I’m a very lucky guy, not only at poker, but I feel so lucky to have such great people around me all the time:
Patty: Seriously, without Patty I’d be an absolute mess. She does everything for me. Not just stuff that’s in her job description, but outside of “work stuff” she is also a great listener and friend to me. Aside from answering my e-mails, setting up my appointments, tidying the house, fixing all kinds of random things, putting gas in my car, feeding Mushu, helping my mother out, booking my flights, booking my hotels, doing my laundry, cooking, making my juice in the morning, etc., she’s also there every morning to listen to me vent about things going on in my personal life! She’s totally up to date on everything that goes on in my life with very few exceptions and she is a fantastic listener who also gives very good advice.
She gets a nice, healthy paycheck every week, but she earns every penny… except when she leaves the wash machine on over the weekend. I freaking hate that!!! Ok, yeah, I’m that spoiled 🙂
Mommy: My mother is 69 years young, but she is looking great for her age. She is healthy for the most part, but sometimes her health overwhelms her and she can’t seem to get out of bed. Yet still, and it’s not me asking by the way, she finds a way to create incredible meals for me. I mean incredible. She is a top notch cook. I still remember the day she cried when I told her I didn’t eat meat anymore. She worried about what to cook for me, but instead of sulking about it, she got a few books and recipes and is the best vegan chef I know! She also takes care of Mushu during the day when I’m out golfing, which has been everyday lately.
Christian: Christian is my golf coach/caddie that works for me full time. I rarely ever hit a golf ball, even while practicing, without Christian being right there to make sure my posture, grip, and shoulders are all where they are supposed to be. I literally never golf without him there and couldn’t imagine gambling at golf without Christian. It would be like suicide.
We’ve been working together less than a year, and aside from be being happy with my progress, him and I have become really good friends along the way. He has to deal with what E-DOG likes to call “the most paranoid golfer in the world.” Seriously, if I don’t hit a shot exactly perfect I’m a bit of a nutcase and might ask him any of the following questions:
“Was I too quick?”
“Did I pull that one?”
“Did you have me aimed that far right?”
“How does my grip look?”
“Am I too bent over the ball?”
“Did I lift my head on that one?”
“Why did I hit behind that one, was it my lower body?
“Why, why, why, why!!!!”
I don’t know how he puts up with me sometimes, lol.
Diane: She is new to my group, but so far so good. She is my personal trainer and we have put in two workout sessions together and are working again tomorrow morning. She seems to know what she is doing and isn’t killing me too badly so far. I can’t really walk in the morning because of the hamstring stretches she has me doing, but I’m sure it’s all worth it. I’m really looking forward to seeing some progress and plan on doing some before and after pics.
All I really need now is a good hairdresser… hmmm, Christian’s fiance is looking for a job, and I know she cuts hair… Amy, you are hired! 🙂
Jennifer Harman: Jennifer and I have been friends for what seems like 48 years. Seriously, she was the most influential person in my development as a poker player when I first started coming out to Vegas. I had tons of leaks, and most of them dealt with self destructive tendencies and a lack of fear. I didn’t care if I was broke back then, not at all. Being broke just made me play better. She taught me that it’s still possible to play well and actually have money too! Thanks Jenn!
Aside from that, I can’t think of anyone who really knows me better than she does. I can talk to her about anything, and she never judges me even when I’m totally in the wrong (which is rare 🙂
My golf buddies: These dudes haven’t changed in 15 years and spending all of my time with them ensures that I don’t feel any different about “who I am.” They needle me like crazy, and there is just nothing sweeter than beating Zvi and Ted for money on the golf course. If you ask Ted, though, he’ll tell you this, “I can’t believe people think you are a nice, classy guy on TV. If they say you throwing clubs at my head and whining like a little brat they wouldn’t believe it.” Hey, what can I say, golf brings out the best… and worst in me sometimes, but I absolutely love it.
I have so many other people I could have mentioned that are there for me. Like, my brother for example. I know for a fact, an absolute fact, that he would take a bullet for me. If I ever needed a bodyguard I would trust him with my life. Not only is he a big guy, but if you piss him off… well, let’s just say you don’t wanna do that- trust me! He is my big brother and is the one person in the world that looks to protect me in every scenario. When he is around, I always feel safe no matter what the situation is.
He’s also changed so much over the years- for the better. He used to have a bit of a short fuse in certain situations, but now he is much more of a quiet giant. Don’t wake him, and he is a teddy bear. Cross him, and he will beat the crap out of you- no questions asked.
That’s a short list of the important people in my life at the moment. There are others, of course, but I wanted to write a blog not a book. Almost everyone that has ever meant anything to me in my life is someone that I still care for and I believe they care for me. In fact, of all the ex-girlfriends I ever had there is only one that I don’t keep in touch with, and that was her choice. She was the inspiration for a column I wrote called “The Woman that Broke Me” and I lived with her for about a year and a half back in 2000. Not a good year for me at the poker tables! Man, she was a beautiful, passionate, Korean girl and had some great qualities, but she was a bit too “spicy” for me! She had a hot temper and a mean jealous streak. I couldn’t possibly be with someone like that, especially with the way my life is today.
Truth is, I like being single, because with a great group of people like this around me… I never feel like I’m alone.
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May 29th: $40,000 No Limit Hold’em (Day 2)
May 30th: $40,000 No Limit Hold’em (Day 3)
May 31st: $40,000 No Limit Hold’em (Final Table)
June 1st: 5pm $10,000 7 Card Stud
June 2nd: $10,000 7 Card Stud (Day 2)
June 3rd: $10,000 7 Card Stud (Final Table)
June 4th: 5pm $10,000 Mixed Games
June 5th: 5pm $2500 Limit Hold’em (6 handed)
June 6th: 12pm $5000 No Limit Hold’em
June 7th: 5pm $10,000 Omaha 8
June 8th: $10,000 Omaha 8 (Day 2)
June 9th: 5pm $3000 HORSE
June 10th: 5pm $10,000 2-7 NL Lowball
June 11th: 5pm $2500 Stud 8/Omaha 8
June 12th: 12pm $1500 Limit Hold’em
June 13th: 5pm $10,000 NLH Heads Up
June 14th: 12pm $2500 PLO/PLH
June 15th: 5pm $10,000 Limit Hold’em
June 16th: $10,000 Limit Hold’em (Day 2)
June 17th: 12pm $5000 Pot Limit Omaha
June 18th: 5pm $10,000 Stud 8
June 19th: 12pm $2000 Limit Hold’em
June 20th: 5pm $10,000 Pot Limit Omaha
June 21st: 12pm $5000 No Limit Hold’em Shootout
June 21st: 5pm $2500 Mixed Games
June 22nd: DAY OFF
June 23rd: 12pm $10,000 Pot Limit Hold’em
June 23rd: 5pm $2500 Omaha 8
June 24: DAY OFF
June 25: DAY OFF
June 26th: $50,000 HORSE
June 27th: $50,000 HORSE (Day 2)
June 28th: $3000 Triple Chance No Limit Hold’em
June 28th: $1500 Stud 8
June 29th: $2500 2-7 Triple Draw
June 30th: $5000 No Limit Hold’em (6 Max)
July 5th: $10,000 No Limit Hold’em (Day 1C)
July 8th: $10,000 No Limit Hold’em (Day 2)
July 10th: $10,000 No Limit Hold’em (Day 3)
July 11th: $10,000 No Limit Hold’em (Day 4)
July 12th: $10,000 No Limit Hold’em (Day 5)
July 13th: $10,000 No LImit Hold’em (Day 6)
July 14th: Play down to 27
July 15th: Play down to 9
Max number of events played: 27
Breakdown by Game:
No Limit Hold’em 7
Mixed Game Events 6
Limit Hold’em 4
Omaha 8 or better 2
2-7 Lowball 2
Pot Limit Omaha 2
Stud 8 or better 2
Pot Limit Hold’em 1
7 Card Stud 1
Rebuy Tournaments: Frankly, rebuy events should have never been a part of a World Championship series event, and what is happening this year is simply fixing that mistake. With a player of the year award on the line, every player that enters an event should have an equal chance at acquiring points and winning a bracelet. Rebuys skew these types of events significantly in the top pros favor. Players like myself, who aren’t concerned with the amount it costs, will simply cash a higher percentage of the time by using an aggressive rebuy strategy.
Don’t get me wrong, I love rebuy events, but they do not belong at the World Series of Poker when bracelets are on the line. I was a strong supporter of this change, despite the fact that rebuy events give me an inherent edge in terms of WSOP success. It’s the right thing to do for poker, and I am genuinely able to separate what is best for me, and what is best for poker, and choose poker.
As for the PLO and 2-7 event, due to the nature of those games, players will be able to simulate rebuys with lamers. You can put your whole bankroll on the table all at once, or you can protect yourself by holding on to your lamers until you feel like you want to put the rest of your chips in play. The triple chance no limit hold’em event will also offer the same opportunity, giving it the feel of a rebuy event, but everyone in the tournament will have an equal number of them. It’s totally fair guys.
$40,000 Buy in: This should be a fun event and could make for good television. It kicks off the WSOP with a bang and the field should be short, but at the same time extremely tough with a compilation of the best online players facing off against the elite tournament players. I don’t think there will be too much dead money in this event and the bracelet will be well deserved. In fact, the skill set required to win this event, which likely will have less than 300 players will be FAR more significant than winning a 3000 player field $1500 event. With each starting table being so much tougher, and play remaining tough throughout, it will be the single most prestigious no limit hold’em event of the year in terms of bragging rights. You can’t fluke this bracelet.
November Nine: It worked so well the first time around, it only makes sense to do it again this year and make it even better. The ratings were WAY up for the quasi-live broadcast and the fan interest for the live event is unparalleled in WSOP history. Never have we seen anything remotely close to what we saw in the packed Penn and Teller theater. The atmosphere was electric!
Tournament Structures: These have not been released or finalized yet, but I want to share my thoughts anyway since this is a topic I’m very passionate about. Here is a simple fact, a fact that should make absolute sense to everyone: the higher the buy in, the more you pay in juice. The higher the buy in, the better the tournament structure should be.
This should be a given! So you shouldn’t be shocked or surprised to see that the $5000 no limit event has a much better structure than the $1500 event. That’s the way it should be across the board. The amount of play in any given tournament should be directly tied to the buy in. So, if you plan on playing the $1500 events, you should expect the structure to have a much faster pace than the $10,000 events.
One more thing: Since the smaller events require faster paced structures, when you devise a structure for the event you must cut corners and speed it up in certain spots. It makes a lot more sense to speed up play in the early stages so that when the big money is being played for, it doesn’t become a crap shoot. If it’s going to be a bit of a crap shoot at any point, then it should be in the early stages. For example, if you had to eliminate the 150-300 level from a $1500 event or the 1500-3000 limit from the event, which will have a more significant impact on the structure? Going from 100-200 to 200-400 is a big jump, but going from 1000-2000 and 2000-4000 at the late stages of an event would make it an absolute crap shoot. If you had to choose, it should seem obvious that omitting levels in the early stages is the best approach.
That is all… I’m going golfing.
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Wind I can handle. Cold wind I can’t. That’s why I moved away from Canada! I’d been golfing every single day at TPC Summerlin this week and went out there today, but after about 20 minutes realized- this is not fun. Instead, I’m home now and will be playing the Sunday Million on Poker Stars and watching the NHL All-Star game. I heard that the NHL awards ceremony will be in Las Vegas this June which I think is pretty cool. There is also a celebrity hockey game that will take place around the awards. It’s in mid-June, WSOP time, so I’ll have to see what events it runs against, because I’d really like to go.
Golf has been getting better for me. I figured it would take two weeks to get back to where I was, but it only took a week. My ball striking is as good as it’s ever been, but due to just getting back into it, my bread and butter, chipping and putting is a little off still.
It looks like the weather is going to be bad all week here in Vegas so I may take a trip with E-Dog over to San Diego to play a little. I love golf, just love it.
My bankroll building grind is going ridiculously well since graduating to the next level. In my first two sessions, here are my results:
Hands Played Result
61 $9.05
83 $9.43
That means I’m less than $7 away from playing in the $0.05-$0.10 game. if you want a shot at me on Poker Stars, you’ll usually find me on there at approximately 11:00pm PST on most nights.
Tomorrow is my first session with my personal trainer. I’m looking forward to that and am finally ready to make a commitment to working on my mind, body, and soul. I’m 34 years old now and want to be in great physical shape. Eating well just isn’t good enough. Exercise will make me stronger and better at everything I do.
One thing I’ve already cut down on immensely is alcohol. I love to have drinks with my buddies and hang out, but if you overdo stuff like that you simply can’t maintain a healthy lifestyle because it wears you out for the next day. I still have some wine and beer occasionally, I’m just a lot more mindful of how much I’m drinking and keep it reasonable. Something like 4 or 5 beers or 3 glasses of wine and I put the breaks on. I don’t exactly count my drinks, but I just make sure to spread things out a little bit. Hasn’t been a problem at all of late because I’m at home at night and relaxing with Mushu.
So I’ve got things in place to take care of my body, and the next step is to focus on my mind. To play your best poker you really need to have a clear mind. It’s more important than you can even imagine. It’s very difficult to focus on the game if you are distracted by things going on in your personal life. When you have things in your personal life that are weighing heavily on your mind, it’s important to deal with that before you can even consider playing high stakes poker.
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Money won: $15.26
Money won per hand: $0.019
Bets won per hand: 97% of one bet
Win Loss Record by Session: 13-4 76.4%
Hands Played/Result
69 +$1.37
76 +$4.92
20 -$3.25
25 -$2.60
61 +$2.20
18 +$0.67
25 +$0.24
64 +$1.78
46 +$0.93
76 -$3.25
43 +$1.30
33 +$0.30
47 -$0.30
65 +$2.71
60 +$2.92
49 +$4.39
9 +$0.93
This is actually way more fun than I thought it was going to be. As the idea has evolved a little bit, I’ve made some adjustments to my rules list. Here are my rules as they stand now, but they may change even more as the competition gets more competitive. I have no way of knowing when exactly that will happen:
1. I won’t move up in limits unless I have 500 big blinds for that limit. I’m starting at $0.01-$0.02 with a $10 bankroll.
2. When possible, my buy in amount will allow me 5 buy ins at that limit. For example, if I have $5 left, my buy in for the game will be $1. I’ll continue to do that until I dip below the min buy in.
3. I will play only NL cash games. I’ll try to play full ring games as much as possible.
4. NEW: If I double my bankroll in a session I’ll quit on my blind to help avoid risking too high a percentage of my bankroll in any one hand.
5. NEW: At about the $5-$10 limit I may decide to increase the number of big blinds required to move up in limits. 500 BB’s is plenty for the micro games, but could be rather short for the higher limit games with better opponents. I’ll base my decision on when to do that at my discretion.
6. NEW: I may also lower the buy in amount for the higher limit games from 1/5th of my bankroll per session to 1/10th of my bankroll per session. Again, I’ll make that decision when the time comes.
7. NEW: When the amount needed to reach the goal is less than the 1/5th of the bankroll buy in, the buy in will be equal to the amount needed to reach the goal. Example: If 1/5th of the bankroll is $4.50 but you only need $2.50 to reach the goal, the buy in for the next session will be $2.50.
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Some observations from the micro limit games: if you can’t beat that game you have a lot to learn! I attempted probably three bluffs, one a semi-bluff with a pair, straight and flush draw, but outside of that it was just playing a decent number of hands and looking to get paid off. Playing limit hold’em for years is a great training ground for micro limit games in terms of understanding how to maximize value on your monster hands when you get them. As in, when to smooth call and let others in, when to set the trap and for how long, etc.
It’s a super easy game to beat using a typical small ball approach. Meaning min-raising your entire range, lowering your continuation betting percentage significantly, and playing lots of hands with big pay off potential. The opponents are ideal for small ball, because their biggest weakness is generally calling big bets when better players would fold their hand.
The one big adjustment I guess I made was in terms of bet sizing. I made it rather obvious to any good player what my hand strength was, based on my bet size. The bigger my bet, the bigger my hand. In fact, I figured the bet size was generally so insignificant to my opponents, they were either calling or folding regardless, that I decided to over bet lots of pots looking to get greedy. For example, if a pot had $0.32 in it I might just bet $0.52 if I felt like my opponent was going to call. All of the videos from these sessions will be available at www.pokervt.com soon.
PokerStars doesn’t have a $0.02-$0.04 game which is why I needed to win 750 big blinds instead of 500 big blinds in order to get to the next level. The next level I’ll be trying is $0.02-0.05 with $25.26 and looking to run that up to $50 before moving to the next level. My first buy in will be $5.05 (1/5th of my bankroll) and I’ll likely start that process tomorrow evening. Come join me if you’d like. The waiting list usually fills up pretty quickly, but I’ve been playing at around 11:00pm PST most nights and will join an already existing game with about 6 or 7 players already seated.
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LIFE: My life is just incredible and I know how lucky I am. Believe me, I know and respect how blessed I am and am very thankful for the freedom I have in my life. Lately I’ve been so happy and it’s because I’m living the life I always wanted. Today was just an awesome day all around. Aside from reaching level two of my personal challenge, I did the following:
I met Christian over at TPC Summerlin in the afternoon to work on my swing path which has been a bit over the top. I’d been working on a drill to get me inside to out, but it just wasn’t happening! I was getting very frustrated and so was Christian. I could hit all of my clubs well, with the exception of my wedges. Driver and 3-wood, no problem with my swing thought being hit it out to the right, but the wedge was just a disaster and that’s my money club!
I was so upset that we couldn’t get it figured out, so we decided to putt for a bit. That went ok, it’s been a while and I’m a bit rusty, but I’m not worried about my putting. If I play everyday, my putting is pretty good, especially for a high handicapper like me. Then we went to chip for a bit, and I decided to take that pesky wedge from about 40 yards and see how that went. Seemed to be going well… so, I backed up and just went for it. Ooh baby! I was hitting them well and was like a kid in a candy store- so happy!
I figured out what the problem was, and it was my set up. My right shoulder needed to be adjusted and once I did that, I didn’t need to think about anything to get my path from inside to out. Wow, like an epiphany. We scrambled a couple holes to see how it worked out on the course and it wasn’t too bad.
After that I putted on the practice green when I felt like I saw a ghost. Coming up #9 was a guy that I figured would be hiding out. Nope, out there playing in a foursome, not a care in the world. I didn’t say anything to him as he drove by in his cart, but apparently he’s been at the course the last few days. I don’t even know that I need to mention his name, if you put two and two together this is an easy one. A lot of online poker players would be interested to know that he’s out there. One of his buddies called him NioNio, another called him Paddle something, etc. His golf bag had about 60 different aliases on it and he seemed to know which way every putt broke without even bothering to read the green. He never missed one putt ever and he used a different putter every couple holes, it almost felt like he was cheating!
LOL, OK, that was just me having a little fun, but yeah, I did see that guy there. It was just so odd to me.
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After golf I came home, ran two miles and did a solid workout. It feels so good! I don’t have my personal trainer yet, I think she comes on Monday, but I couldn’t wait. Tomorrow, more work on the golf game…
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Today was an exciting day because Patty told me my personal trainer should be starting on Wednesday and I can’t wait. They’ve already hooked me up with this website for meal planning that is like the coolest thing I’ve ever seen in my life. Check out the demo: vitabot. I spent the morning fiddling with the software and coming up with different meal plans- so fun!
After that I practiced 8-ball for about an hour or so and then my golf coach Christian came buy to work on the swing with me. After hitting a few Jenn stopped by to raid my fridge. My mother knows how to cook and Jenn can freaking eat! Wow, very impressive, lol.
After she left it was back to working on the golf swing. We are just starting back up again but things look promising so far. Right now I’m working on one specific thing mostly, and that’s making sure I’m coming in to out on the downswing for a nice natural draw. It keeps me from coming over the top and pulling the ball. We worked on that, as well as making sure I don’t take the club back too far inside. When that happens I tend to move my hips too early and then everything falls apart after that (loss of power, missing the sweet spot, etc.)
After Christian left I practiced pool for another hour or so before heading upstairs to run for a bit. I ran two miles, and then decided to work out my arms for a bit. I have the scrawniest arms in the world, but that’s going to change. By this year’s WSOP I am absolutely certain that I will be in the best physical shape of my life and it won’t even be close.
After my workout I vegged on the couch with Mushu and watched Glory, a 1989 film starring Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman, and Mathew Broderick. It was ok, nothing special.
I am back at the $0.01-$0.02 grind on PokerStars and it’s going super good. Up $3 already woot!
I have some other random thoughts to add, but I’ll save em’. I feel so free right now after reducing my responsibilities. I feel like I finally have the time to work on me and I LOVE it. I really just love my life!
Tomorrow we golf…then the day after that, workout and golf… then golf… then workout and golf… repeat. Yeah!!!
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132771032 $215
132775858 $109 R
132769135 $215
132767618 $530
132775555 $215
132776005 $109
132775556 $109
132775557 $215 R
Since I’ll be mutli-tabling, apologies in advance but my observer chat will remain off.]]>
-her dad steals her money and disappears from her life
-she needs money, and fast, so she decides to sell her body for tuition
-she starts a website with pics, and the hits just go nuts
-it now becomes a frenzy when the media gets a hold of the story and the bids reach over the million dollar mark
-meanwhile, at school she meets a young handsome boy. Problem with him, he’s a broke ass student that works overtime as a tutor (her tutor)
-he’s sweet to her and doesn’t judge her like the other kids in school do
-she starts e-mailing with her prospective sickos. This is where the movie could get really fun with the greasy old men she meets LOL
-she starts having second thoughts about doing it
-the boy at school tells her money isn’t everything and she doesn’t need to do it
-finally she decides not to go through with it after accepting the deposit from said sicko
-she tells sicko that she’s changed her mind. Sicko doesn’t like that.
-Sicko tries to rape her and get his money’s worth.
-Dunt da da daaaa boy comes to the rescue and punches out sicko
-boy comforts girl, girl cries and hugs boy
I just came up with that on a whim, but imagine how twisted that real life movie could be? Hey, I’d watch it… oh and no, that is NOT the movie idea that I spoke to the guys about the other night. The movie idea I thought of about a year ago is like a cross between American Psycho, Thank You for Not Smoking, and an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm where Larry’s mother dies. I’m not gonna share that one, but I think it’s a great idea.
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TV: I just finished watching Lost season 4 and it was so short, the writer strike caused that I assume. My next box set I’m unsure about. I hear Dexter is must see TV, but I have a few ollder box sets I haven’t seen yet. Nip/Tuck’s new season just started, as did Lost, but II’m not sure I like the idea of waiting week to week to see it. I have them on my Tivo along with the new 24 nonetheless. I might get into the L Word season one, I have a friend who said it’s incredible. Or, I didn’t see Rome season two yet and might go in that direction.
Television is just so good these days. Watching as much TV as I do, though, I rarely watch feature length films anymore.
Golf: As soon as I get back home the plan is to spend two solid weeks practicing and playing golf so I can get my game back to where it once was. Miraculously my putting doesn’t seem to have been affected too much, but everything else has. Right now we are just working on hitting the ball, and not even concerned with power and having the ball land softer. Hopefully after a week or so I can start working on getting my power back a bit. It’s a bit embarrasing how far I’m driving the ball right now.
Personal Trainer: On that note, I’m finally going to do it! Patty has set up a personal trainer for me to come to the house and work out three times a week. My goal is to work on golf specific muscles obviously, but also to be the strongest I’ve everr been by WSOP time. That won’t take much, lol, I’ve never been strong… ever.
Blogging: I’m enjoying it! Now that I’ve cut back on some of the other things I do, I’ve found blogging enjoyable again so I’ll keep doing it when I feel up to it. As you can see, it won’t necessarily be poker blogging, but I’m sure I’ll throw some poker in here too every once and a while.
$0.01-$0.02 Poker: Speaking of poker, winning $15 at $0.01-$0.02 takes a while, sheesh. I’ve played 556 hands and have won $4.61 so far. I guess it’s going to take me about another 1000 hands to move up to the next level. By the way, you can always follow that yourself at Full Contact Poker in the Daniel’s Blog section. Here is the link to the thread if you are curious: Updates
Oh, and if you are interested in seeing a pic of the virgin and read about the story, it won’t be hard to find! I found it here: http://www.scandalist.com/2008-10-13/exclusive-girl-selling-her-virginity-will-get-up-to-38-million/]]>
I’m in New York, it’s freezing, my room at the Soho Grand is just awful. Smallest hotel room I’ve ever stayed in, lights are too dim, pillows suck, the blind is literally like a brown, shaggy Grandma blanket draped over the window with holes in it so it wakes you up with the sun. The room service menu is useless to me. That’s the end of my complaining though…
Today we did on camera bits for the APPT’s second season. They went smoothly, and after that, my co-host Paul Khoury and I grabbed dinner along with his brother. We went to Pure, the place where Carrie meets “the cute waiter” on Sex and the City. Right off the bat I knew I’d like the place. Aside from it being a Vegan restaurant the decor and atmosphere was literally perfect. You just felt good about being there.
As for the food- to die for. Neither Paul or his brother are vegans but they got stuffed on the food and absolutely loved it. The wine the waitress picked out was equally divine. I looked at that menu with a glee and finally decided on this:
-A Caesar Salad with Chocolate Balsamic dressing. How cool is that?
-A Vegan Lasagna
-A three dark chocolate dessert with ice cream, etc.
-Excellent red wine from the south of France
The whole meal was just incredible. Many people misunderstand the whole idea behind vegan foods. Taste isn’t sacrificed at all, in fact, you could say that taste is enhanced and both Paul and his brother agreed with that sentiment. The meal was great and the company couldn’t be any better.
We had great conversation. They are twins, both Leos, which made things really easy for me because I generally get along with other Leos. It was the first time I’d met Paul’s brother but I really thought he was a cool dude. I don’t often have good impressions of people that quickly, but Paul and his brother are good, smart peeps. We talked about all kinds of random things. The difference between confidence and arrogance (great conversation), movies, my movie idea (which they both really liked), food, women, etc. I didn’t expect to have as good of a time as I did.
Just when we were getting close to wrapping up dinner, a couple sat at a table near us. Not sure if they were a couple exactly, but it was a good looking light skinned black guy with a trimmed beard, well built and very trendy looking sitting with a beautiful blond woman, dressed in wite, with a bright smile and an aura about her. When I looked over at her, she looked very familiar to me. Very familiar. She said hello to me, and I said hi back, almost expecting to have met her before. I finally said, “You look really familiar.” Without skipping a beat she said, “I get that a lot, our souls know each other for sure,” or something like that, I’m not saying it right.
She was 45, but certainly didn’t look her age. She was gorgeous. She looked soooo much like Kimber from Nip/Tuck with a better smile. I was drawn to her without knowing her, not sexually necessarily but something about her was very appealing to me. She asked me where I was from, what I did for a living, etc. She told me she was from LA and he was from San Diego and that she was in the business of “waking people up.”
I won’t get into too much of the technical side of what she explained to me, but after a while she came over to give me her number and said that we’d be friends forever. That her best friend is someone she randomly met in a restaurant and she knew immediately that their “energy was supposed to meet.”
She had the vibe of one of those new age “kinda people” but very well spoken, intelligent, bright, and not weird at all. She told me I was a bright light and had awesome energy. She said it was refreshing to meet someone like me who isn’t broken or has major problems, instead, that I was a positive, shining light of good energy….or something like that. OK, kinda weird I guess, but like I said, the whole thing was weird to me but she had me very interested.
If she knew who I was, then none of what she said has much merit. I think she might have… I’m still not sure. She randomly knew I was 34, but she also knew something about my personal life that I’ve been going through recently that she couldn’t possibly know. Something that might darken my spirit and cause me pain. She could never know the things she told me- never.
I found myself in awe to be honest. Although, the feel of it did remind me a little bit of the whole Scientology type stuff that Kimber would spew on Nip/Tuck. Nonetheless, I was curious. She came over to my table and gave me her number. She grabbed my arm and it felt like a bit of a warm electric shock. I know, I sound totally insane right now, but I swear, when she grabbed my arm it felt like a jolt of something shot through my whole body. Super bizarre, and I told her that. I told her I was a bit freaked out, but not in a bad way.
As we were leaving I went over to talk to her. She told me a bit more about what she does and about her views of spirituality, etc. I was a bit taken aback, not exactly in agreement with all that she’d said, but the core principals of what she believed were very pure and in agreement with my beliefs. She asked for my number, and I decided to give it to her.
I looked at the card she gave me with her company name on it and noticed that her name was Angel. She looked a bit like what I’d think an Angel might look like. She again told me how powerful my energy was and how good of a person I was. That my energy was positive, etc and how great it was for her to be around it. I know, it all sounds like hippy stuff at a random vegan restaurant, but I’m telling you, she knew about things I was going through that she could not have known even if she was a stalker fan who religiously read my blog. She had me saying to myself, “wow.”
If she knew who I was beforehand… then she is some kind of con-artist looking to get something from me. Otherwise, the whole experience was surreal and has me really curious. From the first moment I saw her, I genuinely felt like I’d known her years. She said that we have known each other for years, “Not here” but our spirits were connected.
She didn’t act like a freak. She didn’t act like a weirdo. She didn’t ask me for anything, and was never pushy. She explained to me what he did, and he was a kind of energy healer. Both seemed like super cool people. I didn’t really want to leave. Paul and his brother got similarly good vibes from them.
The timing of the meeting is just so incredibly bizarre to me. Totally random, but I woke up today feeling very different than I have in quite a while. Last night I took care of some very important business and it left me feeling totally relieved and cleansed. I felt like the weight in my chest that kept me from breathing was gone. I felt like the clutter that was constantly occupying my brain was no longer there.
Whether I ever see that woman again in my life, I’m certain I will never forget her. Whatever it is this whole meeting was about, it had a resounding impact on me that made me smile and feel energized.
I just read all of what I wrote, and am convinced you are probably going to think I’m crazy. I probably would too if I read a blog like this one. I’m not erasing it, though, because it was too powerful an occurrence to simply ignore.
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Speaking of health, this is kind of random but a discussion came up today about food and abusive parenting. Our society sees beating children as being abusive behavior, but what about feeding them poison to the point where they reach obesity at an early age? Isn’t that a warning sign of a potentially unfit parent?
A child doesn’t know any better, but a parent should. Allowing a child to eat junk food, cake, burgers and soda without providing nutritional food for their children is something that in may cultures is seen as child abuse. These children will be more likely to get diabetes and all in all will have a much harder time in life, and frankly, the majority of the blame should rest on the parents allowing their children to kill themselves.
Where was I- New York. Looking forward to getting some good food there and maybe hanging out one or two nights but my days are packed solid so it’s unlikely that I’ll have much time. When I do these shows it’s an intense process and the days are extremely long. I take what I do seriously, meaning watching the rough cuts of the shows, taking notes, and essentially just doing my homework which usually adds up to about 3-4 hours a night after doing voice overs in preparation for the next day. The feeling of completing a week of work like that is addicting. It’s exhausting, draining, and overall mentally taxing, but being done and seeing the finished product is very rewarding. I was extremely proud of my contribution to the APPT’s first season and plan on doing an even better job on season two along with my partner for the shows, Paul Khoury.
After New York I’m looking forward to a solid month of golf and returning to the form I was in last year. Should take me about two weeks of steady practice to get back on form. Other than that, I’m going to try to get back into shape after eating junk in the Bahamas, going to watch lots of TV, play some pool, and just hang out with my close friends.
My next poker tournament won’t be until late February… in the meantime I’m going to continue grinding it out on PokerStars in the $0.01-$0.02 game until I can reach the $25 mark and move to the $0.02-$0.05 cent game. That’s about the only poker I’ll be playing for a month. ]]>
I bought into the High Roller event and really didn’t feel like playing poker after sleeping for 13 hours straight. I played anyway, and decided to be a bit of a nutcase throughout the day and play like a maniac. I was yapping like crazy, and actually felt a little bit crazy all day. Almost like I was on something. Never done any illegal drug in my life, but I imagine I felt like I was on speed or something. Player uber weird all day, but then happened to do pretty well until I got unlucky one hand:
Humberto made it 1200 from under the gun, Booosted J called, and I re-raised 4000 more from the big blind with KK. Humberto reraised 20,000, and I moved in. He thought for a while, and finally called with AK. He hit the Ace and I was back down to 50k.
I climbed back from that hit, had a local beer, paid no attention, but miraculously played some hands extremely well. I seem to do well at locations where the food situation is just horrid for me. I felt like I was going to pass out most of the day because the menu is so limited for me I rarely eat anything. I drank the beer for the calories to try and keep me alive!
So now I’m down to 10 players somehow with blinds at 3000-6000 with a 500 ante. Humberto, again, raises the button to 18,000 this time. I re-raise an additional 32,000. He thinks for a lifetime and then says, “I think I have the best hand.” Finally he moves in and we play a 300,000 pot which would put me among the chip leaders. I show AJ, he shows A9. Bye me.
I played 14 hours for nothing and didn’t want to be there after the first hour! Oh well, whaaddya gonna do I guess.
I’m a bit sick of playing poker at the moment. My head is a little foggy and my heart just really isn’t into it at the moment. Despite all that, my instincts have been just incredible. I’d describe two weird hands I played today, but I’m afraid you just wouldn’t believe me anyway. I was doing loads of yapping and just being myself for the most part. Well, myself in a super goofy mood. Here’s a bit of proof www.pokerstars.tv
So tomorrow I’ll be doing some commentary for EPT Live. I’ll also be doing a bit of teaching at the PCA bootcamp. Also, a major change to my plan. Straight from Bahamas, I’ll be going to New York for a few days before heading back to Vegas. I’ll need to find a room with wireless internet in my room because this piece of junk Sony Vaio laptop that I bought with Vista on it doesn’t even have an ethernet port on it. What an absolute piece of junk. I paid two grand for it, but there is something I just need to do. Patty has asked me to give it to her rather than do what I plan to do, but I’m possessed by this moment and can’t get it out of my head.
I’m going to take the laptop back to the Best Buy where I bought it. Talk to the guy who sold it to me. Explain that the computer is junk. As soon as he says it’s working fine, I’ll reply with, “No, no Vista sucks and this computer is NOT working fine. Look!” Then I will smash the computer on the ground. stomp on it repeatedly and pull out my mini-sledge hammer to finish the job. Before I do this, though, I want to make sure I can’t get in any trouble with the law. I’d suck at jail, dudes would totally make me their bitch and contrary to popular belief I’m really just not into dudes. Especially jail dudes! Meh, I might end up just giving it to Patty after all and go back to XP or even buy a dreaded Mac… I’ve been a Mac hater forever, but too many people are telling me I need to switch over. We shall see.
I feel like I’m slightly crazy at the moment. Not like psychotic or anything like that, I’m just in a really bizarre place. It’s a phase, not a new one exactly, just a weird one that I’ll snap out of soon I’m sure. I get annoyed pretty easily by silly things. For example, if an ante is supposed to be 75 and it’s 50 I just lose it. When the lady tells me a banana is $3 I kind of want to punch her in the face! Who charges $3 for a freaking banana??? That’s just dirty. Makes me seriously want to go to the market, buy a whole crate of bananas and sit outside the shops selling bananas for $1 a piece and screw them out of business! So you see, that’s the kind of crazy I am right now. I asked a four of the staff in the restaurant here if they could make me a Falafel. Not one had even the slightest clue what I was talking about. Then I asked if they knew what Pita bread was. I swear, I asked 6 Bohemian locals this question and the best answer I got, was, get this, “Is that like the bread with peanut butter in it?” HA!
I have no idea what my plan is for the rest of the week. On a whim, I seriously might go buy some bananas and bottled water, get a sign, and sit in the poker room selling them at a discount. That actually sounds like fun! (Like I said, I’m a bit crazy at the moment)
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