The WGA Poker Group’s “Christmas in July” tournament kicked off with sleigh bells ringing and chips clinking in a heatwave of holiday spirit. With 40 players donning festive attire and jockeying for the championship mug, it was a jolly celebration of bluffs, bounties, and all-around poker merriment. And like any family holiday gathering, things got stressful — fast. 🎅⛱️ ☀️
As the last ten players battled to see who would make the final table, a three-way all-in transpired with all the chips going in the middle. Zach Robbins held the 9♥️️5♣️️, AKA “The Dolly Parton.” Jason Mac held the T♥️️T♦️️. Dominating all of them was Jeff Bushell holding the K♠️️K♦️️. The flop came 7♦️️3♦️️2♥️️. No change. The turn brought the 3♠️️. A ten and a ten only would spell doom for Jeff’s pocket kings. Like a lump of coal, the T♣️️dropped on the river, giving Jason a winning three-of-a-kind and knocking both Zach and Jeff out in 10th and 9th place. Bah! Humbug!
Now down to our final table of eight, tensions were tighter than Santa’s belt after a night of endless cookies and milk. The first player awake on Christmas morning was Andrew Hill Newman, who unwrapped K♦️️Q♦️️ and looked ready to deck the halls. But Guy Yosub, sitting pretty with 9♥️️9♣️️, was hiding a little Christmas magic himself. The flop came down 9♠️️K♣️️2♥️️. A holiday horror — top pair for Andrew but a set for Guy. The turn brought the T♣️️, giving Andrew a gutshot straight draw. Unfortunately, the river was a meaningless 7♠️️. Just like that, Andrew’s Christmas vacay was over, exiting in 8th place.
Next came Jeff Chan, bringing A♦️️J♦️️ to the holiday melee against Jason Mac holding the A♣️️Q♠️️. The flop: 8♠️️K♥️️Q♦️️, maintaining Jason’s lead. The turn was J♣️️, giving Jeff a pair for some seasonal hope to win alongside his chop outs. But the river? 6♥️️. Sorry, just socks and disappointment in this gift box, busting Jeff in 7th place.
Just back from Hawaii, the newly tan Jay Moriarty called all-in with Q♠️️9♦️️after a shove from Guy with K♣️️Q♣️️. Guy was still riding high due to his previous win and some holiday spirits from the bar downstairs. Jay would need a Christmas miracle to stay alive. Unfortunately, the board ran out 5♣️️3♦️️4♦️️5♠️️ T♣️️, sending him back to the tropics in 6th place, sobbing and singing “Mele Kalikimaka” all the way home.
Short stacked and out of options, Myles Warden bet the last of his Christmas bonus on 2♦️️3♦️️(AKA “Michael Jordan”) versus Jason Mac’s 7♦️️9♥️️. In a case of “talk about overkill”, the board ran out 6♦️️K♥️️7♥️️7♠️️9♠️️, giving Jason a boat to sail across a sea of poker chips, leaving Myles to drown in 5th place.
Then came our most exciting holiday showdown between Joshua Malina with J♥️️J♦️️ against Mike Schaub’s T♥️️T♣️️. The flop delivered Q♠️️9♥️️8♦️️, bringing gutshot straight draws for both players, but Joshua was still best. This is the one time you don’t want to hit your set. As Krampus would have it, the turn came the J♣️️, giving Mike a miracle straight! Now holding three-of-a-kind, Joshua needed the board to pair on the river to survive. The river: 6♥️️. And thus, Joshua’s WGA Poker Group debut came to an end in 4th place, but I get the feeling this won’t be his last appearance at our final table.
Jason Mac tried to sleigh one last player with A♦️️7♣️️, facing off against Mike’s J♥️️6♥️️. The flop of 7♦️️K♦️️J♠️️ put Mike out in front with a pair of Jacks. The turn brought 5♥️️, changing little. The river of 6♦️️was a needless snowball to Jason’s face, giving Mike two pair and busting Jason in 3rd place.
Down to two: Guy Yosub versus Mike Schaub. Who would be our new champ, and who would be going Ho Ho Home?! In the final hand, Mike was first to act, shoving all-in from the button with A♦️️5♥️️. Guy called all-in with the K♥️️8♣️️. With both players holding live cards, it was anybody’s game. The flop: T♥️️T♣️️6♣️️. A blizzard of tension set in. The turn: J♥️️. Mike just needed a clean river to make his mid-summer Christmas wish come true. Could he do it?! The river… 2♥️️! Looks like it’ll be a “Blue Christmas” for Guy as he bows out in 2nd place, but a holly jolly holiday for Mike as he becomes our newest WGA Poker Group champion! 🧦🏆
Here is a summary of the tournament results. Congrats to all our finalists and bounty hunters who knocked out everyone on Santa’s naughty list!
1st – Mike “Boston Mike” Schaub
2nd – Guy “River Rat” Yosub
3rd – Jason “Mac Attack” Mac
4th – Joshua Malina
5th – Myles “Mighty” Warden
6th – Jay “Moose “Moriarty
7th – Jeff “Jorf Chonk” Chan
8th – Andrew Hill Newman
Special thanks to my wife, Nichole, for helping run the tournament as well as to Jay Moriarty and the Burbank Moose Lodge. I’d also like to thank our amazing dedicated dealers — Tyler Wong, Jeff Meyers, Brent Boyd, and Zach Robbins.
Our next tournament is planned for September. Please stay tuned for updates via facebook or the e-newsletter. Also, please subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Until then, please enjoy these photos from the tournament! Happy not-the-holidays! 🎄🦌🔔
