It’s that time again, time for me to get on the road. Technically, in the air, but you know what I mean.
I have made my travel plans for the next few months, and all I can really say is that I’ll be in Europe. Why no specifics right now? Well, I’m not giving exact dates or exact locations because there are people who care a little too much about what I’m doing. Sorry stalkers! You’ll have to do some guessing on this one! LOL.
The only thing I can be specific about is theChilipoker DeepStack Open, which I already mentioned in my blog. I wouldn’t miss it! It is scheduled for April 9-11 in France at the Pasino Aix-en-Provence, and the €550 Main Event looks to be a massive one. And there are two side events running as well, both freezeouts, one on April 10 with a €300 buy-in and the other on April 11 with a €150 buy-in. I probably won’t play the side events because I’ll be doing so well in the Main Event, of course! But there’s plenty of poker to be played at the Aix-en-Provence that weekend, so come join me!
Don’t forget that qualifiers are running now at Chilipoker for seats into the Main Event, and players are winning seats for as little as €1.1 through March 31. In order to help spice up the tournament, Chilipoker has launched two new concepts for all the Chilipoker qualified players and for those registering to the Main Event via their Chilipoker account:
· Extra-Ball: You’ve kicked everybody out of the tournament and you are our final lucky winner? Chilipoker rewards you even more by adding 50% of your winnings to the prizepool: the first half is yours and the rest will be shared between all the Chilipoker qualified players of the Main Event! This is what we call the Chilipoker Spirit!
· Knock-Out Insurance: You’ve busted out of the tournament, finished with no money but kicked at least 5 players out? Don’t be disappointed, Chilipoker wants to reward you for your action on the tables! We invite you to another Chilipoker DeepStack Open stage and will pay for your buy-in to the Main Event!
There are other events going on over the next few months, and I plan to do some appearances for Chilipoker as well as take care of some business meetings. But I’m also really looking forward to the change of scenery! I’m so excited to get back and enjoy my next few months with coworkers and friends, and immerse myself in the culture before coming back to the States for the 2010 WSOP.
It was a quick day for me. I was out of the WPT L.A. Poker Classic in about two hours.
The first bad situation came on the second hand of the tournament. I was in the big blind with K(c)7(d), and I went to the flop with one caller who was in the cutoff position (Seat 9). The flop was 8(c)7(c)4(h), and when I bet 100, Seat 9 raised to 250, so I called. I checked the 3(c) on the turn, but when Seat 9 bet 850, I raised to 2K, and Seat 9 called. The river was K(d), and I bet 3K. Seat 9 called and showed 6(h)5(h) for the flopped straight, and my two pair were no good.
After ending Level 1 with 15K, I took the break and came back to a worse second level. The first big hand was when my pocket kings lost to A(h) 10(h) when my opponent flopped three hearts. Then the very next hand I tangled in another heads-up pot with Q(c)10(c). The Flop came 10(h) 3(s) 2(c) 2(s) ?. I checked, called $1100 on the flop, turn pairs the deuce, I pushed all-in for $5300, and got called with pocket jacks. River came a blank, so out I go!
I probably don’t have to say it, but I will. It was a frustrating day!
I left Commerce Casino not much in the mood for cash games or any more poker. I took some time to relax and plan a night out with friends. The next night, it came together when I headed out to West Hollywood for another girls night out with Shannon Elizabeth, Cheryl Burke, and some other friends. We did it right, with bottle service and the works, and simply hanging out with friends allowed me to forget about the LAPC and enjoy what’s more important - good friends and knowing that my life is good.
I started the weekend with such a positive attitude, as I took care of business during the day and headed to Commerce Casino in the evening for the WPT Celebrity Invitational. And it was a blast! There was an entire red carpet set-up for the celebrity players, with media there from poker companies to entertainment television shows. The celebrities were everywhere, but what I was most looking forward to was catching up with Alex (my sponsor) who had also flown to LA to attend this event and had some business meetings scheduled to attend as well. Everyone socialized for a couple hours at the welcome party before sitting down in the poker tournament. I was running late and barely made it just in time before the event started. One of the first poker pro I bumped into was my pal Joe Sebok. And thanks Matt for the photos!
(photo courtesy of Matt Waldon)
The tournament itself was wild! Play was kind of crazy, as some of the celebrities and invited guests weren’t very skilled at the game. There were tons of all-ins, but the rebuys were good because all of the money went to Chrysalis, a charity to help the homeless and hungry in Los Angeles. In tournaments such as this, majority of the bets will get called to the river so playing skilled poker and attempting clever moves wouldn’t be a smart thing to do. I played a total of about probably 8 hands, knocked out two players and doubling my chip stack twice before busting on my third all-in hand.
(photo courtesy of BJ Nemeth)
My first double up was against Howard Lederer. All-in preflop with KK’s against Howard’s 88’s. Flops 8 A 3 Q K. My second double up was through actor Dave Annable when I rivered a set of 88’s against his A 6. Flops A 3 6 Q 8. (phew). And finally my bust out hand was 99’s against JJ’s. I called a re-raise from player with JJ’s preflop, then pushed all-in on the flop of A 7 4 and got called. Turn and river were blanks and out I go with about 15 minutes left on the clock before day1 ended.
(photo courtesy of Matt Waldron)
But it was late that night that I received word from my friend Quinn Do that his little sister had just passed away. It was absolutely shocking news… I was deeply saddened to hear of his loss.
My deepest condolences and heartfelt words to Quinn and his family.
Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal. Although no words can really help to ease the loss you bear, just know that you are very close in every thought and prayer. May the peace which comes from the memories of love shared, comfort you now and in the days ahead.
Now I’m back in Las Vegas to handle some business matters but will be returning to Los Angeles later on today to see if I can do anything for Quinn and his family. I do plan to play the WPT L.A. Poker Classic Main Event as well, so I will try to balance the ups and downs of the week as best I can.
Please say a prayer or send a kind thought toward the Do family.
This is very exciting news! I made mention of a trip to France in April, and this is what it’s all about. The Chilipoker DeepStack Open by Partouche will be taking place at the Pasino of Aix-en-Provence from April 9-11. Everyone is welcome to join, and the Main Event looks to bring players from all over the world with its €550 buy-in (and starting stack of 50,000 chips!).
I love the deep stack tournaments because the massive number of chips allows you to really build up momentum and take your time in the beginning stages of the tournament. It takes a little while to size up your opponents, get the feel of the action, and put your strategy into action. And having so many chips allows you to take a bad beat or two but still have a solid chance of playing on. When Chilipoker announced a DeepStack series, especially one that will take us to places like France, Ireland, Morocco, and the Czech Republic, I was thrilled!
The French stop on the Chilipoker DeepStack Open tour is open to all players. And for those looking to qualify, there are tons of opportunities on ChiliPoker.com, as online satellites will run through March 31st. There will also be live satellites running at Partouche Pasinos. Everyone has a chance to meet me there! But there’s no time to waste, as the tournament is capped at 500 players, so space is limited.
I seriously cannot wait to head to the Provence region of France in April, which should be a beautiful time of year there! Representing Chilipoker is a treat all the time, but when I get to spend time playing poker tournaments in places like the South of France, and in an event with such a great structure, I have to let everyone in on the opportunity to join me. Let me know if and when you win your seat, and I’ll see you in less than 2 months!
My first blog of 2010!! And I just returned to the United States from the PCA in the Bahamas; the first big tournament of 2010. Let me start off by saying I have a very good feeling for 2010, professionally and personally. I have a premonition this is going to be a very big year for Liz Lieu.
(photo courtesy of Pokerlistings)(photo courtesy of Pokernews)
I have mixed feelings about the 53rd place finish in the Bahamas. In many ways it was a good start to the year. I absolutely played my very best. I couldn’t have played any better in the PCA. I am a little disappointed in the result, but oh well .. that’s the way it goes. You win some, you lose some! Made it to Day 4. Had an opportunity for a big double up on Day 4. I was on the BB with pocket Queens Richard Toth opens for 45k UTG, action gets around to me, I raised another 75k, Toth thinks for a minute then moves all-in, I call. Toth flips over A-K(off). The flop comes 4h 6h 5d. Turn snaps an “ACE”. and river’s 4d. And out I go! Knocked out in 53rd place for $45,000.
(photo courtesy of Pokerlistings)(photo courtesy of Pokerstars)
On the positive side, I played extremely well. If I won that coin flip, I would of had plenty of chips to push around and make moves with for the rest of the tournament and who knows? The other positive, is that my tournament results have been very consistent, playing three consecutive main events and making it to Day 4 in all three tournaments. I keep going deep in these big tournaments so I know it’s just a matter of time!
(photo courtesy of Pokerstars)
Well the PCA is in the past. 2010 is all about keeping everything in front of me and focusing on the present and future. So, I have a couple of things to report that are coming down the pipeline. In February, yours truly will be gracing the cover of Baller Magazine. So keep an eye out for their February issue coming out soon.
And in the past week, my Sponsor Chilipoker has signed another big exclusive partnership deal with premium Irish Broadcaster, Setanta Sports. The joint venture between Chilipoker and Setanta Sports will operate Setanta.com and Chilipoker.com in Ireland. It will open up a market place of 600,000+ homes in a poker mature market place. Chilipoker in partnership with Setanta has plans to set up poker events and poker shows.
In other good news, I have a glamour shoot coming up on the 15th. I hope everyone enjoyed the Christmas theme photo shoot in early December. I really enjoyed that one and this photo shoot will be a little more elegant and glamorous. Stay tuned for some behind the scene shots of my upcoming shoot :).
And lastly, I recently heard a very sad news. One of my good friends, Amir Vahedi, passed away of complications from his diabetes on Jan 8th. I want to say Amir is one of the true gentlemen in the game of poker. He was probably the first genuinely good person I met in the poker world. I’ve never heard anyone say a bad thing about Amir. He was always in good spirits and was always there to be supportive. It’s with great sadness that I say farewell to Amir. He was a very good friend to me and will be dearly missed. Rest In Peace Amir!
This is the official BC Poker Championship wrap-up. I want to start off by saying; I had a wonderful time at the River Rock Casino in Richmond, British Columbia. I played some really good poker overall. This is my 2nd year coming out to the BC Poker Championships. Lacey Jones talked me into it last year and its beginning to become an annual stop for me on the tournament circuit. A special thanks goes out to Tournament Director, Daryl McCullough. He did a terrific job running this tournament. And the hospitality was just absolutely superb.
Other repeat poker pro’s that showed up to the BC Poker Championships, included Brad Booth, Gavin Smith, Lacey Jones, Maria Ho, and Tiffany Michelle. I was glad to see all the girls again. Unfortunately, Tiffany and Maria didn’t make it pass Day 2 and took an early flights back to Los Angeles. Lacey was also eliminated on Day 1 but she stuck around through the weekend to host and commentate for the final table.
This year, I played a lot better and made it to Day 4. I was eliminated on Day 1 last year. 668 players entered the Main Event and I ended up finishing 24th. I definitely played some really strong poker to get to this point. On Day 1, I finished with $47,775 which was well above the average chip stack at $26,100. I was cruising along and felt really good about my chances of going deep.
On Day 2, I actually chipped up over 280k and was one of the chip leaders. I hit a major setback late in the day, when I played a heads-up pot with the player to my right which I felt I had an excellent read on. He was raising a lot and playing a wide range of hands. Blinds were 1k-2k with 500 ante when I got involved in a hand where he raised on his SB to $5500, and I saw A-4 in the BB. I called. Flop comes 6(s) 8s) A(d). SB bets out $13k, I called. Turn’s 10(c) He immediately moves all-in for 88k, way over betting the pot. I went into the tank for a bit to analyze the different possibilities. I ended up calling and he turned over A-K. I lost 100k on that hand and sunk way below the chip average. I was barely alive. I bagged up $75,200 and ended Day 2, below average chip stack at 96k.
(chip stack before the 100k+ hand)
On Day 3, I really started to make some moves. I even got involved in another big hand with the same player that almost crippled me on Day 2. He continued to play overly aggressive and loose and I was able to get back more than 80k of my chips from him on 1 big hand. I also watched him play out a hand the same exact way he played his AK against me on Day 2 against another player, moving all in with a fairly large amount of chips holding 3(s) 4(s) and was called with pocket 10’s, which only proved my instincts were right to call him the day before. I just happened to run into a situation where he actually picked up a hand the day before. I ended up the day at 372k which was above the average chip stack for Day 3. I believe the average chip stack was 290 or 300k.
(chip stack end of day 3 at 372k)
I went into Day 4 with a lot of confidence!! I felt like I was playing extremely well, making a lot of great reads and had a feeling I was going to make the final table. I really did. Lately, I’ve been getting really far in recent tournaments, but I just can’t seem to get it going on the final day. I felt like this was my opportunity to break the jinx I call it :). Unfortunately, I came up short of a Final table. I didn’t exactly get the easiest table draw. I ended up with 3 of the largest stacks remaining in the field. That sort of minimized the advantage of having an above average chip stack going into the day. To make it worse, I was sandwiched in between the two biggest stacks. But I was determined to play thru it and pick my spots.
Unfortunately, I didn’t last much longer than 4 rounds. The blinds and antes were pretty high at 6k-12k with 1500 ante. Every round, I was losing more than 30k. By the time I got involved in my hand I was down almost 100k from my starting stack. Then I got tangled in a pot that sent me out the door. I was in the SB and a late position player raised it up to 32k. I called out of the SB and so did the BB. I had K(h) Q(h). The flop came; Q(c) 9(s) 6(h). I flop top pair. I checked. So, did the BB and the late position player bets out 60k. I really felt like the late position player could raise with a lot of different hands in his position and the continuation bet on the flop was pretty standard. I felt like my K-Q was probably the best hand here so I raised it up to 140k. BB mucks and the action comes back to the original raiser. He tanks for a moment than pushes all in. At this point, I thought it’s possible I got a little unlucky here and ran into a bigger hand but I was already pot committed and reluctantly called thinking there’s a possibility I could still be ahead considering all of the strange poker I had seen the previous 3 days.
At this point, I had less than 100k behind me. The original raiser had me covered by about 60k. I decided to call his all-in raise. He turned over A-Q. I was pretty much dominated. But I turned a flush teaser, 9(h) and blanked on the river with a 10(c). I finished in 24th place. Even if I just check called the flop, I would have ended up pushing all-in on the turn. I guess in retrospect, I could have played this hand either way but would have lost all my chips in either scenario unless I make an almost impossible fold on the flop.
I cashed over 9k. Not exactly what I hoped for but I’m definitely not complaining :). And I did get to spend some time with good friends. I did go out Friday night to Caprice nightclub in Vancouver. My good friend Saad owns the club and had reserved the best table in the house for me with bottle service and all. I also had my PA and some friends come along and the Hotel/ Casino provided a limo to get to and from the club.
(partying at Caprice Nightclub)
(Happy Liz-Mas on Chilipoker.com)
Overall, it was a really good weekend. I am feeling very good about my poker. I know it’s just a matter of time before I make a Final table and possibly win a major tournament. I am currently back in Las Vegas. I encourage you guys to visit Chilipoker.com. We are featuring a Happy Liz-Mas promotion on the website and I also want to let you know that I will have another blog that will be posted on Thanksgiving Day. I am working on it now and it’s a blog dedicated to all of the things I am currently thankful for in life. So, check back into the website on Thanksgiving. I want to send special thanks for everyone who has taken the time to leave me a comment on my blogs here. I really appreciate the support everyone!!
This blog is going to be a little different than some of my previous entries. I wanted to talk about the Twitter phenomenon and how that has impacted my life but also get some feedback from you as well. So, I hope you guys participate in this and give me some feedback.
If you aren’t already familiar with Twitter, it’s a free social networking and micro blogging web site. Tweets as they are commonly called, are text based posts up to 140 characters long. You can follow somebody else by clicking on their profile and clicking “follow”.
If you follow me at all, you know that I Tweet regularly. (or at least I try to) I also post poker updates when I am playing in a tournament through Twitter. I can update my tweets directly from my blackberry phone, so it’s easy for me to post updates on big hands or chip counts. And occasionally, I snap a photo and post that as well. It’s a way for me to send and receive message.
I was just curious how many of you reading this blog use Twitter and what are your overall thoughts about it. I personally think it’s the single best social networking tool. I chat more with fans and friends via Twitter than I ever have through email, Facebookor MySpace. I don’t know why it’s more conducive to back and forth chatter but it really is. Other people tell me they feel the same way.
I actually came across a YouTube clip of Ashton Kutcher on Larry King Live and he was talking about the benefits of Twitter. If you don’t know the back story. Here it is. Ashton Kutcher was on his Twitter account one day and he realized that CNN only had 25,000 more subscribers or “followers” than he did. He thought that was pretty amazing because never before in the history of mankind did a single person have the type of following as a major news network.
Ashton thought it would be amusing to issue a challenge to CNN and see who could get to a million subscribers first. Subscriptions are “free”. You don’t even need to do a friend request like you do on Facebook or MySpace. You simply find the person you want to keep tabs on and click follow. However, the person on the other side does have the freedom to “block” you. Most people don’t actually block anyone. And celebrities and news organizations almost never do.
Back to the Ashton Kutcher challenge. Well Ashton did beat CNN to 1,000,000 subscribers and Larry King invited him on his show to congratulate him on his victory. The part I found intriguing about the challenge was the significance of Ashton Kutcher having more followers than CNN. In the past, celebrities never really had a way to defend themselves against gossip, rumors, etc. Except for the occasional press release or interview.
Twitter comes along and gives everyone an opportunity to have a bigger voice. Not just celebrities, but really anybody. In the interview with Larry King, Ashton mentioned how much more in touch he was with his fans. He would find himself messaging back and forth with some guy in Iowa that he had never met before in his life. It was a completely different level of connection. And Twitter gave him the ability to say exactly what he wanted to say throughout the day, completely unfiltered. If a media outlet quoted him wrong. He could tell his 1,000,000+ followers instantly that the news story was wrong.
On a lesser scope, I’ve kind of experienced some of the same stuff. I find that I’m much more connected to everyone. I can keep people posted daily on stuff that is happening in my life. I try to avoid the really silly updates like what I am eating or what I am watching on TV. Sometimes I don’t really have anything to post but I still try and keep from boring you guys to death!! I don’t know. Maybe you guys want to know that stuff? LoL. Let me know!! But as much as I can, I try to post interesting or noteworthy stuff on my Twitter. Some of it is just silly or uninteresting and really depends on my mood. But most importantly, it’s my voice. It’s what I want to say and tell everyone that particular moment of that day.
There is a downside to all of this social networking, however. I know people who have become kind of addicted to Twitter. They spend more time on Twitter posting tweets than they do living their life. I was talking to a friend of mine who has a Miley Cyrus crush. Don’t ask!!! Lol. And he mentioned to me that Miley Cyrus had 2,000,000 followers at one point on Twitter and quit recently, because she was getting very addicted to it, posting as many as 40 tweets per day and she was accumulating stalkers and news organizations that were quoting her Twitter account as gossip news stories. Basically using what she posted on Twitter against her. Eventually it became too much for her and she posted a 1 minute Rap on her YouTube account, explaining why she quit Twitter.
Even during the Kanye West and Taylor Swift debacle at the MTV Music awards. Later that night, news organizations were pulling tweets off of Kanye’s twitter account posting his response to what he did earlier that night. I’m not nearly as famous as Kanye or Miley but I kind of understand why Twitter can be a distraction or how it can possibly be used against you. So, I kind of have this love/ hate relationship with Twitter right now. I like keeping in touch with my fans. I like keeping people updated on stuff. But I also have had a couple of negative experiences with some people who might pursue me a little “aggressively” and because of the public nature of Twitter, it’s hard to screen them out.
I also have to be careful about posting too much personal information on my Twitter. I am still a very private person at my core but because of Poker persona and my relationship with my Sponsors, it’s also important that I stay connected with people and stay visible. And I do enjoy it, mostly. So how many of you are using Twitter? How many of you like it? How many of you dislike it? I would love to have this conversation with people if you want to do that. Post your comments below. I want to know what your thoughts are.
I also want to let you guys know I will be in Vancouver, B.C. next week for the BC Poker Championships. I went last year and stayed in a Penthouse Suite with Lacey Jones, Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho. We had a ton of fun and even went out a couple of nights to Vancouver to party with close friends. Daniel Negreanu won that event and we celebrated with him afterwards at a private party. Lots of big names came out to play in the event at the River Rock Casino in Richmond, B.C. in 2008, so I’m hoping a similar field will come out in 2009. And if you follow me on Twitter, I will keep you posted on chip counts and tournament updates. So, stay tuned!!
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 competed in a couple of the smaller events which ironically, I was knocked out of by a Chilipoker qualifiers. I don’t think I played particularly bad. I just ran into some good hands when I also had a strong hand. In the first tournament of the WPT for example, I ran into a situation where I lost a huge pot to Christopher (alias ctofquestla) that ended my tournament when I had pocket Aces. Christopher made a raise under the gun. I smooth called pocket Aces from the cut off. The flop was Queen high and Christopher led out with a pot sized bet. I raised it up to $1600, 2x the original bet and after going in the tank for awhile, Christopher decides to call. The turn came the King and it was checked to me. I was pretty much pot committed so I shoved the rest of my chips in to the pot. Yep, Christopher was holding pocket Kings and caught up to me on the turn. River came a blank and out I go.
The following afternoon I played the Pro/Am Invitational tournament, reserved for 30 player with a mixture of both pros and amateurs. All the pros like Tony G, Fabrice Soulier, Alex Dreyfus, Roger Hairabedian, Severin Rasset (Chilipoker’s poker room manager), and myself had a bounty of $150 which goes to any player that manages to bust out a Pro. During the 4th level of play, both Roger and I got eliminated in a pot against Emanuel Valla from Lyon.
I pretty much played in every event including the High Rollers Event and the Main Event. Sadly, I didn’t make any final tables this time around but I am becoming a pretty good short stack player lately. There were quite a few times, I was really low on chips and I just seemed to make them last for hours and hours. Not that I really want to be a great short stack player but if I can take any positives out of London and Marrakech is that I was really able to manage my game pretty well considering the circumstances.
In poker, you’re going to run into bad beats sometimes or get cold decked and learning how to play short stack poker sometimes can make the difference between losing a lot of tournaments or finding ways to make the money. Nam Le is a great example of a fantastic short stack player. Sometimes, I see him with the smallest stack and 8 hours later he still has the same stack and managed to make the money or even get to the final table simply by learning how to survive.
I felt overwhelmed as I entered the tournament room where I saw life-sized Liz Lieu posters everywhere!! I was both surprised and overwhelmed but I understood it was as an honor to be a part of Chilipoker and representing the poker website’s name so while it was a little weird looking around the room at myself, I was glad to be an ambassador for Chilipoker and extremely grateful to Alex (Boss), and the rest of the Chilipoker Team!!
It wasn’t all poker while we were in Morocco. A large group of us, about 25 people, including other poker pro’s and the Chilipoker team, went to the dunes and rode Quads one day. I’ve had people comment on my Facebook fan page on some of the pictures of me riding a Quad and they found it surprising but believe it or not I’m actually pretty adventurous. The entire time, I tried to get off course and go faster and I had to be called back in by the folks running the facility to slow down and stay on course!! This isn’t my first time on a Quad and this definitely was a memorable experience lol. It was a really hot day however and a few of us were dying of thirst!!!! One of the interesting traditions they have in Morocco is they serve you “hot” green tea even in very warm weather. So, when our Quad riding almost concluded, they served us hot green tea!!! I just wanted some cold water but I guess hot tea is supposed to cool down your body temperature quicker?!?
At 8pm a press conference was held right before the Gala Dinner party with our CEO Alexandre Dreyfus giving a great speech and warm welcome to everyone that had arrived to support the WPT Marrakech event. All journalists, poker pros, and Chilipoker qualified players enjoyed various courses of traditional Moroccan food while belly dancers were moving to the sway of Moroccan music. The best part of the show was watching Tony G. doing his belly dancing hip shaking version along with the belly dancers. Great sport .. Tony G’s awesome!
There were a lot of different activities going on in Morocco while the tournament was going on. One thing I didn’t get a chance to do however was enough sight-seeing. I spent the first few days in Morocco relaxing instead of sight-seeing thinking I would get a chance later but I played in almost every event and spent a lot of time with my Chilipoker team and spending time around the tournament that before you know it, time was up. But I had an absolutely wonderful time in Marrakech and the next time I come back here, I will definitely be doing a lot more sight-seeing. But for now, I have to bid adieu to Marrakech, Morocco and move on to my next destination.
A Big Congrats to Christophe Savary from France, 1st place winner of the WPT Marrakech, who took back home over €350,000, the official Tiffany WPT bracelet and his $25,500 seat to the WPT Wolrd Championship 2010.
P.S. Due to this blog being as long as it is already, I will mention a few interesting hands which I was involved in my next blog so stay tune everyone!
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.
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!
