Summer schedule 2014- Poker and meal plan info

Hello everyone! 
It's been a long time since I have been on this blog. This past year has been amazing! I got to travel quite often. Sometimes for poker, and sometimes for leisure. I got to work on some exciting cooking projects, and play poker in my spare time.  I was also fortunate to have spent quality time with my family, pets, friends, and my love. I am very excited abut the upcoming WSOP, and figure it would be easier to post everything that is going on for the poker "summer camp" on this page. 

So a few pieces of big news: Yes, I will be playing and yes, I will be cooking. How is it possible? Well, I have decided to focus on only 5 events throughout the summer which I felt were optimal for me. Either because of a great prize pool, or a good structure. Of course the WSOP ladies is none of the above. but it has a special spot in my heart, and I have historically cashed in ladies events consistently. I will be selling some shares for those events as I have in years past. Obviously on those 5 days, and hopefully the following ones for a deep run, I will not be cooking.

As far as cooking, last summer was a bit crazy.  I didn't charge quite enough, the delivery route was too large, and I also was making way too much food. Subsequently, I was a slave of the kitchen for 70-80 hrs a week, and had to figure out a way to make things work while offering the same quality of organic, made from scratch, high in nutrient/superfood meals.

This year's format is a little different. The price remains the same: $22 for a single meal, or $20/meal when ordered in packages of 5. The meals will include a main course and a salad of the day. There will be two choices of main courses per day for either lunch or dinner. I am making only 10 of each per day and will be sold out afterwards so please place your order early to make sure you get your 1st choice! Deliveries will be between 12:30pm-1:30pm for lunch, and between 5:30pm-6:30 pm for dinner at the Rio.

Other hotels within the Las Vegas strip will have to be before or after that time frame and will have a $4 delivery charge. Locals can meet me at the Rio to pick up food if they wish, but I will not do home deliveries. Snacks can be purchased at extra cost of $5. The selections will vary, so please call or text me to inquire about availability.

The weekly menu will be posted on www.annieskitchenlv.blogspot.com (you can have a peak at it already as the 1st week teaser is up)

As far as my tournament schedule and shares go, here is what I am planning on playing:

05/31/14, 5 pm Flight 1 b millionaire maker WSOP ...$1500
06/18/14, 12 pm Binion's Main event ...$1000
06/27/14, 12 pm WSOP ladies event ...$1000
07/01/14, 12 pm ARIA WPT (1MM gtd prize pool) ...$565
07/02/14, 12 pm Golden Nugget Main event ...$1100

I don't know about you, but I can't wait for it all to start!!!

What's been cooking?

Hi everyone!

Some of you might wonder what's been going on. I have not posted much about poker lately. Since the WSOP, I have to admit, my life has been a bit on the fast pace with a lot of different things  happening! :) 

After busting the WSOP main event on day 3, I decided to take a month off from poker. I went on a few trips to California and took it easy for a while. It was much needed after the 6 weeks of craziness from the Series.    

After that time off, I started working more intensely on my cookbook. It is a project that I have had in mind for quite a while and it is far more time consuming than I expected! I have all the recipes gathered and we started shooting the pics last week so it does start to feel like it is all coming together! I am hoping for Feb/March to be all done ! There is still plenty of work to be done but I am very excited about this project. 

I also have been approached by a local restaurant, Coconuts Mexican grill and Beach Bar in town square to make a vegan/gluten free menu in addition to their already fantastic Mexican food . The taste tests were done this past week and they loved and approved the menu I presented. I am proud to announce that my food will be featured on their menu in about two weeks time. I will definitely keep you all posted when I have the official date.

I also have been studying! I am taking my plant base nutritionist certificate course through eCornell University and I am going to a Holistic Healing School in Atlanta in December. I am doing this mostly to have more accreditations for my cookbook as it is going to be very health-oriented.

As if I didn't have enough on my plate already, I also started fostering dogs. I am currently fostering a little chihuahua named Aldo, he was saved from Lied animal shelter when his time ran out, he was going to be put down that day but instead got rescued, neutered and has been staying with me until we can find him a home. I do have someone who has shown interest in him and he should be with his new forever family sometime this week if everything goes well. It is a very rewarding experience to feel like I can make a difference in a doggies life and I will probably keep fostering new doggies in the future

So most of my free time has been spent between playing poker, traveling (California, Montreal and Quebec) making time for my boyfriend and friends along with a few other things.


I have not played any major tournaments as I have not been capable to commit to the hours needed to play them but I am planning on playing the deepstacks ladies and Main event of which I am selling some shares, same as I did before with a 20% markup:

Sunday nov 11      $300 ladies
Saturday nov 17    $2500 main event

TOTAL BUY-INS = $2,800
20% Mark-up Package Price $3,360

Each 1% share = $33,60
Each 5% share= $168
Each 10% share= $336

In the event that I 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 2 tournaments package listed above only. I might play more with my own money but due to my busy schedule I don't want to over commit myself.

Investors please review the package and contact me by email at lalepage2@gmail.com if you would like to invest in one or more share of my action or have any questions . I am selling 60% of my action, if it is like the WSOP, it will go fast!

I promise there will be more poker related posts soon. It is definitaly my passion but sometimes, we have more than one passion and it is good to expand the horizon!

Ladies week in the book

The WSOP has been hosting a ladies event since 1977.  The event has tremendously grown in popularity since it's debut but has also been an event of controversy for many years. There are many reasons for and against the ladies event and most of them are personal reasons. I am on the "for" side and always have been. I think it is good for poker and that it brings more ladies into the game. I always look forward to that event as it is one of the few chances for us women to compete against each other..

Every year, guys enter the tournament, some even dressed as drags, claiming discrimination. (note I said guys here, a man would know better and  would respectfully let us play our event).

I personally think it is a bad idea for these guys to play. Poker players unfortunately don't always  have the best reputation as far as classy is concerned,  and these eruptions just reinforces that negative aspect. It is sad that a few disrespectful people ruin it for the rest of us.


On a brighter note, the WSOP ladies event has so grown in popularity that it has now created a   "ladies week" happening in all the casinos where most of the smaller series have a ladies tournament that compete during that week.  It is my favorite week of the series! Girls are fun to play with, they have a smile on their face, they talk about anything but sports (yay!) and, don't get me wrong, they can be really tough opponents!

I played the ladies WSOP this year, I busted 93rd on day 2 of the event. There were 952 entries this year and 117 were getting paid. I had a great start in the tournament, but it seemed like I went on a little of a rot as we got deeper and Icould not find a winning hand. I did make some new acquaintances and got to catch up with many ladies from the poker community and hey, I still cashed!   So, overall it was a great event! I am already looking forward to next year :)

As far as the series go, I have cashed in 2 events out of 11. It is a standard result considering cash rates for very good players in poker tournaments are about 20% and win rates are 2%. I bubbled a few tournaments very close to the money which was a little frustrating but at the end of the day, I was satisfied with the way I played and that is important.

Maybe I just need to learn to win coinflips more ... I should ask Jason Mercier how he does it.  ;)*kidding*

My next  event is the WSOP 1k next Wednesday. I am looking forward to it!


I am also selling some of my actions for the main event.  Therefore, I am starting an interest list.

I am selling at 20% mark up ( my commission for professional work) so 1% of my main event action sellsfor $120.

Please note that 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 WSOP Main Event.

There are obviously no guarantees but the top money potential in the WSOP Main Event can be pretty lucrative for a low cost investment. :)

Please contact me on my email at lalepage2@gmail.com if you are interested in buying some shares and be part of the WSOP Main Event action!

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!
:)

Mikey's birthday in Seneca Falls

I just got back from Seneca Falls where the Deepstacks crew hosted a boot camp and a tournament series. There was a main event with a $1,350 buy-in. The boot camp was a huge success, many top pro's were there teaching for the weekend. The poker director at Seneca Niagara was so impressed that they decided to book another boot camp and tournament series for the upcoming fall.

I played cash games while I was there and all I can say is the staff in that room is incredibly awesome. Everybody had a nice smile on, the room was full of action and they even were catering food to the players at dinner time. It is a great place to play that's for sure!

The rooms at the hotel are very spacious and comfortable, the spa was great and the gym was very well equipped which made time between playing poker very enjoyable. The restaurants were also very good. We ate at the Italian restaurant one night, La Cascata, where they went out of their way to make me something delicious and vegan. Which I really appreciated!



It was Mikey's birthday that weekend so we all went to Pure nightclub in Buffalo, NY.
Most of the crew was there except for a few that were still in the main event. The place was pretty slow considering it was a Saturday night, but it worked out great as they gave us 2 booths and it totally felt like a private party! Mikey had a great time and so did everybody else.



I am finally home, with the pets. I was in Quebec and Ottawa, Canada, the week prior to that to visit my family for Easter. These last weeks have been full of traveling. Which is fun, but it is also nice to be home after being gone so much! I am probably gonna play live poker in the weeks to come and maybe a few WPT preliminary events at Bellagio. Not having online poker to fill up some hours in the day is sinking in but I have found myself reading a lot more, playing more live and being productive on projects that I had kept putting off.

As always... life is good :)

Goodbye online poker... for now.

I went to Hawaii 2 weeks ago with Mike, we had a great time! We stayed at the Kahala Resort and really got a chance to relax and enjoy the sun. We have friends who live there and it was also nice to catch up with them. It was a very last minute trip. Mike had been talking about wanting to go but we never got around to planning it. He called me one day and said he finally had booked it and that we were leaving that night on a red eye! Talk about spontaneous! I am so glad we went. It got our heads in the right mindset for the months to come and the WSOP.

By now, I’m assuming that everybody heard the news that last Friday the government and the feds shut down 3 of the major poker sites: Full Tilt, Pokerstars and UB/Absolute Poker. They made a few arrests and are suing the sites for money laundering. Everyone in the poker world went crazy; it got called the Black Friday of the poker industry and was the main conversation topic on Facebook and Twitter over the whole weekend.

I know that I will miss loging into my account and playing on my own hours, in the comfort of my home, some of my favorite games, but, is it the end of the world? Probably not. It's time to think about what's next and what other options there are.

Living in Vegas, I am very lucky to have casinos that offer different styles of cash games at many levels. Same goes with tournaments. With online poker gone, one has to realize how good and juicy the live games are going to get. Lots of online pros are talking about relocating to cities with casinos, after all, big CEO of companies do it all the time. They move their family where the jobs are and where the money is. Online pros are great players, they are not going to "donk off" their money easily. However, they are usually more aggressive and they play a loser style of poker which is excellent for the game. The weaker players do not know how to adjust to that and usually start playing bad. Those weaker players are the ones we are playing against. So it's a great thing! There are going to be more games, more action and more money on the tables. I can't complain!

The day after "Black Friday" I decided to go to the Aria to see if there was already a difference in the volume of players in the room. I opted to play the tournament that day. The place was packed but then again it was a Saturday. While playing the tournament, I could not believe how easy the field was. I ended up chopping it 3 ways which was pretty cool. The following day, Sunday, I decided to play live cash games and that is when I really saw the difference... Sunday nights are usually not that busy, there was a list for each games and every table was full. Live poker is going be off the hook!

I will miss online poker but, I am looking forward to playing live, being more focused, out of the house, and on more of a schedule. I am looking forward to the upcoming WSOP. The tournament circuit is also looking more attractive. I’m pretty confident that soon enough the online games will be regulated and we will be playing in the comfort of our homes again, legally and safely. In the meantime, let's fight for our rights, look for solutions, keep positive and keep playing the game we love in live games.

See you at the tables. :)

LAPC, Deepstacks poker tour and Shooting Stars WPT

Wow, what an incredible past few weeks this has been. Mike and I have been travelling quite a bit following some of the greatest poker tournaments around.

In January, he went to the Ozzy Million in Melbourne, Australia. Unfortunately, I had just got back from a 3 week vacation and the timing was totally wrong for me to tag along. Mike did really good in the televised cash game over there and came back really happy with his winnings. It was just really hard to be apart for the 2 weeks he was gone.

We then decided to go to LA Poker Classic (LAPC) together. We stayed at the Commerce and played poker (mainly cash games) pretty much the whole time we were there. We both played the WPT invitational, I had a really rough table on day 1 with Matt Afflect, McLean Karr, Liv Boeree and Brandon Adams but still, I made it to day 2. Unfortunately my friend Eric Mizrachi took me out of the tourney on the second day when he turned a straight against my two pairs. The invitational is such a fun event to play! Everybody is dressed up, friendlier and more relaxed. It's a great event!

I did not qualify the main event but Mike played it. He made it to day 3 but unfortunately busted slightly short of the money.



While in LA, Mike took me to my 1st Basketball game and Mike being a friend of Gerry Buss, we got invited to his private sky box. Now, being in the owner's suite, you can only imagine how amazing that was! It was HUGE! We were treated to his private chef who offered a pasta station, a buffet station, an amazing dessert station and infinite choices of cocktails. There were also a few "A" list guests. Gerry Buss is definitely a great host! The Lakers also won to top everything off. It's going to be hard to ever beat that experience!

Shortly after our return from L.A, we packed again and then went to Reno where we played the Deepstacks poker tour main event. Now , for those who do not know, Mike and a few of his associates own that poker tour. It usually consists of a poker tour with a few smaller events and a main event that range from $340 to $2500, the main event being televised. They also offer a one day advance poker course prior to the Main event for $500. It is taught by some of the best players in the world such as Mike Matusow, Mike Mizrachi, Tom Mc Evoy, Adam Levy, Justin Smith to name a few. Go to www.deepstacks.com for more information on the Poker classes and the Poker Tour.

I had won a package that included the seat, class (which I gave away since I already took it) and extra money for expenses and travel in one of the satellite hosted by Full Tilt for only $216 prior to the main event so I got to play. Unfortunately I did not win but Tristan Wade, one of the teachers of Deepstacks University, ended up winning the televised main event which I think is very cool.

Right after Reno, we flew to San Jose to Bay 101 Casino for the $10k Shooting Stars main event. Mike was one of the 50 shooting stars with a bounty of $5k on his head. That tournament is usually really hard for the pros with bounty on their heads to go deep as everyone plays back at them hoping to win their bounty. But, Mike being the awesome player that he is, well, he ended up making the televised final table!


It was so great to be there to cheer him on! I was trying to keep fans updated through Twitter and we had so many people from all over the world rooting for him. The internet is truly a fantastic tool!
Mike played amazing, he was really patient, picked his spots and got himself a 3rd place finish for $369k. I am so proud of him!
We came back the next day in the private jet owned by bay 101.

We went to the Lady Gaga concert last weekend. Mike got some of the best seats available... We were third row from the stage! She is an amazing performer. It was such a great show. The girl is truly talented and the staging was incredible.




We have now finally been relaxing this week and I have moved my pets in to Mike's house and brought enough clothes for the week and we are calling it "a little move in try out". So far everything is going great, Mike loves my vegan cooking, we are very happy and the pets are also enjoying themselves and getting along... Mike has 4 cats and I have 2 dogs and a rabbit. It's like a therapeutic petting zoo in here!

All I can say is that life is good :)

Back in Vegas and Super turbo's strategy

I hope you all had a great beginning of 2011. It's been a while since I have blogged and feel a little rusty. I was on vacation with my family for nearly 3 weeks over the holidays and came back a little over a week ago. We went to San Juan Puerto Rico for a few days, did a cruise in the Caribbean and then stayed some more in San Juan . It was so nice to get away and see my family. The cruise part was also awesome, we where on Celebrity Cruises and stopped in a bunch of Caribbean Islands . My favorite island was definitely Barbados . The beach there was by far the most beautiful and I really hope to go back there one day!

I came back and unfortunately found myself sick for almost a week. I was in bed pretty much and did not do too many exciting things. I played a little bit of poker online, but since I was not feeling great couldn't stay on for long tournaments or cash games that are too juicy to leave, so the super turbo's on Full Tilt were pretty much my game of choice. They are fast, easy to beat and pretty lucrative. I was capable of playing some, and then would head back to bed when feeling yucky. Mike and I have been playing quite a lot of them, he plays the biggest buy-in ones while I find my niche in the mid stakes ones. There's definitely quite some strategy to them and a lack of good players. So here's a few insight if you want to give them a try:

Since you will start with only 300 in chips and blinds at 30/15, it makes for a very fast tournament but it doesn't mean you have to shove with crap! Remember a lot of people will play bad hands and bust quickly, there is no rush for you to do the same. You can allow yourself to go all the way down to 5 blinds to find that ideal hand or situation that will hold well in a coin flip so that you can double up. Sometimes it won't come and you will need to gamble, but you have to understand that the money in these comes from quantity, you will lose a lot of them but as long as you win almost as many you will show a profit. I personally like AQ and up and 10's and up in the early rounds to move in with, lowering the range as you get closer to the button. Remember: You want to be the aggressor, not the caller. To call you will need to consider the position of your opponent. The earlier his position, the more you need of a premium hand to make the call.



Position is also really important as you have less people behind to worry about. If I get on the button or big blind vs small blind and no one has acted before me, I will show a LOT of aggression with weaker hands, as long as it's playable, I will go all in. More likely the one or two players left behind won't wake up with a hand to call me with and this will give me another round. It is really important to try and double up in those early round of the super turbo's so those first hand you chose and the position you play really matters.

Once you find yourself on the bubble, you need to be extremely aggressive. This was my biggest leak and Mike helped me a lot with it. I used to play tighter and think: "I don't want to bubble", well, guess what... neither do they! So that is the perfect time to put them to the test. They cannot (and should not) call unless they have a PREMIUM hand. So why not take advantage of it and move in on them every time you have the button or position on them? The only time we need to be careful is if the person we are putting pressure on have a huge chip lead on us, as they might call us since it doesn't hurt them so much.

Once in the money, just keep the aggression level up. You will be surprise of the fold equity these tournaments have. Play your position, attack the short stack, widen your range of cards, at this point all pairs and any face cards have bigger values, and accumulate the chips!

For those wanting to take it up a notch, look up Sit and Go Wizard. Software made to help your call/fold decision based on statistics. You can go to their web site, http://www.sngwiz.com/tiki/tiki-index.php, to download a free 30 days trial.

Good luck!

Happy Holidays!

Well, it's that time of the year again. Thanksgiving just past and we are just a few weeks away from Christmas/Hanukkah. I had a great Thanksgiving myself and surely have a lot to be thankful for this year! For those who know me, you know that I do not eat turkey as I am a vegan. This year, I actually sponsored/adopted 3 turkey’s from Farm Sanctuary. How it works is that for a one time $30 donation, you can save the life of a turkey that lives in the sanctuary. They will send you the picture along with the name and a certificate of your turkey. I am proud to say that I saved Daphne, Harley and Reese! You can go on www.adoptaturkey.org for more information on the sponsor a turkey project.




I was recently interviewed by a ladies poker website called Girls Club Poker. You can see the interview at this address: http://www.girlclubpoker.com/interviews/interview-with-annie-lepage/

International Gaming Awards Magazine also interviewed me and you can view the latest issue of the magazine at this address http://www.gaming-awards.com/magazine. I am on page 19-21.

Obviously being the holidays I have been a bit distracted and have not played as much poker. However, I will be playing at Aria and Bellagio in the coming week. The Five Diamond WPT event is in town and those two casinos should be popping with action. I might also try to satellite my way in to the tournaments.

I hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving and that you all have a great holiday season!

Deepstack360, Poker After Dark and WSOP Main Event final table

Last week was so busy with many different things that were poker related!



It started with the shooting of the DeepStack360 video camp featuring Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi. It was the first ever internet camp done by him and first ever live stream poker camp in 360 degrees. Mike "The Mouth" Matusow and Tristan "Cre8ive" Wade were also there as players and commentators. Everyone was playing at one table starting with 30k, as they would at the WSOP Main Event and the blinds would increase rapidly to give a feel of each level and how to adjust. Micheal would go over each hand after each round and point out the right and wrong of how each person played. We shot for a full day and students watching from the comfort of their homes got a full 5 hours of Michael's view on the game. They also took breaks from time to time to give out tips and strategies for the upcoming level. They will be doing more of these camps in the future as this one was a huge success. The introductory price was $50, with satellites running on Full Tilt for as low as $5, but they will be charging somewhere around double in the future. Which is still an amazing deal considering the amount of information each student got.




The shooting of Poker After Dark is also going on right now and I was invited to go on the set to watch them play. I cannot talk about any results, but I can say is that the cash game edition is going to be very exciting to watch! Huge pots, great poker and awesome action. They have been shooting at Aria this year which in my opinion is the coolest hotel on the strip. The set looked absolutely fantastic. Hopefully in the years to come, I will be one of the players! *smile*



The WSOP Main Event was also going on over the weekend, and the fact that I knew 3 of the players made it so much more exciting! A few of us went to watch it in the VIP section right behind the stage in hopes that Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi would make history with the winning of the Poker Players Championship and hopefully the main event. He would have become the highest tournament money finisher if he won it and WSOP Player of the Year. As most of you know by now, he took 5th... no win, but still a great accomplishment! We were all wearing red "Go Grinder" shirts and the energy in the Penn & Teller Theater was incredible! Everyone was cheering and chanting for the player of their choice taking turns in doing so. It was an incredible day! After Mizrachi lost the title, the Quebecoise in me was obviously rooting for French-Canadian Jonathan Duhamel who ended up capturing the Championship. He played great and his win was well deserved. He surely made the whole of Quebec proud! He will be a great ambassador for poker as he is very charismatic and outstanding player.



This coming week is all about the Deep Stack Extravaganza Series at Venetian and cash games. No more excuses... back to the grind!

Being distracted

What was I saying in my last blog about being focused? Yeah... right. With friend's visiting last week followed by Halloween parties I have totally been exhausted and my poker has not been as lucrative as it usually is. Hopefully by the end of the week I can find my "mojo" again and start kicking butt at the tables like I usually do!

I have to admit, I did have a great time last week though. Sometimes it is needed to take a break and have fun. As long as it is not an everyday thing, there is nothing wrong with that!

I had a friend visiting during the middle of last week and we went to see the show "Elvis" at Aria by Cirque du Soleil. I actually thought it was a fantastic show. It was not like the other cirques, most of the costumes where 60's era looking and it felt more like a musical. Some of the scenes had outstanding acrobatic performances and the staging was really phenomenal. It is in my top 3 favorite shows in Las Vegas for sure.

Halloween was also over the weekend. I went with Mike Matusow to his friend’s house party. He was dressed as the crazy cat lady (For those who do not know, Mike now owns 4 cats, so the costume was just absolutely appropriate!) Three of us girls were dressed as his sexy kittens. We had a limo taking us around and we had a really fun night. Halloween has to be my favorite holiday of all. It is just so fun to see all the costumes and it seems like because people are dressed up, they are in a better mood. Everyone forgets about their problems and makes it a point to have fun on that night!

I was gonna go to L.A. this week and play the NAPT, but had a change of heart. For me to satellite and play in big buy-in tournaments, I need to be extremely focused. Unfortunately, as much fun as last week was, I do not feel like this week is my best week for that! So I am gonna stay in Vegas, which is fine since the Deepstacks have also started at the Venetian, therefore the cash games are gonna be pretty good. I will also probably play a few of their tourneys in the coming weeks; starting with the one this Thursday. Good luck me! :-)

Feeling good

I can't help but wonder how some people can be so unhealthy when playing poker. I totally understand that it is probably convenient as we sit at the table for hours to order food to the table and eat there. I see guys that are way overweight, drinking soda, eating burgers and fries on a daily basis. Even though they might be successful at the time, I do not see it as a recipe for success in the long run!

It is proven that a healthy balanced diet and regular exercise increases stamina and focus. Not only that, I also believe that heart attacks, high cholesterol, some diabetes & some cancers are directly related to what someone eats. If you are going to eat bad and eventually get sick, how are you going to produce at the poker table?

It just takes a little of willpower and very little time to eat right and stay active. I personally eat a vegan diet, which I believe to be the healthiest of all. But while you might not be ready to go 100% that route, eating that way a few times a week or adding veggies to your menu will definitely make a difference on your health! When ordering at the table, there are plenty of salads to chose from, soups or anything that is low fat & has a side of veggies would work. Please stay away from fried stuff, greasy fast food and simple carbohydrates (sugar, white pasta, white bread). Also, it only takes an hour of your day to exercise! There are so many fun ways to do it too: Hiking, yoga, walking, jogging, gym or any sports such as tennis, baseball and hockey. The hardest part is actually putting your mind into it! Once you find something you like, it's actually fun, it feels good and gets you out of the house.

Obviously, drugs and/or alcohol on a regular basis are also a bad idea. There is no way your brain can function properly if you are affected or on the after affects of drugs or alcohol. Even if it seems like a no-brainer, I keep seeing it and sadly those people eventually come out losing.

Feeling good is everything when hitting the tables. If you feel good, you will make the right decisions, you will be focused and in the end you will be a winning player.

Cash games: Table selection

Remember the real state saying: Location, location, location? Well, I couldn't agree more in regards to poker. Table selection is everything in cash games if you want to show a continuous profit.

Since the WSOP, I have been focusing back on what I do best: cash games and I’ve been on an amazing winning rush this whole time. I started to think I was indestructible. However, can you be that lucky for that long or is there something that you do that others do not?


I know that I am really good at selecting the right game. I usually play small to medium stakes game, anything between 1/3 NL, 2/5 NL and 5/10 NL. I strongly believe that I was not "lucky" for two months straight, I just picked the softest game and kept showing a profit in the end. When doing so, one must leave the ego at the door. Let me give you some examples:

-If you sit in a smaller game while waiting for a seat in the bigger one and start winning very easily, when the seat does open up in the bigger game, there is NO reason you should take it. If you are running over that lower stake table, stay there. You are in it to make money, and you are.

-If you are playing in a game and you know all the players and they are all solid, why would you want to play that game? You want to pick a softer one. It's OK if there are a few solid players at the table, but you need a few that are weaker so that you get paid off when you do get a great hand. There is nothing worse than flopping a monster and having a great player making a hero fold with the 2nd nuts!

-Look around the casino... which table is having fun, drinking, gambling & playing big pots? That's the table you want! No matter what the limit is, as long as it fits your bankroll, jump in!

-If things are not going your way, do not hesitate to ask for a table change. If there are no good games, you are not doing great and it doesn't look like it's going to improve: Quit! Come back later, go to a different casino or take the day off, poker is not going anywhere. There's always tomorrow!

So that's why I get seen playing different size games. If you call yourself a 5/10 NL player and are not willing to lower your limit to pick the right game, you will encounter many losses on days that could have been lucrative if you had not let your self-esteem get in the way.

Time of the day is also important. Weekends can be good but you have to think that ALL the pro's are out playing. It's important to keep a log of your winnings, but also a log of where and when you play; to know which hours are the best for you.

I personally think that weekends are good in the afternoon. Most man at the table have dinner plans with their wife at around 7pm and only have a few hours to play. This makes them willing to gamble. They will overplay hands to try and make fast money, which unfortunately for them, is not the way to go!

Also on the weekend, most tourist go clubbing, they do not hit the tables before 2-3am, before that time, you will most likely (of course not always) find yourself with pro's waiting for the action to start. Sometimes after 2-3am the game can get really juicy.

Sundays are excellent! If you are not grinding online, you should hit the casino. It's usually most people's last day off and they are willing to play and gamble! There won't be as many games, but they should be great!

Weekdays can be hit or miss. Therefore you must be even more vigilant in your game selection and even more willing to play lower stakes.

Look for casinos with big conventions, after 6pm when their show is over, many business men will play for fun. Look for schedules online and follow the big ones.

Promotional tournaments (WPT, Deepstacks, etc.) also bring great action! They can also be great to follow.

I hope these tips helped you. You don't run lucky for so many months straight; you just pick your spots better than most.

WIPHOF and stuff

I haven't blog much lately; I’ve been spending the end of the summer taking a lot of time off. My daughter was visiting for a few weeks and I didn't play while she was here. I just enjoyed the time I had with her. She went back to Canada last week where she is studying. I am very proud of her.

I went to the Women in Poker Hall of Fame dinner and induction ceremony last Friday. This year's inductee's were Jennifer Harman, Kathy Leibert, and Billie Brown. The ceremony had a great set up at the Golden Nugget and was hosted by 2009 Women in Poker Hall of Fame inductee Jan Fisher who did an amazing job. That woman could definitely be a stand-up comedian! They had a silent auction benefiting Poker Gives and a great dinner followed by music and dancing. Ex-commissioner of the World Series of Poker Jeffrey Pollack was the guest speaker. He’s speech was great on women in poker and his thoughts on men crashing the ladies event, which obviously he did not agree with!

I have mainly been focusing on live cash games this week. I have been hopping around to pretty much every casino in town doing what I do best: playing cash games! I have had a VERY lucrative week! My win rate in cash games is extremely high; I sometimes wonder why I even bother playing tournament. Oh wait, I know why, prestige and big prize pools! At the end of the day, cash games are my money maker and I am definitely gonna be putting more focus on them in the months to come. I am not saying that I won't play any tournaments; I just won't play as many.

WCOOP is also going, I cashed in one event but nothing crazy. I will be playing more this week and keep you posted on how it goes. I am also planning on playing the charity event for Poker Give on the 17th at 1pm at Aria. It's a great charity and they have tournaments all month long across the U.S. You can look up the schedule on this link: http://www.pokergives.org/nationalpokermonth.shtml.