Adam Junglen Blog

If you told me when I was first moving into Panorama Towers (the place I wanted to live in since I was 18), that I’d be excited to move back to Ohio after one year, I’d have laughed. Especially if you told me I’d be leaving after one of the better years of my career financially, both in poker and business investments (which was the end result).

Well, poker’s pretty much consumed me the last 5 years. It was all I thought about. It feels great to move out of Vegas and take a step back from everything. I almost feel like a different person. It’s a relief. The Vegas lifestyle is just not something I desire to be apart of. It’s a tough city. It’s next to impossible to meet someone who isn’t a stripper, hooker (pardon me, “escort”), shady, and/or crazy etc etc. I certainly don’t need to live in Vegas to do my job, especially with the live poker economy the way it is (doubt you’ll see me playing too many Bellagio tourneys this year).

When I was packing up a bunch of my things were never unpacked from when I initially moved in….12 months ago. I never went to get a Nevada ID. I think that in my subconscious, I never moved in.

The last day before I left I did some work with WSOP Academy over at Caesars. Knowing full well the target audience is inexperienced amateurs I went in with an open, positive attitude and it ended up being a good experience. I thought it was pretty funny when I sat down at one of the tables and they all agreed I was a better dealer than the other pro’s there instructing.

“Go figure, the internet player with 7 fingers is the best dealer here!”

My badass dealing skills probably made a bit more sense after I informed them I performed as a magician at private parties and restaurants when I was in grade school. I’ve been dealing with cards for as long as I can remember.

Well, I’m currently in Omaha, NE with my dad. He’s been helping me move and we’ve just wrapped up the third day of travel. We should make it make home by tomorrow night. I’m just staying at my parents until I find my own place. Already have a few realtors talking to me despite not yet being in the state, lol. I’m looking forward to going out and checking out properties. Specifically, I’ve been looking at contemporary lofts, condos and lakehouses. I’m looking forward to having my own home base away from poker.

If I’m taking a step back from poker, I must be taking a step towards something, right? I’m considering doing some more tournament coaching/staking. Maybe I’ll finally go over that FTOPS ME hand history for PokerVT. I might open my own gamestore. I’ve been researching real estate. I could goto school and study subjects relevant to my agricultural investments. I’ve been talking with an old friend I used to play baseball with and am going to get involved helping coach his team.

I mean, I’m can pretty much do whatever I want.

When was the last time I had a blog entry this long, positive, open and honest?

Feels great!

Later,

- Adam

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It’s just about been a year since I first moved to LV. With my lease at Panorama coming up, I’ve decided to go month to month with intention of moving back to Ohio once I’ve got my moving plans figured out – which I should by the end of March. As much fun as it’s been living in Las Vegas, it just isn’t for me. There might be a time in my life when I decide to buy a place in Vegas, but I don’t think renting year round is necessary. This isn’t a quitting poker post. I’ll still come out for all the big events, but I really don’t need to be playing all of the marginal prelim’s filled with competent/solid locals. I’ve also noticed I play much better after traveling, treat it much more business like.

After playing poker the last few years I’ve realized how much free time I have. I really should put it to good use. Although I’m not sure what I’d study at this very moment, the thought of going to school no longer leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I mean, I never did goto college. Poker just kind of “happened” to me. I was just a kid on crutches, graduated HS, and started having six figure scores. Maybe it’s time I really challenge myself and become an intellectual. I just don’t have the same passion for poker as I once did. I never thought playing poker was reaching my full potential as a human. It’s been a great resource and has left with me a lot of great travels/experiences. However it will not consume my entire life.

Last time I posted I had mentioned handling my audit and how I thought the IRS owed me some money. Well guess what? They canceled my audit case. El oh el, leave me alone IRS, kthx!

My life ramble is over. Maybe I’ll start updating more often.

Shrug. Later,

- Adam

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I’ve been home from the Bahamas for about a week now. I didn’t make any noise at the PCA, just a couple of Day 2’s; the main and $5k PLO. I left happy with my play and irritated at Atlantis, which is starting to seem standard.

William Thorson was on my direct left in the $5k PLO and after building his 15k starting stack up to 60k he went on break after 150/300 and sat out the rest of the day (2/400, 3/600, 4/800, 60min levels), coming back to 45k at 500/1k with 16 left (8 paid, 1st 110k) on day 2. I stayed like a sucker and played the tournament, ended the day with 72k. I busted out in ridiculous fashion early on day 2 and William ended up winning/chopping 3 handed. I ran into him at a bar after the event and he explained he was “out buying a suit” while he was sitting out. Then he “ran into some friends” and one thing led to another etc, lol. Nice life, William.

I’m back in Ohio, still waiting on being audited. For some bizarre reason the case seems to be moving at a slower pace now that I’m fairly certain they owe me money. Imagine that?

I’m going to be skipping Biloxi and possibly Borgata as well. I’ll be grinding online tourneys (FTP 2xing guarantees and UBOC) for the rest of this month. Get my audit (aka bank error in your favor) taken care of, then head back west for LAPC and NAPT.

That’s all for now.

Later,

- Adam

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This is now the third year I’ve come to Atlantis in the Bahamas for the PCA. I was 19 the first time and it was my first live major event. Right after I flew to Australia for the Aussie Millions. Since then it’s become the second biggest (and juiciest) tournament of the year.

I’m looking to start the year off strong. I’ve done a lot of thinking and analyzing of my play and feel very good coming into the new year. It’s amazing how in poker, the more you learn, the more you realize you have SO much more to learn. There aren’t too many things in this world like that.

After the PCA and side events I’m going back to Ohio. Gotta take care of the audit and then oral surgery. Long story short, since I was born in South Korea my biological parents didn’t have the benefit of fluoride in their water. So I’ve got crappy teeth and need a handful of implants. At this point I practically enjoy the feeling of being put to sleep, it’s just another annoying thing that needs to be done.

In other news, Shaun informed me he’s going to move out in 5-6 months. He’s going to travel Europe or something. He’s still one of the handful of people I trust implicitly, no dramatic falling out (aside from him and tournament poker). I’ve got lots of options, so we’ll just see what happens. I’m definitely staying in the same place in Panorama through the WSOP, but after that I can basically do whatever I want….and I’m a big fan of doing whatever I want.

Later,

Adam

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Well, I’m back home in Ohio for the holidays with my family. December was a pretty hectic month for me. Between a business trip to New Mexico, a week of 12+hr days grinding Bellagio tourneys, and being audited by the IRS, (plus all the Christmas/family stuff) I’ve had my hands full.

A couple weeks ago I got a scary looking big envelope from the IRS. Sighhhh, it was in fact an audit notice. I’ve been on the phone with an IRS agent and my accountant the past few weeks organizing my records and going through the motions. I’m not nearly as worried about it now as I was when I first got the notice. It wouldn’t surprise me if the US government owed me money when it’s all said and done. That doesn’t mean it isn’t a pain in the ass though.

I’ve got a good accountant and have kept good records, so there’s not much to worry about. I’m working on getting the case moved to Akron so I don’t have to fly my accountant out to Vegas. I’m crossing my fingers it doesn’t interfere with the PCA. I doubt it will and the IRS seem fairly accommodating – but its a possibility. I’ll probably give an audit trip report when it’s all said and done. Several of my peers have asked about it and with our profession it’s probably something we’ll all have to deal with at least a couple times in our lives. Best be prepared.

I ended up breaking even during the Five Diamond series. For the most part I’m pretty happy with how I played and managed to build stacks in every tourney I played during the series. I took 4th in the $1.5kr plo tourney which covered the rest of the series. I made a semi deep run in the main event, busting out near the end of Day 3. I caught a flight back to Ohio shortly after being eliminated for Christmas.

It’s nice to be home for now though. The weather in Ohio isn’t too bad and I’ve had a nice time celebrating Christmas with my family. Looking forward to hanging out with friends and then (barring an audit scheduling conflict) headin to the Bahamas for the PCA. I’m ready for the new year.

Happy Holidays everyone,

- Adam

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After spending the last 5 days or so at Ray’s in NJ, I’m finally at the Taj in Atlantic City. Tomorrow’s day 1 of the $5k USPC main event. I’m looking forward to building a stack and bringing my A-game. This is actually my first time in Atlantic City. You’d think through all my travels I’d have been here before, but it just hasn’t worked out that way.

I had planned on playing the Borgata $1.5k this past Monday, but it just didn’t work out. The tournament started at 11am Monday, but tragically I had to miss it. Around 9am I had just finished my 20hr+ Sunday session and was just too tired to play the Borgata event. I had a pretty good excuse though, this Sunday I wound up chopping the $535 buy-in FTOPS Main Event for $290k – my biggest cash to date.

Words can’t describe how great a feeling it is to bounce back in such a big way. I had busted out of all the other Sunday tourneys around 10-11pm, so I was one-tabling the FTOPS for around 10hrs, giving it my full attention. Guess it worked out though.

Thanks to everyone for the support, much appreciated.

Later,

- Adam

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It’s been quite a long time since my last blog. To be honest for a good chunk of time I had lost interest in just about everything, including blogging. Hell, including eating. I’ve lost roughly 4lbs since I moved to Vegas….and if you’ve ever seen me you know I can’t afford to lose any weight.

These are obvious signs of depression. I went to see my physician about a possible eating disorder (most likely associated with depression) a couple weeks ago. I don’t have the body image issues that are associated with something like anorexia, but my bmi is certainly considered underweight.

The fact I went to a behavioral health place (therapist/psychologist) voluntarily is a good sign in itself. I’ve gone through about 5 different antidepressants in my lifetime now without any help. They’ve actually done more harm than good, but I’m going to start therapy again as well as continue my search for a functional antidepressant.

I’m currently back in Stow, OH. I decided to stop by and celebrate my birthday with my family and also get a chance to spend time with some of my old friends from around here. I’ve been feeling better and it’s been nice to get out and see autumn back east. Being in the desert for 3 months straight was kind of like being in Ohio during the winter. When I came back I almost forgot about trees and grass and leaves that change colors!

It’s been a rough year for me, but I’m working on taking better care of myself and with that I’m confident I’ll be back in better form than ever. I recently turned 22 – more or less a mid-life crisis year in “poker years”, haha. I realize I’ve taken a lot for granted the past year and I’m really looking forward to some redemption this year.

Since I’m already on the east coast I’ll probably end up at Foxwoods next, possibly AC as well, I’ll have to check the exact schedules. Then I’ll head back to Vegas after Thanksgiving for Five Diamond. I’m also going to be doing some PokerVT work. I’m looking forward to getting back on the saddle and adding some more depth/layers to the site I once poured my heart into.

-Adam

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Legends of Poker WPT  is the next big event I’ll be playing. I’m driving in Friday late night and the event starts up midday on Saturday.

I’m still not completely set on my fall schedule. The only thing I’ve decided on 100% is WSOPE/EPT London (both schedules look amazing) and of course WCOOP. I’ve always been a pretty impulsive guy though, so I suspect those won’t be the only tournaments I’ll be playing over the next month.

Cya at the Bike,

Adam

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I’m back in Tunica for the World Poker Open at Goldstrike. Just a few years ago this was a major stop on the WPT. Unfortunately they dropped it from the schedule about a year ago. Despite the main event no longer being a televised $10k event the WPO still attracts a reasonable amount of players.

They’ve got some good PLO action here, both tournaments and cash games. You’d be lucky to find to a 5/5 PLO game in Vegas (during non WSOP times), but it’s spread far more commonly here in the south, especially during the World Poker Open.

So far I haven’t done too well in the cash games, but have made a couple final tables online – go figure. Tomorrow’s the $1k PLO w/rebuys and then on Sunday the $5k NLH main event. I’m feeling really good about how I’m playing and am very driven at the moment. I like my chances to do well in these small field soft events.

-Adam

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Way back in May I was interviewed about the upcoming World Series of Poker. I forget where this specific interview was published or how it was used…, but I still have the conversation log which had an interesting question considering the circumstances.

Reporter: what needs to happen for you to consider your first wsop a success?

Me: I could whiff every event I played, but still consider the series a success if I felt I played well and grew as a poker player. I came awfully close to a bracelet in London….it would be nice to take one in the states
Me: hm that really doesn’t answer your question does it

Reporter: no, that’s probably the best answer I’ve had to be honest

Me: oh
Me: ok cool

The final tally was 23 tournaments played zero cashes. I made one day 3, and three day 2’s. Only advanced past day 1 in the $40k NLH, $10k PLO and $10k NLH Main. I didn’t bomb out of all the smaller events before dinner break, although nothing really seemed to go right afterwards.

I thought I played well for the most part. It’s difficult to stay on top of your best game for a month straight. Don’t get me wrong I obviously made mistakes while playing, but I’m certain I made more mistakes when I wasn’t playing – and that’s clearly not a good thing during an endurance test like the series.

I did learn quite a bit during the series and without a doubt grew as a poker player as well as a person. Discussing/getting coaching on the other games (stud format games/TD/o8) with Daniel and playing some more mixed games has helped peak my interest in learning more and becoming a better all around poker player. I doubt anyone would’ve guessed at the start of the WSOP that my earnings on the series would come from the PLO side games.

It was tough to walk out of the Rio during the last few tournaments as the series came to a close. It all started up and ended so quickly. After busting the main I flew to Ohio and spent the past weekend at a relative’s lake house. I just needed to get out of the Vegas heat and relax for awhile.

I’ve had a good time visiting family and friends while I’ve been back in Ohio. I’ll be heading back home to Vegas in a couple days and am looking forward to getting back at it as well as figuring out my schedule for the next few months.

-Adam

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