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.