Local News & Contacts

Contact Your Local Franchisee / Agent:

Name: Jacqueline Hurst (or Peter Musgrave)
Tel: 0758 4040 777
Email: tnplnw@thenutspokerleague.com

Local News (Merseyside)

• See below for FULL details regards all forthcoming Spring 2012 Regional Finals

• SPRING 2012 Regional Finals’ Qualification Listings available NOW at http://www.facebook.com/TNPLNW

TNPL NATIONAL FINAL

Saturday 26th May 2012 National Final…

*** MAJOR NOTES

TNPL Membership card and one other form of ID (utility bill, passport, driving licence etc,.) will be required by TNPL at registration. Peter and Jackie will be present and have extra blank membership cards and a list of Membership Numbers.

Players will need to be an existing Genting member or become one on the day. Photo ID will be required by Genting Club, check with casino for acceptable ID. 0178 221 3499.

Merseyside Main Regional Final ~ Spring Season 2012

Genting Club (ex Circus Casino) Liverpool

Late Arrivals Special Notes

Merseyside Overall Bonus Tournament ~ Spring Season 2012

Ainsdale Cricket Club 

Late Arrivals Special Notes

Combined Champions Bonus Tournament ~ Spring Season 2012

Genting Club (ex Circus Casino) Stoke

Late Arrivals Special Note

** 17/02/12 - 2011 - Winter - All MRF & Overall Photos here 

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.255747057836161.59008.100002026053723&type=3

Merseyside Main Regional Final ~ Winter Season 2011

was held at the Genting Club (ex Circus Casino) Liverpool on Saturday 28th January 2012

A great day for The Wirral and The George in Higher Bebbington in particular!!

Play started just after 2pm and a Winner was announced just before 8:30pm.

A disappointing 76 players attended a great day’s poker including a Royal Flush and multiple Quads………

10% of the field was paid; 8 places

Top 3 Places received Crystal Trophies

Top 2 agreed a 51/49 split and took home £200 & £195 respectively

Top 10 Finishers were awarded National Final Seats

1^st Out & Good Luck Horseshoe card marker

James Martin ~ Highwayman, Skelmersdale ~ 715253

Nightmare On 5^th Street (Bad Beat on the River) card marker

John Evans ~ Cat & Fiddle, Bootle ~ 675081

Pocket 10s fell to pocket 8s when the 8s hit a 2-outer on the river

Best Hand Of The Day

Christine Bion ~ Thingwall Recreation Centre, Wirral ~ 349253

Down to 5 tables and “Foxy” picked up A J hearts in the hole, opponent K Q off

Flop Kh 10h As

Turn Qh and a Royal Flush on the Turn for “Foxy” Chris who managed to keep her squeals of rapture until the hand had concluded with a 8s on the River

A “Royal Flush” card marker was awarded on the spot for Best Hand Of The Day

“Foxy” Chris went on to finish a respectful 16^th place

Last 20

20^th ~ Darryl Moore

19^th ~ Andy Hepburn

18^th ~ Mike Dellow

17^th ~ Jonathan Morris

16^th ~ Christine Bion

15^th ~ Dave Moss

14^th ~ Andrea Sellers

13^th ~ Stephen Mitchell

12^th ~ Mark Rice

11^th ~ Brian Mycock

Final Table 10 Starting Stacks– all awarded TNPL National Final Seats

Mike Stevens ~ Chip Leader ~ 185k

Lee Naylor ~ 50k

Jamie Doyle ~ 35k

Simon Ashcroft ~ 140k

Daren Wilkinson ~ Joint Small Stack ~ 25k

Chris McCabe ~ 85k

Lee Massingham ~ 75k

Trevor Grant-Hanlon ~ Joint Small Stack ~ 25k

Sam Unwin ~ 85k

Nick Milne ~ 90k

Top Ten Finishing Order

10^th Jamie Doyle ~ Stuart Hotel, Walton, Liverpool ~ 722635

09^th Daren Wilkinson ~ Thingwall Recreation Centre, Wirral ~ 668654

08^th Mike Stevens ~ Shrimper, Southport ~ 346703

07^th Lee Massingham ~ Cat & Fiddle, Bootle, Liverpool ~ 4701

06^th Lee Naylor ~ Breeze Hotel, Bootle, Liverpool ~ 708206

05^th Chris McCabe ~ Falstaff, Southport ~ 700689

04^th Simon Ashcroft ~ Shrimper, Southport ~ 691111

03^rd Trevor Grant-Hanlon ~ Breeze Hotel, Bootle, Liverpool ~ 9059

02^nd Nick Milne ~ The George, Higher Bebbington, Wirral ~ 720771

01^st Sam Unwin ~ The George, Higher Bebbington, Wirral ~ 692025

Congratulations to the Final 8 Players; all cashed, well played!

Congratulation to the National Final Seat Qualifiers Jamie, Daren, Mike, LeeM, LeeN, Chris, Simon, Trevor, Nick and Sam.

Congratulations to the Top 3; all received Crystal Trophies.

Congratulations to The George’s Sam Unwin who is a worthy Merseyside Champion after a short but quality heads-up with his George compadre Nick Milne……….on to the Stoke National Finals on Saturday 26^th May 2012 http://www.thenutspokerleague.com/go/national-finals

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Merseyside Overall Bonus Tournament ~ Winter Season 2011

was hosted at the Quarry Bank Community Clubfollowing on Sunday 12th February 2012

Play started just after 2pm in a humongously vast Antarctic polar cavern type setting! A Winner was announced through frost bitten lips just after 8pm (6 hours play but no sighting of any Yeti ! )

Top 3 places were paid.

Top 2 Places were awarded National Final Seats and each received Crystal Trophies

1^st Out & Good Luck Horseshoe card marker

Lisa Molyneux ~ Highwayman, Skelmersdale

Nightmare On 5^th Street (Bad Beat on the River) card marker

Paul Grimwood ~ Highwayman, Selmersdale

Having seemingly hit a winning two pair with his AQ off, his hand succumbed to one of the three J outs remaining on the river

Best Hand Of The Day

Alan Harrison ~ Stuart Hotel, Walton, Liverpool

Holding AK in the hole, Alan hit a full house on the flop (Ks full of As). He improved with an A on the turn and then massively acquired chips on the River. Very very well played!

Top Nine Finishing Order

09^th Michelle Jennings ~ Bootle, Liverpool

08^th Peter Musgrave ~ Southport

07^th Jacqueline Hurst ~ Southport

06^th Trevor Grant-Hanlon ~ Bootle, Liverpool

05^th Chris Jones ~ Bootle, Liverpool

04^th Adam “WIFE?” Galley ~ Skelmersdale ;-)

03^rd Laura Vieira ~ Skelmersdale

02^nd Peter Stevens ~ Skelmersdale

01^st Alan Harrison ~ Walton, Liverpool

Congratulations to the Final 3 Players; all cashed, well played!

Congratulation to the 2 National Final Seat Qualifiers Peter and Alan who also both received Crystal Trophies

Congratulations to Alan Harrison who is a worthy Merseyside Overall Champion after a see-saw quality heads-up with Peter Stevens……….on to the Stoke National Finals on Saturday 26^th May 2012 http://www.thenutspokerleague.com/go/national-finals

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Combined Champions Bonus Tournament ~ Winter Season 2011

was hosted at Genting Club (ex Circus Casino) Stoke on Sunday 26^th February 2012

Photos here

This report is by Stephen Tudor with thanks..... 

The queue to sign in for the top 3 event held on Sunday at the impressive Genting Casino in Stoke snaked all the way back to the roulette wheels. While some confidently held their first pint of the day others cradled an orange juice nursing weekend hangovers. All were eagerly looking forward to one of the biggest events in the Nuts poker calendar. What was particularly striking were the differing strategies devised beforehand by players hoping to negotiate their way through a 140-strong motley crew of sharks, donks, grinders and luckboxes to potentially reach the rich rewards of the final table. With £2400 in cash prizes available to the last fifteen, ten National Final seats to be attained, plus nine £100 buy-ins for a future event (an additional £150 seat was reserved for the winner) it was certainly worth forming a game-plan before a card was even shuffled and dealt.

These varied in ambition and intent depending largely on each individual’s experience. The veterans of the long, drawn-out challenge ahead knew the importance of building up a chip stack early doors. Stu Tompkin, who has encountered every fate bestowed from the fickle poker gods, was adamant it was boom or bust for him - either an early charge or an early bath – while first-timer Chris Reece (who would later come back from a single chip and two enforced all-ins to make a fabulous run to fifth) was more circumspect, declaring he was hardly going to play a hand through the initial levels. Meanwhile a guy called Guy stated that he just wanted to confuse people.

For those not familiar with the Top 3 tournament it can be equated in football terms to the Champion’s League. As the name suggests the highest three finishers in a number of leagues are invited to participate and though it may not (yet) be continental it comprises of the elite from a broad sweep of areas including Shropshire, Lancashire, Merseyside, Cheshire and Staffordshire and Denbighshire and Flintshire. Just like Wayne Rooney’s blank confusion as a foreign opponent tells him to fornicate elsewhere in another language there were similar breakdowns in communication here as local dialects clashed. The ultimate winner Kirsty Wright informed me she was ‘landing’ after her amazing win. I assume that’s a good thing?

I also heard at least one ‘Yet wha’ duck?’ throughout the day.

It was easy to spot the outright champions of each league by the cool manner they tossed in chips - an arrogant flick of the wrist like a Bourbon monarch dismissing a court minion – but regardless of trophies or bragging rights each player began the day with the same 8000 chips. A generous blind structure ensured there were margins for error and plenty of opportunities to make a few moves which the more aggressive players such as Richard ‘the Rottweiler’ Lewis didn’t pass up accumulating intimidating stacks before some had even unravelled their MP3 earphones.

The initial buzz of excitement soon settled into a gentle click-clack thrum of chips being passed around, friendly banter, and the occasional player standing, shaking their head and bemoaning a sick exit. Full-houses were trumped by superior boats, gut-shots successfully chased to the river, and of course that perennial favourite “I didn’t put him on the nuts”. How about this one that befell Mike Stephenson with just forty-three runners remaining - Mike raised with pocket tens pre-flop and was called by John Gill on big blind with K-10 suited. A flop of K-10-rag meant both pushed their towers in confident of a double-up with John then crestfallen to see a dreaded set. A two-outer king on the turn however left Mike heading back to the roulette tables where hours earlier he’d queued with such pre-tournament optimism. Lady Luck sometimes has a cruel streak that makes Cruella De Ville look like Lorraine Kelly.

An entertaining sideshow throughout was the battle to secure the hand of the day which brought with it a twenty quid pay-out. This became as fiercely competed as the main event with that man again John Gill rivering quad 7s which was soon topped by Brian Humphrey’s quartet of jacks.  Mark Buckley from Warrington ultimately snagged the money with an unbeatable quad aces which, crucially, also brought a much-needed double-up against a queen-high flush.

Afternoon gradually encroached into evening and to illustrate the hours that had passed Kate Perrin reached the hundredth page of the zombie novel she was reading in between folds and raises. Admitting to a fascination with the fictional undead she need only have peered above her book to witness the real incarnations as focus became fatigued, mistakes were made, and shoves became desperate as the blinds inexorably rose. The field thinned to three tables all of whom balanced a realistic hope for going all the way with a sickening fear of the bubble.

That unenviable fate was reserved for Alan Wood though it’s also worth pointing out the misfortune of Nathan Griffiths who exited shortly before when he shipped in K-J in the blinds and was called extremely loosely.  A runner-runner couple of rag cards brought a collective groan of sympathy from all around. ‘There but for the grace of God’ was thought by all.

Fifteenth place down all departed with cash but naturally all eyes were on securing a final table finish – the February Ten to evoke the WSOP – and once the formalities of photographs and best wishes were concluded the headline act was underway.

As often happens once the nerves and caution surrounding the bubble gives way to the relief and sense of achievement at reaching the final table the general play noticeably freed up and consequently two players exited in quick succession.

Paul Jones from Leigh made a positional shove with Q-10 suited and was unlucky to encounter the big slick while Richard Zoleman from Llay succumbed during the very next hand. We will see them both again – and every other player hereafter mentioned – at the National Finals in May.

Chris Harding swiftly followed when his A-8 ran head-first into another big slick which once more belonged to Kirsty Wright who was evidently waging a one-woman war in her pursuit of the big prize.

Kirsty, who had played excellent poker all day – I’d personally witnessed her correctly lay down a huge hand hours earlier – could now barely see above her imposing edifice of chips and she good-naturedly batted away jokes from all around that the others were now battling for second place.

To that aim John Power shoved his K-10 in early position hoping to accrue the monumental blinds and antes now available pre-flop only to have Gary Guille also commit his chips behind him. All those present could tell from Gary’s serious demeanour that not only did he have a monster but was dreading the possibility of experiencing a suck-out. In the event his kings held up sending an ever-gracious JP to the rails and putting Gary firmly in the reckoning.

Next came a more tentative affair as Paul Breedon opened with K-J and, after a long consideration, Kirsty sent all her troops into battle. Paul did the maths, realised he was priced in to call and reluctantly did so, nodding his head in resignation to the inevitable ace that was revealed. The better hand held up and now Kirsty’s stack was worrying the support structure of the table. You’ve heard that old myth about the Great Wall of China being the only mad-made object visible from space? Well, on Sunday there was another.

Chris Reece was now isolated as the short stack and being big blind soon forced the issue. For a newbie who was all-but-out halfway through this marathon of concentration and nerve a fifth place finish was nothing short of a tremendous achievement.

A final table is a very separate beast from the rest of the tournament and develops a distinct, individual personality. This depends entirely on the participants and in no small part due to the involvement of Mike Hayes and Jullian Mosquara this particular FT was friendly, vibrant and high-spirited throughout. Both players knew each other from their league venues and the banter was relentless. Jullian had navigated his way through the field playing steady, sensible poker; always thoughtful before any action taken. Mike meanwhile, when asked halfway through how he had amassed so many chips, had replied self-deprecatingly that he’d done so through “luck and bluffing”.

Even amongst such bonhomie however with just four players left the game hit its first lull as the money ladder rose in the hundreds and caginess setting in.

Gary – who had seen his stack depleted through a period of card-dead junk at the worst possible time – was finally forced to make a stab at the blinds and Jullian only needed to see an ace to call. We were now three-handed.

The change in dynamic from four to three seemed to reignite the ambition and within a matter of hands it was all over. First Jullian found his Q-J dominated by Kirsty’s K-J and what was anticipated to be a titanic heads-up struggle was swiftly decided by Mike’s small blind raise being squashed by the all-in hammer move Kirsty had now perfected. With a severe chip disadvantage Mike had little other option but to commit himself to suited rags that failed to connect with the board.

Kudos to all the final ten but, for her unrelenting aggression, Kirsty was a very worthy winner and she proudly posed with her bounty of prizes, looking a touch stunned by her feat.  “All done with a stinking hangover,” her friend declared with a broad grin but the last words should go to our new champ. “I thought he was going to come back during heads-up. I feel landing.” I assume that’s a good thing.

Final 15
The Top 11 all won a National Final seat (as 1 of the Top 10 had already won a place)
1st Kirsty Wright £740 + £150 casino seat
2nd Mike Hayes - Cheshire £410 + £100 casino Seat
3rd Julian Mosquara - Cheshire £310 + £100 Casino Seat
4th Gary Guille - Flintshire £240 + £100 casino Seat (pre qualified)
5th Chris Reece - Flintshire £180 + £100 casino Seat
6th Paul Breedon - Shropshire £140 + £100 casino Seat
7th John Power - Flintshire £110 + £100 casino Seat
8th Chris Harding - Merseyside £80 + £100 Casino Seat
9th Richard Zolman - Wrexham £50 + £100 casino Seat
10th Paul Jones - Lancashire £40 + £100 Casino Seat
11th Mike Parcesepe - Wrexham £20
12th Alan Wood - Lancashire £20
13th Dave Newell - Wrexham £20
14th John Tattersall - Lancashire £20
15th Jeff Metcalf - Cheshire £20

Hand of the Day - Quad Aces won by Mark Buckley – Cheshire £20