4th Street Poker Tour

Will Win Majors

One year ago Will Call took down the TOC and his first major. Last night, Will Call became the first player to win two majors with his victory at the No Limit Texas Smoke 'Em IV.

Thanks to everyone who brought food to the bbq - it was a great way to celebrate my 30th. You can view photos from the Smoke 'Em here.

Remember, there's no game this Thursday.

Final Table

1. Will Call - $320
2. Fist - $150
3. Clayton - $100 (+ $30 headhunter - Machine)
4. Cooler - $50
5. BushWill
6. Major Holsey
7. Drud Report
8. Ivan the Terrible
   
   The Rest
9. Factor
10. Jun "Donkface Killa" ($30 headhunter - ALternate)
11. II-Pod ($70 headhunter - Pick)
12. King Richard
13. Pick
14. Bookie
15. Most
16. Machine
17. Scrubs
18. Storm
19. High Noon
20. Lynn
21. Dr. DILIH
22. ALternate
23. Complex Slim
24. Wou-Tang
25. Silky ($30 headhunter - Richie Rich)
26. First Lady
27. Richie Rich

No Limit Texas Smoke 'Em IV

This Sunday we'll be celebrating three historic birthdays. Complex Slim turns 30. His brother the Cooler turns 26. And the Tour turns 4. What better way to celebrate than pairing Jeff's two passions - meat and poker?

The Details
The No Limit Texas Smoke 'Em IV will feature 4th Street Poker Tour regulars and will be the final battle ground to determine the 2007 Spring Season Champion of Champions. This major tournament event will be held this Sunday, May 27th at Airport Park and the First Home.

The Barbeque - 1pm
The day will begin with a barbeque at 1pm at Airport Park at the Santa Monica Airport (northwest corner of Bundy Drive and Airport Ave). Jeff will be slow cooking and smoking ribs, tri-tip, and chicken. If you want hamburgers, hot dogs, or *gasp* vegetarian products, please bring your own and he'll be happy to throw it on the grill.

In order for the bbq to be a success, we are relying on all of you to bring side dishes. If you are showing up to the bbq, please bring something with you like a salad, veggie platter, chips, fruit salad, potato salad, or whatever else you can think of. NOTE: BEER IS NOT A SIDE. 

The 4SPT Awards - 2:30pm
During the barbeque we will reveal the various winners of the 4SPT awards. Remember, every vote counts! So if you haven't voted yet, please do so here.

The Tournament - 3pm
After we completely put you into a meat coma, we'll start the tournament at 3pm. Entry fee is $30 ($25 to the main pot, $5 to the Smoke 'Em on a Skewer). Payout will be determined once all fees are collected.

Smoke 'Em on a Skewer
$5 of your entry fee will go towards a special Spring Season and end-of-year headhunter's bounty - Smoke 'Em on a Skewer. This time around, you'll be trying to smoke the 5 best performing players of the year.

If you take any of the following players out of the game, you will earn a percentage of the headhunter pot (based on the number of total players in the game):

1. Pick - 50%
2. Shock G*
3. ALternate - 20%
4. Richie Rich - 15%
5. Machine - 15%

*Shock G is still recovering from Pick's season and overall points win and will not be well enough by Sunday to participate in the game.

RSVP
You must RSVP here in order to secure a seat in the No Limit Texas Smoke 'Em IV. Please also let us know if you are coming to the bbq and what you'll be bringing.

The List

1. Complex Slim Piggins' - ribs, chicken, and tri-tip
2. First Lady - caprese on a stick
3. Cooler - "I'm Jeff's birthday present"
4. Fist - chips
5. Jun - something good
6. Lynn - ?
7. Marco - ?
8. Clayton - pie
9. BushWill - wife and cookies
10. Scrubs - chips and coleslaw
11. Storm - burgers, buns, cheese and overall toughness
12. Silky - a dish and a dame
13. II-Pod - something good
14. High Noon - potato salad
15. Richie Rich - Ynhu and mango chicken curry salad
16. Ivan - potato salad
17. AL - chips and salsa and maybe some leafy green
18. Will Call - ?
19. Major Holsey - mess hall food
20. Most - deviled eggs
21. Wou-Tang - deep fried twinkies
22. Bookie (will arrive late)
23. Drud - ?
24. King Richard - some side dish still to be conjured
25. Pick - cookies

Cooler Massacres the Saints

 

The prophetic Cooler made the statement before WS III that this season would be the decline of the Westside Degenerates. Turns out he couldn't have been more wrong. On Saturday at the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre III, the Cooler was able to redeem himself by taking home his 6th 4SPT win and his first Major title.

4SPT historical fact: The Saint Valentine's Day Massacre has been won by a member of the Complex Crew in each of its first 3 years. Year 1 - C-Mint, Year 2 - Complex Slim, Year 3 - The Cooler.

It was also the second year in a row that a Saint has taken his Sainthood into the Final Showdown and failed to take home their own bounty. Last year Richie Rich and this year it was Drop It Like It's Hot.

Thanks to Shock G for hosting. He's a Major hosting machine.

Final Table

1. Cooler - $280 (+$10 DILIH bounty)
2. DILIH - $140 (+$90 Al & Fist bounties)
3. Pibb - $60
4. Scrubs
5. Most ($20 Pick bounty)
6. King Richard
7. Complex Slim
8. Storm
   
   The Rest
9. Drud
10. Fist
11. Dave
12. Pick
13. Will Call
14. Machine
15. Wou-Tang
16. ALternate
17. Will Shake
18. Shock G
19. Factor
20. Richie Rich
21. First Lady

Saint Valentine's Day Massacre III

Since 2005, Complex Slim and his First Lady have ordered their merry band of degenerate 4th Street Poker Tour players to put a hit on the Winter Season's top four. This year, the 4SPT leaders are calling for the heads of the ALternate, the Fist, Sir Pick, and Dr. Drop It Like It's Hot. Will you answer the call and Massacre the Saints?

The Details
The Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre III will feature 4th Street Poker Tour regulars and will be the final battleground to determine this season's Champion of Champions.

This major tournament event will be held this Saturday, March 3rd at Shock Town. The tournament will start promptly at 12:00pm.

Entry fee is $30 ($25 to main pot, $5 to Massacre the Saints). Payout will be determined once all fees are collected.

Massacre the Saints
$5 of your entry fee will go towards a special Winter Season headhunter's bounty - Massacre the Saints. If you take any of the top 4 players* out of the game, you will earn a percentage of the Headhunter pot (based on the number of total players in the game).

• The ALternate: 50%
• The Fist: 25%
• Sir Pick: 15%
• Dr. Drop It Like It's Hot: 10%

*5th ranked Silky Smooth Nuts, JNJ, is too chicken to show up to the game.

Of course, if any of them are tough enough to survive the Massacre, they will take home their own bounty.

RSVP
You must RSVP here in order to secure a seat in the Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre II. Priority seating will be given to people who have played in at least one game during the Winter Season.  

Seats

1. Shock G
2. First Lady
3. Slim
4. Richie Rich
5. Wou-tang
6. Pick*
7. DILIH*
8. King Richard
9. Will Shake
10. Will Call
11. Scrubs
12. Drud
13. ALternate*
14. Storm
15. Pibb
16. Cooler
17. Brian
18. Machine
19. The Most
20. Fist*
21. Chris
22. Dave
23. Alek?
24. Clayton
25. Factor

History of the Majors

by the First Lady

FAQ: Pray tell, why don't majors count towards overall points?

Before I answer this question, I thought it would be helpful to provide background on the history of the Majors on 4th Street.

Interestingly, the first major 4th Street event is not actually recognized as a 4th Street Major. On May 22, 2004, I organized a surprise 27th birthday party for Jeff which blended his love for barbecue and poker and boasted a clever Evite title: No Limit Texas Smoke 'Em. Of course to host this party we needed some gear, so his birthday gifts included his very first poker table top and chip set. Shortly thereafter, the entity which is now the 4th Street Poker Tour begun and life was never the same...

Jeff had a vision that was much bigger than your average home game. Of course the major inspiration for the Tour came from Jeff's current employer, the World Poker Tour (though it would be another year and a half before he started working there). The personality of the Tour with its varied crews and characters was inspired by Jeff's love for the WWF.  The concept of tracking points and hosting a series of Major events came from the PGA.

And so it was on November 6, 2004 that we hosted the first official 4th Street Major: Fall Brawl. Why was it called Fall Brawl? Well, it was fall and a Major seemed like a good excuse to brawl. Oh, and that's the name of a major WWF event. We recognized that there needed to be something unique about this first Major. So we upped the buyin, freerolled the season points winner, handed out lots of prizes (note to all relatives: ever wonder where all those kitchy poker gifts you give us wind up?), and bought a poker themed trophy for the winner. I had also recently played in a ladies headhunter poker tournament at the Bike that was really fun, so we added the headhunter aspect into the mix. Every player got a special gold chip that they had to throw into the pot when they were All-In. At the end of the game, all gold chips were redeemable for $5 each. People had fun. The Grimace won. And a tradition was born.

So here's the simple answer to the Most's question regarding why Majors don't count to overall points. We didn't do it the first time. There's really no other reason. When asked, we always said that a Major title was worth more than points. It's about bragging rights. But then Jeff won a Major himself, and all of a sudden he started questioning this decision. Shouldn't Majors be worth double the points?! Regardless, we aren't going to institute any changes to the points structure until this 4SPT year comes to an end. And we might not change it at all. Deal with it.

Here's a breakdown of the rest of the Majors:

• February 19, 2005, Saint Valentine's Day Massacre: C-Mint
  Top 5 season points winners become "Saints" with bounties on their heads (with the #1 worth the most money). If you take out a Saint, you get a t-shirt with their logo on it. Winner gets an I Massacred the Saints t-shirt.
• May 21, 2005, No Limit Texas Smoke 'Em II: KCBP
  Lots of smoked meat. Pot luck. During the bbq portion of the event, the winners of the 4SPT Awards are announced (players vote on each category). 4SPT Awardees get to pick out a prize and take home a coveted 4SPT gold leafed certificate of achievement. The winner of the poker tournament gets a custom made apron with the No Limit Texas Smoke 'Em logo on the front.
• May 24, 2005, Tournament of Champions: Seattle Slew
  Only winners of 4SPT games during the 4SPT calendar year are invited. Everyone buys in for $20 and stuffs their cash in a Stanley Cup inspired trophy. Winner takes all - including the trophy.
• August 28, 2005, Summer Shootout: ALternate
  Unlike the freezeout style tournament we play every week, this Major is set up as a shootout. We don't balance the tables when people bust. Instead, every table plays their own single-table tournament and we play until there is a winner at each table. Those winners are called "Sharpshooters" and each gets money for winning their table. The Sharpshooters then move on to the Final Table where everyone starts with equal stacks. Winner receives an Olympic inspired Gold medal necklace.
• November 30, 2005, Fall Brawl II: Rabbit Eater
  Instead of a trophy, the winner now receives a WWF inspired championship belt (decorated with 4SPT stickers).
• February 18, 2006, Saint Valentine's Day Massacre II: Complex Slim
• May 27, 2006, No Limit Texas Smoke 'Em III: Drud
• June 1, 2006, Tournament of Champions II: Will Call
• September 2, 2006, Summer Shootout II: The Most
• December 2, 2006, Fall Brawl III: Richie Rich
  Format has changed to a March Madness inspired Heads Up bracketed tournament. Brackets and seeds are determined by season points wins and winners progress to the next round of heads up play. 5 rounds in total. The Final Four all win money. In addition, there's a Bracket Madness pool where all players fill out a bracket in advance of the game. The player with the highest score wins money. Next year there will be a rule that you can't choose yourself to win the Bracket Madness challenge to make it a little more interesting (in other words, everyone voted for themselves which meant Richie Rich took home an additional $100 just for being egotistical). Winner now receives a 4SPT crown because they won the HEADs up tournament.
• March 3, 2007, Saint Valentine's Day Massacre III: ???

What's Left?

  King of the Brawl 
  Originally uploaded by 4th Street Poker Tour.

Fall Brawl III Results

12 wins. 2 season wins. And now a Major title. And oh, by the way, he's the first person to ever win the season and also that season's Major. And just to throw salt in our collective wounds, he also won $100 from the Fall Brawl III Bracket Madness challenge.

Final Four

1. Richie Rich - $340 + $100 (Bracket Madness)
2. ALternate - $200
3. Pick - $40
   Brandon - $40

  Fall Brawl III Results 
  Originally uploaded by 4th Street Poker Tour.

Bracket Madness Results
Richie Rich - 36
Wou-Tang - 34
ALternate - 33
Max Factor - 31
Brandon - 30
Ivan the Terrible - 27
Will Call - 25
Pick - 24
High Noon - 24
Jeff Not Jeff - 23
Drud Report - 22
Will Shake - 22
Shock G - 20
Pibb - 20
Tim - 19
Maneater - 18
Bookie - 18
Storm - 18
Curtis - 18
George - 17
1st Lady - 16
Cooler - 16
Complex Slim - 15
II-Pod - 12

Fall Brawl III Info

Fall Brawl Blind Structure
*15min levels

Round 1
2,500
25	50
50	100
75	150
100	200
150	300
200	400
300	600
Round 2
5,000
25	50
50	100
75	150
100	200
150	300
200	400
300	600
Round 3
10,000
50	100
100	200
150	300
200	400
300	600
400	800
600	1,200
Round 4
20,000
100	200
200	400
300	600
400	800
600	1,200
1,000	2,000
1,500	3,000
2,000	4,000
Round 5
40,000
200	400
400	800
600	1,200
1,000	2,000
1,500	3,000
2,000	4,000
3,000	6,000
5,000	10,000

Fall Brawl III

The First Home - Saturday Dec. 2nd Noon

The 3rd annual Fall Brawl Major will take place at the First Home on Saturday Dec. 2nd. Start time for this event is Noon sharp.

Fall Brawl was made infamous for it's headhunter bounty format. In the spirit of the Royal Rumble, everyone in the tournament had a bounty on their head that could be collected by those who took them out.

This year we're making some changes. Instead of a Headhunter bouties, we will be hosting a Heads-Up tournament. That means one-on-one brawls all day until we have our Champion.

We need to start making the tournament brackets so it is imperative that you RSVP as soon as possible. The bracket will be posted along with the tournament format as soon as I receive all RSVPs.

Please leave a comment if you haven't already sent me your RSVP for this event.

Summer Shootout II Results

 

Back-to-back wins. A major title. 6 4SPT victories. It's been a most terrific run for the Most who now has the most wins on the Tour second only to Richie Rich.

Congratulations to Eliot for taking home the Summer Shootout II medal.

Thanks to Shock G for hosting this all day affair.

Final Table
1. The Most - $300 + $25 Sharpshooter
2. Richie Rich - $200 + $25 Sharpshooter
3. First Lady - $115 + $25 Sharpshooter
4. II-Pod - $25 Sharpshooter
5. High Noon - $25 Sharpshooter

Table 1
1. The Most
2. Eastwood
3. Will Call
4. Cooler
5. Jun

Table 2
1. First Lady
2. Brett
3. Wou-tang
4. Slim
5. Shock G

Table 3
1. Richie Rich
2. Lo-Lo
3. Drud
4. Rich!
5. Pibb

Table 4
1. High Noon
2. Will Shake
3. Sir Pick
4. Dave
5. The Kelvin

Table 5
1. II-Pod
2. Storm
3. Max
4. King Richard
5. Sandy

Summer Shootout II

Shock Town - Saturday Sept. 2nd 2:00pm

Howdy Degenerates,

It's been another long, hot summer in this here bone orchard. Filthy first timing outlaws the likes of Marco the Machine and the Storm have been trying to run this town and take all our dinero. And there's a wild donkey named Jun on the loose, kicking up dust,  that needs to be corralled

I say that me and you and our whole possee meet up at old Shock Town, ambush these varmints and rope in this donkey! Then we'll have ourselves a good 'ole fashioned shootout and give them the beef!

Quit beatin' the devil around the stump and RSVP for this fandango.

 

The Details
Summer Shootout II will feature 4th Street Poker Tour regulars and will be the final battle ground to determine the 2006 Summer Season Champion. This major tournament event will be held this Saturday, September 2nd  at Shock Town. Start time will be a prompt 2:00pm.

Entry fee is $30 ($25 to the main pot, $5 to the Sharpshooters).

The format has been changed from the regular freezeout style tournament we play every week to a good 'ole fashioned shootout. We will not be balancing the tables, instead we will play until there is a winner at each table. Those who collect all of the chips at their table will then move on to the Final Table where they will face the other single table winners. This unique format will have all the Final Table participants starting with equal stacks.

Sharpshooters
$5 of your entry fee will go towards the Sharpshooter portion of the tournament. Similiar to a headhunter event, the Sharpshooter is the person at each table that has the best aim and outlasts the entire table. Basically, each member of the Final Table will be a Sharpshooter and will go on to split this Sharpshooter prize pool.

Seating
Another change from our regular format, the Summer Shootout will feature assigned seating. We will seat people in order of their Summer Season III points standing beginning with our season points leaders - Marco and Jun. If they're man enough to show, they'll be seated in Seat 1 at Table 1 and Seat 1 at Table 2, etc. New players (or those of you who didn't make any points this season) will be folded in when we reach the end of the list.

Shock Town
Shock G is generously opening up his home for this tournament. Word is he will also have the USC game on for those interested.

We will send directions via email once we've confirmed your seat in the game.

RSVP
You must RSVP here in order to secure a seat in the Summer Shootout II. We want to fill as many tables as possible, so we encourage you to invite anyone who would like to play.  However, priority seating will be given to people who have played on the Tour before. If you've never played on the 4SPT, please include the name of the person who invited you in your RSVP.

Because of our unique seating structure - it's really important that you RSVP by Saturday so we can have a list together.

There will be no POKER game this Thursday, August the 25th, but there will be the Marco vs. Jun Heads-Up Match to determine the SuS III winner. All are welcome to come and watch.
 

Any questions or comments please email me.

 

SEATS (this is not the seating order just a list of RSVPs)

1. Shock G
2. Dave
3. Slim
4. First Lady
5. Cooler
6. Mister Pibb
7. II-Pod
8. High Noon
9. Wou-tang
10. Sir Fantasy Football
11. Richie Rich
12. Will Call
13. The Most
14. Jun
15. Storm
16. King Richard
17. Eastwood
18. Drud Report
19. Greg
20. Rich!
21. Sandy
22. Brett
23. Lo-Lo
24. Will Shake