The Kiel Poker Club held its final game of the 2018-2019 season last Saturday in Cedar Lake, Wisconsin, and with multiple players still in contention for player of the year, everyone had to be on their A-game. Austin Brack entered the night first in the standings with 104 points, while his brother Parker was in second with 95, and Tim Bertram in third with 90.
I came into the night deep in the standings tied for the 13th, partly due to missing five straight games over the summer, and partly because I was having a rough season, with just one top-three finish. My night ended after Parker went all-in preflop, and I decided to call with Ace-Jack, versus his Queen-King. Parker paired the Queens and I had nothing, which cleaned me of all my chips, meaning a third last finish for me. There weren’t many bright spots for me during the season, but I could make up all of that in the Championship game, where $750 dollars is on the line.
One of the wildest parts of the night was when Tim correctly predicted what Austin had in his hand, in an incident now known as “Ace-King.” As the night winded down, only three remained, and of course, it was the three most dominant players of the year, Austin, Parker and Tim. However, with how the points system is structured, Austin had already clinched the Player of the Year, so the rest was just for money and bragging rights. At the end of the night Austin took home the win, a nice cap to his season. He had this to say about the game:
“What a final game! The top three came down to the last three alive for the player of the year. I was able to catch a few breaks and win the game and clinch player of the year, but there was a point where the game looked like all three of us had a chance to win POY when I was short stack with Tim and Parker sitting comfortably. I got it all in with a short stack with five KPC players left and found myself in a coin flip situation against Parker in a hand that essentially decided the player of the year race.”
Tim was disappointed with the result, but is looking forward to the championship game.
“He can have his Player of the Year award, but I’m going for the real prize, a championship.”
The best players in the Kiel area will battle it out March 23rd at 6pm inside the Brack Hilltop Speed Shop, and at the end of the night, one will be crowned the Kiel Poker Club Champion.