One weekend, five tournaments, and enough sob stories to fill a bathtub, but we are not going to focus on the bad-beat sagas; rather, the fantastic weekend of poker that saw the crowning of five new pub poker champions.
The beginning of August brought not only a welcome respite from the rain, but also the first set of regional finals for the second season of Poker in the Pub. Once again, the players were battling it out for those coveted seats in the
Golden Sands Poker Festival main event.
South West Regional finals
For the second successive time, South West players were able to enjoy the experience of playing in the sunshine at Torquay's Mint Casino. It was a refreshing change from the windowless cardrooms that seem to be the industry standard. Jim Henry from the Duke of Cornwall in Ivybridge had made a strong finish in his pub league, winning two of the last three games. He looked to continue this form in Torquay, and after four hours of play, he found himself as the chip leader. Henry's chip stack continued to grow, and some aggressive play and a good run of cards saw him build a very healthy lead over his competitors at the final table. It fell to James Barker from the Welcome Inn in Par to try to deny Henry the title. Barker managed to claw his way back into the contest and briefly became the chip leader, before a series of big hands went the way of the Duke of Cornwall player, and once again the title of South West champion went to a player from Ivybridge.
South West Regional Final Results
London Regional Finals
Players from across the capital and the surrounding area converged on the Tournament Pub in West Brompton for the fourth London regional final. It soon became apparent that the smoking ban had added a new dimension to the proceedings, and the tournament director had to tread a fine line between enjoying watching the players sweat and permitting smoking breaks to avoid a riot.
Throughout the final table, Wayne Pretorius had quietly brought himself into contention with some good selective aggression. The Deux Beers player was at his third successive final table and found himself heads up with Matt Thompson for the title. In keeping with superstition, Lady Luck kept her promise of "third time lucky" as Pretorius found himself all in and dominated, holding A-2 against Thompson's A-6. The flop gave Pretorius the deuce he needed, and when the turn gave him trips, Thompson found himself very short-stacked. The man from Ramsgate was not able to recover, and Pretorius was left clutching the trophy.
London Regional Final Results
East Midlands Regional Finals
The East Midlands final saw plenty of rivalry between the players as they competed to see who could drink the most beer and still count their outs. Tim "Santa" Timbrell was left cursing his kicker rather than the drink as his trip aces dumped him out of the tournament in 123rd place. After seven hours of play, nine players were left to fight for the main prizes and those all-important seats in the national final.
Debbie Goucher deserves a mention as the top lady finisher, in eighth place, as she started playing pub poker only in May. The exit of Chris Nells meant that the Shoulder of Mutton's monopoly of the top spot was at an end and a new pub would be home to the champion. Eventually, it was left to Costel Slavnic and Lee Brown to test their wits against each other. The game was played in a good spirit, with a great deal of mutual respect between the two players. Finally, Slavnic found himself edging in front and was pleased to discover that Brown was not holding a king, as he took the title with a queen-high straight.
East Midlands Regional Final Results
West Midlands Regional Finals
The spacious Circus Casino in Birmingham's Star City made its debut as the venue for the West Midlands regional final. The players from the Victoria Tavern in Kendel certainly made themselves at home as they set about dismantling the opposition. The Tavern just started playing during the last league, and already has seen 36 players take part.
With 13 competitors left, there were still four players from the Kendel venue still in the hunt. This number dropped to three by the time the final table formed, but from then on, Star City was a happy hunting ground for the Kendel contingent. Ian "Hollywood" Gilpin took the title, with his fellow teammate Len "Dusty Bin" Jackson a close second. Shaun Pearson from the Pear and Partridge in Wolverhampton was the third-place finisher, showing that his top average score in his pub was more than just luck.
West Midlands Regional Final Results
Scottish Regional Finals
The Scottish final saw the action return to the Westwood Bar, and some familiar faces were soon making their presence felt. Defending champion Jamie Craig got off to a good start and was one of the chip leaders going to the final table. However, he was not able to repeat his success of last time around, and crashed out in fourth place after losing a series of big pots.
Joanna Susskind, representing the Hallion Club, put in a good showing and finished in a respectable fifth place, ahead of some well-known names on the Scottish pub poker scene. With Susskind and Craig having fallen by the wayside, it was left to Andy McDonald, David Young, and Frazer White to fight it out amongst themselves for the right to be called Scottish champion. Young was short-stacked going into the final three, and soon found himself watching from the sidelines. White, who plays at the Westwood, used his home advantage to good effect, as he forced McDonald into chasing a flush that the Rio Café regular failed to hit, thus giving Frazer the title.
Scottish Regional Final Results
The regionals produced another series of great events across the UK, and I know that the players already are turning their attention to the task of qualifying for the next set of tournaments that will take us ever closer to the national final next May. Thanks to all of the people who made the regionals possible, especially Dave Cain, Nick Peters, Stephen Boll, and all the staffs at the various venues who helped make each event such a success. Finally, I would like to thank the players who make the league what it is. For more information on the league, please visit the website at www.pokerinthepub.com.
The Poker in the Pub League, sponsored by The Rivercard, has been created to give poker players a chance to enjoy a game of cards in pleasant and familiar surroundings with friends and colleagues.
