So, after my last blog entry I played the Macau highroller event that had 20k start bank at 50-100 blinds w 1 hour 15 minute levels and managed to bust it in the first level when I got aa in v kk and couldn't hold. Later that night I played the WCOOP 10k high roller that had 25k start bank at 25-50 blinds w 30 minute levels(same strucutre as WCCOPME afaik) and managed to bust that in the first level as well 4betting 53s and flopping bottom two v top set on a 953r board. Pretty easy stack off even 500bbs deep all things considered and given how the board ran out.

I also played a 1k 6m side event in Macau that didn't have a particularly great structure but I got deepish before busting(not itm). I actually had fun playing and really trying to figure out some of the finer points of live play which is something I don't do as much as I should. By this I just mean trying to pick up more off how people act when they have strong/weak hands and trying to stay as solid as I can whether or not I have anything. I used to play a lot of live before I got involved online so I think I'm a better live player than most online guys but nonetheless I still have a lot to learn.

After I was tournament busto I played the 500-1k HKD game and the lineup was as follows: Johnny Chan, tsarrat/Brian i think?, Yevginney/atimos/online guy as well, good2cu, David Saab/live guy, myself, and Buck21/online guy. Ended up losing a little(about 100bbs iirc), but the game was nothing spectacular. Wasn't very tough or soft and no one was doing anything retarded. Add in that it was live poker and we were getting 20 hands an hour and raked from here to high heavens and it's not the most profitable thing ever. I played David Saab later in the week HU for a little while at 200-400 HKD and lost some more money. To his credit he played much better than I thought he would and it was fun to play some live HU and straddle the button despite losing some money.

Now that Macau is over with, looking back I have to say I had a good time. I met some awesome people and had more fun than not. If I go back next year though I'll definitely be staying at the Venetian, it's just so much nicer than the Waldo and it's much more convenient since a lot of the places people want to go to are in the Venetian. Also before I stop talking about Macau I want to add that I saw Cirque De Soliel one night and it was really cool. Definitely something I'll be looking to check out in the future and probably in vegas during the upcoming summer.

So then it was off to Barcelona. The trip that turned out to be hell. In summary, Flight from Macau to Beijing at noon, flight from Beijing to Frankfurt 9 hours later, miss the connecting flight in Frankfurt to Barcelona because there are infinite people in the Frankfurt airport, spend probably around 2 hours getting a new connecting flight, get to Barcelona and am unable to exchange HKD because they aren't showing up in the currency office's computer. At this point let me add that the tournament that stars in 2 hours which neither me nor friend Steve who's traveling with me are bought into, and we only have enough cash for one of us to play. So whatever we're sure we'll figure something out, but then, here's a twist, our luggage is lost! We talk to some people in charge of that stuff and they tell us that the airline says it got lost in Beijing because there wasn't enough time to get it on the flight to frankfurt...riiiiight. Anyway, get to the hotel we're staying at, borrow shoes and pants from a friend because the dress code in the Casino is strict and I'm wearing shorts and sandals. When we get to the Casino we get our names on the alternate list because the tournament is full and by some random mysterious luck we run into Shaun ****ing Deeb who comes up clutch when he tells me he has 14k USD he can lend me. Thanks again Shaun, owe you one.

We both ended up being able to play and both made day two, but then both busted early on day two. I actually felt like I played very well, but such is tournament poker. Our friend Randal Flower(randallin online) went real deep but busted in 14th. Blah, was fun to sweat though.

After enjoying Barcelona for a few days and beginning the process of losing money in WCOOP's we decided to head to Amsterdam for a week or so during the in between time of EPT Barcelona and WSOPE to just check out the city(which is really cool) and play the rest of the WCOOP.

As of now I'll be leaving for London sometime soon and hopefully winning some live tournaments. I'll also be back on the grind during the next month or so because as you guys can see, this stuff adds up. I'll probably be playing more midstakes and try to grind out some stress free money both hu and 6m.

That's all for now, gl at the tables kids.