July 29, 2010

Prize/Rules Changes:     As we prepare for our upcoming schedule we have updated our prize package and playoff rules to reflect the growth we experienced last season and expect to continue in the upcoming season.  With just modest increases in attendance we will be able to offer 4th place and possibly 5th place a guaranteed WSOP seat.  Additionally, if we are able to reach $30,000 in available funds then we will be offering TWO $10,000 WSOP Main Event Grand Prize packages!

Another change to note is that this season any player in the TOP 20 that did not earn a guaranteed seat will now be eligible for our playoff tournament.  Since we expect to award 4 to 5 guaranteed seats that will leave 15 to 16 seats available for the playoff tournament.

Please check out our rules page for all the details and to see how it all fits together.

New Location:   The Syndicate has a new home in Sorrento Mesa/Mira Mesa!  After 4+ seasons at Pendwarden Gardens we are moving about 20 minutes south.  The Syndicate would like to thank Todd for being a gracious host for all these years - we really appreciate his hospitality.  Likewise we want to thank our new hosts Gail & Tom for providing our next home.  The address is on the Evite that players receive once they sign up.  

July 9, 2010

Season VI of the San Diego Syndicate is now ready to go!

Here are the highlights of the upcoming season:

·         We will again play a 20 tournament season, starting on August 8th, 2010.

·         The point structure, including tournaments, majors and participation points remains the same.

·         We are including 4 short-stack events with 4,500 chip starting stacks and 45 minute blinds.

·         There are 7 Saturday tournaments (i.e.: more cash games and tequila!).

·         Our end of the season prize structure remains the same (pending any WSOP format changes):  1st place is a $10,000 seat; 2nd place is a $2,500 seat; 3rd place is a $1,500 seat.  The playoffs will again be a mix of $1,500 and $1,000 seats depending on the funds available.

Be sure to check the entire website for the full schedule, the complete rules and other important information.  We're expecting another great season for the Syndicate as each year we have had more players participate and sent more winners to Vegas.  So tell all of your poker playing friends about us - they can sign up via the website or by emailing us at sdsyndicate@san.rr.com 

Coming Up:

We will also be hosting a preseason tournament on July 25th.  This will be a 10,000 chip deep-stack tourney with 25 minute blinds.  The buy-in will be $110 (+$5 for food/drinks) with $10 going into a bounty pool (each player will get $10 for every player he/she knocks out).  Watch for the Evite soon!!

 July 9, 2010

That's a wrap poker players:

With Mike's KK losing out to QQ in a crucial hand at the Main Event our 2009-2010 season draws to a close.  We had our best season overall with the most players (51) and entries (414) in our history.  This success allowed us to send more winners to Vegas (8) than ever before and once in Vegas our players represented us well.  Both Phil and Keith made legitimate runs in their events and Mike was poised to go into day 2 of the Main Event with over 50,000 in chips until he got brutally sucked out on. 

So, our 2009-2010 San Diego Syndicate WSOP Player of the Tournament award (new this year!!) goes to Tim Fischer playing in his $1,500 buy-in event.  Tim came in 80th place out of a field of 2563 and was in position to go much deeper when he got sucked out on by a 5 outer.  For his efforts Tim will receive numerous fist bumps, some high 5's, a couple of bro-hugs and a free Syndicate T-shirt!!  Tim cashed for $5,847 in his event and 1/2 of that will go back into The Syndicate.

We are now putting the final touches on our 2010 - 2011 Season so the full schedule and other announcements are right around the corner.  The first event of Season VI of the Syndicate will be held on August 8th.  We also will be hosting a pre-season tournament later this month with a full payout to the winners.  This will be held on July 25th at 4PM.

More soon...

July 9, 2010

Mike's Main Event run is cut short by a brutal suck out: 

Mike lasted until there was about 20 minutes left in Day 1D.  He played patiently throughout the day, often building his stack only to run into some monsters.  By controlling the pot size in these situations he was able to survive against some big hands and put himself in a position to go deep.

                The Main Event features a 30,000 chip starting stack and two hour levels.  At the end of round 1 Mike was sitting on 32,450.  He had been as high as 41k until his set of 10's ran into a straight.  Mike tried to bet his opponent off his draw but the villain had both straight and flush draws and wouldn't go away.

                Level two was pretty uneventful as Mike didn't get much to work with.  He took down 3 pots pre-flop and then folded all other pots he entered on the flop. He did make one move that worked. His stack at the end of the round was at 28,125.

                Mike made some progress during level three.  He won a nice pot with AK on a K high board and turned a wheel holding the mighty 2,5o.  He had brought both hands in with raises from late position so he had a tight but unpredictable image. He ended the round with 36,450.

                In the next round Mike's stack took a big hit when his A10cc on a board of 10,10,7 ran into pocket 7's.  He lost the minimum though and was down to 21,250 when the fateful hand played out.  With the blinds at 200/400/50 a middle position player opened for 2,000.  Mike, holding KK, raised it to 6,300.  MP shoved and Mike was all in when he followed him into the pot.  Mike was elated to hear the villain ask "Do you have Aces?" but felt like he'd been kicked in the gut when a Queen showed in the window.  He had outs when the turn showed the 3rd diamond but there was no K or diamond on the river.  It's a tough way to lose but Mike got it in good and sometimes that's all you can do.