WSOP and Golf Update

I have had a very busy and great start to the WSOP. As many of you have probably heard, I signed a deal with Full Tilt. I am very proud to be a member of Team Full Tilt and be on such an exclusive and elite team. In the first event this year, the $10,000 World Championship of Pot Limit Hold Em, I reached the final table and finished 7th for a nice payday of $124, 080. It was a very strong final table with Kathy Liebert, Phil Laak, Chris Bell, Mike Sexton, Andy Bloch, Mike Sowers, Amit Makhija, and Nenad Medic . Nenad played very well and eventually went on the take down the tournament.

In event #4 the $5000 Mixed No limit and limit tournament I had a very good stack deep on day two, but ran into a few big hands, but still had my second cash, as I finished in 27th place. Erick Lindgren went on to win this event and his first bracelet, Erick is one of the nicest guys in poker and happy to see him win his bracelet, hopefully my first one is coming sooner then later.

With so much poker the first few days, I was missing my favorite thing to do, golf. It did not take long either for a very interesting bet to happen either. My assistant was texting Daniel about a possible team match between us and Daniel and his caddie / coach. We decided to play $20,000 for low team total on every hole and $20,000 for individual low score on each hole. There were going to be a lot of ties, but it would still be possible for one team to win or lose $300,000. It was a very dramatic match, we started out hot, and were up around $140,000, but Daniel went on a tear and played his best round ever and was phenomenal on the back nine. He was a wizard with his chipping and putting, and they beat us for $20,000 when it was all said and done. We are definitely getting a rematch next week, so will be sure to keep you posted on how that goes. Raw Vegas was there to film it, and I think will be airing it in a High Stakes Golf series in the next few days.

I would like to issue a little challenge to a few online players who have been very successful at the biggest games online the past few months. All they do is hide behind their computer screens, scared to play anyone that they think is any good. I have not played Heads Up No Limit on Full Tilt for a long time and have hardly any experience playing it compared to these guys, yet, they refuse to play me and are dodging me in all games.

Durrr, OMGClayAiken, trex313, Urindanger, I am looking for action and I want a chance to play against the best. I will play any of you in any game on Full Tilt, I will be waiting, hopefully your up for the challenge.

Video Blog #2

I have been playing a lot of poker the past few days, which is a very good thing, because it means I am doing well in my tournaments. I finished 7th in the $10,000 PLH which was disappointing, but there was nothing I could have done.

I survived Day 1 today of the $5000 Mix No Limit / Limit tournament and have a little above average stack. Hopefully I can continue to play well on Day 2 and make my second final table.

Raw Vegas Video

Day 1 WSOP

I did a short video blog before day one of the $10,000 Pot Limit Hold em event. I will be doing video blogs a few times a week to keep everyone updated.


Raw Vegas Video

Barcelona

I arrived in Barcelona after working the past two weeks in Amsterdam. I have talked about this new project I am working on a few times, and unfortunately, I can still not give out too many details. But, I can tell you I have put in many 10 hour days in Amsterdam working as hard as I can to make it really special. I also got to spend a lot of time with one of my best friends Noeh Boeken and his crew.

I really enjoyed Amsterdam, and got lucky that the weather was so nice. It was around 80 degrees everyday and I took advantage of it, playing a ton of tennis while I was there. I have to give a special thanks to Melle Van Gemerden who kicked my butt on the tennis court a few times. He is recovering from an injury, and when he gets back on tour, watch out for him to have some great results.

The only major problem I found in Amsterdam, was the lack of golf courses. My financial and legal manager Tommi, came to visit, and we headed out to a nearby course. It would be an understatement to say that the fairways at Shadow Creek were a lot nicer then this courses greens. I did visit a driving range a few times, but they only had mats to hit off of, and I really prefer practicing on grass. My good buddy Mikko has been hitting on the indoor mats in Finland the past few months, and thinks he can beat Tiger Woods. I cannot wait until he arrives in Barcelona and realizes golf is played on grass and not mats.

The plan in Barcelona is to play a lot of tennis and golf in preparation of a summer full of tennis and golf bets. Gus and I are playing very soon, so it is important to be in tip top tennis shape. My golf game is a little rusty from not playing much in Amsterdam, so I am sure my friends who are arriving soon are going to try and bust me the first few days.

I am trying to decide if I am going to play the WPT Spanish Championships or the big $25,000 Heads Up online tournament the same time. I keep saying that I am ready to have some good results in tournaments, and hopefully I can get the momentum started heading into the WSOP. I am going to be fresh and ready for an exciting June and July at the RIO, and hopefully do well in the big games in Bobby's Room as well.

Daniel, Daniel, Daniel

I was hoping to break the news myself, but Daniel spoiled it for me. I would like all my loyal readers to know, that I have given up poker and joining the PGA Tour full time, starting this weekend at the Wachovia Championship. Most people find it amazing that I only picked up a golf club for the first time a few months ago and just broke the course record at Shadow Creek shattering Tiger Woods 63, with a 59 of my own.

What Daniel fails to mention in his blog, is that it was the first time I have ever broke 90, and more importantly, it was me reaching into my pockets and paying Daniel in the clubhouse. He beat me for a large sum of money and he is talking like I am the next Tiger Woods. All that aside, I had a lot of fun playing with Daniel and Erik Lindgren. Daniel is not going to win any long drive competitions, but his ball never sniffs the rough and he can putt lights out.

I am currently in Amsterdam working very hard on an exciting project that will hopefully launch in a few weeks. I will blog all about it in the next few weeks and cannot wait to share the news. I am going to be here for a few days and then off to Barcelona for a few weeks of rest, golf, and relaxation. A few friends are also coming into town and we are going to have a lot of fun gambling on the golf course and probably some all night Chinese games. The real purpose of the trip is to refresh and go into the WSOP ready to grind long tournament hours and win a bracelet.

I am committed to playing more tournaments at this years WSOP, too be honest, I am a little frustrated with my tournament play as of late, and want to start making some final tables and make things happen.

The night before flying to Amsterdam, I played at the Bellagio in the Big Game with Doyle, Phil Ivey, Tom "Durr" Dwan, and David Benyamine. I give Tom a lot of credit for playing some mixed games at stakes that high. The game broke after two hours, but I still booked a very nice win. I headed home and got ready for the flight.

One of my best poker friends Noah Boeken is my tour guide for the week, so naturally it will be a fun few days. Will write soon when I get to Barcelona, and my favorite Hotel in the word, Hotel Arts.

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.

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-