About a week or so back I took a trip down to Vancouver, BC to test my luck in the Johnny Chan Poker Classic.  I went down with my girlfriend Julie, most of you who read this know who Julie is and it goes without saying that I wouldn't of had half the success in my poker career if it wasn't for her.  Dating a poker player might be the Hardest thing for a girlfriend to do and she does a damn good job at it, so bringing her along with me on poker trips is a no brainer.  Anyways, we decided to head down for a few nights and my plan was to play in the $1000 Pot Limit Hold'em tournament and the Pot Limit Omaha tournament the very next day.  A group of Toronto players also made the trip down to Vancouver to play including Azim and a few of his buddies.  We landed on Monday evening and we basically relaxed and took it easy all night, I didn't want to jump in a cash game and jeopardize not getting enough sleep for the tourney the next day.   I played a single table satellite for the Hold'em tourney but had no luck when my top pair got runned down by a flush draw.  So I called it quits for the night and went to get a good night sleep.  I woke up the Tuesday morning really determined and focused to play well and get a result.  As I sat in my opening table there was 1 empty seat getting blinded out within the first half hour and I didn't think much of it.  A few hands later Brad Booth walks over and takes a seat at my table 2 seats to my right.  For those who don't know Brad Booth is a well known poker professional, he's undoubtedly one of the best poker players from Canada and has even been mentioned as one of top cash game players in the world.  So there was no doubt I was going to do my best and avoid playing any pots with him unless needed be... well, that game plan didn't really take affect because I ended up tangling with for the whole first hour!  The first hand was a 3 handed pot and I made a great value bet on the river with 3rd pair and had him call me with King high.  The second pot I played with him was a pot I got crippled in and it was essentially the pot that knocked me out of the tournament.  Without getting into too much detail I had A,10 and he had A,2 in a raised 3-way pot.. the flop came down A,3,5 where it was checked around.. the turn brought a 9, where I led out and he just called.  The river came the 4 of clubs leaving a 4 card straight and no flush on board.  After contemplating I decided to check in this spot, I checked believing I had the best hand but wasn't 100% sure and checking also gave him the chance to bluff at the pot.  He ended up betting a large amount and I called as he flipped over the Ace to 5 straight.  After analyzing the hand I really don't think I played it too badly, a player with his ability could of bet the river with multiple hands in that spot but this time he was fortunate enough to catch the 4 on the river.  So I was out of this tournament within the first hour, in these tournament with large fields its sometimes nice getting knocked out early instead of playing for 8 hours and not making a dollar.  After sitting at the table with Brad Booth, I can't even explain in words how impressed I was and he didn't even win that many pots.  Its just that he sits their with such confidence knowing he's the best player in the tournament, and confidence is an obvious recipe for success in poker.  Watching him play and sitting at that table reminded me of watching someone like Kobe Bryant or Dwayne Wade play a basketball game where they know they are the best and play the game with such dominance.  So even though I got knocked out early, I felt playing at that particular table really gave me some insight on how one of the best plays.

The next day was the Pot Limit Omaha tourney's and I was pretty excited because it was my first big buy-in live Omaha tournaments.  I've played quite a few online with much success, but never played one live.  So I take a seat at my table and the first hand I'm dealt it 10,10,Q,J (Omaha you are dealt 4 cards).. it was a limped pot and the flop came down 10,2,2.. giving me the nut full house.  A player bets out and I decide to just call in this spot.  The turn comes a 4 and the original bettor bets out again.  At this point and I make a huge raise betting about 70% of my chips.. the guy thinks and thinks and finally just calls.  I knew he had a deuce in his hand probably drawing for a full house.  Well the river brings a DEUCE! What a card.  The guy almost falls off his chair and bets a tiny bet into our already huge pot, I had to call and he flips over the other deuce in his hand giving him quads and basically knocking me out of the tournament in the first hand! That was a quick thousand dollars spent!..lol

So as you can see the poker didn't go as well as planned, but it was my first time to Van City so me and Julie decided to go downtown and do some shopping after I was knocked out of the tournament.  Julie has been to Vancouver dozens of times so she was able to show me around and we had a good time.  As for the other Toronto guys know one had any big success, Azim had a couple bad beats and wasn't able to cash in any tournaments also.  Overall the trip was a lot of fun and the tournament were ran great, I'll definitely be back next year and hopefully get some better results.

June is coming up which means me and Two will be heading down to Las Vegas for the World Series of Poker.  Until then I'm going to try and get in a few more live tournaments but all and all I feel very confident with my tournament play at the moment and can't wait to get down there and win a big one!



(Julie was able to take a couple pictures of me from the balcony before the security guard made her put the camer away..    I'm the one in the white sweater and black backwards hat)