The poker tournament's evil twin brother the Ring Game is invading the SPO!

Sometimes referred to as a "cash game" this format of poker is the bread and butter of most professional players, and great fun to play. We are proud to announce that after alot of structure analysis and player input, we are sanctioning this format in SPO Divisional play.

The Ring Game is a form of poker that does not determine a single player as a "winner" like a tournament does. Players can choose to play with different amounts of chips to their own comfort level (see below), and may play for as long or short as they like. If you lose your stack in a hand, feel free to "buy" more chips and keep playing!

The Ring Game format will be exclusively at Jillian's this season, along side the ever popular Sit 'N Go's. To play in a Ring Game, players must first earn points in Sit 'N Go games. Those points may then be used to "buy in" to the Ring Game. Each point in the Jillian's Division will provide 50 chips in the Ring Game. When you are done playing the Ring Game, "Cash out" those chips, and the ones you earned from other players, back into points, hopefully turning a profit in the process! This is a great way to steal points from other players!

It is every players choice and discretion to play the Ring Game, and to what level. If you lose all your points at the Ring Game, just hop back in a Sit 'N Go and earn some more! Don't feel comfortable in the Ring Game? The Sit 'n Go's that you've come to know and love will continue to be there, the same as last season.

Blinds for the Ring Game stay at a constant 50/100, and the game will be No Limit Texas Hold Em. Higher Stakes and other games may be introduced at the Tournament Director's discretion. Also, some of the popular deals that occur in real money games (ie: running it twice, chopping before the flop, giving insurance, etc.) will be allowed.

If you are a fan of High Stakes Poker on GSN, why not come down on Tuesday's and give it a try?

With the vacancy left by Belltown Billiards, we would like to welcome 88 Keys to our Monday night slot.

Situated in historic Pioneer Square, this classy Sports Bar has an alter ego as a Dueling Piano bar as well. With ample room for as many tables as we'd like, 88 Keys will see the return of the Standard Format to SPO play, with 2 tournaments every Monday night for the Spring '07 Season.

If you live or work in the downtown area, this is the night for you. Stop by for either the 6:30 or the 9pm event, and enjoy your favorite sporting event...including poker... on one of their 15 flat screens throughout the bar. With drink specials, and a happy hour that lasts until 7 pm, their menu can't be beat either.

If you are driving, ample parking is to be had on the street for free after 6pm, or for a small fee in the lot right across the street.

Back on April 1st, the top 32 players from the Winter '07 Season went up to Tulalip Casino to determine who would be crowned Champion. In a field that saw a surprising number of new players mixed with seasoned SPO veterens, it was a game that was sure to be fun!

This event even boasted 3 couples playing together in the event. The first to bust were the back-to-back losses of Helen and Larry Brotherton in the second round. After that, it was fast and furious as the 4 table event lost nearly half the field in the next hour of play. By dinner break we had narrowed the field down to 2 tables, and the SPO Cash Game was already heating up!

As players with full bellies got back in the action, it took just 30 minutes to eliminate some of the tournament 'heavies', as we saw Drew Hall, Kevin Baker, Troy Coulombe, and Kirk Charles all bust. Just missing the final table was last Season's Champ, John Lopez as he finished 16th.

With a final table of 10 players, Will Hutchins had a commanding chip lead over most of the table. But as play moved on, his chip lead only grew. We also saw the last surviving couple of Telsin and Jordan Brower bust in 9th and 10th place respectively. New-comer Earl Hunt's aggressive style couldn't hold up and he busted in 6th, with Wild Card winner Dan Ebert right behind him in 5th, and rookie Mike Schloss in a promising 4th place.

With the field narrowed to only 3 players, it looked like "the Season of the Jason" might have held through the post season as well. But with a bad beat to cripple his stack, Jason Counihan, arguably the player that performed the best this past season, was knocked out in 3rd.

The head's up match between Will Hutchins and Mong Kon Mo lasted for a good 30 minutes. When Head's Up started, Will had about a 2-1 chip lead on Mo. But after a few hands, Mo reversed that! Will got down to just a few chips at one point, mounted a comeback, but again lost a majority of his chips. When the dust settled, Mo was vitorious, and claimed the Championship all for himself. Congrats Mo!