Sunday, November 1, 2009 - P0ker H0
Getting back to the grind after Aruba sure isn’t EZ . The parties were non-stop and the best! The Dan Band was so much fun! The poker was non-stop, and Matt Savage and his staff /dealers ran the best tourneys I have ever played in. All the UB staff need a really BIG thank you for all they did…Melissa, Jo, Gustavo, and Ernesto just to name a few. You and all the other hard working UB employees that came from Costa Rica and all over the world make Aruba the #1 destination in poker.
The best way I know to get rid of the Aruba hang-over is VEGAS BABY !! I leave for Vegas next Thursday to teach at the WSOP Academy, http://www.wsopacademy.com, Nov. 6-8 with Phil ,Greg Raymer, Shawn Rice and a lot of other great pros. Attending one of these camps will surely help take your game to the next level . If you would like to attend our cash academy, coming up Dec. 5-6th, for FREE and get $1000.00 for travel, listen to my radio show every Sunday night at 9pm EST, “The Ultimate Poker Show,” on http://www.roundersradio.com. I will be giving out the passwords for the Sunday night $5.00 and free roll tourneys that can get you eligible for Vegas.
UB is also running steps for a 12k package for Foxwoods and a 17.5k for the Bellagio. I love playing these steps while I’m playing MTTs. The main reason is that when you play steps remember “tight is right”. I find if I am playing these with other MTTs it helps me play a little tighter, and anybody that has played with me knows that I need that. J A couple of nights ago I bought into 3 step 7s for 97.15 each. I lost one and built the other two up to a step 9 and 10. Last night I played the step 10 and chopped the Foxwoods seat with a very good player, “maximilian71”. I was ahead in chips so I got 8,500 he got 7k . My 291.45 investment in the step 7s paid off nicely, plus I still have my 750.00 step 9.
Hope to cya all in the steps soon or better yet loose your hang-over and join me in Vegas Baby…
H0
Tags: Aruba, Bellagio, Costa Rica, greg raymer, Matt Savage, P0ker H0, Phil Hellmuth, Poker Poker Poker, rounders radio, ShawnRice, The Dan Band, The Ultimate Poker Show, ub, Vegas, WSOP Academy
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Wednesday, October 28, 2009 - Jim
Aruba was a tremendous success and we all feel proud about it. You played, you had joy, some tears when you were busted, you had insuperable parties, you shared with not only excellent co-workers, but also great people that went out there to be your Hosts. I guess Aruba madness is somehow still inside all of you. Well, let´s take a break from Aruba.
As probably many of you remember, in the past weeks we ran some satellites for the Poker Hispano Tour – Costa Rica, which was played from October 17th through the 25th. I´m pretty sure I mentioned it on my previous blog.
I truly feel this is a very interesting approach to expand Poker in Latin America where a considerable amount of players are thirsty to take their shot at live events. It consisted in a week full of exciting tournaments.
I was expecting to watch the Final Table of the PHT Main Event on Saturday, as well as play the closing event on Sunday 25th. Unfortunately my 95 yr old grandpa had to get into the hospital on Saturday, so I spent that night and most of Sunday and Monday taking care of him. The good, is that he is very healthy now, and even though I wasn´t able to watch nor play at the PHT, I found out something very interesting.
Lately, I haven’t been playing a lot of poker, I´m into Poker whenever I come to work but schoolwork has used up my days off. While I was taking care of my old man, I had plenty of time to read at the moments that he was taking a nap.
Obviously I brought with me a couple of poker books (in my undisciplined attempt to improve my game) however it was a very short paragraph I read that reminded me a key of being successful at poker.
Use a GOOD Bankroll Strategy! Sometimes I speak with players complaining about bad beats, terrible luck… you know what I´m talking about… then I take a look at their accounts and I find out that they are investing 50% or even 100% of their BR in a single game. No matter how tight you play, sooner or later the Bad Beats will show up, at least once in a session, the capricious Poker Gods, will send you a disgusting river card.
It´s up to you to combine your style of playing, with a protected Bankroll management strategy. You can find plenty of BR management strategies by browsing the web, the most important part is definitely how disciplined you are to keep yourself within the stakes you should play.
Anyway, I´m sure you guys know about this better than me, for those of you who hadn´t been taking it into consideration lately, I hope it refreshes your mind! J
Take care everyone!
Tags: Aruba, Costa Rica, Hispano, luck, madness, Strategy, success
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Tuesday, October 6, 2009 - Fabio
Right now here in Costa Rica it’s raining a lot and it looks like it will never stop, meanwhile, sunny and beautiful Aruba is heating up the tables and the best live Poker it’s going on. Why am I comparing both places? Not sure… Costa Rica is the one I can refer to and actually, I just wanted you to picture the great time many poker players are enjoying over there.
Just a couple of days ago, my coworkers: Andrea, Mia and David were working around the clock to prepare everything for you and today it is a REALITY. I bet they are having a great time with you guys learning about your poker strategy and of course cheering you up while the game is on.
But, do you know what the most important thing is for them?
Well, that they are finally meeting face to face all those players that not only contact the VIP Department from time to time, but that have become important assets for our operation and of course our lives.
Certainly we do get to know you guys over the phone or chat, but you might agree with me, there is nothing like the “live” contact. Actually this is the main purpose of taking part of the VIP team over there. We want you to stop by and say hi!
As you know, the poker business and important events like the Aruba Poker Classic Tournament are built based on what you guys like and need and what a better way of keep building this empire than hearing what do you have to say. Oh yeah, you can talk about any other thing, too.
Many of you might have already met these guys and if you haven’t make sure to put it on your “Things I must do in Aruba” list. They are just great and have prepared many things for you.
Does the RAI$E Booth or the awesome ICON lounge tells you something? Yeah, I know you are enjoying all these perks and just FYI; you will be able to find the VIP ambassadors over there, too.
Its Wednesday, it’s the 3rd day of playing. The Welcome Party was a blast and many but many things are coming. I just wish you the best of luck and the best time.
Here in rainy but still beautiful Costa Rica, we will be anxiously waiting for great news, pictures and EPIC stories. I bet Andrea, Mia and David will have some… 
Tags: Aruba, Aruba Poker Classic, Costa Rica, Icon, Poker Poker Poker, raise, VIP
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Wednesday, September 23, 2009 - Jim
I don´t know if it´s only me or if it´s the “general” feeling, that these last few weeks have gone extremely fast.
In the blink of an eye, we´re now half the way to what seemed like a remote and distant Main Event Final Table, how about Aruba? in less than 2 weeks you´ll be drinking piñas coladas while sweating to the heat of the flop.
After weeks of good results at the home games where I usually play with my friends, including several first places in a row, the downswing came without a warning. All of a sudden found myself being the first…to bust, and when your chips are on the middle and the river card has been dealt, well you know, there´s nothing else to do.
The days simply keep passing and I´ve been looking forward for so long now to take a course at college, finally the time has come. I´ll be in the Photography class for the next few months. I had to invest the whole Monday searching among Auctions sites and Online Big Stores for the camera that will be my friend in this journey. I wanted it to be a nice one.
Couple weekends ago I regained a bit of confidence claiming the first prize once again, beating a small field which gathered VIP Hosts as well as other people who work at UB. It feels great! When I was at the Photo class last Saturday, the professor was talking about our final project, immediately I got concerned about what theme would I pick, I wish I could avoid it, but no, I guess it will be Poker!
Where will I find a lot of people crazy about poker around here? In case you haven´t noticed, the first Poker Hispano Tour will be held here in Costa Rica. If you need to rest from the extraordinary parties in Aruba, take a shot at the weekly satellites.
http://www.ultimatebet.com/poker-promotion/poker-hispano-tour
I will try to make it there through the local satellites, but if I don´t, I´ll be very happy taking some pictures for my final project.
Hopefully I can also meet some of you out there!
Tags: Aruba, Costa Rica, Hispano, journey, Party, Photography, river
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Saturday, August 22, 2009 - Brandon Cantu
The past few days I have been looking at my schedule for the upcoming months. I will be traveling quite a bit and look forward to seeing as much of the world as much as possible each year. Traveling has becoming one of my favorite past times and has become a traditional post World Series of Poker activity.
Last year, immediately after the WSOP, I traveled to Costa Rica and Nicaragua with my agent and good friend, Matt Palmer. As I have previously mentioned, I have stayed in Vegas since the WSOP lounging at home, playing a ton on UltimateBet.com and just relaxing. However, I now have the itch to get on some planes, play some poker and visit some destination spots.
Looking ahead in August, I will be heading to the World Poker Tour’s “Legends of Poker” at the Bicycle Casino in Bell Gardens, California on August 22nd. After winning my second WSOP bracelet this year, I wouldn’t mind making a strong run at another WPT victory. My stay in California will be about a week.
After the Bike tournament, I return to Vegas to quickly repack for the next stop, which is Portland, OR, for my 10 Year Class Reunion. Though I get back regularly with all the boys and old friends; 3-on-3 basketball tournaments, Holiday parties, some NBA games, etc., I look forward to seeing classmates who I have lost ties with. All in all, it will be good to be back in my hometown. Portland weather is perfect this time of year and will be an added bonus to reconnecting with old friends.
After a week or so back home, I will again return to Las Vegas planning to play online before heading out to London for the WSOP Europe. Two of my good hometown friends, Tony and Dave traveled with me last year. We were able to travel Europe a bit after the WSOPE and this year should be quite similar. This year I plan on traveling to Amsterdam, a destination I look forward to exploring for a few days I have free time. This year I will be traveling with poker player and friend, Allie Prescott. He and I both traveled to Venice for the WPT event and are going to continue our adventures post WSOPE.
Once the European travels are done, I will be flying directly to UltimateBet.com’s Aruba Classic, October 3rd – 10th. I am very excited for this tournament. Not only because Aruba is beautiful and that I will have friends attending, but that I am a sponsored UltimateBet Pro. It almost feels like it will be a “home game” for me. It will be nice to see some of the UB staff I met at the WSOP this summer, as well as play and visit with all the other UB Pros.
I feel lucky to have the opportunity to see so much of the world. Safe travels to everyone else that is also making the rounds the next few months. Good luck.
Brandon Cantu
Tags: Amsterdam, aruba classic, Bicycle Casino, Brandon Cantu, Bycicle Casino, Costa Rica, Legends of Poker, Matt Palmer, NBA, Nicaragua, Poker Poker Poker, ub, Vegas, WPT, WSOP, WSOPE
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Monday, July 20, 2009 - P0ker H0
Coming home and getting back to the grind after spending five weeks in Las Vegas isn’t as easy as it sounds. With the Ante Up for Africa and the UB parties, poker every day, and the whole Las Vegas experience, coming back to little hometown Madison, Wisconsin, is like getting back to Earth after walking on the moon for the first time!
I started the grind last Wednesday night and found that the Wednesday schedule is the best by far. The UB 1K, the UB 200/80K guarantee, the $100 Aruba Rebuy, and the 20K Deepstack all start within a couple of hours of each other. And UB runs satellites into all of them, all day long. I made the final table of the 20K guarantee, taking 4th for around $1900. In the 80K, I got heads up and used the UB deal maker feature, which I really like, and the other player and I chopped for about $17K each. It was a really great way to get back to the grind.
What I’m really excited about now is Aruba! Aruba! Aruba! Every poker player should be looking forward to it, too! It’s the one poker trip that is on my mind year-round. This year will be #8 or 9, too many to remember. But what I do remember is all the people that I’ve met there. All the UB pros, all the online people I play with on a daily basis, and the wonderful people from behind the scenes at UltimateBet that grind it out every day from the UB offices down in Costa Rica and up in Canada that make it possible for us to play, work, and live the dream of online poker. Besides the friends I have made, there are the great times in Aruba too, such as golfing with Phil, the deep-sea fishing, the UB welcome and closing parties, helping PokerJo find her shoes, the endless beaches and romantic sunsets (Okay, I threw that in there for my wife!), the booze cruises, the infamous party at Phil’s rooftop suite, and the fact that I’ve choked 2 final tables…. all bring back great memories.
UltimateBet is giving us lots of opportunities to play to win a seat at the 2009 Aruba Classic. My favorite way is the Steps. These are like eating potato chips. I play them by the handful! You can catch me playing Steps 1-10 at any time of the day. Playing tight and right is very important in these. The $100 Rebuy on Wednesdays is another great way to win. I love the $500 Sunday night tournament because that usually pays between 4-6 seats. I like a tournament that you don’t have to win to get the seat. Believe me, I’ve won a few of them this way! Now, let me give you the cherry on the Aruba tourney sundae! Come to Aruba for free or as little as $5. Listen to my radio show Sunday nights, 9PM EST, “The Ultimate Poker Show”, on Roundersradio.com. We are running two tournaments every Sunday night: a free roll with $50 added by UB and the winner gets to advance to a tournament where we are giving away a free Aruba package, and a $5 tournament with a $100 added and all nine players that make the final table will also be added into the Aruba package giveaway at the end of 10 weeks. If you can’t listen Sunday nights, and you want more “Poker H0″, you can listen to me and Wiscomurray on our local radio talk show, “Man Up with Mark and Mike”, where you can get the passwords for these tournaments and listen to us talk trash and poker every Saturday afternoon at 3 PM EST, http://manupwithmarkandmike.com/ .
Good luck at the tables! Hope to see you in Aruba…..H0
Tags: Ante Up For Africa, Aruba, aruba classic, Canada, Costa Rica, las vegas, Phil Hellmuth, Poker Poker Poker, poker tournaments, PokerJo, The Ultimate Poker Show, ub
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