Last night TW(iC)M (APAT members all) made the 1 hour journey to the brand new Isle Casino, at the Ricoh Stadium. The target of this foray into the hinterlands of Coventry was the £30 D/C Freezeout. We all thought that Aspers in Newcastle was probably nicest UK casino that we had ever been in... well, in my opinion, The Isle has re-raised the bar... very, very nice!
During our pre-match team talk, in the bar, myself and Rich were joined by Daniel (kinboshi), who joined in with our last minute tactics and strategy discussion... me & Daniel decided it was best to stick with what we know best - Guiness - while Rich felt the caffiene rush provided by a Coke was probably the best preparation. Paul, meanwhile, was continuing his ongoing research to determine if the Blackjack Gods and the Poker Gods really are one and the same.
A total of 60 players started in the tourney, a little after the scheduled start time of 9:00pm, and me, Paul and Daniel all managed to get drawn on the same table... leaving Rich to plough a lone furrow through the field.
I"m afraid the effects of just 2 1/2 hrs sleep since Sunday night have taken their toll and I really don"t remember too much detail of the actual tournament... I know Daniel got moved off of our table and then a little while later was bidding us farewell.
Rich continues to be punished by the Poker Gods for some heinous crime in a former life, as he exited without bothering the cashier, while myself and Paul made it through to the final table. Paul"s demise came when I raised it up with QQ, on his BB... he woke up (literally!) with 99 and re-raised all-in... I call, my queens hold up and Paul exits in 7th place, for £60 (I think). To cut a (very) long story short, at about 3:45am, we are down to the last three... we are all pretty much level in chips, a deal is agreed and we chop the remaining prize money and take £400 each.
Home and in bed by about 5:15am... up for work at 6:30am. Doh!!
All in all, a nice tournament, in a very nice poker room, in (for the most part) very pleasant company... We will return!!
The Witney (inc. Carterton) Mob -
Alan Lake, APAT (Online) South American Champion
Paul Townsend, 3rd APAT Irish Amateur Poker Championship, Dublin
Rich Stevenson, 18th APAT UK Amateur Poker Championship, Newcastle
with special guest appearance by -
Daniel Philips, 1st APAT English Amateur Poker Championship, Birmingham
