Hello all,

 

    Here is a recap from the 18th Ambro Poker Tournament held this past Saturday. What a night! We broke our old record for number of entries. We squeezed one more in and had 37 entries. Will we ever break 40 people? I don't think so, but you never know. Maybe I can turn my attic into another poker room.

        We only had 5 newcomers this tournament. Our first victim of the night came 20 minutes after we started. Newcomer ILan was first to go. Soon after that was former champion Mike Sw. He placed 36th.(7:14PM) This year has not been a good run for him. He has placed 32nd, 34th and now 36th. After losing 2 more people, Jay M. (creator of the site http://www.officepools101.com/ - which includes all AMBRO POKER TOURNAMENT stats) gets eliminated.(33rd place - 7:46PM) He had pocket Kings against my pocket Aces. The Aces held up and I was on a roll. It looked like I was going to be getting my first title. The night was young, but I was feeling good. Right before we had our first break, Tony A. (former 2 time champion) gets busted out. (31st place - 7:57PM) He had high hopes for this tournament, but I believe he was seeing too many flops as he likes to do. As we came back from break, I run into a crazy hand. I am dealt 10-J. I am in the hand against Gary. Flop comes 7-8-9 all different suits. Gary bets first and throws out a bet. I move all in with my nut straight. He quickly calls and turns over a pair of 9's. I just needed to avoid a pair on the board and Gary would be out. Well, that was not the case....Gary gets an 8 on the turn for a full house. That one hurt!

    By 8:30, we were down to 4 tables. The next half hour was a crazy one as we lost 8 players in that time frame. Scott A. kept with his average of exiting in the 20's. He placed 28th(8:33PM) Paul, who had made the final table in the 2 previous tournaments had an early exit this time around.(26th place - 8:41PM) Former Champion Nunzio (Ambro 16), who didn't make the last tournament to defend his title, bowed out at 17th place. (9:24PM) Right after him was former champion, Dino, (16th place - 9:41PM) who couldn't gain any momemtum all night. He looked short stacked all night. Next to go was Angela, who usually makes it deep in the tournament. She placed 15th (10:14PM) and we were now down to 2 tables. I was still alive, but my chips were dwindling. The next to bust out was George T. He placed 14th(10:18PM). Out 13th was another former champion.....who was it....Nick, who has been resembling Phil Hellmuth lately with his outbursts. As he got eliminated, there was a little performance he put on for us. Nick, we thank you for that. A little entertainment is always good during a tournament.

    Well, my run for my first title must wait again. I run into KQ and flop top pair. The board comes K 4 7. I throw out a bet and Svet raises me. I move all in thinking I have this guy beat. He calls and turns over a pair of 4's. That is it for me. I placed 12th (10:34PM) and got eliminated by Svet, who was bouncing many players from this tournament. Svet's style of play is one of a kind. Many would call it insane, some would call it obsurd....Svet calls it having a good time. It was working for him this night. He was gathering chips like a squirrel gathering nuts for the winter.

    Next to go was George L., who coming into this tournament is in the lead for 2006 Player of The Year. He won 2005 Player of The Year and is looking to win it again. He had pocket Queens and lost to Carmine's AK. An Ace came on the river I believe. He placed 11th and should keep the lead for now. We will know soon when they are put up on the website. The final lady of the night cracked the top 10, but she was to go no further. Kelly placed 10th.(10:47PM) So, we need to lose only 1 more player to have our final table. Carter, who was cruising along all night hears Whip (4 time Ambro Poker Champion) say ALL IN. Carter looks down at QQ and calls. Whip turns over pocket 8's and the Queens hold up. Whip just misses another final table and places 9th. (11:26PM)

    The final table had 4 first timers and 1 former Champion. They were:

 

Alan R. - 2nd final table

 

Carmine - 1st final table

 

Carter - 2nd final table

 

Gary - 3rd final table

 

Harry - 3rd Final Table and Former Ambro Poker Champion ( Ambro 15 )

 

Jamie - 1st final table

 

Phil - 1st final table

 

Svet - 1st final table appearance

 

After a little break, we get started on the final table. Harry, who has been here numerous times and taken down one of my tournaments was an early favorite to take it down again. The only problem was he didn't have a lot of chips. This was ok though because as in a previous recap, I pointed out that Harry is the Master of The Short Stack. He is very patient when to make a move. This patience helped him go deep in this tournament as well. The first hand dealt at the final table was at 11:45PM. That very hand, we lost our next player. Alan R. (10-J) loses to Carter (K-7). Flop was J-7-10. Alan looked like he was going to double up, but we all know it is not over until that river is dealt. Another 7 came on the river giving Carter trips and Alan places 8th.(11:47PM). The very next hand we have our bubble boy. Jamie, who usually has early exits, made the final table, but it didn't last long. He becomes the bubble boy(1 away from the money) and places 7th.(11:50PM). Wow....2 hands dealt and we already lost 2 players. It seemed like it would be a quick final table. Well, that was not to be. Next to go was Carmine, who had built up a very impressive chip stack, but it soon dwindled and he was busted out.(6th place - 12:35AM) He had K-8 against Carter's 9-J. Flop was J-K-6 and the turn was a 9. The river bought a blank and Carmine was out. Gary was next to go and placed 5th. (12:44AM) So, we are now down to 4 players. Harry, Phil, Carter and the guy mixing his game up all night, Svet. Well, Svet's run finally came to a halt at 1:17AM.(4th place) He put on a good show and eliminated many players, including myself. I think if you ask him how he made it to the final table, he will tell you he was just having a good time.

    Harry was still short stacked and Phil had a very large amount of the chips. Harry said with his short stack, the next bet he does will be for all of his chips. With that, he moves all in with Q-J and gets a call with A-10. A Queen comes on the flop and Harry doubles up. After this, Carter doubles up against Phil when Carter calls Phil's all in bet. The flop came with an Ace on board and Phil says all in. Carter calls with A8 and doubles up. Phil took a big hit on that hand. Harry then moves all in again and gets 2 calls. Phil and Carter both call Harry on this hand and Harry stays alive when a Queen comes on the river. Harry triples up on this hand and this is not good for the other players. Harry with chips can be dangerous....he is a very good player who is very patient. Phil never recovered after that and moves all in with AJ. Carter, who now has the chip lead calls with A4. The flop comes A-Q-7. Phil is still ahead and is looking to double up. But this was not to be when on the river a 4 comes. Phil is busted out and places 3rd.(2:07AM)

    So, we are now heads up and Carter has a slight chip lead. He has about 110,000 in chips to Harry's 80,000 in chips. It wasn't long until we had our final hand. Carter has 4-5 and Harry has A-10. The flop comes 6-7-8 and both guys check it. The turn card is an Ace and it is a deadly one for Harry as it gives him top pair. Carter bets 10,000 and Harry moves all in. Carter calls with his straight. Harry needs a 9 on the river to get a higher straight, but a Jack comes and we have a new champion. (2:25AM) Harry put on another strong showing and almost got his 2nd Ambro Title. Congratulations to Carter for winning the 18th Ambro Poker Tournament. The winning hand and picture of the winner is included in this e-mail. Also, below is the time and place everyone finished.

    I am having 1 more tournament this year and it will be sometime in November. Stay tuned for an e-mail with the confirmed date, ***Don't forget, the winner of the Player Of The Year gets a FREE entry fee into the first Ambro Tournament of the 2007 Season. There are many players still eligible to take down Player Of The Year. Check out http://www.officepools101.com/Ambro/Ambro2006.htm to see who is in the running for this title. Latest possible dates for the November tournament:

 

Nov. 4th    25% chance

Nov. 11th  45% chance

Nov. 25th  30% chance

 

STAY TUNED FOR THE OFFICIAL DATE!!!!!

 

Later,

 

Mike