So we arrive in Toronto at about 7:15am and Gord Andretti our limo driver is waiting for us outside. Erick and I pick up our bags and meet Gord who was taking us to the Royal York hotel in downtown Toronto. Normally when I go back to Toronto I stay at my mother
The last couple nights when I got home I planned on writing an entry. Then I realized that with what’s been going on in my life the blog would look something like this:
I went to ____________ with _________ and __________ because we had to talk about _____________ and _____________. Then later that night we decided to _______________ and then head over to ________________ to ______________.
Throughout the last few days I’ve had lots to think about: _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________. A tough spot to be in as you can see.
So I decided to __________________________ since I hadn’t ___________________________ about ______________________________.
From there I figured that I’d _________________________________ over the ________________________________________ since ___________________________________. You get the idea.
Then last night I decided to _________________________ since things were getting kind of ________________________________________.
This is probably the most important time of my life and _______________________________ over the next week will have a major impact on my future. You see, _______________________________, so while I know what _________________________________ it’s easier said than done you know what I mean? Of course you do.
In closing, I just want everybody to know that while I’m more than willing to share much of my life with you there are some things that happen in my life that wouldn’t be appropriate to discuss here.
I have common “issues” just like the next guy, and much of that simply needs to stay private. Hopefully when these “issues” work themselves out over the next week I’ll able to resume “normal” blogging. That is, if you can call my blog normal! I just went over some past blogs and realized, wow… in the same week I went hitchhiking in San Diego and bought stolen leather jackets off some random Italian mobster? I’m not sure that the term normal applies, if there is such a thing as normal.
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Tomorrow I have a full day of shooting to do with the CityTv crew out here from Toronto. I’ll have to wake up “early” sometime around noon they said. So on that note, I better get some ZZZZ’s and I’ll try to get back to y’all tomorrow night if I can.
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Well after Josh knocks down a strike in the first frame and a 9/ in the second frame to my 5-4, 3-4 I knew I was in trouble. Josh decided to be a gentleman though and play me even.
That first game I had nothing working at all. I was either releasing too early, or releasing too late. I got killed in that first game but didn’t feel out of it. I shot a pathetic 104 and Josh shot a 143.
In the second game I made more bets with Carlos, Erick, Tyson, Brandon, and whoever else had any gamble in them! I started out ugly in the second set also. “Oh brother”, I thought, this could get expensive.
I was having a better set than the first, and went strike in the 8th and spare in the 9th to put me in contention of not getting killed. In order to win any money though, I’d have to throw a turkey in the last frame.
By the 10th frame they changed my name on the scoreboard from Daniel to “Fred Flintstone” because I shuffled my feet like a madman on my approach. You know, kind of like Fred did back in the old days.
I line up for my first shot, shuffle my feet like a mad man, hit the head pin and down they went! I finally felt like I found my stoke but it seemed as though it was a little too late.
Once more, I frantically shuffled my feet, and BAM! Two in a row! I would need at least 9 pins to beat Carlos and 8 pins to beat Josh. I’ve never thrown a turkey in my life… until now!
How’s that for a pressure shooter baby yeah! I was so pumped up now that I found my stroke. I looked over at Josh and he starts yawning, “I’m tired. We should probably get going huh guys?” Oh what a chicken! He knew he was in for a beating at the bowling alley but escaped.
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The next stop was E-DOG’s bachelor pad. We set up a 12 handed freeze out. The first hand I played was the 4-5 of diamonds. Erick limped, I limped, as did a few others. The flop came J-J-7 and I went ahead and bet 600 into a 1000 pot. All folded to E-DOG and he raised me 1000 more.
I called. Ok, I have no idea why I called but it seemed like fun at the time ok! The turn came a 4 and Erick bet 2000, I called again. Oh shut up already I know I was playing bad… it’s a house game!
The river came a 10 and Erick bet 3000. I didn’t like that card at all and it was pretty clear the 4’s were no good so I make the GREAT lay down. Erick turned over… A-J. LOL, oops!
A couple hands later I made it 400 with K-Q, Carlos raises 1000 more and Coin flip Greg calls. He got that nickname last night because he seems to always play a coin flip situation as the chip leader against the second chip leader. Long story.
The flop came Q-8-5 with two spades. I checked, Carlos bet 2500, and I moved all in for about 6000. Carlos called and turned over… 10-2 of spades!
No spade on the turn, but on the river the donkey took all of my chips when he filled his flush. My punishment for being the first out? I would have to deal to these shmucks and take all of their abuse.
I wasn’t your typical dealer that night though. I was talking smack and I wasn’t even in the game. I was telling everybody what I put everyone on, and telling them what to do. If a real dealer did that they’d get fired, which I was ok with, lol.
In the end it was Coin flip Greg, formerly known as the “Chosen One” up against E-DOG. The Chosen One won his coin flips and won the whole shebang.
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Next stop- the basketball court. Erick had a new challenge for me today, “OK, we’ll play even up to five, but I have to use my left hand. Also, I have to leave my right hand in my back pocket the whole time.”
That sounded like a bet too good to pass up, so we were on for $1000 and of course Josh got in a bet on Erick for $500 also- action junkie I tell ya.
Erick started with the ball and backed me down. I was wearing these black Louis Vitton dress shoes I bought while I was in Paris and they didn’t have much in the way of traction.
With the score 2-1 in Erick’s favor I had to take them off. I decided to play Erick in my black dress socks which I would soon find was a terrible idea. It didn’t hurt too bad at first, but with the score Erick 4 to my 2, I could barely walk!
The surface felt worse than gravel and my feet felt like raw beef. I decided to try one last tactic, “Hey Leo, what size do you wear?” I asked. Leo was wearing some Nike sneakers and with those on I felt like I might have a chance.
I throw on the Nike Zooms and zoom my way into a 4-4 tie! Now with the game tied, we were in sudden death, next point wins. I went left (big surprise, everyone knows I ALWAYS go left) and tried to back E-DOG down.
Then I turned around from the deep left corner and… swish! I drained the winner! Or wait, what’s this? I was out of bounds? You’re kidding me!
Apparently Erick said that I had my foot on the grass when I took the shot. I was like, no way. I had my foot on the line, you can’t call that on me!
The game was pretty physical throughout. I must have intentionally fouled Erick on eight straight possessions. With his back turned to me, I figured if I could kick him in the small of the back and cause an injury it would enhance my chances for victory. So I elbowed, kicked, scratched and clawed for most of the match.
Erick wouldn’t let the basket count though, and called me back out. I took off the Zooms and was totally spent though. “We’re calling it a tie buddy, I’m done.” Erick was fuming mad now. He wanted nothing to do with a tie but I couldn’t continue.
I’m sure we’ll get another chance to play that match, but this time I’m not going to be wearing dress pants, a sweater, and my Louis Vittons. Nope, next time I’m bringin’ the Jordans!]]>
Like I said I have a ton to share, but it’s almost 1:00am and I have to hit the sack. At 9:00am tomorrow I have a full day of work scheduled on my new video game STACKED which is due out in mid-july. Dude, that game is so cool it totally blows my mind! To those who have been calling me over the past few days… I’ll be back in Vegas on the 26th. Oh, one more thing, congrats to Jennifer Harman on her second place finish in the WSOP Circuit event at the Rio! Jenn has been on fire lately getting deep in almost every tournament she’s played in. Makes me feel good about my prediction that once she had her kidney transplant and was healthy again, she’d be an absolute monster on the tournament scene. Ahh… it feels good to be right!]]>
Finally I did find a Portobello burger that I settled for which wasn’t very good. I took about two bites before I gave up on it then I stuck to the fries. We got back a little early so I set up three chairs inside the ropes where no spectators were allowed so that I could lay down and rest my eyes. About 4 minutes into dreamland I hear, “HEEEEEY! HEEEEEEY!” I woke up startled from my nap and was like, “What? Who said that? What happened?” There was a fan with a beer in his hand standing over me, “HEY MAN! YOU GOTTA PLAY SOME CARDS MAN!” He had to be the loudest person I’d ever met. I kindly asked him to just let me take a nap for a few minutes and I’d sign his hat before I got started. A couple more minutes went by and once again I hear, “HEEEEEEEY! HEEEEEEY MAN IT’S TIME TO PLAY SOME CARDS DUDE!” You’ve got to be kidding me. Honestly I was pretty annoyed by this time. I was genuinely trying to close my eyes to enhance my chances in the event and this impatient youngster just wouldn’t let me. I finally said, “Dude are you for real? I’m trying to get a little rest here and you are screaming in my ear? How would you like it if I came over to your house at 4:00am and yelled in your face?” He half heartedly apologized, I signed his hat and then headed over to a different corner to try to get some rest. As I’m trying to nap there I see flashes go off. Then, once again someone shaking me asking if they could take a picture with me. I was starting to feel like I was in the twilight zone. Obviously I wasn’t going to get any rest, so I took the picture, spent the next 10 minutes signing autographs and then head back to the table. I wasn’t getting many hands but doing a good job of staying afloat by picking up antes. I was down to about 6000 when I played a key pot that I thought would really get me going back in the right direction: Billy Duarte limped from first position for 300, and I called with two black fives next to the button. Both blinds checked and the flop came K :heart: Q :hearts: 9 :hearts:. Everyone checked to me and knowing that Billy could have a wide variety of hands I decided to represent strength: I bet 700, about half the pot. Chau studied for a while and finally called from the small blind. At that point I decided that I had to give up on the hand since it was obvious that Chau had to have me beat. The turn card was the J :diamonds: and Chau checked again. I thought to myself, “I need this pot. I can’t just leave 3000 out there.” I went ahead and bet 1500 more trying to represent the straight. Chau hesitated even longer this time and I was pretty sure he didn’t have the straight. If he had the straight I figured he’d raise me my last 3500, but he didn’t- he just called. The river brought the 3 :hearts: putting four hearts out there. Chau checked again, and with just 3500 left I had to decide whether or not I should fire yet another barrel. There was about 6000 in the pot, and I decided to fire out just 2000 making it look like I wanted a call, while at the same time leaving myself with 1500 just in case. Chau said, “I don’t like that card. That card got me I know.” and he folded his hand! Unfortunately the comeback was short lived as I missed a hand here, missed a hand there, and finally anted myself away with about 30 minutes left to play on the day. Oh well, I was happy with my play and the time off will give me a chance to catch up on things.]]>
I got to Toronto late last night and woke up at 8:30am this morning. Before the flight I stayed up the whole night, and miraculously my sleep schedule was fixed. I had a pretty relaxing afternoon. Other than making some appointments over the next few days it was pretty uneventful. By 4:00pm though, a limo came to pick me up to take me downtown to the Fan590 studio. By 6:00pm I was done and the limo was outside waiting for me. Now I didn
After putting in a 16 hour power nap I finally woke up at around 4:00pm. The PPT event in San Jose started at noon so I guess you could say I slept in. Since Travis my personal assistant flew out and drove my car home, he also took a load off my back by bringing my big suitcase with him. So all I had was a little one with a couple days worth of clothes since I’d planned on flying to San Jose. Well that plan changed when I decided to put in a 30 hour session of poker. That might not sound like a great way to spend 30 hours but I thoroughly enjoyed the delirious state, I’d hadn’t been overtired in quite some time and I kinda missed the feeling. When you are overtired, somehow everything seems funny to you. Phil, Gus, and I were laughing at the most silly things. So I head down to the valet where I figured I could find a cab. “Where do I get a cab?” I asked. “Oh I can call you one but we need a $40 deposit first.” The valet guy told me. “Ok whatever, but what for? Don’t you guys have a cab stand outside?” “No sir, we have to call a cab for you.” “Ok, well how long will that take?” I asked. “Oh, should be about half an hour.” Now I know what that means. “About” half an hour quickly turns into 45 minutes, an hour, and then an hour and fifteen minutes. The valet guy went on to explain that a cab needs to drive out from another city and that takes a good half an hour. “So you mean nobody here can take me?” I started to think calling Travis to drive out here and pick me up was an idea! I asked again, “They don’t have a limo here? Nobody here can take me? How about one of you guys? I mean, I’ll pay you for it, I just can’t wait that long for a cab.” They looked at each other puzzled, until the one guy who was just getting off work volunteered. “Ok, I can take you. Just meet me out front right there and I’ll bring the car around. I waited a few minutes and finally saw the valet guy pull up. He was driving a 1999 Acura Integra. I was surprised when he told me it was a 99′ because frankly it looked like it was in rough shape. He tried lowering his car for performance reasons through the mountains, but it seemed like all that really did was make for a bumpy ride. Whatever, I appreciated the lift nonetheless. The valet guy was a 23 year old black kid who was born in Puerto Rico. He had a Spanish sounding name but I forgot it sometime during the ride. He told me about his goals in life- he wants to be a medical fireman or something like that and is still in school. He seemed like a genuinely nice guy with a good head on his shoulders. About 15 minutes into the drive we were zooming down the left lane when I heard a strange sound and smelled some rubber, “What the… what was that?” The valet guy said. He then pulled over to the right and when we got out we noticed that his right tire was totally blown. I noticed behind me that there was a gas station and a Subway. I hadn’t eaten all day and figured that I could grab a sub and call a cab from there. I grabbed my stuff from the car and told the kid not to worry about it. I paid him for the ride anyway and then headed to the gas station. To get there, I had to climb a fence and walk up a grassy hill with my knapsack on my back and my little suitcase. I felt like a kid again. I used to love playing in the ravine. I think that all started when I first saw First Blood with Sylvester Stallone. I’ve literally seen that movie over 50 times and was fascinated by the scenes where John Rambo was running through the woods. So that was me up over the hill and over the barbed wire fence doing my best Rambo impersonation. I got to the Subway and asked the kid working to call me a cab. He looked at me like ‘uh, I don’t know how to do that, but I can make you a sandwich?’ So instead I asked the gas lady to help me out. She pulled out the yellow pages and called the cab company. After starting off the call she handed the phone to me: “What is your name sir?” “Daniel.” “And were are you going?” “I’m going to the airport.” “Ok we should have a car out there for you in about 45 minutes.” 45 minutes? I was in an actual city now, wouldn’t you think they could do better than 45 minutes? “That’s not going to work for me. Is there any way you could have one out here like.. now? I’ll pay double, triple, whatever. I just need a ride.” I yelled. The lady on the phone told me she could try getting one there in 20 minutes. Just when I planned on waiting a while and grabbing a sub I heard, “Where you goin’ man?” I turned around and there was this huge back dude at the other side of the counter. He was dressed well and had a kind face. Picture Ving Rhames only a little bigger, taller, and stronger. “You serious man? I replied, “That would be awesome.” So I hop into his white Ford Bronco (seriously!) and we head to the airport. This dude’s name was Milt, seemed like a good guy that was just down on his luck. “Man this is a blessing here. I’m short on the rent for tomorrow and could really use the money. I asked all my friends for help and they acted like they don’t know my name no more you know what I mean?” “Yeah I hear ya. Ain’t that always the way with people.” I said empathetically. As we kept driving Milt told me a little bit about himself. He spend 10 years as a Marine over in Okinawa and had three kids. Two daughters that were fully grown and a 15 year old son that he was now raising on his own. Originally from Texas, he moved to California when he and his wife split. Since then he’d just recently got out of a nine year relationship with a woman who left him. He told me that she’d come from two past abusive relationships: one where her ex-husband cheated on her, and the other guy abused her physically. According to Milt he treated her great. He didn’t smoke, he didn’t drink, and he didn’t mess around with other women. Yet he was paying for all the mistakes other men had made with her. “I hear ya Milt. Women… can’t live with em’ can’t live without em’.” At this point I did little talking. I was just trying to lend an ear to the man. He continued explaining that he had surgery on his leg from an injury he suffered in the military. He is on 70% disability pension right now which makes it tough to make ends meet. When he gets to 100%? He’s going to head back to Texas and live a peaceful life. He isn’t happy in California. Price of living is too high and jobs are scarce. However, his son is 15 years old and has lots of friends there, so Milt is going to be a good father and wait a few more years till his son is fully grown and tell em’, “I’m goin’ back to Houston son, you comin’ or you stayin’?” That’s an admirable quality for sure. The whole time I’m driving I should be worried that this man is going to rob me. If you watch the news all you will hear about is “Black man does this, or Black man does that.” If you saw Bowling for Columbine you’d know what I’m talking about. The media in this country just wants to scare you all the time. Be afraid of this, be scared of that. I just recently listened to a Chris Rock CD where he says something like, “The government wants you to be scared of Al-Quieda but I’m scared of Al-Cracker!” But anyway, back to the drive I’m realizing how much of an effect the media has had on race relations in this country. If you are from certain parts of the south and have never seen a black man in real life, all you would have to go by is what you’ve seen on TV. If all I watched was the news in this country who knows, maybe I’d be a racist too. So Milt, this big, strong, intimidating, “black guy” dropped me off at the airport with no bruises to speak of. He didn’t rob me, or ask me for anything more than what we agreed upon. In fact, Milt is one of the funniest people I ever met. He told me all kinds of funny stories and kept me laughing most of the way. So, as a token of my appreciation for the ride and the good humor I decided to pay his rent for the month. He was happy with that obviously, and I think the whole ordeal benefited both of us. *************************************************************** So I made my 7:40pm flight and Gus was nice enough to pick me up at the airport in Vegas at around 9:00pm. I threw “my” bag in the back seat and we hit the road. About two mile from the airport I get a phone call. “Excuse me is this Daniel Ne… Neg.. Negrrr… ENU?” “Yes it is.” “Daniel you just left the airport and took the wrong bag. We have your bag here at C4.” Wow, how stupid can I be sometimes? Well in fairness I don’t normally travel with that bag and I had it in the overhead compartment. The guy sitting right behind me put his bag next to mine so it was an honest mistake. “Gus, we gotta turn around dude. I took the wrong bag.” On the way back I played back seat driver and told Gus exactly where to go. Ok, so after making two wrong turns Gus finally said, “I think I’ll find it on my own if you don’t mind, you’re advice hasn’t been too good over there.” Gus said mockingly. I head back there, we make the swap and we are on our way when i remember something else… oh no! I left something REALLY important at the hotel back in San Diego. So now I call the hotel and speak to housekeeping. “Hello, I just checked out today but nobody has been up there yet and I left something very important in the night table.” I said. “What room number sir?” she asked. “1682.” “Ok hold on please.” I hear elevator music for a while and then she comes back. “Ok sir, can I help you?” It’s the same girl. “Yeah, you just spoke to me like 30 seconds ago?” “Oh ok, just hold on a minute we have to check room 1671.” “1682!” I said, how do you get 1671 from 1682? “Ok sir, hold on please.” Now this time I’m waiting for a long time. She finally comes back and says, “I’m sorry sir but we didn’t find anything in the lost and found.” “Of course you didn’t find anything in the lost and found! It’s in my room right now, nobody’s been up there yet! It’s in the night table right now. Hello, am I not making myself clear here?” “Ok, I’m sorry sir, I will call my supervisor to help you.” So I finally speak to someone with some sense and they make arrangements to send it to my house. Then she gets back on the phone and says, “Ok they have to go check the room and they will call you back soon.” “Do you have my phone number? How are they going to call me back if they don’t have my phone number?” I inquired. “Ummm… your phone number is 286-555-6328?” she guessed. “No that
Gus: 5-6-x-x
Phil Ivey: As Ks-x-x
The flop came down 10s 7s 4h. Ivey bet out 20,000, Gus raised the pot and I capped it off three ways for a $300,000 pot. The turn was an off suit 3 giving Gus the best hand with a straight, but the beautiful 8h hit the river giving me the nuts straight.
After that pot I went on a rush of a lifetime. Not only did I get back within half a million, after 31 hours of play I ended the session down “just” $114,000. I went on a rush that saw me win $1.2 million in just a few hours.
I won $598,000 the night before so all told the trip to San Diego was worth $484,000. Of course, that could have just as easily looked like -$600,000. It’s a big game to say the least, were million dollar rushes happen quite often.
I’m in bed now debating my plans for tomorrow. I’ve pretty much ruled out flying to San Jose for the PPT event tomorrow. For one, I wouldn’t be well rested enough and I promised myself to only play tournaments when I
I don’t know what it is exactly. When I’m home in Vegas I’m up bright and early, right around noon. For some odd reason though anytime I spend time in LA I end up sleeping all day and waking up at around 5:00pm.
By that time the maids have already left so I’m left to make my bed on my own. When I get up I flip on the computer and basically veg out for a couple hours. Then, head over to the Commerce and jump right in a game. That just never worked all that well for me. I always feel a little sluggish when I do that and this week has been no different.
Yesterday I headed over to the Commerce at around 8:00pm and started a game at around 8:30pm. The lineup was pretty typical:
Seat One: Me
Seat Two: Johnny Chan
Seat Three: Chau Giang
Seat Four: Phil Ivey
Seat Five: Lee Salem
Seat Six: Chip Reese (followed by Gus Hansen)
Seat Seven: Lyle Berman
Seat Eight: Doyle Brunson
The games were the same, although we didn’t get the triple draw in because the others don’t like to play it eight handed. That’s a shame because I think it’s one of the games where my advantage is biggest.
Right off the bat I lost a pot here and there and was down about 75,000. I struggled for the next few hours until I was about $100,000 winner. In the big game, your end result for the session is usually going to be decided by how well you do in the capped pots where you put in $100,000.
Well, capped pots haven’t been good to me lately. The first capped pot I played was in no limit 2-7 single draw. I was on the button against Phil Ivey and Chip Reese who both drew one ahead of me:
Phil Ivey: 2-3-5-8
Chip Reese: 3-5-7-9
Me: 2-4-6-7 (2)
This spot is about as good as any. I’m either going to lose $100,000 or win $200,000 and if I make my hand they can’t win. Ivey draws a Q. Chip behind him draws an Ace.
So now all I need to catch is a 3,5,8,9,10,J, or a Q to scoop the pot. I look at the card and it’s “nothing across” meaning it’s either an Ace, 2, or 3. Not the best sweat, I would have much rather sweat in a “four across” meaning it would either be a 9 or a 10.
A “nothing across” gave me a one in three chance of making my hand. I then looked at the left corner of the card and saw a spot. Now I was 50-50, it was either a 2 or a 3.
For those of you totally confused by what I’m talking about it’s called squeezing. Instead of just looking right at the card you caught you add “drama” to it by narrowing down the possibilities of what it could be.
By lifting the card slightly you can narrow down what it might be. For example if you see a line, then you know it’s a paint card (K, Q, J). If you see no points on the card then it has to be an Ace, 2, or a 3. If you see two points on the card you know it has to be either a 4, or a 5. Three points, would be a 6, 7, or an 8 and finally a four across being a 9 or a 10.
So back to the hand, I don’t see a point in the middle so I know I’ve paired. Oh well, back to even again.
Over the next couple hours I was floating right around even not getting many hands worth playing. Then in Omaha H/L I picked up the As-2s J-8 on the button. Ivey raised and I re-raised from the button and Chau called.
The flop came perfect: 3s 5h Js, giving me top pair, the nut flush draw, the nut low draw, and a gut shot wheel draw. Chau bet out and Ivey called. I raised and Chau re-raised. Of course since I had the button and a monster hand I re-raised again.
The turn came another Jack giving me trips with an ace kicker, the nut flush draw, nut low draw, and a gut shot wheel draw. Chau bet out again and I raised it one more time.
The river came an ace which seemed like an “ok” card giving me a full house, but Chau bet again! I raised once more and Chau called. Chau’s hand was 2-3-4-7 with two spades. That’s pretty much the way the evening went from there. There was no card in the deck that Chau could win the pot with, and ONLY an ace, deuce, or one of three sixes could get him half.
I ended up putting in an eight hour session once again and losing $190,000. Now for those of you shocked by that two day figure it’s important to realize the stakes. In two days I’m down $441,000 which is nowhere near the biggest loser over that stretch. In fact, you can win half a million in an hour in that game, or lose it of course.
So while $441,000 is a lot of money in the real world, in that game it’s not much of a figure at all. I’m totally comfortable with the figure personally and genuinely not worried about it.
I will say though that I could have played better. I felt sluggish during both sessions. I don’t think that’s the reason I lost two days in a row but I do think I may have lost a bet here or there due to a lack of focus. That’s what I get for not taking my vitamin!
Tonight I think I