TPS Poker

THE MASTERS 2008

2008-11-29T18:39:00.004Z

Winner Brendan

2nd John

3rd Paul

4th Jordan

5th Tatter

6th Mike

7th Mark

Venue: Marks

After 12 long months of poker slog the year’s winners gathered together at Mark luxurious cassa to see who would be anointed champ of champs. Fearing that the night might be over quickly, what with the array of normally aggressive players in attendance, it was decided that this would be a relatively (in TPS terms) deep stack game with each player starting with 80 chips. The flurry of expected early all-ins and overbets failed to materialise as the game got off to a cautious start. It wasn’t that long however before Jordan pushed all in against Paul with 2 Aces on the board. A long stand off ensued whilst Paul considered the prospect of either an early bath or an early double up but after much deliberation he folded his straight much to the relief of Jordan who would have only had trips.

Another long deliberation followed this time involving Tatter and Paul when Paul put in a big raise after a low value board with a J and a Q as the only high cards. but Tatter, in an amazing show of discipline folded his pocket Aces- Paul had JQ in his mits and the two pair would have won it.

Host Mark was the first to fall when his KJ lost to another set of Jordan’s trip aces and Brendan and Mike played chip tennis back and forth across the table, seemingly the only two players ever to end up in the pot, but Mike came off the worse only to end up being knocked out by John who’s AQ paired up with the flop. Tatter and Paul then faced off again, this time with Tatter holding pocket Kings only to lose to Paul’s Full House 3’s full 10’s.

Jordan who was playing in a much more reserved style than normal (only going all-in every other hand), managed to make it to fourth place until eventually being kicked to the curb by Brendan with a pair of Queens.

By the time it hit midnight fears of a quick conclusion had disappeared and with the ‘big money’ now to play for the last three of Paul, Brendan and John knuckled down to some serious pokee. Despite his big chip stack going into the final stages Paul was the eventual surprise bronze medallist when his QJ got shafted by Brendan’s two pair of Aces and 10’s. This left John in yet another heads up position and yet again miles behind his opponent as far as chips where concerned, but a few deftly played hands later he was in the lead by a county mile. With the game now entering its 5^th hour of play John could almost taste the victory and decided on a swift resolution, putting Brendan all in on every hand. Alas the poker gods must frown upon such impetuous avidity and John lost every hand. Brendan eventually won the title with A 4 against John 5,6, suited.

TPS11 `08 "End Game" Saturday November 8th

2008-11-24T13:46:00.003Z

Winner Paul

2nd Tatter

3rd Kev Mc

4th Mike

5th Steve

6th Dave

Also Ran: John, Chris,Rob, Briggs, John T, Gazzer

Total: 12
Venue: Riley's Snooker Club
It was a second away outing to Riley’s snooker club for TPS 11, this time with the tantalising promise of a laid on ‘buffet’. The free food offer helped to draw out the crowds (sort of) with a return appearance of Dave and the fresh face of Mike’s brother Gazzer.

With Paul taking the league the month before the final game of the 2008 season would be a race for the last Masters spot plus a battle between John and Kev Mc to see who could clinch the still lucrative runner up position, but with Kev needing to finish in first place and hope John didn’t come second it looked like a tough proposition for the Ice Man.

However John helped Kev’s cause from the get –go by going out in first place, his ‘nothing to loose’ attitude back firing when an all in with A J of clubs was called by Mike who showed A K- a Jack on 4^th Street gave John a glimmer of hope but a King on the River sent him off to the bar to complain about the music and ask when the much anticipated buffet would be arriving.

Brendan was the next to duck out when his K9 lost out to Paul’s AJ and there was much excitement on table two when Dave nearly hit a Royal Flush. Back on table one Mike soon began to dominate taking chips from just about everyone and knocking Rob out with A 10 to Robs QK suited. It soon boiled down to a bubble avoiding chip fight between low stacks Steve and John T, until John did Steve a massive favour by going all in with 8,3, and getting called by Mike who had A,3, – a 3 on the flop didn’t help John’s cause and he missed out on a seat in the final. But before the final, the ‘buffet’ arrived and the hungry players tucked into ham and cheese sarnies, chips (oh the irony) and crisps. Lots of crisps. “I’ve not eaten that many Quavers in years” said John.

By the time the final round got under way the clock was ticking towards turfing out time - if the game wasn’t done and dusted by last orders it would have to be decided on chip stacks. With this added pressure Dave and Steve soon flunked out followed a few rounds later by Mike. With less that 20 mins left it was a three way stand off between Tatter, Paul and Kev Mc with Tatter in the lead and Kev, who had yet to win a game all year, in low stack position. As talk of the impending chip count mounted Kev decided it was now or never and started making all in shouts- he nabbed a few blinds and even managed to double up until he finally got potted by Paul, missing out on both the runner up position and a Masters place – meaning the 2008 event would be the first without the Ice Man’s presence. Kev, looking truly gutted must have been wondering how it all went so horribly wrong. At least there’s still John’s usual dealers position available- all he needs is a Tux.

The TPS season then drew to a quick close and who better to take the final first place than league winner, and now 8 times TPS champion Paul.

TPS 10 `08 'The Jolly Boys Night Out' Saturday October 11th

2008-11-01T16:59:00.008Z

Winner Jordan

2nd Kev Mc

3rd Paul

4th Mark

5th Tatter

6th Steve

Also Ran: John, Chris,Rob, Briggs, John T

Total: 11
Venue: Riley's Snooker Club

TPS10 `08 saw the first historic ‘away game’ as we ventured out of the safety of each others houses and into the big bad world, or at least the vast deserted space of Riley’s Snooker Club.

The huge trampoline-esque tables meant that all 11 players managed to squeeze round one, so this would be a 1 round game with the top six scoring points.
And there was a lot to play for with John needing at least a first or second place to have any sniff at overtaking Paul at the top of the league and Kev Mc hot on John’s heels for second place.

John T was the first unlucky fucker of the night when his all-in with KQ took one in the face from Marks pocket Aces – a third Ace on table giving him the trips and an early lead.

Chris was next to fall – his A 6 of Hearts against Tatters pair o’ Nines- 2 hearts on flop gave Chris a glimmer of hope but the next card was black and the 9’s held. Rob was the second to fall under Marks massive poker sword, going all-in with K J but this time Mark was wielding pocket Queens.
It was the second league place rivals John and Kev Mc who where next to face off, both of them betting big against a King on an otherwise low value board, when it came to the show down John was holding K Q but Kev Mc had K A leaving John with just a ‘pitiful rookerfull’ of chips.
It was soon time for Jordan to make one of his usual All In moves and this time he had a half decent hand to back it up- pocket Jacks. Briggs took the bait with KJ but it wasn’t enough and Jordan got his first scalp of the night.

Soon the field started thinning like Tatters barnet when John, whose chip stack had been reduced to less than the next big blind pushed all in with a massive 8-2 of clubs. Mark called it followed by Steve, who was holding pockets Aces but even this monster wasn’t enough as Mark hit a Straight- with two more players out Mark was way ahead of everyone else and taking up most of the table with his chip-pile. Tatter went out next when his massive 7-3 suited lost to Jordan's high card King.

Then, in what must count as one of the oddest calls in TPS history, Jordan declared himself all in with KJ suited to which Mark, who had been haemorrhaging chips in the last couple of hands and to the astonishment of everyone, calls with just 9-4 off, needless to say Jordan’s KJ stood up and Mark, who looked certain to take his second TPS win was out. From then on it was all Jordan’s game, making short work of Paul with a pair of 4’s, and Kev Mc, (who’s lack of a TPS victory this year remains a mystery to everyone), when they clashed with a pair of 5’s (Kev) and a pair of 6’s (Jordan), the third 6 on the flop making The Mark Of The Beast -surely a sign of impending apocalypse - and giving Jordan his first ever win.

Paul Wins League

2008-11-01T16:58:00.000Z

TPS 10 saw Paul take the 2008 title with 1 game to spare. His early season dominance saw him take a massive lead with an unprecedented 3 wins on the bounce and despite some poor results over the summer no one could catch him, the 2005 Masters Champion must still be favourite to take this years title and with 125 points at the top of the All Time Leader board he’ll be the player to beat in 2009.

TPS 10: Important News

2008-10-07T19:03:00.004+01:00

Fellow Poker-teers – after the recent uncertainty over the future of this year’s league the TPS board is happy to announced that the last two games of the season will be held at Riley’s Snooker Club, Church Street Blackpool.

This shock departure from out traditional home game format has come about due to the increasing popularity of our beloved TPS and the problems this has caused with regards to finding regular venues.

Important!! - You all need to become members first.

Best way to become a member is online at http://www.rileysltd.com/ and I believe it's free. This will be sent to Rileys computer which will speed up the process. Bring photo ID on the day.

Or you can go in and sign up, take some photo ID, but Maria the Manageress would prefer you do it before the day to speed things up.

You can sign up on the day, just bring some photo ID, it will slow us down if you all decide to do that.

Ask for Maria.

The cost for hiring the tables and equipment is £3 a head. Bargain.

Meet in the Blueroom at 7.00 and I'll sort the seating positions in there. We need to all be on time if possible to make things easy. I don't want to turn up at 8.00 when I've told her 7.30.

The buy-in and game structure will remain the same.

We have already booked the tables for the last two games of this season.

Depending on how it goes we will decide afterwards whether to hold the Masters there.

The date for the next event will be Saturday October 11^th (the week after the advertised date), with TPS 11 on the Nov 8^th.

Don't forget to bring photo ID!

TPS 9 `08 'Eviction Night' Saturday September 6th

2008-09-07T23:51:00.006+01:00

Winner Mike

2nd John

3rd Paul

4th Tatter

5th Steve

6th John T

Also Ran: Jordan, Chris, Kev Mc, Dave

Total: 10

Venue: Jordan's
September, and the TPS season is slowly dragging its bloated carcass towards its inevitable conclusion. The 9^th instalment saw a spack-tacular 10 players turn up at Jordan’s and for those languishing in the mid-table morass it was make or break time for a chance to catch Paul at the top of the table and for those still with out a win under their belts one of only three remaining chances of a Masters place.

With the ten players spread out five apiece over two tables, a finish in the top three would put them in the final and a chance of getting some much needed points. It was table two that saw Kev Mc as the first player to get knocked on his arse in the first round, Amir Kahn-like, shortly followed by Jordan whose inevitable All-In with an A, 10, was called by Tatters K, 8, - an 8 on the flop sending Jordan out of the game and wrapping up table two in under an hour. Tatter and Paul where the chip leaders by a mile, with Steve just managing to scrape in to his fourth final this year.

This could only mean one thing for table one- that it would drag on and on for ages and ages……..

John took an early lead after a big pot take down against Mike when they both went large with a pair of Queens but John’s King kicker out did Mikes 10 kicker. Chris was the first to go out and Dave’s prediction that John’s early chip-stack lead would dwindle down to nothing came to fruition as the two of them battled for third place against the mega-chipped John T and Mike. A couple of small gains from John meant that Dave was eventually blinded out of the match and the final table could begin.

An uncharacteristic 1^st hand All In from John is what greeted the five other players on the final table. John T had started things off with a modest raise but without any takers John’s attempt at an early double up meant he was now only on par with the first round table winners with regard to starting chips, until a few hands later when it was John T’s turn to go all in with a 7,A,7 flop. John was more than happy to call as he was holding A,7- John T turning over K,Q, to reveal a gutsy if foolhardy bluff - another Ace on the river gave John the pick of the Full Houses and John T a point and a chance to join the side game.

In what might go down as one of the bravest if not strangest plays of the season Steve was the next to make an all in move and after a long think it was Mike who called it. Steve revealed just a 3 and an 8- the three on the flop giving him just a pair of crabs, but Mike only had 4, J, of Spades and with only one other Spade on the board Steve was looking the unlikely winner until the final two cards gave Mike the Flush and all of Steve’s chips.

Not to be outdone in the crazy All In stakes, Tatter was next to push his entire stack over the line with pocket 5’s and once again Mike took the bait with A,Q suited. A low value board turned into a Straight and Tatter survived for a few more rounds.

Not long after their first toe-to-toe Tatter vs. Mike part two saw Tatski with 10, Q, of Diamonds to Mikes A,K, of Hearts but despite hitting Trip 10’s Tatter lost the rematch when Mike hit yet another Flush.

By this point in the final Mike had almost ‘All The Chips In The World’ and top of the league rivals Paul and John looked to be battling for 2^nd place. A few tense rounds ensued with Paul pulling out all the stops in an effort to force a comeback whilst John’s stack dwindled away as he struggled to land a decent hand. By the time Paul called Mike’s All In John was down to less than 30 chips. Mike showed A, Q, and Paul could only manage A, 6, - with no improving cards on the board Paul’s valiant fight was over and he had to settle for 3^rd place. John then faced his fourth and shortest lived Heads-Up of the season when he followed Paul by going all in with A, 6. Mike, who had to call, turned over 10, 8, and a brace of 10’s on the flop gave him his first TPS win after just five appearances.

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

2008-08-14T15:14:00.016+01:00

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).

Sssshhhh- Secret TPS! Saturday 12th July

2008-07-18T10:36:00.004+01:00

Winner Sids

2nd John

3rd Paul

4th Steve

5th Kev Mc

6th Tatter

Total: 6

Venue: John's

With no suitable venues available in July it looked as if TPS 7 `08 might not happen, but in order to avoid sabotaging the entire season John’s gaff was made available at the last minute albeit with a much reduced field due to space restraints. Six players took up their places for the smallest, quietest and soberest TPS ever. It was Steve who took the nights first scalp when his pocket Jacks beat Tatter’s desperate 5, 10. Kev Mc was next when his Ace 8 went up against John’s Ace Queen, John hitting a Queen on the flop.

Despite his recent reading of the ‘Sacred Book of Poker Secrets’, a.k.a. Harrington On Hold ‘em (the book John credits with turning his game around), Steve was the third to drop out after going all in with Ace 4. Sids had the Jacks this time to take the hand but it would have been Paul’s chance to knock them both out if he hadn’t folded his pocket 5’s with another five on the board.

By the time it got down to the last three of John, Sids and Paul, (who’d gathered a healthy stack after winning a couple of big pots with what maybe his signature hand of a pair of 4’s), the big blind had reached 32 and only Sids had a comfortable amount of chips. Several desperate All In’s saw John’s chip pile get back to healthier proportions after its steady decline since his early lead, but Paul helped him out big time by going all in with just a 10 and a 2, Sids called with just a Queen and a 4, hitting another 4 on the board.

This took Sids to his first heads up of the season and John to his fourth but with Sids having the superior chip count by some margin it would take John a couple of double ups to even things out. Sids put the pressure on straight away going all in with Queen 8. Luckily for John he’d managed to grab himself a pocket pair of Kings, unluckily for John two more 8’s on the board gave Sid’s the title and a third TPS winning star.

TPS 6 `08 “The Crazy Pineapple" Saturday June 7th

2008-06-15T20:17:00.006+01:00

Winner Tatter

2nd Chris

3rd Dave

4th Mike

5th Rob

6th Sids

Also played: John, Andy, Paul, Kev Mc, Briggs, Street, Steve, John T

Total: 14

Venue: Robs

“Summer, summer, summer-time
Time to sit back and unwind”

Ok so it might not have been a scorcher weather wise but the June instalment of the TPS `08 saga reached it’s midway point with a trip to Robs swanky new maison.

Noticeable absentees where Kev R (who was otherwise engaged camping it up in this years Big Brother), Jordan and Mark. But the fourteen strong turn-out included the return of Sids from his jollies and for his second bite of the TPS lemon, Mike as well as such rarities as Briggs, John T and Street- another TPS sophomore player not seen since TPS 10 last year.

Whatever he’d been biting Mike began playing the same super aggressive style he’d shown at TPS 4 and his constant raises soon pushed him ahead of the rest of table 2.

Steve was the first unlucky punter to go out after staring at a flop of mostly heart’s for an eternity and deciding that his trip Jacks would definitely win out just as long as Mike didn’t have a Flush. Unfortunately for Steve, Mike did have the Flush and Steve’s night was almost over before it began, although, too be honest, that would have required a time machine.

Andy’s miserable season continued apace when his KQ All In was called by his bro’ Paul who turned over pocket Aces putting him out first on table 1 and making him an early nomination for this years Jimmy White award.

Back on table 2 Mike was subjecting everyone to a royal bully-ramming taking out Briggs (with Two Pair: Aces and Deuces), Street (with Jacks to Street’s Crabs) and John T in quick succession. This left Dave, John and Chris who, due to some judicious sitting-out had only managed to play about 3 hands. John thought he was about to double up and keep his chin above the shit when he flopped Two Pair, Aces and Sixes and Chris called the All In only to split the pot when Chris showed the same hand.

It soon got down to a battle between John and Dave to see who could limp into the final in 3^rd spot. With both of them having about enough chips for one last Big Blind John made an audacious move with a pair of 5’s, hoping to blag Mike he’d matched the Ace on the deck. Although he’d guessed right about Mike not having an Ace he hadn’t guessed on him also having a 5 but with a Jack Kicker, which beat John’s 9 Kicker and ended his early season winning streak.

John’s position in joint second place looked a bit more secure when Kev Mc failed to make the final over on table 1, and he was soon followed into the inevitable side game by Paul, meaning we’d be definitely getting an extra face at this years so far short-handed Masters game in December. Kev Mc, ever gracious in defeat, had hoped to put some daylight between himself and John in second place but instead declared Texas Hold `Em to be a ‘shit game’ and suggested we all start playing ‘Crazy Pineapple’ instead.

Tatter took first blood in the final when his pair of 10’s took all but one of Sids chips, Sids going out the next hand.

A few hands later it was a ‘Duel’(geddit?) between ‘Golden Balls’ Chris’ Ace 9 and Rob ‘Da Bank’’s King Jack. This time it was Chris’ turn to take the prize, which in this case were just Robs chips.

So far Mike hadn’t had chance to dominate like he had in the first round but when he did eventually make a play he came face to face with one of Tatter’s genius moves. Mike went All In with Jack 10 only for Tatter to call with just 7 8, hitting a 7 on the flop to win the hand.

Dave was next up to face the resurgent Tatter’s own cruel brand of frontier poker justice when his seemingly unbeatable Two Pair: Queen Ten combo got bitch slapped out of the game by Tatski’s triple Kaisers.

This gave Chris his first Heads-Up and he must have been feeling confident when he went all in with Ace Queen and Tatter called with an Ace and a 4. When the flop came 7,9,3 he must have been ready to bang his missus senseless on a bed of filthy TPS cash. If the Deuce on Fourth Street didn’t dampen his ardour then the 5 on the River and Tatters Straight must definitely have withered his tumescence into lady-boy proportions. Tatter taking first place since TPS 11 last year.

Still, it was Chris best finish yet and a first place must surely be in the pipe-line soon. Dave too has steadily been crawling up the positions and if he can keep it together in a final table Mike’s blitzkrieg style might just garner him a top place finish. Paul, Kev Mc and John’s early exits meant there was no change a the top of the league but Tatters win puts him in 3^rd position and only 6 points behind John and Kev Mc. It also meant he leapfrogged Kev R into second position on the All Time Leader Board and saw him become only the second player ever to get 4 TPS wins.

TPS5 `08 “The Majestic” Saturday May 3rd

2008-05-05T15:39:00.006+01:00

Winner John

2nd Kev Mc

3rd Paul

4th Dave

5th Rob

6th Steve

Also played: Jordan, Mark

Total: 8

Venue: Jordan's

It was a return trip to Jordan's for the May instalment of the TPS year and, with Andy and Tatter sorting out band business, Sids catching rays in Spain, Kev R counting his winnings from the previous night's trip to the casino with Paul and Jordan and Chris arriving late, a disappointing 8 players started the night making it a one table tournament; the top six getting points.

Jordan, who’d got into the top 20 from an 80+ field at the casino the night before, and who’d been hitting the rosé all afternoon got a few mandatory all in’s in in the early rounds taking not much more than the blinds, but this early lead was enough to mean his next few all ins could take out any callers so the rest of the table turned cautious and waited for him to fold a hand.

A few rounds later and Jordan’s stack had started to dwindle so when he next went all in, this time with a pair of 5’s, he got called by both John and Mark- who was in a much more subdued mood compared to last month’s barn storming performance (he was probably burnt out from too many hours of Call Of Duty 4) - John winning the hand and taking out both players with a King high flush.

Next to bet all his chips was Steve with AQ, quickly called by John with K 2 suited. John had enough chips to cover Steve’s stack with plenty to spare but a King on the board gave him the hand and Steve a point. The remaining five players’ swapped chips until Rob’s A 9 went up against Kev Mc’s A J- Kev winning with 2 pair and maintaining his 100% record for final tables this season so far.

Dave was the next to fall foul of the Ice Man when his KQ lost to Kev Mc’s Ace high Flush- this left Kev, league leader Paul and John- who’d managed to lose most of his early chip lead to Paul a few hands earlier but had managed to claw enough back (with a little help from another tasty Crab Salad), to go all in with yet another KQ. Paul showed A 2 but a Queen on the flop knocked him out, giving John his 3^rd heads up in a row.

Regulars will know by now John’s propensity to go all foolish during a heads up situation and with his previous encounters with Mark and Paul weighing heavily on his mind he soon made a move with his lucky hand of the night KQ. Kev Mc called with QJ and when no Aces or Faces appeared on the board every one began congratulating an oblivious John who had yet to realise he’d actually won after 4 long years of trying.

John can now cancel his dealers Tux and join Mark and Paul in the Masters and it’s now Steve who holds the dubious honour of being the highest ranked player without a win. It’s neck and neck for second place between Angry and Ice (who surely must be due a win after never finishing lower than 3^rd all year) and a gap is starting to appear at the top of the table. But with Paul still 14 points clear in first position and the halfway point of the season fast approaching it’s going to take a couple of first place finishes from the rest of the field to catch up.

TPS4 `08 "The Torture Never Stops" Saturday April 5th

2008-04-08T16:45:00.006+01:00

Winner Mark

2nd John

3rd Kev R

4th Mike

5th Kev Mc

6th Briggs

Also played: Andy, Sids, Steve, Tatter, Paul

Total: 11

Venue: Sids'

Fuck Global Warming – at last years April TPS event there was a heat wave- at this years it was bloody snowing. But enough climatic chit chat- TPS 4 made a return visit to Sids’ after the proposed venue, Rob’s, became unavailable on account of Rob only going and winning the jackpot on Duel (see last month entry for details), so while Rob was kicking it in the Caribbean the rest of us huddled round the poker tables in sleety Poulton -le-Fylde.

The first player to be ‘left out in the cold’ was hostmeister Sids’ whose Q 7 got beat by Briggs’ KK. Next up was Andy whose shriveled stack meant an all in call with pocket Jacks only to be seen by John (who was still suffering the torments of the damned after the previous nights trip to Wetherspoon’s with Paul and Steve), who turned over Jack Ace with the flop giving him another bullet.

Next to feel the wrath of Crewdson was Steve who’d gone all in with KK, got called by John’s pocket Crabs who then hit Salad on Fourth to win. Mark won the table, which usually means he’ll be out first in the final.

Over on table 2 Tatter was the first out after going all in with pocket Boats, getting called by Paul with 7, 3 (!) who then hit a 7 on the flop. Such audacious moves didn’t help Paul out for long though as a few hands later he announced he was all in after a K 7 6 flop. Mark called it, Paul showed K 3 and Mark A 7 but an A on the river knocked the current league leader out of the game.

So it was John, Mark, the two Kev’s, Mike and Briggs on the final table – and what a final table it was - Mike seemed to have lost the words ‘call’ and ‘check’ from his vocabulary, replacing them with ‘raise’ instead while Mark’s favourite saying was ‘re-raise’. Briggs played as relentlessly as his banter and the three of them slowly bled chips from the other three. Briggs was the first to burn out; his K J losing to Mikes K Q. Birthday boy Kev Mc, who’s made it to the final table in every game this season so far had been keeping his head above the water during the poker storm of the early rounds finaly got sunk when his pocket 10’s got scuppered by Mike’s King’s.

The next few rounds where a heavy weight slug fest between the two chip leaders Mark and Mike, neither of whom wanted to back down to the other’s raises regardless of the cards they where holding – when the inevitable all in shout came Mike was holding KJ and Mark AQ- another AQ on the board giving Mark the chip lead by a mile and leaving John and Kev R, with about 14 chips each, wondering how on earth they’d managed to get in the money after hardly playing a hand.

The race for second place was won by John after Kev R graciously went all in with 5 6 suited and John called with Q 9. Another Queen gave John his second heads up in a row and Kev R the honour of being the first player ever to get into the money without winning a single final table hand.

It should have been over quickly, what with Mark having nearly ten times as many chips, but despite the raging hangover John managed to even things out again and for a few brief moments it looked like he could turn it around. Unfortunately the chips started to slide back towards Mark’s stack and fearing a repeat of last months head’s up against Paul, John decided to make a stand going all in with 10 9 diamonds, Mark showed A 5 off and although John had marginally more outs the Ace on the flop and total absence of diamonds gave Mark a huge chunk of his chips. Another comeback wasn’t in the pipeline and John was out the next hand after coming within sniffing distance of a Masters seat for the second time in as many months. Mark however earned his Leader Board star with some good aggressive play and can now look forward to December and at least a game with Paul.

The TPS Awards 2007

2008-03-30T20:33:00.000+01:00

Player Of The Year	Kev R
Most Improved Player	John
Game Of The Season	TPS 8 `07
The Jimmy White Award	Paul
Best Venue	Paul's House
Hand Of The Season	John's Full House From TPS8 `07
Fold Of The Season	Mark's Trip Aces Fold From TPS 10 `07

2007 Season Review

2008-03-30T20:20:00.002+01:00

Winner: Kev R	Runner Up: Tatter
Most Final Tables: Kev R (8)	Most Points Without a Win: John
Least Points With a Win: H	100% Attendance: Kev R, Paul, Sids, John
Highest Attendance:15 (TPS 4, Venue: John's, Winner:H)	Lowest Attendance: 8 (TPS7, Venue: Kev R's, Winner Rob)

Attendance By Venue: Kev's, John's, Paul's, Sids', Rob's.

2007 Season Games: Who scored what and when.(Click to Make Big)

2007 Final League Table

2008-03-30T20:17:00.001+01:00

Rank	Name	Points
1	Kev R	46
2	Tatter	44
3	Sids	41
4	John	35
5	Paul	32
6=	Rob	31
6=	Steve	31
7	Andy	30
8=	Chris	17
8=	Kev Mc	17
10	H	14
09	Daz	11
10	Mark	9
11	Jordan	8
12=	Dave	6
12=	Street	6
13	Dennis	4
14	Briggs	3
15=	Andy 2	2
15=	Barry	2
15=	John T	2
16=	Grez	1
16=	Sean	1
16=	Keith	1
16=	Derek	1
16=	Fergie	1

TPS Gallery

2008-03-29T19:59:00.000Z

Go Team TPS

World Poker Day 13/06/2006

TPS 2007 Goes To Springfield

TPS 3 `08 'The Tripple' SATURDAY 1st March

2008-03-01T20:40:00.001Z

Winner Paul

2nd John

3rd Kev Mc

4th Tatter

5th Chris

6th Mark

Aslo played: Dave, Rob, John T, Andy, Steve, Mike, Sids, Jordan.

Total: 14

After the drunken shambles of the previous TPS tournament, your ever-vigilant editor has vowed to stay sharp and pay attention to the action from now on.

The TPS season took a trip to Sid's house in Poulton for it's third outing of the year and 14 players came along for the ride, including first timer Mike and a welcome return from Tatters bro' John. Noticeably absent was last years league champion Kev R, who was away in Cuba hoping to take advantage of the ensuing power vacuum to install him self as the worlds first 3rd world dictator to come from Wigan. This would be the first official TPS without Fidel Rigby since the beginning back in `04.

However, before the poker could begin there was the not insignificant matter of Rob's TV debut on ITV1's prime time 'quiz' Duel. Robert, (28 from Blackpool) in dazzling red shirt, (courtesy of the wardrobe dept- his own clothes having been deemed too 'individual' for Saturday night telly- the moo-ing ITV watching hordes can't handle anything more than simple primary colours and bland easy to follow ideas at this time of night), got off to a shaky start, but some quick thinking, judicious use of the 'accelerator' and an unfathomable knowledge of the name of Gerri Halliwell's progeny saw him quickly dispatch a jock bin man and an OAP. (Robs stint on the programme continues next week - March 8th).

And so with Robs first 15 minutes up the tournament got underway with Jordan the first follow the jock bin man and the OAP and lose all his chips after going all in with King 5 off and getting called a nano-second later by Sids, who'd managed to flop an Ace high straight. Kev Mc went all in against John with a pair of Kings only to discover that John had a pair of Aces, but his few remaining chips where enough to reach the final table along with Chris and table 1 winner John.

They where joined in the final by Mark, Tatter and TPS 08 two time winner Paul. Mark, who seems to be making a habit of winning his table then ducking out quickly in the final was unlucky to do so again, this time his pocket Queens loosing out to Paul's 2 pair. In the space of a few hands Chris said 'adios' after his trip 4's met John's flush and Tatter was out when his 2 Jacks got into a scrap with Paul's 2 Queens and lost.

Kev Mc hung on a little longer but it was soon down to Paul and John in only his second TPS heads up. Unfortunately for John this was to be a repeat of his last shot at a TPS title, almost a year before in TPS2 07 (that time against Sids), when he played too cautiously for his own good, failed to make any moves until it was too late and gave away a Masters place, giving Paul his hat-trick and making him the first player to win three on the bounce, taking his total TPS wins to 7 and becoming the first player to score over 100 All Time Leader Board points.

We don't call it Tids' Poker Series for nothing and with Paul being 17 points clear at the top of the table it's not so much a case of when he's going to stop but who's going to stop him. At this rate Decembers Masters is going to be less of a poker game and more of a prize giving. It's still early enough in the season for someone to make a move; Kev Mc's finished in the top three every game so far and we should be seeing more from Tatter Rob and 'MR. Consistency' Kev R. Andy and Sids usually win at least one game a season and it's been a good start to the year from Chris. You never know, it may even be John or Steve's year to finally hit the big time. Or maybe not.

TPS 3 `08 'The Tripple' SATURDAY 1st March

2008-03-01T20:40:00.000Z

Winner Paul

2nd John

3rd Kev Mc

4th Tatter

5th Chris

6th Mark

Aslo played: Dave, Rob, John T, Andy, Steve, Mike, Sids, Jordan.

Total: 14

Venue: Sids'

After the drunken shambles of the previous TPS tournament, your ever-vigilant editor has vowed to stay sharp and pay attention to the action from now on.

TPS 2`08 'The Dust Up' SATURDAY 2nd February

2008-02-02T20:39:00.000Z

Winner Paul

2nd Kev Mc

3rd Chris

4th Kev R

5th Tatter

6th Andy

Aslo played: John, Rob, Sids, Steve, Jordan, Dave

Total: 12

Venue: Jordan's

Apologies for the brevity of this months TPS write up, your editors memory is vague on what happened. The action was at Jordan's house, that he can be sure of, and the eventual winner was Paul, that's also known. The rest is clouded in an intoxicated haze. Shadowy dream like images of Kev R getting loaded on red wine and trying to molest him linger uncomfortably in the mind, as is the memory of Steve baptising the kitchen floor with a full bottle of white. A lot of time was spent in the kitchen, for reasons that have now been forgotten, and there might have actually been some good poker played- but he's not sure, and if it was it wasn't by him.

TPS 1`08 'The Beginning' SATURDAY 5th January

2008-01-05T20:37:00.000Z

Winner Paul

2nd Steve

3rd Kev Mc

4th Briggs

5th H

6th Mark

Aslo played: John, Kev R, Tatter, Barry, Banny, Gaz, Sids, H, Chris

Total: 15

Venue: Paul's

With the dust barely settled on the rip snorting `07 season the `08 season got off to a Bali sized bang with a bumper 15 players, including 2 new faces Banny and Gaz courtesy of Mark.

Despite the post xmas weariness evident on everyone's booze weathered brows and the new 40 minute blind structure the first rounds were played at a brisk pace with Briggs taking the lead on table one and Mark cleaning up on table two.
Chris was the first to go out and new face Banny was the next to go but said he would make up for it with a visit to see some strippers. League winner Kev R made an early exit when his pocket Jakes met Paul's King Jack and another King popped up to say 'Fuck You' on the river. He would have followed Banny to see the Yorkshire Rippers but said he was 'off his tits'.
Last seasons surprise 'Jimmy White' Paul looked to be heading for another missed final table when his dwindling piles forced him into a 'double up or go home' all-in against Barry who called revealing King Queen off. Paul showed a pair of 4's which miraculously stood up sending Paul right back into the game with his piles now much enlarged.

The final table, consisting of Mark, Masters Champeen Kev Mc, Paul, Rob, Steve and Briggs was even brisker with Mark the first to leave in no time at all. Rob's all or nothing style switched to 'nothing' mode and he went out next and Briggs' pocket Aces floundered against Paul's second lot of pocket sailboats when Paul hit a third 4 on the river. This was only Briggs' 4th TPS and those in the know tip him as a possible future tournament winner.

Bolstered by his Masters win Kev Mc was playing steady until he went all in with Ace Deuce against Paul's King 10. These two have some fierce head to head form, most memorably in the 2005 Masters final. Unfortunately for Kev history repeated itself when two more 10's sealed the deal and Kev had to settle for third place.

By now Paul's piles where huge mountainous affairs as he went heads up against his cousin Steve. Having not won an official TPS since October 2005 Paul could have been excused a slight case of the jitters but then again Steve had yet to make the final leap to 1st place being the highest ranked player never to have won.

At one point Steve looked to have pulled the game back like some taut poker foreskin until it pinged back into Paul's favour and it wasn't long before Paul, the 4 times TPS winner became a 5 times TPS winner. The extra 10 All Time Leader Board points giving him some much needed distance from the encroaching Kev R as well as the first of this year's Masters seats. Lets hope it comes with a comfy soothing Roid Ring.™

And so we (finally) say farewell to Paul's house, the scene of the first TPS way way back in 2004 - a time of innocence, before there was a 'League' or a 'Masters' - when we where all still learning the game and people still used words like 'Hollywood' and thought it was cool - when the mythical 'Tony Five Chips' still terrorized the tables and before everyone had figured out that John couldn't play for shit.
Although it's evolved over the years lets hope we can keep the TPS spirit alive - lets hope that Andy still 'loves his low cards', that Kev R will try a 'Dick Dastardly style trick', that Rob will always bluff and that Tatter will take his own sweet time playing every hand. One thing's for certain- the phrase 'Crab Salad' will always be funny as fuck.

*********

On a personal note, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you all for my prezzie of Bacardi and a card guard. It really was a surprise and I was moved to real tears by your generosity. Although it can sometimes be a bind I do genuinely enjoy updating this website and I'm chuffed when I know you've taken the time to read it and, hopefully enjoy it. I always appreciate your comments but I don't do this for praise - I do it for Bacardi and card guards. Cheers!

The Masters 2007

2007-12-15T19:30:00.000Z

Winner: Kev Mc
Runner Up: H
Third: Sids
Fourth: Tatter
Fifth: Andy
Sixth: Kev R
Seventh: Rob

And so the seven winners of the previous season gathered at the TPS Poker Dojo. Rob, who'd somehow managed not to turn up to the last Masters way back in 2005 was the first to go, and the pressure of the stressful end of season must have got to Kev R as he went out next.

Andy soon followed leaving Tatter in short stacked position. He must have given up all hope when with 40 chips left he went all-in with a ludicrous 7- 2 off. Sids', seeing an opportunity called with King 7 knocking Tatter oot.

Sids' extra chips didn't help him much as 10 minutes later he was oot too having gone all-in with King Queen only to be called by H who had Ace Jack, the flop did nobody any favours and the Ace high won, giving H a massive chip lead as he went heads up against Kev Mc.

The head to head lasted the best part of an hour and at one point Kev went all-in with Jack 10 and the best H had was a Queen. Kev spiked a 10 on the board to become chip leader.
The next time H went all in Kev called with King 7. H showed another Ace Jack and looked to be the favourite until Kev hit a King giving him the Masters crown (and his vase back).

TPS 11 `07 'The Climax' SATURDAY 10th November

2007-11-10T18:11:00.000Z

Winner Tatter

2nd Steve

3rd Paul

4th Chris

5th H

6th Jordan

The 2007 season finally reached its throbbing climax with TPS 11 `07 shooting thick streams of poker jizz over the expectant faces of the Hold `Em world. Thirteen payers turned out to see if Kev R could take the title and, for those not already in it, for one last desperate attempt to reach Masters Heaven.

After the sad demise of Paul's Old Green Table (R.I.P.), table 2 had to contend with squeezing round a tiny coffee table, whilst those on table 1 had the luxury of Paul's Big Red Fancy Table. The seating draw meant that league leader Kev R was placed next to the contender Sids, whilst Sids was placed next to the only two players who could knock him off second spot if he failed to win: John and Tatter.

The evening started off in a subdued, pensive atmosphere; possibly down to the high steaks at steak, or possibly down to several players (Kev R, Steve, John and Paul) still recovering from the previous nights real-ale-athon (courtesy of JD Wetherspoon).

All this pressure must have got to Sid's when he failed to spot Brendan's flush and, despite holding trip queens got knocked out first - handing Kev R the league title on a doily with only a couple of dozen hands played.

With the title in the bag Kev R was the next to bow out, leaving the rest of table 1 at the mercy of Jordan's new found all-in tactics, which where starting to give him a tidy pile of chips and effectively blocking everyone else from playing anything but their strongest hands. Which was exactly what Brendan did, flopping a straight and calling Jordan's all in only to get rivered by a full house.

Table 2, which had started out much tighter soon started to unravel with Mark, Andy and Rob dropping out in quick succession. The last player to get knocked out on table 1 was John who finally stood up to Jordan's dominating play with and Ace 9 of hearts to Jordan's Ace 6 off. The flop gave up two more hearts and John was still in front until the river gave Jordan a pair of 6's and a seat in the final.

He wasn't there long- Paul finally putting an end to his blitzkrieg tactics. H and Chris where the next to exit leaving Tatter, Paul and Steve still in contention. With Tatter needing to win to overtake Sids in the still lucrative second league position and Paul and Steve desperate to add their name's to the final Masters list, the game slowed to a chess pace- "it was like watching Cliff Thorburn v. Terry Griffith's" said Andy.

Paul was the first to exit, going all-in with Jack King only to suffer a humiliating defeat from Tatter's Ace high, pissing all over his dreams of defending his Masters crown* which he won so effectively in 2006. Tatter won out after a long heads up with Steve, who leapfrogged John and Sids into second in the league.

And so a season that's seen smashed houses, drunken arguments, drunkener players, pot money mix ups, Masters dates disagreements and even some poker drew to a close. The lucky few who managed a win can prepare for playing in the Masters whilst those who failed can practice their dealing and only dream about what might have been. And bore people endlessly with bad beat stories.

TPS 2008 starts in January (2008).

*Please note: TPS Masters™ winners do not win a crown.

TPS 10 `07 'The Freeze Out' SATURDAY 6th October

2007-10-06T18:09:00.000+01:00

Winner Sids

2nd Street

3rd Kev R

4th John

5th Kev Mc

6th Mark

TPS10, the penultimate game of the season turned out to be not just eventful but event-filled. It all kicked off with the shock non appearance of Andy, Tatter and Rob- effectively ending all Tatters hopes of winning the league (leaving them literally 'In Tatters'…) and it looked like being one of the lowest attended games of the season until Mark turned up with 2nd time TPS'er Brendan and new player 'Street' in tow.

Things got off to a cautious start until John took a chunk of Steve's chips with a nut flush, then as the beers began to kick in things started loosening up like a fresh prison bitch. One family pot grew to epic proportions until only Mark and Street remained, sensing a straight Mark folded trip Aces, his disciplined move earning respect from the rest of the table.

The night's first casualty was Steve, still feeling under the weather from the previous night's revelry's, with Paul and Brendan following in quick succession. Kev R put his claim in for worse play of the season when he folded a full house for only 8 extra chips.

With Mark and Kev Mc next to drop this left John, Kev R and Street up against the Uber-Chipped Sids. Not soon after John flipped out with a crazy hand only to find himself out of the game like a pregnant whore.

Sids was by then far ahead of the pack and soon took out Kev R and Street to get within 5 points of the TPS 2007 League title.

All this must have been too much for Paul, who after failing yet again to reach the Masters went on a kill crazy rampage throughout Kev R's house smashing everything in sight. Either that or he accidentally managed to un-hinge one of Kev's patio doors sending it crashing to the ground at 4am in the morning. Unperturbed by this, and with a sense of 'being on guard' Paul, John and Kev Mc carried on playing in the sub zero temperatures like a trio of Russian soldiers in a Siberian Gulag.

So now the final game of the season beckons like an inviting trollop. All Kev R has to do its watch that he gets in the points, and Sids has to hope he can win it again and Kev goes out early. As for everyone else, there's still one final chance at Masters Glorwy.

TPS 9 `07 SATURDAY 31st August

2007-08-31T18:07:00.000+01:00

Winner Kev Mc

2nd Tatter

3rd Paul

4th John

5th Kev R

6th Sids

Despite the end of the season looming larger than a lazy-assed cake munching fatcunt only 9 playas turned out for this the ninth TPS tournament of the season. That didn't stop this 1 table match from being shit hot and excitement filled. The excitement started early for Andy when he went out first, expecting more from his Ace 2 of diamonds.

John then took a bunch of Sids' chips then knocked out Steve making everybody rub their hands in the knowledge that a chipped up John means free chips for all. The give-away had to wait for a while as Tatters older younger brother John T clung on to his dwindling stack for a few more hands before finally bowing out leaving the rest of the table in the points.

After Sids' departure Kev R went next adding a few more points to his league lead and squeezing another final table under his belt. John soon gave his chips to Paul when his Queen Jack failed to hit a pair against Paul's pocket 10's sending him out in 4th spot and just out of the money for the 4th time this season. This left two time TPS champeen Tatter in top chip position along with the Masters hungry Paul and Kev Mc. There was then a three way standoff with chips being passed around like a drunk at a Barrymore pool party.

The ménage-a-tois became a ménage-a-deux when Paul's Ace Ten met Tatter's Ace King, the better kicker winning out. With Tatter already having booked his Masters seat twice over the crowd was rooting for Kev Mc and in the space of a couple of hands he'd managed to even things up - finally going all in and winning with a straight right off the flop. 'It's the greatest night of my life' said father of two Kev.

TPS 8 `07 SATURDAY 11th August

2007-08-11T18:06:00.000+01:00

Winner Andy

2nd Kev R

3rd John

4th Chris

5th Mark

6th Barry

TPS celebrated the start of its third year with a trip to a new venue at Rob's gaff as well as one of the top attendances of the season. The numbers where swelled by 4 first TPS timers, Fergie, Brendan, Barry and Tatter's bro' John T. Plus there was a special guest appearance by TV's own Chris Tweedy star of the ITV 'game show' Goldenballs. And Oz popped round for a bit but he didn't stay.

Table 2 was the first to declare itself finished, with Fergie doing the honours of going out first, quickly followed by Sids. Another newcomer Barry then cleaned up at the expense of Tatter the Elder and the underperforming Steve.

As is usual for TPS games these days, the faster one table completes the slower the next one goes and so it was that Table 1 dragged on and on and on with nobody taking the early lead. Tatter was first to drop, clearly still in the grip of the Poker Yips (see last month), when he called an all in bet by John even after he declared "I bet you've got trips". He should have listened to his own advice as John turned over pocket 10's; the ten on the board tripping him up to take the hand and all of Tatter's chips.

Brendan meanwhile was gradually building up his stack with some aggressive tactics and taking a fuckload of Paul's chips after hitting a much needed King on the river. Then Mark suddenly saw the clock edging towards his appointment with destiny (or was it the Syndicate?), and he began putting down some audacious poker moves that earned him a shit pile of chips.

It was soon down to the last four with Mark well ahead and Andy, John and Paul languishing in low chip limbo. It was then all-in every hand for the chip-lacks with Andy the first to double up, Paul decided to move all in on the next hand but got bubbled by Mark when he hit a very spawny straight, or a flush or something I forgot to write it down.

This left Paul, the previous season's best player by far still without a masters seat and with only 3 more chances available he must be wondering why his Casino form isn't translating to the TPS. Another final table for Kev R meant he was going to stay top of the league no matter what happened and this, his 6th final table appearance of 2007 gave him the lead for the number of finals reached so far. John and Sids come second with 5 appearances each.

The final itself was probably one of the quickest to finish yet, even with the 10 minute chilli beak (cheers Rob). Mark must have been itchin in the kitchen to hit the town as he started making big raises and pushing all in to steal the blinds. Then came a flop that saw Barry push all in. John called only for Mark to re-raise all in. John called that too. Barry turned over 2 pair. Mark though he had it in the bag when he revealed 3 of a kind only for John to lob out a full house, knocking the other two out of the final in one swift move.

TV's own Chris Tweedy was out next and then Andy decided the best thing to do was to start trying to double up and, hitting some great cards on the way, all-inned himself to the Masters with a much deserved, and first since May 2005, TPS win.

TPS 7 `07 'The Muppet Factory' SATURDAY 21st July

2007-07-21T18:04:00.000+01:00

Winner Rob

2nd Paul

3rd John

4th Kev R

5th Steve

6th Sids

What you doin!?!?" was the oft used phrase of TPS 7 - a black day in the history of TPS which saw some of the most mongoloid dealing ever to disgrace a poker table. Bum deals, un-burnt burn cards and folded cards being shuffled back into the deck were just a few of the shameful incidents.

Rob didn't help when he had a go at some jazzy dealing "like off the telly" much to the annoyance of Andy, who's turn it soon was to deal the 'Worst Dealt Hand In Poker History', and was first out (probably on purpose just avoid having to deal again).

Even the normally poker sharp mind of Tatter had gone all dribbley when he folded his little blind when the call was for only 1 chip - or was it the most disciplined move of the night?
No came the answer a few hands later as he joined Andy by going out next.

John took the early lead for this 1 table event, but failed to take advantage and lost a rake when his trip 9's lost out to Rob's trip Jacks. This made Rob the Leader of the Pack dominating till the end and thus, Glitter-like, taking chips, like so much innocence.

TPS 6 `07 SATURDAY 30th June

2007-06-30T18:02:00.000+01:00

Winner Rob

2nd Andy

3rd Kev R

4th John

5th Daz

6th Chris

This Months TPS Action. In Video Mash-Up Form:

TPS 5 `07 SATURDAY 5th May

2007-05-05T18:01:00.000+01:00

Winner Tatter

2nd Steve

3rd Paul

4th Andy

5th Sids

6th Andy 2

This months TPS action. In Haiku form.

Welcome Back Derek
Daz Get's Knocked Out Like Leeds
I'm Gutted. Says He

New Player Andy 2
Though He's Pissed Takes All The Chips
Bubble Boy John Again.

The Final Table
Tatter Wins Again Paul Third
Steve Is Jimmy White

TPS 4 `07 'Fight Night' SATURDAY 14th April.

2007-04-14T17:59:00.000+01:00

Winner H

2nd Chris

3rd Kev R

4th Andy

5th John

6th Kev Mc

"Kick him in the fucking eye!"
"Punch his legs out!"
"Stomp on his wrists!"
Such are the sounds of boozed up Britain on a Saturday night, when grown men, pissed up on drinks, eschew gentlemanly détente, and resort instead to blind ugly violence.
Luckily, we at the TPS are above such Neanderthal methods of conflict resolution. Not for us the elbow-to-the-throat or the shiv-to-the spine approach to slight settling of the general, ITV viewing, public. We choose instead a deck of cards and the poker table to settle our scores.

That said, it might have been the derelict Fight Club décor of host Johnny C's soon-to-be-sold house or the scorching April heat or (most likely) the vast amount of booze that was heartily swigged by the majority of the season-attendance-record-breaking 15 players that lead TPS 4 '07 to be the most fractious to date.

The warm weather even brought Kev Mc, Sean, H and Keith out of hibernation. It was looking like a long night, but Sids helped things along by going our early doors on table 2 (and promptly falling asleep).

"Hmm fggen guttrd" slurred Sids.

Jordan soon followed after going all in with a pocket pair of 5's. "I've got a bit of a cold" sniffed Jordan, Zammo-like.

Table 1, which had 6 previous TPS winners involved, was much tighter. Apart from Sean who couldn't wait to resort to his old tricks, going all in with just 3 chips in the pot. Everyone checked except Paul, who seemed tempted to take up the challenge, until finally folding his Ace-King. Sean showed a King-Ten Off, and promptly declared it a 'good fold' on Paul's part, much to the incredulity of The Entire World.

After what seemed an eternity but was more like 3 hours the final table got underway with the two Kevs, Chris, H, Andy and John (making it two final tables out of two on his home ground) taking part. The Ice Man was the first to 'melt' (sorry) and John and Kev R where soon battling it out for who had the shortest stack. The Riggler got down to 11 chips at one point and despite the fact he'd drunk enough wine to drown France, it was John who went out next, proving once again that you can check your way to a final table, but to stay there you actually have to win some hands.

Which is just what Chris was steadily doing, proving his 'Raise or Fold' tactics can work. Kev R meanwhile must have been seeing double through the vapours and started playing like all his cards where pairs. After Andy went out he was vying for second position from the normally bet-happy (and sober) H.
The fairy tale chip-rags to chip-riches finish was not to be as he soon succumbed to the ocean of wine he'd necked to finish a respectable, if incomprehensible 3rd. This left first time heads-up-ists Chris and H, with Chris having by far the most chips. Call it irony, call it common sense (call it with 5,10 off suite if it's the Masters*), but H struck a blow for temperance and won leaving the rest of the bleary eyed alconauts to rant and argue the night away amidst the booze fumes.

*sorry Kev.

TPS 3 `07 'The Classic'SATURDAY 3rd March.

2007-03-03T17:58:00.000Z

Winner Kev R

2nd Sids

3rd Steve

4th Dennis

5th Paul

6th Mark

It was an old school reunion night for the third game of the 2007 season at the spiritual home of TPS, Paul's house. With the return of old timers Graham, Dennis and Chris and Arcade Fire on in the background it was like the heady days of 2005 all over again.
Graham might have wished he'd stuck to patching up stab victims* as he was the first to flunk out loosing most of his chips by hoping that his pair of ducks would stand up after an all faces flop. Instead they lay sprawling on the ground, rapidly loosing blood like a just-knifed tourist on the 'Golden' Mile.
'I'm gutted' said Graham afterwards.
New meat Mark blagged everyone that he didn't know how to play and won table 1, picking up four of a kind 8's along the way.
Over on Table 2 things where somewhat slower, not surprising when Tatter 'The Tortoise' is involved but unfortunately his slow and steady approach didn't pay off this time. Bubble Boy John hoped to make his second final table in a row but instead carried on the retro theme of the evening by going out 4th after getting knocked out by Dennis.
As 1 am loomed the final table got under way and by ten past Mark was phoning a taxi. The rest battled it out into the small hours, eventually boiling down to a heads up between 'Mr Consistency' Sids and winner of TPS8 `05 Kev R.
Riggers won and took second spot on the All Time Leader Board from Tatter, closing the gap on top place Paul to just 14 points, and moving up to second place in the 2007 table, just 3 points from league leader Sids, the only player to point in every game this season so far.

* he's a paramedic (not a violent criminal)

TPS 2 `07 SATURDAY 10TH FEBRUARY

2007-02-10T17:47:00.000Z

Winner Sids

2nd John

3rd Jordan

4th Rob

5th Paul

6th Daz

The second of this seasons TPS's got off to a rip snorting start with the shock exit of former 2 time TPS triumphalist Andy in only the second hand. Andy, who was absent from TPS1 said "I'm Gutted".

Sids hit the 'house hand' four of a kind Queens, before the final table of Daz, John, Sids, Jordan Rob and Paul.

Daz was the first to take a dive, soon followed by Paul, making it an all round shit day for the Taylors's. Loose playing Rob and the normally hands oblivious Jordan followed, leaving Sids and John heads up. Never one to let a chip lead get in the way of humiliating defeat, John missed out on a masters place by folding his way out of the title. "I'm gutted", he said.

This left Sids, in only his 2nd TPS tournament, to become the Victorilator of TPS2 (07).

TPS 1 `07 SATURDAY 13TH January

2007-01-13T17:44:00.000Z

Winner Tatter

2nd Steve

3rd Daz

4th Kev R

5th Dave

6th Sids

A Big thank-you to everyone who turned up for the start of the 2007 TPS season, and congratulations to Tatter for (finally) winning one! TPS 1 `07 welcomed two new players Paul 'Sids' Siddall (photographer for the night), and Dave. Things got off to a traditional start with John going out first (again), after being knocked out by Paul (again). Kev R stunned everyone by managing to get 4 of a kind Queens TWICE and Rob caused an upset when he accidentally put John's pocket Aces back in the deck (not that it did him any good). Tatter played a steady game to clinch victory, shed his 'Jimmy White of TPS' image and grab the first seat in the 2007 Masters.

TPS13 21 Feb 2006

2006-02-21T17:42:00.000Z

Winner: Tony

2nd: Kev R

3rd: Paul

4th: Tatter

5th: Steve

6th: Geoff

TPS12 October 1st 2005

2005-10-01T17:36:00.000+01:00

Winner: Paul

2nd: Dennis

3rd: Tatter

4th: Kev R

5th: Kev Mc

6th: Dave G

Number of Players: 16.
Table 1 Kev Mc, Paul, Keith, Des, Tony, Geoff, Derek, Tatter
Table 2 Andy, John C, Rob, Daz, Dennis, Dave, Kev R, Steve

Welcome back Flop Fans. TPS12 kicked off the new season with a bumper haul of punters and saw the long awaited return of Uncle Tony and new face (and TPS's youngest player yet), Des. Table 1 saw the night's first victim, first out virgin Keith, who came Royally unstuck when his 3 Jacks locked horns with Paul's 3 Jacks and an Ace kicker. Over on Table 2 Kev R, who been promising some new 'Dick Dastardly Tactics' took the early lead by snatching some big wins.

John C took out Table 2's second victim (booze hound Rob was the first to go), with a pair o Kings against Daz's pocket Jakes. Things got interesting on Table 1 when both Tatter and Paul hit a Straight Flush; unfortunately for Tatter, he'd already mucked his hand. Table 2 soon boiled down to Kev R, Dennis and, defying his own 15 minute rule , Dave.

Steve narrowly missed out on a spot at the final. Table 1 took a while longer to settle, with an in-form Tatter heads up against Masters Champ Paul.

Dave was first out of the final (this time living up to his 15 minute rule), closely followed by Kev Mc. Dennis takes up the story:
"I remember Tatter going out after going all in against me, I think I was on the big blind of 16, Tatter called it before the flop and
Paul was on the small blind stacked. So back on me and I raised it 20, Tatter thought for a min and raised back to me all in. Tatter had around 70 chips I had a few more so I called straight away. Tatter turned over first and had ace, and I think a picture, I turned over a pair of kings, which was enough. Both decent hands any way.

I remember thinking afterwards that maybe my 20 raise came over as a bluff as I had been raising 16 till then and 20 looks like a steal. But then Tatter did have the cards! I also remember Kev going down to a chip and a chair at one point then raised up to about 70 in 4th place. I was convinced he was going to win. Then Me and Paul were heads up, I was on 32 big blind; two cards each and Paul went all in before the flop, I remember saying 'what again' to Paul as he had gone all in on the previous hand, without giving owt away Paul said 'yep'.

I had k/9 suited, I took ages to call as Paul gave nothing away. I convinced myself Paul was stealing with a small pair, but the second I said call I new he had an ace, he wanted my chips. He turned over A/and a low off suit kicker, I thought it was up at this point but the river gave Paul 2 pair. BUMMER.
That left me with 18 chips, we played the next hand cards up, I got a pair of 8's. I thought if I could double up 3 times I'm back in, but again Paul
drew 2 pair on the flop."

The Masters 2005

2005-09-24T19:27:00.001+01:00

	The Masters 2005
	Winner: Paul
	Runner Up: Kev Mc
	3rd: Sean
	4th: Kev R
	5th: Yvonne
	6th: Andy
	7th: Rob (DNS)*

Well here it is Poker Fans, the TPS night of the year, the night where one brave Poker Warrior will go home the King of Kings. After 11 gruelling tournaments the mighty gladiators gathered, like some kind of card playing Highlanders to see who would become 'The One'.

A night that would become legend got off to a shaky start when TPS 1 winner Rob failed to materialize due to a 'prior engagement'. The first hour was a tense affair with nun-minge tight play all round until Andy, feeling the need to make a move, went all in with Ace-Rag, but it turned out to be Ace-Jam Rag when he became the first victim of the night crashing head first against Kev Mc's Full House: Queens Full Fours. Kev R pulled a Dick Dastardly style sneaky bluff to win a big pot and showed the world he likes to go large with a pocket pair of Snowmens. Fuelled with his success he saw Yvonne All In; Yvonne was holding Jack King of Hearts and was looking for a flush, but the flop was a bastard and she fell foul to Kevs pair of 5's.

It was TPS 11 winner Sean's turn to 'make a break make a move' next seeing Paul all in with Bitch and a Bullet - Paul was holding Ace Deuce and hit second Duck on 4th Street. This was too much for Sean's, Queen Ace and, "qwack qwack oops", Paul took the chips and a Hairy-Cuntflake sized chunk out of Sean's stack. Sean was still in the game but only just.

This left Kev R in last position and so, needing to make some chips faster than Harry Ramsden he began to make raises, scaring everyone off and purloining some blinds along the way until Kev Mc saw him all in. In a truly audacious Roots Manoeuvre Riggers saw the all in with a -witness the shitness- 4-5 off suite, he must have shat when Kev Mc turned over King King; The Kaisers held up and Kev R was out for the count.

By now Kev Mc was the Poker Daddy with nearly twice as many chips as Paul and Sean combined and it looked like a battle for second place. After being 'Johnny Chip-Lack' for most of the night Sean managed to build up a pile until he was called all in by Paul. Sean thought his Ace 6 was worth a punt - Paul revealed a Queen 8 - The flop came down 7, 6, Ace- Sean had Two Pair! He can taste the Play Off! Then… a 4 on Fourth Street! Can Paul get a Straight?! There's only 1 card that can stop Sean getting to Heads Up and it's a… a 5! On the River! And Sean's Masters Dreams are in ruins, he's down, he's out, he's Mr. Blobby World, he's 'Police Academy 7 (Mission to Moscow)'.

And so this is it. The final of finals. And who better to face off than the two time champ Kev' The Ice-Box' McVittie and the three time champ and league winner Paul 'The Godfather' Taylor. They're pretty equally matched for chips with Paul having the slight advantage. A couple of hands are played…cards are folded blinds are exchanged… it's the third hand of the final…the flop comes down… Jack, Jack, Ace… a brief, tense pause… the champions face each other across the table… Paul speaks: "All In"… Kev looks at the deck…he checks his hand…thinks...speaks… "I'll see it".
This is it, the final showdown, the decider, the moment, the culmination of 11 Tournaments and hundreds of hands of Poker and it's all down to this hand... Paul turns over his cards… Jack, 3!! Kev's head slumps into his hands, his cards fall on the table - 5, 10! The next cards' a 5 but it's not enough, Kev's drawing dead! A 3 on the river gives Paul a Full House: Jacks Full Salad and take-this-game-out-of-the grill-and-serve-it-up-with-onion- gravy it's done, it's over! He is the Champion; Paul is the TPS Master 2005!

The Masters Poster

Andy Feels The Pain!

TPS11 September 10th 2005

2005-09-10T17:30:00.000+01:00

Winner: Sean

2nd: Kev Mc

3rd: Kev R

4th: Yvonne

5th: Tatter

6th: John

Sweeps: Kev R

Date: Saturday September 10th 2005 Location: John C's

Number of Players: 12.
Table 1 Derek, Keith, Kev R, Rob, Tatter, Yvonne.
Table 2 Andy, Dave, Kev Mc, John, Paul, Sean.

TPS 11 welcomed its first 'Special Guest Face' with the arrival of Dave from Chesterfield, a regular of Pokerstars.com invited by online Poker buddy Sean. The Tournament kicked off with a shock with the departure of two time winner Andy, who bet his stack on a pair of Rockets only to get his pants pulled down to Kev Mc's Diamond Flush after only the second hand of Table 2.

He was joined a few hands later by his brother and pre-game favourite, the 3 time champ Paul. Table 1 was a much tighter affair with Rob, (pissed up and sporting a black eye from a ruck the previous night), taking an early lead. Table 2 soon turned into a battle for 3rd place between new bloke Dave and the Jimmy White of TPS John who where both early chip midgets to a boozed up Sean and the super chilled Kev Mc.

John eventually won out reaching the final table for just the third time in 11 appearances. Back on Table 1 Rob's wild style poker play soon saw him knocked out (for the second time in 2 days), closely followed by Derek and Keith leaving Chip Ape Tatter, Yvonne and Kev R for the final.
John's time in the final lasted just two hands when he went all in with Trip Dukes and came unstuck against Kev 'The Ice Box' McVittie who flopped yet more Flushed Nuts with a Fist Full o' Clubs.

Tatter gave up most of his chips after his Pocket Bullets got bum raped by Yvonne's Full House; all in on the next hand he grabbed a pair of 6's, Kev R flashed a pair of 7's and Tatter was out. After Yvonne and Kev R both bit the baize it was heads up between Sean and Kev Mc. Sean, fuelled up on 12 hours of Booze showed some strong aggressive play which put the heat on the sub zero king of cool Kev Mc and a 9 - King Straight took him to his first TPS Championship and the final Golden Ticket to the 2005 TPS Masters.

TPS10 "The Birthday Party" Aug 2005

2005-08-25T17:29:00.000+01:00

TPS10 "The Birthday Party" Aug 2005

Winner: Paul

2nd: Graham

3rd: Jordan

4th: Brian

5th: Keith

6th: Tatter

Sweeps: Andy

TPS 9 "The Grift" July 2005

2005-07-24T17:28:00.000+01:00

Winner: Paul

2nd: Andy

3rd: Geoff

4th: Dennis

5th: Yvonne (ret)

6th: Sean

Sweeps: Derek

TPS 8 "The Editor's Choice" Jun 2005

2005-06-17T17:27:00.000+01:00

Winner: Kev R

2nd: Kev Mc

3rd: Andy

4th: Paul

5th: Tatter

6th: Dennis

Sweeps: Keith

TPS 7 May 2005

2005-05-18T17:26:00.000+01:00

Winner: Andy

2nd: Steve

3rd: Keith

4th: Geoff

5th: Derek

6th: Jordan

Sweeps: Paul

TPS 6 "The Riggers Open" April 2005

2005-04-12T17:16:00.000+01:00

Winner: Yvonne

2nd: Rob

3rd: John

4th: Dennis

5th: Jordan

6th: Tatter

Sweeps: Kev Mac

TPS 5 "The Epic" 6 Feb 2005

2005-02-06T17:12:00.000Z

Winner: Kev Mc

2nd: Graham

3rd: Andy

4th: Paul

5th: Tatter

6th: Sean

Sweeps: Tony T

TPS 4 2004

2004-11-30T17:11:00.000Z

Winner: Kev Mc

2nd: Tatter

3rd: Dave

4th: Theresa

5th: Sean

6th: Andy

Sweeps: Steve

TPS 3 2004

2004-10-15T17:10:00.000+01:00

Winner: Paul

2nd: Kev R

3rd: Daz

4th: John

5th: Yvonne

6th: Graham

Sweeps: Andy

TPS 2 Sept 2004

2004-09-24T16:23:00.000+01:00

Winner: Andy

2nd: Tatter

3rd: Steve

4th: Rob

5th: Paul

6th: Kev Mc

Sweeps: Geoff

TPS 1 Aug 2004

2004-08-14T15:39:00.000+01:00

Winner: Rob

2nd: Tony

3rd: Theresa

4th: Geoff

5th: Sean

6th: Kev R

Sweeps: Tatter