I played the Aussie Millions main event a few days ago. I had a good table draw and played fairly well all day. I ran my 30k starting stack up to about 90k at it's peak. With under 30 minutes left in Day 1 I managed to lose two huge pots. One was a triple barrel bluff putting the player all in. The opponent made a good call with second pair. I then lost AQ vs KK in a squeeze spot against three players where I was fairly certain of everyone's range (the third player flatted in late position with KK.) I was definitely disappointed busting in the final hands of Day 1 after playing good all day. There's always room for improvement.

I'm leaving Australia tomorrow (at the airport now - wrote blog yesterday) and heading to Japan to see one of my best friends. He plays professional basketball in Osaka. Unfortunately, he injured his calf the other day so I won't get to see him play, but at least we will get to hang out. I've never been to that part of the world. I'm looking forward to it.

Today is Australia Day. To celebrate, here are some pictures I've snapped from the trip.



The city


Docklands


Alley covered with graffiti, some sick art.


Australia Open

I have a lot more pictures from Australia. I'll take a bunch in Japan too. Until next post.

In the beginning of January I went to the Bahamas for the PCA. The weather was great. The few years prior it was cold and windy so I was never able to enjoy being in Nassau if poker didn't go well. That's what happened this trip. I played the Main Event and busted early in Day 1 with top two pair vs bottom set (KQ on KsQs5d8c board.) It was a spot where I probably should have folded the flop/turn but I thought I noticed a physical tell on the player. I played a couple other side events that didn't go in my favor either. Fortunately for me, like I hinted above, the weather was great and I got to spend a day lounging around Atlantis with a bunch of fellow poker players. We threw footballs around the lazy river (which was the most fun I've ever had at the PCA), went down a few slides, and played a game of football on the shore.

I stayed with my friend Mark and met a couple of his friends during the trip. One of them was John Dibella. Mark, John, Tim (Tim0thee), Hans, Anthony (one of John's friends) and I all went to dinner the first night there. John and Mark both won $1k satellites to play the Main Event. We talked about poker and other random things that night and then all went our separate ways before the Main Event. In the next week, Tim and I kept meeting with Mark and John to eat dinner and hang out. John was doing well in the tournament. He was advancing each day, talking with us about hands and strategy. Although he isn't a "poker professional" he definitely knew how to play and understood dynamics behind the game some people don't comprehend.

John kept making it through everyday. I remember going to dinner with him when he made the final 24. Tim and I went through who was at his table, how they would play, what he should expect, and we even went over some hand histories to give him a little insight. I left the Bahamas the next day. I was amazed to see John had made the final table. Mark kept sending me updates throughout the day and me and Tim were sweating it online. I was shocked and excited. It was awesome to see a stranger I just met do well in a huge tournament and follow along with him. I watched the live feed and stayed in communication with Mark as John played the final table. I tried to relay any information I could that I thought would help John. I don't know if any of it actually helped, but John played great, had things go his way, and ended up winning the tournament (after a small deal) for almost 1.8 MILLION DOLLARS!!! I was so excited for him. I really couldn't believe it. Mark called me after he won (I was watching on the 40 minute delay) and everyone was just in awe. Even though John is an amateur player he played very well. He made only minimal mistakes and overall played very well. I don't think many people took him seriously which probably was to his advantage. I want to congratulate you once again John. You won one of the best and biggest poker tournaments in the world. Awesome job and well played! I also want to thank Mark for the hospitality and good time we had in the Bahamas. Congrats to both of you guys.

After I returned from the Bahamas, I relaxed in Florida for a few days and planned my trip to Australia for the Aussie Millions poker tournament. I arrived in Melbourne five days ago. It's a beautiful city that I'm exploring more of every day. I've played a couple tournaments (none of which have gone my way) and also some cash games. The Crown casino is an amazing establishment and the poker room is awesome as well. In an hour and a half I will be sitting down to play Day 1 of the Main Event. The structure is really good for this tournament and the field looks the same. Although I haven't had any deep runs lately I still feel like I'm playing well. I'm excited for this tournament and hope I can be on the good side of luck over the next few days. I will updating my twitter (@TristanCre8ive) on how things are going.

I've taken some pictures and have a few other stories I might share in another blog post. Time for me to get ready to play the Main Event. Wish me luck.

Continued from "Finally... (Part 1)"


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December

December is always an interesting month to me. My birthday is in December, along with Christmas, and New Years Eve. I love living in Florida during the winter/December because it starts to get cold at night. During the day the weather is awesome. It usually is 70-80 degrees and sunny. You can't beat that.

My birthday was low key. I didn't do much. I had a dinner with the family and received a few presents. I never made a big deal out of my birthday or Christmas. My family has been able to provide me with almost everything I have ever needed, so I never felt the urge to ask for much, if anything. They always find something to get me though lol.

Christmas was fun. Again, I spent time with my family, watched them open up presents, and had Christmas dinner. It's nice to have my immediate family close for the holidays. I think they like having me around too haha.

On New Years Eve I went out in Fort Lauderdale. A few of my close friends were able to make it out and bring in the new year together. I thought about going to Vegas for New Years. That probably would have been a lot more fun. I can just imagine how ridiculous Vegas is for New Years. Nevertheless, it was nice getting to spend some time with friends I don't always get to see. The circle seems to be getting smaller.

Other than my birthday and a few holidays, I played some cash games in December. I still need to get out and play more, but I at least got to go a few times. It's hard to know when the good games are running. That's something I'm going to improve on. Live poker isn't the same as online either. Playing so much live poker really makes me miss online poker.


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DeepStacks Big News

DeepStacks is doing some great things. We just announced a Televised Poker Tour. The final table will be televised regionally. It starts February 15th at the Seneca Niagara Casino. We have our DSPT (DeepStacks Poker Tour) main event on February 17th. It is a $1500 buyin, $200k guaranteed tournament. It will last three days. The tournament starts nine handed but when we reach 36 players we finish the tournament six handed. It should be a really great event and I am looking forward to it.

On the television side of the tour I will be doing commentary alongside Joe Stapleton. I'm excited about the whole experience. Hopefully we will be able to have a great poker tour and the television product will be able to match it. I don't want to say too much about it. We will see how it goes!


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What's Next?

On Friday (tomorrow) I will be going to the Bahamas for the PCA tournament series. For anyone who doesn't know, the PCA is the PokerStars Carribean Adventure. Last year (when it was LEGAL to play ONLINE POKER) I won a package to go. I cashed in the main event and I'm hoping for better success this time around. So far I am only set on playing the main event. I don't know if I will decide to play any other tournaments or cash games. I'm strictly going for poker. If there are good tournaments/games I will stay if I bust the main event. Maybe I won't even have to worry about that. Wishful thinking.

After PCA I am going to go to Australia for the Aussie Millions at the Crown Casino. I've never been to Australia and really have no clue what to expect. Everything I have heard about the country has been positive, so this is definitely another trip I am looking forward to. I remembering watching this tournament on the television/internet and always wanting to play it. I can't wait. I will play the main event and a few other side events if I get there in time.


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Thank You

I'm glad to FINALLY be caught up on this blog and to get back in the swing of writing. The last few months have been crazy. I just want to say thank you to everyone who has supported me or followed along with the ride. Even though I do all of this for myself (well not entirely for myself!), it is nice to have people who care about what you're doing and have some interest in it. If there is anything anyone wants me to write about let me know. I've had a few people comment about my first WSOP Bracelet and the story I would tell. Hopefully I was able to touch on some interesting aspects. There's always more I could write but I try not to go overboard.

I still have a lot to accomplish. I am optimistic I will be able to achieve everything I want to. I don't know what some of those things are yet, but as long as you know what you want to do in the end, filling in the blanks is easy.