Michael Binger
Saturday, November 14, 2009 - Michaelbinger
Hello all,
I just got back from one of the most amazing trips of my life. My brother and I went diving with great white sharks and fishing for tuna about 200 miles off the coast of Mexico. We had to skip the WPT at Foxwoods, but wow was it worth it.
We met our fellow travelers on Wednesday morning in San Diego, boarded a bus for the port of Ensenada Mexico, and departed on a long distance fishing boat called the Searcher. There was a crew of 6 or 7 and 16 passengers. We left port around 2pm and headed out into the Pacific for our 18 hour journey to the remote Guadalupe Island. Shortly after leaving port, we were graced by dozens of dolphins and some whales.
For dinner we had an amazing gourmet meal prepared by the on-board chef Charles. Did not expect to be eating that good on a boat!
We arrive to the island the next morning and promptly get to our business. A suitable spot is found, the water is chummed, and the cages are put in the water. The cages are about 8 feet long, 4 feet wide, and 10 feet tall and hold up to 4 people at a time. The water is sufficiently cold to warrant full body wet suits; oxygen is supplied from the boat through a tube and regulator. My brother and I were part of the first group to go in… some 30 minutes or so passed before the first shark showed up… a 15 foot great white. Quite a beast! At this point you become more aware of the large open window in the cage… just about big enough for the shark to pop in and grab a little human snack. However, after a little while it becomes clear that no such thing will happen… these guys are cautious creatures… and anyways they don’t really like the taste of human flesh. They do however swim within arms reach of the cage regularly, prompted both by curiosity as well as the bait… there are large tuna carcasses attached to a rope on the surface near the cages. Watching them go for these is quite a sight.
Words don’t really do this justice… so check out the pics below and more on my facebook page, where you’ll also find some video.
Our second full day we pulled in the cages and did some fishing instead. First we were after yellowfin tuna, a staple for many sushi dishes. They were biting in a big way… I had my line out for all of 30 seconds when I hooked one. They are quite the fighters… it took 15-20 minutes or so to land him… a 50 pounder. I ended up catching another pretty quickly. Then I hooked a monster… this guy was fighting much harder than the others. I fought with him for almost 30 minutes before a great white was spotted circling the boat and I was warned that they often pick off tuna from the lines. I see the shark head down into the depths where my fish was, and next thing I know my fish goes bananas. I couldn’t see him but I felt it. Then all of a sudden the pressure on my line subsides… but I still have something on there… putting up a little bit of a fight. I reel in as quickly as I can and finally catch a glimpse of about 2/3’s of a huge tuna fish shimmering in the depths! Then wouldn’t you know it, Mr. Shark comes back and intercepts the remainder of his meal, putting the poor tuna out of his misery and giving me quite a fish story. I got sharked! The crew actually has a term for it… they call it paying your taxes! This is one tough tax man! Later on I hooked another tuna (and in the process my line snapped the line on a fish my brother had been fighting for a long time… sorry Nick!) and eventually got shark chomped again… however this time he left me the head to bring aboard. Check out the pic! After everyone had caught their fill of yellowfin tuna, we changed locations in pursuit of yellowtail snapper (Hamachi to sushi aficionados). I managed to catch one of about 15-20 pounds. By evening time we were getting hungry… and as luck would have one of the crew members is an experienced sushi chef. We had the most amazing fresh sushi ever.
It was a great day… and Nick and I took home about 60 pounds of fillets of sushi grade tuna and yellowtail which are currently vacuum sealed and in our freezer. I pan seared some last night… yum!
Day 3 we were back in the water in the cages diving with the sharks. Another amazing day, with perfect weather and 2 great whites showing up and hanging out with us most of the day. There were times when both were very close to the cage simultaneously.
Towards evening it was time to say goodbye to Guadalupe Island and start chugging on our 18 hour journey back to civilization. There were some serious swells and several on board got sick. The next morning we were entering Ensenada bay when a pod of 6-8 Orca whales (Killer whales) was spotted at the mouth of the bay. We diverted to check them out. While ooohing and aaahing we notice a huge group of dolphins… well over a hundred. They were booking it from the interior of the bay along the rocky abutment heading towards open water. The crew tells us that yes, orcas do eat dolphins, and that the orcas had essentially trapped the dolphins in the bay. The dolphins were trying to escape. At this point the orcas take off from frolicking near our boat and plot an intercept course. They split the dolphins into two groups; one heads out to sea and relative safety while the other heads back into the bay where they must bide their time. And at least one poor dolphin got picked off from the rest of the group… we watched in fascination and horror as the orcas chased it down, caught it, threw it in the air and then proceeded to eat it. A flock of seagulls descended to fight over the leftovers. The crew said they had never seen anything like that before. We were very fortunate to have witnessed such a raw and uncensored act of nature.
Really an amazing trip… made me realize why I played poker again… so that I can have the flexibility to have these experiences.
Last night I played a bit of poker online… including the VIP freeroll on UB which I hosted. I ended up winning it for $1200! Nice to run good.
Best of Luck,
Michael Binger
Tags: Foxwoods, Michel Binger, Online Poker, Poker Poker Poker, ub, VIP Freeroll, WPT
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Tuesday, November 3, 2009 - Michaelbinger
Hi all,
It’s been a while…
So 2 weeks ago my brother Nick and I were geared up to go on a 5 day trip off the coast of Mexico to dive with great white sharks (in cages of course!) and tuna fishing. However, 30 minutes before getting on board the boat in San Diego we got a call from our Mom telling us that our grandmother had just passed away. She was 85 and had been sick and in pain for a few years so it was not unexpected. We of course canceled our trip and drove to LA to be with our family. My Mom and aunt were already there and I know it was hard on them losing their mother. But it is hardest on our grandfather… They were married during World War 2 and have remained so for 65 years, despite being displaced from their homeland in Ukraine during the war (caught between Hitler and Stalin), moving to Venezuela after the war (where my Mom was born), and then to LA where their jewelry store was destroyed in the Rodney King riots. I spent most Thanksgivings over the past ten years with them since I lived in CA and now vegas. I can’t imagine what it’s like to lose someone you’ve been with your whole life. We had a traditional Russian Orthodox funeral and burial last week, which was really beautiful.
My older brother Rick was also in town for the week and he and Nick and I had some down time to hang. We ended up playing a lot of Wii Sports Resort… Really fun game.
Anyways it was good to spend time with the family, although not under optimal circumstances.
The whole experience reminded me what was important in life.
So now I’m back in Vegas for a bit… I played online tournies this Sunday for the first time in a while… No luck in the UB events but I did manage a win the HORSE tourney on another site.
Later this week Nick and I are going on our shark diving/tuna fishing trip… should be awesome!
After that, I’ll be going to the Taj in Atlantic City to play their $2500 PLO and $5000 NLHE main event.
Till next time…
Michael Binger
Tags: h.o.r.s.e., Michael Binger, Poker Poker Poker, ub, Vegas
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Sunday, October 18, 2009 - Michaelbinger
Well it has been quite a few weeks. After a frustrating week or two of poker in London I flew from Amsterdam to Aruba on the 3rd. I knew immediately that I was in for a great week. I managed to convince my brother Nick to come out to Aruba for the first time so I had a partner in crime. Plus alot of good friends were going to be there. I really do have more and more fun every year in Aruba.
Day 1 Sun Oct 4: Nick and I rented a Catamaran sailboat (a Hobicat) and managed to capsize it only twice. It’s a bit of a pain to get them right side up in the middle of the ocean but well worth it for the fun and adventure. It was really a blast… we went sailing another 3 times during the week. We hung a few hours on the beach with some friends then headed back to the room to get ready for the opening party. Little did I know what an EPIC night we had in store. Things started off a bit tame (by which I mean a normal fun party), but about an hour or two into it people started getting rather drunk, and well… a massive epidemic of people getting thrown into the pool ensued. I must admit that myself, my brother Nick, and some other team UB pros were the main culprits behind this. We would spot someone in the crowd who we thought should be in the pool, and like savage hunters track them down and throw them in kicking and screaming (FYI they were fake screams… interesting fact: people love being thrown in pools! ). We were good though… we always gave our victim the opportunity to empty the pockets of cell phones and other stuff and give them to a friend before getting thrown in. Before long, it seemed like the entire party was in the pool. The award for toughest fighter goes to the newest UB team pro Joe Sebok… that kid is scrappy and strong… I think it took 4 of us to get him in the pool! But once he was in the pool, he came to see the wisdom of it all!
Day 2 Mon Oct 5: This was day 1A of the main event and we had the day off. A fun mostly lazy day on the beach interrupted only by going tubing. Four of us could go at a time on our own separate tubes and boat driver was on a mission to sling us around and knock us off. Quite exhilarating and fun. Dinner out in town at an awesome restaurant Madame Janette.
Day 3 Tues Oct 6: Time to play poker! We started with 15k in chips and as usual with tournaments run by Matt Savage the blind structure was very good. I finished the day with 41k I think, a bit above average. Off to bed early.
Day 4 Wed Oct 7: Nick and I woke up early to go for a swim in the ocean and then sailing before the noon day 2 restart. The winds were fairly strong and the skies ominous. We got pretty far from shore and decided that a fun way to practice sailing would be for one of us to jump out of the boat and have the other tack back to “rescue”. I was the first overboard and my brother decided to sail past me a few times just for fun before picking me up. Next it was Nick’s turn: he jumps overboard, and almost immediately the winds pick up. I am doing my best to control the small boat, which is going faster than ever. Before I even know what’s going on the front of the boat is plowing into the water and I am at 45 degrees… very close to flipping but I managed to lean back and counterbalance. I turn around and tack back towards Nick just as it starts pouring rain and lightning and thundering. It is getting a bit scary, but as an experienced seaman (this is my 2nd time sailing) I wasn’t fazed 
. I pick up Nick and we decide to head in… the only problem being that it is raining so hard we cannot see the shore. But a good sailor has an internal compass so we made it back safe and sound, in time to play some poker. Sadly the day didn’t go well for either of us. I built up to over 80k early on and was in strong position, but everything just fell apart and I busted in the evening… so I was stuck on a tropical island with tons of fun leisure/adventure activities and a bunch of cool people. Sigh.
Day 5 Thurs Oct 8: Horseback riding! Went with Nick, UB pro Liv Boeree, and Allie Prescott who sadly had to bail at the last minute do to illness. It was a blast, we got to gallup along the beach and mosey through the Aruban countryside. Great big group dinner.
Hung out in the pool for a while around midnight with a bunch of friends and UB pros. Went out to some clubs late night with Joe Reitman and ran into a bunch of great people. Walked home at 5am.
Day 6 Fri Oct 9: Another day of beach bumming and sailing. Good times. Then in the evening to Phil Hellmuth’s party in the penthouse suite. As usual, a great party. Lots of free flowing Dom Perignon, plus a performance by The Dan Band, who were awesome and funny. Oh yes and there was a rapping competition between Jeff Madsen and the Poker Rapper.
Day 7 Sat Oct 10: Lazy day shopping, getting lunch, then went out on the Waverunners. Had a blast once I figured out how to do 360’s. More beach bummery with the crew. Throwing around the nerf football and such. The closing party was that night, featuring another performance by The Dan Band, and another episode of debaucherous pool throwing and frolicking (see day 1).
Day 8 Sun Oct 11: Time to leave 
Until next year Aruba!
So now I’m back home in Vegas, playing some poker at the Bellagio and just catching up on life. Played the 10k HORSE event 2 days ago, which got only 19 players. Busted on day 2 yesterday. Probably playing the 10k PLO tomorrow… check me out on twitter for updates!
Best of Luck,
Michael Binger
Tags: Amsterdam, Aruba, Bellagio, Joe Reitman, Joe Sebok, Liv Boeree, London, Matt Savage, Michael Binger, Phil Hellmuth, Poker Poker Poker, Team UB, The Dan Band, Twitter, ub pros, Vegas
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Wednesday, September 30, 2009 - Michaelbinger
I’m sitting at the London City Airport waiting to board my flight to Amsterdam. Can’t get out of London fast enough. It’s been a miserable trip poker-wise. I’ve whiffed all the tournies and also done poorly online. To recap: I bubbled the Borgata WPT main event last week after being one of the chip leaders on day 2; I then immediately got on the first flight to London that evening, arrive at my hotel at 11:30am the next morning, check my bags at the concierge because my room is not yet ready, head straight to the Empire casino to play the WSOP Europe $8k PLO event, play patiently for 10 hours only to get bad beat out. After that I play the WSOPE $17k main event, bust on day 2 losing AQs vs KQo all-in preflop. Yesterday I played the EPT prelim PLO/PLH $1800 event and basically couldn’t win a pot until I was forced to race and lost.
Smattered in between these glorious live events were various bloodbath online sessions. I can’t remember the last time I won a substantial pot. Sigh.
Anyways, rather than torturing myself further by playing more EPT events here I decided to get out of Dodge and spend two days with some friends in Amsterdam. From there I have a direct flight to Aruba on Saturday the 3rd.
best of luck,
michael
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Friday, September 18, 2009 - Michaelbinger
It has been a busy week since I last wrote! I’ve embarked on a 5 week multi-purpose/multi-destination trip. First stop was a 4 day vacation in the Hamptons. It was nice and relaxing… had massages, hung by the pool, some online poker. From there I spent a few days in NYC hanging out with friends. Good times. I went sailing for the first time last Thursday… out in Long Island Sound. A friend that I met in Guyana on the volunteer mission I did with Victor Ramdin this summer… Craig, a doctor from NY… has a 37 foot sailboat. It was very windy and wavy, which makes for exciting sailing! Seemed like most of the time the boat was at a 45 degree angle. It’s tough to steer the boat in a straight line in those conditions…
From there I went to Philly for the wedding of my good friend/agent/manager Eric Brewstein and Michelle. I was a groomsman so had to show up a day early for the rehearsal. The wedding day itself was spectacular… there were two weddings: First a Catholic ceremony appropriate to the brides family. After that a Jewish ceremony for Eric’s family. The party afterwards was amazing. I tore up the dance floor all night, which is scary because I usually never dance! But the band, the atmosphere , and the company was that good.
Anyway, this Sunday I played some online tournies and cash games, including the $530 buy-in on Ultimate Bet, which I final tabled and took 7th place.
I am going to film a poker show called Inside Deal for ESPN this week and then off to Raleigh to see my Mom and family. It will be great to see everyone as I haven’t been home since Christmas.
From there to the Borgata for the WPT event, then London for the WSOP Europe, and finally Aruba before getting home in October.
For now I’m off to bed…
Michael Binger
Tags: Aruba, espn, Inside Deal, Poker Poker Poker, ultimatebet, WPT, WSOPE
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Friday, September 4, 2009 - Michaelbinger
Hi all!
I’m writing this from 30000 feet! Flying Virgin America from Vegas to NY. Great airline… I decided to splurge for first class since they have wireless onboard and I figured I could pay for the upgrade through online poker winnings. 4 hours into the flight and I’ve shown a nice profit. Success! I played some of the no limit tables on Ultimate Bet with the bonus for winning with 2-7. Quite fun, except when you find yourself bluffing hundreds of dollars chasing that bonus 
.
Oh yes, and I finally can play UB on my MacBook! They have Apple compatible download now.
Anyhow, I am starting off a 5 week trip away from home. Headed to the Hamptons tonight. A friend rented a posh house there for the labor day weekend and invited me. Thanks D!
After that I’m going to Raleigh to see Mom and family and then NY to see friends. Then to Philly for a good friend’s wedding… I’m a groomsman. Then to Atlantic City for Borgata tourney, followed by London for the WSOP Europe. And finally… phew, let me catch my breath… to Aruba the first week of October for the UB Aruba Poker Classic. That is always great fun.
Oh by the way this week I went to Spago in Caesars Palace Forum shops for the first time… one of the best meals I’ve ever had. I was shocked how good it was.
Also, this week I’ve gotten back to working on some poker math projects. Doing some cool stuff with 2-7 triple draw now.
Best of Luck,
Michael Binger
Tags: Aruba, Aruba Poker Classic, Caesars Palace, Poker Poker Poker, ub, UB Mac, Ultimate Bet, Vegas, WSOPE
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Friday, August 28, 2009 - Michaelbinger
Hi all,
I am in, of all places, Thackerville Oklahoma. Obviously to play poker The Winstar Casino here has a $2100 buy-in tourney with a 3 million guarantee! They have had 4 day ones… Today is the last… Looks like they will end up with 1100-1200 players, meaning there will be an overlay of $600k-800k. That is great value, especially given relatively weak field here. Actually I am very surprised they are able to get such a large turnout for a 2k in the middle of Oklahoma…
Apparently they have been running satelites for months and to a lot of players in the region this is the biggest event of the year.
Anyway, things have started off nicely… I have triple the average stack early on. But still along way to go and the structure is fast.
Last week I was in LA for the WPT Legends at the Bike… Busted at the end of day 1 with aces versus kings preflop. I then spent a few days at the Commerce playing cash games… Wish I could say it went well, but I ended up taking one of the biggest losses in my life playing 400-800 mix games. I haven’t played that big in a while so it was painful to run as bad as I did.
After OK I am headed home to vegas for a few weeks before a heavy travel schedule in September. NC to see Mom, Philly for a wedding, AC for Borgata, London for WSOP Europe, then Aruba for the UB classic!
Best of luck!
Michael Binger
Tags: Aruba, aruba classic, Michael Binger, Poker Poker Poker, ub, WPT, WSOPE
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Friday, August 21, 2009 - Michaelbinger
Hi all! I’m in LA for a few days playing live poker for the first time in a month… Good to get back into it after a much needed respite! I played the 1k HORSE tourney at the Bicycle Casino on Tuesday. Was doing well until I got set under set in the hold ‘em round to lose more than half my stack. Then got all in with a pat 6-5-4-3-A in Razz on 5th street against someone with 2-K showing… He caught perfect perfect to bust me. But all is good… I ended up winning 2nd place money in a PLO cash game at the Commerce that night. Today I’m playing my favorite game: no-limit 2-7 single draw. It’s a big game with $200-400 blinds and an ante of $100 per person. So far so good I’m up a decent amount. Oh I almost forgot yesterday I had an awesome day… a great lunch with some friends followed by wine and games by the pool. I walked into the Commerce at 8pm and immediately ran into some friends heading out to dinner at this great Italian restaurant (Mozza). Had an amazing 4 hour dinner. Basically spent the entire day eating good food, drinking good wine, and hanging with good people. Hard to beat that! Saturday I’m playing the $10k WPT Legends tourney at the Bike… Wish me luck! Michael Binger
Tags: Bicycle Casino, Michael Binger, Poker Poker Poker, WPT, WPT Legends
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Friday, August 14, 2009 - Michaelbinger
It’s been a busy week here at home… between traveling a bunch earlier in the year and then being consumed with the WSOP I have a ton of
real life obligations. So mostly I’ve been trying to get caught up in my life. I have to say it’s a nice feeling being able to see my desktop again!
Also working on getting back into a solid healthy routine… working out every day… either swimming laps or in the gym. And I’ve been enjoying doing some cooking
around the house.
I hadn’t played any poker since the WSOP until this week…. been playing a bit online. Doing well so far in the cash games (including the 7-2 bonus games on UB).
I spent a while today figuring out my schedule for the next few weeks. There are always so many travel options to poker tournaments… and as someone who loves travel and loves poker tournaments sometimes it is hard to say no.
Just in the next month I could go to Macau (APT and APPT), LA (WPT at the Bicycle Casino), Cannes (for the Partouche tournament), Barcelona (EPT), Cyprus (WPT), Atlantic City (Borgata WPT), and Foxwoods (2k Deepstack). Or I could stay at home and play online and play some of the tournies coming up at the Hard Rock Casino. What to do what to do!?!
I’ve realized that sometimes I just need a break and too much travel just wears me thin. So I decided to pass on Macau (even though I really want to go sometime soon). Instead I’m probably going to play some of the events in LA at the Bike and here in Vegas at the Hard Rock. And definitely the Borgata in Sept. And maybe Cannes and Barcelona! Damn I’m a junky. And of course at the end of September there’s the WSOP Europe in London and then straight to Aruba the first week of October!
Off to watch a movie with my brother…
Best of luck,
Michael Binger
Tags: APPT, APT, Aruba, Barcelona, Cannes, Cyprus, EPT, Macau, Michael Binger, ub, Vegas, WPT, WSOP, WSOPE
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Friday, August 7, 2009 - Michaelbinger
It’s been a great past few weeks. I spent almost two weeks in Guyana on a volunteer trip setting up temporary health clinics around the country.
I was recruited by professional poker player Victor Ramdin, who is a member of the charity, Guyana Watch.
Every day I woke up between 5 and 6am, grabbed breakfast, and headed out on a 1 or 2 hour commute by car and or boat, to a different location each day.
My team, which included Victor, left about an hour before everyone else with dozens of suitcases full of medications.
We would arrive at a schoolhouse and find 50 to 100 people already waiting in line for the clinic. We’d set things up… moving wooden benches and tables around to create a registration area, an area to take blood pressure and blood sugar, a waiting area, an area for the doctors, the dentist and cardiologist, and a makeshift pharmacy. Then the rest of the team would arrive and we’d start taking in patients. I worked in registration, and blood pressure/sugar testing a bit, but mostly worked on crowd control/logistics, as well as in the pharmacy. Basically, wherever the longest lines were I’d try to help out.
Some days we’d be nonstop slammed for 8 hours straight, but some days slowed down after lunch, and I’d sit in with the doctors as they worked with patients. Despite the hard work and the intense heat and humidity, it was great fun. Very different routine than my normal life. Worked with a great group of people, and after the day was over, we’d get back to our hotel in the evening and sit poolside having some drinks, swim, and just unwind.
We also got to meet the President of Guyana… he invited us over to his mansion for a dinner. He was surprisingly very down to earth and thoughtful. I ended up talking with him at length about his efforts on climate change, in particular he is trying to get forest carbon credits on the agenda for the next big meeting in Copenhagen this fall. On a day off we took a small prop plane to Kaieteur Falls, one of the most stunning places I’ve ever been to. It’s the largest single drop water fall in the world, 741 feet.
OK enough about my trip… I am back home in Vegas and busy catching up on everything that was neglected during the past few months whirlwind of poker. Looking forward to Aruba on October… it’s always an awesome trip. Also, look for me at the tables on UB this weekend. I’ll be playing the 200k on Sunday as well as the 7-2 bonus tables… these are a lot of fun. Anytime you win a hand with 7-2 you get a bonus from each player at the table. This really livens up the games.
good luck!
Michael Binger
Tags: Aruba, Guyana, Guyana Watch, Michael Binger, Poker Poker Poker, poker tournaments, President of Guyana, ub, Vegas, Victor Ramdin
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