A tale of The Beauty and The Beast

Brighton Rendezvous Casino dealer Michaela Christian won The Weekly Poker Club's Spring Finals in her employer's casino. Card room manager Charlie Eaton was proud of her recent recruit saying it was great to see that her dealers could also play the game.

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Figure 1Michaela Christian eventual tournament champion in action on the final table.

Eye candy Michaela contrasted with another character of the South East England based pub poker league, Barry Rebuy Freeman, well reknowned in card rooms in and around the Brighton area. Infamous for his unconventional tournament play, Barry also gives constant table chat! The 'Rebuy' middle name derives from the fact that Barry invariably busts out early in the league's Freezeout format tournaments. A trophy in Freeman's image was created to be awarded to the highest performing player in Barry's venues over the season to salute the fact that they beat the donkey more often than others.

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Figure 2Barry Rebuy Freeman, with the new trophy

More photos can be found here:

Over 130 players from The Weekly Poker Club gathered in Brighton from Essex, Hampshire, Kent, Surrey and Sussex to compete in two tournaments; a main final, where their season's league point winnings made up their starting stacks and a smaller final with an even chip stack start.

The chip leader starting the main event was Dave Psycho Nelson, of the Cinque Ports Club in Uckfield with 26k who made good use of his lead. He had built that lead up to 67k at the halfway point, although his dream of taking the title was shattered when he went all in with KK hitting Michaela Christian's AA. Michaela, who plays her poker at Yates's Brighton, had aggressively built her low starting stack of 4,800 to leading the tournament with 79k chips when the tables were merged to four when the field was down to 30.

Statistics for the last 30 runners are at the base of this blog is your sad in that way!

First to make an action on the top table was June Mills of the Lancing British Legion Club, when she went all in with 185k when the blinds were 5k/10kNo flops were shown in the early stages where a cagey game of cat and mouse was being played out.

The first two exits were at the 10k/20k blind interval when Jack Forsyth of The Swan, Edenbridge, pushed his 50k stack all with A6 in under the gun, called all in Jamie Pretty Boy Loudon of The Royal George, Shoreham-by-Sea who had folded two blinds and had found pocket 6s, but both exited when they ran into Michaela's pocket Js. Loudon realised his hopes of hitting trips were thin and the ace never arrived for the Kent player.

Sam Oversock Beaumont of The Exchange, Hove, had until that point been very quiet on the top table. She had confessed to downloading an a-ha album that morning for her iPod when she saw that the aforementioned Barry who was on her top table when the draw was Facebooked to her. She was by then chip minnow and needed to make a move, perhaps their 'Take Me On' track had just started! Two all ins, the first with pocket nines was called by Michael Wilson of The Last Resort, Worthing with A6 followed immediately by another all in put Beaumont into second place with 160,000. The Take Me On a-ha strategy seemed to be working, but two hands later another big Beaumont raise with KJ walked into chip leader Michaela's pocket queens. The queens held and Sam was back to her chip minnow position. Perhaps it should have been noted that a-ha's Take Me On was from their album Hunting High and Low! Seven hands later, with blinds at 20k/40k Beaumont was under the gun and went all in with 35k chips holding pocket tens. Chris Hide of The Royal Oak Worthing also pushed in with 110k with AQ and Michael Wilson, in small blind pushed all in with 140,000 holding KK. The kings held and the top table was halved.

June Mills went out fourth in the cruellest of fashions when her all in of 65k with pocket threes was called by chip leader Michaela with QJ. The flop 798 gave Michaela many outs, the meanest being an 8 on the turn and a 9 on the river, negating June's pair and giving Michaela the kicker.

Play tightened considerably at the three player stage with the chip lead circulating around the table with blinds of 30k/60k.

Michael Wilson was the next to go when his stack was crippled when Michaela hit a straight, spoiling his trips.

The heads up between James Winfield, also of Yates's Brighton and Michaela was a brief affair of eight hands. James' got a small lead with blinds at 40k/80k but got over creative pushing with 87 suited and hitting Michaela's A6.

The final hand was Michaela Christian K2 against Winfield's 89. Flop TK9, Turn 3, River 5. Champion Michaela!

In the smaller final, runners included Sky Poker's Tony Kendall. The top table included TK and a wonderful mixture of experienced and novice players.

First to make a move was TK with an all-in, 6k. Swift calls from Heidi Jones of The Exchange, Hove and the big stack Dean Baker of The AnchorSevenoaks shows it was TK's pocket 10s against Heidi's pocket 7s and as a 7 hits the board Heidi pockets 20,000. Nice move!

Ryan Hills of The Last Resort Worthing then hits a 2 to add to his pocket 2s (2s never lose!) on an all-in call to survive with a 9k stack. He is on the move!

Olly Hellicar of The Windmill Southwick (and University of Leicester Poker Club) looks to double up when his all-in with a KJ is called by the short-stack, Paul Mansell of the British Legion Club, Lancing, with KT. Everything looks good for Olly until the river when another high card gives Paul a split-pot. Hard luck, Olly!

Alistair Young of The Crown, Bishops Waltham, busted out playing pocket 5s to Ryan's AT. Prayers for a Jack could be heard as the board unfolded 9, 10, K, Q, A.

TK was next to go playing a suited J9 when Ryan called with The Devil's Cards, an off-suit A2. Both the A and 2 hit and it was farewell to TK.

A three player pot saw Gary Robertson of The Canterbury Tales, Gillingham busted as Olly pushed his final 3k in with 57, and saw the fates smile on him as two further 7s hit the board for trips. Olly was up and running - no longer short stack.

Dean plays an A, 4 (he does like those raggy aces) and hits as Heidi goes out with her Q, 3. Well played, Heidi.

Four players left as Dean and Olly go head to head each with a Jack in his hand. The flop puts a Jack on the board and both players are now committed. Olly takes the pot with a Queen kicker to Dean's 3 kicker.

Hills then disposed of Mansell playing pocket 10s and seeing the river give him quads!

Heads up was finally settled when Olly, with a rapidly disappearing stack, was forced to play a Q9 and ran into yet another pocket pair of Ryan's; this time it was jacks and the final was over.

Well played Ryan!

Main event stats

Full Name Venue Starting chips Chips at last 30 % change on starting stack Last 8 chips % change on starting stack Final result
Michaela Christian Yates's 4,800