All
Firstly I would like to thank Mary and Maverick for hosting and providing a lovely spread of food.
Unfortunately Developer was unable to attend nor host as planned.
 
Please find enclosed the updated table for Year 2023 after 4 meetings.







​
After winning the evening by a clear margin, Maverick has now moved further ahead leading by 4 points, followed by Rok holding 2nd position on 30 points. It is likely that Maverick will get his first championship after 15 years with only 1 potential game to come. Nothing is impossible, the tables need to turn for others to win the championship.




The fight looks to be for 3rd position with TC Jagger on 27 points, then followed by Sniper and Banker 1 point behind.
 
Regards
TC Jagger

Notes From Meeting

Thanks to Sniper, Jagger, Developer and MAV for attending BRC Online #02 with the new App which worked very well along with Zoom.
 
Will arrange #03 for say Friday 15th May.
 
Results as follows, the Bluff cleaned up!!!!!😎🤠🤠

BIG BLUFF






Another great night - thanks guys. Much better User experience app than the last one / once you got used to swiping right .....wait- isn’t that a different app🤣🤣🤣🤣. Some ridiculously arssy hands by the player that seems to always get them ...... and unusual guest appearances made for interesting times.
 
Let’s savour these games by not having them too often / let’s try for 30 May 👍.
 
Cheers,
 
Mav

Notes From Sniper

On-line BRC Meeting No. 1 notes
 
In addition to the feedback from BB, please find hereunder a few notes from me on on-line BRC Meeting No. 1 held on Friday 3 April 2020. 
 
It was a most enjoyable evening of on-line cards (using the EasyPoker app) and good cheer shared amongst the enthusiastic participants via video-conferencing on Zoom.
 
I think I speak for all in attendance (BB, Mav, TC Jagger and myself) in declaring the event a great success.  Many thanks to –
▪  BB for coming up with the idea, exploring and finding the EasyPoker app, and organising the event; and
▪  Mav for organising the video meeting on the Zoom platform.
 
Jagger’s Zoom connection was a bit flaky so in the event he turned off video and reverted to audio.  As you would all appreciate, this was a great improvement.  Obviously, he has either selected a cheap low-performance Internet plan, or used up his data allocation, or failed to pay his Internet bill, or some combination of these.  Luckily, this in no way interrupted the card-playing and we could hear him clearly so all was good anyway.  Everyone else had good connection via Zoom.
 
BB and Mav both applied background pictures to their Zoom images – BB was apparently sitting in a giant gaming room and Mav was at one stage in a Sheik’s palace with Mary and at another time travelling backwards in a train.  All good fun.
The EasyPoker app seemed to work well – BB even took his phone with him and kept playing when he went off for a leak.  His laptop stayed where it was so he disappeared from Zoom during this minor diversion (no video or audio, thank goodness).
Full deck Texas hold ‘em with no wild cards was certainly more limiting than we were used to and required a re-set of expectations.  However, believe it or not (I’m struggling with this myself), we had two instances of four-of- a-kind - amazing!!
We often mention the catering of BRC meetings.  In this instance it was a case of do-it-yourself.  We were all able to have a few drinks without worrying about drink-driving, but moderation was exercised by all anyway.  Mav provided guidance to all participants of where to obtain Greek sweets, and during the course of the night helped himself to a serving of what looked to me to be galaktoboureko.  The rest of us had a few nibbles but were otherwise reasonably restrained.  Notably, in this instance Jagger did not spill any drinks, which is unusual.  Now I come to think of it, while he often spills drinks at BRC meetings, it never happens when he is at his own home.  Maybe we should commission a study on this phenomenon, or alternatively ask Rose how she has successfully dealt with “the problem”.
 
To those who thought on-line cards and remote contact would be lame and lacking in spirit, my suggestion is please give it a go and join us.  There was plenty of the usual banter, and some of the less desirable aspects of our traditional games were negated – no misdeals, no misunderstandings about the rules, no arguments about who had the best (i.e. winning) hand.
BB has proposed Friday 24 April for the next on-line BRC.  I hope to see quite a few smiling faces that evening via Zoom.  For most of us it’s not as though we have other commitments – sport and entertainment events have been cancelled and all venues are closed.
 
Regards to all, and best wishes for Easter.
 
Sniper

Notes from Sniper

Please find hereunder a few notes on BRC 94 held at Mav’s Carss Park hangar on Friday 7 February.  Apologies for the delay in producing these notes – I’ve been very busy (including performing in a concert where we sang “You’ll never walk alone”!!) and am in Thredbo as I write.
 

1.  Thanks to all members who made the journey to Carss Park.  It was a most enjoyable evening, as always.
2.  Special thanks, of course, to Mav and Mary for excellent hosting including plentiful and delicious goodies which put smiles on the faces of all in attendance.  I agree with Mav that the galaktoboureko had just the right amount of syrup – yum!
3.  The venue is excellent but the potential for a Federal “sports” grant to make it even better was canvassed, in light of the fact that it satisfies the key (and possibly only) criterion – a favoured electorate (that of the Prime Minister).
4.  Regrettably, Punter was not able to attend on this occasion.  Surely, he can’t believe that having to travel more than 3,500 kms each way is a justifiable excuse!  There must have been some other reason – possibly one (or two??) of the local heavily tattooed women?
5.  It was disappointing to hear that Banker’s mountain retreat (and primary residence) had suffered major vegetation damage during the recent bushfires due to a back-burn.  The good news was that the buildings were not damaged so in practice the back-burn was probably the lesser of two evils.
6.  Jagger announced that his fourth grandchild is on the way, which was delightful news.  He then alarmed us all by saying that he is populating Australia.  We thought it was his offspring that were having children at the present time, not him!
7.  During a discussion regarding the recent major storm event that hit and significantly damaged Sydney and its surrounds, Rok made the observation that according to news reports the resultant runoff might increase Sydney’s water storage to 70% of capacity (a noteworthy increase from just above 40%).  GT, the ex-Sydney Water operative, assured us all that there was no way 70% would be achieved.  Just one week later (13 February) the verified storage level was 75.1%;  it’s now more than 80%.
8.  Congratulations to GT on ordering a brand new BMW X2 – a new car is always an exciting purchase.  For those who didn’t hear the detail (I was fortunate enough to sit next to GT), he has made a number of special requests after researching the options available across the world.  Is anyone surprised?
9.  And, so to the card playing
     ·        Unusually, we used 7’s and up short decks for the entire evening.
     ·        It was unbelievably noisy, with most members making mischief.
     ·        There was a major controversy when Developer claimed to have a straight flush but wasn’t able to nominate the cards it comprised.  Jagger then claimed the win.  Later GT said he thought Developer did have a straight flush, but the cards had been cleared.  Developer spent much of the night demanding that Jagger hand over $20 worth of chips, to no avail.
     ·        There was an instance (the details of which I can’t remember because I am a doddery old “senior”) where a player nominated what he thought was his best hand but on inspection it was found that he had a better one and was (unexpectedly to him) the winner.  A suggestion was then made that when a player nominates what he believes is his best hand then he can’t later claim a better one.  I must say, I don’t agree with this proposal.  In my view if a player has paid right through to the end of a round then he is entitled to make use of the best hand he actually has. 
     ·        As mentioned by Jagger in his email detailing the results, in one round Rok gave Jagger a shock by beating Jagger’s five aces with a genuine straight flush – up to the final nanosecond Jagger was confident that he had the best hand.  It was one of those memorable moments.
     ·        I do remember having a five aces hand similarly beaten by a BB genuine straight flush, but this instance was not unexpected – BB simply needed one particular card to make the best possible hand.
     ·        Banker made extensive use of various versions of “good, bad and wild”.
     ·        I seem to remember a few instances where there were very few community cards – as few as three.  This was probably due in part to the 7s and up short deck.
     ·        Mav claims that he only won one hand the whole night.  I wasn’t keeping track, but I believe him.  All I can say is – “bad luck”.  Maybe he should call in the Spanish Inquisition, which I believe got a mention.
     ·        In no less than two instances, Professor was sitting on what was clearly the winning hand, but declined to bet.  In each case the final round of betting resulted in a “free card” (no bets), so due to his reluctance to bet (and everyone else having ordinary cards) the pots were very small – hoist by his own petard.  
     ·        Overall, the cards were very much smiling on BB who won many hands and was the winner on the night in convincing fashion.  Congratulations BB!  Others should be afraid – he’s back in the black and back on track.
10.  I can’t think of much else, except to remind all members of Mary’s charity swim – 10km in 30 days, and she has already swum 11.9km (fantastic achievement – congratulations Mary), but I’m sure it’s still possible to provide some sponsorship in recognition of the great effort and in support of sick kids.
11.  I look forward to catching up with everyone on 3 April at Rok’s place (advice for Developer – the suburb is L U G A R N O) for BRC XCV {95}.
 

Best wishes and regards.
 
Sniper


Notes from TC Jagger

Dear members ,
 
Thanks to Mav for hosting XCIV (94) and providing the food and drink for the evening. One thing I have noticed is that we are drinking less as we get older. !
 
I am sure Sniper will provide the details of the evening.
 
I enclosed the results of Game 1, 2020 FYI.
 
Bigbluff finally returns to the winners circle. The first time since Dec 2017.
2nd and 3rd place was decided by only a single chip!, between Sniper and Rok. Rok achieves 3rd position by winning a hand with a genuine straight flush blind siding TC Jagger holding the 5 Aces using 3 cards in hand. Pushing TC Jagger to 4th position.
 
2020 has started and hope all have a great year ahead.
 
Regards
TC Jagger

NOTES FROM TC JAGGER

Dear BRC members
 
What an interesting finish to the 2019 Year.
 
Firstly I would like to thank the host, BB and Mrs BB for providing the lovely foods, with the usual addition from Maverick. Very much appreciated. Always good to travel the long distances to the far south for a good feed. No KK for this year. Need to vote to bring it back next year.
 
The game started on time with 6 players with Maverick joining quickly and the Rok joining much later.

 
At the end of proceedings, Sniper won the evening events for the 4th time for 2019. A new record. The previous best is 2 in any 1 calendar year. BB can only claim 2 wins in 1 year, but his current record is 3 consecutive wins over 2 championships years. Sniper can equal this record if he wins the Feb 2020 game 1 next year.
 
Interestingly Banker took a very haphazard and carefree approach, which I believe influenced the remaining pole positions. Banker was in the running coming into the game for 2nd place.  He ending at the rear of game for the event which pushed him out of contention which probably was his intension!.
 
Results are as follows:
 

1. Sniper in First place collects 10 points to 55 points. Equal highest points for any given year with 1 less meeting. Well done to Sniper and congrats. officially declared the 2019 Champion.
2. BB 2nd for the evening collects 9 points finishes on 24 points, in 8th position overall.
3. Maverick a respectable 3rd position for the evening, collects 8 points for the event and moves to 38 points and 5th overall.
4. Professor finishes 4th collects 7 points and moves to 41 points 2nd overall. ( more later)
5. Developer finished 5th collecting 6 points for the evening moves to 32 points, a respectable 5th position overall.
6. TC Jagger 6th for the night , collects 5 points, and moves to equal 2nd position on 41 points with Professor.
7. At the rear Banker 7th points, which looks like did not have a great evening still managed to collect 4 points to move to a total of 40 points, holding 4th position. Just behind the equal 2nd place holders by 1 point.
8. Rok , coming in late into the game , collects 8th position and collects 3 points, overall 25 points and finishes 7th overall.

 
So at the end of 6 games , for the first time we have 2 players finishing on equal second on 41 points. TC Jagger and the Professor. As per the constitution the count back rules applies. After reviewing the positioning of each of the 6 games both players finished equal on all positions. Result is an absolute deadhead. As the constitution does not cater for another count back, both players after consulting a fellow player ( non place getter) it was fair to declare both players 2nd place. A new record.
 
“Jagger,
You were right, absolutely dead heat, unbelievable!!
The rules did not anticipate this. I think only fair thing is to declare equal 2nd place with no third place.
I think we just keep the same rules and add that for any dead heat after multiple count back are Declared equal place.”
 
 
Signing off for 2019 and I wish everyone and their respective families a merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous 2020.
See you soon.
 
Again Congrats to Sniper, now has collected 3 first place trophies. Retirement is serving him well.
 
TC Jagger 



NOTES FROM SNIPER

Members
 
As advised by Tony, TC Jagger and Professor were either a "dead heat" for second place or a couple of "dead beats" (I'm not sure which from Jagger's commentary).  Those who attended BRC XCIII (93) would be aware that Banker was vehemently opposed to coming second place and actively (and successfully) tried to lose to prevent this from happening.  
 
In view of the second place tie situation, I propose that Banker be declared "third place" (he was just 1 point behind Jagger and Da Prof) - surely that is even worse than second place and will give him the sh*ts.
 
For your consideration.
 
Cheers.
 
 
Sniper

NOTES FROM SNIPER

BRC Members
1.  Thanks to all members who made the trek to Mosman on Friday evening.  It was a most enjoyable night, as always.
2.  It was great to have Punter in attendance again, although I don’t remember hearing him say “how much can I bet?”, which had been longingly anticipated by the membership.  Anyway, he looks very well and chipper (in a pink shirt), which might be partly due to those heavily tattooed women at Port Hedland.
3.  Developer and Rok were both very much missed on this occasion – we would undoubtedly have had an even better night if one or both had been able to attend. 
4.  Thanks from the host to all who brought “goodies” along to the event.  I especially thank Mav for bringing both savoury pastries AND a Greek dessert (bougatsa).  Robyn and I are still happily making our way through the “leftovers”.  The bottles of red wine were excellent, as always, and I seem to have “scored” quite a few leftover beers as well.  Thanks to the “donors” – I can assure you they won’t go to waste!  I had a number of supplies (of the sweeter kind) which I didn’t get around to producing and I am aware that others had some as well.  Apologies for not putting them out – perhaps I’m a bit of a disappointment as a host.
5.  Banker brought new supplies of Mount Victoria honey for those of us who enjoy the bees’ nectar – very much appreciated.
6.  Congratulations to Banker on his various property dealings which were apparently most successful.  Will future Banker-hosted BRC meetings be held at St Peters or Mt Victoria?
7.  My proposal to amend Clause 13 of the Constitution was approved by the membership.  Clause 13 now reads –
    13.  Structured Betting Game;
    Each playing hand anti-up of $100 per player followed by four rounds of betting as follows.
    1st Round of betting:   The first player after the dealer may check or start the betting at $200, the next player may bet at the value of $500, the betting is then capped at $700 in total.
    2nd and subsequent rounds of betting:  The first active player after the dealer may check or start the betting at $500, the next player may match or raise the bet at the value of $500. The betting is capped at the 3rd raise at 4 times the betting value of $500 ($2,000) for 2nd and all subsequent rounds of betting.
8.  And so, to the card playing –

•         Banker persisted for the entire night with what was in effect a form of strip tease – with many strip cards but also the requirement that each player still “in” at the end of the game use all of the remaining cards in his hand, or no cards if they had all been stripped.  I managed to win twice with no cards left in my hand (the winning hand being entirely comprised of community cards), and even raised with no cards in hand, which I believe is a first!
•         BB used “triangle” games on a number of occasions, but unusually they usually actually worked OK.  The only controversy that arose during the BB triangle games was confusion as to whether the multiple alternative wild cards applied only to their respective lines or the entire triangle.  In the end it didn’t matter as it had no bearing on the result.
•         Prof actually won while holding a pair of aces (bullets) in his hand – most unusual.
•         Punter made use of a “terminator” card on a number of occasions, with mixed results.  Regrettably, in one instance I was terminated.

9.  I can’t remember the end results but I seemed to do quite well in the first half of the evening (up to the coffee break) and then faded a bit thereafter.  We will have to wait for Jagger (The Oracle) to produce the scorecard presenting the final outcome.
10.  Other than that, I look forward to catching up with everyone on 13 December at BB’s place (advice for Developer – the suburb BB lives in is called Lugarno - L U G A R N O) for BRC XCIII {93}; regrettably, I assume we won’t see Punter this time.
 
 
Best wishes and regards.
 
Sniper


NOTES FROM TC JAGGER

Dear BRC members
 
Please find enclosed the results of the meeting of Last Friday at Sniper’s nest.  Again many thanks for Sniper hosting a very successfully event. Nice to see Punter in a “rosy” and in a “buoyant” manner.
 
Results, 7 players , the 5 positions ending in a positive position.
 

1. Sniper in First place consolidates his position in further. 45 points 9 points clear of 2nd. This is his 3 win of the season. A new record. Impossible to overtake him unless he does not turn up for the next game and the second position holder wins the next event. !!!!. Sniper only needs to turn up and he will be declared the 2019 Champion.
2. The professor 2nd for the evening  moves to 34 points , in 4th position overall. Best he can achieve is 2 position for 2019.
3. Punter a respectable 3rd position for the evening, collects 8 points for the vent ( first points for 2019) and as he was proxy for Developer, he also collects 8 points and moves to 22 points and hold 6th overall.
4. Banker just piped by Punter ( only $300 worth chips difference) collects 7 points and moves to 36 points 2nd overall.
5. Maverick kept his head above water with a positive result,  while collecting 6 points for the evening moves to 30 points overall , a respectable 5th position.
6. TC Jagger 6th for the night , collects 5 points, but continues to hold equal 2nd position on 36 points with Banker.
7. At the rear Big Bluff, which looks like did not have a great evening still managed to collect 4 points to move to a total of 15 points, holding 8th position.

 
So looking at the score and on the assumption that Sniper turns up in the next game (at Lugarno) collects the 2019 Championship. 2nd and 3rd positions are still up for grabs , with only TC Jagger, Banker, The prof and Maverick fighting for those key pole positions. Only 6 points separating them.
 
Good luck to all in the final game.
 
TC Jagger 

Notes from Jagger

All, final update for 2018.
 
Firstly I would like to thank Big Bluff for hosting and arriving in time for the occasion from Adelaide as well as the great spread prepared by Mrs Big Bluff. Love those the mini prawn bread rolls and all the other goodies. I did notice that Developer stuffed himself with the musk sticks. Banker generously bottled all his sweetness in those Jam jars for all to enjoy, mixed in with a spice of bee legs.
 
With the final round now complete, TC Jagger was declared the winner for the game and Champion for 2018. A long wait between drinks, 10 years from the last Championship win. We now have 3 Champions that have won 2 championships,  Big Bluff , Sniper and now TC Jagger joining the ranks.
 
The results of night was very interesting. The normal story goes if you win the first card game of the night you will not win the night. The myth has been broken. TC Jagger won the first hand of the night with 5 Aces ( if I recall correctly) and incidentally won the last hand of the night with 5 Aces over Big Bluff 5 Jacks . The truth of the matter is that the championship had already been decided before the last hand. Even if Big Bluff had won the last hand with 15,000 chips and won the night, resulting in equal points for the year, TC Jagger would have been declared the champion on a count back.
 
BB prediction for TC Jagger to finish 7th failed to come to true.
 
Overall, a very entertaining night.
 
Results as follows ( as attached)

1. TC Jagger wins the night and collected 10 points to move to 46 Points.
2. BB , with second placing in the night collected 9 points to move to 44 Points
3. Developer with 3rd placing collected 8 points to move to 43 points.
4. Banker with 4th placing collected 7 points to move to 36 points just behind The Rok for 5th place
5. The Sniper with 5th placing collected 6 points to move to 30  points with equal 7th place overall
6. The Rok with 6th placing collected 5 points just enough to move to 36.6 points to take 4th place.
7. Maverick with 7th place collected 4 points to move to 30 points to equal 7th place with the Sniper.
8. The Professor with 8th placed collected 3 points to move to 31.5 points to 6th place.

 
As a side issue we have now 10 years of stats, to win a Championship you need to win at least 1 game and average 7.5 points for the year and over 6 game year a total of 45 points would be safe.  Over ten years TC Jagger has amassed 424.5 points ie an average of 42.5 points /year. The next best is BB with a total of 385 points, a delta of almost 40 points.
 
With Year now ended, we can look forward to the start of 2019 and in the meantime a Merry Christmas and a safe and happy New year.
 
Regards
TC Jagger
Champion 2009 and 2018.

Notes From Sniper

I just noticed that in preceding emails BB incorrectly referred to the recent BRC as BRC XXXXIII.  That's 43, not 83.  I thought he was Italian!
 
I would like to say a big "thank you" to Jim and Gayle (the Roks) for excellent hosting of BRC LXXXIII (all right, 83 for those of you who struggle with historic numeracy).  The catering was excellent - the hot indian snacks provided at quarter time were just delicious and there was plenty more on offer throughout the entire evening.  Many thanks to the Roks!
Apologies to Rok for me spilling beer on the baize of the playing table.  It seemed to have dried out by the time we finished.
Punter and GT were both missed by those in attendance.
It was another excellent night of noise and silliness.  Early on Developer and Mav seemed more interested in streaming sport coverage on their mobile phones than interacting with their friends.  However, once their respective games of interest had concluded they became more genial.
 
I don't have good recall of the BRC proceedings (i.e. the card games), but do remember losing with the dangerous hand of having four wild cards (two of which were community cards).  
 
As a comment to Jagger in respect of "sure thing" bets, his three 8s in hand plus the fourth on the table became a sure thing without the need for hindsight.  In respect of Winx and other "sure things" in prospect, I agree entirely.  I have been so despondent about the Bulldogs this season that on Friday I would have said that Cowboys were a sure thing to beat the Dogs, but sometimes the unexpected happens.
 
Anyway, it was another great evening.  Regrettably I am unable to attend the next one (BRC LXXXIV for BB's information) and so will miss out on catching up with Punter - I will be on an expedition style cruise inside the Arctic circle in Norwegian waters at that time.  I hope you all have a good time.
 
Best wishes and regards.
 
Sniper

 Notes From TC Jagger

Dear BRC members
 
Game 2/18 now complete.
 
As per Sniper’s and BB’s comments below, we all greatly appreciated the many goodies prepared by Rok and Gayle, washed down with some fabulous wines. Even though Rok did not have a full functioning hand, he managed the night well and introduced the shuffling machine to help things along.
 
In response to Sniper, nothing is a sure thing unless of course you have the hindsight in your foresight. If you do , please keep those tips coming in. I was told over the weekend that if you had placed a bet, I believe $1000 on Winx in the first race and let it ride for the entire 25 races, you would have $2.5m in your hands. Congrats to Winx a real champion horse and can she go on to win for the 4th time the Cox’s plate to place her in the immortal status.
 
The mysterious $10 shortage has now been resolved. It appears when Banker cashed in $10 he received incorrectly $20 worth of chips courtesy of the host. As a result Banker should be deduct 10,000 worth of chips in his end result. In any case the positions did not change since Banker already held last place.
 
Interestingly the final rankings for the night played out in the last hand dealt by the host, who delivered very nicely three 8 to TC Jagger and declare the game 1 , 2 or 3 with a personal wide card. The 4th 8 dropped , and 5 of a kind was there for the taking. Fortunately the pot had grown big enough to push TC Jagger across the line for 1 st place, just ahead of Developer with less than 2000 chips behind.  BB follow behind in 3rd place. The first 3 places were the only members who end being in the black. The remaining member end in the red.
 
4th place to Rok, followed by Sniper, Maverick, The professor,  and Banker at the rear.
                                                                                                                                                                    
Current standings are as detailed in the attached spreadsheet.  In summary TC Jagger and Developer on 18 points in equal first, with the Rok 1 point behind on 17 points. BB a further 4 points behind on 13 points, Professor on 11 points, Sniper 10 points, Banker on 9 points and Maverick 1 further point behind on 8 at the rear of the group.
Until the next meeting
Regards
TC Jagger

 
Notes From BB

Thanks Sniper for your words of wisdom.
 
Please share your tips in future 
 
Thanks to The Roks for hosting BRC 83. Great hospitality as usual and another enjoyable get together of “old” friends.
 
Will confirm BRC 84 soon, which will be a friendly in honour of the attendance of Punter.
 
Regards
 
B.B. 

Notes From Jagger
Many thanks for Developer in accepting/accommodating the late change/swap with the Rok on the change of venue and organising the great spread of food, including the “Haberfield pizzas” and the Cake-man cake.
 
2018 is off and running and will the Rok or Maverick break their drought, and be the Champion 2018.
 
As noted by Sniper from NZ, the ROK, after a very slow start, came in with a full spinnaker sail and crossed the line first , followed by the Host , Developer and then TC Jagger in 3rd position. A good start for the ROK, but can he sustain the pressure and achieve consistency needed to grab that Championship. As for Maverick, well let’s say it was not a good start. However I am confident that he can improve his performance and the future outcomes.
TC Jagger


Notes from Sniper

Yes, many thanks to Developer for the usual excellent hosting of BRC with delicious and plentiful goodies for all lucky attendees.
 
I am currently in New Zealand and not in a position to generate a comprehensive set of notes this time.  However, I will note that earlier in the night Rok was Mr Grumpy but a series of great hands (and skill?) gave rise to a complete turn-around and in the event he won convincingly.  Congratulations Rok.
 
The new shirts were interesting, particularly in that the T-shirts are a different colour to the polos, but were well received anyway.  Thanks to BB for arranging production and supply.
 
There were a number of genuine straight flushes, which is unusual (including one by Rok that beat my hand of five aces - note that I didn't even grumble.  I lost a number of games while holding a good hand, but not good enough, which contributed to a poor result - a bad start for 2018.
 
Thanks again to Developer.  I look forward to catching up with you all again next time.  In the meantime we will continue to enjoy NZ.  Cyclone Gita arrives on Tuesday - yikes!
 
Regards.
 
Sniper

Notes from Jagger

Dear BRC Members
 
With the LXXXI (81st) game completed, representing the final game of 2017, another Champion is declared. The 2017 BRC competition has been tight all year. Going into the final round the leader only had a ½ point head start. So half the field had a real chance of grabbing the Walter Championship trophy.
 
Developer unfortunately could not make it, as he had incorrectly committed to his farewell function in Melbourne on the same evening. He was devastated he could not join realising his error. He could have change the course of the outcome of the evening if he had turned up for the game.!!
 
At the end of proceedings the winner was declared,  Sniper winning the 2017 Championship by a margin much closer than we had determined on the night. He successfully held onto his margin.
 
The results of the evening;
 
BigBluff continued on his Hot and Cold or Boom and Bust cycle winning the LXXX1 (81st) game by a clear of 25,000 worth of chips.
Banker worked hard to try to knock TC Jagger of his perch. With all his distractions he managed to hold 2nd position for the night. Rok was just only 600 chips behind Banker. He only needed 1 extra /1000 chip to secure 3rd position for the 2017 Trophy.(more later).
4th position went to Sniper losing a total number of 15,100 chips for the night. ( corrected from 100 chip loss)
5th position went to TC Jagger, with a gap of 900 chips behind Sniper. Only 1/1000 chip was needed to jump ahead of Sniper.
6th position went to the Professor, with 20,000 chips behind TC Jagger.
7th Positon went to Maverick, with only 1/ 500 chips behind the Professor.
 
So the battle for 2nd and 3rd, 4th and 5th,  6th and 7th were very very tight, and the winners by the small margins.
The key turning moment of the night was the winning hand by BigBluff, holding 3 kings in the hand (1 , 2 or 3 could be used) for 5 kings, 2 wild cards showing as common community cards. TC Jagger holding 2 jacks in hand and Queen, with 2 wild cards and jack showing as community cards for 5 jacks. A sizeable pot going to Bigbluff. (25,000+ chips at least) This changed the course of the evening for TC Jagger who just dropped the Trophy and BB winning the night.
Resulting final table; Attached for reference.
Sniper moving to 39 points ( the lowest winning score over the 9 years of records) for 2017 Champion. Adding to other Champion 2012 Trophy.
TC Jagger moving to 37.5 points winning 2nd place Damn it trophy.
Both the Professor and the Rok moved to equal 3rd position both on 34 points. However with Professor winning the first game of the year, Game LXXVI, is now declared as the 3rd place winner, pushing the Rok to 4th.  Only 1/1000 chip would have made the difference.
Bank and BigBluff both finished on 31 points.
 
Congrats to Sniper winner of 2017 Championship.
 
Thanks for the game and you attendance and your good cheer.
 
I wish the families of BRC a merry Christmas and a fantastic 2018 year.  See you next year.
 
Oh BTW, the KK winner of the BB KK left it behind. Please advise who it belongs.
 
All the best.
 
TC Jagger signing out


Notes from The Rok

I too would like to thank Tony & Rose for hosting BRC 81.
 
Special thanks to Rose for the Pizzas as I missed dinner having come straight from work.
 
It was as usual another chaotic night.
Many comical episodes as usual : and riotous fun  !
 
Gayle & I wish you & your families all the very best for Xmas and a safe and prosperous 2018 .
 
Best wishes to you all.
 
The Rok.
The True Peoples'  Champion

Notes from Mav

Thank you so much to Rose and Tony and Marie for all the hard work on pizzas, desserts and general multicultural delicacies.
 
Only 2.5 wins made it impossible for a podium finish - but enjoyed the banter - including the red card for future deals at the next BRC for BB issued correctly after horrendous choice of game.
 
Have a safe and joyous Christmas and hoping to see a few of you at my 60th Birthday lunch on 21 January - details attached again - just in case you misplaced them.
 
Bon Natale and Ano and Kalla Xristouyena.

Mav

Notes from 2017 BRC Champion SNIPER

Members
 
Firstly, a big thank you to Jagger and Rose for excellent hosting of BRC LXXXI.  I’m glad we waited until Rose returned from holiday – how good were those home made pizzas?  Yummy!
 
It was a most enjoyable evening, as usual.  Punter and Developer were both very much missed.  Just to state the obvious, the date was chosen specifically to suit Developer’s availability, and then he went to Melbourne.  Just sayin’!  It was great that GT with son Brendan managed to make it, coming straight from a baseball game, and having Brendan there came in handy for taking a group photo.  It was also good to see GT looking so well after a series of ailments including pneumonia and appendicitis.
 
We were all impressed at Mav’s weight loss (the incredible shrinking man) – 20 kilos so far!  His low carb diet is certainly having an effect and it was amusing to see him scrape the filling off a piece of pizza and just eat the filling.  Mav, you missed out on some fantastic pizza base.
 
As you all know, I have now both retired and turned 60 (in that order). It was also interesting to note that Professor has also entered the “senior” age bracket.  Unfortunately, he seems somewhat vague and forgetful about key details, which is clear evidence that he is now, together with me, “over the hill”
 
Rok has correctly said that proceedings were somewhat chaotic as usual.  Interestingly, I believe it was a relatively low alcohol evening with only one bottle of wine consumed.  The Kris Kringle was a key example – Jagger asked Rok to provide cards 1 to 8 for use in allocating the numbered presents; Rok gave him A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7.  Jagger struggled to align these cards with the numbers on the presents.  After a number of unsuccessful attempts he gave up and replaced the set of cards with a new sequence A up to 8.  It then took many more attempts to allocate the presents while ensuring that no-one received their own gift.  All good fun and successful in the end, as were the gifts themselves.  We all wait with bated breath for the results of Professor’s gift to Mav – a personality analysis kit.  Many thanks to GT for his gift to me of a David Baldacci book by the way.
 
BB was typically disastrous at devising workable games (we all remember the failed “Bermuda Triangle”) to the extent that he was yet again banned from dealing.  This allowed him to concentrate on playing the various games proposed and dealt by others – and he was VERY successful.  Banker had quite few early wins and for a while was way ahead but the BB luck of the draw linked with his optimistic style prevailed.  BB managed to “jag” an unbelievable number of really good hands while many (including me) had almost continuous crap.  Of course, BB’s mantra is “never fold” and this linked with his amazing fortune led to a convincing and well deserved win on the night. 
 
In the event, I managed to just scrape in as the 2017 champion with a miniscule margin over Jagger TC.  Probably the key hand that contributed to this was the incredible BB win of five kings (with three kings in hand) over Jagger’s five jacks mentioned in Jagger’s summary of the event.  So, thanks to BB for helping me to be the champion, while coming first yourself on the night – a win-win! 
 
Best wishes to all for Christmas and the New Year.  I look forward to catching up with you all next year in the interstices between my travels with the first key event (for those who can make it) being Mav’s 60th birthday celebration.
 
By the way BB, might I suggest two additional items on the list of BRC Quotes (on the Weebly website –
 
“Stuff the silver, I’ve come for the gold” – Sniper (channelling Laurie Lawrence)
 
“Never go out” – Big Bluff
 
Regards.
 
 
Sniper
2017 BRC Champion