‘Freak Night’ a.k.a. ‘Now We Are Four’ a.k.a 'The Honey Trap'. Friday 1st August

Winner Briggs

2nd Chris

3rd Dave

4th John T

5th John

6th Sids

Also Ran: Paul, Tatter, Jordan, Paul N, Steve, Mike, Alex, Mark

Total: 14

Venue: Jordan's

If TPS were a child it would be a petulant tantrum prone toddler by now as TPS 8 '08 was our fourth birthday. The usual summer problem of people actually having lives outside of poker meant the tournament was moved to a Friday, but the change didn’t put people off as 14 players showed their faces. The absence of regulars Andy, the two Kevs and Rob was made up for by newcomers Alex and Paul M.

The seating draw meant that all this seasons previous winners where sat next to each other on table 2 but it was over on table 1 that saw the nights first casualty, Mike, when his Ace 2 got pushed all in by -who else- Jordan with King Jack – a Queen on the flop and a 10 on the river giving Jordan the Straight.

Meanwhile Paul’s signature hand of a pair of 4’s was no match for Sids’ trip Aces leaving Paul short stacked on table 2. New face Paul N rode out some good natured ribbing from the rest of the table after a phone call from his mum asking him if he wanted any sandwiches making; his Ace Queen failed to hit a pair against Mark's pocket 8’s, sending him home first on table 2. Jordan’s all in or nothing style took out another new face on table 1 when his Two Pair of Jacks and Queens beat out Alex’s pocket 10’s. Steve’s disappointing season continued when he failed to make the cut once again and despite his massive early chip lead it was one all in too many for Jordan as he too failed to make the last 6.

Previous winners Paul and Mark also failed to make the grade on table 2 and it was Tatter the Younger John T’s time to shine when he knocked out his older sibling to reach the final 6 for the first time.

In the final it was Chris who came flying out of the traps, eye’s bulging and foaming at the mouth with pure Poker Rage, determined to grab his long over due first TPS win. He took an early lead with Trip 9’s to John T’s Queen Queen and then knocked out Sids with Ace High, Sid’s saying ‘this is the worst game of Poker I’ve ever Played’. Chris followed that up by knocking out short stacked John with a King 7 to Johns Jack Queen; King High taking the hand. John ended the night with 3 vital league points and with second place rival Kev Mc unable to attend, closed the gap on leader Paul to just 11 points. This left Dave, Briggs and John T to face up to Chris’ rabid chip dominance.

John T went out in 4^rd spot with a desperate all in with pocket ducks to Brigg’s pocket Queens and the game then carried on for ages with Dave the player to slowly loose out after most of his decent hands where met with folds, making it difficult for him to grab any chips. He finally went out in 3^th when his Trip Jacks met Chris' Full House. So a new TPS champion was guaranteed as Chris and Briggs faced off with almost even chip-stacks. A solid back and forth rally of Blinds Tennis ensued with hardly a flop to be seen until a 7 8 8 board caused the two players to go all in, Chris was looking for the Straight with his 10 9 holding but Briggs was ahead with 8 4 in his hand. A Deuce on Fourth St. and a 4 on the River gave Briggs the hand, his first win and a seat in the Masters.

So this leaves just three more games for the 2008 season with a maximum 33 points left up for grabs. Can Paul hold on to his lead at the top? In the unlikely event that he fails to reach any more final tables but just turns up, all players above Dave could conceivably finish first if they win the next three games, (Dave would draw with Paul on 49 points). John’s just 11 points behind but would still need to finish in at least a top three position for the rest of the season in order to catch him.

(photo’s coming soon).