October Senior Championship: Second-Hour Sensation

The timing of September's National League of Poker Senior Championship was lousy for us - on the evening of the Biblical Day of Atonement.  Perhaps out of guilt, NLOP changed the date of the October championship.  It was moved from Tuesday to Thursday night.  With baseball's World Series on TV in the background, we chased a title of our own....

:00 IN: We open the evening with 8-A.  The flop is 4-6-A.  We bet 90, the table folds, and we have a quick $210 win.

:14 IN: After a couple of showdown losses, we have J-K under the gun.  The flop is 3-10-Q.  The table checks.  The turn is A.  An opponent bets the minimum 40, and we raise to 140 with a "Broadway straight." He folds, and we win a $320 pot.

:16 IN: We have a lowly 3-5 in the Small Blind.  The flop is 5-2-Q.  The table checks.  The turn is 10.  We bet the minimum and get a caller.  The river is 3, giving us an unlikely two pair.  We bet 200, our opponent folds, and we win a $440 pot.

:27 IN: We have J-8 in the Small Blind, and call when someone doubles the blind to 120.  (Everyone started with 2,500 chips, allowing more room for play.)  The flop is 6-9-J.  We bet the minimum, and get callers.  The turn is 5.  We bet the minimum again, and get called.  The river is a third Jack for us!  An opponent's bet of 60 brings a raise to 260 from us.  They fold, we win $1,250.

We're actually below the starting level at the first break: 2,310.  Blame it on promising cards which haven't turned out too well.  We're in 439th place.

:35 IN: We return from the break with 10-2 of diamonds.  The flop is Kd-6d-Ax.  We call a minimum bet of 60.  The turn is 2h, and we call a minimum bet again.  The turn is 5c.  We're disappointed.  But the table checks - and our pair of 2's wins!  "Did not expect that" we write while claiming $570.

:46 IN: We have Q-J.  The flop is a dream-come-true A-10-K.  We bet the minimum 150 with a straight - but the table folds, so our win is a mere $675. Awwww....

:47 IN: The next hand brings J-J.  An opponent doubles the blind, and we easily accept.  The flop is 2-2-3.  We bet the minimum, and get called.  The turn is Q.  Now our opponent bets 250, and we call.  The river is 8 - and our foe bets 340.  Fearing the worst (a pair on the turn), we surrender and take a big loss.

Misses after that bring us to the one-hour break with only 1,120 chips.  We're in 492nd place - and with 508 players left, that puts us near the bottom.

1:24 IN: After a lot of cautious folding and one Big Blind claimed in a walk, we play 8-6 of hearts in the Small Blind.  The flop is 5-4-7 for a dream straight!  We bet 300, the table folds, and we win $1,450.

1:25 IN: The next hand brings 10-A of diamonds on the button.  The flop is A-4-A.  We bet 300 again, the table folds again, and we pick up $1,300.

1:26 IN: The next hand brings 9-9.  The flop is 8-8-2.  We bet 300 and get callers.  The turn is 8, giving us a full house.  We somewhat aggressively bet 300 again, and get called.  The river is 5.  We bet another 300, get called -- and find our opponent has A-K!  It's a big win of $3,100.

1:34 IN: The next Big Blind gives us 4s-6x.  The flop is 2-A-3 - all spades!  The table checks.  The turn is 8s, securing a flush.  We check again, as does the table.  The river is 5s!  Now we bet 400, get called -- and show our STRAIGHT FLUSH, which wins a true "Big Blind Special" $2,580!  (But no one congratulates us at all.)

1:35 IN: Next comes the Small Blind with 7-7.  The flop is J-8-6.  Everyone checks.  The turn is 7!  We bet the minimum 400, the table folds, and we wrap up a huge round of blinds by winning $2,450/

1:36 IN: But wait, there's more!  Now the dealer button brings an ugly-looking 2-7 of spades.  The flop is K-Q-Q.  Everyone checks.  The turn is 7.  We bet 400 and get called. The river is another 7!  That's a "running boat," but we check in caution -- yet still prevail to win $2,210.

What a third period - ending with us at $8,235, more than a sevenfold gain in 30 minutes!  Now we're 97th, with 297 players left.

1:46 IN: We have K-J under the gun.  The flop is J-9-T.  A player bets 600, which leads to an all-in raise by someone else in the neighborhood of 2,350.  We dare to call with top pair.  The turn is Q, giving us another straight!  We bet 600, and get called.  The river is 5.  We bet 2,000, one opponent folds - and the player who pushed missed it all with A-8.  We win $8,255, and knock out an opponent.

1:50 IN: We have A-7 of hearts in the Big Blind.  The flop is college Greek: A-K-A.  We take it slow and check.  The turn is 3.  We spring out with a bet of 1,500, which brings folds.  Our win is $3,675.

2:08 IN: After opponents make big bets which run us off potential pot, we have A-Q.  The flop is 10-A-J.  Someone goes all-in, and this time we dare to match it for 7,880.  But our top pair leads, when the pusher shows 10-9.  The board brings 6-8, and we prevail for $13,010!

After two hours of play, we have 10,110 chips.  We're up to 68th place, with 102 players remaining; only the top ten will win money.

2:27 IN: We play A-J.  The flop is 9-6-4.  Everyone checks.  The turn is 3.  Everyone checks.  The river is A, and we bet 1,600 with top pair.  The table folds, and we win $9,500.

2:39 IN: We have 4-4, and fold when an opponent goes all-in.  Too bad; we had a spade, which would have turned into a winning flush.

2:41 IN: Due to rising blinds and antes, it's our turn to go all-in.  We push with 4-4, and 3,835 remaining chips.  The flop is 6-5-6.  The turn is J.  The river is 9.  But our opponent has pocket Kings.

A long night ends with us in 57th place, out of 778 players.  That would have brought a payday in a real poker room, but NLOP doesn't even award us poker points at that level.  Yet we wind up with a slightly more satisfying night than a walk to Lil Kim's Cove might have brought.