February Senior Championship: The Long Goodbye

For several years, National League of Poker has held a monthly Senior Championship.  We had to miss the January tournament because it was played on a Friday night, and we keep a seventh-day Sabbath.  Monday night's February tournament may have been the last one, due to NLOP's bankruptcy filing.  So did we go out a big winner?

:15 IN: After a few small-scale entries missed flops, we have A-9 of spades.  The flop is 10s-5s-3c.  We call a bet of 80.  The turn is 3d, and we call a bet of 60.  The river is 8s - exactly what we wanted.  We bet 400 with a nut flush, and our opponent folds.  We win $980.

:17 IN: We have K-Q of spades.  A player goes all-in pre-flop.  We choose to be cautious and fold -- which is too bad, because a Queen comes on the turn which would have given us a winning pair.

Misses with Q-A and A-10 follow, wiping out our early gain.  We reach the first break with $1,930 from a starting $2,500 - putting us 718th, with 792 players still in the running.

:39 IN: We have K-J.  The flop is 10-8-J.  Our probing bet of 100 brings a fold, and we win $350.

:40 IN: We have Q-J.  The flop is K-10-2, giving us a two-way straight draw.  The table checks.  The turn is 6.  The table checks again.  The river is 2.  The table checks once more -- and our Queen-high is good enough to top someone with 7-4!  We win a modest $250.

:41 IN: The next hand brings us A-4.  The flop is 5-8-K.  The table checks.  The turn is 3.  The table checks again.  The river is A.  We bet 220 with top pair, and the table folds for a $570 win.

:45 IN: We're moved to a table where only three of the ten players seem to actually be present.  The other two players are hungry with huge stacks, so we still play carefully against them.  But we claim five small pots against empty chairs in a 12-minute span.

:59 IN: We have A-J, against one of those big stacks.  The flop is 5-4-Q.  We both check.  The turn is 2.  More checking occurs.  The river is 4.  Our opponent bets around 300.  We dare to call -- and get rewarded, because he has K-8!  It's a gain of $1,100.

1:03 IN: We have K-Q of diamonds.  The flop is 7-K-7.  We bet 500 with two pair, and the opponents fold for a $1,200 win.

This finally puts us above the "starting line," with $2,680 at the second break.  Now we're 272nd, with 616 players left.

1:20 IN: After a large loss to a player who made a flush on the river, we have 8-9 in the Big Blind.  The flop is 3-6-9.  We bet the minimum 300, and that's enough.  We win $1,300.

1:33 IN: After waiting for a breakthrough hand, we try K-10.  The flop is 7-K-2.  We go all-in for 955, and get called.  The turn is J.  The river is 8.  Our opponent has only a pair of 7's, so we score a big win of $2,715.

1:36 IN: We have 10-10.  The flop is K-3-8.  We feel the table's mood with a bet of 400, and get called.  The turn is 8.  Everyone checks.  The river is 6.  Everyone checks -- and no one has a King!  Our 10's take it, to the tune of $2,895.

We feel more confident at break 3, with two big pots lifting us to $4,110.  We're in 182nd place, with 375 to go.

1:57 IN: After a long wait for good cards, we have K-Q of hearts.  The flop is Jh-K-8, and we go all-in for our remaining 1,635.  The table thankfully folds, and we're up to $4,635.

2:11 IN: With rising blinds and antes eroding every stack, we have 6-A with 1,010 to go.  We decide to push, and get called by a player with 9-10.  The flop is 6-J-10 -- good for us, but better for him.  The turn is 8.  The river is Q.  Our pair is topped, and our night is finished.

We finished 148th, out of 924 entries.  So the unofficial final score for us in NLOP Senior Championships is zero wins in 31 tries.  Our best finish was 25th place in July 2010 -- but a few deep runs didn't pay off, as only the final table received money.  Now some senior players may have to stretch their pensions a little farther.