No more "Bad beat BLOG!!"

If I wrote a BLOG from last year, I guess that it wouldn't be quite as brutal as this year, but still I took a lot of bad beats last year on the way to a 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 6th, with eight cashes. I just survived many of them and moved forward. Today, I lost with K-K, after flopping a set, K-Q when the flop was K-6-5 (I was against pocket aces), and the hand right after the three kings lost--and I cannot make this stuff up-I lost with 7-7 to a Jd-7c-3d, to two flushes. I was all-in early with the 7-7, so it wasn't that brutal. Still, that's what happens when you're Phil Hellmuth. You win or lose with the best hand, period.

I then went for a tan, a nap, a short run, and then I entered the $5,000 PLO (Pot Limit Omaha) tournament. I showed up 90 minutes late, on the second hand I made it $2,500 to go with A-A-7-3. Three callers, and the flop was Q-Q-3. Of course, I was forced to bet my aces (I only had $5,600 left), and Sammy Farha showed Qc-7c-5h-3c for queens full. This is not a bad beat story, but an ace rolled off, then the fourth queen! Still, I was supposed to lose that pot, but the ace on the turn was a huge needle. 25 minutes later I proceeded to move all of my $10,000 in chip in pre-flop with A-A-Q-9. Sammy Farha called $10,000 cold with 3-5-6-8, and Raffy (yes, the famous children's singer) called with A-K-Q-2. The flop was 2-4-5, and Sammy own another pot from me. How he called $10,000 cold with that hand…But he was gambling as it was a re-buy tournament, so no problems. I lasted until 2:00 am, and won only two pots over $10,000 in all that time!! Can you say, Ice cold!" I lost $25,000 today in the PLO event.

I did lose $12,000 putting today on the break, and had a $14,000 putt that I missed just on the right edge, ouch. I did play one hand badly today vs. Raffy. I had K-K-10-3, and the flop was 9-8-2. We both checked, and when the nine paired I lost around $18,000 too much (he had three nines with an ace kicker). I have decided that I will not write any more bad beats stories here. I am the best tournament Hold'em player in the world, and I do not think that anyone disputes this right now. So you can assume that I will have the best hand in the big pots over 80% of the time, that's just how I roll. No more bad beat stories this month.

Love the fight! Smiling Phil!

I love the fight here in these tournaments at the WSOP. No matter what happens, whether bad beats, or bad runs, or my own bad plays, or the other players bad plays; I leave happy everyday. I'm playing my best poker, and I feel very much in control. The fact that I'm still in there everyday after so much BS tells me that I'm playing my best poker. Today, I was smiling ear-to-ear at several points in the tournament, despite not catching any cards. I was dancing to my IPOD in my chair. I was having fun, and I know that I'm right where I'm supposed to be right now. I'm having a blast, bring on the next tournament!!!!