Who is Tim?

When it comes to organizing poker events, let alone out-of-town golf trips, the Camel Cup crew isn't the easiest to pull together. "Herding cats" is an accurate phrase. It requires a lot of email exchanges, every single response in turn replied to by Ben in a ploy to annoy everyone. One common question comes up in those email strings. Whenever the name of Tim is brought up or he replies to an email (a la "what is a punter?"), the inevitable response is "Who is Tim?"

This, of course, is in reference to Tim's less-than-stellar attendance record at Camel Cup events. He usually makes it to the Resi's, rarely a Camel Cup and occasionally a poker event. So when he shows up, it's a rare sight. What is even more rare? Tim's chip stack lasting past the first hour or two.

Thursday was different. You can chalk it up to "home court advantage" or maybe it had something to do with "Steel Panther" rocking in the background, but Tim was a different animal. He didn't just call bets, he raised. He didn't get bullied out of hands, he was the aggressor. It paid off huge as the man who had never even cashed in an event won the whole bloody thing.

This not only sent shock waves through the Camel Poker community, but it secured Tim a seat at the Tournament of Champions in March. Not quite a David v. Goliath or Buster Douglas v. Mike Tyson upset, but a surprise nonetheless.

The night got off to a fairly slow start, though Ben seemed intent on chasing some pots and it got him in trouble as his chip stack dwindled. When faced with an all-in bet from Chris, Ben called quickly only to find that Chris' pocket 5s were made a set on the flop and his two pair were beaten. Would the points leader relinquish his hold on the #1 spot in the standings?

After Ben's exit the action simmered down with a number of small pots being won left and right and nobody taking any major damage to their stacks. Then came Tim's first big move as Steve, on a draw with K-J, pushed all in and Tim called with A-10 and it held up. Severely crippled (with 200 in chips left), Steve pushed and was beaten by Adam's flush.

With the bubble in play for one point, Chris, Dave and Matt all guarded their small stacks. Neither of them wanting to pull the trigger and Chris ensuring that others at the table were johnny on the spot about their turn as the blind clock ticked closer to going up. After winning a small pot to provide a little breathing room, Matt was dealt AK suited and decided to push. Tim called with A-10 again, and despite the ace pairing for each of them, the king outkicked the 10 and Matt doubled up.

Now the urgency was on Chris and Dave as they were running short on chips. Dave finally pushed and was taken out by Adam's pair of Kings, followed shortly afterward by Adam again knocking out another player when Chris pushed and Adam's trip-sevens held up.

Now the short stack of the three, Matt felt the need to find a good hand and push but the blinds were killing him and he never got a good hand, having to push on 6-5 offsuit. Tim called and took him out, leaving Matt with a third-place cash and two points that moved him into first in the season standings (pending Adam's finish).

So we went head to head and when Adam took the chip lead, I must admit, I uttered to Ben, "well I think Adam's got this one". But I was unaware of the magic that Tim was conjuring up on his home turf. It was evident a few hands later when Adam's pocket-6s were beat by Tim's A-3 when he flopped a straight. Crippled by this loss, Adam later pushed with 7s and Tim paired his 10 to take event #4 of the season.

Congratulations to Tim on a well-played night of poker. His game is really coming along. I think there was even a tear in Steve's eye the moment Adam went out as he realized that all that hazing and bullying had finally paid off. Tim, the poker player, is all grows up. :)

Event #4 Standings:
1) Tim
2) Adam
3) MattG
4) Chris
5) Dave
6) Steve
7) Ben