The atmosphere at our final poker night of 2008 was electric, with all players excited as we sat down for the first game at 20:40.
The last few weeks had seen tensions reach boiling point at the top of the table: Barry lost the lead he had spent a year building up on 3rd December, when JJ took the top spot with equal points, having won a single extra game.
Down but not out, Baz was not prepared to hand over the prize he had coveted all year to his Burger Chum without a fight. He promptly re-took the lead, winning a game on 10 December, giving him a 7 point safety cushion over last year's champion.
A win for the usurper JJ and a second place for Baz on the 16th December kept it interesting, narrowing the gap between them to only 3 points. It was not clear which of them was going to take the title, but with Lee without a win it looked like it would certainly be heading back to Borehamwood.
In what must count as his most crucial win of the entire year, Barry held out against Mark in the early hours of 23rd December, claiming 6 points in the second game of the penultimate poker night of 2008.
With a lead of 9 points over JJ, Baz entered the last game of the year the firm favourite. With no possibility of victory for Lee, only JJ stood between Barry and the 2008 Poker Elite title. JJ had a mountain to climb, needing 9 points from 2 games, which meant a win and a second at the very least, provided Barry didn't win any points. Should Barry get a single point, then nothing less than a double victory for JJ would see him crowned champion.
Despite the high hurdle and the presence of Bea, JJ looked like a man determined to achieve the impossible, while Barry looked decidedly nervous.
Menacing from the off, JJ took the first casualty of the night, mullering Scott's pocket 10s with JQ, 2 pair. Scott was out (10th), having lost most of his chips to Baz a few hands earlier, in a Borehamwood Spit Roast.
JJ continued to amass as chips, knocking IJ out 9th, after he went all in with A10, which was no match for JJ's AK.
With sweat forming all over Barry's head (despite the sub-zero temperature in the poker suite) JJ bulldozed his way through Dan, his 36 hitting a 3 to demolish Dan's JQ. Dan out (8th).
Baz recovered his nerve a little to double up at Lee's expense, his A8 holding up against Lee's QJ.
His composure didn't last long, as JJ continued his relentless pounding of the other players, using pocket 6s to dispatch Lee with 47. Lee out (6th).
Dave gave Barry hope, his 8s holding up against JJ's 7s to take a small dent out of JJ's chip stack. Providing some distraction from the main event, Dave then saw some action in a number of hands. Holding a pathetic 78, he hit a ridiculously jammy straight on the river to double up against Jude, who saw her AJ crumble.
She got her chips back from him shortly afterwards with AJ again, which this time held up against Dave's Q8.
Shaz's Js then wreaked further havoc on Dave's stack, until JJ finally killed him off with an AK against Dave's KQ. Dave out (5th).
JJ then took the one scalp that was to perhaps prove decisive on the 2008 race. With JQ, JJ called Jude's all in with K10. He hit a J and knocked Jude out (4th) guaranteeing Baz at least a point, which meant that he would have to win both games to retain his title.
Baz claimed that he wasn't excited about his achievement of the point. He was too busy fearfully eyeing up JJ's chip stack, trying to stay calm in the face of the onslaught from his nemesis.
In the end it wasn't JJ that took him out of the game. Baz went all in with Qs which Sharon called with A10. She hit an Ace on the flop, knocking Barry out third. He got his point, but his fate was in Sharon's hands.
As heads up started at 23:17, only Sharon stood between JJ and the essential first game victory that he needed to have a shot at sending Barry back to Borehamwood empty handed.
Ultimately, Sharon was not strong enough to hold JJ back. He knocked her out in under 10 mins, his AJ holding up against her A5 in the final hand, setting up a scintillating 2nd game finale to the 2008 Poker Year.
Only a win would do for JJ while Barry didn't care where he came: all he needed was for JJ not to win....
Game 2 – 8 players - (1st Lee, 2nd Dan, 3rd ???)
Having swept all ruthlessly aside to collect the required first game win, JJ set about securing what would surely be a breathtaking double victory to keep his grubby mitts on the title.
Barry was agitated and nervous, seemingly resigned to his fate at the hands of the self declared Second Game Specialist, saying before play had even started "If you win it by winning 2 games on the trot then you deserve it". The months of hard slog, gaining and holding the lead of the table, while JJ trailed behind him seemed to have been forgotten.
The rest of the players were merely enjoying the spectacle, apart from Dan who won the first hand and revelled in his status as 'Chip Leader'.
Dave exited first, going all in with Js which IJ called, having already hit trip 10s. Dave took Bea home (8th), which only served to further depress Barry.
His mood lifted when he got 4 cards to a Royal Flush and for a brief moment, didn't care about the 2008 title. With £400 in his pocket, Baz could have bought his own trophy. The drama was intense but it was not to be and the pot remained preserved for another week.
Meanwhile, JJ was playing the most conservative poker of his life. By 23:51 he had played only a
single hand (a £2.50 raise). At 0:21 he played his second hand of the night: a £7.50 raise.
Baz went all in with AQ and saw his stack decimated by Mark, who's AK hit a full house.
Barry reassured us all that his own chip position didn't matter as it was where JJ came that mattered to him. He had less success convincing us that he would go home when he was out...
At 0:29 he went all in with AJ, top pair of Js. Scott called with KJ, but hit a K on the river to knock Baz out (7th). After some further pointless chat about going home, he sat back anxiously to watch his fate unfold.
4KQ on the flop saw JJ raise all in. Mark considered it, while Barry prayed he had pocket Ks, but he folded.
9J7 on the flop saw Scott go all in. JJ told us that he had a pretty good hand, but folded it, displaying further cautious play.
Q9K on flop saw Scott go all in with A2. Mark called with AJ, meaning only a 2 could help Scott, which he duly hit on the turn.
Then, in the seminal moment of our poker year, JJ went all in with A4. IJ called with AK which held up, leaving JJ with £1.25 and his dreams in tatters.
In a sign of the fear and respect that JJ instills in him, Baz refused to count him out until Dan finished him off with Qs against 48.
At 23:16 JJ went out (6th) and to a round of 'well played' from all present Barry became the Poker Elite Champion of 2008.
Congratulations Barry!!!!!!!!
(By the way, in case anyone cares, Lee went on to beat Dan in a marathon heads up)
So there we have it: after a momentous struggle Barry is our Champion for 2008. A fantastic year's performance - he led from early in the year and consistently out played the rest of us for months on end, finishing on a monster 129 points.
Early challengers Lee and Dan failed to capitalise on Barry's poor run of form mid year, leaving it to JJ to make him truly work for it.
Languishing in fourth for much of the year, JJ went on a tremendous run to put himself within tasting distance of an unprecedented 2nd title. But couldn't complete the deal, finishing on 126, 3 points shy of glory.
As for our other potential winners, former champion Lee finishes in third place on a very credible 120 points.
Dan showed early promise, but having not won for 4 months hasn't been a serious contender for a long time and ends the year in fourth on 95 points.
