NLOP Weekly Championship 23: Six-Play to Sunday

National League of Poker now offers daily "six-max" tournaments, where every table has no more than six players.  We did exceptionally well in that format Saturday night, finishing fourth in a 397-player tournament.  Alas, only first place won prize money -- but that strong showing qualified us for the Sunday night NLOP weekly championship.  Yet alas again....

:00 IN: Connection problems plague us right off the bat -- again! We're not fully functioning until :10, and use a round of blinds in the process.

 

:10 IN: We have 9-K.  The flop is 9-A-4.  We make a probe bet of 40 with middle pair, and get raised 120.  We dare to call.  The turn is 3.  This time we check, and again dare to call our opponent's bet of 140.  The river is 10.  We check once more, prepared to fold -- but are delighted when our opponent checks.  He only has J-5!  Hanging tough wins us $840.

 

:11 IN: We have 8-5 of hearts in the next hand.  The flop is 9c-Ah-3h, and we call a minimum bet of 40.  The turn is 3s.  A player bets 240, and we try to call with a flush draw -- but the computer doesn't accept our click, and we're timed out!  Yet it turns out that's GOOD, because another player raises and the river is 2s.  This time server problems save us money.

 

:21 IN: We have J-10.  The flop is K-J-2.  We make a minimum bet of 60, and get callers.  The turn is Q.  Everyone checks.  The river is A, and we push all-in with a "Broadway straight."  Our opponents fold, but we win an $800 pot.

 

:23 IN: We have A-8 of clubs under the gun.... and of course, a McAfee update starts on our computer.  We're frozen from play until the half-hour break, although we can briefly see another A-8 in our possession after the blinds that we also can't play.

 

We reach the first break with 1,465 chips - tied for 351st place, with 816 players remaining out of 1,436 who started.

 

:38 IN: We have 10-Q, and call a doubling of the blinds.  The flop is 10-Q-A.... and of course, then we get disconnected again.  We never find out how the hand ended.

 

1:01 IN: After a few potentially good hands fall short at the flop, we have A-5 in the Big Blind.  We go all in, and one player calls with A-J.  Uh-oh.  A lurching connection enhances the drama.... and then come 4-8-8-9-5 right in a row.  We hit the river and somehow stay alive!

 

We stagger to the second break at 1,205 chips.  We're a lowly #289, with 332 players left.  Disconnections return twice after this point, until....

 

1:17 IN: We have K-K, and push with 855 left.  A player calls with 8-7 -- but gets 9-10-6 on the flop to make a dream straight.  The turn and river are 7-J, and we're eliminated in 241st place.

 

NLOP has been offering a Beta test of its new look for several weeks.  Maybe that's what we need to break the cycle of burps and breakoffs, which are making play quite annoying.