Well the first big game of the year is in the books and it did not disappoint, although maybe a little bit surprising. If you thought that March Madness was only in the NCAA basketball tourney, then you were mistaken.

This year featured two play-in games. The first play-in game pitted two of the newest players to the AGP crew against each other, #10 seed Kyle (yet to have a nickname) Phillips and #8 seed, “Scab” Jerry Agren. The match see-sawed for a little while until Kyle got the upper hand after about 3 blinds. Jerry battled back, but once again found his call everything style to be his downfall when his pocket 5′s were outran by Kyle’s A-J. Kyle would advance to the opening round.

The next play-in game pitted long-time rivals #11 seed, Buzz Finger and #7 seed, Troy “K.o.P.” Steffy. Last year these two were the top two seeds, but this year they would have to battle their way to advance. In what turned out to be the longest match of the night, no one seemed to be able to deliver the final blow. Back and forth they went for nearly two hours, exchanging chip leads as much as Kim Kardashian exchanges boyfriends. However, it was Troy who finally advanced when Buzz had no choice but to get it all-in with nothing. Troy’s two pair of Kings and Queens eliminated Buzz and it was on to the opening round.

Average Guy Poker is celebrating it’s 1st major home game of the year, The Big River Showdown, by giving away a kayak trip for two on the Buffalo River! Includes kayaks, paddles, PFD and shuttle. Reservations required (931-215-4891). Courtesy of Yanahli Kayak & Canoe Co.

How to win: The 1st person to have ten of their friends like our facebook page HERE wins! Simply have the new like post they came from your suggestion and the prize is all yours!

Good Luck!

The week 9 game that was is not the week 9 game it was supposed to be. It was a big game for one particular player though. The Big River Showdown was delayed one week when several players had unexpected and unwanted diversions from the first major of the 2012 season. Six players still made it to the premier of the new cards from our corporate sponsor, Gemaco. The cards were nice, but only one player seemed able to make hands of them most of the night. This is the recap of the game that nearly wasn’t.

With all due respect to our new cards, perhaps the best part of our game this week was the food Richard’s wife prepared for us. Brownies, dipped Oreos, popcorn, trail mix and more were provided as we moved our game to a temporary double secret location. “Quad Steak” Bryan Knepper was a huge fan of the brownies. He also revealed to the group the he is a certified accountant. Bryan offered to lend a hand to any of the guys when they do their taxes.

After taking a week off due to the perfect storm of bad schedules, The AGP Home Game picked up with Week 8, the final game before The Big River Showdown. This would be the last game played without our new sponsored Gemaco Brand Playing Cards. It would also be the third straight win in games in which he appeared. This is how Alan accomplished his personal trifecta.

Nine players made their way to our double secret home game location with the majority of the players being distracted by the fact a co-worker had committed a crime that made the local news. It was the first game in our five year history where we paused the game to watch the news! Let’s hope it doesn’t become a habit.