All In

The other night we were invited by a family friend to a fundraiser - for some charity/disease/fund, or something - in a mini-warehouse. For $20, we played poker (Texas Hold 'Em) and had food and beverages. The $20 was to be split - some for the fund and some for the winner of the poker tournament. We weren't too sure how the tournament would work, but thought the mini-warhouse sounded fun.

PRELIMS
After some talking and food/drink, the tournament started. There were four tables with 6-7 players each. My table was pretty fun. Traci did well until the end of this round - better than Kevin who somehow managed to lose all his chips twice. After a few players were eliminated from each table, the organizers moved people around, condensing the play to two tables. I was one of the people that was still in, and moved to the next round.

SEMIS
Five people are at my new table. One guy loses right away. The next person out, "Bluffy," tried to bluff almost every hand. I think she wanted to be done. It was getting a little tiring by this time. Three of us were left, and we were moved to the final table.

FINALS
At this point we were told that the winner would get $250. This is a fundraiser that gives away money - genius?
-In sixth place: First person out at this table was the half-drunk woman at the end of the table who couldn't figure out how to bet. You know that person who makes it to a final speech round and is horrible and shouldn't be there? Yeah, she was this person. Bye.
-In fifth place: Family friend Bob, father of one of the organizers of the fundraiser, getting some bad luck.
-In fourth place: Woman who seemed a little overwhelmed. Maybe it was the mini-warehouse. Or possibly that her husband was cleaning her out.
-In third place: Her husband. I took him out. I was holding two eights. The flop was two kings and an eight. Full house, baby! I had more chips than he did and got him to go all in. Bye.

So, I'm in the top two - and the other guy who is left is pretty good. We started playing together in the semi's round, so I think I have him figured out. I start the final hands with more chips than him, and within a couple hands get him to go all in. We both have two pairs - my cards are better. I win.

When I received the money, I thought "A really good person would make an announcement stating that the charity/disease/fund needs the money more than I do, and then everyone would cheer." I decided not to be that person.

And I don't regret it.