Jackson wins poker series championship

The first round of the Muskingum Area Poker Championship Series proved to have immense succees.

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According to Darren Tigner of Burn 'N Turn Poker, the Texas Hold' Em events were a great fund-raising activity for several nonprofit organizations.

"It's been a tremendous success. Last week's tournament put us over $80,000 raised for nonprofit organizations," Tigner said as the series was wrapping up a Philo Athletic Boosters event Saturday afternoon at the Eagles aerie on Market Street. "We have a lot of cash table players and a lot of tournament players."
The series is based upon how the players finish in individual festivals run by area nonprofit 501c(3) organizations. Burn 'N Turn Poker does not run the tournaments.

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Randy Jackson of Zanesville won the series championship, which had more than 160 people signed up. He totaled 20,275 points and finished well ahead of runner-up John Catanzaro (18.450) and Tammy Pulley (17,875) to win the championship.

Jackson believed he could win the series title prior to the first event, but succinctly stated it takes more than skill to become champion.

"You have to be lucky and good. You can be just one or the other," said the 35-year-old Jackson. "It doesn't matter how good you are, you aren't going to win without the cards. That and patience. Sometimes I go 20 hands without playing. It's hard to sit that long without doing anything. Patience is a good thing to have."

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Jackson was one of few players in the series to sport sunglasses during the competition. He sported the shades for a greater level of comfort.

Jackson won a trip to Las Vegas to watch the World Series of Poker for three nights for winning the competition. Jackson, who is moving to Arizona for work in the paralegal field, is giving the trip to his mother and stepfather.

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Jackson held a commanding cumulative points lead going into the final weekend of play, then wrapped up the title by earning 1,000 points through being a member of Friday's team competition. Bob Ross and T.J. Johnson were Jackson's teammates.

Pulley, easily the top female finisher in a predominantly male-oriented competition, fits right in at the competitions.

"They treat me like a poker player. They don't see me as a female," said Pulley, who will receive a boat trip to a casino in Indiana for finishing third.

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Pulley's consistency, with several top-10 and top-25 finishes including a fourth-place in a recent event near Warsaw, helped her build large point totals. Pulley plays her hands based in large part to feeling.

"Just following instincts. It's not necessarily thinking you have the best hand; it's following what you feel," Pulley said.

The tournaments, which raised as much profit as $3,000 and $6,000, appeal to players for a variety of reasons.

"It's a mental challenge. You've always got to use your brain during this ..." Catanzaro said.

"I've met a lot of cool people through this," Jackson said. "It's something to do on the weekends. It's a nice change of pace."

The Southeastern Ohio Poker Championship Series will begin Thursday and Saturday at Newark Catholic High School. The series is expected to reel in players from a larger area. Many of this past series' players will participate in the new tournament but expect to play less frequently due to other commitments this summer.