle for the bubble meant that someone had to come into the money short stacked.

That person was TC. He was the one who left he table in 4th place with a win of $31.

In 3rd place was Mark with a win of $39.

Heads-up: Alan and Clay.

One new qualifier (Alan had previous qualified)

The shortstack held his own in this heads up battle but just couldn't hold it until the end.

In 2nd place, with a win of $97 was Alan.

Which meant that Clay was the winner of week 6 with a cash of $197 and the chip.

Congratulations to Clay for winning and qualifying.

The points are still anyone's ball game.

There are still 2 weeks left in Season 20.

Who will win next week? Will the points change?

Only one way to find out. Come and play and take your chance to qualify for the TOC.

Good luck!

Season 20 Week 5

HISTORY! HISTORY! HISTORY! HISTORY! HISTORY! HISTORY!

Oh, did I mention the fact we made history at the VPL on tuesday night.

With a call from Jared, to reserve his seat, with three minutes remaining before the first color up, he made the 23rd person to sit at the VPL tables.

That's right! There was a total of 23 people who made it to the VPL for week 5.

Domino effect: with having the most people at the VPL also meant the largest payout in VPL history..............but more on that later.

This tournament also has the honor of being the longest tournament in VPL history.

The tournament ended with the blinds at 600/1200 (first time at that level) at 2:06am. That's right 2:06. The cash game ended before the tournament did (unheard of)

The play was extreme. Two tables of eight and one table of seven.

The table I was at had extreme action right off the bat. After a few hands into the tournament, there was an all-in and a call. Didn't knock out the player but left him severly crippled.

Coming into the break, there was still three tables of action.

This season has shown, pretty consistently, that after 20 players the payout goes to 5 spots (the 5th going towards the points and TOC).

Season 20 has had only one week with less than 21 (week 2 had 18)

Of course with the big number of players comes the big number of points.

The points race right now is very tight. Only 2 points separate the first three spots.

Now down to the action:

This week's bubble contained the following people: Quentin, Alan, Todd, David and TC

Up to this point, very crazy (and sometimes questionable) poker playing.

Someone had to get the honor of bubble boy.

This week that honor belonged to Todd. He left the tournament in 5th place.

Money time: Quentin, Alan, TC and David.

This is the point where the tournament seemed to just creep.

Everyone was in the money, however, nobody wanted to leave. The chips seemed to be floating back and forth from one player to another.

Finally there was a 4th place finisher.

Alan, gracefully left the table in 4th place with a win of $31.

After Alan, again, it seemed that the table ran into a bowl of jello.

I'm not saying there wasn't action. There was plenty of action. The only problem was that shortstacks were doubling up and then losing their chips again.

The chips went back and forth. The chip lead was a roller coaster ride.

With a 4th place finish, all tournaments must have a 3rd place finisher.

This tournament was no different.

In 3rd place with a $39 win was Quentin.

Heads-Up: TC and David.

David came into the tournament with a massive chip lead.

TC battled back as much as possible but in the end, it wasn't enought.

TC ended week 5 in 2nd place with a $97 win.

Which meant, David, was week 5's winner.

This record finish left him with the chip and an amazing $195 payout.

Crazy Fact of the Tournament: I counted 7 pocket pair of aces and only 2 of them got busted.

Can it get any better, we can only wait and see.

Check the points race and come next week to see who will win week 6.

It could be you!

Good luck everyone.