Day 3 - IPC 20k Freezeout

Once again, the Berry decided to thrown a few tantrums but I was able to sending out a decent number of updates before my phone decided to just up and quit. Unfortunately we were just about getting into the final table when this happened so I wasn't able to send out any updates during the most exciting part of the tournament. But that's what these blog posts are for - to allow you, the avid Indian poker fan, to devour as many details that I can provide about the India Poker Championship.

After the success of Day 1 and Day 2, we were quite upbeat about the turnout of Day 3 figuring that we should crack the 50 mark fairly comfortably. We did but there were some jitters getting there. Around 9 pm we were still at around the 40 player mark when we were informed that a minor accident had taken place outside the jetty which had resulted in some traffic buildup. This of course meant that some players weren't able to make it to the casino as soon as they would have liked. But we waited for an additional 30 minutes for these players and then it was off to the races!


Anyone who entered the poker room could see there was a big tournament on. There was a lot of intensity on the players' faces and not surprisingly the poker room was a lot quieter on this evening as compared to the previous two nights. By the time the first hour had passed and the Alternates round was closed, there were 54 players in total who were in the fray to win the IPC 20k Freezeout. Our champions from the previous events Neel (IPC 5k winner) and Sameer (IPC 10k winner) were also back to try and add another IPC Winner's Medallion to their kitty. Neel's run in the 20k ended when the field was about half the size it began with. Sameer displayed some solid shortstack play to survive as long as he did. But it eventually wasn't enough and our 10k champ from the previous night was knocked out just before the final table.
And this is what the final table for the IPC 20k Freezeout looked like. Players' names are mentioned along with their respective chip counts:-

• Seat 1 - Rajesh G (Hyderabad) - 83000
• Seat 2 - Susmit P (Mumbai) - 5000
• Seat 3 - Achin S (Mumbai) - 57000
• Seat 4 - Girish G (Bangalore) - 58000
• Seat 5 - Avi A (Chicago/Mumbai) - 63000
• Seat 6 - Mukul C (Mumbai) - 35000
• Seat 7 - Kunal S (Mumbai) - 17000
• Seat 8 - Amit V (Mumbai) - 44000
• Seat 9 - Masood S (Mumbai) - 44000

Bombay once again came to the party and it seemed like all the IPC Winner's Medallion's would be scooped up by Mumbai natives. But someone had other ideas... The tournament would feature 6 payouts and so while the final tablists were given champagne for having made it this far, they knew that three amongst them would go home tonight empty-handed. The table began with Rajesh from Hyderabad as the dominating chiplead. Rajesh also known as Royalsflushed online, had played a solid and selectively aggressive game to build up his stack and lead the final table. Avi who was the second chipleader was a super-aggressive player who kept making lots of moves in the run-up to the final table.
Susmit and Kunal being the shortstacks tried to last but the overwhelming lead everyone else had meant that they would have to get really really lucky to survive. Unfortunately that didn't happen and they were out and were soon followed by the bubble boy Masood. Girish, Amit, and Achin were the next 3 to get eliminated and then there were 3.

Mukul (3rd place), Rajesh (IPC 20k Winner) and Avi (2nd place)

From the 400000 chips in play, about 200000 were with Rajesh while Avi had about 150000 and Mukul was the shortstack with a little over 550000. Mukul was eliminated in 3rd place when he made a move with 8 5 off on the button in an attempt to steal the blinds before the next level. Unfortunately for him, Rajesh woke up in the Small Blind with AsKs and there was no bad beats which meant Mukul was out in 3rd place. Headsup batte between Avi and Rajesh did not last for more than a few hands when Avi's J 10 ran into Rajesh's A J and we had our winner for the IPC 20k Freezeout - Rajesh G from Hyderabad.
 Along the IPC Winner's Medallion, Rajesh takes home the biggest prize from all IPC events held till date! Avi played an aggressive game till the very end and it was this aggressive style which was largely responsible for him coming to the final table and then claiming the Runnersup position eventually.

Given the amount of Red Bull we've had over the last three nights, we should approach them for sponsorship! :D As usual its been an exhausting 3 days but there is a warm feeling of having done a good job. Given that we had a few glitches on the first day with the massive field along with having to run the tournament on our own, I think we did a fairly decent job. The players in fact had only good things to say but we hold ourselves to a higher standard so while the praise was great to hear, we are already breaking down each event day and examining areas where we can improve for our subsequent events.
The next edition of the India Poker Championship will take place in September 2010. Till then we will remain in touch with our players through our website - www.indiapokerchampionship.com. There's also the group on Facebook (India Poker Championship). If you are a tweetoholic, we are also present on Twitter under the handle IndiaPokerChamp

A quick note of thanks to our hosts - the poker room at Casino Royale and the management, staff and dealers there. Most of all we'd like to thank our players who came in from across (and even outside) the country to play at the India Poker Championship. It is because of them that a brand like ours enjoys the popularity and goodwill that it does. We are certain there will be more players for the next event. Once again I was unable to participate in the event but there is always next. As usual its been fantastic to write these blog reports and keeping our followers updated on the event.

Till the September edition...