I feel like the title of this blog is fitting, for more than one reason. I FINALLY won a WSOP bracelet, I'm FINALLY writing this blog, and other things are FINALLY taking their course as well. Since I have to cover almost three months of updates, I'm anticipating my longest blog ever. Just thought I would preface a little bit. Part of the reason why it has taken me this long to write is because I had some personal health issues immediately after I returned from Europe. It took longer than expected but I've FINALLY got that under control and am back to normal. This blog will be broken down into sections to make it an easier read.

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WSOP(E) Victory

Everyone entered the final table with roughly even stacks. To give a little history about the event, it was a $3k euro Shootout. Day 1 we started 8-9 handed. Day 2 we played 3 handed. Day 3 was the final table with 10 players and everyone about even in chips. It was an insanely tough final table. There were no weak spots. I watched as a few players were eliminated and the table started to become short handed. With seven people left I won a big coinflip against Steve O'Dwyer, my TT vs his AK. I was able to open up a little more shorthanded and eliminate Max Silver KK vs 44 when he 4bet shoved on me. I entered heads up against Mike Watson (SirWatts online.) He had about 1.4 million in chips to my 1 million. We went back and forth and I eventually was able to win the tournament when he 4bet shoved A5s against my JJ. The board ran out QQ4T2 and I won my first WSOP bracelet. That's the short version of the final table haha.


Here's a victory picture. I still can't believe it.

Luckily I had a few friends with me in France to cheer me on. I want to thank my good friend Samantha and my new friends Kim and William who watched the whole final table. I also had my buddy Hans run over and watch when he wasn't playing hands in his tournament. Sam and I (along with my best friend Brian) traveled together throughout Europe and she was beyond supportive and excited about the final table (she had a nice little sweat too lol.) She's getting more experienced with poker, traveling to some of the events. I've been teaching her so hopefully she can have some success of her own soon. It was awesome to see my friends just as happy as I was. There's nothing better than being able to share an incredible experience with people who enjoy it as much as you do.


Will, Sam, Kim, and Hans behind me.


Look at Hans' expression lol. I think my JJ was cracked by KT this hand during heads up play to win the tournament. Classic picture.

The WSOP victory still hasn't sunk in yet, even after almost three months. I have to constantly remind myself that I finally accomplished one of my goals in poker. I started playing in 2003, my freshman year in college. I went all these years without a big "signature" win, online and live. I have won my fair share of tournaments but I never was able to win a major tournament. I always fell short. This happens to be the harsh reality of tournament poker. Sometimes no matter what you do things don't go your way and it is out of your hands. Everyone who takes this game seriously should understand that.

I had an amazing WSOP this year. I made two final tables in Vegas, went to Europe for the first time and won a WSOP bracelet. I don't take any of it for granted. We are deserved nothing in poker. Remember that. Nothing. Appreciate what this game can do for you and understand how unfair it can be. After you've done that all you need to do is enjoy the game itself.

Some of my friends have given me a hard time about winning my first WSOP bracelet in Europe. I understand where they are coming from as I once felt the same way. I realize poker is a global game. After playing in the WSOP(E) I know that I earned my bracelet. The fields had a ton of great players and it wasn't easy. I'll always cherish my first bracelet but now there is extra motivation to win one domestically! Haha.

Here are the finishers at the final table:

1st Tristan Wade (Me, Cre8ive)
2nd Michael Watson (SirWatts)
3rd Richard Toth (RichardToth)
4th Max Silver (Not sure his online name)
5th Bertrand Grospellier (Elky)
6th Steve O'Dwyer (MrTimCaum)
7th Emil Patel (Whitelime)
8th Taylor Paur (ambiguosity, tramp$d0pray)
9th James Dempsey (Flushy, MKKMOO)
10th John Armbrust (texduke)

I'll continue to let this all sink in and slap me in the face occasionally.


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Brazil, BSOP

I was scheduled to go to Sao Paulo, Brazil with Mike "The Grinder" Mizrachi on November 22nd. I almost didn't make the trip because of the health issues I talked about earlier. I went to the doctor the morning of my flight and was cleared to go luckily. My best friend Brian also came along for the trip with Grinder and I. We went to play some of the tournaments for the BSOP (Brazilian Series of Poker.) I went last year with Mike Matusow and I must say, once again, the BSOP is an unbelievable tournament series. They have great fields, run awesome tournaments, have a nice venue, and make the experience enjoyable for everyone. If you can make it to Brazil for one of their BSOP events I highly recommend you do.


Grinder, Juliano, Brian, and me. [Small pic]

Juliano is a great friend. Both times I visited Sao Paulo he showed me around and taught me about the culture. He has his hand in a lot of things involved with poker in Brazil. Flop Magazine, Super Poker, BSOP, and I'm sure a few more other things. The Brazilians who read this blog will know what some of those things are haha. Another person who is probably more influential with poker in Brazil is Igor Federal. He is also involved in just about everything poker related. I applaud both of these gentlemen. What they are doing for poker in Brazil is amazing to watch. I've seen what they are doing for their country and poker players there. It's truly amazing. There are many people in Brazil who are very passionate about poker. It helps to have knowledgeable, hard-working people spearhead poker efforts in Brazil. Keep doing what you are doing guys. Hopefully poker will one day be legalized in Brazil as well. I'm sure I could name a lot more people involved, there are just so many (including top Brazilian players, writers, enthusiasts, etc.)

My experiences in Brazil have always been good ones. There is something about the country and the people that you don't feel when you're in the States. Everyone is very friendly, outgoing, nice, and enjoying life. It is refreshing to be around people who are just happy to be alive. I only have good things to say about the country and all the people I encountered there. Grinder even mentioned that out of the ten days we were there he didn't see a single person who was upset. Impressive. I'm not saying it's a Utopian society but it a great place to visit. There is still a lot of room for growth on the poker aspect. After playing a few days in Brazil you can tell that poker is relatively new there. They have a different style of play that takes a little getting used to.

As far as poker is concerned, I didn't do very well in the few tournaments I played at the BSOP. I busted halfway through day 1 of the Main Event and the 6-max event. I had a last longer with grinder in both tournaments and won those at least! I wish I would have been able to play more poker while I was there but that just gives me another reason to go back to Brazil.

I'd like to thank everyone I came in contact with and everyone I know over there. Thank you. Your hospitality is one of a kind and I can't wait to return.

Here are a couple pictures from the trip:


Grinder doing an interview.


Figueira Rubaiyat restaurant. Built around a tree. Awesome.


Some of our dishes from Fig.


View from room. Sao Paulo is a HUGE city. (20mil people)

Continued... "Finally... (Part 2)"

Tomorrow I will be taking my third crack at winning a WSOP bracelet this year. Over the summer in Las Vegas I made two final tables at the World Series. One was in a $1500 NLH event and the other was in the $10k 6-max NLH tournament. I finished 7th place and 4th place respectively. Although I am competing for a WSOP bracelet in Europe at the WSOPE, I still feel like the prestige of winning a bracelet is carried over.

The final table of the 3k NLH Shootout is stacked. Two players (Taylor Paur and Elky) from the 10k 6-max final table also made it to the final table of this event. Everyone else is an accomplished live/online player. It won't be easy but if I can win this tournament I will definitely feel like I earned it. I'll do my best and hope luck is on my side. It has been so far.

We resume play tomorrow at 3pm CEST (9am EST.) Follow my twitter @TristanCre8ive for updates. PokerNews will be covering the final table as well. I'm not sure if the tournament will be live streamed. If it is I will tweet the link for it. I'll end this blog with a cool pic taken when I was heads up today.

I finished 26th place in the first WSOPE event. I'm 3-3 in my last three six max tournaments. Too bad there aren't more of those around! Like I said in the previous post, I was down to 600 chips in the first few levels of the tournament and ran it back up. I am happy overall with how I played and found myself in a couple unfortunate spots in the end to lose. There are a couple great tournaments left here at the WSOPE in Cannes. I am looking forward to playing.

Yesterday I played the 1k euro NLH WSOPE tournament and busted a few hours in. It was a very fast paced tournament structure. I never had momentum and battled being a short stack the whole time. Tomorrow I will be playing the 3200 euro NLH Shootout. I love shootouts. Hopefully things can go my way.

Here are some pics so far from my trip:


Building in Amsterdam


Swan in Amsterdam lol


Another cool building in Amsterdam


Delicious food


Rolled up, couldn't eat it all.


Beautiful Cannes, France


Cannes #2


Cannes #3


Cannes sunrise


Crepe... Definitely ate a piece of the fork.. lol

Amsterdam was great. I was only there for a day but I got to eat at a couple great restaurants and explore the city. I really wanted to visit the Van Gogh musuem but I didn't have enough time. I plan on going back again sometime soon. Cannes is also beautiful, as you can see. It is another awesome destination. I'm trying to take in the culture of all these countries. I'll be in Cannes for the duration of the WSOPE, looking to win my first bracelet. That's all I got for now.