Having basically zero knowledge of bankroll management, I was consistently playing levels that were too high.

It was around this time that I got an invite to a game that took place after hours in a video game store.  This place was run amok with gaming prodigies, not just poker, but Magic The Gathering players.  If you’ve never heard of MTG, its sort of like Dungeons and Dragons played with playing cards.  My poker buddies walked in on a few young teens playing, and my one friend remarked “Hey be careful, I think he has pocket Demons!”

But I digress.

This store had plenty of computers as well, and we all would spend many hours on Party Poker or Ultimate Bet winning and losing unknown sums of money.

One night I sat down at an out of the way computer to play.  I sat at 4 tables of $5/10 (which I had no business doing with an $11,000 bankroll) and started to grind away.

This one guy who I barely knew asked me if I minded if he watched. “Nope,” I said.

After about 5 minutes, he asked politely, “Mind if I give you some pointers?”

“Please.”

A fold here where I would’ve called, a raise here where I would’ve called, a call here where I would’ve folded…

You get the idea.

30 minutes later I was $2500 richer, and he wouldnt take a red cent.

“No, I insist.  It’s ok.  I just like to teach.”

Ladies and gentlemen,

Your 12th place finisher in this year’s World Series of Poker Main Event:
Adam “Roothlus” Levy.

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The 24-year-old Dane released a statement saying, “When I started playing poker for a living, it was never my goal to spend the rest of my life as a professional poker player. My goal was to become financially independent. I achieved that by winning the WSOP Main Event in 2008. The period following has taken me on a worldwide tour, where I have seen some amazing places and met many new people; it has been a great experience.

“In the 20 months following my WSOP win, I feel that I have lost my motivation for playing high-level poker along the way, and I have decided that now is the time to find out what I want to do with the rest of my life. What this will be, I do not yet know. I have decided to take a break from live tournament poker, and try to focus on Peter Eastgate, the person. I want to thank PokerStars, my friends and family for their support over the last 20 months, and for their support in my decision to take a break from poker.”

Eastgate collected just over $9 million for his victory in ‘08.

It seems the sentiment around the poker world is that people are commending Pete’s decision.  He says he lost his motivation to play at a high level, I think he just couldn’t stand a chance at the high levels and realized it.  He won the Main Event, and had to run like God to do so (Ivan Demidov is heads and shoulders better than Eastgate in this writer’s opinion).   He got served up in High Stakes Poker and whooped up on in the nosebleed stakes on his own site.  Who knows how many millions he has left from his ‘08 score but nothing wrong with a 24 year old millionaire quitting the frustration of the daily ‘grind’ of poker to pursue whatever else.  Good for him.  I like Eastgate, he seems like a nice enough kid.  Decent player.  Could he ever hang with the top, top pros?  I didnt see it.

Now, there are two times in my poker career where I felt completely naked from being so outclassed at the table.  One time was when a mentor of mine named Ben Stark (a very accomplished poker and Magic player) and I had cleaned up a cash game years ago, and I was feeling, in the words of the infamous Teddy KGB: “proud and good!”  I challenged him to a heads up game since we had all the chips, and long story short is I left with my tail between my legs and not much else.  The other time I got destroyed is when I played a live game with a kid named Ashton “Ashman” Griffin.   This kid is so LAG-gy and creative and downright fierce at the table, it was the 2nd time that I truly felt like I didnt belong at the table with such a phenom.

Many of you may know of that name.  His story is well documented in the online circles.  He took a meager investment online and ran it to over a million, and blew it all in less than a week, then proceeded to take another meager investment and run it well into the millions.  In my circle, we call that going “busto to robusto to busto to robusto.”

It feels kind of good that the only times I’ve ever been thoroughly and soundly beaten at the tables, I was facing players who have made millions and millions of dollars playing poker.

So why do I mention all of this?

About three months ago, I saw The Ashman online.  He was sitting at 3 different No Limit tables with $40,000 each.  Thats astounding enough, that I happened to have played with a guy that robusto.  But when I clicked his tables I was in for the shock of my life.  He was doing $40k flips with Peter Eastgate!!!  (for those that dont know, yes, that means pushing all in regardless of cards).  I believe Eastgate won in total 5 flips for around $200k!!  Then he made a very revealing confession, now up $200k he asked if they could just play the regular way and stop flipping, and he said flipping was “the only way I can beat you”.  I was floored that he would say such a thing out in the open.  Well, sure as gold, The Ashman proceeded to win his $200k back and then some, and Peter Eastgate ran for the hills without so much as a murmur.

…sums up his retirement well, if you ask me.

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Jim Karol ands The Wiseguys of Comedy

Poker Training Network, Jim Karol, and “The Wiseguys of Comedy” descended upon the SportsZone84 sports bar in Ft. Lauderdale last night. The standing room only crowd was treated to a full menu of comedy, cards, and visual mindbending entertainment.

Very seldom have I seen all four acts shine so brightly in an intimate venue. The Wiseguys opened up with Perry Sak (third from left in photo) who got the crowd rockin’, followed by “Always Dangerous Dougie Almeda” (right side of photo) . By the time Lenny Travis (first on left in photo) finished off the triumvirate, it seemed like the people had already gotten their moneies worth. I laughed so hard I almost brought beer up my nose.

After intermission the truly amazing Jim Karol (the guy with the Jim Karol t-shirt in the photo…) took the stage. Jim mezmorized the crowd with astonishing, seemingly supernatural psychic abilities. Jaws dropped in unison as Mr. Karol crawled into our minds. Jim truly is in the “Amazing Business.”  Cards flew through the crowd and appeared in places that they never should have been. Melons split. Knives flew. It was kind of like “Gallagher meets Houdini” except without the sledge-o-matic. If you thought that Jim’s show is only card tricks and mental impossibilities, think again. Mr. Karol brings down the house with non-stop laughter worthy of any stage or comedian. He signs autographs after the show too

So support Jim and buy the new book “Psychic Madman” if you didn’t make it to the show. If you are smart, you WILL be there next time.

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SportsZone84 is at 2440 W. State Rd. 84 in Ft. Lauderdale. Call 954.734.2424 for details. The Admission is $15.00 and the show starts at 8:00 pm.

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Join Jim Karol “The Psychic Madman”, Donnie D’Auria, poker professional, and Dennis Nadeau, CEO of PTN for a 2 day poker event at the Rockingham Park Poker Room. Be there May 15th and 16th as Mr. Karol astounds and amazes the crowds with his mastery of the human mind. Be sure to visit the Poker Taining Network leadership in the seminar room as well. There will also be a special celebrity guest attending, and those of you that make the journey to Salem, New Hampshire, will be in for a great PTN experience.

Learn more about the Poker Training Network: Click Here.

Learn more about Jim Karol, “The Psychic Madman”: Click Here.

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SportsZone84 is at 2440 W. State Rd. 84 in Ft. Lauderdale. Call 954.743.2424 for details. The Admission is $15.00 and the show starts at 8:00 pm.

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The Florida Legislature approved the further expansion of poker in the state today, including the removal of a maximum buy-in for no-limit poker and the elimination of a maximum bet per round in limit games.

The new legislation also allows for casinos and cardrooms located at horse tracks, dog tracks, and jai alai frontons in Florida to offer the expanded no-limit poker, which removes the $100 maximum buy-in and the $5 maximum bet per betting round in limit games. poker tournament buy-ins limits will also be removed, as a $1,000 limit had been imposed from previous legislation. This opens the door for major poker events to consider Florida as a venue.

While Poker Training Network is non-gambling site, and major tournaments do not affect our education only software, this bill will allow for more entertainment in the form of live events to be held in our regional casinos.

To learn more about Poker Training Network: Click Here.

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Learn more about the Poker Training Network: Click Here.

Learn more about Jim Karol, “The Psychic Madman”: Click Here.

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Learn more about Poker Training Network: Click here.

Learn more about Jim Karol: Click here.

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Click here for more about the tickets.

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