Somehow I managed to win the Sunday Million. I got through a massive field on PokerStars and got to the the final table as the chip leader. I sensed that I may not get a chance like this again and played out the tournament without doing a deal. A few players were scared money with low average buy ins and folded really short stacks to hold out for relatively small pay jumps. Then there were two other guys who were more aggressive but lacked control and after watching the replay I also noted that they were a bit backwards in their play. They were overplaying weak hands and underplaying their bigger made hands.
I really only wanted to watch the replay once to see if the fold of broadway straight heads up with Ace-King was correct. It was by far my toughest decision of the tournament. I was relieved and happy to see that my opponent had a better hand with 4-5 of clubs for a rivered flush. I got a fair wrap from the commentator. He is commentating for the World Series of Poker (WSOP) final table and does coverage of NASCAR in the US and some other sports. The link is here http://www.pokerstars.tv/poker-video-9770-online-poker-show-sunday-million-july-10th-2011.html
Right now I am in Naples, Italy. I have been travelling with my cousin Michael through Europe over the last month. We started in London, then caught a EuroStar train to Paris and then another train to Amsterdam. After Amsterdam we flew to Portugal. We meet up with friends in Lagos who had hired a house. Hugh, Tom and Tim had been in Lagos for a month already and we just tacked on for the last week. The house was massive and had a pool, we partied, beached it and played online. Tom joined the jagermeister 'bomb squad' at a local bar, he downed 7 jager bombs in 14 seconds!
From Lagos, Portugal we all caught a bus to Seville in Spain. It was our last day when I managed to bink on the 'vamoooos' IP. I tipped the rental guy $150 EU. Tim & Hugh left a day before Tom to go on a road trip to France for the Tour De France and beyond to Slovenia for the World Poker Tour Event there. Tom went home to Australia and Mike and I decided to travel on to Barcelona. We flew from Seville to Barca where I had booked 6 nights in a backpackers aptly named 'Equity Point'. After a few nights I upgraded to the Mandarin Oriental as I wanted a really good nights sleep and reliable internet.
Today we flew from Barca to Naples France after a skype discussion with James Tai, an investment banker and poker player from Sydney. We are going to hire a car for a few days and drive the Amalfi Coast. Thoughts of hiring a DB9 went through my mind but I decided to just go with the BMW Z3. After Italy we are heading back to London to spend a few days with my cousin Sean who recently married in Sydney even though he lives and works as an investment banker in London. Our family is spread across the world so Sydney was a central location for a great wedding. After winning the biggest tournament of my life I just want to spend time with family and friends. I can't wait to go home even though the weather is so fine here.
On the 27th I do head home to Australia, but very soon after on the 29th I head to Melbourne for the APPT event there. I am currently leading the Australia and New Zealand Poker Tout (ANZPT) Player of the Year rankings www.anzpt.com after coming 2nd in Adelaide in February and having 2 deep runs in Sydney and the Gold Coast. The Melbourne event is crucial with three events to go, Queenstown and Darwin being the other two events. Hopefully the run good can continue, 2011 has been a truely amazing year so far.
Also do not miss my heads up Pot Limit Omaha match against Team PokerStars Pro Juan Maceiras this Sunday, the prize for which is $3,000. This heads up match is a freeroll for me provided by PokerStars as I won the Weekly Tournament Leader Board mainly as a result of my Sunday Million win. I played a total of 2 days last week. The game is at 14:00 ET (US) this coming Sunday, July 24th! When I play, I play to win. All of these extra/bonus/promotions are just cream to me. As with Player of the Year points and possible sponsorship attached to the ANZPT, they are largely out of my control and I am just focussing on playing well and making good decisions.
Also a huuuuuuge shout out to Andy Hin who is the last Aussie left in the WSOP main event. The guy is a genius, I love the way he thinks about the game. It was another great tournament run by Tony Hachem. I can't wait to see how this ends. Go Austria!
