UK Student Poker Champions 2009!

We're back from london, 2.5k richer and tbh had such a good time the money was just a bonus.

Full TR here, cliffnotes at the bottom:

4pm: In theory we should all be at station. Joe car has been hit so he's running late, and Dave is somewhere in the underground network so he's running late. Me, Jeal (railing ftw) Wakes and Tidey find a ladbrokes and have a horse dip. I'm chuffed since I've just had a phone call confirming my MSc place for next year!

4.45pm: Everyones here. Team McDonalds (lol) then we walk from Liverpool st in what we think is the place.

5.30pm: Arrive at the loose cannon club 1 hr early, so hunt for a nearby pub. We get a table next to the thames and proceed to play a turbo sng. "making a boat on the thames!"

6.30pm: Go back to LCC. Get greeted by PokerPlayer magazine, apparently they love my "iShip" username. There's a free bar, and I am not drinking, standard. Leeds turn up already hammered, Reading appear in named shirts and LSE are sitting about without a care in the world. We get told to finalise our team orders etc, then about 7 we kick off. It was one table of Leeds vs Reading and one of UEA vs LSE, with 2 matches going at once (then when one match finished another starting). The starting stacks are 4k at 25 50 with 10 minute blind levels, so a bit of a shoot, but not toooo bad.

First up for UEA were Joe and Tidey. Joe gets a guy from LSE who looks alright but after a few hands you could see he was way too nitty for HU. Tidey gets a bit of a spew monkey and has to make a couple of gay laydowns early, but grinds back to even, then gets a chiplead. With blinds at 200 400 or so Tidey gets it in with AQs vs 99 (tidey covers by a fair bit) and binks a Q on the flop to put us 1-0. This means I now start my match against a guy called Alvin. Was a really nice guy, very talkative which was handy and made it very clear when he was weak / bluffing. I check raised a couple of times with air and double barrelled once to keep me in it as i was ridiculously dry. With my blinds getting a bit higher Joe is getting it in on the other table. He had 3:1 chiplead and shipped with A7 from the sb and LSE had A9. Joe of course hits a 7 on flop and another on river for trips, was a standard spot though and there were no complaints from LSE who had let himself go down to 4BBs anyway! 2-0 UEA.
This meant Dave got underway vs a bit of a loony whilst I still struggled on running like crap on the other side of the table. I was at 5k:3k with blinds at 200 400 when I see Dave winning a decent sized pot, and being 5k:3k chip leader on his game. The guy he was playing kept making it 600 to go at 50 100, Dave picked up LOYAL 3's and ended up shipping...of course the other guy had AK. But, as we all know 3's are loyal and they held for 3-0!
Like that the pressure was off me, I got it in at 400:800 as a 40:60 dog twice, once to double up then once for the win and won both to leave us with a 4-0 scoreline. Happy days.

9pm: We broke for dinner elated and with Reading vs Leeds still underway. By this point leeds were smashed and reading should really win, which they ended up doing 4-1.

10pm: We start the final. 8k stacks but at 50 100, so no different really!
Wakes has been moved up our order to 1st so him and Joe start. Wakes opponent is a very emotional player and although it was even for a while Wakes was 10:6k, then 12k 4k, then 13k 3k. At 300 600 the guy limps and Wakes ships with A9. His oppo looks a bit frustrated and moans at wakes for being too aggressive etc (lol) and calls off with J10. A 10 on the flop and running bricks means its now 10k 6k again, and we're at 400 800. at ~12k ~4k Wakes ships with 67 and gets snap called by A10, we don't win our 40:60 for the win and now its even stacks! This really sucked since we wanted to get off to a good start, and we're now 8k:8k at 400 800. Given the amount the guy was folding Wakes decided to ship with 5s 2h on the sb, unfortunately our emotional opponent had AKhh so of course snapped. So another 35:65 for UEA, 3rd time lucky? Flop comes Ks 10s 9h and our goose looks cooked. But we still have 6% equity which is all Wakes needs...6s turn gives us a flush draw and the 2s is our 5 high flush, UEA 1-0. The guy was pretty funny, jumping back and sounding the bad beat alarm, but at the end of the day it was 3 flips where we were once favourite, once 60:40 dog and once 65:35 dog, everyone one of them for the UEA win....so its not exactly beat of the year.

Tidey then starts his game vs a guy who seemed alot like Tidey, but it was clear that we had a decent edge. Was no discredit to the Reading guy, it's just Tidey is a hu sng player predominatly. Joes game is still going on, blinds 500 1k! Eventually Joe gets 44 on the sb with 8.8k:7.2k and ships, Reading have AA and Aces hold. Joe doubles and doubles again to be on 4k, then they get it in Q3dd vs 32hh and its Readings turn to suck out in the 30:70 as a heart flush fills on the river for an 8k pot. 1-1.

So now I'm playing the Reading president as Tidey plays next to me, and seems to be owning souls as per calling with A high on a K 9 9 4 2 board and shipping a 3k pot.
Unfortunately I run into AA about 20 hands in which isn't nice, and am quickly down to 4k. I grind back to 6k after check raising with air, was pretty sick how bad I ran when it came to decent hu hands. Couldn't get a K10+ to save my life! Get 22 on the button at 200 400 andlimp, he checks. Board comes QQQ. He check calls 500, pot 1800. Turn is a K, he leads for 1200. I didn't want to see an A or K turn as I was pretty sure he was just calling the flop with A/K high, but I don't see why he leads ever since he loses all value from lesser hands and he seemed competetent enough to know that. So I make the call, pot now over 4k and I have 4k behind. River is an 8 and he checks, I of course check behind. He has A8 for a river 6 outer and I lose a pot to put me back on starting stack. Cheers then. A few hands later I pick up 77 and make it 1k, he flats. Board comes J 3 2 rainbow, he checks and I get tricky and check behind. Turn the 6c putting out a flush draw, he checks again and I meekily bet 1250 like a bluff. He pretty quickly reships and I think I have to call given how I've played the hand. He has KJ, wp, and I don't hit my 2 outer. 2-1 Reading.

Dave starts vs their supposed worst player, who got 3 points overall in the online qualifiers. Was a really nice guy but you could tell he wasn't exactly superb. One hand the board read Q 9 3 9 two diamonds two hearts. Reading led, Dave raised, Reading 3 bet, Dave 4-bet shoved and he folds, apparently with a flush draw. Given he was getting 3:1 and it was for the whole tournament win I doubted it, but lucky old Dave is up to 11.5k:5.5k and looking good.

Tidey is on 11k:5k at 500 1000 and like a true hero gets it in with 99 vs A2. Of course the A rolls off on the turn, emotional reading guy who is now getting quite happy and explaining where he's going to put the novelty cheque is of course chanting, as Tidey just sits back and takes the beat like a gent. 6k:10k ish.

Back o Daves table, we see Dave open from the sb and Reading call. Board comes 8 7 2 rainbow. Reading lead, and Dave raised to about 1.6k iirc. Reading ship all in, if Dave calls and loses he'll still have 6k or so. Dave announces call. Reading flip A8 for tptk and Dave flips 99 for the overpair, Reading have 5 outs. (I thought Dave had 89 at the time, lol.) Dave holds and we're 2-2 with Tideys match still going! We had discussed a chop but the Reading prez said no, so it was Tidey grinding ftw. He of course pulls back his deficit to be 10k:6k again without showdown, with blinds now at 600 1200.
Reading ship from the SB and Tidey announces call. Reading flip Kh 8h and Tidey has Ah 6d. WIN A 60:40 ONE TIME?!?!?!

Board: 6h (YES!) Qh (sick) 9h (FUCK.) Reading go a bit barmy, but me and wakes (shouting) realise we still have the Ah for the nutflush redraw.

Turn: Kc.

River: 3h. GET IN!!! We all went a bit nuts, standard loyal 3 coming on the riv for the win. Reading were awesome about it too, a tad dejected (as im sure we would be too) but we both agreed it was a pleasure playing each other in the final. Photoshoot for PokerPlayer magazine (I am BRIGHT RED in the photos, normal) and one big novelty cheque for $2.5k. Ship it.

We then all had some drinks and headed to the empire casino at leicester sq, where everyone asked me about my giant cheque. Lorenzo from poker soc was there too, hero. Thank god there was a cloakroom though, I didn't fancy walking around with it all night! We played some 1/2 cash and roulette etc til 5am, and Wakes got smashed. Headed back to liverpool st to get the 6am train back to Norwich. I left with £40 in my wallet and came back with £43 thanks to roulette spin ups!

Was pretty much the sickest 24 hours in recent history.


Cliffnotes:

1. Go to london for the pokerplayer/bet365 student poker finals
2. Beat LSE in HU matches 4-0 and Reading 3-2 including a sick flip at the end to win the whole thing
3. Run good at roullette to pay for all my food, taxis, drinks, £1 £2 dip
4. Have a place on my MSc course next year
5. Have a giant novelty cheque for $2.5k in my living room
6. ??????
7. Profit!

Ty to Jeal for railing and ty to the PokerPlayer magazine team for putting on a sick tournament for students. Was well run, and I think the whole spirit of the thing overrided any taint that the drunken Leeds players may have put on the event.

Now got to think about a PhD Industrial Econ thesis...am going with something along the lines of:

"The UK Gambling industry, firm signalling and regulation"

Lovely.

Cheers,

-Adam