Chewey Finishes 8th in 2010 WSOP Circuit Vegas Event 12

The 2010 Campaign is off to an exciting start for me. Thus far in 2010, I am 4 for 4 in making final tables at Limit Hold'em Events & 3 for 4 in finishing in the money. Event 12 of The 2010 WSOP Circuit- Las Vegas proved no different as I finished 8th (this was a Limit Event). It was not the 8th place finish that was memorable but the work & play required in order to get to 8th.

I would need every bit of the starting chip stack of 7,500 to eek out a 8th place finish. The 1st table of the tournament, I was seated with Pro Blair Rodman (B-Rod) & he was a monster the first two levels. He quickly accumulated over 25,000 in chip & was terrorizing the table; me included. I lost a few mid sized pots to him in Level 2 (Limits 100-200) that reduced my stack to 3,400. Mid way through Level 3 , Limits 150-300 from mid position I two-bet to 300 from mid position with pocket 2s & am called by B-Rod in the big blind for 300. Flop brings 9, 8d, 4d,. He bets 150 &I make it 2 bets to go & am called. The turn is 3d, he checks, I bet 300 & he 2bets to 600 & I 3 bet it to 900, he flat calls 900. The river is a 2, giving me bottom set. He bets 300, again I 2bet to 300 & he repops to 600 & I flat the 600. He wants to see my cards but I called his raise & am confident he's beat. He turns over pocket 10s, I turn over my set of 2s & the tyrade of censored bombs begin. I'm now up to 6,250. Rodman looks stunned with the rest of the table & says bets like this is no-limit. The next few hands my stack swells to 10k but this is short lived as my pocket Aces, Kings, Queens get cracked in the this level & my stack is down to 1,800.

In the last hand of the 3rd level right before 1st break, I'm in the big blind (1,800 chips) w/ pocket 5s 7 raised by mid-position player (4,800) who's been tight all day long. I call & see a flop of 10,6,2 & check. He checks as well. I'm thinking at this point he is on a range of a strong Ace such as A,K-A,J non suited based on his play thus far. The turn is a 3- this is where the hand gets interesting. I bet & he 2 bets it to 600, if I call-I'm committed to this hand for my tournament life as I only have 900 left. I call. On the river- the 2 appears, I check, he bets, I 2 bet & he repops & I call my last 300, he turns over- up I guessed it A,K, I turn over pocket 5s & off of tournament life support & have 6,250, whew that was probably the biggest hand for me in this tournament as my chips were on the line & I had to trust my read on the player attempting to steal a pot before the br8. Had I have folded this hand at any point, I would have been crippled beyond return.

The next 5 hours levels were pretty mundane for me as I won 1 hand every orbit & maintained just enough to stay in the field. Things were about to change after my self-imposed dinner break, even though I was short stacked when I took one, Level 6limits 400-800 & upon returning I was moved to a different table that had a player that never showed up to my right & players were taking advantage of that dead money(Mr. Phantom) in play all night long. The next few levels, I would manage to win a few pots & grow my stack to nearly 37,700 off of players attempts to steal the big blind when I was the small blind. The field thinned to 20 players & 9 spots payed.

Level 11 limits 2000-4000, down to 12 players & it was 1am, play was ending once the bubble reached but it was agreed to play on. This is where it got super interesting. Down to 10 players, officially on the bubble, lady in button position offers to table after looking at her cards to get paid $10 from each player for her to go away & for play to resume as play had stalled & it was nearly 4am the next morning. Nearly 20k was up for grabs 7 she was taking 90 dollars to go away after nearly 12 hours of play, really? So, I quickly initiated the process of getting everyone to give her $10 for her to disappear. It only took 10 minutes because of a couple of players thinking what if scenarios, I said 'get her away from the table & we can discuss other chops later" finally it was done but we were not out of the woods yet. Now there was a new problem, she was paid "hush" money to disappear but still had chips in play to the tune of 9,600; there were no antes & at this rate would take at least 2 orbits to blind her out. The chip leader to my immediate right gets into a raising war A,K with the short-stack pocket Qs & chipleader flops top pair. Oh snap! The tourney director suddenly declares Harrahs does not condone chops or deals & I knew this would happen. They said the next person out is the bubble & no money & that 9th place would go to the lady who took the "hush' money, hmmmmm., but the damn lady was gone - how was she to claim the money to give to this 9th place finisher , she was from out of town & no one knew her! I was about to look like the fool of all fools for initiating the hush money & the gravity of the situation was not lost on the entire final table. I calmly reassured the table there's still 1 card to come & thank goodness it's the Q, short stack saved & disaster averted for now.
Not sure if I would have done, had the short stack been eliminated but after the hand I deadpanned to the table, would you like some aspirin, insulin, any other medication that I may have to calm your nerves, let's play!

Finally 4:30am, the "hush" stack is blinded off, 9th place is awarded 4:40am & I am dealt pocket Jacks & run into the chipleader's rivered straight, busto for me in 8th. I'm mad because I realize I worked my tail off to get 8th place & probably one of my best Limit performances to date. It's 5am, time for me to go hit up a machine for 30 mins, then off to bed & get ready for the weekend 2009 Nationwide Poker Tour 100k National Championship (elite field of 170 ish). I'm looking for a deep run, like final table run; even though it's a No-Limit Tournament 1st place is 22k. Anything else for me is unacceptable, I'd give anything to make that final table. I'm lurking in the shadows, flying way under the radar, locked, perched & ready to go!

Until Next Time,
Chewey

Dream Deferred 2010

A year has gone by since my last posting. Okay, not really; but my last last blog was in 2009: 12/31/2009. I am making 2010 all about me or should I say "more about me". I ended my last blog with Langston Hughes "A Dream Deferred". My dream/goal for awhile has been to do well on the poker circuit scene. Now that is every poker player's dream. I'm not looking for my 15 minutes of fame but instead looking for ever-lasting success. In order to walk, you have to learn to crawl. I set a few goals for 2010 (realistic ones)

-To final table a major tournament (WPT, WSOP, HPT, etc)
-Finish in the black on cash/ring game play
-Bring my poker project(s) to fruition
-Make a particular goal happen by June- I've had this time-sensitive goal since Age 16 & will reveal soon. (It's not what you think it is)

How am I doing thus far in 2010? Slowly building the foundation for the rest of 2010 is my answer. I've also added a new goal: Finish in the top 20 % in as many tournaments as possible. What are your goals? Notice that I didn't say to win any tournaments; I think that my game has much room to improve & time, practice & effort will take care of the wins in the long run.

Thus far in January, my live play is positive & I'm playing in a few of the WSOP Circuit Events in Tunica, MS. To follow my live results, you can follow me on Twitter: (http://twitter.com/cheweyLam). In my next blog, I'll also post how I fared in my first action of 2010.
Here's the events that I'm looking to play in Tunica,

Event 2a 1/21/10 Omaha Hi/Lo $200+30
Event 8a 1/27/10 H.O.R.S.E. $200+30
Event 9 1/28/10 No Limit Hold'em $300+40
Event 15 2/3/10 No-Limit Hold'em $300+40
Event 16 2/4/10 No-Limit Hold'em $400+40 (depending on Event 15)
Event 17 2/5/10 No-Limit Hold'em $500+50
Event 18 2/6/10 No-Limit Hold'em $1,000+80 (depending on Event 17)
Event 19 2/8/10 NLH Championship $5,000+150 (depending on how I do in other events)

Building the foundation before the dream erupts! I'll try not to distract myself by hitting some big non-poker jackpot such as slots, haha!

See you on the felt!
Chewey

Bye Bye 2009

Wow, it has been such a long time since I have last blogged. It's New Year's Eve & I am at home staying low-key. Either I have matured even more than my age (30) or I'm incredibly boring. :) I just simply have not found the time or energy to blog & instead have been relying on twitter to keep everyone informed of what's happening in my world. More regular blogs in 2010, there's one of my 2010 goals. Since my last blog, I've made many decisions- a few life changing & a few heart-wrenching but worth making. I've also made & learned from my 2009 mistakes & am ready for 2010.

2009 was all about reacting/controlling situations & helping others; not enough of reacting or caring for my interests. This may sound selfish but 2010, I will be caring more about me/ my interests. For those not in the know, the Tennessee business is now under control & sometimes less control/outside help is more (less is more)/delegate. This allows me to keep my fingers in different projects without physically having to be there. Now there will also be more time to focus on my poker projects & playing. Below is a list of key decisions made in 2009 & Goals for 2010.

2009 Key Decisions (in no particular order):
-Delegating/Giving Up control of OM (TN warehouse)
-Focusing more on cash games versus tournaments/casino circus games (21, 3-card, slots, etc)
-Stepping out of my father's shadow for 2010 & beyond based on my decisions regarding fam matters.
-Letting go of a few close friends that were supposedly close
-Returning to TN to help my mom out & putting others before me.

2009 Chew-Man Blunders (Even I'm not Perfect, why?)
-Bubbled at a Venetian Deep Stack II Tournament & should have waited one hand. Didn't realize seat 10 had 10 ante chips instead of 10 big blind chips.
-Spent 2 months of the year (total driving time) back & forth from TN to Colorado (Was it a mistake?)
-Okay, I did this twice, drove to the wrong client (restaurant) in the same neighborhood on 2 separate occasions, how weird?
-Was rooting for the wrong team on the last game of 4-team parlay, sheesh!
-Same tournament as mentioned earlier, early on - I pulled a Phil Ivey & threw away the nut flush.

Goals for 2010
-To final table a major tournament (WPT, WSOP, HPT, etc)
-Finish in the black on cash/ring game play
-Bring my poker project(s) to fruition
-Make a particular goal happen by June- I've had this time-sensitive goal since Age 16 & will reveal soon. (It's not what you think it is)

I leave you with this thought for 2009; "Dream Deferred" by Langston Hughes:

What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
Like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore--
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over--
like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?

My next entry will be titled "Dream Deferred" & I promise it won't be 6 months later! Bye Bye 2009, & Hello 2010!
Chewey

Living Two Lives

I'm not sure where to start in this installment of my blog. Since Summer 2008, so much has happened: I played in a few events at the 2008 WSOP & did cash; Began the task of running a free poker-league in Colorado/Nationwide Poker Tour; plans for revitializing & launching a new Poker Website (PokerAcrossAmerica.com); transition from my full-time IT job @ Volleyball of The Rockies; Play in more tournaments & everything that I dreamed of doing, I did. Then Halloween 2008: everything changed. All of my past experiences in tournament poker & life would not prepare me for the phone call that I received: "My dad was unconscious & in the hospital". Okay, We didn't always see eye to eye but we would agree to disagree & would talk about the state of our businesses.

I packed my bags & began my cross-country drive from Colorado to Tennessee; not sure of what to expect when I arrived. Four days later (November 4,2008), my father passed & so did my uncle in completely seperate incidents but at the same hospital. The past 6 years in Colorado seemed like a lifetime away. I was beside myself & wondering what is going on? For the next 5 months, I would split my time driving to & from Colorado/Tennessee running my businesses & that of my dad's (Wholesale/Food Service Distributor)Oriental Mkt in Memphis, TN. My routine stay in TN for 3 weeks; drive to Colorado & stay for 2 Weeks & repeat. I spent more time on the road then a semi-truck driver. Playing long hours on the circuit didn't come close to the wear & tear that my body was experiencing from living/maintaining two seperate lives.

During this stretch of time, I barely had time to play poker. With each passing day, my urge for poker grew stronger & by Spring 2009, I resumed playing online on a regular basis in addition to my heavy workload. Who needs sleep, we can sleep later, right? Well, that's what my mind was telling me but my body was saying otherwise. I did go to Vegas for a few days this summer for work (buddy Jay M. took 2nd in the 2008 NPT Colorado Yearly & won a seat to a 09 WSOP Event) & a little r&r but I really didn't enjoy the trip. Had too much on my mind & the constant barrage of phone calls from the TN business. I also lost a poker/bowling buddy(Don) in July 2009. That is pretty much the last 9 months in a nutshell.

I've learned & aged so much in the last 9 months, that I feel so old. Not to say that I wasn't old or young before. Adversity reveals your true friends & foes. Life has a funny way of throwing you curves when you least expect it. Just as in poker, everyone over time gets dealt the same cards; It is up to you to play them. I have many projects/plans in the works for the next few months, stay tuned for exciting news & developments. In the next blog, I will chronicle my experiences/successes at The 2009 World Poker Tour in Tunica, MS & how Twitter has helped my poker game. Thanks Dad, for the hard work ethic & beliefs that you have instilled in me. Gone but not forgotten.

Chewey

Blog Hiatus

So sorry that it has been such a loooong time (Last Summer/2008 WSOP Main Event) since I posted on my blog for Chewey's Corner on Poker Across America . Much has happened since that time in my life; I don't even know where to start. For the time being, I will make this (cheweylam.blogspot.com) my home for all of my blogs in an attempt to streamline the process of communicating with my followers. I've also added my Twitter updates to this blogpage. Now you can see exactly what I'm doing /thinking at a particular moment; especially, during tournaments. There is an option to subscribe to my blog on the bottom right corner of this page, please subscribe and you will be sent an email of when I post a new entry to my blog. Just think, in the past I would manually email each of my subscribers individually.

Here are a few quick tidbits on what's going on: I've been playing alot lately on Bodog in the Free-Rolls, & STT's (Single-Table Tournaments) & am gearing up for The WPT in Tunica (South of Memphis) July 23-Aug 11. My next post will about what has happened since the 2008 WSOP Main Event & on me getting ready for WPT Tunica.

Chewey