Poker Tournament Gallery

A 'SNAIL' OF A 'GOOT' TIME!
By Sharla Lehrmann

As 2001 got off to a superb start, ESCARGOT once again brought a gathering of about 80 RGP’ers (Rec.Gambling.Poker) from all over the country. Kudos to Lou Krieger, Beth Evan, Marc Gilutin, Chris Straghalis aka 'Ploink', and the staff and management at the Bicycle Casino. I would like to specifically thank Sharon at the welcome center, Kelley O’Hara in Marketing and Kim Washburn for the wonderful packets and food coupons. All had a marvelous time, and I think this years ESCARGOT celebration was the stone cold "Nuts."

For all of you who have never attended an RGP event, I hope this article and photos will entice you to try one in the near future. There is one guarantee if you do jump off the deep end and take the challenge, and that is you will meet many other recreational poker players from all walks of life and different parts of the country and sometimes even the world. You will have a chance to play 'cash' or 'ring' games with groups of people who will not intimidate you, but help you feel comfortable. The tournaments offer a great amount of competition chock full of laughter and good hearted bantering.

On Thursday, groups of us began to trickle in and gratify ourselves with hugs and kisses long missed from the last event. The bad beat stories flourished, the 'last longer' bets began almost immediately and the continuous feeling of belonging crept up and nipped us all right in the heart. The ROE (Razz – Omaha/8 – 7-stud/8) tournament was scheduled for the evening and all 44 players were anxiously awaiting their first attempt at taking the prize. Mike Minetti from Las Vegas prevailed as the champ with Nolan Hee, trying to chase him down.

Friday was the Limit Hold’em tourney, and 'suck-outs' were victorious at every table. For some the tourney was unsurpassed and for some the ultimate nightmare. Such as it goes in this game we call poker. After a night of battling it out, with major chip exchanging, David Huberman pulled into first with Peter Secor following in second. I must say I was rooting for Peter as a great deal of his stack was once mine!

Kathey Liebert, Me, Chris Ferguson and Mike Minetti

The final ESCARGOT event was the Double elimination No Limit Match Play Tournament. Heads-up, 54 of us were paired for a grueling double elimination tourney which took skill, finesse and a great deal of help from Lady Luck. After all the players were worn down to a mere shell of themselves, the final match play came down to a sweating marathon match between Mike 'OZ' Osborne and one of poker’s finest, Kathy Liebert. Early in the match 'OZ' triumphed over a two to one chip advantage by Kathy. After Kathy inched her way back into chip leader, the crucial hand of the day finally raised its ugly head and completed the match. 'OZ' was dealt an AK off with Kathy picking up an AQ off. With little effort, all the chips melded together in the center of the table as each player went 'all in' pre-flop. The players cards were revealed so we could all sweat the final hand with the opponents. The flop brought an A, the turn was an humdrum rag and the Q on the river. HEADS UP – Women R00L!

Congratulations to all the winners and to all who dared to challenge the hardcore recreational gamblers of RGP!

The final event of the evening, the banquet, culminated with Poker’s reigning WSOP (World Series Of Poker) champion, Chris Ferguson sharing his discourse of tournament strategy with a great deal of humor and style. He took as many questions from our motley crew as time allowed, and we all finished the event with a little more knowledge and a great deal more experience under our belt.

I would like to mention that Chris began his poker playing competition as an RGPer on IRC, an internet site designed for 'play money' tournament and ring game competition. The one thing that Chris said which repeats itself in my mind is this: when playing for play money... play it for real. Learn the strategy, the positional advantages, and the power of the hands in an environment that is as close to a real game as it comes. For those of you who have not tried the play money site Pokerpages.com has, give it a shot. It provides a great venue for the beginning player all the way to the experienced. Practice, practice, practice!

Here is a schedule of the RGP events remaining this year.

• ATLARGE Atlantic City, New Jersey at the Tropicana in March
• SARGE Tunica, Mississippi at the Horseshoe in June
• BARGE Las Vegas, Nevada at the Horseshoe in August
• FARGO Connecticut at Foxwoods in October
• MARGE Biloxi, Mississippi at the Grand Hotel and Casino in November

For the actual times and dates, contact me at sharla@pokerpages.com. Hope to see some new faces and of course all my friends at one or more of these events this year. Until then, Stacks of Racks To Ya!