Warren's Diary

Tuesday, Sept. 30 /Wednesday, Oct. 1

It's my birthday, and how do I spend it? At a 36-hour cash game in London! PartyPoker.com Poker Den: The Big Game III, got under way in East London. Phil Laak and Neil Channing both make noises that they are going to try to play the full stretch, but there's one problem: Phil is still in the World Series of Poker Europe main event, so Jennifer Tilly comes along instead to start the game. Phil takes over from her at around 9 p.m., so between them both, they end up playing the duration. Jennifer was great for the game; she didn't stop talking, and I'm sure it put a lot of the players on tilt! The big winners turned out to be Andrew Feldman and Robert Williamson III, though it looked at one stage that Robert may have gone the other way. Roland De Wolfe was around for the whole duration, in between a few catnaps, a spell in the commentary box, and a session of Chinese poker with David Williams. I chose to go to sleep for seven hours; after all, with it being my birthday, I had to have a few drinks! My birthday doesn't particularly bring back the best memories in recent years - as I found out about the UIGEA on it a couple of years back.

The Big Game was as eventful as ever; one man who certainly made his mark was the winner of the PartyPoker.com VIP Cash Game Rake Race, Bodo Sbrzesny. He won his place in the Den, and proceeded to play 7-2 and show his cards to the more well-known players at the table. Jesse May was in hysterics in the commentary box, pumped up with caffeine. He was the only person who did the full run of the game, though Laak and Channing both did a stint of over 30 hours. Neil looked like he'd been awake for a similar period before he even played a hand. One big winner came with the introduction of the Party Pot, where a $1,000 bonus was paid every hour; Neil and Roland started making a play for them just out of principle, playing with nothing.

Friday, Oct. 3 /Saturday, Oct. 4

I am at a big poker VIP event in Berlin. The guys here are serious players; they multitable as many tables as they can, and play as hard as they can. I'm starting to feel a bit worn out now. The new PartyPoker.com poker client had launched the week before, followed by the start of the WSOPE, the cash game, then the Berlin trip, and then … the PartyPoker.com Women's World Open II.

Monday, Oct. 6

I arrive back in London for the final of the Women's World Open II. It's a strong final table and was eventually won by Frankfurt's Soraya Homam. This is always a popular tournament, but I always get the same questions, as it sparks the debate on why there are women-only tournaments. My view is commercial as well as practical - as they get good ratings and also introduce a lot of ladies to the game who might not play otherwise. The players always enjoy this one, and this year proves to be no different. I am mightily impressed by the performance of Spain's May Maceiras, as she has a fantastic game and is certainly one to watch.

Tuesday, Oct. 7

Tomorrow I head for Niagara Falls and the World Poker Tour Fallsview, which should be quite an experience. Just under 20 PartyPoker.com qualifiers are taking part, and there is a good roster of pros involved, including the likes of Nam Le, J.C. Tran, Steve Sung, and Quinn Do, whom I met in Macau. I am looking forward to this one - although I am looking forward to having a break, too! Just today, I hear that the Premier League will definitely take place in late November, starting on Nov. 24. The only player confirmed so far is last year's champion Andy Black, but I am expecting the usual suspects to be back. I saw Phil Hellmuth at the WSOPE party, and he definitely wants revenge after a disappointing performance the last time around. I'm excited about this one already.