I returned from Macau around four days ago and had an îOKî trip. †I went there in hopes of playing in a few high stakes cash games with some Asian high rollers but, unfortunately, there were few to be found. My friend Brian ‘Tsrast’ Rast also came and with no cash games to be found (the biggest game usually was 10/20 USD with a $20/hand rake), we spent most of the first week held-up in our 1800 square foot suite playing online poker. †We split action on the trip and both got killedÖfinishing the trip down $100,000 each.
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Toward the end of the first week Brian’s girlfriend flew out to Macau with one of her friends, both of whom are ìentertainersî at Spearmint Rhino. ††I may be stereotyping but I find most dancers have extremely violent personalities and, although I really like his girlfriend, she fits perfectly into this stereotype. †They got into several very dramatic fights, which kind of put a damper on the mood of the trip. †Personally, I could never date one of these girls; they are far too high maintenance for me and I don’t have the patience to deal with all the drama. †
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I ended up playing in one cash game, which was 500/1000 Hong Kong Dollars blinds, which would be around 75/150 USD. †The lineup was Johnny Chan, Brian, four other mid/high stakes internet cash game pros and myself. I still think I was a favorite in this lineup, but this was not exactly the type of cash game I flew to Macau for!
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Upon returning home, I immediately started grinding. I was eager to play on my home computer where I am able to use a HUD and try to recoup my Macau losses. †Over the course of 48 hours, interrupted by a few workout sessions and one sleep marathon, I made around 10 buy-ins playing in a mix of 25/50 and 50/100NL games.
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Toward the end of the marathon session, I noticed there was a 500/1000NL game going which I thought I would be a favorite in. †I only had one buy-in in my account so I asked for a loan from a friend and decided to take a shot. Things went well and I ended up winning $155,000. †Between that and the smaller games I played, I more than made up for my Macau losses. †This was my huge win for me. It felt good to finally book a win in a nosebleed session (I’ve been winning at 10/20 and 50/100 and losing when I play higher stakes). †
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After the marathon session, I flew to Kansas City to go to a NFL game with my extended family. It was great to see everyone but I was beyond exhausted.

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I really don’t want to do anymore traveling for a while. †It’s hard to stay healthy while traveling. With the combination of eating out, jet lag, weird sleeping hours and the fact that it’s way harder to workout, I end up feeling so unhealthy and completely energy deprived. †I like the regiment I have going on in Vegas; so I think I’m going to skip WSOP Europe and stick to tournaments in Vegas for the next few months.

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Thatís all for now.

-Andrew