2010-11 Money List:
1. Bob T. +$110
2. Dave Cl. +$55
3. Ian B. +$15
King of Donkeytown:
1. Ian
2. Dave Cl.
3. Tom H.
4. Jeremy J.
5. Bob T.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Saturday, July 24, 2010
2010-2011 season is underway!
We had 9 players Friday night... not bad for the middle of summer! Hopefully this bodes well for a lot of games and good times this year. The $30 buy-in event featured the following players:
Seat 1: Ian B. ($45)
Seat 2: Mike C.
Seat 3: Dave Ck.
Seat 4: Tim M.
Seat 5: Dave Cl. ($85)
Seat 6: Tom H.
Seat 7: Dave T.
Seat 8: Bob T. ($140)
Seat 9: Aaron B.
After four-and-a-half hours, Bob emerged victorious over Dave Cl., and Ian took third. The host and author of this blog drank too many of Ian's homebrews to make note of any interesting or pivotal hands.
Ian will retain his "King of Donkeytown" status for at least one more game, while Dave Cl. moves up to 2nd, knocking Tom down to third, while Bob's win puts also him within reach (as well as make him the early-season money leader). Official standings will be posted next week.
Thanks again to Ian for sharing the Mr. Beer samples! Looking forward to seeing a few of you at Jeremy's next week!
Seat 1: Ian B. ($45)
Seat 2: Mike C.
Seat 3: Dave Ck.
Seat 4: Tim M.
Seat 5: Dave Cl. ($85)
Seat 6: Tom H.
Seat 7: Dave T.
Seat 8: Bob T. ($140)
Seat 9: Aaron B.
After four-and-a-half hours, Bob emerged victorious over Dave Cl., and Ian took third. The host and author of this blog drank too many of Ian's homebrews to make note of any interesting or pivotal hands.
Ian will retain his "King of Donkeytown" status for at least one more game, while Dave Cl. moves up to 2nd, knocking Tom down to third, while Bob's win puts also him within reach (as well as make him the early-season money leader). Official standings will be posted next week.
Thanks again to Ian for sharing the Mr. Beer samples! Looking forward to seeing a few of you at Jeremy's next week!
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Final Season Results
Ian B. is the official money champion for 2010-2011, making an overall profit of $330! This does not include side bets or "high hand" contests; otherwise his total would be more like $16,275. Donkey. I mean, congratulations!
Tom H. finished a close second place for the season, finishing +$328.
Dave Cl., on the strength of his Corky Cup victory and another early-season win, was third overall at +$277.
Jeremy J. finished at +$170 for fourth place, while Eric H. (+$36) and Ken M. (+$5) were the only other two players to finish in the black for the year.
The slate is now wiped clean for 2010-2011. However, I have begun a running "King of Donkeytown" formula, which goes off of the same money results, but weighs recent games more heavily. The formula is not overly complicated but I'll decline to post it here. Ian is the current King of Donkeytown.
There is no monetary prize for being the season money champion or King, but the current King will have his picture graced on the top of the Donkeytown blog. Hail Ian!
Tom H. finished a close second place for the season, finishing +$328.
Dave Cl., on the strength of his Corky Cup victory and another early-season win, was third overall at +$277.
Jeremy J. finished at +$170 for fourth place, while Eric H. (+$36) and Ken M. (+$5) were the only other two players to finish in the black for the year.
The slate is now wiped clean for 2010-2011. However, I have begun a running "King of Donkeytown" formula, which goes off of the same money results, but weighs recent games more heavily. The formula is not overly complicated but I'll decline to post it here. Ian is the current King of Donkeytown.
There is no monetary prize for being the season money champion or King, but the current King will have his picture graced on the top of the Donkeytown blog. Hail Ian!
2009-2010 Season Finale
On Friday, June 25, we christened New Donkeytown!
Five players joined in the action for two $20 games: Ian, Tom, Dave T., Mike C., and Jeremy.
In the first game, after Mike had the chip lead but declined a 2-way chop, Jeremy came back to win first place and $60, while Mike took $40 in a "mini-chop."
In the second game, Dave T. took top honors for $70, and Ian finished second to win $30.
For the season, which included 11 nights of poker over the last 10 months, that put Ian TWO whole dollars behind Tom for the money title. Even though it was already getting late, Ian and Tom decided to play heads-up for $2 and the official title.
Ian took almost a 3:2 lead after quite a few small pots were played between the two. The critical hand played out when Ian had KQ and Tom had Q8. On a board of KQxAQ, Ian had made a full house to Tom's trip queens. Ian made a large bet on the river, and Tom called, leaving him crippled. A couple hands later, Ian made a small suckout on a preflop all-in to end the game.
We had a lot of fun over the last year even though 11 nights of play is a little too few and far between for this reporter. I believe that we once played 25-30 games a year. I know that many games is not very realistic these days, but my goal is to play 18 games in the 2010-2011 season, beginning (hopefully) with a game before July runs out!
Five players joined in the action for two $20 games: Ian, Tom, Dave T., Mike C., and Jeremy.
In the first game, after Mike had the chip lead but declined a 2-way chop, Jeremy came back to win first place and $60, while Mike took $40 in a "mini-chop."
In the second game, Dave T. took top honors for $70, and Ian finished second to win $30.
For the season, which included 11 nights of poker over the last 10 months, that put Ian TWO whole dollars behind Tom for the money title. Even though it was already getting late, Ian and Tom decided to play heads-up for $2 and the official title.
Ian took almost a 3:2 lead after quite a few small pots were played between the two. The critical hand played out when Ian had KQ and Tom had Q8. On a board of KQxAQ, Ian had made a full house to Tom's trip queens. Ian made a large bet on the river, and Tom called, leaving him crippled. A couple hands later, Ian made a small suckout on a preflop all-in to end the game.
We had a lot of fun over the last year even though 11 nights of play is a little too few and far between for this reporter. I believe that we once played 25-30 games a year. I know that many games is not very realistic these days, but my goal is to play 18 games in the 2010-2011 season, beginning (hopefully) with a game before July runs out!
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Season Standings Through Bounty Tournament (May 22)
Here are the standings from all Donkeytown games going back to last August:
1. Tom H. +$369.82
2. Ian B. +337.82
3. David C. +277.25
4. Jeremy J. +150.00
5. Eric H. +36.25
6 Ken M. +5.00
1. Tom H. +$369.82
2. Ian B. +337.82
3. David C. +277.25
4. Jeremy J. +150.00
5. Eric H. +36.25
6 Ken M. +5.00
That's Mr. Donkey To You
We had 2 games on Friday night. The first one was a $15 buy-in with 5 players: Bob T., Dave T., Tom H., Darren C. and Ian B. After 6 hands of "overtime" were completed, Darren and Dave agreed on a chop ($45 and $30, respectively.)
The newly instated Donkeytown rules include a provision for ending a game at a prescribed time. Because we had the Bounty Tournament scheduled at 8:00, a random number (ranging from 5-8) of hands was selected at 7:50. After that number of hands, if players did not agree to a chop, they would start playing each hand all-in until the game ends.
I don't plan on this rule being implemented often; it's kind of a "donkey" way to end it, so I will try my hardest to structure tournaments so they should end before this happens. In last night's case, the last blind level was reached after 77 minutes of play, and the game lasted another half hour after that, so I'd say it was a success.
In the Bounty Tournament ($25 buy-in), players received a $15 bounty for each player they knocked out of the tournament. We had the same 5 players for this game, plus Jeff B. and David C.
David C. had a short visit at Donkeytown, as I held QQ vs Dave's AQ, and on a flop that included an Ace and a Queen, he was on the cooler end of an all-in that knocked him out on the 7th hand of the game.
Things rolled in favor of the Donkeytown Mayor (hey, that's me) for most of the night, as I called with 77 against Ian's KK and spiked another 7 to knock him out.
I later got into a pot with Dave T., who had 2 pair after the turn and raised me all-in. I held a pair and an open-ended straight draw and was getting 2:1 odds on my call. But it was for a lot of chips and I made what I now think was the incorrect play -- I called. Unfortunately for Dave T., I hit my straight on the river.
In the end, "Mr. Donkey" knocked out every player at the table. Bob made a comeback at the end to draw nearly even, and we eventually agreed to a chop. I took $130 for first place plus the bounties, and Bob took $45 for second.
The newly instated Donkeytown rules include a provision for ending a game at a prescribed time. Because we had the Bounty Tournament scheduled at 8:00, a random number (ranging from 5-8) of hands was selected at 7:50. After that number of hands, if players did not agree to a chop, they would start playing each hand all-in until the game ends.
I don't plan on this rule being implemented often; it's kind of a "donkey" way to end it, so I will try my hardest to structure tournaments so they should end before this happens. In last night's case, the last blind level was reached after 77 minutes of play, and the game lasted another half hour after that, so I'd say it was a success.
In the Bounty Tournament ($25 buy-in), players received a $15 bounty for each player they knocked out of the tournament. We had the same 5 players for this game, plus Jeff B. and David C.
David C. had a short visit at Donkeytown, as I held QQ vs Dave's AQ, and on a flop that included an Ace and a Queen, he was on the cooler end of an all-in that knocked him out on the 7th hand of the game.
Things rolled in favor of the Donkeytown Mayor (hey, that's me) for most of the night, as I called with 77 against Ian's KK and spiked another 7 to knock him out.
I later got into a pot with Dave T., who had 2 pair after the turn and raised me all-in. I held a pair and an open-ended straight draw and was getting 2:1 odds on my call. But it was for a lot of chips and I made what I now think was the incorrect play -- I called. Unfortunately for Dave T., I hit my straight on the river.
In the end, "Mr. Donkey" knocked out every player at the table. Bob made a comeback at the end to draw nearly even, and we eventually agreed to a chop. I took $130 for first place plus the bounties, and Bob took $45 for second.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Season Standings Through Super Bowl V
#1: (+$377.82) Ian B.
#2: (+$302.25) David C.
#3: (+$279.82) Tom H.
#4: (+$150.00) Jeremy J.
#5: (+$36.25) Eric H.
#6: (+$5.00) Ken M.
There have been 11 tournaments on 9 different nights that comprise these results, going back to last August. There has been no official definition on what constitutes a "season" in Donkeytown. I think, as Mayor of Donkeytown, that I am now declaring a season to be July 1 - June 30. We rarely play games during the summer, but I hope to have at least one more game in late May or early June to conclude this season!
Thank you to all who have participated and made Donkeytown thrive!
#2: (+$302.25) David C.
#3: (+$279.82) Tom H.
#4: (+$150.00) Jeremy J.
#5: (+$36.25) Eric H.
#6: (+$5.00) Ken M.
There have been 11 tournaments on 9 different nights that comprise these results, going back to last August. There has been no official definition on what constitutes a "season" in Donkeytown. I think, as Mayor of Donkeytown, that I am now declaring a season to be July 1 - June 30. We rarely play games during the summer, but I hope to have at least one more game in late May or early June to conclude this season!
Thank you to all who have participated and made Donkeytown thrive!
Ian Wins Super Bowl 5!
10 players participated in the 5th Annual Super Bowl of Poker on Friday night:
Seat 1: Gary G.
Seat 2: Mark T.
Seat 3: Dave T.
Seat 4: Bob T.
Seat 5: Mike C.
Seat 6: Linda G.
Seat 7: Mike M.
Seat 8: Ian B.
Seat 9: Tom H.
Seat 10: Jeremy J.
After more than 7.5 hours and a 56-minute heads-up battle, Ian emerged victorious when his preflop all-in with 4-4 was called by Tom's A-Q. The board was 5-6-8-J-9, and the pair of 4's held up.
The heads-up battle began after Jeremy busted out in 3rd when he went all-in with a flush draw, got called by Ian, and missed his draw. Ian began heads-up play with an 81%-19% chip lead, but Tom doubled-up in a 50-50 race and took a few small pots to obtain a 69%-31% advantage in chips. After that, Ian went all-in on a board of 8-8-J, Tom called with 2-2, and Ian held 7-8 for a huge advantage, eventually making a full house when another Jack hit the river. Ian won a couple more pots to retake a 69%-31% advantage before the final hand.
Mike M. took probably the worst beat of the night, finishing in 6th when he flopped top two pair with his K-Q, and Mark called with A-A but only one pair. An Ace hit the river to give Mark a set, knock out Mike and take a pot of over 60,000.
Ian took home $390 for first place, Tom won $240 for 2nd, and Jeremy $120 for third in the $75 buy-in event.
Ian also won both parts of the high hand contest for an additional $45, turning his A-2 into an A-A-A-2-2 full house when play was only three handed. He had held the lead in the contest all night by making a full house on the very first hand of the night, which held up until he set the bar even higher.
It was a very fun game! Looking forward to many more!
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Better late than never...
Results from the Donkeytown games on April 9:
Game 1 ($10 buy-in)
1st: Bob T. $40
2nd: Ian B. $25
3rd: Eric H. $15
Game 2 ($20 buy-in)
1st*: Todd B. $65
2nd*: Bob T. $50
3rd: Ian B. $25
* Todd and Bob chopped first and second based on chip count.
Season Standings thru April 9:
1. David C. +302.25
2. Tom H. +114.82
3. Jeremy J. +105.00
4. Mark T. +75.00
5. Ian B. +62.82
6. Ken M. +5.00
Super Bowl V is on April 30! We have 9 signed up as of April 22. The format will depend on whether we start on one table o two... I'm looking forward to it!
Game 1 ($10 buy-in)
1st: Bob T. $40
2nd: Ian B. $25
3rd: Eric H. $15
Game 2 ($20 buy-in)
1st*: Todd B. $65
2nd*: Bob T. $50
3rd: Ian B. $25
* Todd and Bob chopped first and second based on chip count.
Season Standings thru April 9:
1. David C. +302.25
2. Tom H. +114.82
3. Jeremy J. +105.00
4. Mark T. +75.00
5. Ian B. +62.82
6. Ken M. +5.00
Super Bowl V is on April 30! We have 9 signed up as of April 22. The format will depend on whether we start on one table o two... I'm looking forward to it!
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Rumblings and Grumblings in Donkeytown
7th night of poker this season in Donkeytown -- a $35 buy-in event with 9 players:
SEAT 1: Dave T. (1st -- $165)
SEAT 2: Ian B.
SEAT 3: Mike C.
SEAT 4: Bryan O.
SEAT 5: Mike M.
SEAT 6: Tom H.
SEAT 7: Bob T. (3rd -- $50)
SEAT 8: Ken M. (2nd -- $100)
SEAT 9: Todd B.
Congrats to Dave T. for his first Donkeytown win! It was a very fun night as usual for the most part.
Unexpectedly, however, the game lasted over 5 hours, and for nearly an hour the game dragged on with blinds at 3000/6000 and only 135,000 total chips on the table (less than 25 big blinds). Conventional wisdom says the blinds need to keep going up in order for the game to end somwhere near a prescribed time. However, I'm starting to believe that games may end just as soon, if not sooner, if the blinds are capped at a much lower level. And it would be a lot more fun to play, instead of the average stack being less than the value of 6 big blinds. Especially for full-length (4+ hour) tournaments, there will be some changes made.
The most upsetting part of the night for me (even moreso than being completely card dead and finishing 7th), was a ruling that had to be made. We are all friends so it's tough to make a judgment against a player who disagrees with the ruling. The situation was that Player A opened the pot with a raise (may have been all-in, but I don't remember and it's not relevant to the ruling). The action came around to Player B, who appeared to be trying to gain some information by saying, "I think I have the best hand," and took some time deliberating. Then he said, "I'm going all-in....or I'm folding." And the "...." represents what was about a 2 second pause in the middle of the sentence. As soon as Player B spoke the first part of the sentence, the original raiser did react, as did everyone else including me (I was out of the hand though).
There was brief discussion about whether his declaration was binding. By standard poker rules, it definitely would've constituted an all-in. Everyone at the table except Player B thought that he was declaring all-in. If I ran my tournaments like casinos do, there would be no argument. But I haven't run my tournaments that way; I've allowed some minor things to go on (minimal speculation, retrieving folded cards, innocent string raises) in the interest of having fun and not subjecting everyone to Nazi poker. When in doubt, I do what's fairest and what protects the integrity and fun of the game the most.
So for a few seconds I considered letting Player B retract the all-in. However, this would have been more unfair to Player A and the other players still alive in the tournament than it was unfair for Player B that I ultimately ruled that the all-in must stand. Even though it only took a few seconds to make the final ruling, I wish I'd done it immediately to avoid the appearance that I COULD have ruled the other way.
As a contrasting example, I will let a newer player make a string raise if the following are true: 1) if he's not trying to gauge a reaction in the middle of his string raise (which is why string raises are against the rules); 2) if he steadily and continuously keeps going back for more chips without pausing; and 3) if the player's intentions are obvious to everyone else in the pot, and that he isn't trying to gain an advantage or stretch the rules.
To apply those criteria to the ruling last night, I'd say it failed all three. I don't know if Player B was intentionally trying to gauge a reaction or stretch the rules, I really don't. I hope he wasn't. He was obviously upset that he got knocked out of the tournament on that hand, but I hope he's okay with the decision and understands why it had to be made. And I hope he's okay with me.
I really don't want to have to start applying strict rules to my tournaments. Hopefully everyone can understand that I just want it to be a fun atmosphere. If it takes the enforcement of strict rules to make that happen, hopefully my players will give me feedback in this area.
Oh, and congrats to Bryan for eating 6 saltine crackers in one minute without anything to wash it down! This was another controversial ruling though. He completed the task within 60.5 seconds; there's "definitive video evidence" of that. Whether it was really under 60.0 seconds is debatable. But we all lost some money to Bryan on that one. Unfortunately, Player B lost the most money on that ruling too. Sorry, bud. Rough night for us both.
SEAT 1: Dave T. (1st -- $165)
SEAT 2: Ian B.
SEAT 3: Mike C.
SEAT 4: Bryan O.
SEAT 5: Mike M.
SEAT 6: Tom H.
SEAT 7: Bob T. (3rd -- $50)
SEAT 8: Ken M. (2nd -- $100)
SEAT 9: Todd B.
Congrats to Dave T. for his first Donkeytown win! It was a very fun night as usual for the most part.
Unexpectedly, however, the game lasted over 5 hours, and for nearly an hour the game dragged on with blinds at 3000/6000 and only 135,000 total chips on the table (less than 25 big blinds). Conventional wisdom says the blinds need to keep going up in order for the game to end somwhere near a prescribed time. However, I'm starting to believe that games may end just as soon, if not sooner, if the blinds are capped at a much lower level. And it would be a lot more fun to play, instead of the average stack being less than the value of 6 big blinds. Especially for full-length (4+ hour) tournaments, there will be some changes made.
The most upsetting part of the night for me (even moreso than being completely card dead and finishing 7th), was a ruling that had to be made. We are all friends so it's tough to make a judgment against a player who disagrees with the ruling. The situation was that Player A opened the pot with a raise (may have been all-in, but I don't remember and it's not relevant to the ruling). The action came around to Player B, who appeared to be trying to gain some information by saying, "I think I have the best hand," and took some time deliberating. Then he said, "I'm going all-in....or I'm folding." And the "...." represents what was about a 2 second pause in the middle of the sentence. As soon as Player B spoke the first part of the sentence, the original raiser did react, as did everyone else including me (I was out of the hand though).
There was brief discussion about whether his declaration was binding. By standard poker rules, it definitely would've constituted an all-in. Everyone at the table except Player B thought that he was declaring all-in. If I ran my tournaments like casinos do, there would be no argument. But I haven't run my tournaments that way; I've allowed some minor things to go on (minimal speculation, retrieving folded cards, innocent string raises) in the interest of having fun and not subjecting everyone to Nazi poker. When in doubt, I do what's fairest and what protects the integrity and fun of the game the most.
So for a few seconds I considered letting Player B retract the all-in. However, this would have been more unfair to Player A and the other players still alive in the tournament than it was unfair for Player B that I ultimately ruled that the all-in must stand. Even though it only took a few seconds to make the final ruling, I wish I'd done it immediately to avoid the appearance that I COULD have ruled the other way.
As a contrasting example, I will let a newer player make a string raise if the following are true: 1) if he's not trying to gauge a reaction in the middle of his string raise (which is why string raises are against the rules); 2) if he steadily and continuously keeps going back for more chips without pausing; and 3) if the player's intentions are obvious to everyone else in the pot, and that he isn't trying to gain an advantage or stretch the rules.
To apply those criteria to the ruling last night, I'd say it failed all three. I don't know if Player B was intentionally trying to gauge a reaction or stretch the rules, I really don't. I hope he wasn't. He was obviously upset that he got knocked out of the tournament on that hand, but I hope he's okay with the decision and understands why it had to be made. And I hope he's okay with me.
I really don't want to have to start applying strict rules to my tournaments. Hopefully everyone can understand that I just want it to be a fun atmosphere. If it takes the enforcement of strict rules to make that happen, hopefully my players will give me feedback in this area.
Oh, and congrats to Bryan for eating 6 saltine crackers in one minute without anything to wash it down! This was another controversial ruling though. He completed the task within 60.5 seconds; there's "definitive video evidence" of that. Whether it was really under 60.0 seconds is debatable. But we all lost some money to Bryan on that one. Unfortunately, Player B lost the most money on that ruling too. Sorry, bud. Rough night for us both.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
"Official" results from the weekend at the cabin
Congrats to Eric for winning the Fly Away Classic and $360!
His victory gave him a net profit of $360 for the weekend in the 9 "official" tournaments played over the 3 day weekend.
Darren finished 2nd in the big game and was 2nd for the weekend with a $322 profit.
Corky had the most in-the-money finishes (6 out of 9) and came out ahead $75.
Tom was the only other player to win money overall in the 9 games (+$24).
Granted, there were lots of side bets and side games... so I really don't know who rode home with the fattest wallets.
It was a great time as always, and I'd really like to thank Greg for hosting such a fun weekend!
His victory gave him a net profit of $360 for the weekend in the 9 "official" tournaments played over the 3 day weekend.
Darren finished 2nd in the big game and was 2nd for the weekend with a $322 profit.
Corky had the most in-the-money finishes (6 out of 9) and came out ahead $75.
Tom was the only other player to win money overall in the 9 games (+$24).
Granted, there were lots of side bets and side games... so I really don't know who rode home with the fattest wallets.
It was a great time as always, and I'd really like to thank Greg for hosting such a fun weekend!
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Season standings through 01/16/2010
1. David C. +$332.25
2. Tom H. +$179.82
3. Jeremy J. +$105.00
4. Ian B. +$77.82
5. Mark T. +$75.00
6. Eric H. +$51.25
Saturday, January 16, 2010
First game of 2010...
We had 7 players for a $30 buy-in game tonight:
Bob T.
Dave T.
Eric H.
Jeff B.
Mark T.
Mike C.
Tom H.
Congrats to Mark for building an early chip stack, dominating for most of the game, and finishing the game strong to win first place and $105!
Eric finished second for $65 and an extra $25 for winning both halves of the high-hand pot with a full house (8's full of 10's), and Tom H. finished 3rd for $40.
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