Not much happened, so this should be a short entry. I was at a table where I recognized just one player, an internet kid named MattG who also won a bracelet at the WSOP this year. After being at the table for a bit I realized that BodogAri, a name I’d actually heard of was sitting on my right. To my left, another internet player who came up with one of the best lines I’ve ever hear. He’s a 24 year old kid, and for fun, I decided to ask him if he was married. His response, “I’m too good lookin’ to get married.” Classic. I spent most of the day pretty bored and not focusing too hard. The structure was slow moving, which is good at some tables, but this table was pretty nitty overall so it was tough to get any chips at it. On breaks I did some fun interviews, one on the WPT site and then another goofy one with Lizzy Harrison. She definitely caught me off guard, put it to you that way. As for cards, I got AK once, QQ once, and 10-10 once. No monster hands really to speak of. I’d rate my play between a C+ and a B- because I didn’t make any big mistakes, or even medium mistakes at all, but to beat the kind of table I was at today it would have required a level of focus that wasn’t available to me due to my feeling a bit under the weather and having not played a lot of poker recently. I was lucky, in a sense that the conversation was good. BodogAri is a good Jewish boy and he taught me all about being kosher, respecting the Sabbath, and about his travels across the world due to his father being a Rabbi. I stayed right around even the whole day before flopping a set in the last level and losing to a straight. BodogAri raised to 600, I called with 44 and it was four way action to a flop of 7-5-4 rainbow. I bet 1500 and the big blind called. The turn was an 8, an ugly card and it went check-check. The river brought a 10 and the big blind led out for 2500 and despite feeling like I had to be beat here, I decided to call thinking that if my opponent had the 6 he probably would have bet the turn. He showed 6-4 and that had me down to 20,000 and I anted down to 17.625 to end the night. No worries, though, the blinds are still very small tomorrow, just 200-400 so I could have 8000 left and feel comfortable. I did play one other hand of interest against a guy who limped under the gun, a player who made it 800, and I called with Ad 7d. The flop was 4d 5d 6c. They checked to me and I bet 1000. The limper called. The turn was the 3c and the limper bet 2500 and thoughts of, “Ding, ding, ding, freeroll” danced in my head. I figured he had to have the 7 so I wanted get max value for my freeroll and moved all in for 24,000. He thought about it for a bit and finally folded. It’s an interesting hand, in that, if he had a 7 and folded, that’s not a bad result. If he had a 7 and called, that’s cool too. I spoke with MattG about the hand at the end of the night and actually said that if he had a 7 for the straight I’d prefer it if he called to take a free shot at winning an extra 23k when I hit my flush. He argued that it’s better to get him to fold a 7 and pick up the dead money. I argued back, that obviously in a cash game that’s absolutely true, but in a tournament, where I’m going to be at, say, 32k instead of 28k if he folds, I’d much rather take the free shot to exceed the 50k mark as it would free me up to be even more active. It’s an interesting situation, and I stand by the fact that I’d rather him call me for all of my chips there with me freerolling than stealing half the pot away from him. It was a tough table to double up at, and this was an excellent opportunity. I was sick that he folded, I thought for sure he had the 7… oh well.]]>
My back is broken again. A combination of drinking, sleeping on the couch, and attempting to do push ups all lead to me ripping a muscle in my back again. The same muscle I ripped in January that had me out of commission for months. That means, all I can really do is chip and putt. I’m not going to let it get worse like I did last time. Ice it down, do nothing physical, and focus on one of my other passions outside of poker… fantasy sports.
I don’t do fantasy drafts, that’s just way too boring. Instead we do it auction style so that you can really mess with people and skill players a larger role. For example, I drove up Frank Gore’s price by about 15% because I picked up a monster tell on my opponent that he’s be willing to spend 40% of his bankroll on him. He did.
The set up for the pool was pretty simple: everyone gets 200 “fantasy dollars” to complete a 15 man roster:
QB
RB
RB
WR
WR
TE
RB/WR FLEX
K
DEF
RES
RES
RES
RES
RES
RES
These guys, most of them anyway didn’t seem to have any experience with auction drafts and simply bid when they liked a guy and didn’t when they had no interest. They also just went down the line and nominated the top backs right off the bat. That makes things difficult, especially for me and my main strategy. My goal was to get 3 top 10 RB’s and fill the rest of the team with what I could. However, since the big backs went so early, that elevated the price of the second tier backs.
My first pick was WR James Hardy, BUF. I only spent $3 on the 6′ 7″ rookie who is the kind of guy who stands in the end zone and catches balls. He’ll get loads of looks in the red zone right off the bat since Buffalo’s other wides are short.
My second grab wasn’t a guy I even had on my list. I planned on having a weaker QB like Jay Cutler, DEN on the cheap, but I drove up the price on QB Peyton Manning, IND. getting him for $42. ESPN magazine had him rated to go for that much in a 12 team league, so it’s a very slight bargain, depending, of course, on his injury.
RB’s were getting scarce so I knew that’s where I had to go next and spend my wad. I spent $49 on RB Marshawn Lynch, BUF. and $45 on Ryan Grant, GB. respectively. I’m a Buffalo Bills fan and have never had a player on that team in a fantasy draft, but now I have two. Lynch is a solid choice, and I think new Green Bay QB Arron Rodgers is going to depend on Grant a lot in the red zone.
I had enough money for one more splash but RB’s were scarce. I had WR Andre Johnson, HOU. rated to go for about $44 so when he was available at $34 I jumped on the chance. He is a top 5 WR according to ESPN the magazine.
That freed me up to bid on TE Antonio Gates, SD. who wasn’t on my list either. I wanted Chris Cooley cheaper, but nabbed Gates for $15.
That left me almost broke but I had my nucleus in place. I could now bid a max of $4 on any one player. Before doing that I filled in my defense for $1 going with Seattle Seahawks which ESPN had rated at #2.
Then WR Ted Ginn, JR, MIA. got nominated for a buck and I went all in for 4 desperately need a wide. I then added K Josh Scobee, JAX to fill out my roster. I picked up the rest of my team for $1 each:
QB: Peyton Manning, IND.
RB: Marshawn Lynch, BUF.
RB: Ryan Grant, GB.
WR: Andre Johnson, HOU.
WR: Ted Ginn JR. MIA.
TE: Antonio Gates, SD.
FLEX: WR Anthony Gonzalez, IND. (A good combo with Manning and will play)
K: Josh Scobee, JAX.
DEF: SEATTLE SEAHAWKS
RES: WR James Hardy, BUF.
RES: WR Isaac Bruce, SF. (New team, old coach)
RES: WR Ronald Curry, OAK. (a sleeper)
RES: WR Sidney Rice, MIN. (a rookie)
RES: RB Ray Rice, BAL. (a rookie who will start until McGahee comes back)
RES: RB Chris Perry, CIN. (may also start in Cincy)
It’s a 10 team league that includes PotOdds3, Gavin Smith, Erick Lindgren, and “Team Phil Hellmuth which drafted the oldest team by a long shot. I’ve got all kinds of bets going with everyone so it should be like a 50k investment at least.
****************************************************************
Today is likely my last day in Vegas before heading to LA in preparation for the bike. I was going to drive and bring my clubs, but now that my back is out of commission I think I’ll just fly. I’m going early to record my new radio show with host Scott Huff and Justin Bonomo. This show will be different than what you are used to at PokerRoad, in that, it is all strategy, all the time. Mostly we’ll focus on tournament strategy, but we won’t be limited to anything. It should be a solid show with two unique perspectives on how to play big MTT’s… did I just use MTT’s? Wow, this online jargon stuff is starting to rub off. Never thought I’d ever use the term MTT’s but then again, I never thought I’d understand what the heck an ROI was either.
As for the Bike, I’m looking forward to it. I can’t wait to play some poker again! It feels like it’s been ages!
]]>
Vacation time is almost over and then it’s back to being a roadie, traveling Europe, living out of a suitcase, and staying in strange beds. Sometimes I think about just hiding out on some remote island… with a golf course, of course 🙂
I’ll be getting in as much golf as possible this week because after that, well, I may not get a chance to hit a golf ball for 6 weeks or so. I hate it. I hate it, I hate it, I hate it, but the schedule is so jammed that I don’t have a lot of options. Here is a rough outline:
Next week I’ll be in LA for the Bike, but will also be recording some radio with Justin Bonomo and Scott Huff for a new strategy related radio show on Poker Road. When that’s done I’ll actually play some poker, at the Bike for the WPT event there.
Immediately after that, it looks like I’ll be flying to Sweden for two days to shoot a commercial. As soon as I get back my week is packed with loads of PokerVT work. We will be adding a ton more content and that will eat up my whole week for the most part. Plus I have some other video related things I promised I’d do.
September 7th I’m off to Barcelona for an awards show and of course the EPT Barcelona, so far my favorite vacation spot in Europe. When that’s over, I head over to London. There is a few days there where I could do whatever I want it seems, and golf is always on the mind. However, I won’t golf without my caddie/coach Christian because that just isn’t a good idea for me. I revert back to bad habits that he needs to fix later. Unless I fly him out too, that’s an option. If I do that, I may just find a place to golf somewhere for three days or so in Europe. Not sure where.
All during this I’ll also be playing in WCOOP events at PokerStars. A few cool events I’m looking forward to are the 25k heads up NL, the 10k HORSE, the smaller mixed game event, and the 5k main event. Being in Europe, the tournaments will cause me to have an odd sleep schedule, but hey, you gotta do what you gotta do.
September 19th I’m at the WSOP Europe in London. Four events this year and I’ll likely play them all. As soon as that’s over, I’ll be playing the EPT London not too far away. There is also a $20k buy in high rollers event there on Oct 5-6 that I’m not committed to yet, but will likely play.
The schedule gets a bit fuzzy after that. Dewey and Doyle are hosting another High Stakes Golf tournament on the 8th I believe so I’d have to fly straight to Florida and play that… having not hit a golf ball in forever. I love golf tournaments more than I do poker tournaments, but it’s going to be tough to do well there.
Not too far after that the WPT Niagara Falls happens and I’d likely go from Florida straight to Toronto for that. Then on October 20th you have the WPT Bellagio event. That’s about six weeks or so on the road without being at home. I’ll be away from Mushu, I HATE being away from home that long, and just know that if I go through all of this madness I’m going to be miserable.
All of this, and of course my commitments to The Real Deal show at the Venetian which should also start sometime in October.
WPT Foxwoods is in early November and then we have the Bellagio in mid-December. There is also a chance that I’d have something to do in Vancouver at the end of November.
I can’t do all this! I want out, I’ll go batty!!! I’ve got a day or two to make some very important decisions and I’m not happy about it.
My life is ALMOST perfect… it’s just this late year stretch that I dread every year. May is a great month as is August… September, October I could do without.
I just don’t see myself doing all of this traveling for too much longer. I love my life in Vegas and fill my days with my kind of fun… Golf, dinner with the boys, sake and beer, pool, Golden Tee, and whatever else that idiot Ted wants to play. Hi Idiot! I know you are reading this. You are the worst teammate ever by the way. We scramble for big money and you go AWOL you choker. Then when we play for peanuts you turn into Anthony Kim and start sticking your irons and bombing putts. If you had more money I’d tell everyone, “I’m busy” and would just pay my bills by gambling against you and follow you across the globe. See you at 1:00pm, bring lots of money.
]]>
I always feel a bit of pressure when teaching poker. Not that I question my ability to help people improve their game, but more so because I take it very seriously and really want each and everyone attending to feel like the trip was worth it- and more.
The weekend was supposed to be an intimate group of 12 people, both PokerStars qualifiers and those who paid their way to the weekend, but one of the participants wasn’t able to get away from work so we had 11.
They all arrived at my house around 7:00pm Friday night for BBQ, drinks, and a little welcoming party. I showed them around the house, the golf simulator upstairs was a big hit as was the Jack Niicklaus designed green in the backyard. While I personally don’t eat the BBQ, I wasn’t about to impose my eating habits on the others so there was all kinds of flesh available for consumption.
I spent most of the night just trying to get to know a little bit about each of them as I floated from inside the house to the backyard and back. Most people ate outside and some very casual Q & A started out there. After that, I decided to show them my collection of bracelets. The four WSOP bracelets and the two gorgeous bracelets I won on the WPT at the Bellagio and the Borgata. The Bellagio bracelet getting the award for most beautiful.
After a while people started gathering in the living room and I threw on some High Stakes Poker. Again, lessons didn’t officially start till Saturday but I watched with them and analyzed most of the hands. At about 10:15pm the driver came by and picked them all up.
[/b]Saturday:[/b]
We started the day off at 10:00am at the Venetian Poker Lounge. Breakfast was served and we got right into the lessons. The set up was me at the front of the room with all of them in a semi-circle surrounding me. They all had note pads handy and I just rattled off lessons regarding pre-flop play and flop play, allowing for questions and interaction along the way. We had a little break for lunch and then we headed over to the poker room at 2:00pm for some live hand analysis.
This was a valuable opportunity for me to watch them in action at one 11 handed table. I gave them tons of info on pre and post flop play so now I’d be able to see who was paying attention! The process went like this: they would play a hand to the end and then we’d turn everyone’s cards up. I would analyze and critique the play and we’d move on to another hand. We did this for two hours and used the following format:
They started with 10,000 in chips and played with 25-50 blinds for about an hour. 50-100 for about 30 minutes and finally, 100-200 with a 25 ante to help simulate some tournament scenarios.
At 4:00pm we went back into the lounge and covered turn and river play. That took us to 6:00pm and a much needed break. Everyone has a pimped out room at Palazzo and I assume took a nap for two hours until dinner at 8:00pm.
The plan for dinner was just to have a good time. We ate at, I think Moreno’s or something like that, I forget the name of it. It’s a steakhouse at Palazzo. Luckily we ordered ahead and they took care of me with an awesome celery based soup. a watermelon salad (awesome) and a stir fry that was a bit too salty.
After dinner, at about 10:30pm, we all headed over to Tao Beach, a night club that is so much better than Tao. Tao is often overcrowded but Tao Beach was just perfect. I invited my boys along too and they brought their wives/girlfriends along. We also, as is the norm at most clubs, had a group of random girls join our booth and hog all the booze! They were actually a good addition to the atmosphere of the booth and I was ok with it.
Champagne and vodka was flowing pretty hard and everyone let loose and seemed to have an awesome time. I even decided to show everyone a few of my new moves for an upcoming project called, “DanceVT” where I plan on teaching white people how to dance. Kidding of course 🙂 In all seriousness, though, I’d gladly do a dance off with the likes of Phil Hellmuth any day.
The partying went pretty late, but I knew that I needed to be prepared for the next days lessons so I left at about 2:30am while many people stayed.
Sunday:
We started things off on Sunday a bit later, right around noon. The play for this day was to rip apart some hands from High Stakes Poker and also profile some of the players. Specifically, I gave them tips on beating Hellmuth and Matusow and gave them some tells on Jamie Gold. I also showed them why I never, ever make a mistake against Sammy Farha. If you watch HSP over the years, you’ll see that every time Sammy has me beat- I fold. When he is bluffing, I either raise him with nothing or call him with the best hand.
We cut a bunch of hands together than illustrate those players strengths and weaknesses. For example, how getting under Phil’s skin affects his play. Why Matusow’s style of poker lends itself to blowing up. How Jamie Gold tries to talk you out of your money but also gives away lots of information himself. To of course Sammy, and a few physical tells that are as good as gold.
We also, of course cut up my Gus hand, and several other of the best HSP hands. I think the participants enjoyed this part the most. It was the most interactive and I think the best teaching tool of them all.
We took that to about 5:00pm and then broke for an hour before their big finale. A tournament with three prices: first, a $12k package to the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, a Cartier watch, and third place got a free WSOP Academy. The structure of the tournament, designed by yours truly, was expected to last between 3.5 and 4 hours of play:
10k in chips and 15 minute levels”
1. 25-50
2. 50-100
3. 100-200
4. 100-200 (25)
5. 150-300 (25)
6. 200-400 (50)
10 minute break
7. 300-600 (75)
8. 400-800 (100)
9. 500-1000 (100)
10.600-1200 (200)
11.800-1600 (200)
12.1000-2000 (300)
10 minute break
13. 1200-2400 (400)
14. 1500-3000 (500) tournament ended here
15. 2000-4000 (500)
16. 3000-6000 (1000)
By the time the tournament started my work was done but I hung out anyway and watched the action. I felt like a proud Papa watching the improved play from just one day before. They played like real poker players! It was a very rewarding feeling. Some mistakes were made, of course, but we crammed so much info into their heads it was hard to process all of it.
To help refresh them, they were all given a copy of my newest book, Power Hold’em Strategy as well as a subscription to PokerVT.
The weekend took a lot out of me, including my voice. I was planning on recovering today at home, possibly golf, but I don’t feel up to it. Besides, it’s E-DOG’s birthday today and they are all partying it up already. I just don’t know how much party I have in me at the moment.
]]>
Nick and Patrik seemed to be done with the scramble so they challenged us to a match we’d played before that appeared on www.rawvegas.tv. In that match we were getting killed through 8 holes but stormed back to a one point win. The match pits Patrik and Nick against me and Christian. The three of them play the blue tees, 6866 yards, while I play the white tees 6292.
I got to the range early because we took a day off on Saturday and I wanted to be sure I could hit the ball. Even one day off often has an effect on my game. When I got to the range I pulled out my60 degree wedge and literally shanked the first eight shots! Christian wasn’t there yet so I had to figure it out on my own.
After about 30 balls I started hitting the ball “ok” but didn’t feel great about the match based on how the range went.
The format for the match was pretty simple. Every hole there would be 20k on the total team score, and an additional 20k if one player had the lowest score. So for example, if Christian made 4 and I made 6, that counts as 10. If Nick made 5 and Patrik made 5, we’d get one point. We’d tie the team total with 10, but Christian would win a point for us with the low man score.
Hole #1 started well with both me and Christian making par and they both bogeyed the hole so we were +2 points. We got scooped on Hole 2 so it was back to even and stayed that way until hole #5 where Christian made his second double bogey and was 5 over after 5. A bad start for him and we were -2.
On Hole #6 everyone hit the green which is surprising as it’s the toughest hole on the course. I was the furthest from the hole, about 40 feet. No problem, dunk, I drained the putt and birdied the hole. They all missed their birdie putts so we were back to evens. It stayed that way until #9 where they got a point and so we were down 1 point.
We had the option to press, as discussed prior to the match, but I didn’t think we were the favorites so I declined to press. Too bad I didn’t! We went on a tear on the back scooping #10, and #11, getting a point on #12, scooping #13 and #14! That put us up 8 points at 20k a pop. We lost on on #16, scooped #17, and got scooped on #18 for a total of +7.
As usual we played an “emergency” nine holes and they pressed the bet to 30k a hole. I also had a 5k bet with Jimmy, who was caddying this time, and we went double or nothing on the back. I texted by buddy Ted, who was also betting 5k a point from home and told him we are playing more and asked if he was in. What a freaking nit! He’s like, “Nah, I’ll take a win.” What a joke this guy is, my goodness. I forced him to continue betting with us. He’s sitting on his no playin’ ass at home making money and he wants to quit us now. My goodness, does the man have no shame?
The extra nine me and Christian were en fuego and we couldn’t be stopped. Scoop on #1, 1 point on #2 and #3, scoop #4 and a point on #5 for +7.
On #6 I made a moronic move. I had a four foot bogey putt and thought that everyone was in for par so I just kind of stabbed at it, saying, this putt is meaningless. Doh, Nick made a bogey and I cost the team a point. I just don’t miss four footers.
On #7 Christian did miss a 4 footer for a scoop, but we got one point anyway, back to +7. We got scooped on #8 and I literally almost eagled 9 with my 70 yard approach lipping out of the hole. I then goofed and missed the birdie put so we all pushed on 9.
Christian played awesome. In one stretch playing -2 for 18 holes. We made five birdies on the day and they made zero. I know Christian used to be a really good player, but until this match he has yet to really put it all together and it was fun to watch.
As for me, I’m getting a lot better at gambling at golf. Christian has improved my swing, but more importantly, he taught me that you can’t fix things in the middle of a round. You have to go with what you got and fix the rest on the range. I didn’t feel like I “had it” for this match but still scored well. I kept it super simple, a very easy tempo, compact swing, and kept the ball in play. That, and draining bombs on the green.
So that’s that for the golf blogs, promise! I am going to golf today, just with the boys over at Spanish Trail since TPC Summerlin is closed on Mondays. Aside from that I’ll be signing some books, writing a column tonight, preparing for the Weekend at my place this coming weekend, and I’ll try to play some online. I may, highly unlikely, even go to the Bellagio one night and play some poker. Instead I’ll mostly play a bit online when I have some time.
It’s awesome being home and I want to cherish every minute of it because in mid-September it looks like I’ll be overseas for a full month. Not looking forward to being away that long, but hey, that’s the way the schedule falls so I don’t have a choice really.
]]>
We had the same tee time, 1:00pm and I made sure to get there for 11:30am and Christian was already there hitting wedges. Ted and Sam didn’t show until about 12:15pm and Patrik came straight from the gym and got there a little after 12:30pm.
Normally when I go out Christian is there on the range working on my swing, but he is so much more important to our team that I wanted him to focus on his own game and I’d work hard on mine. My contributions to the team had to be pretty specific and limited to approach shots and putting. Me hitting a big drive did little for the team, but nonetheless I took those shots seriously. In fact, when asked to lay up on a par 5 I made sure to take those shots very seriously. We were unlikely to use my drives or my lay ups, but having them out there frees up my teammates to go at the hole aggressively. I took my role very seriously and wanted to make sure that I took as much pressure off of them as possible.
We changed the format slightly also. In past matches we would alternate holes, they go first, wait for us at the next hole, then we’d go first. To speed up play we decided to switch it up after nine holes. We tossed a coin and I won the option to choose. We discussed it the night before and for several reasons felt it would be advantageous to go first on the front nine and last on the back nine. We’d get updates on how they were doing because we had our man, “John Smith” watching them. John had money on the match and I swear to you, I wanted to win more for him than I did myself. We lost him 5k the day before and that’s a lot of money to him. He didn’t even want to bet on the match anymore because he couldn’t afford it. I promised him I’d play my best and not to worry.
I put John Smith in quotes because, well, he hardly looks or sounds like a John Smith. His English isn’t so good and he has the thickest Korean accent you’ve ever heard. He tells stories like, “I play Mirageeee with a Roy Cookie.” Awesomely funny dude.
Hole #1 we had a good drive but we didn’t stick one at all. We had close to 40 feet for birdie. Sam missed… Ted missed… and pow, I drained it! Great way to start the day. They parred hole #1 and we were up 1 off the hop.
We both birdied hole #2 but they eagled 3 to take the lead. Not much we could do there, as we made birdie.
Both teams were off as we parred both #4 and #5. Our birdie on #6 was big, though and we were back up +60k. We blew 7 and 8- but so did they. Number 9, an easy par 5… we parred again! They won that hole and we found ourselves stuck 5k after the first 9, shooting 32 as did they.
On one hand we felt lucky to not be down more, but on the other hand we felt disappointed parring the last three holes.
It didn’t get much better on the back to start. We parred #10 and #11 and waited for word on what they did. They parred 10 but birdied 11 so all of a sudden I was stuck 65k and was wondering if we’d ever make another birdie.
On #12 we got it right back and that got us back on a roll. As for their team, our spy, John Smith said they couldn’t make a putt to save their life and they left all kinds of shots out there. We both birdied #13, but my putt on #14 gave us another win with birdie. #15 and #16 there was no blood either, but then the unthinkable happened on #17.
We could see them putting and noticed that it took a very long time. They were putting for par and it was up to Jimmy. A bogey! The first bogey by any team ever and that lifted our spirits. All we needed was par on #17. We had a ball on the green so I went and picked up my ball then ended up long and off the green. Christian goes, “Did you pick that up? We need to play that ball.” I was like, “Oh no, I didn’t realize it.” The pin was in an impossible, totally impossible spot on the green. You couldn’t make the putt, all you could do was hope to get it to about four feet. Had we used my ball, it’s an easy two putt. We suddenly realized how it was possible for them to bogey the hole. Luckily we hit one close enough and scooped up another hole.
On #18 they were in for birdie and we had a very long putt to deal with. Finally, Ted decided to show up and do something of value and made a putt. I was so going to kick him off the team if he missed that putt! If I would have played my match against Ted I would have destroyed him, once again he just couldn’t put it together at all. After 18 holes we won $115k and I was happy about it. We shot a 62 and won, the day before we shot 60 and lost. It was clear that we didn’t really “win” so must as they “lost.”
They wanted to play some more and asked for a slight adjustment, on hole #8, a long par 3 Nick and Jimmy could move up to the blue tees. Seemed fair to me since we won by two.
On the first hole we got a bit sloppy and lost with par, but on #2 got it right back. We pushed #3 with birdie, and pushed #4 with par. We won with a birdie on 5 and then things really started to roll for us.
Me and Christian essentially carried us home from there. Him hitting great drives, and me sticking some approaches and making several key putts. I put third in the order and made about seven putts. Christian hit the ball well off the tee which is huge for us, but he made zero putts. Going into the match I had a mindset of it’s just me and Christian. If Sam and Ted pitched in, great, but I’m not going to depend on anyone to get it done. I’ve got to do it.
I stuck one on #6 for a birdie and another win. That had me up $115 from the first 18 and another $120k on the extra nine. We both goofed on 7 for par, but I made a monster putt on #8 for yet another win as they parred. That had me up a total of $295k for the day going into the final hole.
We missed our long eagle putt and they didn’t reach in two. They chose a tough chip shot and both Patrik and Nick didn’t get close at all, Patrik missing the green entirely. Jimmy, skulled the ball and it looked like we were going to win yet another hole! Luckily for them, his ball hit the flag and stopped dead, otherwise we’d of been a huge favorite to win another 55k.
We shot 30 on that nine which is in line with what we did in every match. They shot a 33 making 6 pars on the extra holes which isn’t ever going to be good enough.
After 11 holes today we were stuck money and then went on a rush that is unheard of, winning 6 holes over the last 16. John Smith could finally breathe, his poker bankroll getting a healthy boost.
I love being part of a team and coming through when the pressure is on. I love pressure in general, similar to being up against it in a poker tournament, the thrill you get on the golf course isn’t comparable. I love it, absolutely addicted to the feeling.
That night we celebrated with some dinner at Sushi Ave and then a night of karaoke till late. Everyone was smiling, and we spent the night needling Ted about his awful play.
Today was a much needed day off, working really hard in preparation for the match. When I got back from Toronto, I couldn’t even hit the ball. Christian and I grinded hard, though, and I was ready just in time.
Sunday we are giving Nick and Patrik a rematch on a previous bet that was filmed at www.rawvegas.tv. That was a match where were down 8 points in a high low total match after 7 holes, which is an insurmountable lead… but we found a way on the back to storm back and win by a point.
That match pits Nick, Patrik, and Christian all playing from the blue tees, with me at the whites. 20k for the low team total, and 20k for the low man on the hole. I honestly feel like we are an underdog in that match, I didn’t feel that way about the scramble at all, but they deserve action since they give action. I’m not giving up, but I don’t feel like we are supposed to win unless we bring it.
So much fun, I just love it.
]]>
We started the day off well hitting one close on #1 for birdie and then on #2 Christian leatherized one. Hole #2 looked like a lock win because they were playing a bunker shot which seemed like it was 400 yards out or so. Never mind that, Nick absolutely stuck one from the bunker to 4 feet and we carried again.
Hole #3 we almost blew. We played out third shot from a green side bunker and no one got close, thankfully Christian made a key putt. Hole #4 we drew first blood with a birdie and I was up $70k. Hole #5 Jimmy stuck one close and we missed our birdie putt, that had me back to +15k.
They goofed up on #7 so we won back another hole and I was up $75k. We missed the green on #8 from 150 yards (idiots!) and pushed that hole as well as #9. Front side we shot 30, they shot 31.
Both teams birdied 10 and 11 pretty easily and then Christian hit a great drive to 80 yards on 12… we all missed the green, AGAIN! Idiots! They stuck one to five feet and we figured we were totally cooked. Patrik missed the putt, but that’s not all that surprising. Nick missed too, and we all figured we were just being tortured a little bit because Jimmy couldn’t miss that putt in a million years… but he did! Carry to 13.
They birdied 13 and Christian hit a big drive but we got unlucky and it hit a bunker. Sam’s drive was nowhere so we used Ted’s and didn’t have a shot at the green. We were 80 yards out again and played Christian’s approach to about 16 feet. We all missed the putt, and now I’m stuck 5k 14 and 15 were easy birdie holes which took us to 16. Christian murdered a drive on the par 5 and we had 142 yards to the pin. We hit it to about 16 feet. Sam and Ted left theirs short so I hit mine with a little more face… it popped out of the hole. Yikes. They missed the green in two and hit it to 10 feet. Patrik miss… Nick miss… Jimmy, I hate that guy! The putt trickled in and we had another carry.
On to 17 and they had about 25 feet. Patrik missed, and Nick, who hadn’t made even a single putt all day finally decides to wake up and he drains it. Oh well, I hit a nice approach to about 12 feet… and we missed the putt, doh! Now I’m stuck 75k. On to 18 and we made quick work of it for birdie, they had over 25 feet for theirs. Patrik missed (surprise, surprise) and then here comes the guy who made one putt in 35 holes with back to back birdies. If he missed that we would only have lose 20k on the carries. They shot a great back of 28 and we shot 30 again.
In two rounds now we have gone 60-60 and they shot 61-59. Today is rematch time and I’d like to bet we kick some butt today. I went to the range last night after the round and fixed my wedge game a bit so I plan on sticking them all close today. I drove the ball as good as I possibly can today, but unfortunately that does the team little good as even my best drives don’t match up with Sam and Christian off the tee. I’m happy being a team player, though, and trying to take some pressure off the bigger hitters. I need to come up big from 100 yards in and that’s what I plan to do. I started to come around the last few holes, but today, I’m not missing anything. They are so dead!
]]>
Now that I’m back in Vegas it’s time to get back to the life I enjoy most- working on the golf game and playing for loads of cash. I took two weeks off the game while in Toronto and it totally brutalized my swing. I played twice on my own, remind me to never play golf without my coach Christian there. All of my old bad habits creep up and it takes even more time to fix them.
It’s the usual stuff, grip, posture, sway, and not getting behind the ball. Since I’ve been back we’ve been doing drills and getting out on the course practicing everyday from morning till night. Good news is that my bread and butter feels good, chipping and putting and that’s likely what I’ll need most for our match Thursday.
The match is a rematch of sorts. The last time we played the match was:
Blue Tees 6866 yards:
Patrik
Nick
Jimmy
Scrambling their ball against:
White Tees 6292 yards:
Me
Christian
Zvi
Sam
Ted
Scrambling only four balls each shot, we choose who takes the four shots. That meant Sam and I split. He did everything from 120+ yards and I only hit from inside 120 yards.
That match was super close and we ended up winning one hole shooting 60 to their 61 thanks to me draining a 35 footer on 18. Well, Zvi isn’t in town so they proposed that we play the match again with just the four of us taking every shot, but them moving back to the tips, which is a bit over 7000 yards.
We should be pretty close to our other team, but now we have one less drive to choose from, I don’t hit it long enough to ever matter. Plus we lose Zvi’s approach shots and he is a much better putter than Sam. The plus for us is that they move back a bit, plus me and Sam can get in a better rhythm not having to share shots. It’s super hard to play well when you sit for long stretches.
I’m playing for 50k a hole plus a 5k per hole carry over skin. The most you could lose, if you lost every hole is $990,000, but realistically, a 250K win would be a thrashing with this format.
Tomorrow Ted gets back from Hawaii and the plan is to practice the match. Ted was totally useless in our last match so hopefully he just shuts his mouth this time and makes a freakin’ putt once in a while!
Their team, despite having just three guys, I think outweighs my foursome! I’m 150, Christian is 130, Sam is about 160 tops, and Ted’s gut is about 170.
We got about 600 lbs and I think that makes us about even. As for height, I’m the tall guy on my team at 5′ 9″, lol. It’s four mini Davids against a three headed monster we have to slay. Here is my take on the players:
Patrik- he played like garbage last time we played. I think they only used two of his shots all match. He’s gotten a lot better though and is pretty long with the driver and his irons.
Nick- he’s a superstar but he didn’t bring his A game last time either missing too many putts. He’s super long off the tee, oh, and he can beat me even using only one club… his driver. Sickest thing you’ve ever seen!
Jimmy- he’s a slightly better putter than Tiger Woods and when his team falls apart and forces him to make a miracle shot.. he sticks it. He’s a nice guy and all, but I really hate that guy, he’s way too good.
THE MISFITS:
Me- Totally useless off the tee or from 190 yards out. Totally useless. I can putt pretty good and am the third putter in the rotation with just Christian our ace behind me. My other strength is from 60-90 yards with the wedges. So I need to basically practice putting and hitting wedges.
Sam- He is our lefty. He hits it pretty long but is pretty erratic. He might as well putt from 80 yards because he can’t hit a wedge to save his life, totally useless. His putting is also kind of funny. He misses 5 footers all day, but every once in a while he makes a 30 footer look easy. Call Sam Mr.Undependable.
Ted- he “thinks” he can drive the ball but if we ever use his 230 yard junky cut drive we are in trouble. He is supposed to help us with approach shots and his putting can be really good. He is useless from 200 yards, but he doesn’t think so. This idiot thinks he’s KJ Choi! He was just awful in our first match. He did nothing well and that could have cost us if our ace didn’t come through.
Christian- speaking of our ace, that’d be Christian. Man did we screw him over way too many times last time. We are supposed to, as a team take pressure off of him by hitting some balls in play so he can be aggressive, but way too often we left him stranded and having to hit a perfect shot. He came through almost every time. Christian is good at… well, everything, except he isn’t nearly as long as Nick or Jimmy- hence the tee spot. He can hit it 270 yards when he gets a hold of one. He’s obviously our best player in every area and that’s why he is our anchor that goes last.
OK, so I just wrote a report about a golf match that I’m super excited about, but many of you could care less, huh? Tough. I like golf. I like gambling, and I like writing about the stupid, silly things I do.
For those of you who wanted poker content, I played a $109 no limit tournament… on my birthday. I hate birthdays, what a lame birthday. I ate a piece of cake by myself and vegged on the couch with Mushu.
I then jumped into a $500-$1000 limit hold’em game and blew off 40k. I haven’t won money on my birthday in like… well, never.
My food situation is looking solid too. Mommy is in Toronto and cooked for me there, and now I’ve learned that Patty is quite a Chef Boy Ardee herself. She made the best eggplant Lasagna ever made, you rock Patty!!!
What else… oh, I sat in on a poker related business meeting today for like 5 hours and it was a blast. It was heated, some yelling, some laughing, some arguing, more discussion, more back the drawing board, yada, yada, yada, but I enjoyed every minute of it. Sometimes I love that stuff.
What else…what else… how smooth is my man Barack Obama? This guy’s campaign is buttery smooth. All that speculation about his overseas trip backfiring and he owned it. He was rock solid while McCain looked lost. I can’t wait for the debates, that’ll be must see tv. Great stuff.
]]>
I just flew back from Toronto last night and definitely should have stayed an extra two days so I could spend my birthday there. Many of my old friends are there and it seems as though my friends in Vegas are not here. Everyone is on vacation or just not in town. So, I guess the plan is going to be me practicing the golf a little bit then just vegging the rest of the day. I wanted to see Dark Knight, I hear it’s good so I may go see that later.
Being in Toronto was fun and shooting the commercials is my kind of fun. I thoroughly enjoy the film industry and working with Joseph Kahn is super easy. Guy is amazing and I love watching him direct, he has quite an amazing mind and works super fast and efficient. Being on set for two weeks reminded me once again what my childhood passion was and that I should never forget it.
In fact, my mother brought back some memories with her gift to me this year. She’s getting more creative with her gifts, no more socks and underwear, she’s been more and more thoughtful. She dug up my old baseball card collection and my old casino chip collection from my teenage years too. On top of that, she found an old picture of me and framed it. It was me at 13 when I was an extra on the film Anne of Green Gables. When I was that age I did a lot of extra work and always assumed that I would grow up to be an actor. Then poker got in the way and it’s almost 20 years later.
I guess it’s never too late to do things you love, though, and I’m going to start tapping back into that part of my brain. Doing some writing, voice over work, an any on screen stuff that I think might suit me. Failure is likely in that kind of business, but you ensure failure if you don’t even throw your hat in the ring.
While I was in Toronto I stayed at the Pantages hotel and it seems like that’s the hotel most celebrities stay at when they are working in Toronto. I ran into several random celebrities every time I was in the elevator- it was pretty weird. I’d say the weirdest was the whole American Idol crew from this season. They are in town performing tonight actually.
*****************************************************************
I’m still not sure what I’m going to do today. I have no plans at all. As for this week, though, I plan on trying to get my golf game back in shape for a match against Antonius. He wants to play me a 36 hole match for 200k, even, but I get a tee spot. I’m not sure how good he is getting while I’ve been gone but if I play him today I think I’d get killed. Haven’t played in weeks. From the white tees at Summerlin, though, I’m pretty consistent and don’t get in a lot of trouble. I’ll practice a couple days and then maybe try him then. We’ll see.
Aside from that, I don’t really know what I’m going to do this week? I guess that’s about it…]]>