10/21 DDPT Game at my House, written by Bill

The Dirty Dirty Poker Tour – DDPT – is a home poker league which has been holding Texas Hold-Em tournaments for nearly two years. In that time, membership has increased from six when originally founded to the current fourteen. Member players are awarded points for first, second, and third place finishes in “minor” and “major” tournaments, culminating in a championship game held on the Saturday of Super Bowl weekend. Players keep all the money they win, although the buy-ins for most tournaments never exceed twenty-five dollars.

Most tournaments are held in the South Jersey/Philadelphia area, but last Saturday nine members of the DDPT made a trek to Frank’s Big Slick Casino in Glen Ridge for a major event, consisting of one major and one minor tournament. The pre-tournament banter reflects the close-knit nature of the group. On this particular night, league Commissioner Tony, a.k.a. “T-Chill” or simply “Chill,” (all members use nicknames during tournaments; in this report last names have been deleted to protect the innocent and hide the guilty), is running late, so the other players play a joke on him. They make it look like they started without him, arranging the cards to give him pocket kings, with a king on the board, and a huge stack of chips in the pot. After he arrived, the look on his face when he saw the cards prompted peals of laughter form the assembled masses.

Once the first hand was dealt, the jokes subsided to a manageable level and it was mostly business for the DDPT. I didn’t see what happened, but Will “Suge” (short for “Sugar”) and Fee “Mania” were the first ones to bust out. Moments later came one of the critical, and most controversial, hands of the night, featuring Chill vs. Frank “The Unknown.” Holding AA, Chill calls, hoping to slowplay. Unknown raises to 175. Chill calls, everyone else folds, and three low spades come on the flop. Chill bets 300, but Unknown raises to 1000. While deciding his next move, Chill smiles and says, “This is gonna end up with an all-in, isn’t it?” Some mild laugher ensues while Chill deliberates. Finally, Chill puts Unknown all-in, and Unknown calls. They turn over the cards, and Unknown thinks he’s sitting pretty with QQ, but Chill turns over AA, one of which is the ace of spades. The flush never comes, but Chill didn’t need it as his rockets stand up, and the Unknown would be known for an early exit that night. The hand leaves Chill sitting on the big stack, which he would ride all the way to the final table.

Sitting to Front Page’s left was Terry, a.k.a. “Lefty,” who had been the pre-chip-up leader, but whose chips slowly bled away to Chill, Page, and others. One of the beneficiaries was “Dollar” Bill, who outlasted the left-handed one and Bryan, a.k.a. “Code Blue” to make the final three player table. But Dollar didn’t have enough cash in his stack to take on Chill and Page, both of whom had won significantly bigger pots. The Dollar managed to stay alive for while, even doubling up a one point, but lost when he pushed with QJ and Page got him with K8 and a K on the board.

So Chill and Front Page were set for the heads-up confrontation. With both having a reputation for aggressive play, this one figured to be over quickly. These expectations were met early in the heads up round when Chill in the big blind was dealt 23 of spades. Front Page called the BB and two more spades came on the flop. Both players checked, and Page caught his straight on the turn, but Chill also caught his flush. A cold wind blew through North Jersey as Chill took down his third major of the year, clinching a spot in the league’s championship game.

In the minor event – distinguished from the major in that it is worth fewer points to the top three finishers – which followed Frank’s wife Lisa played her first DDPT game. Although the players had no nickname for her yet, Lisa earned a ton of respect from the DDPT for her tight play which resulted in a third place finish. But the critical hand in this event came when Chill went all-in with KQs, and Lefty and Mania call with 55 and AA respectively. Lefty catches a five on the turn, and his fellow DDPTers could only watch him celebrate. But Lefty had nothing to celebrate after the heads up round, even though he was the bigger stack against Jihad. The holy warrior played a more disciplined game; in the final hand his AK held up against Lefty’s’s A10.

The DDPT maintains its own blog (http://dirtypoker.blogspot.com) which shows the current standings as players vie for the four automatic bids to the league’s championship game. The remaining players play one game for the final two spots in the event. With only two minor and one major event remaining, the competition has never been more intense. We’ll be keeping an eye on the DDPT as the season comes to its conclusion!