In a few minutes I will be playing my friend Brandon Adams in a $100,000 No Limit Heads Up match with blinds of $300-600. We agreed to cancel our big tennis match on Monday, and instead, play this poker match tonight.
Brandon is a very good no limit player and it should be a great match. I am happy that I have been playing some No Limit lately against some very good players on Full Tilt, so my game is sharp.
We will be playing on Full Tilt naturally and the official start time is 11:30 pm Las Vegas time.
I will write about the match tomorrow, wish me luck!!
11 July 2008
08 July 2008
WSOP Main Event
I will start with a little recap of my first day at the 2008 WSOP Main Event. I made it through day one for the second straight year which is good. It was a long day and everything was going great until the last hand of the night. I was close to the chiplead most of the day and was getting ready to bag my chips up and go home, but the last hand got me good. I had J6 on a J J 5 flop and got it all in on the flop, my opponent was leading with AJ and had me drawing dead on the turn when an Ace fell. It was the last hand of the night and instead of going home with around 110,000 I am going to start day 2 with 64,125. 64k is still a good stack and I will enjoy a few days off before day 2. Maya played Day 1a and she has around 70k in chips. We will both be playing tomorrow in Day 2a and hopefully we both survive to day 3.
I have taken a few days off tennis because I hurt my neck last week. It was so bad that I could only chip and putt at the golf course. Yesterday I finally could start hitting some woods and long irons and played some golf with Jani and Nick. Jani has hired a new caddie James, and unfortunately for us, he is helping Jani so much. Most people would call it a day after spending an afternoon golfing at TPC, well Jani and I needed a little more excitement. We bought the nicest seats available at the Forest Griffin vs Rampage Jackson UFC fight. Jani and I had a small bet on the fight and I had Griffin and he pulled off the upset. It was getting late, but whats a day without some poker. I headed over to the Bellagio and sat down in a nice little $4000-$8000 game with David, Eli, Rafi, and Mynh. While we were playing I was thinking to myself, I am living the dream, I golfed, went to a UFC fight, played in Bobby's Room, and the Wimbledon final will be on TV in a few minutes. 2 TV's in Bobbys Room started showing the Roger Federer vs Rafael Nadal Wimbledon final. I kept playing in the poker game, but was really watching the tennis. It turned out to be one of the greatest matches in Wimbledon history and was a pleasure to watch two of the greatest players battling to the end. I decided my day was complete and time to go home. I had booked a nice win and was halfway home when my phone rang. My agent, called and said I could meet Forest Griffin and Chuck Liddell over at the RIO if I wanted to. I am a huge MMA fan, and rushed over to the RIO to congragulate Forest and chat with the two before they played in the Main Event. It was a long day, but I could not have dreamed up a better day. I love Las Vegas, there is no other city in the world that can match it.
Brandon Adams and I had agreed to play our match at the Wynn Golf Course. I was allowed to pick three courses, and he would select the final one. I chose TPC Summerlin, Bears Best, and the Wynn. TPC is my home course, but it is also very tough. Bears Best is my least favorite, because it has very tough rough and I have a lot of difficulty chipping out of it. The Wynn is my favorite, and last time we played there, Brandon stormed off the course after 9 holes with me up around $70,000.
Well we had to make a change today, due to some unusual circumstances. We had a practice round today at the Wynn. Brandon, Jani, Nick, my agent Chris, and myself. We paid a small fortune to play, greens fees were over $2000 when it was all said and done. The troubles started before we teed off the first tee, the assistant golf pro Greg said we could not have our own caddies. We all have personal caddies we pay to come wherever we golf to help us and caddie.
The Wynn provides their own caddies, which is fine, we just told him to stay out of the way and let us do our thing. We were all playing for big money and everyone brought their own caddie. The assistant pro drove around the course spying on us seeing if our personal caddies were staying in the cart like they were told. Well I pay Jimmy and felt that he should be able to help me read greens, clean my clubs, and do normal caddie duties. On about the 5th hole they threw our caddies off the course. I could not believe what I was seeing. The Wynn staff treated us so poorly no one could believe it. You can bet every penny you have that the next time I lose 1 million dollars at the craps table, it will not be at the Wynn.
So Brandon and I decided to play our match at TPC, my home course. Because I have a little edge there, if Brandon wins, he gets $110,000 and if I win, I get $100,000. Brandon is starting to play better so I am the underdog.
We will be playing our tennis match the day after the golf, around the 14th of July. It should be a fun two days and hopefully I can win both of them and make a nice little profit.
I should have a new video blog coming out soon as well, so check www.rawvegas.com for that as well.
I have taken a few days off tennis because I hurt my neck last week. It was so bad that I could only chip and putt at the golf course. Yesterday I finally could start hitting some woods and long irons and played some golf with Jani and Nick. Jani has hired a new caddie James, and unfortunately for us, he is helping Jani so much. Most people would call it a day after spending an afternoon golfing at TPC, well Jani and I needed a little more excitement. We bought the nicest seats available at the Forest Griffin vs Rampage Jackson UFC fight. Jani and I had a small bet on the fight and I had Griffin and he pulled off the upset. It was getting late, but whats a day without some poker. I headed over to the Bellagio and sat down in a nice little $4000-$8000 game with David, Eli, Rafi, and Mynh. While we were playing I was thinking to myself, I am living the dream, I golfed, went to a UFC fight, played in Bobby's Room, and the Wimbledon final will be on TV in a few minutes. 2 TV's in Bobbys Room started showing the Roger Federer vs Rafael Nadal Wimbledon final. I kept playing in the poker game, but was really watching the tennis. It turned out to be one of the greatest matches in Wimbledon history and was a pleasure to watch two of the greatest players battling to the end. I decided my day was complete and time to go home. I had booked a nice win and was halfway home when my phone rang. My agent, called and said I could meet Forest Griffin and Chuck Liddell over at the RIO if I wanted to. I am a huge MMA fan, and rushed over to the RIO to congragulate Forest and chat with the two before they played in the Main Event. It was a long day, but I could not have dreamed up a better day. I love Las Vegas, there is no other city in the world that can match it.
Brandon Adams and I had agreed to play our match at the Wynn Golf Course. I was allowed to pick three courses, and he would select the final one. I chose TPC Summerlin, Bears Best, and the Wynn. TPC is my home course, but it is also very tough. Bears Best is my least favorite, because it has very tough rough and I have a lot of difficulty chipping out of it. The Wynn is my favorite, and last time we played there, Brandon stormed off the course after 9 holes with me up around $70,000.
Well we had to make a change today, due to some unusual circumstances. We had a practice round today at the Wynn. Brandon, Jani, Nick, my agent Chris, and myself. We paid a small fortune to play, greens fees were over $2000 when it was all said and done. The troubles started before we teed off the first tee, the assistant golf pro Greg said we could not have our own caddies. We all have personal caddies we pay to come wherever we golf to help us and caddie.
The Wynn provides their own caddies, which is fine, we just told him to stay out of the way and let us do our thing. We were all playing for big money and everyone brought their own caddie. The assistant pro drove around the course spying on us seeing if our personal caddies were staying in the cart like they were told. Well I pay Jimmy and felt that he should be able to help me read greens, clean my clubs, and do normal caddie duties. On about the 5th hole they threw our caddies off the course. I could not believe what I was seeing. The Wynn staff treated us so poorly no one could believe it. You can bet every penny you have that the next time I lose 1 million dollars at the craps table, it will not be at the Wynn.
So Brandon and I decided to play our match at TPC, my home course. Because I have a little edge there, if Brandon wins, he gets $110,000 and if I win, I get $100,000. Brandon is starting to play better so I am the underdog.
We will be playing our tennis match the day after the golf, around the 14th of July. It should be a fun two days and hopefully I can win both of them and make a nice little profit.
I should have a new video blog coming out soon as well, so check www.rawvegas.com for that as well.
12 June 2008
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.
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.
03 June 2008
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
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
01 June 2008
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
Raw Vegas Video
16 May 2008
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.
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.
01 May 2008
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.
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.
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