July 9, 2010

That's a wrap poker players:

With Mike's KK losing out to QQ in a crucial hand at the Main Event our 2009-2010 season draws to a close.  We had our best season overall with the most players (51) and entries (414) in our history.  This success allowed us to send more winners to Vegas (8) than ever before and once in Vegas our players represented us well.  Both Phil and Keith made legitimate runs in their events and Mike was poised to go into day 2 of the Main Event with over 50,000 in chips until he got brutally sucked out on. 

So, our 2009-2010 San Diego Syndicate WSOP Player of the Tournament award (new this year!!) goes to Tim Fischer playing in his $1,500 buy-in event.  Tim came in 80th place out of a field of 2563 and was in position to go much deeper when he got sucked out on by a 5 outer.  For his efforts Tim will receive numerous fist bumps, some high 5's, a couple of bro-hugs and a free Syndicate T-shirt!!  Tim cashed for $5,847 in his event and 1/2 of that will go back into The Syndicate.

We are now putting the final touches on our 2010 - 2011 Season so the full schedule and other announcements are right around the corner.  The first event of Season VI of the Syndicate will be held on August 8th.  We also will be hosting a pre-season tournament later this month with a full payout to the winners.  This will be held on July 25th at 4PM.

More soon...

July 9, 2010

Mike's Main Event run is cut short by a brutal suck out: 

Mike lasted until there was about 20 minutes left in Day 1D.  He played patiently throughout the day, often building his stack only to run into some monsters.  By controlling the pot size in these situations he was able to survive against some big hands and put himself in a position to go deep.

                The Main Event features a 30,000 chip starting stack and two hour levels.  At the end of round 1 Mike was sitting on 32,450.  He had been as high as 41k until his set of 10's ran into a straight.  Mike tried to bet his opponent off his draw but the villain had both straight and flush draws and wouldn't go away.

                Level two was pretty uneventful as Mike didn't get much to work with.  He took down 3 pots pre-flop and then folded all other pots he entered on the flop. He did make one move that worked. His stack at the end of the round was at 28,125.

                Mike made some progress during level three.  He won a nice pot with AK on a K high board and turned a wheel holding the mighty 2,5o.  He had brought both hands in with raises from late position so he had a tight but unpredictable image. He ended the round with 36,450.

                In the next round Mike's stack took a big hit when his A10cc on a board of 10,10,7 ran into pocket 7's.  He lost the minimum though and was down to 21,250 when the fateful hand played out.  With the blinds at 200/400/50 a middle position player opened for 2,000.  Mike, holding KK, raised it to 6,300.  MP shoved and Mike was all in when he followed him into the pot.  Mike was elated to hear the villain ask "Do you have Aces?" but felt like he'd been kicked in the gut when a Queen showed in the window.  He had outs when the turn showed the 3rd diamond but there was no K or diamond on the river.  It's a tough way to lose but Mike got it in good and sometimes that's all you can do.

June 30, 2010

We have two more runners to go this year.  We've had a couple of players go deep but come up just short (Phil and Keith) and a great finish for a nice cash (Tim).  Now it's onto to our final two players and events.

Paul H., our 2nd place overall finisher plays in WSOP Event #56: $2500 No Limit Hold'em on July 2nd.  If Paul is able to set up a blog or something to track his progress on I will pass that along.

Then Mike P., our San Diego Syndicate Season V Champ starts his Main Event run on Thursday, July 8th.  This is Day 1D of the tournament.  Mike has a blog set up to keep us updated:  http://lanceyhowardjr.blogspot.com/

Additionally we will try to post updates to the Syndicate's FaceBook page (The San Diego Syndicate:Poker) and Yahoo! account   (WSOP Syndicate)

June 6, 2010

Tim goes deeeeeeeeeep:           1 for 1 so far!  Tim Fischer, our third place overall finisher this past season, just completed a fantastic run in WSOP Event #11 - $1500 No Limit Hold'em.  2563 players entered the event and Tim made it deep into day two when he finally lost on a bad beat to go out in 80th.  Tim earned a total of $5,874 for his efforts of which the Syndicate will share 1/2 (after he tips out).  This is the deepest run and highest cash yet by a Syndicate player (the previous best finish was by Tom Standring in 2007 who made it to 176th out of 2038 for $4080).

Tim's great run started early when he doubled up with AA vs. QQ.  He then busted another player and got to 15k when the average stack size was around 6k (starting stack was 4500 with 1 hour levels).  Soon after that Tim suffered a major setback as he lost set under set.  Thankfully he had his opponent covered and still had about 4k left.  Tim eloquent remark at the time was "F_ _ _!".  Tim hung on to his chips and finally doubled up again about 3 hours later when his 55 held up against 44.  He went into the dinner break with about 8k in chips.  This was still over the average stack size but with the blinds going up to 200/400/50 there was now a lot of pressure on the medium to short stacks.

A couple hours after the break Tim doubled up again when his 66 beat AK.  This got him to 16k which he then built steadily to about 25k before losing a race when his TT lost to KQ.  This knocked him back to about 15k with the blinds going to 400/800/100/.  At this point only 492 players remained.  Tim ended day 1, along with 290 other players, with a stack of about 35k which was a bit below the average of 39k.

Day 2 started at 3PM and they only needed to lose 20 to get to the money with 270 runners getting paid.  It didn't take them too long to get through that bubble and then players started busting out fast.  By 5PM there were about 200 players left and Tim had a stack of 40k (Avg. = 57k).  Tim got up to about 45k when he doubled up to 96k and then an hour later, about 7PM, won another big pot when his KT took out QQ.  This got him to about 135k with 128 players left.  At this point he was just behind Tom "Durrrr" Dwan who apparently was multi tabling at the time (note: as of this writing Durrrr is the chip leader with over 1,000,000 in chips and only 21 players remaining).  Coming out of the dinner break Tim had a stack of about 125k which put him in about 15th place with 105 players left.

Tim's epic run ended about two hours after the dinner break when he got it all in with JT on a J72 board.  The villain had A7 and when a 7 peeled off on the turn it was all over.  Congratulations Tim on a great tournament!!

Next up:  Paul R. plays today (Sunday, June 6) in Event #13:  $1000 buy-in No Limit Hold'em.  Good luck Paul!

The Syndicate

San Diego's Finest Poker

May 18, 2010

Season V:   The Syndicate just completed its fifth, and most successful season yet.  Here are some of the highlights from our 20 tournament season (plus a playoff):

·         428 total entries from 51 players

·         an average of 21 players per tournament (regular season)

·         $23,000 in WSOP seats/expenses awarded

·         $23,000 in cash payouts awarded at the tournaments

·         8 Syndicate players going to the WSOP - the most ever!

Congratulations to Mike Petrassi who won our grand prize this season and will be representing The Syndicate in the WSOP Main Event this July (and next November!)  Mike just completed his 3rd season with the Syndicate and after coming in 2nd place overall last year staged a late season rally to overtake Paul H. for the top spot. 

Congratulations as well to all of our other winners this season as we are sending  8 players to the World Series of Poker this summer.  Remember, the Syndicate will receive a 50% share in any winning our players earn.  Here they are in their order of finish and the events they are playing in:

Season V:

1.  Mike P.           $10,000

2.  Paul H.            $2,500

3.  Tim F.              $1,500

The Playoff:

1.  Bob C.             $1,500

2.  Keith M.         $1,500

3.  Heath K.         $1,000

4.  Phil T.              $1,000

5.  Paul R.             $1,000

Good luck to all of our players!!

Coming Up:

We will post our players' WSOP results on the website as they come in during the series.  Also, Mike is going to set up a blog, or some way of keeping us updated in real time, on his Main Event run so we'll pass that along when we get it.

Next Season:

There will of course  be a Season VI.  We will take a short break after the World Series and then start up again sometime in August.  We don't anticipate a lot of changes to the structure but you are welcome to send in any ideas or comments.  Please let your poker playing friends know about us and have them email their contact info.  We'll then get them all set up.  With such a great group of players already, combined with the players we know are waiting to play next time, Season 6 looks like it will be our best yet!

May 16, 2010

Season V - The Playoff:  We now have all of our players for the 2010 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas this summer.  The playoff tournament was exciting with a lot of drama, especially on the bubble (more on that later) as 14 players competed for the final 5 Syndicate seat awards.  The winner of our playoff tourney was Bob followed by Keith in second - they will both play for the Syndicate in $1500 WSOP events.  The next three finishers, in order, were: Heath, Phil and Paul R.  They will all represent us in $1000 buy-in events at the WSOP next month.

Before I turn the blurb over to a guest commentator I want to describe a hand the Jonkey and Markey were involved in early in the tournament.  John raised from late position and Mark, on his left called.  They saw the flop of QJX.  Check check.  The turn is the K.  John ponders his play for just a moment until Mark laughs and throws his cards, out of turn and with no action, into the muck.  John shows A/10 for Broadway.  John will be working on his table image this off season!

Now - about that bubble play.  Yours truly was the first out and was long gone by this time, but apparently Eddie took a brutal beat down to go out in 6th place.  I'll let Phil, Eddie's nemesis, describe the action:

We were down to seven players.  I had become the short stack by not having a playable hand at the final table and losing the blinds and antes.  We were probably at the 1000/2000 level.  It gets folded around to me and I went all in with 10-9 suited from the small blind and Eddie, sitting to my left, called with A-J off.  Board flops QQ2.  There is a 2 on the turn and I get up to call it a night when a third 2 hits the river, splitting the pot.  Everyone goes nuts.  Just a few hands later, I am on the button and again go all in with K-2 off suit.  Again Eddie calls, this time with AK.  A king comes on the flop and again I get up to leave the table when yet another 2 show up on the river, making two pair and doubling me up.  The room explodes and Chad starts calling me "Phil the 2."  Soon thereafter we are down to six players after Chad went all-in and lost just a few hands before.  No one wants to go out on the bubble - especially at this tournament. I go all in again, this time with A-Q suited - only to have Eddie call me yet again - this time with pocket Q's.  The flop is K-10-7 and when the J shows up on the turn, Eddie is crippled and he is busted out a few hands later, which establishes the top five. Three really lucky breaks for me and three heartbreaks for Eddie, all of which he was way ahead before the flop and just got unlucky each time.

The Final Five:

1.  Bob

2.  Keith

3.  Heath

4.  Phil

5.  Paul R.

Coming Up:

The Syndicate is hosting a Post Season/Pre World Series tournament next Wednesday (May 26th) at 6:00PM  at the verdant Penwarden Garden Estate.  At this event all entry fees will go into the prize pool - no $ will be withheld and as always there is no rake.

The buy-in is $100 with a 10,000 chip starting stack.  The blinds will be 20 minutes long starting at 25/50.  Our goal will be to finish between 11:00PM and midnight so we will adjust the blinds to accomplish that once we know how many players are entering.  Check your Evite for more details.

Season V - Event #14:  We had 21 players at this event which was won by Heath for his second victory in the last 3 tournaments.  He and Jonkey survived a wild night to go heads up.  Jonkey started with about a 3 to 2 chip lead after knocking both 4th place (Larry- K,10) and 3rd place (Eddie- 10,10) out in the same hand when he held Q,Q.  It was one of the first times all evening that the hand that was ahead stayed ahead in an important hand.  Because of all the suckouts we still had 9 players left at 10:30.  After about 40 minutes of heads-up play Heath finally took it down.

The Final Table:

1.  Heath

2.  Jonkey

3.  Eddie

4.  Larry

5.  Mike P.

6.  Cal

7.  Paul H.

8.  Matt S.

9.  Tim

10. John H.

The Leaderboard:  There were no changes at the top of the leaderboard though Heath did move into the bubble spot with Jonkey hot on his heels.

Coming Up:  The next tournament will be a MAJOR on Sunday, March 7th.  This event will feature a 12,500 starting stack and 30 minute rounds.  Bonus playoff chips are also awarded for the top 5 finishers.  The buy-in is $100 (+$5).

Syndicate Rules/Format Update:

Changes to the WSOP format in Vegas this summer have lead us to adjust our prize packages and playoff format.  This year the WSOP is not offering a $2,000 buy-in event.  Instead, there are now two $2,500 events on the schedule.  Additionally, there are now seven $1,000 events available.  Last year there was only one and it had a huge turnout.

The Leaderboard and Rules have been amended to reflect the following changes:

·         The 2nd place overall winner at the end of the season will be awarded a $2,500 seat to the WSOP.  Should this player be unable to attend one of the two $2500 events offered he/she may play in a $1500 event and receive an extra $200 in expenses.  The remaining funds will be added to the playoff prize pool.

·         The top 14 players, plus ties, after the top 3 are determined will qualify to play in our Playoff Tournament.  To qualify a player must play in at least 5 events.  As before, the next two players that did not make the playoff, and also played in at least 5 events, will be alternates and will be eligible to play if one of the 12 main players can’t participate.  They will be invited in order of their finish.

·         A mix of $1,500 and $1,000 seats will be awarded at the Playoff Tournament.  1st and 2nd place in this event will be a $1,500 seat with others made available as funds allow.  The final mix of seats will be determined at the end of the regular season.

Season V - Event #13:  Eighteen players showed up on Valentine's eve for our short-handed tournament last night and the last man standing was our newest player - Mike Carlisle.  Mike won a huge hand against Mark in a blind vs. blind situation and that propelled him to the final table and eventually the win in his first Syndicate event ever.  Congratulations Mike!!  Phil took second place and Jonkey took third for the second tournament in a row.

The Final Table:

1.  Mike C.

2.  Phil

3.  Jonkey

4.  Heath

5.  Bob

6.  Matt

The Leaderboard:  There was no movement at the top the leaderboard as Paul (1st) and Mark (3rd) were knocked out early and Tim (2nd) took a week off.  With a 5th place finish this week Bob moved into the coveted bubble spot.

Coming Up:  We play again next weekend (sorry for the back-to-back-to-backyness of the schedule) on Sunday February 21st).  This event will be a regular 10,000 chip freeze-out with a $100 (+$5) buy-in.

Other News:  You'll notice on the leaderboard that Paul now has 11 scores and a couple of other players are moving toward 10 scores for the season.  Since only a player's top 10 scores count the scores that aren't included in their totals are indicated in red on the leaderboard.

The Final Table:

1.  Heath

2.  Cal

3.  Jonkey

4.  Matt S.

5.  Mike P.

6.  Bob

7.  Gail

8.  Steve

9.  Paul H.

10. Mark

Other news:

Scheduling:

Coming up:

Season V - Event #11:  This week's event was won by Tim (don't call me Jamie) Fletcher, for his second victory of the year.  He took down Mark who tried gamely to come back from a significant chip disadvantage heads up.  However,  Tim was catching pretty good cards and played them aggressively to knock Mark out after about 40 minutes.  Paul H. took 3rd place after recovering from being micro-stacked at about the 4 hour mark.

The Final Table:

1.            Tim

2.            Mark

3.            Paul H.

4.            Tom S.

5.            Heath

6.            Gail

7.            Eddie

8.            Craig

9.            Linn

10.          Mike P.

With his win Tim moved closer to the P-man who still retains the top spot on the leaderboard.  Mark moved past Keith to take over the 3rd spot.  Keith is now the bubble boy.

Coming Up:

Event #12 will be Saturday, February 6th at 4:00 PM.  This will be a rebuy tournament.  The buy-in is $50 for 2,000 in chips.  Re-buys are $25 for 2,000 chips anytime you are at or below your starting stack.  You may start the tournament with a re-buy.  One add-on is available for all players that remain in the tournament-- this cost is $25 for 3,000 chips at the conclusion of the 4th level.

Schedule Change:

Please note the schedule change-  we now have a tournament scheduled for Saturday, March 2th to replace the event we just missed.  We have also rearranged the formats of the events somewhat to keep the schedule balanced.

Other News:

John Kral (Jonkey) is hosting a home tournament on Friday, January 29th at 7PM.  The buy-in is $125 for 10,000 chips.  Levels will be 20 minutes long.  There will also be room for a $1/$2 cash game for players as they bust out.  If you didn't receive an Evite please contact John by email at sdsyndicate@san.rr.com

The Final Table:

Season V - Event #08:  We had our biggest turnout of the season so far with 24 players.  This event was won by Felix, who came out of semi-retirement to defeat Keith.  It looks like we have achieved some kind of parity in the Syndicate as this is our eighth different winner in eight events.  Third place this week was taken by Sy.

The Final Table:

1.   Felix

2.   Keith M.

3.   Sy

4.   Todd

5.   Paul R.

6.   Mark A.

7.   Eddie P.

8.   Paul H.

9.   Brian M.

10. Heath

The top of the leaderboard was shuffled up yet again as Keith moved into 1st place overall.  This bumped Paul H. down to second and Tim F. down to 3rd.  Mark now resides in the bubble spot.

Coming Up:

Event # 9 will be Sunday, December 6th at 4:00 PM    (We will be starting at the conclusion of the Charger game)  This will be a SHORT-HANDED 10,000 chip freeze-out with a $100 buy-in.  We will play with only 6 players per table throughout the tournament.

Season V - Event #06: Six events and six different winners!  This week Phil Tencer, playing in just his second Syndicate tournament ever, took down first place after a heads up match with Mark Antis.  We had another good turnout with 20 players including 4 brand new players: Cullen, Christina, Gus and Tai.  Welcome!!

The Final Table:

1.   Phil

2.   Mark

3.  Tom S.

4.   Paul H.

5.   Mike P.

6.   John K.

7.   Gail

8.   Cullen

9.   Chad

10. Todd

There was some movement at the top of the leaderboard as Mark's second place pushed him up to 2nd overall.  Paul H. follows in 3rd and Tom S. is our new bubble boy in 4th place.

Season V - Event #02:  We had another great turnout this week with 22 starters including four new players.  Welcome to our newest Syndicate members: Craig, Dan, David and Keith. 

Our new players continue to thrive as Keith, in his first appearance, took down Paul H. for 1st place and 100 points.  Going into heads up Paul had Keith down about 3 to 1 in chips but Keith started to turn things around when he rivered two-pair to crack Paul's aces.  Then Keith doubled up again when his 22 held up against Paul's A9 that seemed to improve as he flopped an open ended straight draw to go with his two overs.  With a big lead now they grinded it out for awhile with Paul trying to make something happen.  The cards just didn't come for Paul and ultimately Keith took it down at around 11:30 as the blinds and his now huge stack were too much.

Larry (this reporter's new nemesis!) went out in 3rd place on an interesting play: at 1500/3000 blinds Larry opened for about $10k.  Paul called.  The flop came 828.  Check - check.  The turn put up a second club.  Paul checks and Larry shoves showing a flush draw that is drawing dead to Paul's flopped boat with pocket deuces.

The Final Table:

1.            Keith M.

2.            Paul H.

3.            Larry I.

4.            Bret C.

5.            Tim F.

6.            Steve L.

7.            Bob C.

8.            Eddie P.

9.            Linn H.

10.          Mark A.

Our leaderboard is now shaping up.  Frick and Frack (look it up), aka Eddie & Tim are now tied for 1st place overall with 120 points each.  (Hopefully that will give them something to talk about besides the hand Tim [Frack] kept pouting about.)  Paul H. and Keith are now tied for 3rd place with 105 points.

Coming Up:

Event #3 will be Sunday, August 30th at 4:00 PM.  This will be our first re-buy tournament of the season.  For $50 you receive a 2000 chip starting stack.  You may re-buy another 2000 chips (for $25) anytime you are at or below your starting stack during the first four rounds of the event.  Yes - that mean you can get a re-buy at the very beginning of the tournament.  There is also an add-on available for $25.00 for 3000 chips at the end of the 4th round to everyone who is still in the tournament.  Beginning with round 5 it becomes a freeze-out event.