"1 Time"
WCOOP has gone badly for me for the days I've been able to grind. I've been running really bad on the virtual felt but Iam super excitied for the 5200 main event tommorow. I feel like I'm gonna bring my A game to the biggest online tournament of the year. I like my chances.
Had a great time at TIFF as I always do. My favorites of the fest were Black Swan and Blue Valentine. Black Swan is a mindf**k film about a ballet dancer and Blue Valentine is a modern relationship drama. Check em out when they are released.
Haven't used a "1 time" since winning the Fallsview Poker Classic earlier this year. I'm using it now for tommorow's online session. 1 time. 1 time. 1 time.
Peace,
Simon Charette
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Good news for WCOOP, Bad news for TIFF
Looks like I'll be grinding most of WCOOP after all. The TIFF lineup isn't it's best and I'll be able to play most of the WCOOP events. Excitied to try to win a WCOOP bracelet. September is going to be a crazy month. The day after the WCOOP Main event I'm flying to London for the EPT where I'll be playing live tournaments every single day.
This is my Tentative TIFF schedule:
Sat. 11th: Trust (11 AM - Gonna grind WCOOP after screening)
13th: Everything Must Go (4:30 PM), John Carpenter's The Ward (Midnight)
14th: Black Swan (10 AM) Rabbit Hole (2:30 PM) Essential Killing (9:30 PM)
15th: Blue Valentine (6:15 PM) Promises Written in Water (10:45 PM)
18th: KABOOM (12:15 PM) Cave of Forgotten Dreams (9 PM)
Should be grinding WCOOP every day I'm not seeing movies.
Peace,
Simon Charette
This is my Tentative TIFF schedule:
Sat. 11th: Trust (11 AM - Gonna grind WCOOP after screening)
13th: Everything Must Go (4:30 PM), John Carpenter's The Ward (Midnight)
14th: Black Swan (10 AM) Rabbit Hole (2:30 PM) Essential Killing (9:30 PM)
15th: Blue Valentine (6:15 PM) Promises Written in Water (10:45 PM)
18th: KABOOM (12:15 PM) Cave of Forgotten Dreams (9 PM)
Should be grinding WCOOP every day I'm not seeing movies.
Peace,
Simon Charette
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Pot Limit Omaha is the nuts.
Short update here. Going into hour 6 of a PLO Cash game session and I'm having such a good time. It's a really refreshing to play a game other than no limit hold em. Playing more flops and getting way more action every hand. Up about 3 buy ins at the moment but it can change quickly!
It's also nice to be able to jump into a game for 2 hours and then quit when you feel like doing something else. Tournaments can be so draining on the mind, body and spirit. I'm gonna try and put more hours into PLO cash game sessions during TIFF where my days will be rather full.
It's also nice to be able to jump into a game for 2 hours and then quit when you feel like doing something else. Tournaments can be so draining on the mind, body and spirit. I'm gonna try and put more hours into PLO cash game sessions during TIFF where my days will be rather full.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Summer Coming to an End/The T.O. Countdown
"I'm skipping most of WCOOP"
"LOL. That's just silly"
-Simon Charette and Kevin "imalucsack" Macphee (MSN convo)
Summer is coming to an end in Toronto and I hope we still get a couple more warm days to enjoy. I decided to skip the CPT event in Calgary this weeked to try and a have a relaxing fun one in Toronto. I really wanted to defend my title as "CPT Champion" but the timing of the event along with the expected prize pools aren't enticing enough to get me out. However, EPT London is a go and I'll be leaving for England on September 27th, not long after TIFF.
TIFF! I get jazzed for this every year. 10 days of movies played all across the city. Drama, comedy, action, horror, foreign, experimental; The Toronto Film Festival has every type of film you can think of and we get a lot of movies here before they play anywhere else. Only problem with TIFF is that it's scheduled right in the middle of WCOOP (World Championship of Online Poker) every year! Gah!
A man must have priorities. and TIFF takes it. I skip most of WCOOP every year to enjoy the festival. I'm a laughing stock to many of my friends in the poker world for skipping the biggest prize pools of the year. They consider it unfathomable to not take advantage of so many high equity tournaments. They might be right. However, this is an easy decision for me. I love movies and the plan is to have a successful career as a screenwriter a couple years down the line. Not to mention, I've only got 3 months left in Toronto before I begin wandering the world in search of love and meaning (and maybe a 10k tournament here and there :). I've put myself through some serious torture trying to keep up with poker and my personal life in the past. Some decisions of which I regret and some I defintely don't. Either way I was too young to understand and I think it's OK to cut myself slack for those mistakes I did make. Gotta remember there is both life equity and poker equity. They aren't the same thing.
Balance. This is the key. A word not found in most professional player's vocabulary. Balance.
Peace,
Simon Charette
"LOL. That's just silly"
-Simon Charette and Kevin "imalucsack" Macphee (MSN convo)
Summer is coming to an end in Toronto and I hope we still get a couple more warm days to enjoy. I decided to skip the CPT event in Calgary this weeked to try and a have a relaxing fun one in Toronto. I really wanted to defend my title as "CPT Champion" but the timing of the event along with the expected prize pools aren't enticing enough to get me out. However, EPT London is a go and I'll be leaving for England on September 27th, not long after TIFF.
TIFF! I get jazzed for this every year. 10 days of movies played all across the city. Drama, comedy, action, horror, foreign, experimental; The Toronto Film Festival has every type of film you can think of and we get a lot of movies here before they play anywhere else. Only problem with TIFF is that it's scheduled right in the middle of WCOOP (World Championship of Online Poker) every year! Gah!
A man must have priorities. and TIFF takes it. I skip most of WCOOP every year to enjoy the festival. I'm a laughing stock to many of my friends in the poker world for skipping the biggest prize pools of the year. They consider it unfathomable to not take advantage of so many high equity tournaments. They might be right. However, this is an easy decision for me. I love movies and the plan is to have a successful career as a screenwriter a couple years down the line. Not to mention, I've only got 3 months left in Toronto before I begin wandering the world in search of love and meaning (and maybe a 10k tournament here and there :). I've put myself through some serious torture trying to keep up with poker and my personal life in the past. Some decisions of which I regret and some I defintely don't. Either way I was too young to understand and I think it's OK to cut myself slack for those mistakes I did make. Gotta remember there is both life equity and poker equity. They aren't the same thing.
Balance. This is the key. A word not found in most professional player's vocabulary. Balance.
Peace,
Simon Charette
Saturday, August 14, 2010
The Month Without Smoking
"Cigarettes are highly addictive"
(written on any pack of cigarettes sold in Canada)
It's been about a month since I quit smoking and I'm so thankful that time has passed. This has been a HUGE goal of mine. I only smoked for 2 years but it defintely affected my breathing and overall composure. So happy to be through with it. Building new habits like working out regularly and eating properly will be the new goals for a while. I can't encourage people enough to quit, just as people have encouraged me. Thanks to all my friends for the support I've received this month on Facebook and Twitter. It was awesome and really kept me motivated.
I've played very few online sessions since quitting (skipped most of FTOPS) and they've gone quite poorly. Been too irritated or annoyed from withdrawal to play my A game and in retrospect I should have not played at all.
There is a small chance I'll go to Calgary for the CPT event but I don't think there's enough action to warrant me to go. Which is tough since I'm 1 for 1 in CPT events. The plan is still to play almost no online poker and just chill out for a while. The Toronto International Film Festival is in a few weeks time which is a great time to be in T.O. I'm pretty sure I'll travel to EPT London end of September. I've never been to London and all my friends in the poker world will be there for the entire month. I'm sure it'll be fun.
Thinking good thoughts. Peace.
Simon Charette.
(written on any pack of cigarettes sold in Canada)
It's been about a month since I quit smoking and I'm so thankful that time has passed. This has been a HUGE goal of mine. I only smoked for 2 years but it defintely affected my breathing and overall composure. So happy to be through with it. Building new habits like working out regularly and eating properly will be the new goals for a while. I can't encourage people enough to quit, just as people have encouraged me. Thanks to all my friends for the support I've received this month on Facebook and Twitter. It was awesome and really kept me motivated.
I've played very few online sessions since quitting (skipped most of FTOPS) and they've gone quite poorly. Been too irritated or annoyed from withdrawal to play my A game and in retrospect I should have not played at all.
There is a small chance I'll go to Calgary for the CPT event but I don't think there's enough action to warrant me to go. Which is tough since I'm 1 for 1 in CPT events. The plan is still to play almost no online poker and just chill out for a while. The Toronto International Film Festival is in a few weeks time which is a great time to be in T.O. I'm pretty sure I'll travel to EPT London end of September. I've never been to London and all my friends in the poker world will be there for the entire month. I'm sure it'll be fun.
Thinking good thoughts. Peace.
Simon Charette.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Feel Good Inc. - Travel Recap and Future Plans
Jules: "I'll just walk the earth."
Vincent: "What'cha mean walk the earth?"
Jules: "You know, walk the earth, meet people... get into adventures. Like Caine from Kung Fu."
Vincent: "So you'll be a bum."
-Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta (Pulp Fiction)
10 days without smoking! Apparently this isn't much of an accomplishment as smokers often relapse months after never having a cigarette but I'm feeling confident I can follow through. I'm breathing better and feel better about myself overall.
I'm staying in Toronto for the rest of the summer up until TIFF in September (Toronto International Film Festival). TIFF is the true grind for movie-lovers like myself and I try not to miss anything that comes to town. It's tough because we get over 300 movies over 10 days in the city. It's really easy to miss a sleeper hit. Last year I sat right in front of Nicholas Cage and Werner Hertzog at the premiere of "Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans." It was one of the best nights of my life. Cage's starpower is near blinding in person. Werner has to be one of the most unreal human beings on the planet, a truely fearless director.
Since I'm staying put in TO for a few months I thought I'd go over the different places I traveled to while following the poker circuit this past 6 months:
Nassau, Bahamas (PCA)
Niagara Falls, Ontario (CPT Fallsview Classic. Boom!)
Los Angeles, California (WPT)
Laurenceburg, Indiana (WPT)
Uncastle, Connecticut (NAPT)
San Remo, Italy (EPT)
Monte Carlo (EPT)
Amsterdam!
Las Vegas, Nevada (WSOP)
Fair bit of traveling and I'm far from done for the year. I've done a lot of thinking since being home and I'm pretty sure I'm going to move away from TO at the end of the year. To move... NOWHERE! With no real reason to stay put in any one spot I feel my best option is to live out of a suitcase for 6 months to a year and see parts of the world I've never before. I can still make it to all the best value live poker tournaments but I'd like to check out other spots like Australia, New York, New Zealand, London and Toyko but this is all very preliminary talk.
It's exciting to think about. I'll still be playing poker of course, but less of it for a while. Maybe I'll be inspired to write again. Maybe I'll fall in love with another country or culture. A search for some wholeness.
I hadn't planned on grinding FTOPS but Ben "NeverscaredB" Willinofsky might be staying with me for a few days next week. Could be fun with someone to grind with.
Peace,
Simon Charette
Vincent: "What'cha mean walk the earth?"
Jules: "You know, walk the earth, meet people... get into adventures. Like Caine from Kung Fu."
Vincent: "So you'll be a bum."
-Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta (Pulp Fiction)
10 days without smoking! Apparently this isn't much of an accomplishment as smokers often relapse months after never having a cigarette but I'm feeling confident I can follow through. I'm breathing better and feel better about myself overall.
I'm staying in Toronto for the rest of the summer up until TIFF in September (Toronto International Film Festival). TIFF is the true grind for movie-lovers like myself and I try not to miss anything that comes to town. It's tough because we get over 300 movies over 10 days in the city. It's really easy to miss a sleeper hit. Last year I sat right in front of Nicholas Cage and Werner Hertzog at the premiere of "Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans." It was one of the best nights of my life. Cage's starpower is near blinding in person. Werner has to be one of the most unreal human beings on the planet, a truely fearless director.
Since I'm staying put in TO for a few months I thought I'd go over the different places I traveled to while following the poker circuit this past 6 months:
Nassau, Bahamas (PCA)
Niagara Falls, Ontario (CPT Fallsview Classic. Boom!)
Los Angeles, California (WPT)
Laurenceburg, Indiana (WPT)
Uncastle, Connecticut (NAPT)
San Remo, Italy (EPT)
Monte Carlo (EPT)
Amsterdam!
Las Vegas, Nevada (WSOP)
Fair bit of traveling and I'm far from done for the year. I've done a lot of thinking since being home and I'm pretty sure I'm going to move away from TO at the end of the year. To move... NOWHERE! With no real reason to stay put in any one spot I feel my best option is to live out of a suitcase for 6 months to a year and see parts of the world I've never before. I can still make it to all the best value live poker tournaments but I'd like to check out other spots like Australia, New York, New Zealand, London and Toyko but this is all very preliminary talk.
It's exciting to think about. I'll still be playing poker of course, but less of it for a while. Maybe I'll be inspired to write again. Maybe I'll fall in love with another country or culture. A search for some wholeness.
I hadn't planned on grinding FTOPS but Ben "NeverscaredB" Willinofsky might be staying with me for a few days next week. Could be fun with someone to grind with.
Peace,
Simon Charette
Friday, July 23, 2010
A New Phase of My Life to Begin
"Just don't think about it."
-Joseph "Floes" Serock
The WSOP has come and gone. It was a disapointing series but I really put my heart into it and I'm proud of my efforts. I made it just barely into day 2 of the main event without making a pair post-flop. That's right. I didn't make one pair nor did I even flop a draw (in 11 hours of poker!). Couldn't have run any colder. Oh well, it's just one tournament. Just happened to be the biggest and best one of the year. I'll be back again next year.
After busting from the main event I did something quite out of character. I went skydiving! Maybe not a big deal for most people but I'm deathly afraid of heights. My Vegas roommate Joe Serock told me not to think about it and just do it. Really happy I listened to him and went for it. I can proudly say I'm over my fear.
I'm making some big changes in my life (Improvements I hope) in the next couple months. I'm on day 5 of quitting smoking and I feel really good that I'll see it through this time. I'm also taking the next few months off poker with the exception of Sundays and an online session here or there. I've worked extremely hard in the last 3 years and certainly earned time for socializing and finding other things in my life that have meaning and make me happy. I wanna explore the world and parts of myself I've left dormant for too long now. My goal is to feel fulfilled and HAPPY. This will be the only time in my life I've put my mental and physical well-being ahead of everything else.
Hopefully I can return to my real passion in the next few months: Screenwriting. Most people in the poker world don't know that I graduated with a degree in Film Production and Screenwriting from York University in Toronto. I've really put my creativity on hold in the last few years to pursue poker but I'm ready to pick it back up again. I'm very grateful to have had great success in poker and I'm grateful for all the experiences and friends poker has given me. It's been a dream come true for me and I mean that with 100% honesty. But things change, I've changed, and there is a whole messload of experiences I've yet to have because I put life on hold.
I think it's time to pursue a new dream.
Peace,
Simon Charette
-Joseph "Floes" Serock
The WSOP has come and gone. It was a disapointing series but I really put my heart into it and I'm proud of my efforts. I made it just barely into day 2 of the main event without making a pair post-flop. That's right. I didn't make one pair nor did I even flop a draw (in 11 hours of poker!). Couldn't have run any colder. Oh well, it's just one tournament. Just happened to be the biggest and best one of the year. I'll be back again next year.
After busting from the main event I did something quite out of character. I went skydiving! Maybe not a big deal for most people but I'm deathly afraid of heights. My Vegas roommate Joe Serock told me not to think about it and just do it. Really happy I listened to him and went for it. I can proudly say I'm over my fear.
I'm making some big changes in my life (Improvements I hope) in the next couple months. I'm on day 5 of quitting smoking and I feel really good that I'll see it through this time. I'm also taking the next few months off poker with the exception of Sundays and an online session here or there. I've worked extremely hard in the last 3 years and certainly earned time for socializing and finding other things in my life that have meaning and make me happy. I wanna explore the world and parts of myself I've left dormant for too long now. My goal is to feel fulfilled and HAPPY. This will be the only time in my life I've put my mental and physical well-being ahead of everything else.
Hopefully I can return to my real passion in the next few months: Screenwriting. Most people in the poker world don't know that I graduated with a degree in Film Production and Screenwriting from York University in Toronto. I've really put my creativity on hold in the last few years to pursue poker but I'm ready to pick it back up again. I'm very grateful to have had great success in poker and I'm grateful for all the experiences and friends poker has given me. It's been a dream come true for me and I mean that with 100% honesty. But things change, I've changed, and there is a whole messload of experiences I've yet to have because I put life on hold.
I think it's time to pursue a new dream.
Peace,
Simon Charette
Thursday, July 1, 2010
The World Series is Almost Over..
"It's gone by fast."
-Matt "Ch0ppy" Kay
It's so sad to look at the WSOP schedule and see there is only 2 events left. The 2500 No limit event and the Main Event (10k. The Big One!).
I've got 3 small cashes so far this summer but I was hoping for at least 1 final table. One of my best friends in poker and my roommate, Kevin Macphee final tabled the 2500 Hold em/PLO split earlier this series. Everyone living in our house had a good time railing him even though he exited early in 5th place. Kevin is extremely well rounded in poker and also made a deep run in omaha hi/lo event. I railed him in that where he sat beside Phil Hellmuth (The Other Pokerbrat) and had a few drinks on the sidelines. Heckled Phil a bit all in good fun. Phil knows I'm a big fan.
I busted the 3k triple chance in a ridiculous hand where I check-called a 4x pot shove on the flop (10k into 2400) with k-j on a k-6-7 board. I could have folded this hand and still had 80 big blinds but I'm playing to win. My opponent had 10-8 with a flush draw and got there right away. So disapointing to bust day 1 of such a good tournament but I made the right decision and that's what counts. I've been really unlucky this series. Winning what seems to be few of my all in showdowns.
The World Series of Poker is a lot like summer camp for a lot of players. Groups of friends rent houses and apartments for 6 weeks all going to the same place everyday to grind. Its hard to walk 50 feet in the Rio (WSOP host) and not run into 5-6 people you know.. Everyone has the same goal. The same dream. Everyone wants a bracelet. We all relate to each other in a way that's hard for people outside of the poker world to understand and we're all in the same place for a short time. It feels pretty amazing to me.
I'll be heading back to Toronto after the main event. Hopefully I'll be a round a few more weeks. 2500 event tommorow though. I'm pumped. 2 more shots at a bracelet!
Simon Charette
-Matt "Ch0ppy" Kay
It's so sad to look at the WSOP schedule and see there is only 2 events left. The 2500 No limit event and the Main Event (10k. The Big One!).
I've got 3 small cashes so far this summer but I was hoping for at least 1 final table. One of my best friends in poker and my roommate, Kevin Macphee final tabled the 2500 Hold em/PLO split earlier this series. Everyone living in our house had a good time railing him even though he exited early in 5th place. Kevin is extremely well rounded in poker and also made a deep run in omaha hi/lo event. I railed him in that where he sat beside Phil Hellmuth (The Other Pokerbrat) and had a few drinks on the sidelines. Heckled Phil a bit all in good fun. Phil knows I'm a big fan.
I busted the 3k triple chance in a ridiculous hand where I check-called a 4x pot shove on the flop (10k into 2400) with k-j on a k-6-7 board. I could have folded this hand and still had 80 big blinds but I'm playing to win. My opponent had 10-8 with a flush draw and got there right away. So disapointing to bust day 1 of such a good tournament but I made the right decision and that's what counts. I've been really unlucky this series. Winning what seems to be few of my all in showdowns.
The World Series of Poker is a lot like summer camp for a lot of players. Groups of friends rent houses and apartments for 6 weeks all going to the same place everyday to grind. Its hard to walk 50 feet in the Rio (WSOP host) and not run into 5-6 people you know.. Everyone has the same goal. The same dream. Everyone wants a bracelet. We all relate to each other in a way that's hard for people outside of the poker world to understand and we're all in the same place for a short time. It feels pretty amazing to me.
I'll be heading back to Toronto after the main event. Hopefully I'll be a round a few more weeks. 2500 event tommorow though. I'm pumped. 2 more shots at a bracelet!
Simon Charette
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Day 2 of WSOP Event 16
I didn't last long in day 2 of event #11. I min-cashed in the tournament for about 2800 not long after I made a loose call on the bubble with ace ten and lost to ace queen which in retrospect was a bad call. It was a middle-aged man who probably just wanted to make the money. Live and learn.
However! The very next event I played is the 1.5k 6-max event and I made day 2 again! I lost half my chips in the first level after making a laydown to HighlandFox which he later told was correct. I tripled up with Aces not long after and it was smooth sailing all the way. I played spectacular and was controlling my table all the way. I have below average chips but I earned them all playing no all-in pots after the first 3 hours. Really proud of how I picked my spots all day. 148 left and we're already in the money but I'm only thinking about first place.
Another shot at a bracelet let's make this happen.
Simon Charette
However! The very next event I played is the 1.5k 6-max event and I made day 2 again! I lost half my chips in the first level after making a laydown to HighlandFox which he later told was correct. I tripled up with Aces not long after and it was smooth sailing all the way. I played spectacular and was controlling my table all the way. I have below average chips but I earned them all playing no all-in pots after the first 3 hours. Really proud of how I picked my spots all day. 148 left and we're already in the money but I'm only thinking about first place.
Another shot at a bracelet let's make this happen.
Simon Charette
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Quick update, Day 2 of WSOP Event #11
I'm going into day 2 of today's 1500 no limit WSOP event. I've got 34,000 going into blinds of 600/1200 and we are 27 from the money.
Over 600k for first and most importantly the bracelet. I feel really good now (about 2 hours before restart) and expect to make day 3. If I don't, there is always Sunday tournaments online. I'm gonna play my heart out.
Good luck me. No matter what happens, life is good.
Simon Charette
Over 600k for first and most importantly the bracelet. I feel really good now (about 2 hours before restart) and expect to make day 3. If I don't, there is always Sunday tournaments online. I'm gonna play my heart out.
Good luck me. No matter what happens, life is good.
Simon Charette
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Vegas home. WSOP Time.
So about a week ago I flew out to Las Vegas for the World Series of Poker. I haven't been playing much poker since Europe and this month and a half long grind of live poker is gonna mentally and physically exhausting for me. I'm playing most of the no limit hold em events (20 or so) including the main event. I really want a bracelet and there's only one time of the year to get it.
I'm living with an amazing group of players this year: Kevin MacPhee (Imalucsack), Dylan Linde (Imalucsac), Richard Grace (RJMGrace), Matt Kay (Ch0ppy), Joe Serock (Floes), Laurence Houghton (Rivermanl) and John Weekes (Jackpot786). I like our odds of someone in the house winning a bracelet.
I'm 0 for 4 in series events so far. Things haven't gone my way yet but I know they will.
Time to get hungry. Time to get it. Will update more soon.
I'm living with an amazing group of players this year: Kevin MacPhee (Imalucsack), Dylan Linde (Imalucsac), Richard Grace (RJMGrace), Matt Kay (Ch0ppy), Joe Serock (Floes), Laurence Houghton (Rivermanl) and John Weekes (Jackpot786). I like our odds of someone in the house winning a bracelet.
I'm 0 for 4 in series events so far. Things haven't gone my way yet but I know they will.
Time to get hungry. Time to get it. Will update more soon.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Monte Carlo to Amsterdam
The Monte Carlo Grand Finale did not go well for me. The cards were seemingly agaisnt me and my bustout hand was questionable. I misread a situation and cold 4-bet preflop into kings. I came 5th in a 1k bounty side event in MC which was nice for a confidence booster but left down for the trip. Congrats to Andrew Chen for his 5th place finish at the Main event final table. Pretty sure most of the online community was cheering for him. Congrats as well to Matt Kay, Joe EBanks, Mike Mcdonald and Mickie Peterson for putting up some big live cashes in the side events. Mickie also shipped an ftops event for 86k! Boom.
Monte Carlo is a pretty unreal city. Everything about it is gorgeous. The weather, the women, the cars and most importantly the lifestyle. I am blessed to have the opportunity to see it even if I take it for granted at times. I also met a lot more people in Monte Carlo and it's just so awesome talking stradegy and shooting the shit with other professionals touring around. Everyone is willing to help out each other and I love hearing about people's backgrounds pre-poker.
In Amsterdam now with a group of other grinders, playing SCOOP online tournaments. Bubbled the 150r (My favorite tournament) FTOPS which hurt a lot as it was 200k for first. We rented an awesome apartment in Central Amsterdam for a few days. This is my 2nd time here and it won't be my last. Pretty burnt out from grinding poker now. Really want a few weeks off to relax. Looking forward to getting home and catching up on TV shows. Super pumped for "Treme", David Simon's new series. Only 3 weeks until Las Vegas after that for the WSOP.
Peace,
Simon Charette
Monte Carlo is a pretty unreal city. Everything about it is gorgeous. The weather, the women, the cars and most importantly the lifestyle. I am blessed to have the opportunity to see it even if I take it for granted at times. I also met a lot more people in Monte Carlo and it's just so awesome talking stradegy and shooting the shit with other professionals touring around. Everyone is willing to help out each other and I love hearing about people's backgrounds pre-poker.
In Amsterdam now with a group of other grinders, playing SCOOP online tournaments. Bubbled the 150r (My favorite tournament) FTOPS which hurt a lot as it was 200k for first. We rented an awesome apartment in Central Amsterdam for a few days. This is my 2nd time here and it won't be my last. Pretty burnt out from grinding poker now. Really want a few weeks off to relax. Looking forward to getting home and catching up on TV shows. Super pumped for "Treme", David Simon's new series. Only 3 weeks until Las Vegas after that for the WSOP.
Peace,
Simon Charette
Friday, April 23, 2010
Italy without poker
"Why did we get on the first train we saw. We should get off and at least check if it's the right one."
"But then we won't have sweat for the train ride."
-Matt "Ch0ppy" Kay and Simon Charette
It's very important for poker players traveling together to have some gambling sweat in one form or another. Anything can be bet on. Throughout the course of an entire day money can trade hands on the most absurd of bets. It's pretty well known that all poker players gamble for who pays their meals (Different versions of Credit Card Roulette). However, in search of action, much more unusual wagers can be made.
In a town near La Spezia, Italy, me and 5 other Canadians went hiking. On our return to the town we saw 2 young kids playing heads-up soccer in a fenced off area with 2 nets. Without hesitation, Mike "Timex" Mcdonald and Andrew "AChen" Chen made a wager on which kid would score first. Only 30 seconds or so after making this wager, we all realized they weren't playing 1 on 1 soccer. One kid was just playing net and the other trying to score on him! Timex had far the worst of it here.
It actually gave us a lot of sweat because on shot rebounds, the ball would almost roll to the other side of the mini-field and the shooter wasn't trying to stop it from going in. We were going nuts on the rail! Dozens of Italian on-lookers could not understand why we were so excitied. AChen shipped the bet eventually. There is a 1-minute video recording someone took of this that I will post on the blog when I get my hands on it. I continued to bet with Timex after lunch on an actual game of 1 on 1 soccer that was going on in the same area. The Italian guy who I was betting on gave me a high five when he realized how nuts I was going for every goal he scored.
I played very well in EPT San Remo and went out on a race I felt was +ev to take. Felt good about my play. I'm feeling physically sick 2 days before the Monte Carlo Grand Final so I'm gonna take it easy and hopefully feel up to playing when the time comes. This will be the biggest buy-in tournament I've ever played and most likely ever play. I have to play my very best or I'm going to be upset with myself. Getting mad at yourself for mistakes comes naturally to great poker players and generally anyone in life who is a workaholic.
Being a workaholic has hurt me a in lot of aspects in my life but has brought me a ton of success in poker. I'm still trying to grasp an understanding of how I should be balancing my work and social activities. My father is an obessive workaholic and defintely put that on me at a very young age. "No matter how good you're doing. You can always do better." was one of his staple quotes. It taught me to be hard on myself, far too hard. Defintely left me with a lot of self-esteem issues I'm still trying to break free of. I guess this is a long-winded way of saying that I don't think there is anyone in the poker world that gets mad at themselves for making bad plays more than me. At the end of this trip I hope to say I'm proud of how I played. That is my goal.
I'm goin' back to bed. Waking up for an amazing pasta dinner.
Peace,
Simon Charette
"But then we won't have sweat for the train ride."
-Matt "Ch0ppy" Kay and Simon Charette
It's very important for poker players traveling together to have some gambling sweat in one form or another. Anything can be bet on. Throughout the course of an entire day money can trade hands on the most absurd of bets. It's pretty well known that all poker players gamble for who pays their meals (Different versions of Credit Card Roulette). However, in search of action, much more unusual wagers can be made.
In a town near La Spezia, Italy, me and 5 other Canadians went hiking. On our return to the town we saw 2 young kids playing heads-up soccer in a fenced off area with 2 nets. Without hesitation, Mike "Timex" Mcdonald and Andrew "AChen" Chen made a wager on which kid would score first. Only 30 seconds or so after making this wager, we all realized they weren't playing 1 on 1 soccer. One kid was just playing net and the other trying to score on him! Timex had far the worst of it here.
It actually gave us a lot of sweat because on shot rebounds, the ball would almost roll to the other side of the mini-field and the shooter wasn't trying to stop it from going in. We were going nuts on the rail! Dozens of Italian on-lookers could not understand why we were so excitied. AChen shipped the bet eventually. There is a 1-minute video recording someone took of this that I will post on the blog when I get my hands on it. I continued to bet with Timex after lunch on an actual game of 1 on 1 soccer that was going on in the same area. The Italian guy who I was betting on gave me a high five when he realized how nuts I was going for every goal he scored.
I played very well in EPT San Remo and went out on a race I felt was +ev to take. Felt good about my play. I'm feeling physically sick 2 days before the Monte Carlo Grand Final so I'm gonna take it easy and hopefully feel up to playing when the time comes. This will be the biggest buy-in tournament I've ever played and most likely ever play. I have to play my very best or I'm going to be upset with myself. Getting mad at yourself for mistakes comes naturally to great poker players and generally anyone in life who is a workaholic.
Being a workaholic has hurt me a in lot of aspects in my life but has brought me a ton of success in poker. I'm still trying to grasp an understanding of how I should be balancing my work and social activities. My father is an obessive workaholic and defintely put that on me at a very young age. "No matter how good you're doing. You can always do better." was one of his staple quotes. It taught me to be hard on myself, far too hard. Defintely left me with a lot of self-esteem issues I'm still trying to break free of. I guess this is a long-winded way of saying that I don't think there is anyone in the poker world that gets mad at themselves for making bad plays more than me. At the end of this trip I hope to say I'm proud of how I played. That is my goal.
I'm goin' back to bed. Waking up for an amazing pasta dinner.
Peace,
Simon Charette
Saturday, April 17, 2010
San Remo Day 1
EPT San Remo Day 1
"I'm the worst...oh I guess not" (Me checking down every street with QQ on ace high board to see Italian guy turn up AK on river)
"Naw, you're still the worst."
-Simon Charette and Ben "NeverScaredB" Wilinofsky
Somehow only winning a total of around 15-20 pots for the entire day I managed to end the day with 94k in chips (Starting stack 30k). I had aces twice and kings once and got all the money in all 3 times. The biggest pot being about 110k where a crazy Italian player who stacked off on a 7-5-2-3 board with 88 on the turn against my aces. I wasn't dealt many playable hands throughout the whole day and am really happy on the timing of those pots. I never stopped getting 3 and 4 bet. The whole table was laughing as I opened only 3 pots in the last 3 levels and was 3 bet everytime. It became to be a running joke. But hey, I got 94k and am ectastic to be going into 600/1200 tommorow.
As I type this Mike "Timex" Mcdonald is passed out with his face on the toilet seat sitting crossed legged on the floor. Puke in the garbage can and toilet. I hear a gurgle every now and then. I took some pictures but I'll probably keep them to myself. I'm also rooming with Ch0ppy and are waiting for the breakfast place to open in our hotel as they have the best juice ever. I tried to make a smoking bet against myself with them yesterday and cracked in a mere 8 hours or so after I realized I wouldn't be able to sleep. Sick thing is, I haven't slept anyway and will probably play day 2 with no sleep. Not a big deal as I don't sleep much anyway, I didn't even shut my eyes the night before the Fallsview Classic final table. I actually went drinking the night before with Gavin Smith and Chris Bell too and things worked out. I want an EPT title bad enough where nothing is going to matter. I plan on winning.
Check my twitter page at www.twitter.com/SimonCharette as I'll be doing live chip count updates on the breaks. I expect to roll right into day 3 and eventually to the FT. *loud Snore* I should really move Mike from the toilet.
I like Italy. Biggest difference I've noticed since being here is the girls always smile at me when we catch eyes. It's just a friendly thing but I feel like in North American culture girls often look away as a standard nervous twitch or something. It's a really small thing but the little differences in culture are the most facinating part about traveling I think. One thing I don't like about Italy is that Italian men feel the need to slam the table with their fist when they win a big pot. So unclassy but I guess they just can't help it.
I can't help but be excitied. Lookin' good.
Peace,
Simon Charette
"I'm the worst...oh I guess not" (Me checking down every street with QQ on ace high board to see Italian guy turn up AK on river)
"Naw, you're still the worst."
-Simon Charette and Ben "NeverScaredB" Wilinofsky
Somehow only winning a total of around 15-20 pots for the entire day I managed to end the day with 94k in chips (Starting stack 30k). I had aces twice and kings once and got all the money in all 3 times. The biggest pot being about 110k where a crazy Italian player who stacked off on a 7-5-2-3 board with 88 on the turn against my aces. I wasn't dealt many playable hands throughout the whole day and am really happy on the timing of those pots. I never stopped getting 3 and 4 bet. The whole table was laughing as I opened only 3 pots in the last 3 levels and was 3 bet everytime. It became to be a running joke. But hey, I got 94k and am ectastic to be going into 600/1200 tommorow.
As I type this Mike "Timex" Mcdonald is passed out with his face on the toilet seat sitting crossed legged on the floor. Puke in the garbage can and toilet. I hear a gurgle every now and then. I took some pictures but I'll probably keep them to myself. I'm also rooming with Ch0ppy and are waiting for the breakfast place to open in our hotel as they have the best juice ever. I tried to make a smoking bet against myself with them yesterday and cracked in a mere 8 hours or so after I realized I wouldn't be able to sleep. Sick thing is, I haven't slept anyway and will probably play day 2 with no sleep. Not a big deal as I don't sleep much anyway, I didn't even shut my eyes the night before the Fallsview Classic final table. I actually went drinking the night before with Gavin Smith and Chris Bell too and things worked out. I want an EPT title bad enough where nothing is going to matter. I plan on winning.
Check my twitter page at www.twitter.com/SimonCharette as I'll be doing live chip count updates on the breaks. I expect to roll right into day 3 and eventually to the FT. *loud Snore* I should really move Mike from the toilet.
I like Italy. Biggest difference I've noticed since being here is the girls always smile at me when we catch eyes. It's just a friendly thing but I feel like in North American culture girls often look away as a standard nervous twitch or something. It's a really small thing but the little differences in culture are the most facinating part about traveling I think. One thing I don't like about Italy is that Italian men feel the need to slam the table with their fist when they win a big pot. So unclassy but I guess they just can't help it.
I can't help but be excitied. Lookin' good.
Peace,
Simon Charette
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
NAPT Main Event Busto
"You played really well man"
-Tim West (after knocking me out of NAPT Main event 3 hours in)
I'm sitting in my hotel room at the Mohegan Sun wondering if there was anything I could do to avoid busting out in a mere 3 hours of the main event. I was dealt kings when an aggresive player squeezed. I flat called the raise to 1750 with 30k to start (along with 2 other players behind me, 4-way to flop) and the board ran out 10-7-3 with 2 spades. The squeezer 2nd to act bets 2400 into a pot of about 7k. I raise to 6200 and the other 2 players fold. The sqeezer re-raises it back to 16k. I tank forever as the clock is called on me and I fold. The raiser told me he had aces.
My actual bustout hand i limped behind on the button in a 6 way pot (14k left in stack) with k7 of spades and the board runs outs q-j-4 with 2 spades. Someone leads out 700, Tim West calls in mid-position, and I call on the button. Turn is the 6 of spades. Original better leads again for 1200 weakly, T-May makes it 5100. With my stack I don't think there is anything I can do but move in and im drawn dead to the a8 of spades. I knew there was a decent chance Tim would have the nuts here, but with my stack I dont know if I can fold 2nd nuts when Tim can have a bunch of smaller flushes.
Even though i busted out quickly, I was very happy with my play and specifically my ability for reading players and situations in the live setting. Another live tournament with multiple cooler scenarios that I thought I handled really well. If the cards fall may way even slightly I know I can make a deep run in the upcoming EPT San Remo or Monte Carlo events.
Either way I'm dying to eat some real Italian food and plan on having a good time no matter what happens. Most of my poker friends will be there and I know it will be good times.
Peace,
Simon Charette (pokerbrat13/tedlogan19)
-Tim West (after knocking me out of NAPT Main event 3 hours in)
I'm sitting in my hotel room at the Mohegan Sun wondering if there was anything I could do to avoid busting out in a mere 3 hours of the main event. I was dealt kings when an aggresive player squeezed. I flat called the raise to 1750 with 30k to start (along with 2 other players behind me, 4-way to flop) and the board ran out 10-7-3 with 2 spades. The squeezer 2nd to act bets 2400 into a pot of about 7k. I raise to 6200 and the other 2 players fold. The sqeezer re-raises it back to 16k. I tank forever as the clock is called on me and I fold. The raiser told me he had aces.
My actual bustout hand i limped behind on the button in a 6 way pot (14k left in stack) with k7 of spades and the board runs outs q-j-4 with 2 spades. Someone leads out 700, Tim West calls in mid-position, and I call on the button. Turn is the 6 of spades. Original better leads again for 1200 weakly, T-May makes it 5100. With my stack I don't think there is anything I can do but move in and im drawn dead to the a8 of spades. I knew there was a decent chance Tim would have the nuts here, but with my stack I dont know if I can fold 2nd nuts when Tim can have a bunch of smaller flushes.
Even though i busted out quickly, I was very happy with my play and specifically my ability for reading players and situations in the live setting. Another live tournament with multiple cooler scenarios that I thought I handled really well. If the cards fall may way even slightly I know I can make a deep run in the upcoming EPT San Remo or Monte Carlo events.
Either way I'm dying to eat some real Italian food and plan on having a good time no matter what happens. Most of my poker friends will be there and I know it will be good times.
Peace,
Simon Charette (pokerbrat13/tedlogan19)
Monday, March 29, 2010
Luck Matters
"Ya know, one of these days, something REALLY bad will happen to you. IT HAS TO!"
-Elaine Bennice (Talking to Jerry in the Hot n' Heavy episode of Seinfeld)
I think luck is the most influential factor in our lives. Where we are born, our means, the people who we've met and influence our decisions and personalities, and the opportunities that present itself. Worst thing is that most of our luck we can never see or understand. It's invisble. You could have missed a chance to meet your future girlfriend or boyfriend by sitting on a different seat on the subway or just narrowly missing them by a minute at the bar. Maybe that extra gust of wind cost you from winning your downhill sky race which is only measured in milliseconds of difference. In judged events at the Olympics like figure skating, a judge's mood during one particular set could make the difference between a gold medal and being off the poteum. Thinking about the string of events that consitute one's "Luck" can drive someone absolutely batty. I used to give myself massive headaches trying to wrap my head around universal consequences of luck. One of my favorite movies, "Match Point" opens with a monologue about the importance of being lucky in life. Most of our life is not in our control even if we feel like it is. I highly recommend it if you haven't seen it.
Only thing that matters in this life is giving yourself the best chance to get lucky. Maximizing your "life" equity. Taking every edge you can find to accomplish something you want. You can't win if you don't play. If there's a job you really want, maybe beyond doing the interview you can stop in and say "Hi" to the manager couple times a week without even mentioning the position. Maybe if you're looking for a partner you could spend more time at bars, clubs, museums, dating sites, etc. Doing things like this doesn't gurantee anything. Doing little things to maximize your equity in getting the best possible result will help, but in the end it's more important to be lucky. Since we don't have control of luck what really matters is giving yourself the most chances 'to be' lucky. Putting yourself in right spot is all you can do.
My first reaction when I think about the last 2-3 years in poker for me is that I've been incredibly lucky. I fully assume I've run far above expectation in tournaments. At the same time, I worked harder at it than anything else in my life. I moved out to Vegas for a summer. I knew it might have negative effects on my personal life, but I did it anyway. I put in insane hours online and even just watching others play online. Read a ton of books, joined multiple training sites for poker. I put myself in a position to get lucky and luck has happened to fall on my side exactly where I had hoped it would. I haven't done the same in my personal life at times and I've felt unlucky as a result. But who knows if I really have been, it's invisble anyway. I could have easily squandered opportunities without realizing it. I need to put in some more time in maxmizing my life equity outside of poker. However, it will have to wait until after the world series because the plan right now is to win a bracelet. A little over 2 months in Las Vegas and I'll be focused on nothing but winning a bracelet. We'll see what happens. For now, if you play poker and someone tells you that winning is all about luck, you can tell them from me that it plays a part in everything. Lawyer, doctor, daytrader, I don't care who they are. If they are doing well, they have been lucky somewhere down the line. Luck matters. Don't let anyone tell you differently.
Good Luck All!
Simon Charette
(pokerbrat13/tedlogan19)
-Elaine Bennice (Talking to Jerry in the Hot n' Heavy episode of Seinfeld)
I think luck is the most influential factor in our lives. Where we are born, our means, the people who we've met and influence our decisions and personalities, and the opportunities that present itself. Worst thing is that most of our luck we can never see or understand. It's invisble. You could have missed a chance to meet your future girlfriend or boyfriend by sitting on a different seat on the subway or just narrowly missing them by a minute at the bar. Maybe that extra gust of wind cost you from winning your downhill sky race which is only measured in milliseconds of difference. In judged events at the Olympics like figure skating, a judge's mood during one particular set could make the difference between a gold medal and being off the poteum. Thinking about the string of events that consitute one's "Luck" can drive someone absolutely batty. I used to give myself massive headaches trying to wrap my head around universal consequences of luck. One of my favorite movies, "Match Point" opens with a monologue about the importance of being lucky in life. Most of our life is not in our control even if we feel like it is. I highly recommend it if you haven't seen it.
Only thing that matters in this life is giving yourself the best chance to get lucky. Maximizing your "life" equity. Taking every edge you can find to accomplish something you want. You can't win if you don't play. If there's a job you really want, maybe beyond doing the interview you can stop in and say "Hi" to the manager couple times a week without even mentioning the position. Maybe if you're looking for a partner you could spend more time at bars, clubs, museums, dating sites, etc. Doing things like this doesn't gurantee anything. Doing little things to maximize your equity in getting the best possible result will help, but in the end it's more important to be lucky. Since we don't have control of luck what really matters is giving yourself the most chances 'to be' lucky. Putting yourself in right spot is all you can do.
My first reaction when I think about the last 2-3 years in poker for me is that I've been incredibly lucky. I fully assume I've run far above expectation in tournaments. At the same time, I worked harder at it than anything else in my life. I moved out to Vegas for a summer. I knew it might have negative effects on my personal life, but I did it anyway. I put in insane hours online and even just watching others play online. Read a ton of books, joined multiple training sites for poker. I put myself in a position to get lucky and luck has happened to fall on my side exactly where I had hoped it would. I haven't done the same in my personal life at times and I've felt unlucky as a result. But who knows if I really have been, it's invisble anyway. I could have easily squandered opportunities without realizing it. I need to put in some more time in maxmizing my life equity outside of poker. However, it will have to wait until after the world series because the plan right now is to win a bracelet. A little over 2 months in Las Vegas and I'll be focused on nothing but winning a bracelet. We'll see what happens. For now, if you play poker and someone tells you that winning is all about luck, you can tell them from me that it plays a part in everything. Lawyer, doctor, daytrader, I don't care who they are. If they are doing well, they have been lucky somewhere down the line. Luck matters. Don't let anyone tell you differently.
Good Luck All!
Simon Charette
(pokerbrat13/tedlogan19)
Friday, March 26, 2010
The First Blog
"Dude. This guys' from Indiana! He knows!"
- Faraz "The Toilet-0" Jaka on betting roulette based on the gut of a man who walked by with a sweatshirt that read "Indiana" on it.
Hi everyone! This is my first blog. I hope you guys enjoy my random thoughts and stories along with my progress in live and online poker tournaments. I'll be grinding the live circuit hard this year as well keeping up with my online play. Hopefully I'll have interesting and entertaining thoughts for everyone taking their time to read the blog.
Thoughts on the recent WPT Hollywood Open event I attended:
Soft/Small field: It was really easy to tell where the soft spots were in this tournament. It was pretty much a WPT regular or someone from the local area in every seat so the play was very polarized. I am happy I came out for the tournament even though I went out early on the bad end of a race on day 2. Took a 13-hour bus ride to get there which I will never ever do again. Had to be the smallest WPT field in recent history.
Upon busting I jetted to the lobby to grind Sunday online tournaments with Josh "SquintnGo" Goldstein (just met him that day). After a mere 2 hours of grinding Sunday majors the hotel wireless goes out and we were left sitting out of 6-9 tournaments for almost 45 mintues. So painful. I run really bad in disconnecting online. We jetted over to the Holiday Inn for secure internet. My stacks were crippled and I didn't bink anything that night.
On the bus ride to Indiana I met an American Iraqi war veteran who really opened my eyes to what a lucky person I am in this life to be doing what I love and being successful at it. The man had scares on his face and shoulders from shrapnel pieces from the war. He explained to me how the army got him hooked on morphine pills for the pain of his injuries and consequent surgeries thereafter. He was instructed to take 3 60mg doses of Morphine tablets per day and has never been able to get off them. The army left him no plan. He lied to me in the beginning and told me he was taking the bus to go see his cousins before negging on that tale. In truth, he was on his way to a rehab facility to detox and was extremely worried he wouldn't be able to shake his addiction. His wife recently left him and was given custody of his young daughter.
If you read this bro, know that I'm rooting for you. I wish all the best. I know you can do it.
I was happy to have met a lot of cool professionals in Indiana as I seem to wherever I go. The poker world is a really small and facinating sub-culture. I introduced Brian "Sn00wman" Hawkins to slowroll-Style Omaha flipping (100 a pop) which he quickly became giddy for and we had a fun session. There was a session at this past PCA where I left up nearly 2500 from Omaha flipping which included "ImaLucksac" "Floes" "NeverScaredB" "Turko_Man" "Brainwash" and 3 or 4 others I can't recall, but it was epic. We were going 8-ways anywhere between 100-500 a pop. One of the funnest degen moments I've ever been a part of. Omaha flipping is great because it's neutral EV for everyone and usually a fun time.
My schedule right now is to drive out with "Noctus" to the NAPT April 6th, then from there fly to San Remo for the EPT on the 15th. Then, its only a short distance away to the EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo. I'm super stoked for these big live tournaments as I feel the best parts of my game really shine in the live arena. I play very differently. The ability to read your opponent face-to-face is invaluable and allows me to open up my game much wider than in online play. Sometimes you just know when someone is weak and you can make plays you would never make in an online tournament.
Here is an example from the 10k WPT LAPC Main Event:
I have 77 on the button. Blinds 200/400 with 50 ante. My Stack: Approx. 27k
Folds around to a very aggresive spanish palyer in the cut-off with 76k or so. He raises to 1025 into the very tight small blind and big blind. Normally I flat in this spot but his range was almost any 2 cards when folded around to him and I felt I was well ahead of his range. I raise to 3050.
He asked me how much I have and 4-bets to 8200. Something in the way he asked me was off and didn't seem confident at all. I moved all in for my 27k. Aggresive spanish palyer insta-mucks his hand.
As the hand progressed in the moment, I felt my decisions were somewhat easy. Yet, it's so far from standard to 5-bet all in with 77 for near 70 big blinds in that spot. Especially in such a well-structed tournament (Matt Savage is the man). He even had decent odds to make a call there with a sub-premium holding. Live poker adds so many extra variables to the competition. It's far more complex and fun than playing online.
Hope you guys enjoyed my first blog. Maybe in the future they will be more single topic-oriented but who knows what I'll feel like writing about. Suggestions maybe?
Peace,
Simon Charette
(Pokerbrat13/Tedlogan19)
- Faraz "The Toilet-0" Jaka on betting roulette based on the gut of a man who walked by with a sweatshirt that read "Indiana" on it.
Hi everyone! This is my first blog. I hope you guys enjoy my random thoughts and stories along with my progress in live and online poker tournaments. I'll be grinding the live circuit hard this year as well keeping up with my online play. Hopefully I'll have interesting and entertaining thoughts for everyone taking their time to read the blog.
Thoughts on the recent WPT Hollywood Open event I attended:
Soft/Small field: It was really easy to tell where the soft spots were in this tournament. It was pretty much a WPT regular or someone from the local area in every seat so the play was very polarized. I am happy I came out for the tournament even though I went out early on the bad end of a race on day 2. Took a 13-hour bus ride to get there which I will never ever do again. Had to be the smallest WPT field in recent history.
Upon busting I jetted to the lobby to grind Sunday online tournaments with Josh "SquintnGo" Goldstein (just met him that day). After a mere 2 hours of grinding Sunday majors the hotel wireless goes out and we were left sitting out of 6-9 tournaments for almost 45 mintues. So painful. I run really bad in disconnecting online. We jetted over to the Holiday Inn for secure internet. My stacks were crippled and I didn't bink anything that night.
On the bus ride to Indiana I met an American Iraqi war veteran who really opened my eyes to what a lucky person I am in this life to be doing what I love and being successful at it. The man had scares on his face and shoulders from shrapnel pieces from the war. He explained to me how the army got him hooked on morphine pills for the pain of his injuries and consequent surgeries thereafter. He was instructed to take 3 60mg doses of Morphine tablets per day and has never been able to get off them. The army left him no plan. He lied to me in the beginning and told me he was taking the bus to go see his cousins before negging on that tale. In truth, he was on his way to a rehab facility to detox and was extremely worried he wouldn't be able to shake his addiction. His wife recently left him and was given custody of his young daughter.
If you read this bro, know that I'm rooting for you. I wish all the best. I know you can do it.
I was happy to have met a lot of cool professionals in Indiana as I seem to wherever I go. The poker world is a really small and facinating sub-culture. I introduced Brian "Sn00wman" Hawkins to slowroll-Style Omaha flipping (100 a pop) which he quickly became giddy for and we had a fun session. There was a session at this past PCA where I left up nearly 2500 from Omaha flipping which included "ImaLucksac" "Floes" "NeverScaredB" "Turko_Man" "Brainwash" and 3 or 4 others I can't recall, but it was epic. We were going 8-ways anywhere between 100-500 a pop. One of the funnest degen moments I've ever been a part of. Omaha flipping is great because it's neutral EV for everyone and usually a fun time.
My schedule right now is to drive out with "Noctus" to the NAPT April 6th, then from there fly to San Remo for the EPT on the 15th. Then, its only a short distance away to the EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo. I'm super stoked for these big live tournaments as I feel the best parts of my game really shine in the live arena. I play very differently. The ability to read your opponent face-to-face is invaluable and allows me to open up my game much wider than in online play. Sometimes you just know when someone is weak and you can make plays you would never make in an online tournament.
Here is an example from the 10k WPT LAPC Main Event:
I have 77 on the button. Blinds 200/400 with 50 ante. My Stack: Approx. 27k
Folds around to a very aggresive spanish palyer in the cut-off with 76k or so. He raises to 1025 into the very tight small blind and big blind. Normally I flat in this spot but his range was almost any 2 cards when folded around to him and I felt I was well ahead of his range. I raise to 3050.
He asked me how much I have and 4-bets to 8200. Something in the way he asked me was off and didn't seem confident at all. I moved all in for my 27k. Aggresive spanish palyer insta-mucks his hand.
As the hand progressed in the moment, I felt my decisions were somewhat easy. Yet, it's so far from standard to 5-bet all in with 77 for near 70 big blinds in that spot. Especially in such a well-structed tournament (Matt Savage is the man). He even had decent odds to make a call there with a sub-premium holding. Live poker adds so many extra variables to the competition. It's far more complex and fun than playing online.
Hope you guys enjoyed my first blog. Maybe in the future they will be more single topic-oriented but who knows what I'll feel like writing about. Suggestions maybe?
Peace,
Simon Charette
(Pokerbrat13/Tedlogan19)
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