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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Monday, November 2, 2009 - Joe Sebok
What’s up UB?! Hope that all are doing well and life is nothing but good out there. I have tried to play more and more on the site recently, had a couple of winning small sessions playing the $1-$2 game, and then got my ass kicked pretty good one day as well. I just like sitting around with ya’ll and chatting it up as well, so that has been more my focus with playing on the site so far. Seems I haven’t had enough time to really get serious with the cash game playing much, which explains the small stakes. I’ve played the Sunday $200k as well a few times, but haven’t managed to get anything going there at all. I’ll have to check with Cantu about how he does it. That fool seems to win a UB tournament every other week. Wtf? How is he pulling this off? Big wowzers…
I’m writing from Miami airport, on yet another business trip out of the country. I swear, you would think I was more important with all of these trips I am taking all the time. Haha. One this is sickly for sure: I am racking up mad frequent flyer miles. 
Just flew here from Vegas this morning, where I had just finished up taping my very first episode of “Poker After Dark”…but hopefully not my last. I always think I talk so much more than other poker players that they will want my ass on those shows. We’ll see if this inaugural Seebs episode sparks them to bring me back. I can always hope. My lineup featured Howard Lederer, Ali Nejad, Gabe Kaplan, Mark Gregorich, and Kara Scott and the theme was media-based. Was a total blast. You’ll have to wait for it to air to see who won though.
It’s unbelievable that the WSOP final table is just around the corner, and by corner I mean next weekend. I am sickly excited and am obviously pulling for Phil to work some magic and somehow take down that title. It’s hard for me to see anyone disputing that he is the best that has ever played if he can win that bracelet. I think he will have moved solidly past Chip and Doyle for all around dominance with a win there, and that’s to say nothing of his online game, where he crushes too. The dude is a total machine.
Speaking of the final table, be looking for me to do some commentating on the Bluff show that UB is sponsoring. Should be a blast and I’m excited about it. We’ll also be recording some “PokerRoad Radio” episodes as well, so be looking for those. Basically, it’s going to be a seriously busy weekend in Las Vegas coming up. I’ll also have a pretty big announcement that we are going to be letting out of the bag during next weekend as well, so be paying attention for that.
All of you be good, and I’ll holler at you soon!
peace,
J
Tags: Ali Nejad, bluff, Brandon Cantu, gabe kaplan, Howard Lederer, Kara Scott, Mark Gregorich, Online Poker, Phil Hellmuth, Poker After Dark, Poker Poker Poker, Poker Road Radio, tournaments, ub, Vegas, WSOP
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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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Friday, October 23, 2009 - Shawn Rice
This past Trip to Aruba was my 7th straight year, For those of you that have not been and enjoy playing poker this is true paradise. I always look forward to seeing all the many friends, and people I work with and many of the people that I play online with. I decided that this year I really want to play more of the preliminary events this year as I rarely ever play those because I am in paradise and would rather do other non poker related stuff. I know my girlfriend was flying out later in the week for the final few days and the closing partys, So I wanted to play a little more live this year than previous years. I flew in about 10pm met up with a few friends and really wanted to take it easy that night, went and paid my way into the $540 for the following day so I knew I could not get wasted that night. I did play a little sit & go with Ho, Debo, Debo’s wife Erin, Mamma Ho and Susie Q, I think I chopped 2 of them and lost the last one and ended up in a cash game. Ho was ordering drinks and before I knew it I was double fisted drinking double crown and cokes and then Debo is ordering shots, so much for taking it easy in Aruba.
After the sit & go’s Ho jumped into a cash game and let me tell you he can liven up a cash game, ever pot was raised and reraised before the flop, I think I got lucky with AJ and beat AK for about a $900 pot, I was no way folding top pair in that game and I got lucky and hit. I won a little playing the cash game, I think Ho started out losing a few thousand and ended up killing them. He played his image so well and is a master in talking other players into do what he wants them to do.
I get to bed around 6am which is ok because my tourney does not start until 2pm. When I got to my table I could not have asked for a better table, everyone was limping and at early levels I don’t like to punish the limpers til the blinds get higher or the antes kick in, I like to let them know I am totally ok with them limping. within the first 2 rounds I had already doubled my 3k starting stack with no real risk. The players at my table were calling my raises with really wide ranges. I then look up and find that Ho, Jon Green , Debo and Mike “WiscoMurray” are all out in the 1st level. I must say I was really shocked to see that. I was a little pissed at myself because I forgot to ask Ho for the usual $500 last longer bet. I am about a 20 to one favorite when I make this bet, I think I have lost it once or twice in the many years we have made this bet, I always remind him of that time he beat me and he is always ready to try his luck again. I got out of the gate pretty quick and had some chips early but as it got down to the final table I was near last in chips, Only the final table got paid there was 95 players who started, I did make one move with 7s8s when I reraised the botton when I had about 14 times the big blind and he called my reraise all in with A 10 I out flopped him and doubled up to over 30x with a shot to win this thing.
It got down to 3 players, the final 3 deserved to be the final 3 in my opinion as my other two opponents were very skilled players, One of which being Frank “gator93″. Gator has won like well over 400k online in recent months and I know he wanted the win more than the 15k first prize, Frank raised 5x on the button 3 handed, small blind folded and I look down at my all time favorite hand, 2 black aces, I know if I reraise him here I will most likely get a fold on many hands in his range, so I decided like I had a little bit of a tough decision and just called, knowing he was going to continuation bet the flop, the flop come King high and 2 rags and to my shock he check it, the turn was another club making a possible flush draw, I bet into the flop and as I was putting chips in Frank yelled he was all In, I called he had raised with KcQc and had top pair and a flush draw to my to black aces, He bricked the river and I had a monster chip lead heads up, I had close to 200k in chips and my opponent had a little over 100K and we agreed to a chip chop and ended the night. The 13k was a great start for my drinking tab in Aruba. I took the next day off as I know I would play day 1b the following day. I spent lots of the next morning doing photo shoots and video interviews for UB and would be in the UB Icon suite checking up on my friends whom played day 1a, Later that night I went out to eat at a wonderful steak house in Aruba called El Gauchos with Frank. I took it very easy that night as I take a day before a major tourney very serious.
Day 1b seemed to be very stacked with lots of pros. I hated my table I had 2 world class players at my table , Gavin Smith along with Robert Mizrachi (”The Grinders” brother) and I knew if I made any mistake I would be punished. I didn’t forget to make my $500 last longer with Ho this time and that’s always sweet. He lasted til the beginning of the 2nd level. Ho did very well in Aruba last year making the final few tables before he blew up and gave Matt Brady a monster stack which Matt used to win the million dollar first prize.
I have played alot with Gavin over the last 5 or 6 years and not much with Robert, But I can tell you this , he is no prize to have at your table, He plays super and I totally respect his game. I got lucky in the 2nd level beating Tony from The Best Damn Poker Show season 2 with my AA on and A63 board and Tony holding 66, Those are just sick and Tong is a world class guy and hating to see him have to go out that way. Level 2 I was catching lots of cards and chipping up really well and had about 35k at one point from my 15k starting stack, I did get down below 8k at one point and finished the day around 13k. Day 2 was a bit of a grind as well and I had Eric Baldwin whom is from Madison WI, Who now lives in Las Vegas on my table, but luckily he was 2 seats to my right and he was sure torcher to may of the players he got involved with. I also got the chance to play with Tiffany Michelle who is now starting in this seasons Amazing Race on CBS, I used to work with Tiffany when I did lots of Radio for Bluff radio during the WSOP a couple of years back, It’s so good to see she is doing well in the poker and entertainment world, She is really a sweet lady. I ended day 3 with about 24k in chips and knew I would need to get a good start on day 3 to have a shot at this tourney that had 475 entrys.
On Day 3 I could not of got a worse table draw or seat position, two seats to my left of Robert Mizrachi and two seats to his left was Eric Baldwin, I did chip up to over 60k at one point for every bit of about 2 hands then I was on the button with 88 and Robert ended up with 99 and I was back down to around 30k, I was later in the big blind with about 13 or 14 times the big blind and it was raised from mid position from a guy who the day before called my UTG raise with Qh8h from the big blind when I flopped top set and he flopped a gutter and a flush draw we played a big pot and I doubled when he bricked out. So I am thinking he could have a big range but I know if I push and play for a 60k pot I am at best 50%, So I took in the value of just calling and seeing if I hit the flop and if I do I will give him some rope but checking and let him try and hang himslef. The flop come ace high , I checked it, he bet, I reraised him he called with AQ and GG me.
The following day I played a 1k buyin tourney and never really got ahould of any chips, I lasted til about 8 pm then when I busted I went and played the charity event UB put on for a local business that helps kids and familys in need. While playing the 1k tourney this lady on my left raised UTG with TT and gets called by 99 in late position and the button reraised with JT she and the other guy both call, the flop comes T high, she the the guy with JT get it all in and the board comes running JJ for her to lose her chips and double him up. Now a few minutes go by and she is still steaming and she reraised the guy whom had JT earlier and he calls half off his stack the flop comes JJ9 and she bets the flop and he calls making him all in and she flips over AA and he flips over Jc9c she screams out “God, I wanna kill a baby” I was in total shock hear a lady say this , right then and there I knew I wanted to bet she has never had a child, don’t worry river comes an ace and she busted him. I have heard many times over the years when you need to get lucky players will hollar “Just one time” but never had I heard that, But if it does work, I think poker players will say anything to make themselfs a little luckier.
The following day 10 of us had a shot at a $62,000 Mercedes, I was the second player knocked out when my TT ran into Ryan “papaGEORGIO’s JJ, Poker Ho was still playing and got heads up and ending up doing really well because they agreed to a chop and I had a small % of Ho which added to my drinking fund.
My girlfriend Amy fly in around 10pm that night, I went with my driver for the past 7 years named Henry and we picked her up and headed off to Phil Hellmuths private party ontop of the raddison in his suite. We just missed the Dan Band play, but the party was killer, check out many of the videos on youtube.com
The next night was the closing party and both Eric and Robert make the final table , Eric finishing 4th and ended up leading the Card Player of the Year points leader and Robert ended up in 2nd place , winning this year was Brandon Hall from Pa winning a little over three quarters of a million for his efferts., Thats a nice way to enjoy a trip in paradise.
The Dan Band was awesome as there were in Vegas when they played for our WSOP party a couple of years back, Many people got into the pool and it was really a ton of fun. The opening part rocked as well with tons of people in the pool and lets just say some where wearing less than others thanks to Phil’s bribes. and NO I was not offended in any way.
I hope you are all planning on next years Aruba trip, they just seem to get better and better, I missed seeing a few of you and hope this next year can be the best ever!
I am off to go help teach the November Nine Final Table Academy in Las vegas on Nov 6th, 7th and 8th Featuring poker instructors Phil Hellmuth, Greg Raymer, Bernard Lee, Mark Seif, Mark Kroon, Erica Schoenberg. Special Presentation by WSOP Commissioner, Jeffrey Pollack. Hope to see you there as well.
Proud UB Team Member
Shawn Rice
Tags: Aruba, Bernard Lee, best damn poker show 2, Bluff Radio, Debo, Eric Baldwin, Erica Schoenberg, Gavin Smith, greg raymer, jeffrey pollack, Jon Green, mark kroon, Mark Seif, matt brady, Mercedes, P0ker H0, Phil Hellmuth, Poker Poker Poker, Robert Mizrachi, ShawnRice, The Amazing Race, The Dan Band, Tiffany "Tiffany M" Michelle, ub, UB Team, Vegas, wiscomurray, WSOP
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Tuesday, October 20, 2009 - Scott Ian
Usually my blogs will have some sort of narrative thread running through them. Less, bloggy, more story. This week’s entry is going to be a bit all over the place as it reflects where I am at which is all over the place. In the last month I’ve been from Los Angeles to NY to Vegas to Aruba to Japan and back to Los Angeles yesterday. Sitting on my couch I feel like someone pulled the emergency brake in a car going 100mph, spinning into a crash of jet lag and physical exhaustion. So before my brain melts out my ears for a day or two…
Aruba was a blast. What else could it be? UB throws the event of the year in my opinion. Ask anyone that was there and the smile on his or her face is all the answer you need.
This was my third Aruba trip and it was my best so far. What made it better/different? Having a much larger UB & AP pro team there for sure. There was a real sense of camaraderie amongst the pros and we were hanging out all the time. From instigating the chaos at the pool during the opening party (where Phil gave out 10K to basically skinny-dip!) to hand analysis and poker tips for the UB players to closing the casino most nights to once again making the closing party a blast, teams UB & AP were representing!!! I really felt an all for one, one for all spirit and it makes the brand that much stronger.
I also felt that having all of the UB senior mgmt there to oversee everything was important, especially to listen to the players in the focus groups. I expect you’ll see a lot of your opinions reflected on the site very soon. Seeing UB CEO Paul Leggett on a day to day basis, being a part of the event seemingly everywhere at once absorbing it all was a real treat as well. Paul’s hands on approach and attitude really made me feel a part of something strong and the excitement about the future of the brand was tangible.
Regarding poker, I finished 62nd, 17 from the money. Second year in a row I got so close to cashing. I am happy over all with how I played and I probably could’ve grinded my way past the bubble but I was playing to win it, not to just cash.
On day one I had a hand that I was stoked about. I had overheard the chip leader (who was at my table) after losing a few pots and dropping down to around 78K from over 90K say to the guy next to him that he was on a losing streak. I made a mental note and decided if I had the opportunity I was going to try and make a move on him. A few hands later I had A8 suited in the BB. Blinds were 150-300. The chip leader raised to 950 UTG and it folded to me. I popped it to 3100 and he calls. The flop comes QQ6 rainbow. I check, he checks. The turn comes a J to complete the rainbow. I bet 5100, he calls. At this point I commit to the bluff and when an 8 comes on the river I shove my final 12K. He stands up and tanks for three minutes and then he calls the clock on himself. He was really confused by my shove. He hadn’t seen me turn a hand over at all and didn’t know what to do. He asked the floor man if he could show his hand. The floor man said if he shows his hand to try and get a read he’d have to take a one round penalty. I was thinking, “go ahead and show, you’re not going to get a read off of me, I am Mt Rushmore!!” The floor man counts down the final ten seconds and he folds. Jason Gray who was on my left asked me to show the bluff. I showed the 8. Chip leader sighs and turns over pocket 10’s. Whew.
I had a lot of fun in the cash games in the casino. Especially the UB table one night where we were playing 1-2 and the first raise would come in at $35! Then my friend Enigma4U4ME would shove blind and get three callers. Basically your typical 1-2 game with an average pot of $700.
Crazy but fun.
After Aruba I was home in LA for 36 hours and then took off to play a festival with Anthrax in Japan. The show was amazing. Here’s a link to a clip from the show: http://www.twitvid.com/05F93
I’m home now for a couple of weeks and I’m looking forward to getting back on UB and playing. See you all this week at the tables.
Cheers,
Scott
Tags: Anthrax, AP, Aruba, japan, Los Angeles, New York, Paul Legget, Phil Hellmuth, Poker Tips, ub, UB Players, 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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Monday, September 28, 2009 - P0ker H0
Six days and counting. Every day we get closer, I get more and more excited. A few nights ago UltimateBet gave away a free Aruba package to one of my Rounders Radio listeners. Congrats to ” _MARTY_”, you’re coming to Aruba. On top of that, you’re coming to Aruba for FREE BABY. Marty won his seat through a free-roll promotion. He listened to the Ultimate Poker Show 9pm Sunday nights on http://roundersradio.com/ And now is on his way to Aruba to hang out with Phil, Annie and the rest of us for what I guarantee will be the best week of his life. Not only will Marty get his 3k for travel and a $5500 main event seat to the Aruba Poker Classic, but also a weeks worth of parties, beaches, great food, non-stop poker/drinking…and the best part of all, the people he will meet. Friends for life…now that’s priceless Congrats again Marty cya there.
Last weekend I was in Vegas teaching at the http://www.wsopacademy.com/ with Mark Seif, Paul Wasicka and Joe Navarro. I love to teach along side of these instructors. I get to learn so much at each Academy and it’s so good for my game. Don’t tell these guys but I would do it for free. We are going to be running a new free-roll promotion on Rounders where one of our listeners will win a free trip to attend one of these camps. Do yourself and your game a favor and win this trip. It is the best way to take your game to the next level
A few days later we had our annual poker bash at my bar here in Madison. It was a blast. Susie Q and Scott brought up their crew from Chicago and Evil Crusher came up from Atlanta, along with 50 more from the area .I want to thank all who came and my bar manager Wendy for making it a great weekend. And congrats to “Momma H0″ for winning the tourney, good job mom!
Tags: Annie Duke, Aruba, Aruba Poker Classic, Joe Navarro, Mark Seif, P0ker H0, Paul Wasicka, Phil Hellmuth, rounders radio, ultimate poker show, ultimatebet, Vegas, WSOP Academy
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Sunday, September 20, 2009 - Annie Duke
I am so excited for this weekend. I do about 7 or so WSOP Academies per year (some with UB’s own P0ker H0, Shawn Rice and Matt Graham and even Mr. Hellmuth will sometimes make an appearance). But whenever I can do one in my hometown it is pretty special. Special mainly because it means I don’t have to fly to Vegas and stay in a hotel and be away from my house. When you travel as much as I do believe me that is a special treat. Any extra time I get to sleep in my own bed is pretty special to me.
This weekend I will be at The Bicycle Club teaching my first ever cash game academy. The WSOP Academy has done a few cash game academies but never one where I am the instructor so I am really excited to branch out from the normal tournament play instruction I do. Joining me at this camp will be Ali Nejad and Shawn Rice so it should be really fun since both of those guys are really great. I spent this afternoon watching video clips from High Stakes Poker to analyze during the academy. Those are a really great learning tool since showing concepts in action is about the best way to really reinforce points.
It is also really valuable to show students that the top pros sometimes screw up :) I know I screw up all the time and I think players often make too many decisions based on fear of making a mistake. That kind of decision making process always leads to more mistakes rather than fewer since your decisions are driven by fear of screwing up rather than finding the actually correct line of play in a hand. Fear of failure rarely creates good decisions or successful outcomes so seeing that even the top players in the world make mistakes I think is a really good lesson to learn. I think it frees people up to realize that screwing up is okay as long as you see the screw up as an opportunity to learn. I know when I screw up I use it as a way to improve my game and I rarely get upset about it. This kind of attitude where you see opportunity in your mistakes also really helps stop tilt.
The video analysis is a new piece of the camp for me and I am really looking forward to analyzing the hands for the students. I am also going to be doing a full on pot odds section which I will no doubt really enjoy since unlocking the magic of math is always fun for me. Considering the tweet I got the other day, others may not feel the same though:
DivePoker@RealAnnieDuke looking forward to the impossible math this weekend…apparently the WSOP accademy is 100x harder when you’re around lol!
I, of course, consider that tweet a compliment
Tags: high stakes poker, Matt Graham, P0ker H0, Phil Hellmuth, Poker Poker Poker, ShawnRice, ub, Vegas, WSOP Academy
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Friday, September 18, 2009 - Billy Kopp
Since my last blog, I have been playing more cash games and less multi table tournaments on Ultimate Bet. I really want to play cash games more often, especially live when I get to Vegas. The intense volume I am able to put in online is great practice and I am still turning a nice profit. The rest of the time that I haven’t been playing or blogging, I have been spending playing golf.
I’m trying to get back into the game of golf after not playing for about three years. I played golf in high school at a very small private school and was fairly decent. I remember buying my first set of irons for about $250. I wasn’t completely satisfied with them but they were new and what I could afford at the time. Throughout the four years I played in high school I felt that I was an inferior player partially because of the equipment I was using. The whole set of clubs that I bought in 2000 were still in my garage at the beginning of this year. Deciding to get back into the game, I told myself that I needed new equipment because mine was outdated and hindering my performance on the course. Clearly the reason why I was subpar in high school was because I had mediocre clubs and the small mark in my driver was definitely affecting how straight my drives were and was causing me to hit it in the rough more often (or so I thought).
One of my high school golf teammates now owns golf shop. I contacted him and got fitted for my new equipment that was going to make me a scratch golfer for sure. I got a whole new setup: custom bag, irons, woods, wedges, tees, balls, shoes, gloves, you name it. Man I looked good on the course the first day I got back out. I laced up my comfortable Adidas shoes, and strapped on my new leather glove. I’m on the first tee with my ProV1 golf ball (the best ball on the tour so they say, also to note the most expensive) teed up on a high 4 inch tee about to be sent a million miles down the fairway from the strike of this amazing new Taylor Made R9 driver that had just come out at the time. I address the ball and line up my shot. I take a proud swing and looked for the ball that should be straight down the middle of the fairway; however it is nowhere near there. I see the ball bouncing about 45 yards to left. Apparently I got too excited and pulled my head up and topped the ball. No problem, I haven’t played in three years I’ll just take a mulligan. I re-tee another one and address the ball. I crushed it! I crushed it 260yards to the left AGAIN but ending up in the rough an entire hole over. I continued to play and hacked up the course pretty badly. How could this be?? I have the best/ most expensive equipment and I played worse than when I was in high school with mediocre equipment.
All jokes aside, the equipment I now have is amazing and of better quality than the equipment of my past. It has already helped me in small ways the little that I have played. The main point is that regardless of how great or how poor your equipment is, the over bearing factor is more importantly the person or the user. Looking back, I loved golf but I didn’t really put in the time and effort to become a great golfer. I recall skipping the chipping and putting practices to rush to the driving range to crush drives. I didn’t practice correctly to improve myself throughout the years, but I was satisfied with being a “decent” player. I started back into the game recently with the wrong approach once again but didn’t realize it until now. I expected to go out and be just as decent or better than I was 6-10 years ago and then improve very quickly. Equipment aside, I am not in as good of shape and I also hit my clubs different distances now. I had not gone to the range multiple times before I got back on the course to get distances down on the clubs or to practice putting and chipping. Coming into the game blind after three years of no practice or coaching and expecting to do well was highly unrealistic.
In high school I played better than I do now due to some coaching and the help of my peers. I also put in more time walking on the course and reading greens in practice rounds than now and I was only merely decent then. Although I ride in a cart now because I’m too lazy to walk the course, I’m still capable of studying the course, greens, etc. and need to, to become remotely decent at the game of golf. I played years and years of online poker tournaments to put in intense volume to gain experience. I met other successful players (peers) to talk to about hands and gain advice and more experience. I sacrificed sleep, school, outings with friends, joining a fraternity, and even my health at times to get to where I am today but it has paid off!
I put 100% of my competitive spirit into poker and made it a large part of my life. To become the golfer I want to be, I would have to put in the same hours and practice and make the same sacrifices as I did for poker to be classified as a professional in another field by my peers. Realistically, I can’t devote that amount of time to golf as I have and do to poker to become great at golf at this time in my life. I am satisfied being am amateur golfer but no longer just a decent golfer. I want to be a good golfer and I am going to need to spend lots more time preparing myself to play on the course. Currently I am only finding time to get in a quick 9 or 18 holes and it has been a major waste of time. The relaxation part of golf has become stressful and counterproductive due to playing poorly. I am going to the range tomorrow to start the process of preparing myself to become a good golfer. I need to get a few golf lessons in, so let me know if someone out there reading this wants to trade a few golf secrets for a few poker secrets!
Until next time, hit ‘em straight and hope to see you joining me in the cash games on UB.
Billy Kopp
Tags: Adidas, Billy Kopp, Golf, Poker Poker Poker, ub, Ultimate Bet, Vegas
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Thursday, September 10, 2009 - Liv Boeree
Now I’m back in London I’m having kind of a crappy week dealing with the mundane and the not so mundane, including some rather large life changes such as house moves and figuring out where I want to live for the foreseeable future. I am finding myself increasingly drawn to the “Land of the free” as you people call it, and could well be heading out west yonder (back to the country speak too). I’m not sure when, or even to which city (most like LA or Vegas) but I reckon by the end of the year for sure, so it’s exciting times!
The next thing I’m really excited about is the English Poker Open that I’m playing in next week – Phil Hellmuth and Doyle Brunson are also coming over to play the event, which is a $5k buy in with $1m guarantee, and it’ll be by far the biggest tourney I’ve ever played on my home turf so it seems only right that I should win it, don’t you think? Til then I’m gonna be playing online on UB – I’ve rediscovered my love for cash again over the past few weeks, having not played much at all for nearly a year. It’s too easy to get swept up in the glory and gratification that tourneys dangle infront of your face each time you enter one and had forgotten the joys of good, deep-stack grindery. Even just playing a few hours a week has helped re-vamp my game immensely over the past month and has truly blown away the cobwebs of stuck-in-a-rut post-WSOP poker blues!
Tags: doyle brunson, English Poker Open, London, Phil Hellmuth, Play online, Poker Poker Poker, ub, Vegas, WSOP
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