Event One: Stoke-on-Trent

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In the very early hours of Sunday 24 June, Susan Adams became the first player to lift a BWPT trophy when she defeated Enid Musson in a forty minute heads up finale.

 

With Susan limping in from the small blind, Enid pushed her short stack all-in, and received a call. Enid turned over A 7, Sue flipped over K T. The flop of
6…2…6 provided no help to Sue, but she spiked the T on the turn, leaving Enid drawing to only three cards. The Q on the river proved to be the final card of the tournament, handing Sue a £2,500 payday and a seat in the Grand Final, taking place in early December. It could however, have been a very different story!!

1st Susan Adams	2nd Enid Musson	3rd Mel Lofthouse

 

The inaugural Betfred Women’s Poker Tour got underway at approximately 3:20pm on Saturday 23 June. 71 female competitors took to the baize in a bid to reach the Grand Final in December, as well as playing for a prize pool of £8,100.

 

There was very little action early on, with players attempting to gain an understanding of their opponents, or simply trying to avoid being the first player eliminated!

 

The first significant hand occurred in the first half hour of play, when Sue Adams flat called in mid-position, for Paula Agnew to make a raise. It folded round to Sue, who re-raised, to be re-raised all-in by Paula, who had a slight chip lead over Susan. Sue made the call and turned over Q Q… horrified to see Paula then flip over pocket Aces!! The flop came 2…K…2, putting Susan’s tournament on the line! The turn card was flipped over to show a lady…the Q!! The 4 on the river ensured the pot was pushed over to Susan as she brushed a bead of sweat from her brow!!

 

Moments later we saw our very first casualty! Dorothy Balestra pushed her short stack all-in with Q J making her flush at the turn. Unfortunately for Dorothy, her opponent had made the King high flush and that was the end for “Granny Dot”!! To ease the pain of being the first lady to be eliminated, Betfred awarded Dorothy a seat in the next event at The Western Club in London, which was greeted by a warm applause from all participants.

 

As the blinds began to increase, so did the amount of action around the tables, as more and more players were forced to make their moves. The Betfred online qualifiers (Kim Jagger, Carol Caldicott & Suzanne Hayward) were doing well in the early to mid stages, all holding chip stacks close to or above the average count.

 

One of the biggest names in UK poker, Lucy Rokach (aka “Golden Ovaries”) had a steady tournament, but ran dry late on in the event. Making a pre-flop raise, she was called by tournament chip leader Nikki Short. Lucy pushed all-in with her A 8 on a flop of T…4….6, to be quickly called by Nikki holding Q T. The turn and river offered no help for Lucy and she was left to tell her story to the film crew!

 

Susan Adams is at it Again!!

 

An all-in bet from a player in mid-position was folded round to Sue, who thought for a while, then made the call. The original raiser showed
K K and Susan on seeing the cowboys reluctantly turned over K J. The flop revealed T…7…9, giving Sue a back door straight draw. The 6 on the turn offered Sue even more outs, with any Q, 8 or diamond required to take down the pot. The river was turned over to reveal the 5, leaving Susan to rake in her ever increasing chip stack!!

 

With two tables left and just one elimination away from forming the Final Table, the tension was evident. All the remaining players had been playing poker for close to eight and a half hours, and they were so close to making the money.

 

Over on table one, Elena Kalugina pushed all-in, and was called by Karen Walton. Elena turned over pocket Tens, and Karen flipped the ladies…pocket Queens!! The flop, amazingly brought K…T…6!! The turn came the Q and Elena’s lifeline had just been crushed in a single blow. Only one card would save her now and the river was flipped slowly to reveal the 4. Close to nine hours of play resulted in Elena finishing on the bubble, left to reminisce about what could have been. It was then announced that Rock Poker Online (who have been providing live updates) have offered Elena a seat of her choice in one if the next five Betfred Women’s Poker Tour events for finishing in that sickening bubble!!

 

With that last elimination we are now down to the last ten players to battle it out at the Final Table.

Final Table Chip Counts:

 

Seat	Name	Chips in Play
1	Mel Lofthouse	53,900
2	Danielle Allen	39,300
3	Liz Thatcher	15,000
4	Susan Adams	31,200
5	Olesya Kabbaj	24,700
6	Karen Walton	49,800
7	Enid Musson	8,100
8	Dawn Wood	61,200
9	Debbie Witcombe	92,800
10	Nikki Short	48,100

As it Happened on the Final Table

 

After a short break, the ladies returned with Debbie Witcombe the chip leader, and Enid Musson short stacked with 8,100 chips. With the blinds at 1,500 & 3,000, Enid will really need to make her move soon!!

 

The initial stages of Final Table play are much akin to the beginning of the tournament, with very little in the way of post-flop action. All the players are now deadly serious, as they realise just how close they are to achieving an historic victory in this ladies only event!

 

An early double-up from Enid Musson with A Q against Liz Thatcher’s K J puts her well and truly back into the thick of the action. The short stacks are now fighting hard and seemingly taking down the pots in several coin-flip situations.

 

Little over half an hour into Final Table play, we have three-way action, with two players all-in!! Dawn Wood raises from under the gun, and it folds round to Danielle Allen who pushes all-in…round now to Enid Musson who also announces all-in leaving Dawn Wood to think about calling for another 12,000 chips. “Call” is announced and the cards are turned over…Danielle Allen shows J J… Enid Musson A A, and Dawn Wood reveals A K. There is no slowing down from the dealer as he quickly deals out 4…7…9 on the flop…2 and 5 on the turn and river to push a huge pot in Enid ’s direction, resulting in the first elimination of the final in Danielle Allen.

 

Next player out is Nikki Short, who was tournament chip leader only an hour or so ago. Her K T is no match for the K Q of Susan Adams and it’s a 9th place finish for Nikki who has played very well throughout.

 

The play at this stage is now thick and fast with blinds up to 5,000 & 10,000. Olesya Kabbaj is next to go as she limps in to see a flop from the button. On a board of 5…K…8 Susan Adams leads out with a 25k bet, which is called by Olesya who turns over pocket 7’s. Susan Adams shows A K and the turn and river provide no joy for Olesya who finishes the tournament in 8th place.

 

Debbie Witcombe, the chip leader at the beginning of the final is eliminated in 7th place as she runs into Mel Lofthouse’s pocket 6’s holding K Q. A 6 on the flop gives trips to Mel, but a club flush draw is now available to Debbie. Two diamonds on the turn and river end her hopes and she goes away with a £320 prize.

 

Mel is again in the thick of the action as she makes an all-in play from mid-position. Karen Walton calls turning over T T and is more than happy to see the 8 9 of Mel Lofthouse. The flop adds to the drama of the hand as it comes down K…J…7 offering Mel a middle-pin straight draw. The 8 on the turn provides even more outs and the 4 is the river of doom for Karen as her pair of tens is overhauled by the club flush.

 

Another all-in, this time from Dawn Wood. It fold’s round to Enid Musson who calls after a moment of deliberation. Dawn holds pocket 3’s and Enid has pocket Q’s. There is no improvement for either player and Dawn finishes in 5th place for a £570 payout.

 

Liz Thatcher is next to leave the tournament, her J T no match for the A T held by Sue Adams.

 

We are now down to the last three players following almost 12 hours of poker! Mel Lofthouse raises 50K and is called by Susan Adams pre-flop. The flop comes
8…J…5 and Mel instantly pushes all her chips into the middle. Susan makes the call and turns over A 9 which must have pleased Mel who shows A 5 for a pair of 5’s. The turn comes Q and the river the 9!!! Mel cannot believe it as her tournament comes to an end in dramatic fashion. A payout of £1,200 and a 3rd place trophy will hopefully ease the blow!!

 

We are now heads-up with Susan Adams holding the majority of the chips in play and Enid Musson prepared to fight for her tournament life. The two players are now playing very cannily with little post-flop action. They now have all eyes on that winner’s trophy and a seat in the Grand Final.

 

All of a sudden the two ladies begin to make their moves, exchanging punches like heavyweight boxers, as the chip lead rotates backwards and forwards. We are now in the early hours of Sunday morning and fatigue must surely be playing a role in the decision-making of both ladies.

 

Another all-in bet from Enid is greeted by a call from Susan and they are on their backs! Enid turns over K T and Susan reveals A 2…this could very well be the end of it!! The flop comes down 3…7…A, a killer blow for Enid , but wait…a K on the turn offers Enid a glimmer of hope! There are now five cards in the deck that will save her from being eliminated and the river is turned to reveal…the K!!! Enid doubles up and a shell-shocked Susan cannot believe it! She was so close that she had one hand already on the trophy!

 

It appears now as though Susan is preparing for a quick end to proceedings, having been so close. She pushes all-in with 7 3 and is called by Enid’s A 6. Susan hits a 3 on the turn and we are going a little further with this tournament!!

 

A couple of hands later and Susan limps in hoping to see a cheap flop. Enid has other ideas and pushes her short stack all-in, which is called by Sue. Enid pins her hopes on A 7 up against the K T of Susan Adams. The flop is turned slowly over to reveal 6 …2…6 and Enid is close to doubling up again. The turn however reveals the T gaining two pairs for Sue. The final card of the tournament, somewhat appropriately is a lady…the Q!!

 

A fantastic day of poker is over and Susan Adams, the winner of the first leg of the Betfred Women’s Poker Tour is overjoyed.

 

Enid Musson, who if we remember was the short stack as the Final Table was formed put up an excellent challenge and is more than worthy of her 2nd place finish and a £1,600 payday!

 

For Susan Adams, this victory is sure to be the start of a successful year, with a £2,500 payday and a guaranteed seat in the Grand Final to look forward to.

 

That just about wraps up the first leg of the tour, and a chance for many players, organisers, film crew, updaters and staff to get some rest and recharge their batteries for what is sure to be a great second leg of the tour at The Western Club in London on 21 July…we shall see you all there!!

 

The Final Result:

 

Saturday 23 June	Position	Name	Prize
£100 Betfred Women's Poker Tour Entries: 71 Prize Pool: £8100	1	Sue Adams	£2,500
	2	Enid Musson	£1,600
	3	Mel Lofthouse	£1,200
	4	Liz Thatcher	£950
	5	Dawn Wood	£570
	6	Karen Walton	£400
	7	Debbie Witcombe	£320
	8	Olesya Kabbaj	£240
	9	Nikki Short	£180
	10	Danielle Allen	£140