Thursday, April 07, 2011

Conclusion of Season 1 of Survivor Poker: Donkey Island

Well season 1 is in the books and I think it turned out great.  My run came to end a couple of weeks ago when I wasn't able to survive my heads up match against SmBoatDrinks.  I played it really hard but just could never put it away.  I played both the nuts and rags for almost an hour before he finished me.  I don't do alot of heads up play but I was very happy with my play.  While we both had some suckouts, I was on the brutal side of too many to snag the victory.

I was able to finish the series off with a win in the dime rebuy.  I had to pump 20 double rebuys in before I was able to hold on to a stack and then I went on a monster tear.  In just a few hands, I went from 2,000 with a fresh rebuy to around 125K.  Once I got that stack, I never looked back.  Funny thing is, I wasn't able to build it up again too much until we lost half the players at the final table.  I was able to keep taking enough pots to pay for the blinds and keep others from scooping too many pots.  Not even I could blow a lead with a stack that big and eventually took the top prize which netted me almost 13 whole dollars, American even!

This was the game that would decide who would get the guarantee pay day.  Simply put, the last of the two candidates standing would secured 40% of our Survivor's pool money. This came out to be a little over $120.  With momentum from our heads up match and after VeryJosie decided to bring him to the final two, SmBoatDrinks was able to last longer than her.





After the tournament was over, Buddy was able to announce the voter's choice to receive 60% of our Survivor's pool good for a slightly less than $200.  With a close vote, VeryJosie was crowned our first champion.  Congratulations to both players.

Ahhh, what could have been?  I had a real good shot at some of the prize pool.  I certainly floundered in the beginning and was apparently clueless when the teams merged.  That was when my immunity winning skills came to good use.  I still can't help but wonder what would have happened if the 3 outers didn't hit so much during the heads up game.  I could have also played a few hands better but looking back I realize what I did get out of it all.  It was a nice mix of cashes, great conversations and I got to know XKM1245 and Turtle a little better.  Hanging with Buddy, Jo, and Numbbono on BDR is always a treat and I hope I added to the entertainment.

A big thanks goes out to all of those that put this together and contributed extra dollars along the way - Buddy, Julius Goat, Heffmike, AlCantHang.  I think we have begun to expect all of this free, extra money or at the very least we take it for granted.  Whether there is a BBT6 or not, let's not forget BBT 1-5, the WPBT gathering goodies and what we got for Season 1 here.  As part of the poker blogger community, we all know many people who are employeed by the major poker playing and reporting sites.  Let's make sure we let them know how much we appreciate them and their companies throughout the year, not just during the freebie madness times.