At the bottom in 20th place and qualifying for the finale is Marcin. Louis Liao and Tarra, numbers 21 and 22, will join in the finale because they are within 200 points of Marcin.

The online winner was Wayne Han. No surprise considering the guy is always online at PokerStars — even when in the middle of a live hand at TPT.

Your Top 20 (22)
TPT Season 4
Tournament Director / Contact Info: Mike and Rich
Pos. Player Points
1 William Su – WilliamSu 10159
2 Jeffrey Gu – JeffreyGu 9979
3 Michael Ange – MichaelA 9522
4 Xiao Zixin – ZiXin 8985
5 Shiguo Lai – ShiguoLai 8948
6 Karl Audhert – KarlA 8104
7 Osborn Lu – OsbornL 7924
8 Jett Chieh – JettChieh 7630
9 Alistair Cheer – Alistair 7579
10 John Aganda – JohnAganda 7558
11 Wolf Ko – WolfK. 7471
12 Hot Server – HotServer 7192
13 Erick Caron – ErickCaron 7159
14 Vivian Wang – VivianW 7052
15 Ewen Huang – EwenHuang 7033
16 Marcus Maurice – Marcus 6743
17 Jason Lee – JasonL 6736
18 Gabow Tsui – GabowT 6731
19 Wayne Han – WayneHan 6634
20 Marcin Olszowy – Marcin 6410
21 Louis Liao – LouisLiao 6366
22 Tarra Scott – T-Scott 6213

New Venue: OnTap
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Click picture for map.

50 Players
Due to space restrictions, we’ll only be able to seat the first 50 players. We will have a wait list and players can mingle and spend their vouchers while they wait for a seat to open up. Remember, registration begins at 7 p.m. and players who register first will get their seat first.

No Tourney Thursday December 1
In order to get everything ready for the change, there will be no tourney this Thursday Dec. 1.
We’ll see you next Tuesday Dec. 6 at On Tap!

It helps that second place also gets airfare and hotel in Macau plus entry into a side event. News of new prizes continue to trickle out as we see how the numbers for the season go. Third place is an iPad 2 and we hope to announce more final table prizes soon. Of course, weekly winners and top finishers are receiving PokerStars gear and, more importantly to some, online tournament credits on PokerStars. Players who have never deposited money online are now playing real tourneys for real prizes on PokerStars. It is definitely fun to see.

Season Standings
We are now six live tourneys and two online tourneys into Season Four and there are a few surprises. The Nov. 13 online tourney has not been entered into the points yet, but so far your TPT4 leader (by about 400 points) is Vivian Wang. She has been super steady all season and is a regular at final tables. Gabow is close behind in second, while TPT3 Champ Mr. Xiao is lurking behind in sixth place.

One of our more attractive final tables.

One other Top 20 player of note, is TPT’s own Rich. Who after playing one live tourney is sitting pretty in 17th place. Remember TPT staff and family are eligible for the grand prize, so check the point standings carefully! If one of us miraculously is gifted 1000 points, you’ll understand why.

Tonight we are hitting the tables again at Barbados Bar. Registration starts at 7 as always and cards fly at 8.

See you tonight!

TPT4 Pictures

The Final Table

Speaking of donking off chips, this seemed to be the specialty of many TPT veterans on Tuesday. Gary “Smoke n Fire” waited 35 minutes for his seat … and then promptly punted his stack on the very first hand. Alistair Cheer, notorious for busting on the “bubble” numerous times last season, had no such worries this time around and was one of the first players eliminated. He also got the biggest applause of the night, not that Mike and I are sad about it. Some guys have it all.

As we approached the top 15 “payout” bubble, things started to get a little tense. Four veterans were among many new faces as the bubble drew near. Accumulating points is the most important aspect of play, as the Top 20 point earners at the end of the season will play for the right to represent TPT at the Macau Poker Cup Main Event in February, 2012. Point standings can be followed all season on the standings page, here.

TPT’s “first couple,” Marcin and Claire both made it to the point payout. Claire picked up 340 points for 14th place and Marcin bested her by two spots, finishing 12th for 387 points. Nick Miller, a part-timer in Season 3, finished on the final table bubble in 10th place, scoring 469 points.

After playing down to a final table of 9, only two TPT veterans remained, Goober and Mac Lin. Ultimately, with blinds eating chip stacks, things came down to who could run good. Mac Lin showed a little TPT karma never hurts. All-in and at risk, Mac’s opponent, Craig Huang, made a straight on the turn. TPT run good saved Mac, however, when the river put a higher straight on the board and the players chopped, both playing the board. Mac eventually went out third, good for 1768 points. The final two players, Brian Chou and Craig Huang, did not muck about. After feeling each other out for just 3 hands, they got it all in pre-flop and the tournament came down to a flip.

Craig Huang won the flip, and in doing so he won the largest TPT event ever played, besting 116 other players. For his efforts, Mr. Huang took home $30 in Pokerstars tournament entries, a Pokerstars jacket, and, most importantly, a massive 2891 points to kick off his Season 4 run toward the title. Congrats, Mr. Huang!

We thank everyone who came out and made Tuesday awesome. We are committed to improving as we get more familiar with the new venue and are working to streamline registration and seat more players immediately. We appreciate each and every person’s opinions, and if you have ideas to make TPT4 better, we would love hear from you.

Now, what do you say, let’s do it again, tonight … 10/27/11 – 7:00 p.m. Barbados Bar.

Click this picture for location of Barbados Bar in Google Maps!

SEASON OPENER
Date: Tuesday, October 25
Venue: Barbados Bar (see map)
Time: Registration starts at 7:00 p.m.
Cards fly at 8:00

PRIZES
1. Everyone who enters the tournament on Tuesday will receive 10 PokerStars APL online tourney entries (upon joining PokerStars online). APL are nightly online tourneys — very low entry fee, but a great place to practice and win some money when PokerStars throws extra cash in to the pot!

2. The FIRST 50 to register for the tourney by turning in their registration card, will receive a PokerStars cap courtesy of our sponsor.

3. The FINAL TABLE receives entry into the monthly TPT freeroll.

4. First Place – PokerStars online tourney entry (US$20 value)
Second Place – PokerStars online tourney entry (US$10 value)
Third Place – PokerStars online tourney entry (US$5 value)

5. PokerStars gear maybe. We will have a good amount to give away this season, but need to get hold of it before Tuesday, which is not a sure thing.

期待已久的TPT4終於再度啟動。第4季將在 Barbados Bar 盛大展開每週2次的撲克聯賽。不管你已經來過，還是只有聽說過，我們都歡迎大家一起來參加TPT。現在就來介紹TPT第4季獎勵規則以及基本賽制。

The fourth installment of the Taiwan Poker Tour has finally arrived! We are excited for the new season, for the new “home” at Barbados, and (mostly) to reconnect with old TPT degens and help make new ones. So that you can be as informed as possible, here are the Season 4 details we are working on now.

The main idea is that we intend to step up both weekly prizes and Season Championship prizes. We will give away credit online at Pokerstars each and every tournament, and (turnout permitting) we will give away not one, but two, trips to play live in Macau at real money events. And we will hold monthly freerolls for even more cash on Stars.

Lastly, this season players will compete for the first ever TPT Season Championship trophy, the most prestigious achievement in all of poker … maybe in all of sports, we’re not sure.

However, a bit of “bad” news that cannot be avoided – the venue will charge for admission (trust us, we worked our butts off to avoid it … we explain below). To the extent it is a burden, sorry, but let’s not let it ruin our fun. For our part, Mike and I are doing the following to make sure a FREE TPT makes the venue cost worth it. Mike has graciously offered “handies and lappies” (not sure what he meant) to all TPTers this season.

TPT 4 Basic Details

TPT 4 will consist of weekly live tournaments each and every Tuesday and Thursday at Barbados Bar (map). Registration will open at 7:00 p.m. and cards will be dealt at 8:00 p.m. In addition, as with last season, TPT will hold weekly online tournaments on Pokerstars. Online tourneys start at 8:00 p.m.

Points: Players compete for points during each tournament that count toward a season total. The Top 20 point earners over the course of the season will automatically qualify for the TPT 4 Season Championship. Players can track their points and the leaderboard online throughout the season at taiwanpokertour.net. The point structure for Season 4 will be consistent with Season 3 (including the Alistair amendment), and those details are available online here.

TPT 4 每週比賽時間

每週二，週四在Barbados Bar (map)。7pm 開始登記報名，8pm 正式開打。除了週二，週四的比賽之外，我們還會舉辦每週的網路賽事（Pokerstars），Pokerstars 週賽於每週日8pm開始。
積分制：每位玩家都會在每一次的比賽獲得分數，整個賽季的前20
可以晉級進入季冠軍賽。積分排行榜和詳細的計分方式都可以在 taiwanpokertour.net查詢。

Weekly Prizes

1. Pokerstars Cash — We will provide PokerStars credit for all tournament winners and top finishers. The amount we will pay out will depend on turnout. Our goal is to pay $25-$50 each tournament.
2. Gear — Top finishers at each TPT event may also win prizes from TPT and/or our sponsors, similar to last season (t-shirts, hoodies, whatever we can score for you).
3. Final table finishers will gain entry to that month’s online freeroll to be played on Pokerstars. Winners and top finishers of the freeroll can take home additional cash on Pokerstars.

每週獎品

1. Pokerstars 現金幣 — 每場賽事的前幾名都可以得到Pokerstar 現金幣。提供的金額取決於出賽的人數，我們的目標是每場能提供$25~$50。
2. 獎品 — 每場賽事還會提供T-shirt, 帽T, 或是任何我們能爭取到的獎品給前3名的玩家。
3. 進入決賽桌的玩家還可以得到Pokerstars 月賽的門票而且有更多的機會贏得獎金。

Season Prizes

Season Champion – Airfare, hotel and entry into MAIN EVENT at Macau Poker Cup in Macau. (This is the big time ladies and gentlemen)

Second Place – We want to hook up 2nd place with entry into a live tourney in Macau as well, including airfare. We did so well last season in Macau, we figure we might as well just keep sending people to win and hope they remember us little people when they become rich and famous.

NOTE: There is one hotel room for two nights that 1st and 2nd can share (we’re all friends) or split (each stays on different nights); provided generously by PokerStars.

Third Place – IPad 2 (or Ipad3, who knows what will be out by then).

We will give prizes to many additional top finishers, but it will depend on season turnout. But come on, aim high, this is the year YOU win (unless you are Magda, Gabow, or Guy, in which case you really have no chance, I mean you guys play every tourney and never win)

賽季獎品

冠軍 – 賽季冠軍可獲得前往澳門的機票，住宿，撲克賽事的門票。我們目前還在確認2012的賽程 ，有確定的資訊時會在網站上通知。
亞軍 – 亞軍也可獲得機票及撲克賽事門票。
季軍 – iPad 2
我們還會陸續提供更多的獎品，但是我們需要各位玩家的熱烈參與才能讓TPT越辦越好，獎品內容越來越豐富。

Cover (at least a drink is included)

The change from last year that we truthfully hope does not ruin everything is the bar will charge players a 300NT cover. The charge includes a drink. The bar will also have a special food menu for players with discounted prices. The drink and food menus are available on the TPT website here and here.

基本消費（可抵飲料)

為了感謝場地的借用，每位玩家將會被收取300元基消，這項收費包括一杯飲料。Barbados 還會為玩家們提供優惠價的餐點。TPT網站上有詳細的飲料和餐點的菜單。我們當然希望是能夠不要有收費，但是在台北市想找到能夠容下至少50人的比賽場地實在是不容易，所以我們希望能夠與借出場地的Barbados Bar達到互相幫助的雙贏局面。TPT謝謝所有玩家的配合與支持。

First, we know it would be cooler if the bar did not charge anything. We looked high and low for a venue that met our criteria, including no cover, after our last venue pulled out. Truth is, unfortunately, TPTers had earned a reputation (among bars) for being pretty cheap when it came to eating and drinking in the TPT partner venues. We know it wasn’t everyone (or even most), but there were a few, and these bar owners all seem to know each other. The word was out, and it was out of our hands. As we grow and continue to get cooler and better, maybe we will have luck getting things changed.

Now, on the bright side – the new place is really cool, and we can make of it what we want. It has a great atmosphere, but little traffic right now. I envision us making it a TPT hangout, and it will be a great spot to pre-drink on weekends and make out with poker groupies that will surely follow us. I hope we all spend too much time here and the owner realizes he can never go back to the non-TPT days.

We looked into other venues where the cover may have been less, but none were downtown or at such a great space and none were free. Think about this – we can seat at least 50 people in comfy, roomy booths to play at Barbados. The ceiling is like 40 feet high. It’s cool, and we hope TPTers will bring the party to this place (I’m looking at you Martin V! / Goober/Sam/Lisa/Marson/Gabow/Kevin/Linda.)

Anyway, for 300NT you get a drink and a chance to win great prizes nightly through the year, and most importantly, we all get to hang out again. Seriously, don’t mess with us, we NEED this, you have no idea how boring our (mine) lives are without TPT. (Also, I would be happy to pay for some people who are struggling, but that would mean collecting all the money I lent out in Macau the last time we were there).

Lastly, yes, we will work to get the charge reduced or eliminated over time. But the bar needs to see what TPTers bring to the table for us to have any shot at this. If we bring energy, a good time, and a good crowd to Barbados, maybe laoban will see the benefits and agree to drop the cover.

YOU are TPT

TPT 4 will only be as cool as the people who make up the league. Last season was incredible. We did our best to put together a TPT 4 that will be awesome, but it is really all about you, the players, the de-gens, the hot girls that will decide whether this season will see TPT continue to be the best group of diverse folks in Taiwan or not.

Predictions?

TPT3 Champ Xiao Zi Xin

If I get any responses (write me at rschuster1@gmail.com, its just easier) I will put up a story with some of the best predictions. I have several, but I’ll start here: this WILL BE the season we get Marcus to DJ a TPT party, at which there will be a dance off between Mike B and PC … they will both lose.

We need you, TPT, and we LOVE people who support the league. So let’s get the band back together. Let’s have some fun. Let’s make Season 4 so awesome that I forget how much working a real job sucks! October 25, 2011, 7:00 p.m., Barbados Bar, Taipei Xinyi district

The Final Final Table of TPT3 Regular Season

TPT4 promises much of the same from last season with extras thrown in (of course). Keep checking back here for more details on the coming season, but you know the grand prizes for the finale will all be awesome and we will announce those in due time (awesome prizes depend on awesome players which is why we had great prizes last season!) In addition to the big grand prizes, though, there will be more PokerStars cash won for winners throughout the season and we are currently researching a really cool Season 4 championship trophy.

Please spread the word on Facebook and stay tuned for details. Rich and Mike are excited about Season 4. It is finally here!

See you sooner than you probably thought!