Thursday, September 24, 2009 - Tiffany M
What an exciting few weeks behind and ahead of me! I was thrilled to see The Amazing Race win their 7th consecutive Emmy on Sunday for Outstanding Reality Series. I am so grateful to be apart of such a wonderful TV family and quality reality show that doesn’t merely entertain but challenges people, strengthens relationships, and exposes audiences to world travel and a variety of cultures.
Speaking of The Amazing Race, the season premiere is THIS SUNDAY, 8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT on CBS. I hope you all will set your Tivos for Sunday nights and enjoy watching Maria Ho and I journey around the world.
Another thing I’m looking forward to in the next week or two is jetting off to the Caribbean for the Aruba Poker Classic. I seriously can’t hype this tournament and location enough so I’ll just ask you to picture what it’d be like playing poker in PARADISE. Last year my daily schedule looked something like this: Wake up, have breakfast on the beach, lounge by the pool and play a game of water-volleyball with my poker pals, play some poker, jet ski, sit in the sand and sip on a blended drink while watching the sunset, meet familiar faces at the hotel restaurant/bar for dinner and drinks, play a little blackjack or get a H.O.R.S.E. game going in the casino, bedtime…
and do it all again the next day. Don’t believe me? See for yourself… be there, Aruba… October 3rd!
I’ve started getting back into the poker groove. I’ve had a long sabbatical from the online poker tables but now I’m back! I came 16 people away from winning an $8500 Aruba package, ahhh poker… at least the trip was planned regardless of where I finished in that tournament. I’m back at my trusty ‘ole $1/$2 NL table as well, trying not to lose my entire bankroll a few bucks at a time. Be sure to keep your eyes pealed for some really fun promotionals and tournaments that I’ll be hosting on UB soon. I really enjoy the online UB poker community and I appreciate all of you who come play and chat with me. Hopefully I’ll see ya in Aruba and definitely at the online tables!
(With all this Aruba talk, I thought I’d share some pictures I took last
year!)
Tags: Aruba, Aruba Poker Classic, BC, CBS, Emmy, Maria Ho, Online Poker, Poker Poker Poker, The Amazing Race, Tiffany "Tiffany M" Michelle, ub
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Saturday, September 12, 2009 - Tiffany M
The last you heard from me it was to announce that I’d be missing the WSOP Main Event… which was almost three months ago. Most of you have heard buzz through internet chatter but CBS just officially announced that Maria Ho and I will be on the next season of The Amazing Race. The cat is out of the bag! When asked to be on the six-time Emmy Award winning show, it wasn’t too hard of a decision to skip the WSOP Main Event, contrary to other ridiculous rumors explaining my mysterious absence. Be sure to check out The Amazing Race at www.cbs.com for more info, photos, bios and videos galore!
As you can imagine, it’s been an insane few months but I am back, in more ways then one. After an amazing and life changing experience, I’m slowly getting back into the groove of things and the rhythm of American life as well as getting back into the poker swing. I’ve re-signed on to stay with UltimateBet as one of their Star Players so you’ll be seeing me back at the online tables and in ARUBA!
Speaking of Aruba, for any of you who enjoy poker AND paradise, I highly recommend coming to Aruba. I’ve traveled all over the world playing poker and it’s been my favorite destination. They have the whitest beaches that I’ve ever seen, the bluest water, tons of ocean activities and 24/7 Pina Coladas and pool time… or you’ll have to try out the CHERRY Colada which Layne Flack introduced me to last year. The vibe there is so chill and will put you in the best mood… even if you donk out of a poker tournament!
Well I have a busy few months coming up and I’ll keep you posted on all of it. Be sure to set your Tivos to CBS this fall, The Amazing Race airs on Sunday nights at 8pm ET and PT, with the two hour premiere on Sunday, September 27th. I can promise that the action Maria and I provide will be MUCH more exciting than anything you’ll see at the poker tables.
Much Love!
Tags: Aruba, CBS, Emmy Award, Maria Ho, Poker Poker Poker, The Amazing Race, ultimatebet, WSOP
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Wednesday, May 27, 2009 - Tiffany M
This will be a quick blog since there is so much madness surrounding the upcoming World Series of Poker AND because I’m WIPED out from the exhausting day I had.
I drove up to Vegas yesterday and moved into my home for the summer that I’m renting along with Maria Ho during our next few WSOP months. I was up bright and early this morning to head over to the penthouse at Hard Rock where I did a “hot girls of poker” photo shoot with Evelyn Ng and Erica Shoenberg for Knockout magazine. We had a fun time together getting the chance to be a little sexier than we usually are at the poker tables. I jetted straight from the photo shoot to catch a flight to LA which was grounded along with all of the rest of the flights from Vegas since President Obama was arriving in town. I was a bit peeved at my flight being delayed since I was already late getting back to LA for a meeting but getting to see Air Force One land was quite amazing… you don’t see THAT everyday!
Last time I blogged I was playing some really good poker resulting in consistent online cashes and final tables. My streak has continued and I recently took 32nd place in the first event at Commerce’s Cal State Poker Championships out of 1,800 players. I’m hoping this “good poker” trend carries into the WSOP, my first event will be on Saturday. I have realistic expectations for this year’s WSOP knowing how large the fields are in each tournament but that doesn’t mean I won’t remain optimistic. I’ve got my sights set on winning myself a purty little bracelet for my birthday next week! I’ll keep you posted.
(The photo below is one that I snapped on my phone with Erica and Evelyn at our photo shoot today.)
Tiffany Michelle
Tags: Air Force One, Erica Shoenberg, Evelyn Ng, Hard Rock, Knockout Mag, LA, Maria Ho, Obama, Poker Poker Poker, Vegas, WSOP
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Monday, April 6, 2009 - Tiffany M
Everyone has been buzzing about the Dream Team Poker tournament that took place last weekend at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Poker players obviously play a whole lot of poker, jumping from tournament to tournament which can get a little mundane but because this event had a team format was out of the norm and really fun. At the welcoming cocktail party it was hilarious to see each team’s jersey hanging on the wall and read all the creative team names. People had a lot of fun putting together their teams and being thematic and/or wacky with their team name. I think my favorite team name was Kristy Gazes & Jerry Yang’s team comprised of one female and two men thus the team name “Four Nuts, Six Hands and a Rack”. As you can probably tell the atmosphere wasn’t too serious. People ditched their poker faces in order to have a few laughs, poker fun at this game and it’s players.
Poker is usually such a solo game where ‘friendships’ don’t exist at the table so this tournament was a chance to root each other on as well as gang up on other teams. Lacey Jones and Maria Ho were on my team, team “Yo Mama” which was only one of two All-Girl teams competing (see picture below). We did a lot of friendly smack talking at the pre-party and came in the next morning ready to rumble! (You can see the pic below that I snapped with last year’s Dream Team Winner Matt Parvis from team “Bluff” and his championship ring). The huge baseball-like sports jerseys weren’t exactly the most fashionable outfit for Lacey, Maria and I… yes this is something you think about as girl poker player, ha ha. But we didn’t want to be divas and stick up our nose towards our team jersey so we each found our own way to make it work and I have to admit we made those oversized man shirts look pretty hot!
I had a ton of friends and fellow pros playing in the event so it was inevitable that when I got seated there were three familiar faces at my table; Yancey Arias, Nick Gonzales and Casey Thompson. Minutes before the tournament started Casey and I agreed to a last longer bet and then a minute or two later we discovered that we were at the same table which made it convenient for me to keep tabs on him. I ended up knocking him out a few hours into the tournament… $100 bucks for Tiffany, CHA-CHING! Sitting directly to my left was Nick Gonzales who I’ve known for several years through the Hollywood poker scene. He’s a talented actor and a great poker player (he recently took 2nd place in the WPT Celebrity Invitational). Be sure to look for him in the new Fox show ‘Mental’ coming out May 29th! As much as you hate to be seated next to a friend on the battlefield of a poker table we had so much fun catching up, bantering and entertaining the entire table. (There’s a pic below of me being silly with Nick).
Team “Yo Mama” played very well but slowly towards the end of the day we each faded out of the tournament. I’m not a huge fan of dishing all the hand details of a tournament because we’ve all been there and know how it goes but I think it’s significant to mention that I was eliminated with Aces. We got it all-in on a 558 rainbow flop which looked pretty safe for my aces however my opponent flopped QUAD 5’s…. eww. I believe in poker miracles but this time I started walking away from the table before even seeing a turn or river. I had a good feeling the runner-runner aces were NOT coming, not on this day. I was actually okay with that… just as long as my miracle cards show up when I really need them, oh… say in events like the WSOP Main Event!! 
Even though we didn’t clench the coveted title (congrats to Jamie Gold’s team for accomplishing that) we had a ton of fun and look forward to our next chance to play some friendly, team poker. Well, that’s your wrap up from the Dream Team Poker Tourney 2009. LJ, MHo and I can’t wait for team “Yo Mama” to riiiiiide again… and believe me, we will!
Tags: Caesars Palace, Dream Team Poker, Jamie Gold, Jerry Yang, Kristy Gazes, Lacey Jones, las vegas, Maria Ho, Matt Parvis, WPT Invitational
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Tuesday, March 24, 2009 - Tiffany M
After some fabulous downtime after the holidays and New Year, 2009 is kickin’ my butt and keepin’ me busy. On the agenda for the month of March; Reno, San Jose and Vegas… yikes!
A few weeks ago I found myself stranded in the middle of Reno but I was in good company and it was for a great cause. Lacey Jones, Maria Ho and I along with several other pros attended Jen Harman’s Celebrity Charity tournament for the National Kidney Foundation. They put on a great fundraiser, had an excellent turn-out and the unique team tournament format brought some fun camaraderie to the event. Besides raising over 100k for the National Kidney Foundation the highlight of my trip was getting a straight flush while splashin’ around in a $1/$2 NL game with the girls. At the Grand Sierra they have jackpot hands and even though the pot I won was only around $20 bucks I received a $600 bonus!, Woo Hoo! That was super fun.
From Reno, Maria and I headed to San Jose for the WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star tournament. I’d never played cards in the Bay area and due to gaming laws it was a very different experience than what I’m used to in Vegas. Their card room is only allowed two No-Limit tournaments a year which they reserve for the Shooting Star $10k Main Event and the $2k preliminary tournament. That meant that the super satellites were a Spread Limit format which is somewhat like pot limit but at any given point you can only bet 40x the big blind. Maria and I were both eliminated pretty quickly from the first super satellite we played which began at 9:30 in the morning… YIKES. Poker players don’t do mornings! You know how poker goes, the set that I flopped was no good when playing against someone who chases to the river to hit their gut shot… ugg.
The following day I felt really optimistic about the $2k NL event. I was a little under the weather and started coming down with a cold in Reno from the late nights and smokey casino atmosphere but I remembered that when I played the WSOP Main Event I was really sick at the beginning of that tournament as well as when I cashed at the WPT Borgata Poker Open so maybe having a little cold helped me pace myself and be patient.
A few hours into the beginning of the $2k tourney I slowly began losing chips and pots and wasn’t able to capitalize on the ridiculous play and players at my table. I’ve never squeezed 9-2 more in my entire tournament life than I did at that one table. At one point Maria Ho got moved to my table, directly on my right. Of course it’s always fun to have a friend to chat and socialize with but you never want to have to play with one of your best friends.
We were both down to about 2500 when the blinds were 100-200 with a 25 ante. I preach about it all the time but from my past poker tournament experience I’ve learned to keep my optimism even when I’m sitting at ten big blinds. I looked at Maria and optimistically told her that I was going to turn my 2500 into 27,000 within the next two levels… and that’s exactly what I did. Unfortunately Maria wasn’t around to see it since she was eliminated shortly after. I was able to pick up a pot (blinds + antes + a raise), then immediately after I doubled up with aces and just like that I was sitting on 15k. I patiently sat on that stack for awhile and yet again watched it dwindle away when the 9-2 started showing itself every few hands or so. Eventually I made a move in an attempt to pick up chips and walked into someone with a big hand. It’s really tough to be patient while losing pot after pot and watching your chips disappear. To be honest I didn’t need to make the move I did but it’s so tempting to make an aggressive play when you get stars in your eyes over a big pot. There are definitely moments when it’s appropriate and sometimes you have to take a shot and gable to gain chips however in hindsight I wish I had stuck with the patient way I HAD been playing - waiting for good hands and committing chips when I had the best of it or at least shoving when I was ahead. More and more I’m realizing the value in being a solid and patient player however boring it may be, especially with all the poker maniacs out there who are bound to make a donk play and ship you all their chips in the process.
Alright enough poker talk. I’m home in LA and have been taking meetings with some networks who are really serious and excited about doing a reality show, a freaky yet fun thought. This week I’m off to Vegas for the Dream Team poker tournament where Lacey, Maria and I plan on CRUSHING the competition, ha ha. I’ll keep you posted.
Tags: Bay 101, Dream Team, Lacey Jones, Maria Ho, Shooting Star, WPT
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