My Amazing South African Experience

Sawubona from South Africa!!!

I've missed you guys :/

But on the bright side, I did get to enjoy an insane experience that I can now share with you!! Yay!

As some of you probably know, I was supposed to go on this trip last fall, but it fell through last minute. Before I start ranting about how incredible this experience has been, I'd like to take a second to thank Mr. Gary Lentin for showing me how generous and hospitable South African's truly are. He has helped to make this one of the most memorable poker trips that I've had to date. I look forward to coming back to this magical place for years to come!

My trip began with a sweet 17 hours of travel. I know this sounds treacherous.. but dudes, check out this sneak peak of how worth it it was...

An Amazing Birthday Adventure & One Year Blog Anniversary!

Hi guys n gals!!!

I've missed you so!

First off... it's my blog's 1 year anniversary! I must, from the bottom of my heart, thank all of my readers for taking interest in my blog, and for their loyalty and constant well wishes. You guys add an element to this whole poker get-up that really makes it a different and amazing experience for me. Most players don't get to experience what I'm fortunate enough to experience. I know just how lucky I am to have the support of so many incredible people out there behind me all the time to cheer me on. Thanks to your loyalty, your re-tweets/shares, and your constant shout-outs, we've managed to pull in an average of over 4,000 readers per month this year. I know we'll have triple that next year ;)

Love you all!!! Smooches!!!!!!! <3

So anyways... Borgata was meh. I mean, obv Borgata is awesome, but I didn't win heaps of money as I had so clearly mapped out in my head. I pulled in a few bucks with one final table. I came into it probably around 3rd in chips, but ran bad over the course of 5 face up hands to an eventual 9th place finish.

Chips And Cheddah!!

Hey friends!

For those who haven't caught up, I'm going to be playing this great charity event at The Borgata on August 18th. It's called, "Put a Bad Beat on Hunger."

This charity event is great because it's played locally and also helps those in need locally. People are still out there who have suffered great loss from Sandy. These folks could really use our help! The event is sponsored by the generous and delicious Cabot Creamery, who will be providing some tasty treats the day of the event! Who doesn't love a lil gourmet cheese?!

Not only will Cabot be hosting the event... they're also running a contest. It's simple, fun, and easy. Best of all, you get a chance to win things!!! What poker player doesn't wanna win things?! Some folks will receive a $75 gift basket from Cabot, and one lucky winner will receive a new I-Pad! And don't worry if you're not the most artistically inclined person out there.... all winners will be randomly selected from those who participated :D We only have a few people who have submitted so far, so get in there people! Too easy! gogogooo

Crazy Summer and Lots More Fun to Come!!!

Wow it's been a crazy few months!

I know that a lot of my fellow poker players loathe the idea of being stuck in an expensive desert all summer. This year I was craving not only some distance from the issues at home, but also I couldn't wait to play cards again!!!

In the months leading up to WSOP, I had a lot going on with my family. It was very stressful on me, and required that I take time away from playing so to help tend to the issues at home. The end of Bay101 Shooting Stars(March) marked the last time I'd played cards. It wasn't until WSOP that I was able to find a valid reason to leave home to go do work! I was thankful. I really do love working. I love playing. I love interacting with people. I missed so much of it in my time at home. My days were spent tending to my elderly grandmother in her residence, and handling other issues that seemed to arise each day. Thankfully, her in-home caretaker is amazing and was able to tend to her continued care while I went to Vegas to play. I was sooo ready and amped to play, see my friends again, mix and mingle!

The summer started off ok. I still had a lot of family issues haunting me across phone lines stretching the span of the country. I was still running deep in events, and was able to stay focused. Some days, I'd receive a frantic phone call from a relative back at home, and I still found myself able to play well. Even more importantly, I was able to keep up with thinking positively! Each day at the tables, regardless of what was on my plate elsewhere, I found myself at peace... even happy. I'd reflect upon my own moments of candid laughter with my tablemates... and it gave me a sense of internalized self-pride...to know that I was able to smile, thoroughly enjoy life experiences and the people around me... despite all the noise in my personal on-goings. You know those moments when you pat yourself on the back for handling a situation better than you may have in the past... well, I was thankful to have had an experience that challenged me to grow and I'm thankful that I found it in myself to be a better "me" than I may have ever been before.

Half Truths in the Media. Who Woulda Thunk It

So, for those who have not seen or witnessed the lashing I'm getting on twitter, here is an update.

Yesterday, while playing in a $1500 event at Rio, a PokerNews reporter took some extremely selectively worded notes on a hand that went down at my table. The exchange that was noted within the article that was thereby produced on the PokerNews website cast me in a very negative light, and honestly I think it is quite unfair and unethical reporting(to knowingly post partial information to paint an ugly picture of someone just so they can say they have an interesting story on a notable player in level 1 when little else of interest is happening).

I'm here to give the entire scope of the situation that had really occurred, as opposed to the partial story that most of you may have read online.

My opponent, who was in position, put in a bet on the river, which I called. I, without any intention of asking this gentleman to table his hand, tabled my own since I could tell by his body language that I had the winner.

From Flush Draws to Family Drama... Part 1- The Glitz

Hi guys n gals.

I know it's been a long time since I've last written. Let's catch up!

The new year has brought with it some amazing opportunities and also a bit of drama.
For the sake of weeding out rants of my personal life, I'll dedicate this blog to mostly the topic of poker and will cover some more personal topics in my next blog(coming soon!).

The goal after WSOP was to grind hard, which as you all probably know, I did for most of the fall season. The fall brought me a victory in Hammond, IN's WSOPC, good for my first WSOP jewelry... and it also brought me a deep run and another shot at 700k+ 1st prize money in the WPT Montreal Main Event.

Early into the new year, I played what is probably my favorite series ever, the Borgata Winter Open WPT. While it was a fun series, it didn't prove as fruitful as I would have liked. Thanks to WPT for making the trip a great one, as I got to do coverage for the live stream of the BWO WPT Main Event final table, alongside Tony Dunst and Jon Little.

I also got the amazing chance to take part, as a guest trainer, in Lee Childs' "Inside the Minds" training course held at the Borgata. This was a great experience for me. I found that I thoroughly enjoy teaching others. I hope to do more in this area as opportunities present themselves. The close of the BWO meant it was time to pack up the home I'd lived in all winter(in AC), and that it was again time to hit the road for my spring schedule. Sadly, along with the move, I had to deal with losing someone I thought was a friend.