Pickleball players cash in on Poker Tourney

Two divisions of 10 players each participated in The Canyon Lake Pickleball Club’s Poker Nights Tournament recently at the Canyon Lake Pickleball Courts.

Mike Kidd won the Group A division and Ann Thompson won the Group B division. The divisions were made up of randomly-selected pairs and each pair played four games each.

Prior to starting, each player drew six cards which made up his or her initial poker hand. Each time a player would win a game, he or she would draw another card, up to 10 possible cards to get the best five-card hand.

Group A winners were: 1st place with a Queen High Diamond Flush was Mike Kidd; 2nd place with a King High Straight was Steve Davenport; and 3rd place with three 5’s was Nancy Ford.

Group B winners were: 1st place with a Full House Jacks over 3’s was Ann Thompson: 2nd place with Queen High Diamond Flush was Susie Cook; and 3rd place with three 8’s was Melanie Martinez.

Canyon Lake Pickleball Poker Tournament winners from Group A are, from left, Steve Davenport 2nd, Nancy Ford 3rd, and Mike Kidd 1st. Photo provided by Steve Libring

In Group A, the winner, Mike, had only an Ace, 2, 3, 4, and four diamonds: a Queen, 9, 7, and 2 going into the last match. After a long struggle, he and his partner won the last match 11-9 and he drew a 10 of Diamonds, catapulting him from nothing to the winning Diamond Flush hand.

In Group B, Ann, the winner, had just a pair of 3s starting out, but then won all four of her matches to pick four more cards, three of which were Jacks. Her Jack-high three of a kind was enough to win her group.

The winners received gift cards to the Canyon Lake Lodge or Country Club. There was a pizza buffet supplied by the club to all members attending who played or watched.

The Pickleball Club hosts six free tournaments and 16 free social events throughout the year. The club dues are just $10 per year and there are currently 483 adult members.

Anyone interested in learning pickleball or joining the pickleball club to get in on these free activities should contact Club Secretary Steve Libring at steve.libring@gmail.com.