I may not have said this recently but Cardrunners, you rock. Seriously.

In my last blog I talked about how I finally managed to get in touch with the Santa Barbara Fire Department and talk to them about their charity poker event. Well, Cardrunners stepped up big time and sent out a whole bunch of T-shirts to give to the players who made the final table of the charity poker tournament. I can tell you that the Firefighters and the players who made the FT were all really grateful for such generosity.

The event went really well actually. It took place last weekend and had a fully sold out poker tournament. I think they may have even added on another table to accommodate all the people who were clamouring to play. The local radio station Kruz FM had been running lots of spots to highlight the event and I even got a chance to go on air and chat about it with a couple of the firefighters. That's where I learned that Firefighters are twice as likely to get some form of cancer as the rest of the population. It makes sense when you think about it. They rush into places where they end up breathing in so many toxins.

At the event, there were a lot of raffle prizes donated by local businesses who wanted to show their support for Mike Moses, a man who had been serving their town for decades both as a captain with the fire department and as a lifeguard - two positions that are very important and necessary in a town like SB. He had been diagnosed with a rare form of the disease and he and his family needed some help.

The day started with a kick ass BBQ and a band played covers of classic 80s tunes. Then the craziness of the poker began and with beers and margaritas being served table-side, it quickly became a show of 'who can be most aggressive'. A couple of players got unlucky against me. I knocked one player out with KK v QQ and then another one who loved flopping a set of 5s against me, only to find out I'd flopped a set of 6s. Oops. There were around 180 players I believe and I made it down to the final 20 but couldn't break through to the FT to win a sweet CR top and have a chance at the big prizes (TVs, surfboards and an ipad). Thankfully, Lana and Alex were kind enough to send a shirt just for me too. Hmm, perhaps they suspected I wouldn't final table.

Poker PROductions also were really generous. I mentioned the charity to them and asked if they had anything they'd like to donate and was really blown away when they sent me two poster-sized, signed caricatures of Poker After Dark tables from previous seasons. The firemen were particularly taken with these and were scheming as to how they could justify saving one to put up in the firehouse. I'm hoping (and suspect) that a kind soul outbid everyone for one of the posters and gave it to them for their common room. I received a message the next day letting me know that those items raised a lot of money and I know they were tickled to have such high profile poker memorabilia.

And that's not all... World Poker Tour took up the challenge as well and the day before the event I received a UPS parcel with a whole load of stuff from books to playing cards to shirts to a bottle opener with Mike Sexton's voice recorded in it. I'm not going to lie, I was sorely tempted to pocket that little item! The amount of stuff that was sent though really helped the event to be a success. Everyone had such a great time, me included.

I'm sure Captain Moses must have felt very grateful to have so many people pitch in to help him and his family during such a tough time. Cancer is a nasty disease and it can take a horrible toll on a family. When I was a kid, just like so many other people, our family dealt with it too. Community support is immensely important. I'm just really grateful that I could help out in whatever small way here, and pay forward some of the help that my family received when we needed it.

So thank you Cardrunners and all of you who are members at CR because through them, you helped out too.

Hmm, maybe there is something to this whole 'New Years Resolution' thing after all.

I really am not a fan of planning things or making resolutions. 10 years ago I thought I knew exactly where I was going to be in 5 years, 10 years, 20 years etc. I had short term and long term goals and was focused on achieving them. Then life happened. I've ended up in such a wildly different place in 2011 than I ever could have imagined back in 2000 and I feel like I've had so many bizarre side-trips along the way that I never in my wildest dreams could have predicted my life. So, I stopped trying and I stopped making goals and instead just felt my way through each decision/turning point. It's worked out pretty well for me and I don't see myself changing this approach but I MAY start thinking about making the whole 'New Years resolution/reflection' time a regular thing.

In my last blog I talked about how I wanted to get more involved in charity work or start volunteering my time a bit more. I've actually made progress on this (a miracle for a non-planner like me) and have started researching different things I could do here in Santa Barbara. I've signed up with a group that does regular beach clean ups as that is something I can easily commit to if I know I'm going to be in town. I'm having coffee this week with a woman who works with a soup kitchen in SB as well as some other really interesting projects with a local Women's Shelter.

Aaaaaaand, (Drum Roll)
....I found out about a charity poker tournament that is being held here in Santa Barbara by the SB City Fire Department. It's to raise money for cancer treatment for Captain Mike Moses; one of their own who has been diagnosed with a rare form of the disease. It's a real community effort to support someone out who needs help and they've got some really good partners for the charity event as well. They're having a raffle too with prizes like a surfboard (very SoCal) and an ipad.

I managed to get in touch with them and am glad that I'll have a chance to go and play (the tournament sold out super fast) and have also been trying to get some donations/support from people I know in the poker industry. So far, Cardrunners (I love you guys :) have offered hats and t-shirts for all the people who make the final table and the guys at Poker PROductions are sending a signed poster from one of the High Stakes Poker TV shows. I'm really proud to work with such generous people and am excited to be able to help out, even a little bit, with a local charity event.

I'm not sure I would have heard about the charity if I hadn't made a conscious decision over New Years to put my ear to the ground for opportunities like this. I'll say it again, maybe there's something to this 'New Years Resolution' thing!

HUGE thank you again to CR for taking my request seriously and helping out. You guys are the best!

If anyone wants to buy raffle tickets or have a look - here's the website :)

http://iaff525.org/index.cfm?zone=/unionactive/view_page.cfm&page=Charity20Fund20Store






(Kara also blogs at www.partypoker.com/blog/kara-scott )

I know that poker players are generally very rational and logical folks so hopefully you all can see the funny in this :)

Sometimes it can be really difficult to think of a good gift for Brian - what do you get the guy who has everything? Every birthday and Christmas I really struggle to find something that he'll like. I thought about it pretty hard this time and finally came up with a strange and unique gift that I didn't think anyone else would have arranged.

What is one of the things he likes the most? Well, obviously his dog Maybe is immensely important to him so I decided it would be funny to have a pet psychic come over to the house and tell Brian just what Maybe is 'thinking'.

I know, I know - crazy right? It was a hell of a lot of fun though and Maybe certainly enjoyed the attention. She sat quietly on the sofa for an hour, staring at the woman and occasionally pawing at her like she was trying to make an important point. Some of the things we learned:

* Maybe would like to listen to more Dance music. I actually played a bunch of different stuff for her last night and I don't think she's a Timbaland fan as she peed on the floor during 'The Way I Are'. She's a stickler for good grammar apparently...
* She would like us to stop cutting back on her food because she's not fat (she is a little)
* She would like another dog in the house (imagine Brian's joy at the idea of me finally getting a puppy :)
* She would like me to stop sleeping in the bed so that she has more room. Seriously uncool Maybe.

Sadly, we didn't video tape her with Maybe but I thought you guys might enjoy seeing a video of her talking to Pro Skater Rodney Mullen and his dog Tillman. Tillman also skates.

We watched the video before Laura (the psychic) came over yesterday and I think Brian was a little disappointed that we didn't ask her to teach Maybe to skate :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y23k0E0AX7k


In other news.... everybody seems to be heading to the Bahamas this week for the PCA but I have to be honest - I am SO glad to be at home this year. Every year I went to Atlantis, I got food poisoning. My impressions of that place are not so positive and that's putting it mildly! So good luck to all you CR people heading out that way. I will be happily hanging out at home for a few weeks before heading to Venice for the WPT. I'll probably be there a few days early so if anyone else is heading out that way, lets have a drink!

Tomorrow is New Year's Eve which means that this is my last blog for 2010. I've been thinking a bit about what I want out of 2011 and what sort of changes I need to make and here are some of my conclusions. Bear in mind that I've been testing out potential New Years Eve coconut/rum cocktail recipes all day so if I've left any glaring omissions in this post - drunken apologies!

Things I'm really proud of from 2010
* Last January, I signed on with Party Poker as both a player and host for their TV content. I'm really proud that I took a big risk in leaving England and my work there. It was scary to step out into the unknown without the safety of another job to walk into, but I'm so happy with how things turned out. Initially, it was a surprise to be approached by Party but the idea quickly made sense to me. I knew and liked so many of the people there and they seemed to really want to work WITH me. One of the reasons that I had left my previous job was that I wanted to make some changes in how I approached my career and to make sure that my job served my life (instead of the other way around) and I'm really glad to be able to say that I've mostly achieved that and in doing so, have been able to work with a group of people that I really like at Party Poker.

* My first season as co-host of High Stakes Poker hit the airwaves. I almost don't want to write anything else here because it feels so self-explanatory. HSP was the first poker TV that I'd ever watched and I was a huge fan. Being invited to work on the show pretty much blew my mind.

* In 2010, I worked with so many people in the industry that I'd really wanted to: The WPT crew, The Poker PROductions group, Matchroom Productions and so many others as well. My 'Bucket List' for poker has a huge dent in it now.

* I got to play on the NBC Heads Up Championships and Poker After Dark - a huge thrill for me and a real treat to have been invited. In order to play the NBC Heads Up Championship, I worked with a fantastic HU coach named Bryan Pellegrino (PrimordialAA). Actually doing the work and focusing on one aspect of my game really stretched my head and it felt good to be a student again. Properly.

* 2010 was a much quieter year for me, socially. The past few years had been a real whirl of parties and poker functions and going a bit crazy. I flat out loved it :) I met a lot of really lovely people (and lets be honest, some real shits) and I wouldn't change that time for anything. Still, by the time 2010 rolled around, I was tired. Dog tired, bone tired, tired tired tired. WSOP 2007-2009 were ridiculously fun summers but I'm still not sure how I managed to keep up drink for drink, night out for night out and more cab rides home after sunrise than I care to admit. I'd been pushing myself to keep up with the pace but when I finally took a step back I realised that I'd rather spend more quality time with a few people than all my time with a crowd. Many of the 'few' people are in Europe (England, France, Spain) and I miss their company but here in the USA I'm getting a chance to build solid friendships on this side of the pond too.


Things I want to change for 2011
* I spent a lot of time travelling for work in 2010, even though I swore I would focus more on my friendships and being with the people in my life. I'm still struggling to find the right balance and 2011 will be another year of me trying to juggle my career (which I love) with being more involved in the lives of my friends and loved ones. It's tough to miss so many birthdays, weddings, births and most of all, those random spur of the moment nights out that end up being the ones that everyone talks about for the next 15 years.


* I need to focus more on positive things. I've noticed that my general mood really reflects what I'm spending my mental energy on. I put out a call on twitter earlier this year for a list of books that people would suggest that I read. As a result, I've moved away from my literary comfort zone and I love that! I did notice that the books which dealt with very dark subjects left me feeling sad/angry/upset for a couple of days after I finished reading them. I've never been the peppy, cheerleading type but I think I should probably try to keep my brain occupied with mostly positive things, with just a smattering of angst thrown in to keep it real.

Also along those lines; I need to watch fewer zombie movies/TV shows. Seriously, I spend way too much time devising apocalyptic escape plans for it to be a healthy use of my time. Plus, I'm already a sleepwalker and adding in bad zombie dreams just makes it an all around nightmare for anyone in the vicinity. I'm just saying, I can whack someone in the head pretty accurately with my eyes closed and my reactions dulled by slumber.

* I keep saying this every year and hopefully 2011 will be the year that I actually do it. When I lived in Canada, I made the effort to spend part of my leisure time working at a soup kitchen or shelter, working with kids etc. It's been tough to get involved as a volunteer the past few years because I spend a LOT of time on the road and so can't guarantee that I can keep a regular schedule. I want to find projects that I can work on between work trips or something that won't be harmed by me not being able to contribute regularly. And don't think that I'm being all 'ooh look at me, I do charity work and am such a good person.' If I act like that then feel free to let me know that I'm being a giant douche. I freely and wholeheartedly admit that the idea of giving back is selfish for me. I know that I'm a much happier person when I can see where I'm contributing to the world.


And finally....

*It wasn't a great year for me in terms of poker. It's the first time since my initial year of playing that I've not broken even/made a profit and although I know that I didn't play enough tournaments this year to give an accurate 'long run' picture, it's really not fun to have a losing year. Overall, I've been immensely lucky in my poker career and this year was probably a good reality check for me. I got complacent. I have a lot of work to do on my game. Feel free to suggest MUST WATCH CR videos in the comment section! Here's to a profitable 2011.







I also blog at www.partypoker.com/blog/kara-scott

So I'm home from Las Vegas and my low-cholesterol diet is well and truly dead. Let me tell you, it is NOT easy to eat well when you're away from home. I had great intentions of making healthy choices and blah blah blah but after a couple of mornings of oatmeal and fruit, it quickly degenerated into pecan waffles and fried eggs. The Force is not strong with this one.

Actually, I partially blame Vanessa Peng for my huge backslide. She (also known as Princess Donk on CR) was also playing in the WPT 5 Diamond event and we both busted on day 1. I'm not going to give you bad beat stories, don't worry. It was an extremely frustrating day and I busted right before the final hand, leaving me stuck in Vegas for almost a week before the final table. The World Poker Tour were lovely enough to ask me to help them out with some sideline reporting for the final table and I was definitely happy to work with them again as I'd had such a fun time hosting the WPT Championship last season. So yes, it was good news and bad news. Good news - I got to have some fun interviewing the final table players for the event. Bad news - I was in Vegas on my own for 6 days which was bound to be both bad for my diet and very, very expensive.

Vanessa and I met at the CR party this summer and hit it off so it definitely made sense to exchange numbers and get some dinner together as we both had so much free time on our hands now. She took me to a place off strip called Raku.

It was awesome.

It's a Japanese grill and the food was really incredible. We tried the Sake flight (twice just in case our palates weren't quite awake yet) and then ordered a bottle of our favourite (as you do) while we tucked into an amount of food that was better suited to a group of four than just the two of us. We started with a sea scallop sashimi that kind of blew my mind. I definitely like food and I'm not a picky eater at all but scallops are not one of my favourite things. I generally think they are kind of ... phlegmy. But, I wanted to try new things so we just basically had one of everything the waitress suggested. They do this Kobe beef with wasabi which melted in the mouth and the mix of flavours is something I'm definitely going to do again. Another highlight was a grilled yellowtail with the crispiest skin ever. It had the consistency of super thin but perfectly baked potato chips on top of a soft and buttery yellowtail which tasted so fresh I wanted to immediately order it again.

We ate about 74 other dishes which I can't remember before lapsing into a food coma and heading back to the Bellagio for one last, quick drink. Sadly, that quick drink then degenerated into a surprise mutual appreciation society as we discovered that we both love scotch. That led to drinking some of my favourite scotch (Laphroaig) and THAT led to a massive hangover the next day which made me feel like I might just die if I actually had to leave my hotel room.

Bleurgh. But totally worth it.

The WPT final table was pretty cool too but I don't really want to write too much about it as some of you might want to wait to watch it when it airs, so I won't post any spoilers. I did bump into another CR member Hokulea there and it's always great to meet people I know from online, live and in the flesh. I got to congratulate him on his recent nuptials, in person.

I got home a few hours ago and am a newly reformed character. No more pecan waffles. No more hamburgers. No more chocolate cake.

Until next week at least, when I head back to Las Vegas for the filming of this season of High Stakes Poker :)

I also blog at www.partypoker.com/blog/kara-scott

Remember that doctor's appointment in my last blog; the one where I foolishly had my cholesterol checked?

Well, yeah. That didn't turn out so well.

Apparently it actually DOES have an effect on you if you eat as much cheese and butter and bacon as you want. Doesn't seem fair really. The sad part is that I've actually already been in denial over it for nearly a year. See, don't tell anyone (named Brian) but I had this test last year as well and when the doctor's office called to let me know that my cholesterol was high and that I should come in for a consultation, well, I ignored it. After all, my cholesterol had spiked before and then just kind of 'went away' on it's own. Granted, that was during High School when I worked as a fry cook at the local A&W (Canadian fast-food reference, google if you must), but I digress. The point is, I thought my cholesterol would once again magically get better on it's own. It didn't and now I have egg on my face (instead of in my stomach because apparently eggs are high in cholesterol and thus now forbidden).

It turns out that I'm not being given a chance to just ignore the warning signs (or outright pleas from my doctor) anymore. I spent a day in Vegas getting some work don e ahead of the High Stakes Poker filming next month and when I got back home, I found that 'someone' had thrown away all the butter, bacon, eggs and cheese from the house. I'm not proud to say that I stomped my feet and had a bit of a tantrum.

My cheese was gone. ALL OF IT.

In its place were guide books towards a cholesterol free life and cookbooks for how to cook without all of the things that make food taste so good. Bah. One of them even suggested adopting a vegetarian diet. Now, I have nothing at all against vegetarians. Most of my family are vegetarian and I was one for about 18 months as a teenager before remembering that yes, burgers ARE delicious. I just don't really want to be one now.

Bah times one hundred.

It might not sound like it but I'm a lot less petulant and childish about it now as I've had some time to adjust and accept that I really do need to make changes and take responsibility for living a healthier life. And you know, it's nice to have someone who loves me enough (and is brave enough) to make me face up to it. I'm in Vancouver right now at the River Rock Casino about to start playing the BCPC and even though I'm in a hotel, I'm ordering healthier food options, declining fries and yes, even briefly considering eating salad. I'm not actually eating salad but considering eating it is the first step, after all.

Snapshot into the Scott/Townsend household last week:

Him "How about we go vegetarian for a while?"

Me "How about you kiss my ass."

Him "You are mean when you're hungry."




Truer words were never spoken.





(I also blog at www.partypoker.com/blog/kara-scott )

So this week I spent an hour and a half in a doctor's waiting room. I was having my cholesterol checked as I'm trying to determine exactly what the upper limits are for the fried food I can have without ruining my arteries long term. This meant that I had to be there early in the morning after a 12 hour fast. Considering my feelings about mornings, fasting and needles (all are torture and none should be allowed) this would be bad enough as it is but as an added torture, the TV in the waiting room was set to Animal Planet.

When they first trailed the show "Animal Cops" I had a nice little laugh to myself, expecting all manner of pet-related hijinx. You know, German Shepherds with police hats and badges careening around corners in their canine cop cars as they arrested ne'er-do-wells or cats with truncheons throwing 'perps' up against walls for a pat down. In short, I expected it to be cute.

OH MY GOD, was I wrong. For the next hour, we were bombarded with the most hideous stories of animal neglect and torture. As the show went on, the stories grew steadily worse. When they reached the part where even the vet (!!) is crying while examining a puppy that had been so badly beaten over the few months of her life that she had 13 broken bones and was unable to even stand up, I was openly sobbing and the other people in the room were edging away from the clearly crazy lady. When the programme first began, the woman two seats over from me and I had been exchanging outraged looks and murmurs of 'can you believe it?!' but I think it was when I started angrily shaking my fist at the screen and wiping streams of tears off of my face, that she found somewhere else to sit.

Okay, I'll admit that the fact that I was starving and hadn't yet had a coffee may have made me slightly more susceptible to strong emotions but honestly - I can NOT understand how people can be so cruel to animals. The neglect cases were bad enough; people just turning their backs and not providing the basic sustenance and love for their animal. But even worse than that were the cases where people actively harmed their pets, or even more hideous still - taught their kids to kick or beat their animals. I mean... what the hell?!!? Who are these people?

I've been thinking for a while about adopting a rescue dog and watching this HORRIFIC show on television has strengthened that resolve. I think our dog Maybe would enjoy having a friend too. It's a big decision though and one big reason that so many animals end up in rescue centres is because people make snap decisions about getting pets and then realise they can't handle them. Poor Brian. Considering how much I travel for work, he may end up with even more to do soon!




Kara also blogs at www.partypoker.com/blog/kara

So I played my first WPT this month and it was awesome and terrifying in equal measures. It was definitely the toughest field I've played in and pretty much every table I sat at had a large number of good (not just solid) players. At different times, I sat with Bakes, Johnny World, Chino, Men the Master, Scotty Nguyen, Matt Affleck, Michael Binger, Issac Baron and a bunch more who I recognised (and more worryingly, they all recognised each other) but I didn't know their names. It was a great structure but my chips ran out towards the end of Day 2.

It always sucks to bust from an event. I know that more often than not we'll bust out of tournaments, but it still totally sucks. Marco Valerio from QuadJacks did an interview with me right after I finished and it was a good reminder of how players are feeling when I collar them for a few words right after a sick hand. Delicacy is definitely required. Marco did a good job with it and made me laugh by suggesting I throw up into the Bellagio fountains.

**Edit - I did not actually throw up in the fountains. I'd like to be allowed to return to the Bellagio.

Sometimes, as the interviewer you just have to dive in there and let the player feel gross about what just happened. More often than not, the player will be struck dumb and struggling for words because their mind is still on the hand that just went down. It's not an easy thing to draw them out about it. Some people say we (journalists/tv/bloggers) should just give the players a bit of peace and let them come back later for interviews but honestly, very few players who leave EVER come back to do their interview. It's a real balancing act between getting the interview that's needed and making sure the player doesn't feel like they're having their nose ground into the recent bust out.

The new season of High Stakes Poker films again really soon and I'm excited about doing it again but definitely still have some nerves about it. I love that show and I'm glad that there was so much great action last season - no doubt that WON'T change this year. Being on that set and filming my little bits for it is a real pleasure. Watching the action from the sidelines first hand, is still kind of surreal when I think about my friend Nick showing me 'this great poker show' on TV so many years ago.

Oh, and Happy Halloween Everyone!!! I ordered my costume online and am a bit anxious that it's not here yet but there's still time. Can't wait to see everyone's pictures :)

I just got back from a FANTASTIC trip to New York. It was my first time there and I was really excited about it for a bunch of reasons. First of all, it was Ezra Galston's wedding and I was stoked to be going. Ezra is just a really great person and seeing him take this big step, well I was honored to be there. It was beautiful and moving and fun and full of incredibly happy people. Awesome.

I was also really looking forward to seeing some friends there and having some killer dinners. We met up with some of the other guys who were in the city for the wedding and a LOT of good food was eaten over the course of those 5 days. We managed to get reservations to Le Bernardin and Masa - both top places in NY - and they were as good as I'd hoped they'd be. The tasting menu at Le Bernardin had some incredible dishes. They have this charred octopus that was so good I nearly had a religious experience eating it. Masa was also just unbelievably good food. It was pretty unbelievably expensive though too. I'm not convinced that it was actually worth it.... it gets to a point where the food is undeniably amazing but you do start to wonder how they justify the prices. I'm so glad we went (and won credit card roulette) but I don't think I'd go back. It's one of those great experiences that you do once :)

Aside from the great food, we did a lot of sightseeing. I was a typical tourist and wanted to see as much as I could. We spent a couple of days just wandering around Manhattan, walking through Greenwich Village, China Town, Wall Street, Central Park, Times Square, Rockefeller Centre etc. I went up the Empire State building and looked at the Statue of Liberty, tried out some great little bars and generally just indulged my inner tourist.

Definitely a good trip!

Next up, I'm doing a solo trip out to Florida for a GSN Games Night, representing High Stakes Poker. I'm looking forward to it even though I have only today to unpack, do laundry and repack before taking off tomorrow. From there I'll be going straight to Las Vegas where I'm playing Festa al Lago for Party Poker. It feels like I'm barely at home at the moment and that's not likely to change til 2011 I think. Once October is over, I'll be in Canada to see some of the Party Poker players on the East Coast and then heading to BC for a poker tournament as well. Then High Stakes Poker films again, then its back to Vegas for more poker and then Christmas. Phew. I'm incredibly lucky to have the opportunities that I do and I'm excited about getting to play again live soon. I'm a bit rusty as I've been focusing more on the Poker Hosting work lately, so hopefully it doesn't take too long for me to find my comfort zone and get back into the right head space for playing.

There are lots of really great things about travelling but damn it, the jet lag totally kicks my ass. After getting home from London I think I spent a week just dragging my arse around the house trying not to fall asleep and drool all over the sofa. I'm back on a good schedule now though and looking forward to being a bit more social again!

After the WPT and Party Poker World Open wrapped up in London, we were all invited to join the opening party for the English Poker Open which was going to be held at the same venue we'd been camped in for the week. It was being run by Glen Francis and Jacqui Terry (who do an awesome job) and they let us all get into the club to unwind with a free drink. Sam Trickett and his group were there too to celebrate his win at the World Open. It seemed to be a bit of a theme for the week - the strength of the new British talent - and they were certainly celebrating a well deserved victory. They're a really nice group of lads and I'm glad to see them do so well. I bumped into a lot of interesting people at the party and even had a nice chat with some guys from the MTT community on 2+2. I was really tired though so I didn't stay too long.

The next day, I headed down to the coast to spend some time with friends in Brighton. I swear that in the short time I've been living in the USA, everyone has sprogged up and gotten all domesticated and mature. In order to see a bunch of my girlfriends, I spent an afternoon in a playground instead of a pub. A Playground!! It's good to see everyone so happy though.

I managed to get all the things done that I wanted to in England - to hold off the homesickness for a few more months. I had a couple of FANTASTIC curries, coffee from my favourite shop in the world, some proper greasy fried English breakfasts, a Sunday pub roast dinner... What can I say, food makes me happy!

The downside of all this travelling is that I really haven't been playing poker. I wanted to play online while I was in the UK because I so rarely get to actually play on Party (because of being in the USA). We ended up putting in crazy hours during the tournaments and then the last few days I was in the country, I pretty much dedicated it to seeing my friends and eating myself into a food coma. I'm hoping to head to Canada in the next couple of months though so hopefully I can get some online hands in then. After a few weeks off of playing, I'm starting to really get the urge to play again and shake off the rust.




blog at PartyPoker