Greg Bradley

Last night was the last round of the second season for the NPL. I had a good night and finished 18th but it wasn't enough to pick up any extra points, so overall I ended up finishing 8th at PJ Gallaghers Drummoyne.

The top five from each venue get to play in the big tournament in a couple of weeks but because most of the top finishers at Drummoyne are also in the top five at several other venues, and also many of them are in the top positions overall, it means that a few extra players from each venue may get to play to fill the other places. So I'm hoping my 700 points for my single win and my 100 appearance points every other week are enough to get me through to the tournament. I should find out later this week.

There was one hand last night that I should have won and I might have lasted a bit longer if I had. I had pocket sixes and called the medium bet on my right. The player on my left also called so there were three of us in the hand. I flopped another six and there were no other big cards and no matching suits. I pushed hard because I was the chip leader at this stage. The player on my left folded but the player on my right called. The turn was another small card but now there were two hearts on the board. I bet again putting the other guy all in and he called the bet. I showed my trip sixes and he turned over a king and four of hearts. He had nothing except a flush draw. Sure enough the river card came and it was another heart! This guy had nothing after the flop while I was sitting pretty with three sixes. I was pushing and for some reason he kept calling up to the point of being all in. If it was my hand I would have folded after the flop but for some reason he kept playing and pulled off a miracle flush. It was a big pot that I wish I'd won.

I've started playing a regular game of poker up at the local P.J. Gallagher's pub as part of the National Poker League competition. I've played twice so far with mixed results. The first week I placed 32nd out of 38 but I followed that up the next week by finishing 1st out of 57. The National Poker League is well organised and there's a tournament at the end of the season for those that finish in the top 5 at each venue. Hopefully I can play enough games and pick up enough points to maybe take part. If not it's still great fun just playing each week.

At the end of the regular season we finished third overall and made the finals once again. We didn't have a great season mainly because we struggled to get a full team for most of our games. We really struggled against the old teams but did well against the new teams.

After going 3 weeks without a game we had to return for a tough semi final match against Ibble Dibbles. Again we only had 6 people for the game so we knew we were in a lot of trouble from the start. It was a frustating game and we were unable to get any sort of traction because we were missing a player. They played well and finished with a convinving win.

It's time to hang up the boots for a while so this is probably the end of the Honeywell Net Junkies. I've personally been part of the team for nearly 3 years, although the team formed a little before that. I'd like to say a huge thank you to the many people who have played with us over the years - we always played fair, had fun and made good friends.

Kirsten's Team is a new team that has joined the competition to replace one of the other teams that would never show up. We only had 6 players and were 20 points up at half time. Wasn't much of a game but gave us a chance to practice a few plays.

This was great game that was very fast and a lot more even than the score suggests. We had a small lead at half time and were only able to relax in the last few minutes. There's only a couple of games left before the finals and once again we should finish third or fourth.

Another game made easier by having a full team. Unfortunately they didn't have a full team so it wasn't an even matchup. They play well in the first half and we stuffed around a bit, so that at half time it was still a close game. In the second have we raised the bar and played a lot better. We actually managed to keep them scoreless the entire second half while we almost tripled our halftime score.

It was good to play with a full side again and to have everybody in position. Everybody played a great game and confidence seems to be back again.

Another tough game without a full side. We were down a player and weren't able to get much of a game happening. An even worse scoreline than last week.

For various reasons we didn't play for a few weeks. After the break our first game back was against Ibble Dibbles. We both started with five players, but they soon got a sixth and from then on we didn't stand a chance. It was good to have a run after a few weeks off but looking forward to playing a better game with a full side.

Had another good game against one of the new teams. We took the early lead and were always in control. A couple of times they got close but we kept our cool and secured the win.

I didn't play this game and a few of our regulars were away. It was a close game and one that the team thought they should have won.

Played one of the new teams from B grade for the first time tonight. Thought it was going to be a tough game and it felt like a bit of an effort, but the scoreline suggests it was an easy win. It was a fun game and not as one sided as the score suggests.

Our first game of the new season was against Ibble Dibbles whom we beat in the finals. This season though we only have for of our same players from last season so it's going to take us a few games to get used to the new team. We played a good game but were completely outsized and struggled at times to find our rhythm. Not too bad for our first game but we should definitely be able to improve from here.

The final against Ibble Dibbles was an amazing game. We always have great games against them and we were keen to reverse last seasons semi final where they kicked us out of the finals. As usual the game started slowly with tough defence from both sides. It was a real battle to score points and by half time they were leading 6 to 5. The second half didn't start very well for us as Ibble Dibbles scored a few more points. We were struggling and running out of time, but because it was a low scoring game we still had a bit of a chance. With only 6 minutes remaining they went to a 10 to 5 lead as we had failed to score yet in the second half. Then all of a sudden something clicked and we went on an amazing 10 point unanswered run to seal the victory. They were a bit disappointed and it's a shame we couldn't play so well for the whole game, but it was enough to win the final and it feels great!

Congratulations to the team once again! A great season with the perfect ending. We have one week off before it all starts again.

We ended up finishing 4th overall at the end of the regular season. It was very close at the top and we missed out on a higher position simply on percentage. So in the semi final we were up against Lifted Kilts who finished on top. The other semi final was played between Ibble Dibbles and Horatio Hornblowers.

Lifted Kilts only had 6 players at the start of the game so that gave us a bit of an advantage. We started well and had a few points on the board before they scored their first. It was slow going for a while but we kept the lead by a few points. About half way through the first half their missing player arrived and joined the game. Near the end of the first half we went on a bit of a run and had a nice half time lead of 11 to 6.

They regrouped in the second half and came out and scored the first couple of points. When it looked like they were going to take control of the game we steadied and turned things back into our favour. We went on a massive run and help them to just a few more points. It was some of our best play for the season and we controlled the whole court. Even with their full team in the second half we outscored them just as much as the first half. It's not often that team 4 knocks out team 1 in the first semi, but as I said the top 4 teams were very close throughout the entire season.

Ibble Dibbles won the other semi so we play them next week. We beat them early in the season and then had a nasty loss when we only had 5 players. This time around with a full team and coming off a couple of good wins we should be able to win the final.

Only had six players again this week. Took us a little while to get started, but once we did eventually grab the lead we managed to stay in front for the rest of the game. It was always close but we play hard when we had to and kept the game under control. They were getting very frustated towards the end and started mouthing off a bit.

Had a pretty good game against Moes Team. Probably could have done even better. We haven't been playing enough games lately - this was my first game in eight weeks.

Again I didn't play this week because I had a cold. We didn't manage to get a full team and struggled a bit.

I didn't play this week but I heard we had a good win. Another couple of weeks off before our next game, and not long to the finals now.

A great game that could have gone either way. We had a one point lead at half time that we increased to three points early in the second half. They managed to come back but it was close most of the way. Then they got on a roll in the last few minutes and we missed a couple of scoring opportunities. It was a good game and a great run for everybody.