The last few events of the WSOP 2008 were not so eventful as I have been unable to get to the money rounds on any events thus far. My play has been solid, but like in any tournament, you have to win coin flips and get lucky in certain scenarios with timing playing an important role on collecting chips to advance and cashing in.

Yesterdays 6 handed $2500 event delivered a whole other kind of milestone I have never encountered in over 20 years of poker; I was out on the first hand. There was a main event (10K) back in 2003 where I was out on the second hand that I played and was actually the first player out of the main event that year; which at the time was a fairly spectacular piece of disappointing news with a record speed of losing 10k, however yesterdays unplanned event tops even that on many levels.

I have been trying to mix things up and decided to be fashionably late (Phil Helmuth style) and arrived about 12:30; 30 minutes after play began. My late entrance plays a key role in this mishap and wonderment of the story, as I ran up to the 6 handed event while the cards were being delt to my empty seat. The rule at the WSOP is that your hand is dead if you are not seated to receive your cards prior to the last card being delt to the button position. Upon seeing the last card not yet delivered to the last position of the button, I raced over quickly to sit down with my back pack attached, sunglasses and jacket still on. The other important note is that you must show your ID to the dealer to prove it is your seat prior to looking at the cards. I was about to muck my cards when I politely asked the players at my table if I could present my license to the dealer and take a moment to get settled, of which everyone grimaced a “fine…go ahead”. I quickly rummaged through my pocket to find my license in the loose leaf filing system I call a wallet (rubber band around everything in my pocket) and presented my license and the dealer a copy of my seat assignment. While the dealer was studying my picture and trying to match my name with the seat assignment card, I decided to take a quick peak to see my good/bad fortune and almost fell off my chair when I locked eyes with two aces. Before I get into the details of the events to follow, I want to explain (hear it again and aloud to myself) what the chances of walking/running up to a table at an arbitrary time and land two aces as a starting hand (220 to 1) with the multiplied odds of at least 10X based on the events leading up to this scenario. With this being described and the fact that I usually raise 90% of the time on the first hand to set tempo on what kind of player everyone can expect to play with (for those who don’t know my play); I am literally dying of joy and happiness on the first hand of event # 31 of the 2008 WSOP.

Now that the table has been set with semantics out of the way, I will begin to describe the emotional roller coaster of happiness, shock, disappointment and sadness at the most intense levels within 5 short minutes, the time it took to play out the hand. With aces in my mits, I slyly look around the table and say “let’s test the waters to see how you guys are” and announce raise. The blinds are 25 - 50, so i just raise to 125 to make it look like a standard raise, not a steal or a protection bet of a good hand (which people often do). Everyone folds around to the button who re-raises to 700, which is a very large, unusual but VERY acceptable re-raise to my two red aces. As the re-raise is announced and I see the chips that equal 6 times my original raise actually hit the felt, I am loving life. However, even with this amazing scenario of trapping a player like a rabbit with a titanium box and a pack of organic carrots, I take a quick moment to reflect and act as if my hand was just caught in the cookie jar. My thoughts of which direction to go of trapping him or just re-raising and taking the pot down, come down to the following:

A. If I re-raise I will certainly take down the $700 right here and now, especially if he is trying to make a move with nothing. However, if he has JJ’s or higher I will certainly get him to call or maybe even re-raise and get more money. With 30 seconds of thought and a some quick confused looks across the table to my opponent I decide that he probably has pocket QQ’s and wants to get me off my hand to avoid a bad beat and I raise the pot to 2100. He quickly makes the call, confirming my original thoughts that he has a pocket pair of JJ’s or better and will call whatever i bet if the flop is all baby cards.

Now I fully aware at this point that I can lose with pocket Aces if a J, Q or King falls even as a 45% or more favorite going into the hand; depending of course on what his cards and the flop are. The flop is 7d 4h 3s and I bet the remainder of my chips (2900) forcing him to call (hopefully) off the rest of his chips with his big pair while not giving him a chance to spike a J or higher on on the turn or river to spike a set. He immediately calls me, as I suspected, and I get ready to see his big pair and smile. He shows me the 7-3 of hearts and my eyes fall off my face onto the table. No need to go into the rest of the hand as the outcome never improved, but I can tell you the WSOP is a lot like the blackjack tables in Vegas; everyone has come to town to take a shot and spin the big wheel of fortune. Guys and gals from all over the planet are coming to take shots in the dark and are prepared to gamble it up with the hopes of taking it all down or go broke trying. The game is no longer poker…its Bingo, and I can’t wait to yell B-R-A-C-E-L-E-T someday soon.

On the enlightening side of things, I figure my luck and ’special’ events are going exactly how they are supposed to be, so after the initial shock (2 hours), I have chalked this up as ridding me from the poker demons of destruction and cleansing my body of all the unlucky anti-bodies prior the final event.  I don’t know how many more of these I can take, however, I’ll keep absorbing the blows till my chin falls off if somehow I can reverse the luck factor and make it happen for me when the final events begins.

Well if bubbling 8 away from the money wasn’t tough enough on event #2, bubbling 4 out of the money wasn’t much fun either. However, I did manage to get through another huge field and get in a solid 12 hour session of “avoid the land mines”. In 12 hours I barely had any hands to work with and most of my maneuvers came from stone cold bluffs. While I didn’t enjoy NOT cashing when getting so close to the money for two events in a row, I feel good about getting back into the groove, long hours of sitting, changing gears, reading players minds and the natural progression towards just playing great poker again.

At the point the deck starts to hit me in my new flat belly, I will be doing back flips in the aisles while I stack towers of chips and get to some final table action in the next few events.

I’ve been mostly eating almonds and sunflower seeds at the table along with my FUBAR drinks and Organic fuel bars. While I look around at what the rest of the players are forced to eat and drink at the World Series, I am truly thankful for for my tasty FUBAR’s. They keep me replenished and focused for the entire day, while my good friend Ed has made me some special brain power water that I have yet to try out. I wasn’t going to break it out until I reached a day 2 or final table, however, I may be busting it out on Thursday’s 6 handed event…the event I took 4th in last year.

Thank you to everyone who believed in me this year, I hope to make you proud.

Today’s $1500 event kicked off at 12pm with over 2000 players on Day 1 and another 1600+ anticipated from tomorrow. I played well and fought my way through most of the day and managed to get down to less than 300 players before running QQ’s in AA’s and getting knocked out of my first event.

Poker News was gracious enough to do an interview with me about last years abrupt departure at the main event. After watching the video clip I realized I didn’t make mention FUBAR or the getFubar.com website!!! What was I thinking? Oh well, I guess I was a bit nervous and I will just have to win a bracelet so i can get some more TV and Video time with the lovely Tiffany from PokerNews.com!

http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1564561998/bctid1582123257

Lots of activities in the works for both my personal and business plates this coming month. I’ve merged my company together with some of the best people on the planet and combined forces to build a fortune 500 company. This merger is one that I’ve been waiting a lifetime for and it was well worth going through all the difficulties, learning trials and tribulations of the past.

I’ve been traveling for the past few weeks for both family and business and recently attended the Natural Food and Beverage expo in Anaheim. The show was packed with food and drink of the future with a big play in organics. The shift to organic foods in the world is definitely here and there will be some big changes in the supermarket chains. With some strategic moves in product development and a solid marketing plan, we hope to take a piece of the marketplace with some of our new and exciting brands.

With all of my focus on business collaborations and new partnerships, I’ve not had any chance to play any tournament poker this year. It looks like the only event I will have an opportunity to be involved with is the World Series of Poker, provided a few things fall into place. Funding and sponsorship will play an important role in this years WSOP as I hope to represent some brands that can keep me healthy, focused and balanced during the month of June.

In addition to a month full of poker events, I will be training for the Silverman Triathlon which takes place in November. I recently made the commitment to participate in my first IronMan Triathlon just a few weeks ago and have begun training. The ideal situation is to be set up at the RIO with a mini training facility so I can run or bike on my breaks and in between play. It may prove to be a bit of a spectacle, but I dont want to miss this years WSOP or the necessary training to be ready for the Silverman. My friends, associates and partners are all working together to find me some equipment sponsors that will can help to make the month of June a little more comfortable to achieve my goals in 2008.

As I prepare for an explosive 2008 year in tournament poker with a quest to land corporate sponsorship at the Nascar level (but for poker) I have been researching and collecting information to ensure my future sponsors do not incur any surprises as I plunge back in as a professional poker player. 

One issue that has the poker world steaming was the rumour regarding a new Tax law that will implemented by the IRS on March 4th, 2008.   I use the term “rumor”, as I haven’t been able to find any credible sources (until now) on what the tax law is and why its being implemented.  Previous to talking with Blaise Dusenberry of the Office of Associate Chief Counsel, thousands of poker players across the US believed that 30% of all tournament winnings over $5000 would be withheld by the IRS, in conjunction with the casino where the tournament was held (described by the IRS as the Sponsor).  Poker players further believed this chunk of cash would be taken from the player at the time of winning and they could retrieve the withholdings at tax time the following year when they filed.  This is absolutely, positively 100%….not true. 

Today I called Ms. Dusenberry, who took the time to explain to me that the IRS is not witholding any taxes from any players unless the casino (where the tournament is being held) is unable to verify a players’ valid Social Security Number with a matching picture ID.  She went on to tell me that the reason the tax procedure and law is being implemented is for those players who refuse to provide a Social Security Number and try to avoid receiving a W-2G form.  Apparently there has been a plethora of players over the years who have been avoiding gambling tax winnings and the IRS stepped in to ensure everyone was on the same playing field when it comes to winning and paying taxes.  Ms. Dusenberry was very passionate in describing to me how players that abide by the tax laws should not be the only ones to comply with IRS regulation while other players have been getting around the tax system for years avoiding taxes all together.

This new law will  simply force everyone to provide a Social Security at the time of winning, and if they refuse or are from out of the Country, 28% of the total will be withheld by the Casino in escrow for the IRS.  For Canadians and other tax treaty countries, players will be able to retrieve their withholdings by going through the proper government channels of their respective country or use services like RefundManagement.com that will provide you with a refund in a short time and go through all the red tape  for you to ensure any withholdings are recovered. 

As a professional poker player that is coming back onto the circuit on a full time basis, I have to say I was relieved to learn and understand exactly what the IRS was doing and squash the rumor that is circling the poker world.  I’ve copied and pasted the tax procedure as it was pointed out to me on the IRS.GOV site from Ms. Dusenberry:

Were now in the middle of the 5 diamond event at Bellagio and it’s a treat to be home surrounded by comfort and first class service.  There is truly nothing like Las Vegas as even the tournament staff for sattelites at the Bellagio is polite, professional and always friendly, the complete opposite of the foxwoods’ experience. 

Although I haven’t made any significant cashes, I was able to watch David “the dragon” Pham win yet another bracelet and a first place in the $2500 event.  I watched him bluff his way to another huge cash and put him in a class of his own when it comes to a player who consistantly is in the money year after year.

A few weeks have now passed since my Foxwoods trip, I’ve calmed down considerably and will now document what i like to call, “DML’s believe it or not!”.  But, instead of being angry and pissed off about it (which was the case during the event), I’m simply going to have a little fun (at foxwoods’ expense) and list some of the most ridiculous blunders and events I’ve ever encountered during my 17 year poker career:

Event #1:  During a final table one of the players had over 300,000 in chips at the end of day 1.  The player heads over to the final table on day 2 only to see that his chips were taken out of the bag and stacked without him.  Knowing his chip count, which was also verified and written on the bag, he finds that 100,000 of his chips are missing and makes an inquiry.  Camera’s are checked the day prior and the count it verified on day 1, however when trying to confirm what happened to the chips on day 2, Foxwoods’ tournament director Mike Ward had no answer.  Incredibly, the player accepted his 100k loss of chips and Mike Ward wiped his brow with relief.  What is more amazing to me than the disappearing chips, is how does a player just accept a 100k loss in chips?  I know for a fact that if it was Mike Matusow or Phil Hellmuth that lost those chips, it would have taken 12 wild horses and the armed guards to carry them away if 100k of their chips had gone missing.

Moral: Dont let anyone unpack your chips and scream blue murder if they do it without you present.

Event #2.  The table and chairs at the foxwoods’ event were average at best with tables criss-crossed and jammed up together like at most events (the WSOP being the worst for comfort scale).  This interesting little event came about during my second week of the event when a player was asked by a dealer not to “double stack” chairs while sitting at the tournament table.  The player requested the presence of a tournament supervisor and demanded an explanation as to why all of a sudden he couldn’t double stack his chairs as he had being doing it for weeks.  In addition players around the table got involved, including myself and backed the player up by saying we’ve all been doing it and if you look across the room now you can see Paul Darden double stacking (which is how he often plays), plus some others.  The immediate supervisor had no logical answer at the moment and felt the pressure of the players banding together (which should happen more often) calling on the help of Mike Ward, the tournament director.  Mike listened to all of the facts from the players who pleaded that the “double stack” rule should be stricken from the Foxwoods’ 1001 rule book, of which Ward replied and i quote; “Foxwoods has created this rule for the protection of the casino, for in the event of a player falling off the double stacked chair at the high elevation he/she could sue Foxwoods for an injury on property”.  The table burst out in laughter and Mike departed at lighting speed to further avoid embarrassment.

Moral:  Beware of falling chairs and super heights

Event #3:  Many players are now aware of the no cell phone rule at the table and are asked to step away to use it.  I personally think this is a good rule to avoid any potential cheating or discussions between players while in a hand.  Foxwoods has taken this rule to another level and enforces it like an inmate being screamed at by a prison guard in a penitentiary.  At Foxwoods, if a player even looks at his phone, even while not involved in a hand, is given a warning then a penalty.  The player must be 3 feet away from the table and must not be looking at the direction of the table or he is screamed at. (unless you are Phil Ivey, then you can get a massage, double stack your chairs and be on the phone the entire tournament).  There was an instance where a supervisor came up and snatched the phone out of a players hand while he was standing up behind his chair and was threatened it would be confiscated if he talked on it again. 

Moral:  Don’t bring your phone to Foxwoods, Connecticut unless you want to be arrested.

Event #4:  Tournament start times generally begin at noon around the globe with Foxwoods as one of the only places that begin at 10AM.  For many players that live in the MidWest, Las Vegas or California this is a 7 AM start.  Most poker players dont even start dreaming until that time of the day, giving western US players a disadvantage at the tables from the start…we are not even awake yet!

Moral:  Dont even bother sleeping when playing at Foxwoods…drink lots of energy drinks and stay up all night!

Event#5:  For the players who got knocked out early in tournament or decided to participate in some side action cash games during the Foxwoods event, here’s what they had to deal with;  while the waits were long as they usually are for any side action at a WPT event (due to not enough tables), Foxwood made it even more diffucult by giving players between 5 - 15 seconds to get the call out desk or run to your table before the next player in line got there before you.  To add to the “speed sitting” game, they constantly switched call desks so you didnt know where to check-in; and there were so many people crammed in the cash table areas (standing around) you could not make a mad dash for it even if you wanted to.  In addition, there were no chip runners (you had to buy them at the cage which had line ups like a rock concert bathroom) and you further cant buy chips at the table unless you go bust in the game.

Moral:  Figure out the radio frequency the staff are using to let the caller know you want your seat that you’ve been waiting hours for or bring your own airhorn to get their attention when they call your name.

After busting out on Day 4, in a situation I usually get away from, I’ve taken some time to collect my thoughts and reflect on this months WPT event at Foxwoods.   At first I was was stunned, then I was shocked, then I was just angry (at myself) for allowing another players reckless (specifically one) style get into my head and affect my play.  I’d like to tell myself it was unavoidable (denial), I’d like to say I learned a valuable lesson (not the case) and I’d like to forget about all the outside influences and negativity I felt leading up to my demise, but that’s not going to happen either. 

This last week of reflection has given me the time to think about how my body and mind need to work together, as one can easily become stronger than the other.  I’ve been focusing so much on improving my diet and increasing my core body strength through daily exercise that I’ve left parts of my mind behind during the past few months. 

While most of my experiences at Foxwoods were unpleasant and not worth remembering, I did manage to meet a few good people during this WPT event that were helpful (indirectly) for the Five Diamond WPT event coming up at home in the Bellagio.  While I would love to have been in possession of some of the mind exercises I recently learned during my stay at Foxwoods and use it to block out the negative surrounding, it just wasn’t meant to be.   However, now that Foxwoods is over, I think it is necessary for me to spew out all my thoughts that were witheld and harbored during the event; for both my own personal reasons and to give any poker players in the future a heads-up on what to expect when traveling to Foxwoods “Alcatraz” Connecticut.

While I am personally venting to release all the ugly antibodies I picked up during the trip, I am blogging this event with graphic intent and description to remind myself in the future what pitfalls to avoid and start running the other way should I start seeing the signs early on.

This years 2007 WPT Foxwoods Poker Tournament would be best described as the worst poker tournament I’ve ever attended in 17 years.    To fully understand how excrutiating it really was, I am reminded of a popular TV show a few years back called “OZ” on HBO.  Foxwoods is alot like the penitentiary they used to film the show in; it included many good actors (poker players), (in)experienced staff (armed guards), more rules than the detention facility game room and you have no where to go except your 4 X 10 cell (the tournament room was a bit bigger).

To understand the full experience of exactly what kind of racket they are running on the “island” of bad poker tournaments, I will list (in my next entry) some of the most ridiculous rules (of the dozens) I encountered and the related experience….it exhaust’s my patience just to think about them now…

Well, its day 3 and i’m sitting with 271,00 in chips and neither card player magazine or the WPT grunts can get anything right.  I’ve been within the chip race throughout most of the tournament and now I am 11th in chips with 131 players left and they cant spell my name right after telling them at least a half dozen times.  I’m shocked that Barry Shulman actually hires and pays for this kind of help that nobody within this million dollar business can get a players name right.  What’s worse is that they look at me like I have two heads everytime I tell them “you are spelling my name wrong”!

More bad news is that WPT cant seem to get it right either, so unless your name is Barry Greenstein or Freddy Deeb, you are a nobody and they dont care how your birth name is spelled.  At this point, I just want to win the event so that my family can live well and I can express my dissapointment with the Cardplayer and WPT staff.  The friends and few fans that do follow my action are disgusted with the coverage and are frustrated for me. 

My thoughts (which are negative and unwelcomed) during my down time is that I really hate feeling this negative energy and need to figure out a way to overcome it.  I’m doing what I can to force it out, but feel equally as responsible as I’m letting the overall Foxwoods experience get to me, and its affecting my focus.  In my 17 years of playing poker, this is the worst travel and poker tournament I’ve ever participated in…but what do i know?  The media doesnt cover me so I must be non-existant.  I’m going to force myself to block out the bad energy and focus on the positives  I have chips and I’m heading to day 4…I have chips and I’m heading to day 4…I have chips I’m heading to day 4.

As my mind and body work together in harmony and chaos, depending on the day, I find myself becoming more in tune with everything and developing a keen sense of intuition. 

Yesterday seemed to have writing on the wall as I was on my way to the foxwoods tournament in Conneticut and was unable to get on 3 overbooked flight in a row.  While its not that unusual to be unable to fly out on a Sunday morning/afternoon out of Mcairan Airport out of LV, the sense of something else was telling me maybe there is something else i should be doing instead.  At that moment i decided to browse the internet on my blackberry to find out if there were any poker tournaments going on Sunday that might be worthwhile playing in.  While my intution was telling me one thing, my mind was cross referencing the poker tournament search and it only seemed logical that it was telling me to play another event if the flight gods werent letting me have my way onto a plane.  Sure enough I found the final event of Caesars starting on Monday and a feeling of winning blew over me at that moment.  I preceded to leave the airport and head directly for Caesars to buy-in for the main event and something unusual happened to validate my intuitive premonition….