First, I would like to mention that it's not over until it's over.  Upon arriving at poker on Friday night, I was in 17^th place.  Since the possibility of me making the final table in April was slim to none, I didn't see the value in paying extra for the head table participants.  Well, as irony would have it, my win put me in 8^th place and I'm suddenly in contention.  So play on playerz! 

Since we had the fewest amount of players in the history of the Red Waters poker league, everyone was looking to increase their point totals.  Tito went out first, followed by Uncle Donnie, so the title was up for grabs early.  I started out getting some decent hands, but the pots were nothing to brag about.  I believe the turning point was when a few good size pots allowed me to become an early contender.  The first one involved Packer Tom.  I was big blind, so when I received a 3-4 suited (clubs), and no one raised the ante, I gave it a shot.  Two more clubs were revealed on the flop, so I was looking pretty good.  Packer Tom made a  good sized bet and I decided to not only match it, but also attempt to buy the pot.  I bet $1,500 and fully expected to have the entire table fold out.  Everyone did except for Packer Tom.  On the turn, another Club came up, so I was golden.  I tossed out another 2 G's and once again expected a fold.  Packer Tom sized me up for about a half hour (as he always does to his opponent) and figured I was bluffing so matched me up.  I flipped the flush and my empire began. 

For a while after the flush, I had to play conservatively.  This wasn't really a strategy, just due to the fact that my cards started to really suck.  I can't tell you how many times a 2-9 off suit appeared in my hands.  After dumping a ton of bad cards, I decided to play purely out of boredom.  Of course, I ended up losing that hand. 

Since there were not that many players this month, we ended up gathering at the final table relatively early.  A big thanks to Andy for dealing for us!  I don't think there has ever been a time when Jesse, George and myself have been at the final table together, so this game was history in the making.  Here is where the details (i.e. card hands) get a little fuzzy as the Bud Light was flowing generously.  So, I'll describe it as I remember it (or what I think I remember).

  My chip count wasn't that impressive, so I knew I had to make a move early on.  I was holding down a queen and since there didn't seem to be much action on the table, when a queen came up on the flop, I went all in.  Most folded, but Jesse decided to call me out to see what I had.  I flipped my queens over and he revealed an ace-king off suit.  Of course, I was a little nervous with two cards to go that he would take me out of the game, but luck was with me that night.  Two garbage cards came up and the queens took it.  He was high chip, so I didn't knock him out, but he was crippled and ended up going out soon after.  The next to go out was George.  From hearing the cheers from upstairs, I gathered that he was getting lucky with mediocre hands.  Perhaps, that lead to his downfall.  He went all in on a jack-queen and couldn't catch it.  Brian, Marc, Geertz and Judd all gave a great fight and it was an honor to play with them, but let's move on to the final showdown.

  The last two survivors at the final table were Chris Brown vs. Keith Hedman (as you can see from my picture, I like to dress up sometimes).  Looking at Chris' chip count compared to mine, I was thinking that second place wasn't too bad a finish, but it was worth a shot.  The antes were large, so neither of us had much time.  It ended up going back and forth for a little while without any big money hands.  A few times, I was big blind and had a terrible hand, so it was a big relief when he folded and allowed me to take the little blind.  I won a couple of good pots and all of a sudden, I was chip leader.  A queen-4 was dealt to me, which brings us to the final hand.  Chris goes all in and since I had more chips than he did, I decided to go for it.  He shows a queen-6.  The flop had a queen in it, which makes us even with a pair.  A four is flipped up on the turn and the river does nothing for either of us.  I win with the two pair and put on my party dress.