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!

WSOP Ladies (and few men?) event #22

I played the WSOP Ladies Championship Event #22 this weekend. Of all the events, it is the one that I look forward to the most. There is a camaraderie and complicity in that event that you do not find in any of the other mix ones. Plus, we all have to admit, it makes for a pretty good looking crowd!

Unfortunately as it’s been for the last few years, some guys could not help themselves and had to register for it. Technically, under discrimination laws, they are totally allowed to do so, but does that mean it is ethical? I think not. There are plenty of low buy-in events that they can go for throughout the WSOP; it makes for a lot of empathy towards them and bad publicity. Some girls are not comfortable playing mix events and would never play in a WSOP, but because it is ladies only they make a point to fly into Vegas to play it. The whole week is geared towards ladies tournament in various casinos, and these women come for the week to play them all.

I was told that some of the men, including Shaun Deeb, were playing for charity, but why not pick out a regular event to do so? Would these same guys crash the Seniors event or the casino employee one? So why pick on the ladies event? It's totally rude! Hopefully playing with us has made them realize it was a bad decision and they will be humble from it and respectfully stay away next time!

I was sponsored by Deliverance Poker for that event and was seen sporting their gear. Pretty cute stuff too actually!
Deliverance Poker is a new poker site for players that is launching in the next month. I am really looking forward to playing on there as I think it's gonna be quite revolutionary. Their tag line is: "Don't get screwed on the river" which should give you all an idea of what's to come with them! They have already signed some big time pro's including 2010 WSOP $50,000 Player's Championship winner Micheal Mizrachi and his brother's. Definitely a great team to start with!

I played awesome for most of the event and had a lot of chips throughout the day. I played for nearly 13 hours and ended up busting just before the end of the day one, in the last level with a little under 180 players left. I feel really good about the way I played, but got unlucky in the end. Unfortunately when those blinds get up there, luck needs to be on your side and your hands need to hold up! After losing a few pots, I ended up shoving with Q10s in the cut off position with 11 blinds left. I talked to numerous pro's about my last shove and most said it was the right one, including my mentor The Maven. Two of them said I could have played it a little different but overall, I do not think it was a mistake. I took a chance,I had position, it was just unfortunate that the girl to my left woke up with JJ and they held up.

There were 1,054 players in the event and 117 where getting paid, again, a long day but not quite good enough. I understand the win rate in tournaments is 1% and cash rate is about 10-15% so I am not discouraged. I am playing better than most; I just have to be patient. This is my year... my time will come!