Feelings

I am back in my Toronto, currently looking for another lease even though I was only at my last condo for ~3 months last year. I really do intend on spending more time at home if I can help it, especially with so many new live Canadian stops and Full Tilt coming back soon. The WSOP was a stressful time and there are definitely things I would do differently next year. It was my second real World Series and I earnestly tried to focus only on poker but there was no escape from the noise and pressure to mold my own identity in this world. I will always be true to my values and remain stubborn in many of ways, but with recognition comes an interesting set of responsibilities that isn't always natural for my personality. I felt bad and still do because I put a lot of strain on my interpersonal relationships when I questioned people's motives out of my own insecurities this past summer.

 My dad and stepmom came to visit me and had a great time, as did my best friend Huyen and her Nick. It felt great to be able to show them the different facets of Vegas and I was proud to finally give them a glimpse into my lifestyle. I was also obnoxiously sick just from being in the dry desert and being exposed to violent AC so of course I felt guilty for the tournaments I had missed and stressed myself out even more trying to make up for it. Some sweet stuff did happen though. Simon, Dom and Vanessa won a bracelet, and I still do have that Stud8 final table. I also got an Ipad and a sweet massage at the tables for my birthday.

 It was a great WSOP for women and although I feel the glory from being a girl and am very happy for every one of these ladies, I think it's also alright to admit I'm jealous. It's not malicious, it just comes from my competitive drive since it makes me feel like I need to work harder and set the bar higher for myself. It's really an exciting time for players of every demographic with the predicted "second renaissance" of poker and this is a trend that is here to stay.

 WPT Parx and EPT Barcelona are next on my schedule. These are exciting times because I will be doing some footage for WPT's "Ones to Watch" segment so I will do my best to give them some impressive results. I am also honoured to have been selected to be a member of the inaugural EPT Player's Council. The first meeting is at EPT Barcelona which was also my very first EPT stop on my first trip to Europe in 2010. It's a beautiful city and I can't wait to stay by the beach at the Hotel Arts!

 I also know I don't say this enough, but thank you all so much for the Facebook messages, Tweets, and e-mails. I'm sorry I can't respond to all your kind words, but I can assure you they all make me feel really fuzzy inside, especially when I'm having a bad day. Hope I will see some of you at the tables soon.

Huyen & I at high tea at Mandarin Oriental

2p2 Pokercast main event viewing party leg wrestling: Canadians Terence Chan & Daniel Idema

Xuantron!

Dom winning a 1k lottery

Watching Dom win the lottery

Vanessa winning 1 bracelet in 10 games

Maridu's favourite sunset view from her apartment

Daytrip to Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario with fam

View of the Toronto skyline from Centre Island through the obscured lens of my Ipad

WSOP again

I'm here in Vegas during the WSOP and finally have a day off to update this silly excuse for a blog. I should have chronicled all my adventures in my last Europe trip to Vienna, Berlin, Dublin, and Monaco, but SCOOP immediately started when I returned home to Toronto and when I'm at home I want downtime to have very little to do with poker.

The non-poker aspect of the Euro trip was amazing, and despite the poker aspect not being monetarily rewarding, it was a good trip for the development of my game and career. I stayed focused, ate well, worked out, rarely drank, and played my top game in tournaments and cash throughout the entire 5 weeks abroad, including the Party Poker Premier League Playoffs and some 100/200 mixed in Vienna.

After the Grand Finals I went to Aruba for a much needed getaway and met the talented WPT Boot Camp crew. I played a few random days of SCOOP in Toronto after that and was up a bit overall but mainly just went to the gym a ton and pigged out on home-cooking afterwards in preparation for a long summer in the desert. It's now two weeks into the series and I feel like my efforts have already paid off and my chances of a bracelet are still very much alive. I have been playing and going deeper in the mixed events, including a final table in the $1500 Stud8. Coming that close to a bracelet only makes me want to work harder, especially since I made a silly error misreading my hand at the final table! Right before I lost an extra 1bb for misreading that I had a low on 7th in a crucial hand, I was telling my amazing rail how anxious and nervous I was. I have to learn how to function better under pressure. Anyone have any good advice for this? I feel like I can never play my A game when when people are paying attention, which is really depressing because all the money in tournament poker is made at the final table.

I'm staying with the charismatic Maridu at the coveted Panorama Towers. I'm rarely ever here with my long work hours but she keeps me optimistic and rightfully excited for what's to come. In her words, nothing ever phases me. I am, however, looking forward to my dad and my stepmom visiting me in less than two weeks, as well as my best friend and her boyfriend in early July. It will be there first time travelling further than Niagara Falls to watch me play poker! It's been a record-breaking WSOP for women, but there's still plenty of hardware up for grabs so I won't be slowing down any time soon.