Jon Reddick Birthday Poker Invitationals
The Jon Reddick Birthday Poker Invitiationals are a series of annual Texas Hold'em poker games held by and for Jon Reddick for his birthday each year.
In the spring of 2005, as Jon's birthday was drawing near, he and his wife, Ro, conceived a birthday party with all of Jon's poker buddies, but that was more than a party. It was decided that the party that year would be a grander version of their regular poker games which was to last throughout the day. As the planning evolved, it turned into two tournaments, one in the afternoon and another in the evening. Each game was to last upwards of four hours, and accommodate many more players.
The first birthday tournaments in 2005 were very successful and got positive reviews from many attendees, so it was more an obvious transition than a conscious decision that the tournaments become an annual event.
2005 Birthday Invitational Tournaments
Standings from the 2005 3:30 Tournament
Standings from the 2005 8:00 Tournament
The inaugural 2005 tournaments were held (unless anyone has evidence or recollection to the contrary), on June 25.
Both games were seated with two nine-player tables.
Trivia
- Jon "Mr. Poker" Reddick (then "Ugly Shirt") was the only player to make the money in both games, finishing third in both.
- The prizes included payouts for the top four finishers.
- The games were held at the Reddick's home in Tallahassee on Lucky Debonair Trail.
2006 Birthday Invitational Tournaments
Standings from the 2006 3:30 Tournament
Standings from the 2006 8:00 Tournament
The 2006 tournaments were held on July 1. This year the seating was increased from two tables (eighteen players) to three (twenty seven players). All three tables were filled.
Trivia
- The games were held at the Reddick's home in Tallahassee on Lucky Debonair Trail.
- The prizes included payouts for the top six finishers.
- Pam "Retro" Thomas became the second player make the money in both games in a single year, finishing both fifth and fourth.
- Mega-Bounties of $27 each, per game, were placed on Rob "Mad Dog" Nucatola and Rod "Money" Morris as the champions from the previous year. Those four bounties were claimed by Greg "Wide Track" Beck, Marc "Dot.Net" McNabb, Mike "Slo-Mo" McCall and "Milk Money" (non-regular friend-of-a-friend).
The Hiatus
In late April 2007, after nearly twenty years in Tallahassee, Jon and his family relocated to Jacksonville, Florida to follow a new job opportunity. Living out of boxes in a new rental house in Jacksonville, now hours away from all of the regular poker players, was far from ideal for the continuation of the established event.
As such, Jon made the sad decision to forgo the event in 2007, with plans to start up again in 2008.
As mid-2008 approached and again found the household in upheaval. The new job in Jacksonville and solidified from a contract position to a permanent one, and they were packing up the house and preparing to move. There were several inquiries made by players back in Tallahassee as to whether or not the event was happening in 2008, but again it had to be postponed.
2009 Birthday Invitational Tournaments
Standings from the 2009 3:30 Tournament
Standings from the 2009 8:00 Tournament
The top 3 finishers from the 3:30 Tournament
The top 3 finishers from the 8:00 Tournament
The historic chop for 1st
All of the prize money: one-dollar bills wrapped in $20/$10/$5 bundles
The prizes & trophies
During the two off years, Jon had cultivated a fresh batch of regular poker players in the newly-formed Mandarin Poker Tour; the spiritual successor to the group in Tallahassee.
The Reddicks had settled into their new home in Jacksonville, and the time was right to resurrect the birthday games. Jon's main concern, though, was that there really weren't enough MPT players to fill up the three-table roster, and it was uncertain how many KPT players would be willing to make the drive. As it would turn out, those concerns were unfounded.
The mass-email invitation was sent out to all KPT & MPT players on March 29, 2009. Within two days, the roster was one-third full. Two days later, only eight seats were left open. By April 6, 2009; less than ten days after the opening of registration, the rosters for both games were filled (give or take a seat) with an even mix of both MPT locals, and KPT players willing to make the drive.
In the intervening ten weeks, the roster saw a couple of drop-outs and some last-minute fill-ins, but by the date of the event, on June 27, 2009, both games were fully seated with 27 players.
2009 Trivia
- The 3:30 game saw the first ever chop of 1st & 2nd place in a Birthday Invitational. When the game was down to just two remaining players, Mike "Slo-Mo" McCall and Marc "Dot.Net" McNabb agreed to split the top two places' prize money almost immediately. Since there were prizes and places to be awarded, though (a first-place trophy and second-place medal), they agreed to play a single hand open to decide it. Slo-Mo won the hand and claimed the trophy.
- Cory "The Moth" Patrick became the third player make the money in both games in a single year, finishing both sixth and third.
- This event was notable as Jon's fortieth birthday.
- The games were held at the Reddick's home in Jacksonville on Everholly Lane.
- The prizes included payouts for the top seven finishers.
- Marc "Dot.Net" McNabb became the winningest Invitational player, having won a first in 2006, and then chopped for first this year.
- Mike "Slo-Mo" McCall extended his streak and is now the only player to have finished in the money in at least one tournament at each of the first four invitationals.
- Historically, Mega-Bounties were placed on the heads of the previous year's winners, but since it had been three years since the last games, and there was potential that not all previous players would be able to make the trip, the Mega targets have been selected based on other criteria.
- 3:30 Tournament (Descriptions from announcement email)
- Jon "Mr. Poker" Reddick (Because I'm 40, why else?)
- Greg "Wide Track" Beck (Because he won the MPT Prize League for the second half of 2008)
- 8:00 Tournament (Descriptions from announcement email)
- Mike "Hambone" Creamer (Because he's been high-rolling in casinos over the past few months and feels invulnerable!)
- Grace "Internet" Sumpter (Because she's Grace! Seriously, have you ever been heads-up with Grace? Good luck!)
- 3:30 Tournament (Descriptions from announcement email)
2010 Birthday Invitational Tournaments
Standings from the 2010 3:30 Tournament
Standings from the 2010 8:00 Tournament
Charlie Checker's Triple Mega Bounty Win
Top 3 Finishers from the 3:30 Tournament
Pookie, the 3:30 Tournament Champion
Top 3 Finishers from the 8:00 Tournament
Charlie Checker, the 8:00 Tournament Champion
With the birthday event now firmly re-established after its 2009 resurrection, the 2010 iteration was a foregone conclusion. Email invitations went out via the mailing list on April 24, 2010. ---
The 2010 tournaments took place on June 26.
- The invitation for registration to the 2010 events was sent out late in the evening of April 24, 2010
- Within 48 hours of the the invitation, 76% of the available seats were reserved
- 24 hours later, 83% were reserved
2011 Birthday Invitational Tournaments
Standings from the 2011 3:30 Tournament
Standings from the 2011 8:00 Tournament
3:30 Tournament Champion, The General
One of several food spreads
3:30 Tournament Winners
8:00 Tournament Champion, Irish Rifle
8:00 Tournament Winners
Hambone dealing
Hambone, 3:30 toilet winner
Prize money
Prize layout
Congregation of weather nerds
The 2011 tournaments took place on June 25.
- The invitation for registration to the 2011 events was sent out 8am on May 29, 2011
- Two hours into registration, one table was filled in each game
- Nine hours in, only six seats remained in each game
- 24 hours after the invitation email was sent, only fours seats remained in each game
- Due to an odd confluence of events, two players in 2011 finished twice in the same tournament. One player was a no-show, but his seat was being held until after the first break. In the 3:30 game, Brad "Mayonnaise" Watkins was first out and requested to purchase the empty seat. This was allowed, and he then finished both 27th place and then 16th place. Mike "Hambone" Creamer was first out in the 8:00 game and he purchased the empty seat in that game, allowing him to finish 26th place and then 24th place.
2012 Birthday Invitational Tournaments
Standings from the 2012 3:30 Tournament
Standings from the 2012 8:00 Tournament
Finishes 2005-2012
2012 3:30 Champion, Hambone
2012 8:00 Champion, Mo Money
2012 3:30 Top Three
2012 8:00 Top Three
The 2012 tournaments took place on June 23.
- This is the first time that the tournaments fall on Jon's actual birthday.
- Invitation for registration went out at noon on 4/19/2012
2012 Trivia
- Every available add-on was purchased. Not one player still in the game at the time of the first two breaks of either game declined the option to buy additional chips.
- Mo "Mo Money" Smith became the second player to ever finish in the top three in both games, and the first player to ever finish both first and second in one year.
2013 Birthday Invitational Tournaments
The 2013 tournaments took place on June 22.
- Invitations sent out March 23, 2013 at 7am
- Tournaments half full by 8:15am
- 2nd table full by 11:30am
- Only 3 seats left at 5pm
- One seat remained at 6pm
- 13 1/2 hours after invitations sent, tournaments were completely full
- On April 26, 2013, the game was expanded to a fourth table
- First table/player expansion since the game grew from 2 to 3 tables in 2006
- Four tables of 8 for a total of 32 players
Standings from the 2013 3:30 Tournament
Standings from the 2013 8:00 Tournament
Finishes 2005-2013
2013 3:30 Champion, T2
2013 8:00 Champion, Skip You
2013 3:30 Top Three
2013 8:00 Top Three
2013 3:30 First Out
2013 8:00 First Out
New tournament chips introduced in 2013
2013 Prize Pool
Two of the four tables
2013 Trivia
- Tom "T2" Voulieris became the first player to ever take home a second 1st place trophy in the history of the tournaments.
- His first trophy was in 2009.
- Introduction of the Ham Sandwich option
- Named in honor of the first players to exercise the option back in 2011, Hambone and Mayonnaise.
- For each tournament there a single rebuy seat is available for sale.
- The first player busted out has the option of purchasing that seat and re-entering the game.
- If he refuses the Ham Sandwich, then each player to be busted out in succession will be offered the option until it's sold or until the game reaches the second break, at which time the Ham Sandwich goes bad and is no longer available (nobody wants a bad ham sandwich).
- Due to the expansion of the game, a new set of tournament chips were purchased and introduced in 2013 (pictured in gallery at right)
- Charlie "Charlie Checker" Elul firmly established himself as the Mega-Bounty Hunter. He now leads with five Mega-Bounties claimed since the tournaments began.
- His nearest rival is Cory "The Moth" Patrick who has claimed three.
- The medals/ribbons for 2nd & 3rd place were replaced this year with trophies.
- With this year's 3rd place finish, Mike "Slo-Mo" McCall set the record for the most top-three finishes, with five.
- 2005/2nd, 2006/3rd, 2009/1st, 2012/3rd, 2013/3rd
- Second is Scott "Skip You" Cowie with four.
2014 Birthday Invitational Tournaments
The eighth annual event took place on June 21, 2014. With the growth of the games from the previous year, the start time was adjusted back from 3:30pm to 1:30pm for the afternoon, and to 7:00pm from 8:00pm for the evening. Despite the adjustment, festivities still stretched into the wee hours of Sunday morning.
This was also the 10th anniversary of the first birthday tournament, due to the two skipped years in 2007/2008.
- Invitations were sent out April 14, 2014 at 6:48am
- One full table at 7:30am
- By noon, only 9 seats remained
- At 1:15pm (about 6 hours in), there was one remaining table
- Addon tokens were introduced this year.
- Tokens enable dealers to process add-ons right at the table.
- Color-coded popsicle sticks with nicknames written on them were used for the tokens.
Standings from the 2014 1:30 Tournament
Standings from the 2014 7:00 Tournament
Finishes 2005-2014
2014 1:30 Champion, Hambone
2014 7:00 Champion, Rufus
2014 3:30 Top Three
2014 8:00 Top Three
2014 1:30 First Out
2014 7:00 First Out
2014 Trophy & Prize Table
2014 Ham Sandwich Rebuy Option Container
Birthday Cake
Some of the Spread
Panorama Taken During the "Chair Speech"
Trivia
- Mike "Hambone" Creamer became the second player to ever take home a second 1st place trophy in the history of the tournaments.
- His first was in 2012
- Mike "Gator" Karmanos set the new record for making the most out of the Ham Sandwich rebuy.
- The previous record for a Ham Sandwich was making it to 28th place.
- Mike lasted all the way to the second table break and finished 16th.
2015 Birthday Invitational Tournaments
The ninth annual event took place on June 20, 2015.
- Introduced a new formula for parsing RSVPs which take into account both the order received and number of previous birthday tournament games in which the player has participated.
- The intent was to find an equitable way to invite everyone at once, but ensure long-time supporters of the events aren't immediately shut out of a seat by new players who are quick on the draw.
- Invitations were sent out April 4, 2015 at high noon.
- Filled the first table in eight minutes
- Half full (two tables) in sixty-one minutes (1:01pm)
- Three quarters full in just over four hours (4:04pm)
- Within 27 hours of the invitation being sent, had 32 seats requested for both games with overflow
Standings from the 2015 1:30 Tournament
Standings from the 2015 7:00 Tournament
Finishes 2005-2015
2015 1:30 Champion, Mo Money
2015 7:00 Champion, Skip You
2015 3:30 Top Three
2015 8:00 Top Three
2015 1:30 First Out
2015 7:00 First Out
2015 Trophy & Prize Table
Trivia
- Mo "Mo Money" Smith became the third player to ever take home a second 1st place trophy in the history of the tournaments.
- His first was in 2012
- Pamela "The Transferter" Harper set the new record for making the most out of the Ham Sandwich rebuy.
- The previous record for a Ham Sandwich was making it to 16th place.
- Pamela lasted all the way to the second table break and finished 14th.
- Conversely, Bradley "Miracle Whip" Watkins set the new record for making the least out of the Ham Sandwich rebuy.
- Bradley busted out first, bought the Ham Sandwich, and then busted out again a few rounds later.
- Bradley became the first player to purchase the Ham Sandwich and still take home a toilet.
- With this year's 1st place finish, Scott "Skip You" Cowie tied Mike "Slo-Mo" McCall for the most top-three finishes, with five.
- 2005/3rd, 2009/3rd, 2011/3rd, 2013/1st, 2015/1st
2016 Birthday Invitational Tournaments
The tenth annual event was held June 25, 2016.
- Invitations were sent out on 4/25/2016 at 6:15pm
- Took only 37 minutes to fill the first table
- Took only 48 minutes to fill halfway; two full tables
- Third table six hours after invitations were sent out
- All seats filled after a little over two days: 64 hours
Standings from the 2016 1:30 Tournament
Standings from the 2016 7:00 Tournament
- Lo-res finishes thru 2016.jpg
Finishes 2005-2015
2016 Trophy & Prize Table
2017 Birthday Invitational Tournaments
Eleventh annual event scheduled for June 24, 2017.
- Invitations sent out 5/6/2017 at 9:25am
- First table full at 9:59am (34 minutes)
- Second full table at 12:49pm (under 4 hours)
Champions
| Year | Champion |
|---|---|
| 2005 | Rob "Mad Dog" Nucatola |
| 2005 | Rod "Money" Morris |
| 2006 | Marc "Dot.Net" McNabb |
| 2006 | Kevin "Nuts" McNulty |
| 2009 | Mike "Slo-Mo" McCall (chop) |
| 2009 | Marc "Dot.Net" McNabb (chop) |
| 2009 | Tom "T2" Voulieris |
| 2010 | Matt "Pookie" Henderson |
| 2010 | Charlie "Charlie Checker" Elul |
| 2011 | Mike "The General" Smith |
| 2011 | Nate "Irish Rifle" Harrington |
| 2012 | Mike "Hambone" Creamer |
| 2012 | Mo "Mo Money" Smith |
| 2013 | Tom "T2" Voulieris |
| 2013 | Scott "Skip You" Cowie |
| 2014 | Mike "Hambone" Creamer |
| 2014 | Drew "Rufus" Kocur |
| 2015 | Mo "Mo Money" Smith |
| 2015 | Scott "Skip You" Cowie |
| 2016 | Gregg "The Lazz" Lassley |
| 2016 | Bryan "Mr. Fix-All" Eiler |
To-Do
- 2005
- Trivia
- 2006
- Pics
- Trivia
- 2010
- Pics
- Trivia
- 2011
- Trivia
