WSOP event #1

The Rio feels like poker summer camp at the moment and I am really excited about the weeks to come. Yesterday was the 1st event at the WSOP: The casino employee event.
Since I worked as a prop player in San Diego the last few months, I was eligible to play that event.

I was feeling great and I played for 12 hours. I busted in 68th place out of 732 entries for $925. I didn't get many hands over the day but still manage to last pretty long.

The bust out hand was pretty sick but that's poker:

I was on the button, this guy who was one of the chip leader and VERY active opened in late position for 3k. The blinds were 600/1200 with a 200 ante. he had played at least 5 of the last 7 hands and his range was very marginal. He was hitting the deck and had a lot of chips.
I only had 13k in chips so was getting pretty short stack and looking for an occasion to double up. I woke up with 77. Being the fact that I knew his range was marginal, I decided to put him to the test and went all in. He tanked for a while and decided to call. He had K8 of hearts so my read was right on.
I was a 54% favorite preflop. The board came A76 with one heart. I felt pretty good as I had a set and was now a 92% favorite to win at showdown. The turn was 4 of heart which gave him a flush draw and a inside straight draw. I was still a favorite by 77% but he definitely had added outs to win. The river was a 5 of Spade giving him the straight and I was sent to the rail!

I had a great time, I have great stamina and focus and definitely feel that it will be an awesome series. It is off to a good start and hopefully I keep on cashing/winning. :)

Next event: Venetian Deepstack 1.1k on Thursday. In the mean time, I am playing cash games.

WSOP is just around the corner! Hello investors!

The year 2012 has been really busy for me. I was playing in California most of the time as a prop player for Village Club card room in San Diego, propping the 5/10 NLH game mostly.

For those who do not know what a prop player is, here is a quick explanation: I was actually paid by the card room to play the 5/10 NLH game during the evening so that it would have a sufficient amount of players and that the game wouldn't break. I was playing and promoting the place at the same time. It was a pretty sweet deal but I got a little tired of all the traveling back and forth since I still live in Vegas, so I decided to take a break for now until after the WSOP and put my focus on the upcoming series. I am probably going to start propping again in August when all the craziness is over.

Talking about the WSOP....... I have decided on my schedule.  I am planning on playing 11 tournaments between the Rio and Venetian and lots of cash games in between. I am getting pretty excited about it. I can't believe it's already that time of the year!

I am selling pieces of myself (or shares as they call it). The total cost for a 1% share in ALL eleven tournaments listed below that I plan on playing is only $122.88. It is a great way to get a piece of all the action for a low cost. I will be selling up to 60% of this package.

There is a 20% mark-up on the total cost and the reason is this is my commission for my professional skills, doing the work and putting in the hours. It is common practice when selling shares and this is usually the minimum mark-up requested. Anyone interested in investing in me can-buy shares in 1% block but you can buy as many as available for sale. So, for example, someone who wants 1% of my actions for all 11 tournaments will pay $122.88 but if someone wants 10% of my actions they will then pay $1228.80.

Investors are responsible for their own taxes on large winnings and will be sent a 1099 for the amount they received from the winnings. The Winnings will be divided at the end of the series. For instance, if someone owns 1% of my shares, I will pay them 1% of my total winnings from the 11 tournaments listed below. There are obviously no guarantees but the top money potentials in some of those events can make a very nice payday for a low cost investment. :)
Here is the schedule I am planning on playing:

DATE              EVENT                         BUY -IN:

27th-May- WSOP Employee Event- RIO   $500.
3rd-June- WSOP Re entry NLHE -RIO      $1,500.
7th-June- WSOP Six Max NLHE -RIO      $1,500.
10th-June- WSOP NLHE -RIO                   $1,000.
15th-June- DeepStack- Venetian                 $600.
20th-June- WSOP NLHE - RIO                  $1,500.
24th-June- WSOP NLHE -RIO                   $1,000.
26th-June- Deepstacks Ladies -Venetian    $400 .
29th-June- WSOP Ladies -RIO                   $1,000.
1st-Juy-l LIPS ladies Championship           $240.
4th-July- WSOP NLHE -RIO                     $1,000.

TOTAL BUY-INS =                                  $10,240
20% Mark-up Package Price                      $12,288.

Each 1% share =                                        $122.88
Each 5% share=                                         $614.40
Each 10% share=                                       $1228.80

The schedule I propose includes tournaments in which I have a HUGE edge: the Employee Event, 3 Ladies Event ( I have very strong record in Ladies Events) and the WSOP 6 max (as a prop player, I played a LOT of short-handed sessions). 

In the event that I run super deep in one event and cannot play one of the tournament listed above, the investor will get a refund for their percentage of that particular event that I will be missing plus the 20% mark up.

The shares are good for the 11 tournament package listed above only.

Investors please review the package and contact me by email at lalepage2@gmail.com or via twitter @AnnieLepage if you would like to invest in one or more share of my action or have any questions . I already have sold 15% of the package in the 1st day without having to post anything so it will go fast!

Looking forward to the upcoming WSOP and giving you all updates on my performance. :)

The season to be jolly, spend family time, give back...and play online poker?

I just got to Canada a few days ago. I usually try to spend the Holidays with my family. It's been really nice to be back to my hometown, Quebec city. The weather has been unusually nice, which is awesome because, I was dreading the cold a little bit. Living in Vegas, we get spoiled with winters that are pretty sunny with mild temperatures. Though the weather is usually nicer in Vegas, Quebec is way more beautiful and magical during the holidays. It is a beautiful, historical city and I am very proud to be from here. I am here for almost 3 weeks so I will have plenty of time to see everyone and catch up with family and friends. I especially will be spending time with my daugther, even though she is working a lot at the moment, I still get to see her everyday. *Happy mum*

The holidays is a time for family but it's also a time to give back. Before my departure, Mike and I got a few toys for kids who are less fortunate and dropped them off to one of the "Toys for tots" locations. There are MANY locations you can drop off toys if you would like to participate or you can donate money. They also have different events around the USA to raise money. You can go on their website at http://www.toysfortots.org/ for any information needed. You can give as much as you want/can and it truly makes a difference in a kid`s life. It feels good to do so, so just do it! ;)


I also was invited to play as a poker guest in a celebrity charity event for Cerebral Palsy called "All In for CP" at the Venetian a few days before my Canada departure. It is an event that is held by Jacob, who has CP and is a poker player, Many of you might have seen him during the WSOP as he is very friendly and wanders around the rooms with his electrical scooter/wheelchair. The event is held yearly, in December in hope of raising money for kids with Cerebral Palsy so that they can get an electrical wheelchair. For those who do not know, these wheelchairs are VERY expensive. They start at around 25K each but they change those kids lives tremendously. We raised close to 200k in the event, which consisted of a $550 buy-in tournament with $200 re-buys, with a silent auction in which some very generous donations were made. There was a total of 155 players. My girlfriend Pamela Brunson and I both made the final table, where she took 2ND and I took 8Th. It was lots of fun to be part of such a great successful event. You can still make a donation or learn more about it at http://www.onestepcloserfoundation.org/tournament/.
I surely hope I can be part of it again next year. A lot of people do not realize that poker is a great way to raise money for charities. It's not all bad like the government makes it look like lately.

Now that I am in Canada, I decided to open a few accounts so that I can play online poker. I do not have to worry about my money being frozen by the DOJ and can play freely on hours that are convenient to me. Since I came here to be with my family, I usually wait until they are in bed, busy or working. It's great to have that freedom again and be able to open your laptop and jump in a game whenever you wish! Even though I prefer playing live than online in general, I still really appreciate the convenience of online playing. The only day that will be all about poker and not family is going to be next Sunday, as it is when all the big payouts are being held. Being Pokerstars 10Th anniversary, the prize pools are even bigger than usual. Sunday million tournament has a guaranteed 2 million for 1st place so I will definitively be trying for my shot at that prize. So far I am doing pretty good in the cash games and I have won a seat to one of the big tourneys on Sunday so I am definitely having a good start. *smile*


I hope everyone has a happy holiday season.

Be safe, loved and happy.

XXX

Mixing business with pleasure

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. :)

Thanksgiving is the day where we should stop and be thankful for what we have. I think we should be thankful everyday but it's nice to also have a special day around family/friends to make a point of it. Once we really take the time to think about all we are grateful for, it can become overwhelming... All the little things we take for granted can add up very quickly to something pretty big.

I have had many people asking me what I was eating on that day since I am vegan. There is actually a wide variety of things on the market nowadays, you can find tofurkey (vegan turkey), celebration roast (my personal favorite) and vegan ham (have not tried it yet but will soon) along with many side dishes and homemade goodies. We went to Mike's parent house for thanksgiving. I ended up bringing a celebration roast to share and gravy. They had a turkey for themselves but they all tried the roast and absolutely loved it! I have to admit, it is pretty good stuff :)

As I have done as a Thanksgiving tradition those past few years, I have also sponsored a few turkey from Farm sanctuary. Mike and I sponsored 3 this year. Those are turkey that were save from slaughter, usually because they somehow escape, who end up at the sanctuary, living a spoiled life, eating well and mingling with people and other animals. Never having to worry about being abused ever again. If you want to adopt one or want more info you can look up www.adoptaturkey.org.
I like different charities for different time of the year, being a vegan, this is my Thanksgiving one, Christmas will be all about kids with toys for tots.

I did miss my daughter for thanksgiving, It's weird not having her around. But she is doing great in Canada and I am thankful for that. I think next year I will try to fly her up for a few days. She misses American Thanksgiving. It is a different date in Canada, a month early actually and not very celebrated in Quebec where we are from.

The week prior to Thanksgiving I went to Lake Tahoe to play the WSOP circuit event.
I was being sponsored by Five Figure scores and Haust energy drink while over there. Five figure score is a company that finds sponsors (Haust energy drinks in this case) and good mid-stakes players. They then connect them together for promotion purpose in the poker industry through the wear of logos while playing tournaments. You can look them up at www.fivefigurescore.com for more info.

I played a few events that week, Main event included. I did final table the ladies event while I was there. I ended up 6Th, I probably would have done better as I came in to the final table with the chip lead but I did picked a wrong spot at one point to make a "move" that costed me quite a few chips. I didn't quite recover after and busted a little later. Oh well, I try not to kick my butt too much about it but take the lesson from it instead.

The fun thing about going out of town for poker is the camaraderie, Everybody is very friendly, after poker we often hang out with few friends and make new ones. At the end of the week we almost all know each other. It's almost like going away for camp like kids do, except this one is all about poker!

Mike came to meet me at the end of the week as he was conveniently shooting a movie scene in Reno. We ended up staying in Tahoe for a few days after the series to ski.
I LOVE heavenly ski mountain! It does not get better that... Fresh snow, mild temperature, sunshine, beautiful lake views. Pure awesomeness! We had so much fun on the slopes. Mike is actually a very good skier, I did not expect that! I am definitely looking forward to skiing more this winter :)

While in Tahoe I also met Sean Mullaly, who is a personal trainer/poker player. I got him to start training Mike. I tag along because I love working out but its great to see my boyfriend out doing some exercise and getting motivated. Being healthy is so important!

I took a nice small break for thanksgiving as far as poker goes. I did get back at it last Saturday and went to the Epic poker tournaments last night. My friend Stacey was the bounty and a bunch of our crew all went down to try and bust her. Unfortunately she was at another table so I didn't get the chance. Her boyfriend, Don, ended up winning and then took us all out to dinner. It was definitely fun times with friends.

For those interested in the Epic Pro/am $1500 tournament, it is on the 10Th of December. So there are still a few chance to satellite it in. That $1500 tournament is the only way to get into the 20K main event if you are not an invited guest. You guys can go to www.epicpoker.com if you want more info on the upcoming tournaments schedule.

I am pretty much gonna focus on cash games in the weeks to come. It is more of a bread and "vegan" butter for me. And with the Holidays coming up, I rather built my bankroll than watch it bleed from tournament buy-ins!

What time is it? Living like a vampire

Lately I have been mostly playing cash games, pretty late as I kind of like the graveyard shift, and I have been doing really good. I did play a nightly tourney at Aria last week which I ended up winning so that was sweet to add to my "rungood".

I see a lot of players starting to play early in the evening, waiting all night for the "fish" and then going home tired an frustrated that they had only a ``soso`` profit.

I don't understand why some people are so stubborn to play early. The games are so good at 3am! It's usually a mix of drunk guys, players that are stuck and on tilt, amateurs coming out of the club or players who have played all night and are now tired. Of course, there are going to be some sharp players, but they are easy to spot and there are so few of them. In most part, majority of the players are pretty bad and make for a good game.

Obviously, when playing so late, there are some downsides... You become somewhat of a vampire. You barely sleep before 9am, you sleep through most of the day and miss on a lot of the day time activities. But poker is about making money. To me, that's where the money is.

The other downside as a graveyard shift poker player is trying to play the tournament circuits. It's REALLY hard to make a 12pm start when you went to bed at 8 or 9am! You would think that the tournament directors would take that in consideration after being in business for so long, seeing that most players are not morning people! I usually need to figure out what tournament I really want to play ahead of time and take it easy 1 or 2 nights before. Even by doing that, it is STILL hard to make it in time!

My upcoming schedule is pretty much playing the Deepstacks Extravaganza this coming Wednesday as well as Thursday at the Venetian, Cash games this week end and afterwards I am off to Lake Tahoe next week for the WSOP circuit event. I will probably play 4-5 events while I am there. I am planning on saving a day or 2 to go skiing at Heavenly, which is by far my favorite ski resort. I will obviously also play some cash games in my free time, but probably on a earlier schedule since I will need to be up early a few times for those tournaments *sigh*

I hope my poker "rungood" keeps up for many more weeks, it's always nice to go on a very long stretch without a losing session in cash games. It kind of makes us feel like gods wanna-be. But regardless of what the future holds and even though my life might seem weird to some people, at the end of the day, I do the things I love to do. I am healthy and happy. I play poker, I am working on a few other projects that I am very passionate about, I have a supportive and loving family, great boyfriend and the most awesome pets.

That's actually better than "running good". :)

OVERDUE BLOG!

It Seems like forever since I have posted a Poker blog!

I was so busy during the WSOP that I never got a chance to sit down and write, I guess I kind of lost the mojo to do so after a while. My WSOP was very disappointing. I played everyday, Mix between cash games and tournaments. I did pretty good in the cash games but no so much on the tourneys. I felt so confident going in that I was gonna do well this year but had a lot of emotional issues in my personal life that I think might have affected my game and I didn't end up with the expected results. It was a very exhausting series both on a physical and emotional level. I sure hope next year will be better!

Lately, I have been on a much more relaxed schedule, as far as tournaments, I have not played many of them. I did play the 1st pro/am Epic Poker, It was an awesome tourney with a really tough field and probably the hardest one that I have played in a long time! Amongst some of the players at my table were Eli Elezra, Allan Cunningham, Andeas Hoivold and some high stakes online pros. The structure was quite good and they had a good turnout considering it being their 1st event. My friend, David "Chino" Rheem ended up winning the main event title and 1 million dollard, that was really cool. I was very happy for him. They were holding their second event a little over a week ago and I missed it as I was on a much needed vacation with my daughter, but, I am definitely looking forward to the next ones.

I went to Mesquite with my friend Stacey a little after that to play the Eureka Open, hosted by Jan Fisher and Linda Johnson. The Eureka open is a friendly series that is held in Mesquite which is one hour away from Vegas. It was my first time going there... it's actually a very cute, small town with golf courses. I did make the final table and we ended up chopping the money. It was not big money as it is a smallish tourney, but it was fun and nice to get out of Vegas for the day.

I Played the Five Figure Score tournament last week-end. Five Figure Score is a new company that organizes tournaments, series and staking deals for mid stakes players. They were hosting a tournament at the Tropicana Hotel. It was a $160 buy-in, the bonus is that they were offering a lake Tahoe 7day vacation and staking deal to the WSOP circuit event coming up in November as an addition to the prize pool for the winner. Just that made it so worthwhile to play! I ended up winning the tournament along with the Lake Tahoe package. I was very happy and I am definitely looking forward to going in November to play. Hopefully, there will be some snow so that I can take a day off from poker and ski at Heavenly... It is by far my favorite ski mountain. The view of lake Tahoe is so beautiful going down the slopes! You guys can check out their website for more info on their other upcoming tournaments at www.fivefigurescore.com

I don't have specific plans as what's next. I am kind of going with the flow at the moment... I feel like my life is ready for something new, but I am not sure what exactly. I definitely needed that vacation in Miami last week with my daughter. I have been really missing her and was in major need of some family time. She is doing so great and I am so proud of her! Florida is also awesome. I think I would like living there! I do not push the idea of moving out of Vegas in the future... Not sure where I would go, but the idea of moving has really been in the back of my mind.


I am probably going to be in L.A .to play the "Oktober Mega Million Series III" at The bike at the beginning of October. It looks like it will be a crazy tournament. The buy in is only going to be $150, but they will have like 10 day 1, so the tournament will stretch over a two week period to get all the entries to cover the nice prize pool of 1 million guarranteed. It seems like they do a lot of those big guarantees in L.A., I don't know why Vegas doesn’t do them! It is very likely they would do well over here too. Hopefully, they will do them eventually, which would be fun!

Hopefully my next blog will come sooner!
I will try and write them more often and keep you guys posted on my adventures. :)

Jennifer Harman poker throwdown charity event for the Nevada SPCA

I just got back from Reno where I was invited to be a featured pro playing for the Jennifer Harman poker throw down charity event benefiting the Nevada SPCA. The event took place last Saturday at the Peppermill Resort and Casino where a record 568 poker pros, amateurs, & celebs participated in the poker tournament to raise money for this great cause. For those who do not know, Poker Throw Down is a unique concept of no-limit hold’em poker competition featuring a ten-player team format, but yet also allows for individual player participation. I was the team captain for the LIPS (ladies international poker series) team #3. The event was a huge success. Lips team #2 made the most points and Matt Vinks won the tournament. A lot of money was raised through tournament buy-ins, re-buys/add-ons, generous donations and a silent auction. You can still make a donation at www.nevadaspca.org

Prior to the tournament we had a little red carpet walk for the teams, the pro's and the celebrities. The Nevada SPCA brought up some of the adoptable pets to bring on the red carpet. They had all kinds of amazingly cute animals, dogs, cats, bunnies and even MINIATURE BABY GOATS!!! Oh My God! I fell in love with the latter! As a vegan, I always try to bring awareness that all animals are equals, they all have feelings and feel pain so that people think twice before putting them on their plate. Therefore, I always dreamed of owning an animal that is considered livestock to show people that they also can be great pets. Mini pygmy goats fall right in that category! They were so small, they grow up to be about 16 to 23 inches, they are not aggressive by nature and are very playful. I might try to foster one of the babies to see how it goes and try to convince Mike to keep it as they have about 8 at the SPCA up for adoption at the moment. They got rescued from a sect that was raising them to slaughter them as "Sacrifices"... I know, crazy people out there!

The whole day was about bringing awareness to the public on adopting animals that are homeless instead of buying from stores that usually buy from unethical puppy mills. Sadly, between 3 to 4 million dogs and cats are euthanized each year in the United States because too many people give up their pets and too few people adopt from shelters. One way to reduce this number is to adopt a pet instead of buying and spay/neuter your pets. The event was a great success and I was very proud to be part of it. :)

The event was followed by a VIP cocktail party, it was nice to mingle with all the players in a relaxed atmosphere. It was definitely a fun week end. Big thanks to Jennifer Harman, Lisa Wheeler, GreasieWheels productions, the Peppermill Casino and the Nevada SPCA for putting it all together!




I am gearing up for the WSOP and Deepstacks event at the Venetian, I am feeling really good about my game at the moment as I chopped another tournament at the Aria last week where I got the biggest chunk of money due to a good chip lead. Ideally, I want to play 1 WSOP per week and 1 Venetian deeptacks per week and spend the other days playing cash games as they are so juicy during that period. But I might add more tournaments if I do really good.

I am so grateful for my life and everything that is going on right now. I am one lucky girl!
:)