19 April 2008

Doyle, Poker after Dark, and more Prop Bets

I was enjoying my first few days back in Vegas when all of a sudden I received a ton of phone calls and emails all asking me about a golf match with Doyle Brunson. I had no idea what they were talking about until I read Doyle's blog, and saw he challenged me to a $100,000 per hole golf match. First of all, when the hell did Doyle Brunson start writing a blog, is it even legal for a man that old to blog? Pretty amazing for a guy that was around before TV's and telephones. And second, what is the gambling world coming to when a 108 year old man can challenge a young man in the prime of his life to a $100,000 a hole golf match.

Now you have to remember I took up golf only a few months ago. I am very happy if I can break 100 when I play 18 holes. Doyle on the other hand, is rumored to have hustled the likes of Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, and other legends at Shadow Creek since the early 20's.

I would like Doyle to know that I accept his challenge (not that I had much of a choice, I would be the laughing stock of the poker world if I backed down from this challenge) and if I have until August to practice and improve, hopefully I can make a big dent in Todd's inheritance. Seeing Todd cringe when I win millions is going to be worth just as much as the money.

Doyle and I met this past Wednesday to discuss our upcoming heads up poker match before we played on Poker After Dark that evening. In the three years I have known Doyle, I have never seen him looking more alive and with so much energy and focus. Most likely due to the fact that he thinks he has finally found the ultimate fish who is going to donate millions on the golf course and poker table.

I am going to play some tennis in the morning and then hit the putting and chipping greens to work on my short game. The WPT Bellagio starts for me Sunday and you can bet that I will bring my best game and fight hard for every chip.

13 April 2008

Should have gone to sleep

That is what I was asking myself as I left the casino and headed home yesterday after the completion of Day 1. I had a crazy up and down day yesterday at the EPT Grand Final here in Monaco. I was down to 3700 early in level 2 from the starting stack of 15,000. And then things started to turn around and I went on a nice rush and built my stack to around 70,000.

We had played for almost twelve hours and I was in great position to put myself in contention to be a major threat, buy I got a little frisky preflop with 22 and lost a huge pot to KK. For some reason I decided that my opponent did not have a big hand, and my pocket deuces were the best hand at the moment. I did not want to call preflop, so I decided to make a over raise and commit myself. He pushed all in and I was in trouble against KK. My deuces could not crack his kings and I lost a ton of chips. I was not too happy with myself at the end of the day and going to try my best to recover on Day 2.

I start day 2 tomorrow with 15,000 in chips, thankfully the structure is very good and I still have a little time to make things happen. We are going to start the day with blinds of 200-400 and 50 ante.

I spent the day off today going up to the mountains to hit some golf balls on the range. I had a Swedish camera crew following me around for interviews and pictures for an upcoming article in a Swedish poker magazine.

I have a few new prop bets that I will write about in my next blog, but here is a quick look into what I have going on this summer. It is going to be a super busy June and July with all these bets and the WSOP events. I am planning on playing a few more events this year.

Heads Up Poker match vs the legend Doyle Brunson (I have been working non stop on my pineapple game Doyle, so you better watch out)

Tennis / Golf bet for $100,000 with Brandon Adams

Tennis match vs Gus Hansen for $200,000

Golf team match with my assistant vs two Finnish pros for $200,000

Heads Up Stud 8 or Better match / Golf match with Daniel Negreanu for $500,000

The family is doing great, everyone is starting to feel like Monaco is home. It felt like a vacation for everyone the first few weeks, but we have finally settled. Mila is getting so big, fast, and smart it is amazing. She is the most curious little girl and tries to get her hands on anything she can get a hold of. Maya and I cannot take our eyes off her for a second, if we are not paying close attention, she finds trouble wherever she can.

The weather has not been very good the past week and I have not been able to play tennis or golf, hopefully the sun comes out before I leave so I can get some practice. The match with Gus is finally going to happen, so I need my game to be in tip top shape so I can have the Bobby's Rooms tennis bragging rights.

As soon as the EPT finished I will be flying to Las Vegas for a taping of Poker After Dark and to play in the $25,000 WPT Bellagio Event. This is one of my favorite events and the large prize pool makes it a great tournament. I have had some deep runs the past few years in this event, and I feel if I play well and remember that 2's do not beat Kings, I might have a chance to make something special happen in Vegas.

I have found a new interest in tournaments, so going to really focus tomorrow and try to double up early. Wish me luck and I will keep you posted on how the day goes soon.

-Patrik-