I’m glad I have finally had a little bit of free time to write my first blog for Bluff! Along with being a new monthly columnist for Bluff Magazine, I am also starting to write a weekly blog for Bluff as well. I have already written two monthly columns and have enjoyed it quite a bit; however I will try to keep my blog a little bit more “casual” as in free flowing whatever is on my mind.

This year has been off to a very hectic start…i started at the PCA for a few weeks then to Florida for a few days then back to L.A. and finally over to Biloxi for the WPT Southern Championship where I finished in 13th place. But I didn’t stop there, I went back to Florida for the premiere of my new company DeepStacks Live and our first 2 day poker camp and then over to Vegas where i cashed in the first ever NAPT Main Event at the Venetian, However, I went back to L.A. where I completely bombed the WPT Main Event and
$25,000 High Roller Event. It’s all good though!

I have done alright in the live cash games at the Commerce during the L.A.P.C., which included a gigantic win from last night which I will detail a little later on. All in all, it has been a very busy year so far, and I’m not in the least tired yet…which is exactly what I expected. I came into 2010 trying to make it “My Year”. So far, I have cashed in two out of six major tournaments and I’ve been doing some new things psychologically to enhance my drive, determination and my ability to relax so that I can really crush 2010.

So far, I believe my new approach has been working out very well. Speaking of working out, I am probably the strongest I have ever been right now in my life. I am working out three to four days a week. which has allowed me to get in great shape both mentally and physically. This has helped me stay very calm and focused at both the live and online tables, However, I was a bit distracted during the two major L.A.P.C. tournaments, but I know why, and fortunately I was able to fix it. I am confident that what distracted me before will not happen again and I am looking forward to steady gear the whole way this year.

The cash games are dying down a bit here in L.A. at the Commerce-post L.A.P.C. I am sad to see them go but there are still a few great games left to play. Yesterday, I drove to the Commerce to find fellow DeepStacks Pro Mike Matusow, “Viffer”, Brett RIchey, and numerous other players still awake from a looooong session of 600/1200-Badugi, O8, Stud 8, 2-7 Triple Draw, Badeucey, and NL 2-7 Single Draw.

At the Commerce, and many other casinos, every half hour we play what is called a “time pot”. Instead of everybody individually paying for their time, whoever ends up winning the pot which is classified as a “time pot” (indicated by a button with those words inscribed on it being put in the pot with the chips) a player will end up paying the entire table’s “time”. However, when I showed up at 4 pm that day, I found a group of players playing “Cristal Pots!” They custom modified a new button with the inscription “Cristal Pot” which was sporadically thrown into pots, and whoever ended up winning the pot, would buy the next bottle of Cristal champagne! It is probably one of the most genius things I have ever heard of, LOL! I was only in attendance for the last two “Cristal Pots”, and I had a few glasses of course. Supposedly, there had been four or five other pots throughout the night before I arrived! All in all, twelve hours
later, I quit the game $180,000 winner - I really like this Cristal Pot idea!