Unibet Open Bucharest

I arrived in Bucharest excited for what promised to be another action packed stop on the Unibet Open tour. In the past this leg has been in the winter time, so summer presented a chance to experience lakeside restaurants, beer gardens, and enjoy more exploring of this historic city. The luxury JW Marriott hotel was again to be my home for the week.

Photo credit: Storyblocks

One of the most anticipated elements of the week was the chance for players to meet Molly Bloom from Molly’s Game fame.

If they make a movie of your life the likelihood is that you have done something pretty terrible ( Bernie Madoff, Jeffrey Dahmer, etc.), or really special ( Steve Jobs, Oskar Schindler).

Then there is the other reason, which is you have a fascinating story to tell and this is what led to Molly Bloom teaming up with Aaron Sorkin and bringing this to the big screen.

Photo credit: Tambet Kask

I can recommend watching the movie (and indeed reading the much more comprehensive book) if you want to get a peek behind the scenes of some of the largest cash games ever played.

Molly, dubbed the ‘Poker Princess’ by the moniker loving press, was going to be opening the Queen Rules ladies event later that week- an initiative that Unibet continues to roll out to help shift perceptions in the male dominated game.

Prior to this there was a whole load more poker to be played.

Photo credit: Tambet Kask

The DSO started Wednesday, as did the renewal of the super fun ‘Tag Team Championship’ that had its debut in Malta.

Unibet Poker Ambassadors were teamed up once again with big names in gaming and YouTube. As defending champion, I had the irrepressible Alan Widman as my partner so we were guaranteed fun regardless of the result. We sadly bust halfway through, and congrats to Scott and Rauno who played a great game and took the title this time around.

Tag Team Champs

I spent the rest of the day exploring Bucharest.

By far the most imposing building is the Palace of Parliament which is not only one of the largest buildings in the world, but also ( fact alert!!) THE heaviest building in the world. Myself, John and Dara got the obligatory photos before heading to the historic old town for food and outdoor drinks. It was very hot so this was a suitable excuse to try a number of different cocktails 🙂

Thursday brought the main event day 1a which I was playing.

The first day turnout was good which augured well for the event as a whole and I ended up at a table with 3 other ladies ( 2x previous winners of the UO Ladies Event + 1 runner up!). Tough competition but I was pleased to see more women embracing the game and playing the Main Event.

I had one of those frustrating games where I made chips with no cards and then lost with premium starting hands.

My stack yo-yo’ed throughout, but ultimately I bust late in the day with a standard spot.

Starting table in the Main Event with Carmen, Ann & Dehlia x

The silver lining was the welcome drinks had barely got going, so it was off to the bar to meet loads of familiar faces, commiserate with others that had bust and wait until the party ended before the inevitable journey to “Chicken Staff” across the road for late night food.

Friday was all about the ladies & Queen Rules event. Armed with prosecco, make-up and snacks I decamped to my fellow Unibet Poker Ambassador’s Sophia’s room where a number of us decided to get ready for the afternoon and evening ahead in the best fashion possible 🙂

Hair curled and everyone looking gorgeous we headed down for a Q&A with Molly Bloom.

She was very open and honest with the questions and whilst no doubt she made some questionable choices and skirted illegality at best, she undoubtedly is a strong minded female who is on to the next chapter of her life.

A role model for poker she isn’t, but she will no doubt succeed in her next endeavours with the positive attitude and determination that women should be more empowered.

Here is a fab interview with Molly you can watch from The Chip Race podcast hosts Dara & David:

The ladies event was next up with cup-cakes for all and the now standard welcome glasses of prosecco.

The Queen Rules game ran without a hitch and late into the evening just two ladies remained fighting for the trophy; Sophia and Carmen ( the winner of the event last year).

In a great heads-up battle to watch and eventually Carmen prevailed for an impressive back to back win.

She was also not done with the week yet, as she was back to day 2 with a formidable stack in the main event.

Well played to both ladies and thanks for all those who once again helped make this such a fun event.

Saturday saw day 2 of the main, but for me the chance to jump into the €300 Deepstack side event. There were plenty of runners which was indicative of the week as the main event narrowly missed 600 players and a new record.

I had a fun starting table and a number of other ambassadors had jumped in the game also. I ran A9 into AK for an early exit and those of us that bust went to rail David Lappin who was deep in the main event.

He made day 3 and of course to celebrate we went and bought a load more food from the chicken place across the road who by now were guessing my order! (Chicken with lots of beetroot salad of course:))

Having sadly missed the players party on the Saturday evening I at least had the benefit of not feeling terrible on the Sunday. A tasty lunch at Social 1 which I can recommend, was followed by railing the players who now made up the final table of the main event. Unfortunately Lappin had bust in 15^th for a €6,520, still what a terrific run for the last Unibet Poker Ambassador standing!

It was also great to see a lady make the final table, and no prizes for guessing it was Carmen Zainescu.

Ultimately Anton Vinokurov who started the table as a big chip leader continued to hoover up chips and Carmen finished in 3rd for an impressive €44,170.

Unibet Open Main Event Champion – Anton Vinokurov

Congrats to Anton the Unibet Open Bucharest Main Event Champion for a fantastic play & €103,060 payday.

We headed for congrats drinks with most of the hard working Unibet team who finally had the chance to relax in the lovely garden at the back of the hotel.

Congrats once again to Nataly + her talented Live Events Team for a huge event where the numbers speak for themselves:

@unibetopen Bucharest 2018 in figures:

2598 total entries
1,032,100 EUR total prizepool
19 tournaments
422,994 Twitch views,
48:45:15 sec of livestreaming
581 photos taken
18 ambassadors & esporters
1 Molly Bloom

Over 1M Thank Yous to the team, media & players #thankyou pic.twitter.com/aeoG4ZHjeN

— Miss_Beep (@Miss_Beep) August 7, 2018

If you would like to learn more about what goes into organising these spectacular Unibet Open Events, here is a great interview with the Unibet Open’s Head of Live Events – Nataly Sopacuaperu.

With a late flight Monday there was chance for me to do some more exploring, which really meant walking, getting too hot, then heading for food to our favorite Social 1 with Ian Simpson and his lovely wife Emma.

Suitably sated it was time to head to the airport before I knew it and to jump on a flight to Milan where I would be re-charging my batteries after another fun, action packed Unibet Open leg.

Bring on the next one!!

Daiva x

Unibet Open Malta

May- the only month to have two Bank Holiday Mondays, also provided another exciting double with the Unibet DeepStack Open and the Unibet Open both being held in historical Malta.

 

The oft-invaded island was about to see a welcome invasion; this time of poker players from across Europe. It promised to be one of the best Unibet Open stops yet and I can say it did not disappoint.

It was my third trip to Malta, but I always love returning to this beautiful, welcoming island and to the Intercontinental Hotel which was to be home for the week. I was also looking forward to the latest Queen Rules outing in the Ladies Event scheduled for later in the week.

We arrived late Monday, and by early Tuesday lunchtime- all the fun Unibet crew had arrived including Ambassadors and Esport players- some of whom were on their very first trip! We had a wonderful meal together at the hotel restaurant called Waterbiscuit sampling Mediterranean cuisine, catching up and making plans for the week.

From the left: salty Lappin, me, John, Ben aka Estonian Jesus and Dara 🙂

In the action packed schedule for the week ahead, my first game was going to be the new concept of a Tag-Team event with Unibet Poker Ambassadors teaming up with randomly selected Esport players with each of us picking a card to get a partner. I was thrilled to be paired with Lisa aka STPeach who was going to be playing her first ever live poker game at the tables with me the next day.

I did what any good partner would do in this situation-  I taught her how to play and got to know Lisa (and her lovely boyfriend Jay) better over Tequilas and Skittlebombs (Thanks Shirley!) in Hugo’s bar next door until 4am 🙂

 

 

 

Photo credits: Shirley Ang

After getting some sleep we both were ready to do battle with the other pairings in the inaugural Tag-Team event. This proved more fun than I could have possibly imagined- the 12minute levels dictated that you swapped with your partner frequently with the requirement to play one level each.

Some early fireworks saw a few duos bust and thanks to some sterling work by Lisa, taking the game in her stride, we were nicely stacked for the business end of the sit & go. With a luxury 3hr spa experience each to play for, but more importantly the kudos and bragging rights of first time champions we were focused as a team and strategies were working nicely.

Photo credit: Tambet Kask

The supportive rail had built nicely by the time we ended up head’s- up against Unibet Ambassador Ben and full time games streamer Papaplatte.

I can honestly say this is one of the most fun events I’ve played in. The tension had ratcheted up as the stack sizes rose and diminished and the teams tagged in and out. Everyone had broad smiles on their faces watching, and the game had run much longer than anyone expected as the battle continued to rage.

Photo credit: Tambet Kask

Eventually it came down to Lisa to end proceedings, calling a shove from Ben when finding a hand with perfect timing and flipping over KK. They held and we were the winners. 

I was so very proud of Lisa and very impressed with her poker abilities; she was very fierce & composed and followed my advice/tips throughout the game regardless of all external pressures and excitement.

I hope we can be poker partners again in the future 🙂

Here are the highlights from the Tag Team event:

Lisa was really pleased and somewhat exhausted, especially as she had to jump straight into the eSports Battle Royale!

The eSports sit&go was equally as fiercely fought. In the end it came down to Mojo and Scott fighting for the trophy and €5,000 first prize. Congrats to Scott who played superb and took it down!

Photo credit: Tambet Kask

 

With the DSO late reg closed, I headed for food and drinks with friends and plenty of the Unibet family at who had been on the rail.

Thursday started in unusual fashion- I actually made breakfast! I suppose this made sense with the Unibet Open Day 1 starting that day which I was going to be playing.

I started well accumulating chips quite nicely and  getting up to 38k from 30k after the first couple of levels. Sadly this was to be a high-water mark in the tournament. The next few levels were pretty brutal- losing multiple pots as run outs were far from friendly and a decent sized pot with JJ v AK.

I continued to battle though, but sadly shortly before dinner I lost a big flip to get back close to average with 10,10 no good against v AQ of e-sports streamer Syrinxx.

A too brief Unibet Open, but I turned my attentions to ensuring the Ladies Event the following day would be a great success whilst catching up with poker friends from all over Europe at the welcome drinks party.

 

 

 

Friday 6pm saw the third occasion of Queen Rules being implemented in a tournament. In short, the Q ranks higher than the K in all hands. With a convenient crib sheet for nigh-on 30 players we sat down armed with fresh Queen Rules cupcakes and glasses of Prosecco.

A big shout out to Sophia for a lovely girly afternoon together getting ready and my special “run-good” make up 🙂

 

 

 

Photo credit: Elena Vareiko

The tournament was enjoyable from the very start. With Unibet Poker proudly represented by myself, Sophia aka Djarii, Dehlia and Lisa we loved the fact that over 11 different nationalities were represented at the tables and the atmosphere was friendly and the chat flowing. 

With Dehlia and Lisa

I loved seeing quite a few tour regulars as much as welcoming new players to the Unibet Ladies Community.

Congrats to Ann Roos Callens on becoming the winner of the special #QueenRules Ladies Event! She played incredibly well and was chip leader most of the tournament. Ann came to Malta with her mum and it was amazing to see both of them having fun and making it to the final table together. I hope we will be seeing this great duo and the next Unibet Open stop 🙂

Also, very well played to Dehlia too for another strong performance and her third second-place at a Unibet Open Ladies Event. I finished 3rd for a nice profit for the day. too.

Ann-Roos Callens. Photo credit: Tambet Kask

 

Check out the photo album from the Ladies Event taken by talented Elena Vareiko.

Saturday saw the opportunity for a day off playing as I wanted to be sure to make the Player’s Party that evening that sounded like it was going to be very special.

We headed out to walk around to St Julian’s bay in the sunshine which had finally made an appearance having hidden for most of the week. A tasty lunch suitably devoured, we headed back to check in on David Lappin who was deep in the PLO and on the Unibet Open which was literally on the Bubble.

Congrats to Fredrik who was the last Unibet ambassador standing in the main event finishing in 17th and to David on his 4th place finish in the PLO. I am sure this helped David soften the blow of a Heads Up defeat earlier in the week in a duel against Ian Simpson for a tasty €5000. Congrats also to Ian who won this and also cashed the Main.

Ian Simpson. Photo credit: Tambet Kask

Now the sun was out, the perfect excuse to head up to the infinity pool on the top on the hotel for some photos and drinks with the Unibet family and before I knew it, it was time to get changed and head down for the coaches to the players party.

Always a highlight of the Unibet trips, this was taking place at the opening night of the summer season of an outdoor party village/club in the middle of the island. With a private VIP area, we could party away along with the couple of thousand other revellers who had made the trip to the club.

 

 

 

We were also able to celebrate the engagement of my tag team partner Lisa and her now new fiancé Jay. With drinks and dance moves both flowing, everyone got to enjoy themselves until nearly 5am when proceedings began to wind down.

With the dancing award going to David Lappin with the now rival video of him griding away readily available online if you dare sully your eyes!

His poker career in ruins, @thechiprace cohost @dklappin auditions for a new career as an erotic dancer pic.twitter.com/N1vEkoPehJ

— Dara O'Kearney (@daraokearney) May 20, 2018

Sunday-  Definitely a low-key day after the night before. I did a photo shoot session around Malta with Lenka and then I headed to rail the final table of the main event.

With some good strong play, it was a tough final table. Congrats to Daniel Jacobsen who bested the field of 273 runners in the Unibet Open Malta €1,100 Main Event and collected the trophy and €60,090.

The traditional Unibet staff poker game rounded off affairs and saw the usual banter, crazy plays and slow rolls 🙂

I took a couple of days recovering in the sunshine of Malta from a hectic week at one of my favourite Unibet stops. The next leg of the Unibet Open will be in Bucharest and it has quite the week to match! Hope to see many of you there.

Next up for me is a few weeks of hard work studying and preparing for the WSOP. I’m heading out there on the 20^th June and I can’t wait already!!

From the Aussie Millions to the Unibet Poker UK Tour in Brighton and everything else in-between

I was lucky enough to spend the first couple of months of this year travelling- mainly in Australia, before returning to start my 2018 poker schedule in London.

I really enjoyed the Australian lifestyle; the people chilled & friendly, great weather, beautiful nature & lots of outdoor activities (including vineyards;). I got to see Kangaroos and Koalas up close and fell in love with amazing Aussie coffee you can get everywhere.

Seriously, nearly every retail outlet or a restaurant has a mini indoor coffee bar where you can sit down and enjoy delicious drinks or take them away.

After a couple of fun & profitable tournament in Sydney at the Star City I headed to play the Aussie Millions in Melbourne.

It is a fantastic city which ended up being my favourite Aussie stop; diverse, arty and modern with lots of amazing dining options. Aussie Millions itself reminded me a bit of WSOP Vegas – big numbers, well organised event, relaxed rules (you can bring your drinks & food to the poker room) and great atmosphere!

And although poker didn’t go to plan for me (busted the main on day 2 with QQ<10,10 😦 ) I really enjoyed Aussie Millions and my time in Melbourne exploring the city with John, Dara & Mireille.

Travelling back by the way of Japan for 10 days I was back in London for the first Unibet Open stop of 2018 sleeping off some jetlag and adjusting to the weather.

This event was great fun as always, lots of familiar faces in the Vic and from the Unibet Community also. It was lovely seeing everyone and catching up with friends.

Photo credit – Elena Vareiko

The ladies event was especially popular with 52 entries and the new #QueenRules format led to a super entertaining tournament and decent prize pool. A huge thank you goes to very talented photographer Elena Vareiko who captured all the best moments & poker faces from this fun event HERE 🙂  

I’m happy to say that there will be a ladies event on all the Unibet Open and Unibet UK Tour stops this year!

Congratulations to both Brynn Kvinlaug on winning the #QueenRules event for £1,400 + the beautiful trophy and the Norwegian Andreas Wiborg on topping the field of 349 entries in the main to pick up the first prize of £56,807!

I also managed to chop the Unibet Open £150 NLH turbo side event for a profitable start to the Unibet Poker live journey of 2018 😉

Thank you for my awesome & loyal rail who stayed till the very end, which was 4am! ❤

Next up was Dublin for the Irish Open; sadly my quest for an Irish flag was unsuccessful but I had loads of fun and helped by the fact I was kindly hosted by my fellow Unibet Ambassador Dara and his lovely wife Mireille and treated to tasty daily breakfast, prosecco and great company!

The highlights of the trip for me were railing friend Sameer Sing to back to back 6th place finish in the Irish Open main event, a fun interview with beautiful Laura Cornelius and meeting Irish rising female poker star Louise Butler for the first time 🙂

Here is the latest Chip Race episode including a fun interview with Sameer + Maria Konnikova + Jack Sinclair:

 

With only a couple of days to relax, before I knew it I was heading down to Brighton for the Unibet UK Poker Tour opening leg.

Anyone who read my Brighton blog last year knows that I have a fond affection for the place, having lived, worked and studied here in my time. I’ve always enjoyed the atmosphere in the Rendezvous where the casino was hosted as usual a strong local turnout added to the fun.

The sun was shining on my arrival at the lovely Malmaison overlooking the Marina. The hotel also had a tasty restaurant attached, a nice way to refuel on the tournament dinner break.

Photo credit – Tambet Kask

The £220 buy-in Main Event was hugely popular, smashing its previous record from last year. 

Congrats to Paul Romain for taking down the event for £13,000! It was a long final table and heads up battle to get this hands on the first prize and the trophy! Really nice guy, great player and a very deserved winner.

Sunday also saw the renewal of the ladies event. This time with a record 40 entries in total and as usual the prosecco was flowing on the friendly tables as familiar foes battled away!

It’s great to see the ladies event growing, with members of the online Ladies at Unibet Poker community especially well represented at the tables. Congrats to all the players who cashed but especially Erica Saunters and Ann Henson who made back to back final tables in the same event finishing 3rd & 2nd respectively. Whats extra impressive is that last time they came 1st & 2nd.

 

 

Photo credit – Tambet Kask

When my sister and I unfortunately bust we jumped into the Sunday night turbo event which was hilarious, even more so when my husband and I ended up on the final table.

I settled for 4th place in the end and a mini profit for the day before hitting the bar with the tour regulars and Unibet family to celebrate yet another successful event.

After a distinct lack of sleep I jumped on a flight to Lithuania excited to spend Easter with all the family and feed my addiction to cold beetroot soup!

 

 

The great ladies of poker around the world will be keeping me busy as they are crushing the live scene so far in 2018 and I love sharing their successes with all the ladies group on Facebook. I’ll be busy keeping up with posts all year if this continues- I for one are hoping it does!

This leads to a nice segue into the Queen Rules initiative launched in March this year on International Woman’s Day. This essentially means in selected special events, the queen ranks higher than the king in poker hands.

Congrats to Nataly at Unibet for a successful launch of the initiative which we’ll be renewing in the ladies event over in Malta in May.

I’m already excited about heading out to the sunny isle for the next leg of the Unibet Open and bonus DSO starting on the 16^th May.

Look forward to seeing some of you there, or at the tables in the weeks before. Daiva x

 

Interview with Jennifer Tilly ❤

Jennifer Tilly is a famous actress and one of the most well known and talented female poker players. Jennifer owns a World Series of Poker Ladies Event bracelet and has accumulated an impressive $992k winnings in her poker career.

After recently visiting London to promote her latest movie – Cult Of Chucky – she kindly found time for an interview with the Chip Race Podcast including answering a few questions we posed for females in the poker community.

You were already a famous and successful actress, how did you then end up getting into poker? 

I grew up in a card playing family.  We didn’t have TV so every Friday we would sit around and play cards.  When I was doing movies on location, I would always play with the teamsters between scenes, or teach the other actors how to play so we could have a game.

Then I met Phil Laak (my boyfriend) at the WPT celebrity Invitational.  He really upped my game, and got me interested in playing professionally.  The first year I went to the WSOP I won a gold bracelet in the Ladies Event (2005) and was hooked.

 

Jennifer and Phil

 

2. As a female role model in poker, how do we encourage more women into the live arena?

I think if women want to play poker, they will play poker.  I don’t think Casinos need to coddle women.  The female poker players I know can more than hold their own.

That said, I do believe Ladies tournaments serve a purpose, in that it is very intimidating sometimes to sit down in such a male environment.

I play the Ladies tournament almost every year at the WSOP, and really look forward to it.  I meet women from all over the world, and enjoy the camaraderie and support.

3. Do you feel being a recognised female poker player at the tables is an advantage or disadvantage?

Sometimes I feel it is a disadvantage to be a recognized female player because people really go after you more than they do the average player. Sometimes they play back at you based on a single hand they watched you play, and it’s difficult to factor in what preconceived notion they have of you.

Like I used to play against guys, under the assumption that they thought I was weak/tight (female stereotype) and always had an Ace.  Then someone told me my image was someone who was really aggressive and always bluffing.  So play against me is sometimes incomprehensible, because is not based on anything I’ve done at the table.

Also, if I am playing on TV people are more reluctant to be bluffed by me, or more eager to take me down.

4.You have an impressive record of tournament cashes and a total of just under $1mil in career winnings. For a female newbie to the game, what advice would you offer to help them make it to the top?

One of the mistakes I see with beginning players is they like to limp in and see a flop.  This is obviously a terrible idea, because post-flop you pretty much have to have the best hand to win.  It’s important to try and narrow the field.

Also mix it up.  If you are going to reraise someone mix it up, and don’t just reraise with premium hands but also suited connectors, and other random hands once in a while.

Finally I say to imagine poker as a boxing match.  You don’t want to be the one on the ropes covering your face hoping you don’t get hit any more.  You want to be the one throwing the punches.  Especially in tournament poker.  You want to be the one setting the pace.  You want to be unpredictable and make your opponents fear you.

5.  You’re known for your vivacious personality, do you have more fun at the tables now or earlier in your career?

I used to love to play poker with my friends, and then when I first got started in professional poker, I didn’t have as much fun, because I took everything so seriously.  I wanted to be respected.  Now I don’t really don’t care what people think.

Poker is a great game.  When I’m playing on TV I’m super happy to be there.  Poker players for the most part are really funny and fun to be around.  When I do televised shows I sort of camp it up a bit, and have a good time.  People like to watch poker because they get sort of a vicarious pleasure out of it.  When I do a poker TV program I’m very conscious we are creating a show, and do my best to make sure everyone has a good time.

6. What is the highlight of your poker career & why?

Obviously the highlight of my poker career was winning the gold bracelet.

But I’ve set other milestones for myself, like winning my first open tournament, (the Bellagio 5k) and playing televised cash games with nosebleed buy-ins against the best in the world (the Pokerstars Big Game: a 100k buy in, with Tony G, Phil Hellmuth, and Daniel Negreanu.

And the Super High Roller Cash Game on Poker Central with Doyle Brunson, Phil Ivy, Johnny Chan, and Antonio Esfandiari.  That was a 250 thousand dollar buy in and after losing my initial 250k, at the end of the day I ended up even! Phew!)

I’m also proud of the fact I wrote a poker column for Bluff magazine for 10 years, and this fall a poker short story of mine with be included in a compilation called “He played for His Wife and other stories” with some of the best poker writers out there including Barny Boatman and James MacManus.

7. What’s your favorite poker event/tour/destination? Will we be seeing you at any Unibet Open stops in the future?

I used to love to come to England.  There were a lot of poker TV shows I shot there, including the Party Poker Big Game, the Premiere League, and the Poker Open.  Also the World Series of Poker Europe used to be there.  I spent a lot of time at the Victoria Grosvenor Casino playing games Neil Channing would set up.  But after Black Friday the London TV shows stopped filming, and the WSOP Europe moved elsewhere, so that was sad.

I like to film Poker Night in America at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Florida, and also the Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh, and I like the Atlantis tournament and the Aussie Millions.  That’s the cool thing about the tournament circuit, there’s always great destination.

I would have to say my favorite location though is the World Series of Poker in Vegas.  It lasts a month and a half, everyone’s in town, and the excitement is unparalleled!

8. Will a woman win the WSOP main event in the next ten years?

If I was a betting woman, (and I am!) I would put money on a woman winning The Main Event in the next 10 years.

Female poker players are getting stronger and tougher and every year more and more of them are entering the poker arena. I can think of so many off the top of my head that are fully capable of winning a tournament of that magnitude if the cards fall right.

That’s what’s so great about poker.  Anything can happen!

—————————————————————————————-

Thank you for your time Jennifer and good of luck at the tables! ❤

European Open Special Edition

Las Vegas is one of my favourite places in the world for poker; unlimited daily choice of tournament and cash game action, lush array of poker rooms, soft fields of recreational players and sometimes if you are lucky with your seat draw you get to rub shoulders with real poker superstars and battle versus some of the best players in the world;

And don’t get me started on entertainment, dining and shopping there as you would never see the end of this blog 🙂

Here I’ve listed just a few of many fantastic reasons why I was looking forward to going back to to Sin City for the second time this year 🙂

This time I was in for a real treat as Unibet Events team has put together a 5 star Vegas experience for it’s players and Ambassadors alike in celebration of the 10th season of the Open Series….

I flew in 5 days prior the main event so I could aclimatise and most importantly have some fun with friends. Jet lag is always a killer; you keep on waking up at 4am and is always good to have a spare few days to deal with it.

11 of us including one cute baby were sharing a beautiful house off the strip. Marc Convey has done his research and found a property for us with the most stunning outdoor area where we ended up enjoying the sunshine in the lush surroundings, having diving competitions, pool parties and tasty BBQ’s -the latter orchestrated by Tambet who turns out to be not only uber talented photographer but a brilliant cook too.

The place had a massive outdoor Jacuzzi too which was a nice touch for the chilly evenings especially with the boys :). It really was so much fun hanging out with everyone and to be fair we had no good reason to leave the house at all apart from some grocery shopping and for us girls some outlet exploring ….. When I say exploring I mean a day out clothing & hand bag shopping 🙂

We also headed to the Downtown– one of the night’s a there were a few group members that were in Vegas for the first time and the attractions and entertainment on offer at the second most famous street in the Las Vegas – Freemont Street – could not be missed.

It is a pretty surreal experience standing there in the middle of the crowded street surrounded by constantly running light shows, live music and flamboyant street performers… it feels like being a part of one big open street party! Perfect for a Saturday night and Simon & Carol were making the most if it 🙂

Freemont Street

The rest of the group were indoors learning all about Craps and practising the perfect throw whilst enjoying $1 cocktails 🙂

It was a great night out and I was looking forward to doing nothing next day before moving to our next and the main stop – the Wynn hotel.

This hotel is absolutely beautiful and the classiest venue in Vegas and Unibet couldn’t have picked a better place for it’s players to stay, play and enjoy themselves.

The things I love the most about The Wynn; it doesn’t have standard rooms, there are only suites, and they are massive! Basically the size of a one bedroom flat I used to live in back in London a while back 🙂 The layout of the hotel is pretty straight forward and it’s easy to navigate your way around without getting lost (story of my life:).

 

There is an array of beautiful restaurants with the outdoor seating where you can enjoy the water show and their buffet which was complimentary for all Unibet players + staff is simply the best in Vegas!

Where else you can sample various cuisines from round the world under one roof accompanied by an endless pours (alcoholic of course) for 2hr for just an extra $19!?

We were based on the Encore side of the hotel and it was my first time visiting it’s outdoor pool there which was sick with a bar and gaming tables in the middle… they were playing great tunes all day long and serving great cocktails ….definitely yet another highlight of this venue.

Beach Club Encore

On Thursday I jumped into my first game; $400, $50k GTD daily comp at the Wynn poker room. After cashing 3 of the on the trot in July, I was hoping for another deep run.

I had a fun starting table. My fellow Unibet Poker Ambassaor David Lappin was staring me down as soon as I sat at the table. I knew he was looking to try and bluff me soon 🙂

Not such luck for him this time as he went for the max value with his QQ v my KK and couldn’t improve. Unlucky David.

 

We analysed this pivotal hand in details with Dara on this Chip Race episode for those who would like to learn more about pre-flop shoving ranges when deep stacked.

Ryan with Unibet Poker Ambassador Ian Simpson

I also got to meet a super talented American pro Ryan Laplante for the first time. Such a lovely guy and a fun table companion. Thanks for the restaurant tips Ryan and congrats on your 72nd place in the European Open Main Event!

Half-way though the field I got moved to a new table & got seated to a very charming & funny gentleman. He paid me probably the most original compliment in my poker career to date: “ You have the most beautiful hands” he said followed by “If I was 30 years younger I would have given you everything I have”……

It was all going to plan & it looked like I was on my way for the 3rd cash till I ran into a dominating hand 10 away from the money. Sigh…

 

Oh well, at least it was a fun day and a decent warm up before the main event day 1a the following day I was heading back to the room with a smile on my face.

 

In the morning, I put on my “run good” t-shirt kindly arranged by the Unibet events team, had a lovely brunch at Jardin and was off to play the European Open full of excitement.

The poker room was buzzing with anticipation and it was great to see so many familiar faces and Unibet Open regulars. I managed to sneak a quick catch up with some of the female players before taking my seat and the “shuffle up & deal” announcement.

With Nataly from Unibet Poker

I ended up playing for more than 12 hours that day and busting the last level of the night with literally only 10min to go before bagging up & sealing for day 2. The worst possible outcome and super tilt!

Unfortunately I got a profitable re-shove spot for my 20bb with AQ and got coolered when running into AK. Sometimes where is just nothing you can do…. #thejoysofpoker

The highlight of my day was having an poker legend Phil Laak seated next to me. I have to admit It was pretty surreal sharing a table with someone who I was used to only seeing and admiring on TV.

For me poker is all about players like Phil, who regardless of their status and lifetime poker achievements ($3.6mil in winnings + WSOP bracelet) are still the most humble, cool, and friendly opponents at the table taking their time to mingle with others and have as much fun as possible whilst doing their job.

I also had one of the best UK poker talents – Simon Deadman, another British poker pro & coach –Matthew Hunt, my fellow Unibet Ambassador from Estonia – Ben, 2 times Unibet Open main event winner – Mateusz Moolhuizen and a tough online kid from Slovakia called Jan who satellited into the European Open Special Edition for €1 on Unibet Poker online and ended up finishing in 22nd place for $5,031!

It was probably one of the most toughest starting tables in the room but I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and the challenge 🙂

Saturday was another day and I was feeling hopeful again. I had another shot at trying to make it through to day 2 of the main event.

After a tasty yet super filling breakfast at the award winning Wynn Buffet the jet lagged kicked in again and I was knackered. So I had a little nap before heading to the poker room.

It turned out that a siesta I had was a +EV decision as I immediately got moved to the feature table and sat next to the all-time leader in career online poker tournament earnings just over $14 mil  – Chris Moorman! I definitely needed my brain working on a full power there!

There was also Swedish footballer Henrik Larsson smiling away and we got tangled in one of the first hands I played and I called off Henrik’s bluff.

It was a very entertaining table with lots of friendly banter at hand. And although sometimes I still feel nervous playing at the feature table it was certainly not one of those occasions. I was touching the shoulders with one of the best poker players in the world I somehow never felt more at ease.

I really enjoyed having Chris to my left; it was fascinating watching him play and learning more about him as a player and person.

He was very open, gregarious and very kind with his answers and time for the fans. A true poker ambassador and I look forward to reading his 2nd poker book that recently hit the shelves.

I was chipping up nicely and enjoying the great atmosphere typically Unibet events bring to the poker rooms when another poker phenomenon – Andrew Lichtenberger aka “LuckyChewy” got seated to my immediate left.

We seemed to share a mutual passion for travelling with Andrew, hence we enjoyed the next hour or so reminiscing about various wonderful places we have visited and swapping tips for future adventures. It was a fun set up till it lasted and Andrew was a great neighbour at a table to have….that is till he knocked me out of the tournament in another standard spot….

Andrew Lichtenberger

Regardless of not making day 2 and European Open  Special Edition main event falling short for me, it was one of the most enjoyable poker experienced I had! I mean, how often do you get to stay and play at a 5* hotel, enjoy unlimited free drinks at the tables and rub the shoulders and play against the elite of the world for a $1,100 buy -in?!

The next Unibet Open event will be in Bucharest at the end of November which I’m super excited about as it was the best poker trip of 2016 for me  (and yes It was better that WSOP!:). You can read all about my Romanian UO adventures here.

The next 3 days in Vegas went super quick for me. On Saturday we had a fun day out with the E-gamers and my co Unibet Poker Ambassador Espen behaving like a tourists for the day and exploring the best of Vegas; enjoying In-N-Out Burger for lunch followed by frozen daiquiris from “Fat Tuesdays” , posing with the Transformers outside Madame Tussaud’s wax museum and purchasing pearls hidden in the oysters from the “Pearl Factory”.

Sunday – Was the darkest day in Vegas’ long history. As he evening was progressing we got the news of a shooting on the strip 😦 It was worrying and the hotel went into full lockdown.

I stayed in my room with my husband watching in horror as the full extent of the situation filtered in on the news and we fielded messages to re-assure family. It put everything else in life into context and my thoughts are with all those effected both now and as they were in the days following the shootings.

Monday was obviously a surreal atmosphere and we stayed around the heavily secure hotel to sort the Chip Race and recording some hand analysis for the Strategy corner with Dara & David.

I really do pinch myself sometimes as to how lucky I am   – I get to talk about something I love located in a suite of a 5 star hotel with the beautiful bird eye view of the Vegas strip with the best friends in Poker. Life can be fickle so I always try to enjoy it to the maximum.

I’m really very proud of Dara & David and the success they have achieved for the podcast; every episode is fascinating and original in its own way and includes the interviews with some biggest names in the poker industry, free strategy content and gossip and news of the current poker affairs presented by Ian Simpson.

 

If you are not a subscriber to this awesome podcast yet, here is the link to do so and thank me later 😉

Work out of the way and it being last night for some of us in Vegas we headed for some team dinner at the Wynn Buffet. We opted for the celebratory 2hour bottomless pours option and made the most of it 🙂

It was a great night out with friends and a lovely in muted ending to a fun trip. Well, financially it could have been better especially if I didn’t hit the cash games with Dara for the one last time before the end of the night. You can find all about my cash game poker moves in this Dara’s blog post

Super well done to the Unibet Events team on putting up such an awesome and successful stop and congrats and smashing the $400k GTD with an impressive prize pool worth $665,866 in the end! Also a big thank you to Tambet & Lenka for sharing some of their great pics to be used for this post.

Huge numbers are being expected for Unibet Open in Bucharest next and I look forward to seeing you all there! Daiva x

 

 

 

WSOP 2017 Main Event

A day before the Main Event –  After busting the Ladies Championship, I had a consolation glass of prosecco with Dara before heading back to the hotel for some chill time and food.

The plan was to sort out the money and get the buy-in for the Main Event out of the way that evening to avoid the queues for the next day.

It’s always nice to be heading to the tournament knowing that you have your starting table allocated and your seat waiting for you, especially when it starts at 11am 🙂

Once I had the ticket sorted, I spend the rest of the evening with my hubby hanging out at the T Mobile Arena watching UFC  213 before heading back for a relatively early night’s sleep.

I hoped to replicate the killer instinct I saw in the Octagon at UFC in the biggest tournament of year the next day…

Day 1 Main Event – It was 9th of July- my birthday and I was about to play the biggest tournament of the year that day!

I had a wonderful morning; I received a beautiful bouquet of flowers from my sister as a birthday surprise and then had a coffee & cake (and gifts of course) served to me in bed. I had lots lovely messages to read and cards to open.

It was another sunny day in Vegas and I was feeling very happy 🙂

Once I got to Rio Casino and was making my way to my starting table, I was taken aback by the sheer number of people in the corridors; there were thousands of them!  I don’t think I’ve seen so many players in one space before and it was exciting that the Main Event seemed more popular than ever this year.

 

Once I got to my starting table I was pleased to see I didn’t recognise anyone and there were a couple of players enjoying a beer already (It was 11am!)

50k starting stack and 2 hour levels meant I could take as much time as I needed to figure out the players before playing a hand. It was obvious rather quickly that apart from a couple of aggressive players on the table everyone else was playing pretty standard with a few who audibly announced that they were in Vegas “to give it a shot” & “run hot”… players you never mind having at a table in a $10k buy in tournament 🙂

7,221 players were fighting for this beauty!

Not much happened in the first 2 levels. I played a handful of hands and increased my stack to 53k going into the first break.

I nipped over to check on my poker friend Deborah Worley Roberts who had worked her way to heads up in the WSOP Ladies event and was playing for the bracelet. It was super exciting seeing someone you know doing so well and railing them for the most prestigious title there is in poker.

As expected there was a huge & loud British rail which could be heard across the Amazon poker room.

The next couple of levels went pretty quickly. I played a few more hands but still probably the least on the table and regardless of having a tight/solid image I made extra chips when calling off a couple of bluffs.

One guy was even berating the other for bluffing me by telling him “She is a Unibet Poker pro, she’s wearing a patch” The other guy goes:  “So?! Lots of pretty girls wear a patch” 🙂 It was certainly useful to hear the 2nd player’s thought process & the player image he had formed in relation to me to which I adjusted to be profitable.

 

I had 67k going into the dinner break and was looking forward to some tasty food & a catch up with my Unibet teammates.

Everywhere was super busy and there were massive queues outside all restaurants. Luckily for us we had a table sorted (courtesy of Dara’s lovely wife Mireille) in a Chinese restaurant at the Gold Coast Casino where we ended up having a lovely relaxed meal.

I was glad to hear that Alan Widmann, Marc Convey and Dara were all doing fine in the Main and were feeling positive and confident. Alan was especially very excited as it was his first WSOP ME and he had a great start, sitting on over 100k in chips already. He was feeling very generous too and kindly paid for our dinner. TY Alan!

I peaked at 80k but finished the day with a comfortable 67k chips and it was time to hit the bar and enjoy a few birthday cocktails with friends 🙂

Day off – I had a very sad and emotional day. I found out early in the morning that one of my uncles had passed away in a tragic accident a couple of days before and no one told me about it because it was my birthday and I was playing the main event. I spent most of the day in bed crying and just nipped out for some food before returning to my room.

 

Day 2 Main Event – No doubt, it was one of the hardest days of poker for me ever. The previous day’s news was still on my mind and I found it hard to hold in the tears but I still had to focus, concentrate and play my A game.

I’d like to say a big thank you to all who were very supportive & caring and helped me get through the day with their kind words & gestures.

Poker wise it was not going to plan; I was seated in BB and lost 30% of my starting stack when playing my first hand. I defended A8ss and my turned straight got beat by the rivered house. I kept on bricking flops whilst my premium pairs got 3-outed post-flop.

I slipped down to 31k after the first level and was relieved there was a break around the corner. I definitely needed some fresh air, coffee and a cuddle. I needed to re-group!

After a good pep talk and some great advice (my friend told me to win it for my uncle and that’s what I tried to do) I was back to the table ready to crush!

The next couple of levels were a massive grind and not much fun at all; I was totally card dead and was running bad. I was very patient & disciplined though, I knew the right spot/hand will come along. I slipped down to 22bb before doubling with AA v AK just before the dinner break.

Mireille once again was in charge of dinner arrangements and we headed to her favourite restaurant in the Gold Coast and possibly Vegas! – TGI Friday’s 🙂

I was glad about the glass of wine waiting for me at the table but sad to hear my close friend Dara had busted the main 😦  He is a world class player who had an amazing WSOP run in 2015, coming 2nd in a bracelet event for $262k but this year he just couldn’t win a flip…

The rest of the Unibet Poker team were still going strong; I loved seeing my friends and my husband at the dinner breaks & spending time together, it was relaxing and a huge confidence boost.

I headed back to the table ready for some action. The next couple of levels were all about re-steals. I had a decent English pro Mathew Frankland to my right who was opening very wide, so he was a perfect candidate I could exploit with my sub 20bb stack.

I grinded hard with junk to finish the day on 30k which was equivalent of 15bb and a dream coming back to day 3!

Day off – I had a perfect day off doing nothing poker related. Firstly, enjoying some tasty coffee & fresh bakery for breakfast followed by some yoga, meditation, tasty lunch at Jardin with Marc & John and shopping at Sephora 🙂 In the evening I went to the excellent show called “Absinth” which got recommended by friends and I thoroughly enjoyed.

 Day 3 – Main Event

Day 3 was definitely the most fun day of the Main for me. Although I came back with a short stack and could have easily busted early, I felt if I was due a good few levels and hoped they were coming now.

Everything was going my way from the very start; I had a friendly starting table, I had the best starting seat on the table (button) and position wise I had weak spots to my right & better players to my left. The cards were falling my way too; I was picking hands, hitting flops and holding with the best made hand v draws. I was also super focused and made good reads and subsequently correct folds/calls.

I went from 30k to 197k in the next 4 hours!

If you feel like finding out more about some interesting/key hands I played on day 3, I discuss a few of them in detail with Dara on The Chip Race Podcast

I was chipping up nicely and going into the dinner break I was sitting on around 60bb. My run good continued off the tables too. I found an iPhone 7 in the ladies bathroom and the Chinese lady I managed to get it back to kindly paid all of our meal without us knowing about it! I felt karma should now be on my side to drive me towards a win 🙂

A quiet level for me and suddenly there were ~1500 players left and we were only 416 places from the money.  The atmosphere in the room was getting more electric and as this grew, so did the numbers of spectators and supporters on the rail.

Thanks to Dara, Marc, Ilana, Elena who were there for continuous support and most importantly my husband John who was on his feet for 12 hours with a constant smile and whom I know for a fact was more nervous than me approaching the bubble 🙂

With around 200 players to go, I got moved to a new table with a chippy to my left who was taking the full advantage of a slower pace & play approaching the bubble.

You could feel the tension in the room as everyone was constantly glancing at the clocks, stalling and smiling every time someone busted. The growing excitement in the room was palpable- it is something that is difficult to describe, but the feeling in the air just changes on a $15k bubble…

Marc holding John’s beer 🙂

I think I only got involved in a couple of pots and was pretty card dead before we were hand for hand. It would be nice to have had a big stack around the bubble, but now quite a bit shorter it was all about playing perfect poker for the circumstances.

There were still over 100 of tables in the room, so dealers had to stand up every time they finished dealing a hand, which was something I’ve not seen being done anywhere else before.

It was funny seeing all the media crew of approximately 20 people + cameras moving along from one table to another where any all in’s were being called on the direct bubble.

The play was stopped as soon as the bubble burst. It was the best atmosphere I have ever experienced in the poker room! Everyone felt that collective feeling of achievements after a solid, hard three days of intense concentration.

Once I bagged and tagged it was time for a quick drink with my friends and a cab ride home. I was knackered…

 

Day 4 – I was guaranteed a min cash of $15,000, but obviously my plan was to spin my 14bb up & make it through to day 5. One step at a time…

I had a fun trip to casino, my Uber driver was a rapper and I ended listening to his records and him singing me & wishing me well 🙂 And when I learnt that my starting table was located next to the feature table I hoped it was a sign of a long day ahead.

My day unfortunately was very short instead. After just an orbit I picked up pockets 10s which I ran into KK for an exit for $17k in 952nd out of 7,221 and the biggest total since 2010.

I was pleased that I achieved the absolute maximum in the tournament and was destined to bust in this spot, even deeper stacked with the pre-flop action. I’ll be back next year better for more experience in this tournament and hoping to go much deeper.

After grabbing some required sustenance which was preparation for the 2 hour queue to cash-in I was ready to leave Vegas.

We collected our hire car- it was great it was a convertible Mustang, not so great it was bright orange! The next two weeks we planned a road trip, starting with our friends in LA and working our way up to Lake Tahoe. Not a bad consolation for busting the Main especially after a successful and profitable WSOP.

Anyhow, I wouldn’t need to wait long to return to Vegas, I’ll be back there at the end of September for the European Open Special Edition with Unibet. I’m excited about being back to stay at my favourite hotel the Wynn, and playing a number of games again in the gambling capital of the world!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WSOP 2017 Adventures – Ladies Event

The morning of the WSOP Ladies Event I was full of excitement and anticipation. I’d had a good night’s sleep, healthy breakfast and  I was wearing a new (lucky:) top I bought especially for this event- it was time to play my favourite tournament of the year and hang out with my female poker friends.

 

 

The plan was to get to Rio a couple of hours early to register for the game and have enough time to enjoy Starbucks coffee not only with familiar faces from back home but also all the ladies from the female poker community I’m running on Facebook (Ladies at Unibet Poker).

Big shout out to Muskan, Camilla, Sonia and Diana who I met for the first time!

Having such a big group of us at the WSOP Ladies Championship supporting each other added to the buzzing atmosphere at the Rio and also converted into being an extra motivational drive, at least for me personally, to try even harder to succeed for the team.

It felt like I was having the perfect start when I looked at my registration ticket. My favourite number is 7 and my seat draw for the tournament read table 77, seat 7 and it was 07.07.2017. It must have been a sign, right!? 🙂 I Just smiled and cheerfully headed to my starting table to represent Unibet Poker.

I didn’t recognise anyone (always a good sign) there apart from Sin Melin, who was sitting to my immediate right and who was not only playing well but was also contributing considerably to the table banter.

I quickly got to know the rest of the girls too and it turned out to be a fun & friendly table. One girl brought in a big tray of Krispy Kreme doughnuts to share with everyone including the bloggers :)) and a Canadian lady decided it was a good idea to get the shots in for the table after 2 hours of play:))

Poker action at my table was rather loose and quick; players were risking it all regardless of there being 1 hour clock. Myself, I didn’t play many hands but still managed to chip up my 5k starting stack to nearly 8k going into the first break.

The atmosphere in the Amazon room was electrifying. There were around 700 ladies playing & chit chatting away; all different ages, backgrounds and poker skills.

It felt like being a part of one big female community but sharing one thing in common  – the love for the game. That’s one of the reasons why I enjoy this event so much.

 

 

Things were going smoothly at the table and I was up to a healthy stack that I continued to build after a capable player Julie Anna Cornelius got sat opposite me. She had a big stack of chips and was pretty active with it. Naturally we ended up playing a few significant pots against each other.

In one of the hands Julie opened from mid position just over 2.5bb. I defended my BB with pocket sixes. Flop came Js9c6s and I ck called when she bet around 60% of the pot.

I considered ck raising but felt that ck calling was a more optimal option with my set versus this player. By ck calling I could keep her back draws & semi-bluffs in & hopefully get some extra chips on the turn.  Also if I ck raised the flop I knew she was good enough to lay down 1 pair hands  which may continue barrelling on the turn otherwise especially if/when improved.

Lovely Julie Anna Cornelius finished in 77th place

 

 

Although the turn came 7s and I had no spade in my hand, I still felt it was a good card for my range particularly taking into account her facial reaction to the card and her quick check back. At this point I put her on a medium strength show down hand and possibly an over pair played cautiously wary of sets and two pairs in my range which would be trying to control the size of the pot rather than a drawing hand which most likely bets again.

River was a 10c, which I thought was a very good card for me; backdoor flush draw missed and although some of the drawing hands such as 7,8 and K,Q got there I didn’t think she had them as she would have prob bet the turn with those.

I was pretty sure she was not going to bet the river as 10c is pretty bad card for her range and considering I still put her on an overpair or a Jackx hand, I decided to lead myself and went for around 40% thin value bet, which got paid and I scooped a decent pot with my set of sixes.

Then however not long after that I went on a bad run; I lost some chips when I ran my top pair into a set and lost another chunky pot in a BB v Btn situation. I defended with KQ n ck called on K58 rainbow flop, turn 10 ck ck, river 10. I bet in order to get paid by under pairs to K or even Ace highs & got min raised.

I didn’t love my hand anymore but had to make a crying call considering the odds and plus I didn’t have enough reads on this specific player to make a big fold. She had A10. Grrrrr….

Before I knew it I had slipped down to 20bb and fortunately there was a dinner break round the corner. I needed some fresh air, some food and a glass of wine in the company my lovely girlies in order to clear my head.

From the left – with Sonia, Deborah, Charlie & Katie x

 

 

Kelly Saxby (who unfortunately busted just before the break) kindly sorted the table for the group and 6 of us headed to All American Bar & Grill for a hearty meal & a catch up. I was glad to see that most of the girls were still in and doing very well.

Deborah Worley-Roberts had the most chips and from what I could hear she was bossing the table 🙂 and Charlie Godwin was one of the chip leaders on her table.

The break was just the tonic I needed and I got back to the table full & refreshed and ready to do some damage.

Although I managed to increase my stack to 30bb with some successful shoving and 3-betting action, still poker gods had some other ideas for me this time. It seems that 77 was an omen, just not the type I was looking for… I ran 77 from the button into Big blind’s pocket 99’s  for half my stack and then a few orbits later I picked up pocket 99’s myself and couldn’t hold v 77’s for my tournament life in 150th/718 😦

I have to admit I was extremely disappointed, after having such a great start, having a good read of the players at my starting table and being so close to the pay outs (108 players cashed).

Oh well, It was another fun & valuable experience and I’m already looking forward to WSOP Ladies event 2018 🙂  I had to root for one of my friends to take it down instead.

Deborah Worley Roberts

Very well done to our group members Sonia Padovani & Diana Svensk who cashed in the Ladies event and came 55th & 48th respectively.

And huge congratulations to Deborah for getting as close to winning a bracelet as anyone can and finishing in 2nd place for $83,459. What an amazing performance and fantastic achievement!

Charlie also showed that busting could have its benefits, jumping into the ladies game at the Aria the following morning and ultimately finishing 2nd for $9,032- another great performance.

Charlie Godwin

It was definitely one of the highlight’s of this trip for me- having an increased number of female friends to hang out with. There was 10 of us from the UK supporting, railing each other and playing the WSOP Ladies Championship together and I really enjoyed hanging out with such a talented & friendly bunch of ladies. I’m hoping that next year there is going to be even bigger group of us out there 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WSOP 2017 Adventures (part 1)

I’m sat in a bar in San Jose watching Scott Blumstein catch a 2 on the river and win the WSOP Main Event for $8,150,000 and officially closing the proceedings at the Rio for 2017. Like pretty much every poker player around the world, you imagine this moment with you as the main protagonist, but accept that this year wasn’t your year to win the main.

Scott Blumstein – WSOP Main Event 2017 Winner

Let’s jump back to late June though, when I arrived in Vegas with a schedule and a dream…

After one year, it was great to be back in Vegas with a whole host of games before me. The plan was to play 2 bracelet events (WSOP Ladies & the ME) and lots of smaller tournaments at various casinos.

I would be here for the next 18 days or so and couldn’t wait to get to the tables.

I’ve stayed at a ton of different places in Vegas over the years, mainly for pleasure and each have their own benefits vs. cost and convenience.

The Wynn 

After leaving it later than I planned and weighing up options I booked any initial 10 days at the Wynn at a super good rate. I’d worry about the week after that further down the line.

It was a good choice, the Wynn was the nicest place I’ve stayed on the strip; it has a measured balance of class, never being too busy and good service. Also the standard rooms are very spacious, beautifully decorated and very quiet, which is important when getting good nights sleep between the poker sessions.

 

With Dara & Traian at a beautiful buffet room @Wynn 

But most importantly it had the Wynn Summer Classic running with some great structured games and decent fields you love to play against.

As always I spent my first couple of days sleeping off Jetlag ( I hate playing and being tired) and catching up with friends already there.

After a couple of fun lunches and dinners with Unibet team I ended up (against my better judgement) taking a helicopter ride across the strip with my friend Dara who had this included in a package he had won playing online and kindly invited me to join him.

I’m not great with heights, but a flight across the strip is a fascinating overview of all that Vegas is famous for and definitely an experience to recommend, even if I was glad to get my feet back on the ground.

Anyhow, onto poker and my initial few games. With the Wynn catering to my penchant to getting up late and then jumping into well structured games- it made sense to start there.

My first game was a $600 $250k GTD Wynn Summer Classic event with over 900 runners. I was comfortable with my starting table -also finally I was running better than the proceeding months leading up to Vegas. Like all players you play your way through these patches knowing that if you keep doing things right, things will fall into place a little more over time.

Happy face after first cash of the trip 🙂

I won a couple of flips and had a full double up with Q10ss when flopping trips v AA.

I comfortably made day 2 with a decent stack and was eyeing the payouts on my return; there was over $80k for first place!

Unfortunately day 2 didn’t go to plan and I bust in a cooler spot when running my sub 20bb stack into QQ for a min cash. Nevertheless I was feeling very positive and happy about a great start to the trip and I was looking forward to the next game.

The next day I was back downstairs in the Wynn for the tasty buffet with Marc & Dara and then we decided to head to Nataly’s room for a friendly poker game 🙂

 

It was a fun day off before another session at theWynn. This time $400, $50k GTD one day event where Marc Convey & I both made it to the money. We had a great time playing at the Wynn poker room; the venue is spacious, clean and modern and it’s always great atmosphere there.  They provide prompt and efficient table service including drinks such as hot chocolate, smoothies and Fiji water and they have very competent TD’s.

After locking the second cash of the trip, It was time for some late night dinner with friends and some rest. Next day I played another game at the Wynn and grinded may way to 16th place & another cash. I was in the zone and warming up for the WSOP events 🙂

After my husband John arrived Sunday we enjoyed dinner with Kenny Halleart, Nataly & Marc at one of my favorite restaurants in Las Vegas –  LAVO. It was good catching up with Kenny and hearing all about his intense WSOP schedule & a very successful summer so far over tasty Italian food & wine. Well done to Kenny who ended up having another impressive run in the Main Event finishing 64th/7221 for over $100k.

Dinner at LAVO

Monday it was time for a change of scenery and over to Planet Hollywood for the $250k guaranteed which was probably going to end up more like $500k and with a field you really want to play against. I started pretty well , but then ended up card dead and losing two flips to bust early in the evening. It was frustrating, but also you don’t mind running not so well in the smaller tournaments, especially when you have fun playing and meeting interesting people & making new friends 🙂

Tuesday it was back for another bullet at Planet Hollywood to no avail and a trip to Nobu with John and Dara + his lovely wife Mireille to drink cocktails and have a fun evening of quality sushi and chat. It was 4th of July (Independance Day in the US) and although it was crazy busy on the strip we managed to get a sneaky view of some beautiful fireworks for a perfect ending to a fun night.

Next morning I was off to play the Helix Ladies event. They had for reasons that only they could explain decided to hold it at Harrah’s which has a massive 7 poker tables in the room.

When you have 50 alternates, you realise you are wasting your time and hopefully the Helix ladies game will have a more suitable location for 2018, as myself and friends would loved to have played, but ultimately couldn’t.

Jumping into another game at Planet Hollywood with my lovely friends Charlie & Natalia took care of the rest of the day. I really enjoyed hanging out with the girls & it’s a shame we didn’t get much luck in this game and bust late on short of the money.  I headed back to the Wynn for some sleep prior to the upcoming Ladies WSOP event, one of my favourites of the year…..TBC

Unibet Open Copenhagen

Following a sunny few days in Barcelona, I was on my way to Copenhagen for more sunshine and poker.

It was my first time visiting this Scandinavian city which I had heard so many good things about and I was looking forward to seeing if it lived up to the hype almost as much as participating in another Unibet Open stop!

I arrived at the Radisson Blu Copenhagen on Monday afternoon which was to be my home for the next week and the site of a whole load of poker and drinks before the week was out.

It was located very centrally with great views across the city. After settling in I headed for dinner with my fellow Unibet Ambassadors and spent the evening catching up on the least few weeks with everyone.

The following day after some media stuff, we headed out into the immediate area to explore the city and film some content for upcoming videos.

With a beautiful lake and trees juxtaposed to the city we weren’t short of locations to film in, and we began to imbue some of the easy going Danish lifestyle strolling in the sunshine.

 

 

 

The streets were full of cyclists everywhere you looked and people just strolling about in the sunshine.  An astonishing 50% of commuters in Copenhagen cycle to work and back. It seemed the roads were quiet and calm, without the usual noise of a busy capital city.

It some ways it felt like a town, but it offers most of what you could wish for in a big city. We walked down the inlet canals to the main harbour area and settled at the huge street food market inside an old dockside warehouse called Papirøen.

There were tons of stalls inside and loads of seating outside next to the waterside with views across the city. We bought a few different foods from around the world and settled into the deckchairs outside to relax in the sunshine.

With an outdoor DJ and an ice cold cider, there wasn’t anything not to like!

After a couple more days of work and exploring the city with repeat visits to Papirøen, it was swiftly Thursday and time for day 1a of the Unibet Open main event.

After breakfast  I returned to my room to find a lovely surprise waiting for me from the Unibet Poker Events Team. A box jammed full with cool branded ‘Ambassador’s’ attire and goodies. With a big smile on my face I changed into my new branded ‘run good’ hoodie and headed down for day 1a.

I decided to play this as I had many friends from the women’s poker community for Unibet that I run online playing that day too. I was excited to see them and  hanging out on breaks.

I had a reasonable start to the tournament, calling down a player with with mid pair on a Q,6,3, 10, Q board who had barrelled 3 streets with A high. My stack remained healthy until taking a dent from a bit of a cooler with AQ v KK on a queen high flop.

I spent the rest of the day on 20bb-30bb with mainly junk and a few ups and downs; In the home country of Hans Christian Andersen however, there was to be no fairytale ending to the day for me 😦

After a big pot missing the flush, I lost my first flip for the rest of my stack, busting just before the end of the first day.

 

 

 

As always though, busting the main is bitter sweet. The welcome drinks party for players was already in full swing, I had a good time chatting with Kenny Hallaert about his great run to the final table of last year’s WSOP Main Event final table.

It is always interesting to get the perspective and advice from a player going so deep in the flagship event. I also got to spend a lot of time with Romanian cash game player Ioana Apostol and Norwegian poker player & blogger Fiona Sand (in the picture above).

It was fascinating to find out more about their background and their future plans. After yet another trip to the all-night petrol station next to the casino for late night munchies at 3am, it was time to get some sleep.

Friday being a free day, a public holiday in Copenhagen and 27 degrees there was only one place I wanted to head. A group of the day 1a players and ambassadors headed back to Papirøen to sit outside, eat loads of food and enjoy cocktails and wine.

The atmosphere was great and I was surrounded by cool and fun loving Danes and great chill out tunes. Regardless to say we stayed all day and didn’t head back to the hotel and casino to the evening.

After trying a very cool game of VR poker against my husband John in the specially set up VR room from Unibet, we headed to the bar to catch up with players and friends.

 

Saturday was another beautiful day, and we had planned some video content on boats, but everyone else had got there first so they were all booked out. I headed to have a coffee and film an interview in the sunshine.

Oh, btw I stumbled across this little gem round the corner from the hotel where I had the best coffee ever called – Roast Coffee -which you must try next time you are in the city!

With media work wrapped up, John, me and Dara headed over to Tivoli in the centre of Copenhagen.

Tivoli Amusement Park

Denmark has won the happiest country in the world award a number of times. I can’t think of another country that has a giant amusement park in the middle of the city, THE MIDDLE OF THE CITY! Now if that isn’t a correlation to making people the happiest on earth then I’ll be surprised!

Enjoying some rides, performances on stage from local children choirs and drinks in the sunshine, I headed for filming with Espen and John and Dara shot off to watch the FA Cup final.

Work done I headed back to see the players in the main who had made the money which included my friend Davis Rinkevicius who was still going strong.

At Tivoli gardens with Espen

Having skipped the Saturday side event, next up was the Unibet community event which is always a ton of fun. With staff and players from Unibet and occasional wild card it is full of banter, drinks and bluffs!

John’s tactic of hyper aggression to get knocked out so he could dash off to watch the Kell Brook v Errol Spence fight really wasn’t going to plan.

With ever more chips and the ring walk imminent his hand starting range mirrored that of a punch-drunk boxer.

Eventually busting in 3^rd and sprinting to the nearest Irish bar, it was down to heads up.

Final table of the Unibet Community side event 🙂

 

I’m happy to say we ended up with the first female winner of the community event, in her first ever game- so congrats to Julia Griffin 🙂

After that it was time to head to the Unibet players party in a cool nightclub in Copenhagen.

As always it was a mixture of shots, chatting, dancing, shots, new friends, old friends and shots. By the time it was 4.30am it was time to head out for the obligatory sausage in a roll and ketchup from the convenient van outside.

I was now beginning to understand how Danes eat an average of 42 sausages a year- temptation is everywhere!

Sunday came with the standard slightly hurting head and a trip to the commentary booth to cover the final table of the main event.

There was a wide selection of nationalities represented from Denmark to the lesser known Faroe Islands. I was rooting for my Lithuanian friend Deivis and the last female player standing.

Next up was the progressive bounty KO event which was short and sweet for me at least. After securing a bounty, I ended up running 99 into KK in late position looking for another bounty and short stacked; following that a bounty hunter quickly gobbled up my remaining chips.

Congrats to my friend Dehlia de Jong who went deep and finished 10^th in the end to get a Danish flag!

With Dehlia 🙂

Also well played and huge congrats to Estonian player Kaarel Lepik who took down the Unibet open main event for a $84,980 first place prize after coming back from a nearly 12:1 chip deficit.

After a trip for a tasty lunch to Geist ( recommended by Ferran Adrià no less) in Copenhagen centre on Monday, it was time to leave this great city which it also seemed the sunshine had finally decided to do also.

 

 

 

It had been another fun leg. Any Unibet Open stop is the perfect combination of discovering, exploring and enjoying a new city (or returning to an old favourite) and playing poker with some of the friendliest people you’ll meet at the tables. Roll on the next one and a super special stop 🙂

Before that, next blog will be about the UK Poker Tour in Glasgow…

Easter in Lithuania and the Millions

I try to go and see my family for Easter every year as we have so many beautiful traditions back home celebrating it and it is also a good excuse as any to spend some quality time with the loved ones.

In Lithuania (and many other countries I’m sure) it is a custom to hard boil some white shelled eggs and then we make them look pretty by painting and decorating them with the beeswax and onion shells.

The following morning on Easter Sunday you bash your personally painted eggs against other peoples and the one which doesn’t break after the round, wins!

Think a strange conker based Easter contest, and you are pretty much there 🙂 It is believed that the person with the strongest egg will have the best health for the year.

Easter morning we woke up to snow, which was a nice surprise. It was the first time in years it had snowed at Easter, and it added an extra romance to the traditional visit to church, where they had a fantastic tree decorated with 7500 eggs outside the venue!

Easter Tree 🙂

 

We spent the rest of the day celebrating with friends and family, plenty of food and drinks and also I had my God-Daughter staying for the evening with us which was lovely.

Even at Easter there is time for poker, and Sunday evening I played day 1 of the Party Poker Millions online. It was a tough, late night game with Lithuania being 2 hours ahead, but happily I made it through to the live day 2 and before I knew it, I was saying goodbye to the family and heading back home and on to Nottingham.

I was feeling confident and excited about going to Nottingham as lots of my poker mates I had not seen for a while were going to be there and also because I was heading with the dream of being the player that walks out of Dusk till Dawn poker room with £1million pounds for shipping the tournament.

As it turns out, another woman got to experience that amazing feeling instead.

When I arrived at my starting table for day 2 of the main event I seriously couldn’t believe the table draw.

Pretty sure Martin Jacobson was looking to min cash 🙂

I have a feeling it was one of the toughest starting tables in the room which included just the 3 ‘November Niners’ –  James Akenhead, Martin Jacobson and Sylvain Loosli, plus some other capable players as expected.

As anticipated it was rather aggressive table with higher than average opening and 3betting frequency from the very start. This worked well for me as I was playing 25bb stack and was looking for spots to exploit this.

I made some chips when getting a light 3bet through and then won a decent pot when defending BB and calling two streets with a bluff catcher.

It was all going to plan till I picked up AhKc and decided to slow play- calling a raise in order to induce a squeeze from the very active players to my left. Unfortunately for me after a little deliberation, the squeeze wasn’t forthcoming and regardless of flopping top pair and top kicker I ended up busting to QJ who turned a flush and I could not hit any of my 11 outs on the river for survival.

I was rather disappointed I didnt have a deeper run but I was happy with my play and was playing with some of the best players in the world.

I spent the rest of the day catching up with mates over some food and compulsory wine whilst also enjoying a very entertaining football match between Man United v Anderlecht as my friends Gary and Lee are big fans and United is my default team 🙂

Next day I discovered one of the nicest coffee shops/restaurants in Nottingham called Delilah which Gary had recommended to me.

It was set in an old Victorian building serving all the fine foods and local produce. It was good to see a different part of Nottingham, and it is exciting I’ll be back to explore more as Unibet have made this a stop on their UK Poker Tour later this year!

Delilah Fine Foods

After a healthy & tasty brunch at Delilah I decided to head back to DTD for the 8-Max side event which had a 1 million guaranteed prizepool and was likely to have an overlay.

We swapped some action with my friend Lee Atherton and off we went to chase dreams again!

I had a cheerful table with lots of banter and fun play. I also had an early double up with flopped 2 pair v turned 2 pair and since then never looked back and ended up cruising to day 2 with a healthy stack.

Chips bagged and sealed I headed to the players party to join the rest and get some exercise in whilst dancing the night away 🙂

It was a beautiful day on Saturday and I had an easy morning doing some yoga, window shopping and enjoying some great coffee and pastries outside in the sunshine. I went back to DTD feeling positive and confident with the hopes for a great day.

I had a decent starting table and was ticking along ok till I lost 22bb with AQss v 78ss aipf and then I was hovering around 35bb stack before getting moved to a new table.

Philipp Gruissem focused!

Philipp Gruissem was sitting two to my left and was no doubt the most experienced player there with over $10mil in Hendon Mob cashes under his belt.

It was cool watching him being totally composed and in control when grinding his short stack. He made an awesome hero call for his tournament life to get back in contention and start bossing the table just before I got moved again.

The atmosphere in the room was getting a bit tighter and more intense and the play was slowing down as we were approaching the bubble. We were 5 away from the money when I picked up KK and got it all in pre-flop. The other guy had AQ; Ace on the flop and gg for me 😦

I was gutted…. Not with Kings again! Sigh… I seem to be on this curse where I either run into KK or get them cracked for an exit.

Luckily for me the bar was still open and I had lots of friends around to cheer me up…. Also my friend Lee cashed so it wasn’t all bad.

Sunday was my last day in Nottingham and all about the Ladies event which I was very much looking forward to.

Plus there was a final table of the Millions Main even running at the same time and it was amazing to see two great female players still in the mix including my friend Katie Swift representing the UK female poker community 🙂

Katie Swift

 

 

Although I lost a flip to bubble the Ladies final table, I had a great time catching up with friends and seeing Maria pick up the biggest trophy and the biggest pay out outside the highroller buy in events in Europe.

It was a superb week for women in poker with Katie finishing in 7th for £100k, Maria Lampropoulou winning the Main Event for a whooping one Million and Sylvia Hewitt coming 5th in the 6-max side event for £20k.

Everyone should know by now that I’m passionate on getting more women into the game and this was a tremendous advertisement for what women can achieve!

Hopefully more female players will return to the felt or make the first steps into the live arena.

I will be heading to Barcelona in a few days for a friend’s wedding and then the Unibet Open in Copenhagen at the end of May. I look forward to seeing some of you there 🙂