Day 1 - IPC 5k Freezeout

The now extended weekend of the India Poker Championship would feature 4 days of tournament poker and as usual things were kicked off with the IPC 5k Freezeout. While we had expected a decent turnout for the game, it took some time for the field to cross 100 as a few flights had gotten delayed coming in from Mumbai and Delhi. Eventually by the end of the late entry and Alternates time period, we had 110 runners who were gonna try and score a big payday at the end of it. The tournament structure was tweaked a little by adding more chips (5000 this time as compared to 3500 in September) so the participants could get more play. In four editions of this event, this has probably been the most ideal structure we've managed to come up with as far the 5k game is concerned. It is likely that we will continue to stick with this structure for future 5k freezeouts as well.

The action began fast and furious and by the time the time for late entries was over we had already lost 10 players. The tournament started slightly differently with all tables featuring 10 seats instead of the usual 9. This was to try and accommodate most of the participants in the poker room itself rather than the upper level. Fortunately those tables did not come into play because of the large number of early eliminations. Lots of newbies came to get their first taste of tournament poker action and it was many of these newbies who were the initial casualties not realizing the patience factor is extremely crucial when it comes to surviving big fields in a poker tournament like the IPC. Some big names from previous tournaments were in the field like our 1st runner-up from the September event, Amit Varma who was on a healthy stack of about 35k when there were about 3 tables left. Another name still in the fray was our 10k winner from June, Sameer Rattonsey who was looking to make another final table at this December event.

By the time the 3 hour was complete we had lost just about 60% of the field and a couple of hours later it was time for the final table to begin. Prior to the final table, the player who was running red hot was Rajeev Raut who was a monster stack compared to not just his table but indeed the rest of field. However in the run-up to the final table, he lost all his chips and was our bubble boy busting out in 11th. place. This is what the lineup looked like with their chipstacks:-

1. Anil 'The Machine' Gulati - 99500
2. Grenville Dias - 87000
3. Sameer Rattonsey - 76500
4. Ridesh Sejpal - 72000
5. Amit Varma - 67500
6. Ricky Chopra - 52000
7. Santosh Govindaraj - 41500
8. Kavish Kukreja - 25500
9. Girish Shahane - 19000
10. Amey Gad - 6000

The chiplead was held by one of the regulars on the Goa poker circuit Anil Gulati who was (rightly so) dubbed by our TD Craig as 'The Machine' for his consistency in tournaments. Besides Anil, there was Sameer and Amit who have done very well for themselves in past IPC tournaments and were looking to make another big score. Right off the bat, Amit and Ricky got involved in a couple of pots where Ricky doubled up in the first hand leaving Amit in very bad shape and then Amit returns the favor and manages to get chips from Ricky to stay alive at the final table. The short stack at table, Amey was looking for any half hand to get his chips into the middle and when he looked down at A 9, he could not shove fast enough. Unfortunately for him, Ricky Chopra wakes up with Big Slick and with no help from the board, Amey Gad is our 10th place finisher. Girish is the next to bust out finding a similar hand (A 8) to Amey's and he gets eliminated by Kavish's T T. Kavish seems to be unstoppable as his AA destroys Amit's pockets Jacks knocking him out in 8th place. But the dream run is not meant to be as 2 hands cripple and then eliminate Kavish from this final table and in both cases, it is Sameer who causes the damage. The first hand has Sameer's T T dominating Kavish's 9 9. Not long after, Kavish faces an all-in call when Sameer shoves on a Q 5 6 board. Having Q J in his hand, Kavish nonetheless tanks for a fair while before (almost reluctantly) making the call. It seems his premonition was right as Sameer shows Q 6 for two pair and takes down the pot and Kavish is out in 7th.

Grenville is the next one to go when his J T gets called by Ricky Chopra who once again has Big Slick. A King on the turn means that Grenville will be our 6th place finisher. In the meanwhile, Ridhesh has been sitting quietly, trying to survive on his meager stack but the blinds are not being kind. He survives after repeated shoves and finally looks down to see a pair of 8s. Once again it is Ricky Chopra who calls with 10 7 and hits his T on the flop and makes it trips on the river thereby knocking out Ridhesh in 5th place. The former chipleader Anil Gulati has also been fighting for his tournament life and his cause is helped by Ricky when his A K doubles up through Ricky's K J. Shortly thereafter Sameer's Q 8 goes up against Ricky's J T and with a ton of draws for Sameer by the turn, Ricky can only pray for a miracle. And the miracle comes in the form of a 2 outer Jack which reduces Sameer to barely 3x BB. He soon shoves in the next hand with 6 8 and is called by Anil's A T which prevails and Sameer is our 4th place finisher.

Ricky is on a roll as he cripples Santosh when his K Q spikes a K on the turn against Santosh's A T. This is followed up by Santosh going all-in with his remaining stack on 6 7 and Ricky makes the call with Q 4. No help for Santosh who goes out in 3rd place. It's now down to heads and it's Ricky Chopra who has a marginal chip lead but it really is anyone's game as one right (or wrong) hand could seal the deal. Headsup battles goes on for a while as both players try to get into a stronger position. It's Ricky who makes the stronger plays in the beginning and builds his lead to better than 2:1 over Anil. But he isn't called The Machine for nothing as Anil fights back and over the course of a few hands the chip lead once again rests with him. After many swings on both sides sides, this crucial hand comes up - Preflop raise by Anil which is called by Ricky and we go to the flop of 2 7 T. Anil fires out again and once again he is flat called Ricky. The turn is an A and Anil puts Ricky all-in which Ricky immediately calls showing a flopped set of deuces where Anil shows Q T for top pair on the flop. The river is of no help and Ricky and his pals start to celebrate thinking he's won it. But Craig steps in and after a quick count, it is determined that Anil still has just under 3x BB which means headsup will continue. Anil shoves on the very next hand with A 2 and Ricky called with Q J and hits his Q on the flop to take down the win of the IPC 5k Freezeout!
Just an absolutely fantastic start to the tournament weekend and a final table that had its share of 'TV hands' which kept the players and the railbirds very interested in the action. Given the turnout of Day 1, we expect good numbers on Day 2 as well.
Till then...