TBA

*note: in order for a game to be recorded in the official statistics three of the four of the following must be true:

1. Over 50% of the players have played in an official game before (less than half can be first-time players)

2. At least 20% of the players are core players

3. The game was announced, via email, at least 36 hours in advance and core players had priority for seating in the first 24 hours

4. There were at least 7 players who bought in

 

TBA

Interesting notes from the numbers:

• Like last game, half the field finished up, the other half finished down

• Only 4 players kept themselves to 1 buy-in.  Three of them finished up

• Only 2 players ended the night without chips in front of them

• A recent record 12 people bought in for the game

Anyone who thinks Shawn is not the real-deal only needs to look at his numbers.  He ranks first in each of the following stats: average finish, percentage of games finishing first, best overall night (up $920!), and average number of opponents beat.  By having another strong night he is back in first place in the league.  He seemed to be the one that was putting everyone to the test all night.  Craig lost a huge $400+ pot to him and he was not the only one.  Brian saw his chips slide into Shawn's stack as well.  Shawn's aggressive and unpredictable style will continue to dominate the league until the rest of the players learn.  Shawn has finished up 4 out of the last 5 games he's played.

Jon punished Rob for a huge pot and refused to give his chips up easily.  He had to buy in again early but that was the last time we saw any number of his chips pushed anywhere but back to his stack.  There is only one word to describe Jon's play... solid.  Jon has finished up 4 out of the last 5 games he's played.

Coach logged another nice night.  Craig made two large donations to his stack.  Though it seemed to take hours for him to make decisions, the decisions he makes appeared to be sound.  Coach has finished up 2 out of the last 5 games he's played.

Dana finally returned and started the new year by ending the ugliest streak in league history.  He had to leave early but left with more chips than he bought in for.  There appears to be a collection being made to buy him a nice jug of wine for the next time he plays.  It is not clear why the league members feel the need to be so generous.  We guess they just missed him.  Dana has finished up 1 out of the last 5 games he's played.

Ric is welcomed as the newest core player.  His love of play2play poker allowed him to enter the official rankings by playing in most of the recent games.  Ric premiered in 6th place in the rankings by finishing 5th in tonight's game.  By having the right cards (ace high flush) at the right time (when someone else had the king high flush) then playing them the right way, he was able to almost double his chip stack by the end of the night.  Like Jon, Ric is another solid player and we see his ranking only getting higher the more he plays.  Ric has finished up 3 of the last 5 games he's played.

Loren proved that you can play poker and not drink... unless you call consuming alcohol "drinking".  Loren had some big swings but was a pretty steady threat.  His unpredictable style traps many players... sometimes even himself. Ric premiered in the rankings right above him... barely.  We expect he'll have a target on his head the next time the cards fly.  Loren has finished up 2 out of the last 5 of the games he's played.

Steve gave up his top spot in the league by logging a small loss and letting Shawn finish big.  He and Shawn are still well ahead of the pack.  Steve has finished up 2 of the last 3 games he's played.

Evan was one of the two new players to sit tonight.  Coming in late he experience the fierce and unrelenting style of poker that has made play2play so popular.  His loss was much less than most new players.  Welcome to play2play, Evan... we hope to see back again soon.

Brian had large swings in his chip stack as usual.  He fell in the rankings as Shawn seemed to always have his number.  If Shawn did not have the best hand when all the chips went into the pot, he seemed to by the time the river fell.  Brian has finished up 2 of the last 5 games he's played.

Rob played his third game in the league but could not continue his unbeaten premier streak.  Falling hard to Jon, Rob found only felt by the night's end.  Rob has finished up 2 of the last 3 games he's played.

Nick was another welcomed new player to the league.  He dug deep but did not lose it all.  It takes several games for new players to get into the flow of play2play poker and there is little doubt he has some big finishes in his future.  His dry wit won over the players and everyone looks forward to his return.

Craig was due for a nasty night.  A nasty night is what he had.  Unable to beat Coach or Shawn, he lost everything before the night was over.  His record win streak ended like a 2005 calendar.  Craig has finished up 4 of the last 5 games he's played.