Premier League - 2nd Heat - Another win!!

by Phil

1 Comments

Ubber Sick.

I am having a sick heater.... Won the second one.

Highlights.....

Roland de Wolfe was on over drive with the needles on Hellmuth.  High octane stuff. (Will make for great TV)

JC Tran got into it in with a few hands with Hellmuth.  Sick bluffs and twisted stuff for sure. (More great TV)

I hit a miracle 10 on the river to save me from going out in forth against JC Tran.  (When that 10 dropped my body and my mind were separate for about a minute or two.)

I hit a miracle 2 on the flop to finish Roland off when we were down to heads up.  (88 vs 22) (I just stared in disbelief.  I did it.  I won the second one.)

I get to commentate on Tuesday.  I love sitting in the commentary box.  You get to see everything in real time and it is the coolest thing ever.  (Also, I get quality time with Jesse May, and that is always great.)

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The celebration dinner was at Jasmine at the Bellagio.  (Yes, again - what can I say? I love that place.)  We had lots of cool dishes... As it is Chinese New Year the menu was super old school traditional Chinese style... and it was fun for sure.

When the amazing fried crab plate arrived.... I wondered what it might taste like.  But until I get to either 'ubber fit 'or 190 I am maintaining.  No fried food, no cheese, no ice cream, and crazy super limited intake on dairy, bread, pasta, and rice.  At 196 and holding strong.  When I get there I will have cheat days for sure... but til then.... I am going to see if I can be a machine all the way there.

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Lady GaGa.  Her music, though pop simple or whatever it is defined as, is actually good.  No... very good.  And her videos are really great. 

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Movies.... Wolfman opened and I still have not seen it.  This movie for sure is going to be great.  Still waiting to see Daybreakers.

Up in the Air.  Saw it.  It was ok.  I liked it a bit... but I would only give it an 80 or so.  Whatever...

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Ok, later

Phil

 

By the way... These two pics show what it looks like when u see that u r not racing but in fact a huge dog for the match... and the subsequent photo is what it looks like after the miracle card comes and you have settled in to the fact that indeed you have won the match!

 

Both of these pics from Mickey May of Matchroom Sport.  She rules.

Premier League - Won my first Heat

by Phil

1 Comments

Wow...

Won my first heat...

First I hit middle set against Negreanu's bottom two... Sick. 
It came 6c 5s 10c
I had 6d 6s and he had 5h 6h

I will win this match up 986 out of 987 times.  And I did.  (Running 5s could do me in.)

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Later I got it all in bad against Ian Frazer's KK... (I had 88)
but I hit an 8 on the flop and that was that...

Then there was a long stretch of normal (not all in crazy big pot style poker)...
And then a bit later.... the delicate pressure started to show its rewards and, and before I knew it ... it was Yevgeniy, JC Tran and I left.

(Random footnote... JC Tran was on my left... And on most of the unraised pots I looked down at junk and just went with the simple play.  Fold.  I folded LOADS of hands to him in that spot.   ... of course there were a few times where I raised with real hands, but for the most part he could pretty much assume I was folding the small blind because that was what I had been doing all night long.

However.... One time I went agro.  I raised with A8os (like this play) but I should have folded when he reraised me.  I felt I was beat and the math wasn't there.  But instead I went all in agro style and he made the quick call with 99.  Why do I donk style poker like this?  Such a spewtard move.  Anyway... I was needing an Ace for a HUGE ... mega huge pot.  I hit it.... And nearly broke him.)

Anyway... 3 handed I had an easy call to Yevgeniy shove and my hand held up.  So it came down to heads up between JC Tran and me. 

There was a bit of back and forth in the heads up play but he was in a tough spot to start as the lead started with me. (1,880,000 for me and 520,000 for him.)

On the last hand he had me preflop with A5os vs. my k7ss and that was that.  7 on the flop and it was over.

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So I have started the series with a perfect score.  16 points.  32,000$ bonus for the win, and my next match is tomorrow.

If you want to follow the action there are updates on...

http://www.pokernews.com/live-reporting/partypoker-premier-league-iv/premier-league-iv/day1/

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The luck spills over to the rest of my life as well.  Jennifer and I drove to the Bellagio afterwards to have dinner with my mum (who is in town for a few days).  Waiting at the bar in the restaurant for mum I thought it might be nice to catch her on her way in.  So out to the casino I went and tried to predict the path she would take.  Fail.  Too many options, too many people, bad idea.  Start walking back to restaurant (Jasmine - amazing Chinese food btw) and my buddy Noah from NYC (who I have not seen in 6 months) was just happening along on the same stretch of carpet.  He was also hungry.  He joined us for dinner and we had a great time.  

When you are on a streak the good stuff just starts hitting you from all angles... 

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A few random thoughts from tourney today.

1) Put some bubble gum into a pot today.  A first.  It was against Luke "Bubblegum" Schwartz.  (I like that for a nickname more than FullFlush.)  Seeing what I can do about starting to change his nickname.  I may fail, but heck, no harm in trying. He just looks like the type of guy who would chew gum and play cards.  And I think the name is just more fitting.

He won the pot.

2) Vanessa Rousso had killer shades on today.  Aviator, mirrored shades.  And Bubblegum Schwartz did too.  Vanessa and I donned ours 100% of the hands, while Bubblegum had them on only about 25% of the time.

Daniel Negreanu mentioned that he thinks they should not be allowed.  Huh??  That is crazy.  Shades, Hoodies and Free Speech is what I say!  However, Negreanu is in good company, Doyle Brunson thinks they are bad for poker as well.

3) JC Tran thinks that the buffet at the M Casino crushes (is better than) the Bellagio Buffet.  I thought it was close.

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That's it. More later.

Phil Laak
Degen for Life

 

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Pics below...

First one...  Starting Line Up...

 

And this one is me after I sucked out on JC.  My A8 (os) vs his 99.

 

And this is just some random pic of me at the start of Heads Up Play... Me vs JC Tran.

 

And then Finally... this is a pic after all the cards have settled.  My K7 (ss) out ran his A5 (os) to win the match, and that was that.

 

 

All these amazing pics were shot by Mickey May of Matchroom Sport.  She rules, and she happens to be the lucky lady married to Jesse May (Commentator and Author of "Shut up and Deal" (one of the top three poker books ever written).)

 

NBC Heads-Up Championship

by Phil

0 Comments

Holy cow… opened my email this morning and couldn’t have been happier. I was cc’ed on an email to Jennifer and she is officially in. This will be her fourth year to play the NBC heads up tournament at Caesar’s this March 4th – 7th.

I woke up before her this morning and when she got up a half hour later, I said “Are you ready to play 20 questions?” She said “sure”. I said “Your only hints are that it's good news, and it has to do with an email that I read this morning”. She thought for about 10 seconds and then said… “Am I playing the NBC Poker Heads Up?” and I said, "Wow, 1 question and you nailed it."

If she can plow through the field of 64 as effectively as she handled this game of 20 questions, she just might win it.

Anyway, what a cool bit of news to start to the day. 

I’ll keep you in the loop.

Catch you later,

Phil

 

 

 

Uncharted 2010!

by Katrina Lim

0 Comments

 

There you are! Haven’t seen y’all in a while!  Lots to report…

 

My first ever cruise to the Mexican Riviera was a blast! With stops in Cabo, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallarta, I was having so much fun lookin’ for souvenir magnets while enjoying some 88 degree sunshine too. The brief escape from the rain was nice, but I’m glad to be back in the real O.C. enjoying the current thunderstorms. I had the best ever Mexican food at El Patio in Puerto Vallarta…a quaint lil place next to the famous La Jolla de Mismaloya hotel. It was cool to stroll the town’s cobblestoned streets too. I definitely wanna go back! And no one ever told me the infinite amount of food on cruises!!! So awesome!! Sure, I’ll have some pizza at 3:30am…and cookies fer dessert!! Uh, I was obviously exempt from my diet on my vacation. Man, I love cruising now and I would go just for the food!

Of course I also got my poker fix on the cruise even though they only had one automated table. It was good enough to play some $1/$2 NLH. My first time ever playing on an automated table. I also entered the poker tourney they held onboard and yours truly won it. So, I won myself a 7 night Caribbean cruise for 2 in December…where I will also play in their grand championship event which boasts a $100k prize pool. Cool!  Going heads up, I was a 6 to 1 underdog too, but was able to chip away and remain patient, thus allowing me to come back and take it down!  Uh, I also earned a couple of nicknames that I can’t decide whether they’re good or not: Hurricane and Dragon Lady. I’ve heard peeps call me Hurricane before, though. I can live with it. But Dragon Lady?! That sounds a bit too janky to me. Can’t wait to cruise again! Get to play poker and eat! My 2 favorite hobbies! Life is good!

2010 has been a great year for me thus far! Later today, I’ll be heading to Commerce to play LAPC Event #23…their first $1065 event. Hoping to take my win streak with me just by having my hands continue to hold up. Hoping the prize pool will be decent too. Thus far, entries have been lower in other events. Understandable given the present economy. Oh, I got a job offer yesterday too. Back to corporate America? Wouldn’t mind it…it’s a great opportunity and so close to home! If I do the 9-5 grind again, I will still play part-time and grind it out on weekends and evenings. Supplemental income never hurts!

Yesterday I discovered the greatest video game ever!!! And no, it’s not COD: Modern Warfare 2. It’s the game that beat Modern Warfare 2 for 2009 game of the year: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves for the PS3!!! OMG, this game is the absolute greatest!! The graphics are astounding and the most impressive I’ve ever seen!!! The game play is so awesome!!! I am absolutely hooked! Not only that, it has an awesome story line and plot and the voiceover acting is really good!!!  I’m currently on Chapter 9 and try to play 2 chapters each evening. It’s like I’m in the video game! That’s how realistic it is! I’ve been all over my 360, but now it’s all about the PS3…not gonna touch anything else until I finish Uncharted 2! Absolutely amazing!!! I still have to watch “Inglorious Basterds” too before I start the first season of “True Blood”. 

Other than that, been laying low. Not much else going on. Good luck in the Premier League, Phil! Should be a cakewalk fer ya since I’m not playing! Bwahahahahaha. If you’re in the LA area, check out the LAPC. Maybe play the tourney? Come get you some!