Diary of a Poker Diva - Liz Lieu

I’m thankful for so many things on this American Holiday!! I wanted to share a few things that I am thankful for. I am thankful for my health. I am thankful for my family and I am thankful of good friends. I am thankful for these things everyday but on this special day of thanks, I wanted to share some of those things with you.

I am thankful for the Cold Play song “Fix You.” Right now this is in heavy rotation on my IPod and I’ve been listening to it every day. It’s a beautiful song about love and what I envision in the person that I am looking for.

I am thankful for the Yiruma song “Kiss the Rain”. I also play this song several times a day. It’s by Korean pianist and for some reason it reminds me of past memories in a very beautiful way. This is another song that puts me at peace and makes me smile.

I am thankful for the book, “The Alchemist”. I feel like this book really puts me in touch with reality and inspires me to follow my dreams and listen to my heart. What I like about the book is that it teaches you to live your life well. Live every moment in the moment. Let go of anything that is an encumbrance. Follow your dreams. Have fun and enjoy everything life has to offer, but don’t forget the things that really matter. Let go of things that are not within your control. There is so much wisdom contained within the pages of this book, the most important one, is to enjoy every minute of your life. We all have goals in life, we have dreams to fulfill and successes to achieve. We need to remember to stop once in a while, and smell each rose and count each star in the sky. It is not the destination, but the journey, that counts. There is something to be learnt in everything. It’s definitely worth reading!!

I am thankful for my Mercedes SL550. I absolutely love my ride especially on that deserted drive from Las Vegas to Los Angeles. My car drives so smoothly and accelerates so fast but most importantly, it’s a convertible which means on my road trips to Los Angeles and back, I can get some sun :).

I am thankful for forgiveness and growth. I’ve learned to become much more patient and accepting of people. I don’t hold any hatred, envy or jealousy of anyone. I’m much better at being patient when things aren’t going in my favor and have a much greater capacity to brush negativity off and move on.

I am thankful for my ability to surround myself with good people and remove myself from conflicts and drama. I am much wiser about how to avoid drama and make decisions that will promote positivity and keep me out of gossip and negativity.

I am thankful for my MAC. I absolutely love it. It is so much better than all of my previous PC’s. I can hold so much more information, especially all of my photos and its very user friendly. I also think my MAC is faster, less prone to viruses and holds more space. I really debated on whether I wanted to get a MAC or not last year and it’s been one of my best decisions of the year.

I am thankful for my Blackberry Bold. It makes my life so much easier. I can do so much work from the road. I can even respond to all my networking sites and catch up on emails when I am not in front of my computer. Otherwise, I would spend a ridiculous amount of hours on my computer each day whereas, I can run errands or go shopping and still get work done from my Blackberry.

And I am extremely thankful of my supporters and fans. I really appreciate all of the comments, emails, messages and tweets. I try to stay connected with everyone as much as my schedule allows and everyone has been so wonderful to me over the past few years. You will never know how much I really appreciate all of the kind words and messages. I really do.

And finally, I am thankful for charity. I am going to fly back to Vietnam next month and do some more charity work. While I love my car, MAC and blackberry, life is really about “people” and nothing is more important to me than connecting with people and helping those out there that are less fortunate than me. And what I receive in return is a sense of happiness, peace and balance in my life. Something truly priceless that money can never buy. I love nice things but as much as I can, I try to give back as well.

I hope everyone has a HAPPY THANKSGIVING and think about what you are thankful for today and ways that you can give back to those around you. Loved ones or complete strangers. It’s our ability to love and give that make us so special. XoXo.

Cheers!

Quick blog update. Big news out of Chilipoker headquarter’s!!! Breaking new grounds, Chilipoker.com is now the official partner of XL Airways and Go Voyages and its brand new direct flight from Paris, France to Las Vegas.

I am excited there will be a direct flights from to one of the cultural hubs of Europe to Las Vegas and also about being a part of a company that is continuing to push the envelope and get involved in strategic new business partnerships. As you know, Chilipoker.com sponsored the first WPT event to ever take place on the continent of Africa. I recently played in that event held in Marrakech, Morocco. I cannot reveal what other business dealings are in the works but this is just the tip of the iceberg. Expect Chilipoker to continue to grow and become a household name among poker enthusiasts. Read the press release for full details of the Go Voyages partnership.

“Chilipoker.com becomes the official partner of GO Voyages for its new direct line from Paris to Las-Vegas”

Press release

Malta, 28 October 2009

The Malta-based company, which is celebrating its 3^rd birthday, has signed a partnership agreement with GO Voyages to become the official partner for its new direct line from Paris to Las Vegas, operated by XL Airways, which will take off on 23 May 2010.

There will be twice weekly flights departing from Paris Charles de Gaulle, on Thursdays and Sundays, leaving room for short trips of 3 or 4 days as well as stays of a week, 10 days or longer. The departure and arrival timetables mean that travellers from all over Europe can be transported, and Paris will be established as a direct gateway to Las Vegas.

As well as innovating with this exclusive partnership, Chilipoker.com is installing a free VIP counter in Las Vegas for all its European customers. This will offer a dedicated multilingual team in charge of helping tourists and poker players prepare their stays in Las Vegas, especially with reservations for restaurants, shows or limousines, or visits to the surroundings of Vegas, etc.

“Las Vegas is one of those destinations people dream of, but which appear inaccessible. As an online poker site we felt it appropriate to offer an answer to these dreams by offering all non-English speaking Europeans, and in particular the French, a chance to enjoy a unique experience,” states Alexandre Dreyfus, the French founder of Chilipoker.com.

“We hope that with the future regulation of the online gaming market in France, which is set to become effective before 23 May 2010, Chilipoker can occupy a significant place in this new market. From now on, Las Vegas will form an integral part of our marketing strategy in Europe for 2010.”

To celebrate this agreement, Chilipoker will refund 75 Euros to all Chilipoker.com account holders for each ticket* reserved between 15 November and 31 December 2009.

“In this way Chilipoker.com intends to assert itself as a partner for the “poker destination” of Las Vegas and in particular for the French community, as we have already been for 2 years in Marrakesh. It will mean an investment of several hundred thousand dollars for us,” explains the director.

* the full terms of this refund and information about this partnership are already available in on the website:

About Chilipoker

Launched in 2006 by French Internet entrepreneur Alexandre Dreyfus, today Chilipoker numbers 40 staff of 13 different nationalities distributed across its various offices in Malta, London, Costa Rica and Hungary. Since 2007 Chilipoker.com has also sponsored one of the best women poker players, the American Liz Lieu (The PokerDiva), who is based in Las Vegas. In 2009 the company signed an agreement with the World Poker Tour to organize the WPT Marrakesh for 3 years, the first edition of which was held on 16 October.

Cheers!

I must bid adieu to Marrakech after three amazing weeks in Morocco. I want to start off by saying the WPT Marrakech, sponsored by Chilipoker was a great success. We exceeded the number of expected entrants for every single event. Every event had the maximum number of possible entries and my Chilipoker team was absolutely amazing in the process and did a fabulous job hosting the Event. And a big applause to top international tournament director Matt Savage for his excellent work, running a perfectly smooth and well organized event.

It’s been awhile since I last blogged, but I have been super busy!! I arrived in Marrakech in early October and had a few days to relax at the Es Essadi Gardens & Resort. For starters they put me up in an amazing room. It was a huge suite with a four poster bed, black marble bathroom, walk-in dressing room/ wardrobe room, private terrace, TV area with a flat screen, Berber rugs, antiques and interesting modern paintings by local artists. If you can’t enjoy the comfort of home, well this was the next best thing!!

The first couple of days, I just waited on my Chilipoker team to arrive. I spent a couple of days at the pool, reading books and just relaxing. I went out to dinner with Alex, AH, and Ophelie. And it was really relaxing and peaceful. I wanted to do more sight-seeing but I postponed it in lieu of some peace and relaxation instead. I played a ton of poker in London and it was good to just take a few days off between the WSOPE, the EPT and now the WPT Marrakech.

Because Chilipoker was a big part of this event, I felt really excited to play all the events including some of the smaller events I don’t typically play in. There were a lot of players that qualified for different events thru Chilipoker and it was my opportunity to meet many of them and play with them in a live setting. I’ve probably played some of these guys and girls online before but it’s always good to socialize and meet people in person as well.

Lots of poker professionals came out to play as well. The French were well represented, some of the big French names included Ludovic Lacay, Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, Nicolas Levi, Arnaud Mattern, Bruno Fitoussi, Fabrice Soulier, Antony Lellouche and one of the November Nine (WSOP ME), Antoine Saout. Other well known player such as Tony G, Antonio Esfandiari, Huck Seed, Annette Obrestad, Ross & Barney Boatman, Sorel Mizzi and one of last year’s November Nine, Scott Montgomery.

I’m please to say that I’m playing some really good poker lately and it’s only a matter of time before I win another tournament. Liz Lieu is back!! I didn’t have a name for this next chapter in my life but the comeback seems as appropriate as any. I was extremely pleased with the way I played in London. I managed to have a really strong showing at the WSOPE Main Event last week. I finished 22nd out of a Field of 334 players. I will go over some key hands in that event later and I played some really solid poker at the EPT Main Event as well.

Before I recap my time in London, I want to thank everyone for their support. If you didn’t catch the twitter updates, I will recap it shortly but the overall support was amazing. It feels good to play poker again on a regular basis and I want to personally thank the Chilipoker Team, especially Alexandre Dreyfus for sticking with me over the past two years. Shortly after signing with Chilipoker, my father passed away and I tried to play as much poker as I possibly could but my heart and soul really weren’t in it. Alex has been extremely patient and I feel like I’m on the verge of doing some of those great things that I’m sure Alex hoped for when we first formed a partnership. Thank You Chilipoker!!!

Speaking of Chilipoker, I am very pleased to announce, I am currently in Marrakesh, Morocco for our first ever sponsored WPT event. We expect a great turn out of top notch pro’s for the Chilipoker WPT Marrakesh Events. I am writing this blog from the Palace Hotel. This place is frikkin awesome!! Morocco is an extremely beautiful place and I cannot wait for the upcoming events. Partially because Chilipoker is sponsoring the event and partially because I am playing very good poker at the moment.

It all came together in London. Is it a coincidence my poker play increased exponentially now that my Two-year promise is over? I think now that I can focus on poker more and put some of the personal stuff behind me and move on, my poker play is going to improve month to month. I didn’t think it could all come together as quickly as it did but London was very encouraging. I finished 22nd in the WSOPE Main Event, outlasting one of the toughest field ever with ton of great players.

On Day 1 of the WSOPE ME, I managed to end the day with 65,600 in chips. I spent the entire day at the ME featured table. I had Hoyt Corkins, Allen Cunningham and Huck Seed to the left of me for most of the day at the featured table. How is that for a group of poker sharks?! But I managed to pick up pots and stay out of trouble most of the day. Above average chip stack by the end of Day 1.

On Day 2 of the WSOPE ME, I started to make some moves and got involved in some big hands. I dipped down to 50k at one point and doubled up to 100k. And then I doubled up again with pocket A’s. On a 9 high flop, went all-in and doubled through Brandon Cantu who had pocket Q’s. I was at 230k and among the top 5 chip leaders at this point. I did lose a few pots towards the end of the night and finished the day with 181,400 in chips. I was in very good shape still.

(photo courtesy of MadeInPoker.com)

On Day 3 of the WSOPE ME, for most of the day. I didn’t really make much movement. I just fluctuated around 180k until I did get involved in a hand against the SB when I had the button that admittedly, I got very lucky. I ran into a situation where I thought my opponent was overplaying his hand to take down the pot so I shoved all in with pocket 2’s. I ran into pocket A’s but hit a miracle flop with the first card being a deuce. After this pot, I had 240k. I eventually chipped up to approximately 300k by level 13 with about 60 players left. I guess the poker cards had to even things out because in level 14, I ended up losing 100k when I called an all-in with pocket 8’s. My opponent had pocket 4’s. He spiked a 4 on the flop and I was down to approx 180k. I finished the day with 193,500 with approximately 36 players left. I went into Day 4 with one of the smaller chip stacks.

(photos courtesy of Jules Pochy)

On Day 4 of the WSOPE ME, I had a pretty strong table. My table draw consisted of Keith Hawkins (4 WSOP cashes), Devil Fish, Teddy Sheringham (retired soccer player who has played in numerous WSOP and European events), Matt Hawrilenko (top young pro with 13 WSOP cashes and a bracelet in last year’s WSOP), Chris Bjorin (50 WSOP cashes and 2 bracelets, experienced pro), Stephen Zolotow (36 WSOP cashes, 1 bracelet and underrated veteran grinder), Thomas Bichon (won WPT Cyrus for $579k 3-weeks before) and Christian Harder (won Bellagio Cup Tourney in 2004 for $204k, 4th in the WPT Championships in April for $572k and several other 6-figure finishes). As you can see, I had my work cut out for me.

(photos courtesy of Jules Pochy)

I ended up getting cold decked and with this table I just couldn’t make any moves. Every time I raised somebody came over the top of me and I just didn’t have any hands to play back with. I had to grind my way to 22nd place and all things considered I was pleased with the result. More importantly, I was pleased with how I played for 4 days straight. I didn’t make any mistakes and made some really strong leads. I felt like I could have made it to the final table if I didn’t hit a cold deck on Day 4.

(photos courtesy of Pokerlistings.com)

(photo courtesy of Pokernews.com)

The results at the EPT London weren’t quite as good as the WSOPE ME but again, I played my hands very well. On day 1, I was chipping up nicely and ran into a cooler. After a raise and re-raise battle with Ivan Demidov, The flop came A-K-J. I had A-K. Ivan bet out 6,250, and I announced all-in. He almost folded but reluctantly called and ended up having J-J for a set. I was pretty much crippled after that hand dipping to about 6,800 in chips. My chips dwindled down to about 5000 and I tripled up with K(d) J(d). I actually played really solid poker and even chipped up to about 33,000 in chips. I didn’t last very long on Day 2. I saw a good opportunity to double up and took it. I pushed all in for my last 32k with pocket 7’s and was called down by A-K. The flop missed my opponent but spiked a king on the turn and my tournament was over. I wasn’t happy to lose but overall I was pleased with my overall plays. And I plan to play well in Morocco! I will be tweeting a ton so if you want up to the minute updates, follow me on my Twitter.

Cheers!

Right now, I have no idea what is going to happen next. What will be accomplished in the next year or two? I have high hopes but it is a great mystery. The way life is supposed to be. Filled with pleasant surprises and occasional let downs. But most importantly, I hope it will be filled with laughter and joy. I am so much more appreciative of life’s little treasures at this stage in my life, and so much better at brushing off the occasional let downs. I credit much of this to my Father and I couldn’t be happier about the way the last chapter of my life closed out.

(photo courtesy of Ian Morton ~ VinaPix)

I left you with the 2 year promise and I am happy to tell you that I have successfully kept my commitment all the way through to the final day. We had a ceremony with the Shaman to send my father’s spirit away in peace on Sept 6th. And to help my father on his way, I purchased 888 birds to release on his behalf. This is a very common activity done in the Buddhist culture, in the hope that such good deeds will earn them credits for a better incarnation in their next life, as well as helping their relatives in hell to win earlier release from their suffering. I originally wanted to purchase more than 3000 birds but my Shaman assured me 500-600 were more than enough. LoL. I might have gotten a little carried away! I decided I would do 888 instead because it is a very lucky number.

(photo courtesy of Ian Morton ~ VinaPix)

Quite a few interesting things happened during the ceremony that were truly surreal. I will save you the details because it’s impossible to believe unless you were there. I told a few close friends about the supernatural events I witnessed only because they truly know how skeptical I am as a person. It’s in my nature to analyze everything from all angles and look for alternative answers whenever something doesn’t seem right or logical. I am always processing info in my head to see if everything “adds up”. And I had no answers for what I saw except it was truly spiritual. I’ve seen a few magicians such as Chris Angel perform in Las Vegas and this was more amazing and unexplainable than anything I’ve ever seen before. Afterwards, I was assured they were very good signs and the ceremony couldn’t have went better; my Dad is in peace.

Once that Chapter closed for good, I flew back to Las Vegas for 5 days before flying back to Europe. My first destination: Venice, Italy. So beautiful!!! It is one of my favorite places to visit so far. I flew there for the Gioco Digitale ME tournament but I had some free time to check out the sites as well. Everything in Venice is accessible by walking or canals. Water runs thru the entire city and there were hardly any cars. It’s an amazing sight. I also had a film crew following me around to film the “Poker Diva Lifestyle” through the lens of Alexandre Henry. I am excited about working on this project as well.

The tournament itself was uneventful. I ran into a bit of a cooler on my final hand which knocked me out right after the dinner break. I flopped a set of 3’s on a J, 7, 3 board. Two spades on the flop. I bet 800 on the flop. And I was check called. The turn peeled off a 7(s) which was potentially a good card for me if my opponent hit a flush. We both checked the turn. I wanted to faint weakness in case he did hit his flush. The river brought a non-spade Ace. My opponent checked. I bet out $3,000 and my opponent check raised to 7k, I then pushed all-in and got an immediate call. I had a full-house and couldn’t imagine my opponent had a bigger full house. Sure, enough my opponent hit perfect perfect on the turn and river and flipped over A-7 for a bigger full house. On that note, I was out of the tournament.

After I spent a few days in Italy and wrapped up the Main Event, I flew to London and currently taking a few days to rest up before the WSOPE Main Event which starts on the 26th of September. The film crew for the “Poker Diva Lifestyle” will also meet me in London in a day or two and we will resume filming. Hopefully, I can give you a taste of the European lifestyle and culture. I really do appreciate the different cultures you can experience in such a short geographical distance. I have a week before the WSOPE Main Event starts in London. Now what?!? I am already getting restless. Perhaps I will catch up on emails and stay a little more socially connected.

I did want to send a special blessing to my friend Adam “DJ AM” Goldstein. May he rest in peace. I know it’s a little late but it was important to me to share a couple of moments from Adam’s life. To share with you what a special human being he was. I first met Adam approx 5 years ago at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. What many people don’t know is that Adam is an avid poker player. He loves poker!! He used to come the Bellagio about 2x a week to play in some relatively high limit games after spinning at the Pure Nightclub, a nightclub I often partied at and chilled to Adam’s awesome music spin. Over the years he played less and less because his Deejay responsibilities would keep him on the road more and longer. Usually, late at night after a Deejay gig. Sometimes he came alone and sometimes he would come with a friend or two.

(photos courtesy of Pure Nightclub)

(DJ AM and Liz Lieu in the house at Pure Nightclub)

At first, I learned thru Jonathan Shecter that DJ AM didn’t like me very much. At the time, I was playing in a 3 handed 80-160 limit hold-em game when Adam sat down and took a pretty good beating from me. At the time, I don’t think he really knew I was a professional poker player. On one occasion, I remember completely stripping him of his entire bankroll for the night. I don’t think Adam was making as much money back then because this used to really upset him and we developed a minature rivalry. Well, more of a rivalry on his part. I liked his action.

Eventually, about 1 years later we became friends and Adam told me about his feelings toward me. He told me, he thought I was cocky and it really irritated him. I never disrespected him or laughed at him but it was more my style of play that frustrated him. I am a very aggressive poker player and most guys aren’t accustomed to running into that type of aggression from a female. Anyhow, we shared a laugh about it and once we got to know each other on a more personal level, we grew to respect each other. And Adam did get the best of me a few times on the poker table. After a couple losing session to him at the Commerce, I playfully commented “Alright, we’re even now.. OK?” And he laughed it off. At this point, he was making a lot more money and I could tell the poker swings didn’t affect him as much.

One of the things I respected and admired the most about Adam was how much he loved his mother. His mother Andrea was the entire world to him. And I also admired how much Adam cared about people in general. One day, I was actually talking about charities with Adam because he struck me as the type of person that would care about that stuff, and I asked him some advice on some potential charities to donate too. He suggested I donate to MS research. Okay, so I asked him why? He told me his Mom had MS and they were very close to coming up with a cure and any additional help would be so beneficial. I was more than happy to do it. I started to donate to the cause immediately with a % of my winnings.

I also learned that Adam was donating a significant amount of his own personal earnings to MS research. Adam even told his Mom that I was donating money to her cause. One day, his mom even emailed me personally to thank me for my support for curing MS. I guess she was very pleased that one of Adam’s friends would also champion his cause and she was so thankful that she wanted to bake me a huge batch of homemade cookies!!

I continued to see Adam a couple of times a week playing poker and then he got more involved with bigger gigs and he was going to Las Vegas more often but we continued to stay in touch. When LAX first opened and I was just signing with the Martin’s Poker team he made sure I had a table and was taken care of. There was a huge mix up actually over my reserved table and when Adam got back to CA, he personally came to the Commerce and brought the Main manager down to personally apologize over the mix up and took care of the situation. And that was the type of guy Adam Goldstein was.

Over the past year and a half, I haven’t had a chance to keep in contact with Adam at all. We both had different priorities and poker wasn’t one of them. I don’t really know what happened in NY and what was going on with him, unfortunately. To me he will always be the caring and compassionate person who loved his Mom more than anything in the world. A generous person who would go out of his way to take care of a friend. It’s a sad loss. I hope Adam has peace and happiness.

Cheers!

Everyone’s life is made up of different chapters. We move on to the next chapter for a variety of reasons. Usually we move from one chapter in our life to the next when we reach closure on something in our previous life. It could be a relationship, school, becoming an adult, being able to legally drive or starting a new career. But each chapter is usually marked by the closure of one thing and moving on to the next.

I am now about to enter a new chapter in my life. I am in Vietnam right now and September 6th marks the 2-year anniversary of my father’s passing and my 2-year promise to him. Two years ago, I entered a new chapter in my life; a life without my father in it. I heard of the news when I was on the felt playing the Main Event in Barcelona. I immediately left for Vietnam.

From that day forward, I made a 2-year promise to my Dad. I would commit my energy and time to honor him. Most of you may not know this but I am very much a “Daddy’s girl”. I loved my Dad very much and he was such an important person in my life. I very much looked up to him and felt tremendously loved by him. None of my personal success would have been gratifying if I wasn’t able to share that with him.

In Buddhist culture, we believe in life after death and we believe good deeds can help bring peace and comfort to those who have passed before us. So, I made a 2-year commitment to my father to fulfill his final wishes and do as many good deeds as possible in that time. I wanted to ensure he had serenity, peace and love in his next life. I don’t want him to suffer at all.

Highest Gift to the Departed -

According to Buddhism, good deeds or ‘acts of merit’ bring happiness to the doer both in this world and in the hereafter. Acts of merit are also believed to lead towards the final goal of everlasting happiness. The acts of merit can be performed through body, speech or mind. The persons who receive the merit can be either living or departed ones.

Transferring merits to the departed is based on the popular belief that on a person’s death, his ‘merits’ and ‘demerits’ are weighed against one another and his destiny determined, his actions determined whether he is to be reborn in a sphere of happiness or a realm of woe. The belief is that the departed one might have gone to the world of the departed spirits. The beings in these lower forms of existence cannot generate fresh merits, and have to live on with the merits which are earned from this world.

Those who did not harm others and who performed many good deeds during their life time, will certainly have the chance to be reborn in a happy place. Such persons do not required the help of living relatives. However, those who have no chance to be reborn in a happy abode are always waiting to receive merits from their living relatives to offset their deficiency and to enable them to be born in a happy abode.

Those who are reborn in an unfortunate spirit form could be released from their suffering condition through the transferring of merits to them by friends and relatives who do some meritorious deeds.

As many of you are aware, I have spent a lot of time in Vietnam over the past 2-years. I have spent approx 4 months of the year living in Vietnam and maybe this blog will offer some perspective on why I haven’t been as focused on poker recently because I know many people have wondered why I haven’t been playing as much. It’s simply a different chapter in my life.

I have had that chapter in my life where I used to play poker for 3 days straight without any sleep. In my early 20’s, I had amazing stamina and couldn’t walk away from a poker table. I would frequently put in 2-3 day sessions of straight poker and completely crash for a day or two and then do it all over again. If I could title that chapter in my life, it would have been called the “Grind”.

The most recent chapter of my life was dedicated to my loving and wonderful father. I spent many days and nights at my father’s temple, prayed for him, sent him dedications and lived out as many good deeds as possible. This includes the charity work I do in Vietnam. This is something I will continue to do in the future but really took on more meaning and significance when my father passed away.

On September 6th, 2009, the Chapter entitled: “Two Year Promise” closes in my life and I will move on to the next chapter. I have no idea what is in store but I have come to peace with my father’s passing and I now have closure. I feel confident that his spirit can rest in peace and I know deep in my heart my Dad would love to see me move on and start the next chapter of my life so that is exactly what I intend to do.

This will probably mean more time on the road traveling for Liz Lieu, more time on the felt and back to playing more poker and focusing more on my career again. So be warned poker players!! Liz Lieu is coming back and going to focus more time and attention back to making money and doing what I love. But I don’t regret the decision to take much of the past two years off at all. Luckily, I’ve made enough money over my lifetime and had money saved up to be able to do this. I’m very fortunate to be in that position.

So far I’ve been in Vietnam now for over a month. I left for Vietnam a couple of weeks after the WSOP Main Event in early July. I did take some time however to participate in the APT Macau event. I played in the APT Celebrity Challenge and the Main Event. Other players in the field included Poker Pack crew Quinn Do, JC Tran, Nam Le, Chino Rheem, Steve Sung and a host of other pro’s from the United States and Europe. One of the highlights of this trip to Macau was seeing a number of Chilipoker’s qualifiers sporting our Chilipoker logo.

(photo courtesy of asianpt.com)

I was also approached by famous Chinese language director Janet Chun to participate in the final shooting of a poker film. At first, I didn’t really know how serious they were or not about the offer when they first approached me but they insisted they wanted me to be a part of the movie and for me to be involved in the final table. I spent 3 days in Hong Kong participating in filming the final table scene of the “Poker King”. The movie is scheduled to be out later this year.

I would like to send out a special thanks to the entire movie crew for the wonderful hospitality throughout my stay in Hong Kong. It was an awesome experience!

“Poker King” tells the story of two bitter poker rivals competing for world championship glory. The cast will be all-star, A list Chinese actors and pop stars with a cinema release across the region set for later this year. Actors with the coveted starring roles include Louis Koo, Sean Lau Ching -Wan, Jacky Heung, Stephy Tang, Cherrie In and Josie Ho. There have been several famous gaming films in the region, most notably the 1989 Chinese language classic ‘God of Gambler’s’ starring Chow-Yun-Fat which spawned dozens of spin-offs - but ‘Poker King’ is set to be the first release that focuses on poker.

I think it is the perfect transition for me to move into my next chapter in life. I hope it has some significance because there are high hopes for the poker market to expand into Asia and China in particular. Perhaps the next chapter of my life involves being a part of that expansion; to be at the forefront of the poker movement into Asia. Who knows? I just know that I am in a good place. I have peace in my heart and I am ready to start my next adventure!!!

Love and kisses everyone. I will be flying back into the States sometime next week. I look forward to being back and visiting with friends and family before my next big adventure to Venezia for the Festival del Poker ME, then moving on to London for the WSOPE ME, and lastly the WPT Marrakech, Morocco which is sponsored by Chilipoker. The Marrakech Event will take place from the 12th to 18th of October. I am really excited to be a part of this Event especially because my Chilipoker family has a huge role/ part in this event. I hope to see many of you there!

Cheers!

Feeling very much like a bird with all the traveling and flying I have done in the past couple of weeks—from the US to Saigon to Phuket to Macau…so far.

As you know, I started my travels by leaving the US in late July and headed to Saigon to do some charity work. I left Saigon and flew to Phuket on the 13th to spend a few days with good friends relaxing and getting “inked”. Those were my two main reasons for traveling to Phuket.

While I was there, I stayed in a beautiful villa overlooking the ocean at the Trisara Resorts with four good friends who also got their own separate villas. The first night we got there, we all decided it would be best to just check into our rooms and enjoy a nice quiet dinner at the Resort. We talked, laughed, and joked as only close friends can do and called it an early night so we could start on our short, yet very much needed vacation, the next morning. And that is exactly what we did.

We did not want to waste any time and woke up early to have some fun and relaxation in the sun, water and spa! My friends went swimming in their amazing private pools while I worked on my tan. All my friends had made plans to head down to Patong later in the evening to have dinner and do some evening sightseeing, While I had other special plans in mind that I wanted to do …

I have been waiting to get another tattoo for over a year now and I finally got the chance to get it done the way I really wanted it done. I wanted to get another meaningful tattoo using the art of bamboo tattooing. I found an excellent tattoo artist who’s won a first place award and took down the title “Best Bamboo Artist” in Phuket. So I immediately scheduled an appointment with him to have my latest artwork done. Luckily for me, he wasn’t busy that night and had agreed to come to the resort I was staying at and did the artwork in my Spa room.

Choosing to get “inked” in the traditional way by using a bamboo stick, I got the words “Om Mani Pädme Hum” written in Tibetan script across my right shoulder blade.

“Om Mani Pädme Hum” is easy to say yet quite powerful in meaning. It contains the essence of the entire teaching. When you say the first syllable “Om” it is blessed to help you achieve perfection in the practice of generosity, “Ma” helps perfect the practice of pure ethics, and “Ni” helps achieve perfection in the practice of tolerance and patience. “Päd”, the fourth syllable, helps to achieve perfection of perseverance, “Me” helps achieve perfection in the practice of concentration, and the final sixth syllable “Hum” helps achieve perfection in the practice of wisdom.

This tattoo has so much meaning for me because those are the aspects and vurtures in life I want to try my best to be perfect in. This tattoo is a reminder to myself of how I want to be and how I want to always live my life. It is now forever embedded into my skin so my eyes will never forget the vurtues I want to see in myself. With that being said, This will be my last tattoo because I believe all tattoos have significant meaning to the person getting it and each new tattoo, for me, has always had a much more significant meaning then the last and I don’t think I will ever find another tattoo that will have more significance to me and my sprituality then “Om Mani Pädme Hum”.

The next morning we rented a Crunchy 47′ yacht (Spirit of Baloo) for the day so we could all just chill out and enjoy the beautiful scenery from the waters. I even talked my friends into letting me navigate for a little bit and I felt very much like the “Skipper” even though I was told I looked more like “Ginger” at the helm of the boat then the “Skipper”. All I have to say to that is, “Hey, at least my 9 hour tour didn’t land all of us on a deserted island!” HaHa! JK!

After a full day of touring the island, I was able to relax for one more day and then I was off to Macau for the APT Celebrity Charity event and Main Event. I’m feeling lucky and I’m so ready to win!!! I will let you all know how the tournament turns out and fill you in on all of the festivities tonight is sure to bring in my next blog.

Wish me luck!

Cheers!

My second stop on my six-week travel venture around the globe was Vietnam. I wanted to start off my trip by doing what I love to do more then anything else…helping charitable causes and doing what I can to make someone else’s life a little bit easier and if what I do brings a smile to persons face, that just makes it that much more fulfilling for me.

However, this trip it was those I was trying to help that helped me in a way that I am truly grateful for and they made a special day in my life the most memorable day for me so far…MY BIRTHDAY!

Believe it or not, I have never been the kind of person that goes out and has a party every year August 2 comes around. I don’t find anything wrong with anyone that wants to celebrate their birthday and have a big party. I just have never had that same urge. I usually spend my birthday with family and close friends doing something low key. And the times I am traveling during my birthday, I usually spend it alone in my hotel room reflecting on things that has happened in my life and the things I can do to change my life for the better before my next birthday comes around. I am not telling everyone this so you feel sad or bad for me because I am alone on that day, it is a choice I make and it is how I like spending my birthday.

This year was different though. This year I got the best birthday gift ever! I was at my hotel in Saigon when a couple of my close friends asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday. I explained to them just as I explained above about what I normally do on my birthdays. But I told them this year I want to do something a little bit different. I told them, I want to help others on my birthday. I don’t want to spend it alone and I don’t go out partying but I do want to do something that will bring joy to others on that day.

After talking with my friends, one suggested I visit this orphanage he knows about that is in need of money so the children in the orphanage can go to school and get an education. He told me the place was about a 2-hour drive from Saigon and that the Sister that takes care of the place and the people there would appreciate any donation. I spoke with my friend some more and got the details I needed about things they do there. I knew after our conversation, I not only had to go meet these people but I had to go there and give them any kind of help and aide I could. Donating money is not a problem and I know that always helps but I wanted to do more. I then asked my friend to set up a time we could be there on August 2 and I asked him to not let them know that my purpose for being there was to donate—I wanted to surprise them.

Aside from the monetary donation I planned on giving them so the children there could get proper schooling, I arrange to have 2 truckloads of 100 lbs rice, a truckload of cooking oil, and a truckload of milk to be brought in with me. I was very excited to get to our destination the morning of my birthday. Honestly, I cannot recall ever being that excited about it being my birthday. And I believe that is because I really wasn’t excited about what day it was—I was excited about what I was doing that day.

When I arrived at the Thien Binh Catholic Orphanage, I was the one that got the surprise of a lifetime!

I was greeted by 130 smiling, laughing, excited kids and the gracious woman that has been running the orphanage since 1972 “Sister 7” (that is what I was asked to call her). I could not believe my eyes. I looked at my friend and asked if he’d told them why I was there and what I was bringing. He simply replied, “No, you asked me not to and I didn’t.”

Not really knowing what was going on and what I may be interrupting, I slowly got out of the car. I could see that they had set up what looked like some kind of celebration or party so I turned to my friend with a puzzled look on my face and he simply said, “Oh, I did tell them today was your birthday and they know who you are so they wanted to surprise you.”

I was not only immensely touched but I was speechless. And as I got closer to the table they had set up, I saw it. They had a HUGE birthday cake for me! On it was “Happy Birthday Liz” with a picture of the Queen of Hearts. I could not believe it. I have never gotten a birthday gift that was that thoughtful and it truly was priceless for me. And to add icing to the cake, all of the kids sang “Happy Birthday” to me. Sister 7 (who I am told use to be a Princess that lived in the royal palace of Thailand) then wished me happy birthday and gave me many good blessings. I thanked her and gave her the money her orphanage needed so the kids there could go to school.

I also spent that morning meeting the kids and talking with them as we handed out the cake I cut. I then went to the trucks that had come in with the rice, cooking oil, and milk I arranged to have brought there and helped unload them. I wanted to make sure the orphanage got what I arranged to be delivered and that everything was there for them.

Once all of the unloading was done, I got a chance to tour the orphanage and it was an awakening moment for me. This orphanage is not only for children, but for mentally handicapped adults, and elders as well. Those living there range in ages from 6 months to 80 years old. The children that are brought there either lost both of their parents or were abandoned by them. The elders that remain there either have no family to care for them or like the children, abandoned by the family they do have. Sister 7 has maintained the orphanage with the help of those that have grown up with her there and the influences she has that will give aide to help all of the people there.

As I walked around, I was so surprised to see so many happy and cheerful faces just living life, enjoying life, and full of joy. I say it was an “awakening” moment for me because I thought how do these people do it? I mean, how can someone be so fulfilled with a life in a small village with really no resources and nowhere to go? I could see what they have and it is so little compared to what I have and what I have seen in my life. I know that thought may sound horrible to some of you but I am being completely honest when I tell you that is what I was thinking. I wasn’t thinking it because I think I’m better then anyone of them. I was thinking it because really I was seeing first hand how in so many ways, they are much better people then most of the people I know…including myself. I mean, they are true survivors and they know what it means to enjoy the smallest things in life. They cherish their life and they know how to live with what is given to them without expecting or chasing for more. And that is something I truly admire. 

This experience has truly made this the BEST birthday I have ever had!

Cheers!

Greetings everyone! I hope you all are doing well.

As you may have read in my last blog, I ended by telling you that my July ended with me getting the most bang out of my buck and I sure did. I went and saw the UFC100 at the Mandalay Bay and quite honestly, I can only say one thing about this sport…

I LOVE IT!!!

I had ringside seats and it was amazing and unbelievably exciting to see that kind of…(umm how can I phrase this appropriately and ladylike?)…well I really can’t so I am just going to say it…that kind of raw, unedited, bone breaking, blood gushing, intense A$$ KICKING live! My heart was pounding so hard and even though I was not in the ring fighting, I still felt like I was a part of it. I could hear the punches and smacks as if the fight was happening right next to my ear. The adrenaline that goes through me when watching the UFC is so similar to the adrenaline I feel when I’m on the felt playing poker. Maybe that is why I enjoy it so much? Or maybe (most likely) I enjoy the UFC so much because, when I get a ridiculous bad beat…I just want to smack my opponent upside the head and knock him/her out! Hehe…I am kidding of course…ok, maybe not…

But really I do enjoy watching that crazy sport and I would recommend to anyone (that doesn’t faint at the sight of blood) to go see the UFC if given a chance.

After my bangs and busts in Vegas, I headed to Los Angeles for a few days before I was off overseas. The drive out there to let me clear my head and do some thinking about life in general and the things I have lined up for the next couple of months. Sometimes driving is the best alone time for me. I enjoy the cool breeze and quiet time I get from them. When I got to LA, I was able to get some business work done as well as a chance to catch up with a couple very close friends from So. Cal. which is always nice. Then, I was back on an airplane for my six weeks trip around the globe .. I’ll tell you more about that in my next blog.

Cheers!

So much going on!! Sorry everyone for the long delay between blog updates. I’ve been busy running bad and trying to figure out how to run better! I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m not really having a very successful WSOP this year!! Ugghhhh. Since my last update, I’m down another $25,500 in buy-ins. This is getting yucky!!

Even more amazing is that I’m not even really that upset. Can you believe that? I actually feel pretty good about life. The way I see it, part of life is continuing to do the right things and no matter how many setbacks you have or how long you run bad, eventually the cards always break out even. Or at least get better!! At this very moment, I’m just doing the best I can and patiently waiting for my ship to come in.

So what exactly is going on? To be honest, I’ve been playing very well the past couple of weeks. I couldn’t really say that for the first two events of this year’s WSOP. I looked back and just cringed at how poorly I played in terms of all of the little things. Luckily I went home and realized some minor leaks and focused on strengthening a couple areas where I felt I played weak during the first two events I played. I will post some key hands and my experiences at the tables on my poker blog over at PokerListings soon, so keep an eye out for it.

(photo courtesy of PokerListings and Pokernews)

Hopefully, all of this bad luck is building up and creating a situation where everything needs to even out and I have a crazy run of good luck at the Main Event this year. Wouldn’t that be nice?! But again, I just need to weather the storm and be confident there is a big pay off down the road. Sometimes the most successful people aren’t the most skilled or the most intelligent. They were just the most persistent. The ability to move forward when everyone else gives up, sometimes it’s the single most successful decision you can make in life.

Anyhow, moving away from Poker, it hasn’t been all poker for me in Vegas! I’ve had friends come in and out of town all month. I’ve been catching some shows and going out to the clubs with different girlfriends of mine. I’ve played some cash games on the side and trying to mix it up and keep every week fresh and new. It’s so easy to get stuck in a rut in Las Vegas if you let yourself.

Interesting fact. I did go through a stretch where I battled some insomnia in the middle of the month. That was fun. =) Thank goodness I’m over that! OMG, I actually had to skip some events because I wasn’t able to fall asleep until the sun was coming up. I am not even kidding. I had plans to play at noon and it was 10am and I was still awake from the night before!! Not really a good recipe for success if you want to play against the best poker players in the world.

Anyhow, looking forward to the 4th of July and partying with some good friends that are coming into town this Friday. I have a few days off before playing in Day 1 of the Main event on the 5th. And will go out to TAO and XS with my friends. We’ll definitely be doing lots of bottle popping and just enjoy life and celebrate Independence Day.

I look forward to having some of my support system in town this week and I think this positive vibe will carry forward. And maybe give me some good luck, perhaps? I know poker players usually say “luck” doesn’t apply to poker and they are correct, in the long run, there is little luck involved and it’s a very skilled game. But in the short term, luck can play a huge factor in a single tournament.

All I can do is get my head straight. Stay physically and emotionally healthy and do my best next week. Play at my highest skill level. Not worry about the luck factor but at the same time if “lady luck” wanted to visit me next week and stick around for a little while, I won’t complain!! The Main Event has a very good structure. Deep chip stacks with lots of plays because the blinds only go up every 2 hours. So, I am pretty confident that if I play my “A” game and dodge some bullets, I can do really well.

I really hope everyone has a wonderful Independence Day!! I look forward to relaxing and enjoying this 100+ degree Las Vegas weather. Is that possible?! Honestly, I just look forward to having my friends and Alex arrive in town. I’ll go out to some dinners with them. I plan to hit the clubs but not get too wild or crazy. I hope everyone else surrounds themselves with family and close friends on this 4th of July Holiday as well!!

Cheers!