Happy Lunar New Year and Gong Xi Fa Cai! I’m excited to announce that the year of the snake started off by making WGA Poker Group Hisssssssss-tory by rounding up our biggest turnout yet with a total of 37 players vying for the championship mug and a lucky red envelope full of riches.
On top of it all, we also raised a whopping $765 for the WGA Member Fund that will directly support Writers Guild members who lost their homes during the Southern California wildfires. I’d like to give a special shout out below to all the players who contributed via our fundraising bonus. Thank you for your kindness! If only the AMPTP was so generous… #WGAStrong
The fundraising page will stay active, so please continue to donate if you can. Every little bit helps!
Onto the tournament recap! After several hours of play, the field of 37 players whittled down to our final nine with several newcomers ready to claim the title. After getting decimated by Nick Stanton in the previous hand, WGA Poker Group newbie, Jason Mac, was forced to go all-in with his few remaining chips holding the A♣J♣. He was up against another short stack, Danny Jordan holding the K♦4♥, as well as Nick with the A♦5♦ – ready to put the nail in the coffin. The flop of A♠Q♣4♠ put Jason in a strong lead with a comfortable 67% chance to win the hand. The turn of T♠ raised his equity to 77%, but gave Danny more outs in the form of a gutshot straight draw. All Jason needed to fade was a Jack, 5 or 4 to triple up. Alas, the J♦ fell on the river, giving Danny a straight and sending Jason to the rail in 9th place. Hey, not bad for your first time!
Despite that win, Danny would find himself at risk again a short time later, moving all-in with the Q♥T♠ versus familiar foe, Nick Stanton, holding the Q♠4♠. You know, it’s okay to fold sometimes, Nick! After some confusion due to a tired (but handsome) dealer holding the wrong deck, the proper board was dealt out with a flop of J♦9♠2♦. This changed nothing, along with the Q♦ on the turn. As long as a 4 didn’t hit the river, Danny would stay alive. Unfortunately, the poker gods took issue, summoning a 4♦ on the river to send him home in 8th place. Danny, thank you for taking it in stride. Phil Hellmuth would surely have spit in my face!
Next up, a three-way pre-flop all-in would determine the fate of Zach Robbins (J♠8♣), Franklin Hardy (A♦Q♣), and Taylor Blackburn (K♦2♦). The flop of 5♠3♠3♣ changed nothing as Franklin remained in the lead with Ace high. The turn of 6♥ would give Taylor additional outs to a gutshot straight. A brick on the river would mean a double knock out for Franklin – could he do it?! The 7♣ hit the felt, sending the huge pot to Franklin with his almighty Ace high. Zach would earn a 7th place finish and Taylor would walk away in 6th place. Better luck next time!
Now with a big stack and feeling lucky, Franklin looked down at 7♥6♥ from under-the-gun and thought, “To hell with it. All-in!” Tyler Wong decided to make his stand, calling all-in from the small blind with the K♣Q♠. The flop of K♦9♠5♠ must’ve been a welcome sight for Tyler, catapulting him to 81% chance of winning the hand. However, any eight would give Franklin a winning straight. Does he have any more punches left to knock Tyler out? The turn came a meaningless 2♥, upping Tyler’s equity to 91%. As Tyler whispered to himself, “Don’t do it,” the river loudly shouted back, “Screw you!” BAM! The 8♠ peeled off the deck, sending the pot once again to Franklin and Tyler out in 5th place.
Erika Kaestle was next up on the chopping block, shoving all-in from the small blind with J♠5♠, otherwise known as “Motown.” (Jacks-and-five, get it?) She received a call by Robert Webb, holding K♦4♠. Can Erika moonwalk her way to a double-up?! Unfortunately, the flop of Q♦Q♣9♣ was no help. The turn of 8♦ now gave Erika additional outs to a gutshot straight. Can the river save her or will we find Erika screaming “I Want You Back” to her poker chips? Sadly, the K♣ fell on the river, sending her out in 4th place. Good run! No choice but to “Blame It On The Boogie.”
Some unexpected fireworks from our two chip leaders blasted off when they found themselves all-in on the turn. To recap, Robert limped from the small blind with this 6♥4♥ and Franklin checked his A♦9♥ from the big blind. On a flop of A♣2♥2♦, Robert check-called Franklin’s half-pot bet. The turn of 3♦ gave Robert a gutshot straight draw – good enough to bluff all-in. Franklin quickly called with his two pair. On the sidelines, Nick Stanton squealed with delight alongside his miniscule stack, knowing he could ladder up as long the river wasn’t a five. As the 9♣ hit the river, an avalanche of chips moved Franklin’s way. Robert would have to settle for 3rd place and our respect. The man’s got heart!
Finally, we had arrived at our heads-up battle with possibly the largest difference in chips stacks ever. Like, in all of poker history. Nick started with 24,000 versus Franklin’s 1,048,000 in chips. That’s only 44-to-1. “Chip and a chair,” right? Almost instantly, Nick was forced all-in from the small blind with his 9♣3♥ and auto-called by Franklin’s K♣8♦. Can David defeat Goliath?! The flop of 7♣2♠4♠ brought no help, nor did the 7♠ on the turn. Down to his last card, Nick would need a miracle to stay in the game. Unfortunately, Nick used up all his luck earlier as the T♥ hit the river, sending him home with a very commendable 2nd place finish. And just like that, Franklin Hardy is our newest WGA Poker Group Champion!
Here is a summary of the tournament results. Congrats to all our finalists!
1st – Franklin “Bingo” Hardy
2nd – Nick Stanton
3rd – Robert “Arjay the Writer” Webb
4th – Erika Kaestle
5th – Tyler “Daddy” Wong
6th – Taylor Blackburn
7th – Zach “Should Have Won” Robbins
8th – Danny “Wrong Deck” Jordan
9th – Jason “Killer Mac” Mac
Special thanks to my wife, Nichole, for helping run the tournament and Andy Mathieson for processing donations for the fundraising bonus. As always, thank you to Jay “Moose” Moriarty and the Burbank Moose Lodge for their hospitality. Finally, my deepest gratitude to our dedicated dealers – Tyler Wong, Nick Apostolina, and Grant Taylor. Tyler will be a father soon, so we may not see him for a bit. Thank you for your service. You should name your daughter “River” because she’ll definitely change your life in the most unexpected ways.
Our next tournament is planned for late March where we’ll be celebrating the WGA Poker Group’s one year anniversary! Stay tuned for updates via facebook or the e-newsletter. Until then, Happy Lunar New Year and please enjoy these photos from the tournament!
