Vegas Or Bust Poker League Update

The ten members of the Vegas Or Bust Poker League met Friday night for the February tournament. For those of you who haven't been following along, you can "read all about it" here.

I had a third place finish in the inaugural tournament last month, so I was shooting for another top three finish in order to stay within striking distance of the top two spots in the league standings.

I got involved early when I was able to limp into a multi-way pot from the cut off position with 7-7. A 7-9-T flop hit me hard, but the 9 and tan were suited, so I bet a little over a pot sized bet in order to take down the pot . . . now! It worked, as everyone folded and I was off to a good start.

Just a few hands later I was able to limp into a three way pot with Josie's favorite hand (J-T) and hit Yahtzee with a 7-8-9 rainbow flop. I bet a little over 1/2 pot and gat a call from Dealer Larry, but he folded to another 1/2 pot bet after the turn.

I took another pot from Larry, who from out of position, called my 2.2x preflop bet. I was holding A-K and liked the king high flop. Larry slid out two black chips ($200) and I three bet to $450. Larry surprised me little when he called, and I was afraid he might have hit two pair. But he tabled K-T when the hand was over and my ace had him out kicked and I pulled in another nice pot.

With the blinds continuing to rise, we were down to four players after two hours of play, but the "final four" hung on for a long time. It seemed like each time a player was all-in, whether ahead or behind, they would come out on top and we would continue. I was finally able to felt Ollie the Accountant when my A-9 held up and beat his K-J.

Interestingly, the last three players for the second straight tourney were Philly Phanatic, J-Dawg, and yours truly, Lucki Duck. I had reached my goal of a top three finish, and now my goal was to win it outright.

Blinds were up to $400-800, and with only $15k chips in play, none of us had many big blinds left. After 20 minutes of passing chips around the table, and with blinds at $500-1000, I open raised to $2,200 with A-T. Both Philly and J-Dawg called and we saw a flop of A-5-T rainbow. Philly was down to $1,600 and I thought he would probably push any flop that was checked to him, so that's what I did. Both Philly and J-Dawg checked behind. Oops! The turn was an 8 and I checked again, thinking surely he'll bet. This time he didn't disappoint, pushing his remaining chips into the center. JD folded and I insta-called with my top two pair. Philly threw his A-2 on their backs and was drawing dead.

Down to heads-up play, I held a 2-1 chip advantage over J-Dawg, but with the blinds so high it was anyones tournament to win. I open raised with A-J and JD three bet me with 9-T when he pitched his remaining chips into play. I called and we saw a flop of K-Q-6. J-Dawg thought he had a bingo when he hit his 10 on the turn, but then realized it had given me the broadway straight.

Game over!

After our first two league tournaments, J-Dawg, Philly, and I are all tied for first with 18 points each and have built a little bit of a lead over the rest of the field. Lil' Okie Annie, Stamps, and Ollie the Accountant are the closest players, all with 11 points. Click here for the complete standings.

It was nice to pick up the win, plus I also won $16 on a last longer bet, but gave back five of it in the cash game. I'm looking forward to next month's tourney already!

Till next time, win the flips.