After some last-minute cancellations due to illness, four teams convened for the Pinnacle Poker Club’s first ever tag-team event. The smaller field, deeper stacks, and slower blind structure created lots of action throughout the night, while the tag-team structure led to some interesting strategic decisions: two teams allowed one hot player to play as many levels as possible, while the other two switched players more or less evenly throughout the night.

Chris and Crystal make big hands and build big stacks.

Play began with Chris, Sharon, Crystal, and Luciano playing for their respective teams. After a relatively tame first level without many big confrontations, two teams decided to switch up their players for Level 2: Matt took over for Crystal and Daniela took over for Luciano.

But it was Chris and Sharon, both playing their second consecutive level, who tangled in the first big pot of the night. With blinds at 150/300, Daniela limped on the button, Chris raised to 1,200 from the small blind with A-J suited, Sharon called from the big blind, and Daniela called the raise as well. The flop came J-7-6 rainbow, and Chris bet 3,000 into the pot of about 3,700. Sharon called, Daniela folded, and it was heads-up to the turn. The Jack of diamonds gave Chris trips, but also put a flush draw on the board. Chris bet 4,500, about half the size of the pot, and Sharon called again. The river was the 8 of diamonds, a terrible card for Chris because it completed both the flush draw and a possible straight draw. Chris checked and Sharon consulted with Steve about whether to bet. Ultimately, Sharon decided to check behind and couldn’t believe her bad luck when she turned over K-J suited and found out that she was out-kicked. Chris raked in an early 18,000-chip pot that would provide a critical buffer as the night went on.

As Level 3 began, Kara took over from Chris, wielding a stack that had grown from 25,000 to just over 35,000. Steve took over from Sharon with a stack that had fallen to just under 15,000. Crystal was back in action with a stack of 27,000, and Daniela continued for a second straight level with her stack of 23,000.

Early in the level, with blinds at 200/400, all four players saw a flop of Ad-7h-5h. Kara was first to act and bet 400 into the pot of 1,300. Steve folded, but Crystal and Daniela called. After the 6 of diamonds came on the turn, all three players checked. The river came the 7 of clubs, pairing the board. Kara checked, Crystal bet 400 into the pot of 2,500, Daniela called, and Kara folded. Crystal turned over Ac-2h for top pair on the flop, but Daniela turned over Tc-7d for tips 7s. It was the first of many times that night that Daniela would turn over the best hand at showdown.

Crystal got some of those chips back in a three-way pot against Daniela and Steve. After seeing a free flop from the big blind with T-8, Crystal found herself with an open-ended straight draw on the board of K-9-7. All three players checked to the turn, which was a 6, perfect for Crystal as she made her straight; even better, Steve bet into her for 400. Crystal decided to slow play, just calling with her monster hand, and Daniela called as well. An inconsequential 5 on the river left Crystal with “the nuts” (the best possible hand), but it was Steve who continued betting another 400. Crystal called and got a second call from Daniela. Steve had flopped top pair with his K-J, and Daniela had hit a pair on the turn with her Q-6, but Crystal “always makes her straight” raked in the 4,000-chip pot.

Crystal decided to ride that momentum the very next hand when Kara and Steve folded leaving Crystal and Daniela to battle for the blinds. Crystal called with 9-4 of hearts, and Daniela checked, allowing the players to see a flop of Ah-9s-2h, an amazing flop for Crystal who now had middle pair and a flush draw. Crystal immediately bet out 400 and got a call from Daniela. Crystal bet 400 again on the 3 of spades turn, but Daniela raised to 1,000. Crystal called and saw the 3 of hearts on the river. That card gave Crystal a flush, but also made a full house possible. Both players decided to play it safe and check the river. Daniela showed her A-5, which was ahead until that river card, and Crystal raked in another 4,000-chip pot with yet another big hand (which has become her usual practice at the PPC).

As Level 4 began, three of the four teams made a change, with Chris taking over from Kara, Sharon switching with Steve, and Matt subbing in for Crystal. The very first hand of the level, Chris tangled with Daniela in another battle of the blinds. Chris had Q-2, a terrible starting hand that didn’t get any better on the T-T-3 flop. But after a check from Daniela, Chris tried to steal the pot with a bluff. His 600-chip bet was quickly called by Daniela. Both players checked after seeing a King on the turn. The river was a 5 and Daniela checked. Holding nothing but Queen-high, Chris decided that his only chance to win the pot was with another bluff. This time, he bet 1,800 into the pot of 2,700, but Daniela had been trapping and immediately called with her A-T. She raked in more than 6,000 chips with her trip Tens.

But Chris was about to go on a hot streak, getting back all of those chips and more from Team Tavares. After the players realized that Luciano was supposed to take over for Daniela for Level 4, Luciano immediately found himself in a pot with Chris. Luciano limped for 600, Chris raised to 1,800 on the button, the blinds folded, and Luciano called. The flop came J-T-T, and both players checked. The turn was a 9, Luciano checked, and Chris made a tiny bet of 1,000 into a pot of 4,800. Luciano called and both players saw a Queen on the river. Chris bet 3,000, about half the size of the pot. Luciano folded and Chris flipped up his cards revealing that he had flopped four of a kind with his T-T!

Two hands later, Chris flopped another monster hand against Luciano. With blinds still at 300/600, Sharon folded, Matt limped on the button, Luciano called in the small blind, and Chris checked from the big blind with 7-7. The A-J-7 flop was perfect for Chris, giving him a set of 7s. And even better was Luciano betting 600 into him. Chris decided to make a very large raise to 3,500. Matt folded, but Luciano called. A King on the turn made Chris a bit nervous about a possible straight, but there were still a lot of weaker hands that Chris could get called by. So, when Luciano checked, Chris bet another 3,500. Luciano called and the players saw a meaningless 3 on the river. Luciano checked. Chris thought for a long time before deciding to try for a little more value with his hand, betting 2,000 and hoping that Luciano didn’t have Q-T for a straight or some other better hand. Luciano called, showing his A-9 for top pair, and Chris raked in another 20,000 in chips.

Team Tavares shows down one winning hand after another in the middle levels.

A few minutes later, Level 5 began, and three teams once again made a change, while Sharon remained in her seat to continue her team’s effort to rebuild the 15,000-chip stack that they had been working with. Kara took over her team’s growing stack of 43,000 chips. Crystal subbed in for Matt, still holding an above-average stack of 30,000. But it was Daniela, switching back in for Luciano with their 12,000 chips, who would be the center of the action for the next few levels. She began by winning four straight hands to start the level.

First, with blinds at 400/800, Daniela had 8-8 before the flop, flopped a set of 8s, and improved to a full house on the river, as the board ran out J-8-7-3-J. Unfortunately for Daniela, she couldn’t collect many chips because Crystal, her only opponent, held only Q-5 for Queen high on the river.

After winning another small pot, Daniela found herself in a confrontation with Kara on the third hand of the level. With blinds still at 400/800, Sharon and Crystal folded, leaving Daniela and Kara to fight for the blinds. Daniela called from the small blind, and Kara checked with J-7. The flop of A-K-J gave Kara bottom pair and, after a check from Daniela, Kara bet 800. Daniela called, and the players saw a 6 on the turn. Both players checked to the river, which brought a 7, giving Kara two pair. After Daniela checked, Kara rightly went for a big 3,000-chip bet (about the size of the pot). Daniela called, revealing that her K-7 had also made two pair and had dominated Kara’s hand throughout the action.

The very next hand, Daniela flopped another big hand, this time hitting trip 6s with her 6-4. But she couldn’t win many chips because Sharon had only 9-3 for bottom pair on the river.

The next hand, Crystal finally stopped Daniela’s streak as the two players played a heads-up pot to the river, when Crystal made a huge all-in bet and Daniela folded.

Then, it was Kara’s turn to play another big pot with Daniela. Kara limped with 6-4 suited and took a flop three-handed with Crystal and Daniela. The 5-4-3 rainbow flop was perfect for Kara who had middle pair and an open-ended straight draw. Crystal and Daniela both checked and Kara made a big bet of 2,000, just under the size of the pot. Crystal folded, but Daniela called. The turn was a perfect card, an offsuit 2, giving Kara a straight and the second-best possible hand. Daniela checked, and Kara decided to consult Chris on her bet size. With 6,600 in the pot, the team decided to go with a large bet of 4,500. Daniela called, and the river brought an inconsequential Ten. Kara still had the second-nuts, but she couldn’t pull the trigger on one more bet after Daniela checked, perhaps fearing that Daniela was just on too much of a hot streak. Kara checked, and Daniela revealed that she did have a very strong hand, A-J for the bottom end of the straight, but Kara won and added another 15,000-chip pot to her stack.

As Level 6 began, Kara and Daniela continued to ride their hot streaks, while Steve took over for Sharon and Matt took his turn at the controls. Daniela started off the level by getting back to her winning ways, making a bet on the flop that got everyone to fold.

The very next hand, she found herself in a big pot against Steve, who decided to get tricky with a big hand. With blinds at 600/1,200, Matt folded, Daniela called on the button, Kara folded in the small blind, and Steve just checked in the big blind with A-K. The A-J-4 rainbow flop was great for Steve who had top pair-top kicker, and he bet 1,200. Daniela called and the players saw a 6 on the turn. Steve decided to slowplay his hand, checking to Daniela who checked behind. The river came a 9, and Steve tried to get a bit more value out of his hand, betting another 1,200. Daniela called and revealed that she had improved on both the turn and river, holding 9-6 for two pair.

Steve was left with less than 9,000 chips, but he would get some of those back from Daniela a few hands later. With blinds still at 600/1,200, Daniela once again limped on the button. This time, Kara called from the small blind, and Steve checked with 9-8. The flop was another good one for Steve: 9-8-7 rainbow, giving him top two pair. But all three players checked and saw a 3 on the turn. Kara checked again, Steve bet 1,200, Daniela called, and Kara folded. A Jack on the river meant that if Daniela had any Ten in her hand, she would now have a straight, but Steve bravely bet out another 1,200. Daniela called showing just Q-7 for a pair of 7s, and Steve won a pot of almost 9,000 chips.

The blinds continue to increase, stacks begin to get short, and the eliminations begin.

Level 7 saw a rare switch of players for all four teams, as Chris, Sharon, Crystal, and Luciano — the same four players who started the game — took over their respective team’s stacks (although Daniela played the first couple of hands of the Level before remembering to switch).

Early in the level with blinds at 800/1600, Sharon limped on the button holding Q-Jand took a heads-up flop with Daniela. The flop came 9-7-4 and both players checked. The turn was a Queen, a great card for Sharon, but after Daniela checked, Sharon checked behind. The turn was another 4. This time, Sharon bet 1,600 and Daniela called, showing that her 4-3 had hit trips on the river to outdraw Sharon.

The very next hand, Daniela proved that she could win even when she didn’t improve. She and Chris checked all the way down to the river in a heads-up pot as the board ran out Q-T-4-4-8. With K-5, Chris thought he might have a shot to win the pot if Daniela hadn’t hit anything on that board. But Daniela turned over K-J, taking down the pot again.

And the next hand, Luciano proved that the Team Tavares luck extended to him as well when he took over for Daniela. In a three-way pot that checked all the way down to the river, Chris had Q-4 against Luciano’s Q-2, giving Chris a 75% chance of beating Luciano. But, of course, Luciano hit a pair of 2s on the board of K-7-2-A-8 to pick up another small pot.

But Team Tavares didn’t win every hand of Level 7; toward the end of the level, Luciano limped on the button, Chris raised to 4,000 from the small blind with A-8, and Luciano called. Both players checked down to the river as the board ran out Q-T-3-8-6, and Chris miraculously managed to win a medium pot with a pair of 8s.

Then, in the first hand of Level 8, with blinds at 1,000/2,000, Matt and Daniela — who had both taken over for their respective teams — folded, leaving Chris and Sharon to fight for the blinds. Chris put Sharon all-in for her remaining 10,000 or so. Sharon called, showing K-9, and Chris showed A-6. Chris was a small favorite to knock Sharon out of the tournament, but the J-T-2 flop gave Sharon a lot of outs. She could hit a King or a 9 to make a pair, or a Queen to make a straight, giving her about a 36% chance to survive and double up. The turn was a 4, giving Sharon no help and leaving her with the same ten outs to survive. But the river was a 5, and Team Whittaker was out in 4th place.

Despite picking up some big starting hands, they were never able to win those big pots to put them in contention for the win.

Team Tavares rides a roller coaster of highs and lows before finally busting in 3rd place.

During three-handed play, with the average stack hovering around 15 big blinds, each team won their fair share of hands as chips were moved back and forth across the table.

In the first hand of three-handed play, Chris folded on the button, Matt completed from the small blind, and Daniela checked. The hand checked all the way to the river. With about 5,000 in the pot, Matt put Daniela all-in for her final 10,000 chips. Daniela folded, and Matt picked up the small pot.

But team Tavares continued their winning ways the next hand. This time, Daniela called from the small blind, and Chris checked his option with 5-4. The flop was great for Chris: Qh-5h-4d, giving him bottom two pair. Daniela checked, Chris bet 2,500 (about half the pot), and Daniela called. The turn was the 8 of diamonds, putting two flush draws on the board, along with a possible straight. After Daniela checked again, Chris put out a cautious bet of 2,500, and Daniela called. The river was another terrible card for Chris: the 6 of hearts, completing a flush draw and putting four to a straight on the board. Daniela checked, and Chris couldn’t justify another bet on that scary board. He checked nervously showed his two pair and asked if Daniela had a 7. Daniela revealed her K-7 for a straight and added the 14,000-chip pot to her stack.

The next hand, Matt again made a big bet and once again got Daniela to fold, which seemed to be the best way to win against Team Tavares that night.

But Chris found another way to get his chips back the next hand as he raised to 4,500 on the button with K-T. Matt folded and Daniela called. The flop was T-5-3 rainbow, yet again a great flop for Chris. Daniela checked and Chris bet another 4,500, which Daniela called. The turn was a Jack and both players checked to the river, which came a 4. Once again both players checked. Chris nervously showed his Ten and asked whether it was any good. Daniela showed 9-8 for a missed straight draw — perhaps the only draw that she missed all night — and Chris won the 19,000 chips in the middle.

With that, Chris’s stack was up to 59,000 chips, while Daniela was down to only 5,000, despite winning so many small and medium pots all night. Matt won the next small pot to set up the first all-in of the night for Team Tavares.

With blinds still at 1,000/2,000, Daniela limped on the button, Chris folded in the small blind, and Matt put Daniela all-in for her final 1,500. Daniela quickly called and showed A-K, well ahead of Matt’s T-8 suited. The flop of 9-9-4 gave Matt some potential draws, and a Queen on the turn kept his hopes of busting Daniela alive. But a 7 on the river was no help, and Daniela doubled up to almost 9,000 chips.

Shortly after that, Level 9 began, with Kara taking over for Chris, Crystal taking her turn, and Daniela continuing to make the decisions for her team. In the first hand of the level, with blinds at 1,500/3,000, Kara limped on the button with K-2 of hearts. Crystal completed in the small blind and Daniela checked. the flop was perfect for Kara: Ah-Ks-4h, giving her middle pair and the nut flush draw. All three players checked and saw the 9 of diamonds on the turn. Again, all three players checked, allowing Kara to see the perfect card on the river, the 7 of hearts, giving her the nut flush. Both players checked to her, and she made a minimum bet of 3,000. Crystal called with Q-4 for bottom pair, probably trying to keep Kara honest. Daniela called with 9-8, a slightly better hand, but still not nearly good enough to beat Kara, who dragged another 18,000-chip pot for her team.

Daniela was once again on fumes, down to only 2,000 chips, barely enough to pay the small blind and the ante the next hand. In that hand, Crystal consulted with Matt before calling on the button with A-3. Daniela put her last few hundred chips in the pot, and Kara checked in the big blind. Crystal and Kara checked the hand down to the river, looking to eliminate Daniela, as the board ran out 9-7-6-3-J. Kara put in a minimum bet of 3,000 on the end, which Crystal called, showing her pair of 3s. Kara showed A-J for a pair of Jacks to take the side pot, and Daniela showed K-2, sealing her elimination in 3rd place.

Kara begins the heads-up battle with a 3-to-1 chip lead over Crystal, but Crystal lands some punches.

The first hand of heads-up play was also the first hand of Level 10. Both Kara and Crystal stayed on for their teams, looking to finish what they started. Kara had a huge lead of about 73,000 chips to Crystal’s 27,000. The two players traded small pots back and forth for the first few hands of the level. About five hands in, Crystal picked up her trademarked K-K — a hand that she has gotten in almost every PPC event, busting Chris with it twice and crippling him a third time. Unfortunately, Chris’s bad luck against K-K rubbed off on his teammate, as Kara picked up 8-8 and didn’t improve when the board ran out 9-6-3-Q-5. But fortunately, Kara did not play her hand as aggressively as Chris may have, and she lost the minimum.

And as Level 10 came to a close, Kara won the last hand, leaving Crystal with about 25,000 chips, almost exactly what she started with.

Matt and Chris take over and finish with an epic heads-up battle.

As Level 11 began, Matt and Chris took over for their respective teams. With Matt’s stack down to about 4 big blinds, Chris was hoping to finish the game quickly. He was sorely mistaken.

With the blinds up to 3,000/6,000, Chris put Matt all-in on the first hand, and Matt folded, reducing his stack further to under 20,000.

Then, with just over 3 big blinds left in his stack, Matt limped on the button, and Chris checked in the big blind with Q-3. The flop came J-T-3, and with 13,000 chips in the middle (and only 13,000 left in Matt’s stack), Chris tried to win the pot with a minimum bet of 6,000. But Matt, check-raised all-in. Chris was in a terrible spot. To justify calling the 7,000 chip bet, he only had to win about 18% of the time. And even if Matt had a strong hand like A-J, Chris should win about 20-25% of the time. But calling with bottom pair still didn’t feel good. Chris ultimately made the call and saw the bad news: Matt had Q-T, one of the worst possible hands for Chris, because Chris could no longer hit a Q to win. He had to hit one of the two remaining 3s, or hope that the players split the pot with some sort of straight. But the runout was completely clean for Matt, and he was suddenly up to about 40K.

Things went from bad to worse for Team Chris/Kara the next hand, as Chris limped the button with J-7 of spades, and Matt checked in the big blind. The flop was Th-7c-3h, giving Chris middle pair. Both players checked and saw the Jack of hearts on the turn. Matt checked and Chris decided to trap with his hidden two pair, knowing that Matt is often quite aggressive. The river came the four of clubs and Matt immediately went all-in. Chris snap called and saw that he was once again on the losing end of a big hand when Matt turned over Q-6 of hearts for a flush.

And just like that, with back-to-back double ups, Matt had almost exactly flipped the situation; instead of being down to about 20,000 chips, he now had Chris down to about 20,000. If not for the massive chip lead that Kara and Chris had built during the early stages of the tournament, Chris would have called his way to a quick bust out. Instead, Chris was still in the game, albeit with only about 3 big blinds left to work with.

Matt decided not to try to end it on the next hand, folding the button and giving Chris a much needed 3,500 chips.

The very next hand, Chris was dealt K-T offsuit on the button and decided to put his last 23,000 chips in the pot. Matt woke up with A-5 and made the call. After entering heads-up play with a 3-to-1 chip lead, Chris and Kara were now at risk of exiting in 2nd place; meanwhile, Matt had skillfully played his way into a 57% chance of sealing the win for himself and Crystal. But those odds shifted dramatically when the flop came T-7-6, giving Chris top pair and an 84% chance of staying alive. The turn was a 5, giving Matt a pair, but not changing the overall odds with only one card left to come. He would need one of the three remaining Aces or the two remaining 5s to finish off Chris and Kara. But a meaningless 7 on the river kept Chris alive and put the two teams neck-and-neck in chips.

Each player had only 8 big blinds remaining, but they managed to play those stacks for about 15 more hands, neither player eager to make any big moves when a wrongly timed all-in could essentially end the tournament. (In other words, Chris had perhaps learned his lesson after finding himself all-in with the worst hand three hands in a row.)

Chris took two of the next three pots, building his stack up over 60,000. Then, with blinds still at 3,000/6,000, Chris limped on the button, Matt checked, and the players saw a flop of 8-7-6. Chris bet the minimum and Matt once again check-raised all-in. Chris agonized for a long time, asking Matt if he wanted a call. Matt laughed and said “uh, maybe, yeah.” Chris was skeptical, but ended up folding. Matt seemed to confirm Chris’s suspicions when he asked to see the last two cards, suggesting that he might have been on a draw. Either way, the players were back to about even stacks.

Matt won the next two hands, but Chris won the third, bringing the stacks back to about even before raising on the button. Matt called, and the flop went check-check. Matt checked the turn, and Chris thought for a long time before betting the turn. Matt once again check-raised all-in and Chris folded, leaving himself with a little over 30,000.

But Chris won five of the next eight hands, all small pots, building up a chip lead of about 70,000 to 30,000. With just 5 big blinds remaining in his stack, Matt limped on the button. Chris looked down at A-3 of diamonds and decided to put Matt to the test for all of his chips. Matt snap-called and revealed that he had been trapping with A-J of clubs. Chris was in big trouble, and Matt was a 70% favorite to double up and regain the chip lead. The flop of 7-5-5 was relatively clean for Matt, increasing his odds to 75%. But a 3 on the turn more than flipped those odds. Chris was now an 85% favorite to win the tournament. Matt could now hit an Ace or a Jack to double up, or a 7 to split the pot and survive. But a 9 on the river knocked out Matt and Crystal in 2nd place, and sealed the win for Chris and Kara, who split $120 for their 1st place finish and $40 in bounties for knocking out all three teams.

In the end, Matt outplayed Chris in all of the big pots heads-up, but Chris made enough headway in the small pots, came in with a big enough chip lead from winning big pots earlier in the tournament, and got enough lucky breaks that he was able to steal the win for him and Kara.

Chris and Kara picked up 3 points for their win, but still trail far behind the four players who cashed in Event #1’s much larger field. Lauren still leads in the race for Player of the Year. But there are plenty of points available in Event #3, and the winner of that event could easily find themselves at the top of the standings, even if it is their first game of the season.