Poker In The Pub National Finals
Our thanks go to everyone who attended the National Final in Stoke and made it such a fantastic day. It was great putting faces to people who I have conversed with many times over the phone and forum without ever meeting face to face. The casino staff made everyone welcome and our thanks go out to casino manager Val Dawn as well as Andy, Jim and the rest of the card room staff for being so accommodating.
It was an excellent turnout considering the distance some players had to travel and all the players were a credit to themselves and their pubs.
84 players sat down at the start of proceedings with 10,000 chips to play with and a generous blind structure. Everyone had their eye on the five Vegas holidays and the prize structure was as follows:
1st Luxury holiday to Las Vegas for 2 people with $1,000 spending money
2nd Luxury holiday to Las Vegas for 2 people with $500 spending money
3rd Luxury holiday to Las Vegas for 2 people with $250 spending money
4th Luxury holiday to Las Vegas for 2 people with $200 spending money
5th Luxury holiday to Las Vegas for 2 people with $150 spending money
6th £500 seat in a major UK Poker Festival
7th £250 Travel Voucher
8th £150 Travel Voucher
9th Chip set and 2 tickets to Alton Towers
We got underway at 12:45 and there was little action as players settled into their stride. With each player starting with 100 big blinds they could afford to take their time.
At the start of the second level we had our first casualty and newly crowned South West Champion Troy Nelson had cause to feel aggrieved as lady luck chose to smite him down. The player from the Barcode pub in Plymouth was holding A-7 with a flop of 7-7-K. He was against one other player and managed to get all the chips into the middle only to see another King on the turn give his opponent a full house and Troy was heading home.
After 3 ½ hours of game time at the end of level 7 we were down to 48 players. There were no run away leaders at this point and the field was bunched tightly together. The average chip stack was 17,292 and Ian Scrivens and Jeremy Wright were leading the field on 39,600 chips.
As the blind levels gradually increased so did the action and some chip leaders began to emerge. At the end of level 12 there were 15 players remaining and the final table was looming with an average chip stack of 59,285. At this point Duncan Mcdougal had built up a healthy chip lead with 148,500 in front of him and was looking like a strong contender for Vegas.
The biggest pot of the day up to that point took place when Jim Bone found himself all in pre-flop and was called by both Luke Giles and Gerry Freeman. All three players knew that the winner of this hand would take at least 115,000 chips so it was very tense as the cards were flipped over. Big stack Jim Bone turned over pocket eights and would have expected to be up against at least 2 over cards. Unfortunately for him Jerry turned over pocket kings leaving Jim probably needing an eight to take the pot. His odds improved slightly when Luke also turned over pocket kings, but this time around the cards held up and Jerry and Luke split the pot leaving Jim with a much reduced stack.
With 13 players left “The Broker” and Doung Pham found themselves involved in a make or break hand. Both players pushed their chips into the middle pre-flop and turned over their cards knowing that the loser of this hand was either out or very low stacked. Duong was ahead as he showed A-Q against the Broker’s K-10 but with two live cards this was anyone’s pot. A ten on the flop was an early birthday present for David as he took the pot and sent Duong home in 13th place.
Wayne Pretorius went out on the bubble and he remains one of the most consistent performers on the big occasions having previously racked up three consecutive regional final tables including 1 title as well as a cash finish in the £500 Golden Sands Poker Festival last August in Torquay. The professor fell just short this time around, but I am sure he has every chance of making it to the next national final thanks to his consistent play both in the big events and the weekly games at the Yorkshire Grey in London.
This meant we had reached our final table of nine players.
Blinds 4000 – 8000 Average stack of 92,222
Seat 1 Vicky Ward West Heath Snooker Club 79,000
Seat 2 Luke Giles Royal Inn 87,200
Seat 3 Jerry Freeman Shoulder of Mutton/Turks Head 52,400
Seat 4 Duncan Mcdougal Bull & Chain 40,100
Seat 5 John Alison Royal Huntsman 150,600
Seat 6 David Bellamy Turks Head 152,500
Seat 7 Rick Wilson Gatehouse Inn 114,000
Seat 8 Frank Jones Crooked Spire 84,000
Seat 9 Jim Bone Royalty Bar 80,200
The first players to clash were Jim and Frank. After a raise by the Crooked Spire player Jim pushed all-in with pocket fives and was called by Frank holding A-K suited, giving us a coin flip to decide their fates. Aces and Kings were in short supply, however three spades was enough to give Frank the flush and knockout the reigning Scottish champion Jim Bone. It was a good performance from the Royalty Bar player who continued his impressive form of late and could have been going to Vegas if it was not for the Jack of spades.
Former chip leader Duncan Mcdougal departed in 8th and must be disappointed after being in such a good position a couple of hours earlier. Frank Jones once again took the role of hitman and won another race as his pocket tens formed a straight on the River after Duncan had seen his A-K hit a King on the flop after going all in at the start of the hand.
Jerry Freeman played bad cards very well throughout the day and it was just one mistake that cost him his place on the plane to Vegas. I am not sure exactly what happened, but he was lamenting his one slip up that meant he became short stacked and exited the competition when his A-4 failed to hold up against John Alison’s 10-2. A good performance from Jerry who finishes in 7th place.
It was at this point with six players left and five Vegas holidays up for grabs that John Alison made an announcement. He would be unable to travel to the states as his wife requires constant care, so he would take the sixth place prize of a £500 seat in a UK poker festival, wherever he finished. This meant that the other players were all guaranteed Vegas holidays and for me this moment is the highlight of the Poker in the Pub calendar. That split second when the players realise they have done it and the joy and an equal measure of relief lights up their faces.
The players were now playing for the trophy and the varying degrees of spending money. John would take any spending money associated with his finishing position so there was still plenty to play for in terms of both monetary value and overall achievement.
Lincoln player and Gatehouse Inn regular Rick Wilson was the player to depart in 6th position, content in the knowledge that he would be on the plane in a few weeks time (599 hours and 40 minutes at the time of writing).
Vicky Ward cemented her reputation as a formidable opponent with another fantastic result against strong opposition. Throughout the final table it was almost as fascinating watching the partners and guests of potential Vegas winners as they sat with fingers crossed watching the action. Vicky’s father Graham watched with interest and was immensely proud of his daughter as she once again showed her metal to secure a Vegas place eventually going out in 5th place.
I discovered a fairly amazing fact about John Alison while writing this report. The player hailing from the Royal Huntsman Inn at Taunton has played in the last five leagues and has finished third every time. For once he failed to repeat his trade mark finish as he took 4th position, but he certainly enhanced his reputation as a very consistent player. John is one of the true gentleman of the game and was in high spirits from when I initially met him at 10am in the hotel lobby, until he bowed out of the tournament 13 ½ hours later.
Luke Giles perhaps had the most to play for out of the final five. Due to his age America deems him not fit to gamble, but he certainly seems to be able to handle himself on the poker table. This meant that he would be giving his prize to his brother and as a result he was intent on trying to secure the $1,000 spending money for first place. Luke had found himself very short stacked with seven players remaining, but he had played his stack very well and finished in 3rd place.
This left two regional champions from league 3 heads up for the national title. David “The Broker” Bellamy from the Turks Head in Lincoln against Frank Jones from the Crooked Spire at Ivybridge. There was not a huge amount to choose between them, with David slightly ahead. The game did not last long as both players got their chips into the middle pretty quickly only to see “The Brokers” hand hold up, meaning David “The Broker” Bellamy was Poker in the Pub National Champion for 2008.
It was a great performance from an extremely friendly individual who was supported all the way by his wife Tina. What made the victory even more special was that it was achieved just 5 minutes before his birthday. David makes a very worthy champion and I am sure him and his wife will have a fantastic time in Las Vegas.
Plaudits must go to Frank Jones with his very distinctive hat who did exceptionally well and followed up his very commendable 30th place at the GSNP Championships in Southend with the runner up spot in the National Final.
The final table finished like this:
| Final Position | Name | Venue | Final table chip count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | David Bellamy |
Turks Head | 152,500 |
| 2nd | Frank Jones |
Crooked Spire |
84,000 |
| 3rd | Luke Giles | Royal Inn | 87,200 |
| 4th | John Alison | Royal Huntsman | 150,600 |
| 5th | Vicky Ward |
West Heath Snooker Club | 79,000 |
| 6th | Rick Wilson |
Gatehouse Inn |
114,000 |
| 7th | Jerry Freeman | Shoulder of Mutton | 52,400 |
| 8th | Duncan Mcdougal | Bull & Chain |
40,100 |
| 9th | Jim Bone | Royalty Bar |
80,200 |
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