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Official Site of Pro Poker Player Liz Lieu - Poker Diva -    Friends

October 14, 2008 - Back to Normality

Date: Thu, Oct 16, 2008 Professional Live Tournament Women

Has it really been two months since I posted here? Bad, bad Liz. I have to make this more of a habit. My posts at PokerListings work out pretty well, but I neglect my own site - not good at all! A lot has happened in these last two months. I headed to Macau to play in the APT and APPT events there. I was hoping for a return to a Final Table or two but no luck. The APT was definitely the better run of the two events. They really took care of the poker players and made me feel special. I headed to Hong Kong and had a great time with some of my friends as well as friends of Alex. Hong Kong is a real blast, and I hope I can get back there soon. I got a great new tattoo as well in Thailand. The artist used bamboo, which takes longer but I think is nicer. After my spiritual time in my homeland for my father’s ceremony, I wanted something really special. And it is. For the last few weeks, I’ve been back in LA. And I’ve decided to spend more time back here in LA and Vegas. I just haven’t liked being so far away from friends and family, and I haven’t been a big fan of all the travel and hotels. I liked London, but I think ultimately I was just too alone there. Maybe I didn’t give it a good chance as I was hopping around all over Europe when I got there. I’ve been spending time at the Commerce, and the cash games have been very juicy, real action games that play to my strength. Unfortunately, I’ve had a tough run last week. I’m proud of how I handled it, running away to Cabo with my girlfriends rather than getting caught up in the emotion of a big loss. All of the beautiful casinos of Las Vegas are built on that human emotion, the fear and frustration and anger of taking a big hit. I feel those same emotions, but I’ve built a thick skin that keeps me from tilting and lets me get through these sessions. And what a great weekend it was with my girlfriends in Cabo. Cathleen, Jackie, and Tiffany have been my friends for so long. They are the ones who give me tough love through everything, through poker, through men, through tough family times. They are so close to me that they don't fear speaking the truth as to what they see. They had planned on going with their families for awhile, and I wasn’t sure if I would make it or not. I’m very glad I did. I spent lots of time sunning, just relaxing without thinking about too much. Saturday was a day of rough weather, so it was just a lot of lounging around plus a spa visit. I really feel rejuvenated after this trip, and I’m ready to hit the tables hard. I’m going to be spending most of my time in cash games at Commerce when I’m in LA and at the Bellagio when I’m in Vegas. I’ll probably play the bigger tourneys, but I need to get back into grind mode for awhile. I haven’t had the stamina to play the twenty and thirty-hour sessions, but I have felt better playing for ten or twelve hours at a time. I want to be sure I’m sharp and at my best, as I think the play has improved at the stakes I’m playing at. I don’t want to promise that I’ll keep my blog up more here at LizLieu.net, but I promise it won’t be two months again until the next post. In fact, check back here as I hope to have a post up later this week from Vegas. Keep checking out my posts at PokerListings.com. Keep up the comments everywhere. I really love hearing from everyone.

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August 6, 2008 - The Best and Worst of Times

Date: Thu, Aug 7, 2008 Professional Live Tournament Women

These are the best of times, these are the worst of times. After a seventeen hour flight, I've finally arrived back in Vietnam on the 29th of July. Eight months have already pass by since my last visit back to my homeland for my father's 100th day praying ceremony, amazing how time flies by so quick. And now I find myself back again. This time is for the one-year anniversary of my beloved father's passing and also I will be spending a few weeks doing my charity work. I spent my first two days in Saigon to spend some time with my father at Lam Te Temple. Then I hopped on a flight to DaNang with my cousin, niece, and nephew for four days to start my charity journey along with my Teacher monk. As soon we got off the plane, I grabbed a taxi and headed straight to my Teacher monk's temple to prepare all the necessities needed for the early trip the next day. We were off and on the road by 6 am, drove five hours on rough bumpy roads to finally reach our destination. By the time we arrived, all the villagers were already at the temple waiting patiently. Before I began passing out the much-needed food to these villagers, a ceremony was conducted by my Teacher Monk to honor me with blessings. I slipped into a blue robe throughout the ceremony which represents my status as his disciple. Being granted Buddhism relics is one of the most precious gift for a temple, and I felt honored when my Teacher Monk showed me the 3 relics that was granted to his temple in DaNang. It was time to distribute the supplies to the villagers when the ceremony ended. There are more than 200 homes in that village so it took us about 2 hours to give out all the supplies. As an appreciation, the villagers prepared a vegetarian feast at the temple for me and my family. This charity journey took over 15 hours on the road, but it was all well worth it! It was my birthday the day after our charity trip. However, it wasn't a good time for celebration because I'm here to mourn for my dad. I decided to go the temple to spend a peaceful birthday, my Teacher Monk conducted a four hour ceremony to pray for both my father and I. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all my family, friends, and fans for all the kind birthday wishes. Much love to you all! I spent the rest of that evening and the following day just playing online at Chilipoker. Then took an evening flight back to Saigon. I'm currently still in Saigon right now preparing a big praying ceremony for my dad's anniversary on the 18th of August. I'll be here till the end of the month, then I'm off to Macau. Take care till then. Cheers!

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June 20, 2008 - Balancing Time During WSOP!

Date: Sun, Jun 29, 2008 Professional Live Tournament Women

Well, it's been a great couple of weeks for me since I posted here last. Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you've followed me on PokerListings as well as everywhere else you find poker news. I've been mixing tournaments with cash games at the Bellagio. I had my first WSOP cash this year (28th in the $2.5k NLHE event). I played really well, but I would have loved to take down that bracelet (the $666,697 for first wouldn't hurt either!). So many pros going deep. The bracelets are staying in the pro ranks, both the old-timers and the young studs. There aren't nearly as many soft spots as there have been in the past. I guess the number of players is still as strong as last year, but the quality seems to be much deeper. It is rare to not recognize someone at your table, unless you take a seat at a $1.5k NLHE donkament! Cash games are going great for me. Seven sessions: one small loss, one break-even, and five winning sessions. That is the plan, to win big and minimize the losing sessions. The games have finally started to get a bit bigger at the Bellagio. I played two sessions of $400/800, one with a $100 ante at Nick Shulman's suggestion. It included Hansu, Greg Mueller, Van Diesel, Jenifer Harman, Eddie Ting, and Minh Ly. That group will definitely keep you on your toes, and it was nice to rack up more chips than I sat down with at a table like that. I also got away from poker a bit. I did some shopping at the Caesar's stores (I miss, miss, miss shopping!). They still remember me there, even though I've been gone basically for a year. I had Zach, my PA, and one of his friends Alvin in town. I think they had a great time—good food, seeing a show. Vegas done right! He and Alvin are sweethearts, and it was great to spend some time with them. I also had my girlfriends in town from LA. Seven hotties out on the town, taking the night by storm! It was a crazy night, one big girls party. I kept drinking Red Bull while they drank whatever they had that looked pretty similar to Red Bull (but with a different kick). One of my girlfriends picked up the tab (we never ever let boys pay for things—GIRL POWER!). Anyways, the girls chose to party at The Bank, one of the hot night clubs at Bellagio in Vegas, and the bill for the seven of us came out to $8600. So my girlfriend asked what we tip. I told her it's up to her, and she left $800 for the waitress and $400 was tipped to the busboys earlier in the night already. So the waitress comes back with a response it's not enough, that we needed to leave at least 10-20%. I really have never had anyone come back with a tip and say it wasn't enough. I thought it was outrageous. We ended up just laughing it off and leaving her $1000. I missed being out with my girlfriends, just laughing and not thinking about anything. This past year has been a year away from that, twelve months of being alone for the most part. I'm not used to it, and I really loved being there with all my friends. I'll be playing a few more events before the Main Event, so keep checking here or PokerListings to see how I'm doing. I'm physically feeling great, so my sickness is behind me. That and my friends are keeping me at my best, and I hope I can get even further at my next WSOP Event. Ciao!

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June 3, 2008 - WSOP Begins...Game On!

Date: Sun, Jun 29, 2008 Professional Live Tournament Women

I have neglected my own site. I admit it. And I am sorry Thanks so much to everyone who has been so kind during my illness. It was over forty days that I was sick, sicker, flown to the US, had an operation, then sat in bed recovering. I've gone through every feeling imaginable: discomfort, pain, anxiousness, fear, misery, sadness, anger, stubbornness, fatigue, graciousness, humility, thankfulness, and anticipation. Now, I'm feeling great, ready to get all of the bad feelings (and bad beats!) behind me. I wasn't sure when I would start playing in the World Series of Poker until I received a call from Fabrice Soulier, my Chilipoker teammate. He's made a five-figure bet with a team from Winamax (a French company). He's betting that he and I can win more cash this WSOP than the Winamax team. Here's who we're up against: The Chilipoker Team: Liz Lieu Fabrice Soulier The Winamax Team: Michel Abecassis Manuel Bevand Guillaume De La Gorce Vikash Dhorasso Davidi Kitai Eric Koskas Ludovic Lacay Antony Lellouche Nicolas Levi Arnaud Mattern Alexia Portal Anthony Roux Almira Skripchenko Game On!! At least he got me fired up and ready to go, so I headed to the Bellagio to play a quick cash game Friday night, just to be sure I would feel up to playing cards. There were no high stakes games going on at the Bellagio, so I played $100/200 LHE for a few hours. I got a bit bored, but I remembered that a flush beat a straight, so I was ready to head to the Rio for my first event. I played Sunday in the second Day 1 of Event 2, a $1.5k NLHE event. These weekend events are going to have huge fields, and I'd recommend anyone who wants to take their shot at a bracelet to try one of these events first. Sure, it takes a bit of luck, but Theo Tran is leading the event as they're down to 18 players, so you have to be able to play to go deep. I won't bore you with how I went out (aces cracked again!!!!), you can read all about it on my PokerListings blog. You might be able to see my photo there (hair color: red!), but I had a friend tell me about a new policy that Harrah's has this year. Photos can only stay up 72 hours online then have to come down. I'm not sure I understand why this is the case, but that's the way it is. Besides that, Harrah's has made some nice improvements to the WSOP. More food (Pizza Hut and Krispy Kreme kiosks!!), not so cold, color-coded table signs. It all seems a little better than the last few years, and I haven't had any problem with the long lines that plagued last year's Series. I'm hoping to play as many hold-em events as possible this year. I promise I'll write more here as well as on PokerListings, so check both of these sites out every day. Thanks again for all of the love. I've really felt it the last few weeks, and I hope I can return the favor with a big score this summer.

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April 27, 2008 - Call Off the Search Party!

Date: Sun, Apr 27, 2008 Professional Live Tournament Women

Don't send the search party! Liz Lieu is in Vegas and doing fine. If you haven't heard, I've been sidetracked by some bad fish! I've had a number of people checking up on me after looking at the live tournament updates wondering where I was. I was sick in bed, in of all places Monaco!! I had such high hopes for the EPT Grand Finale in Monaco last week and for the Five Star World Poker Classic in Vegas this week. These are my two favorite tournaments of the entire year. The only other tournaments that compare are the Five Diamond in December and the WSOP Main Event. I was really looking forward to competing and was really disappointed to get so sick Ironically, I did everything in my control to be prepared for the EPT Grand Finale. I flew into Monte Carlo a day early to get adjusted and properly rested from the travel. I even passed on a great party thrown for the poker players, the evening before Day 1A to make sure I had enough sleep. Then I decided to order a salmon dish before going to bed and woke up the next day feeling very ill. The Hotel is 5 Star in one of the wealthiest countries in the world. I never even considered getting bad room service!! When I woke up the next day, I was feeling dizzy, feint and just awful. Luckily, Alex was able to move my Day 1A start to Day 1B and I went back to bed hoping I could sleep it off. Unfortunately I just felt worse the next day. I had sharp stomach pains and asked my Sponsor Alex to try and get me a refund on my buy-in. Thankfully, they agreed on giving us a full refund and I didn't have to suck it up and play it out. As bad as I felt, there was no way I could've played close to my "A" game. The entire Day 1B was spent in bed and trying to convince room service to deliver me some soup. The only soup the Hotel had was Minestrone and they only gave me this after much struggle. Apparently the poker players were only allowed to order from the poker menu. Soup wasn't on the menu but it was the only food I could keep down and after Alex made a phone call to room service they agreed to send a tiny bowl up. The adventure didn't stop in Monte Carlo. I spent a few more days in my hotel room recovering and then back to Vegas on my scheduled flight to the States. I still felt ill but hoped I could sleep through most of the flight. On the first leg of the flight, I was able to get some sleep but I awoke in a feverish sweat. I felt a little light headed and dizzy as well. The flight attendant noticed I wasn't feeling quite right and made sure I was taken care of on my connecting flight. I was even provided a wheel chair to transport me around on my connection and arrival. I was whisked thru these long security lines and somebody even grabbed my luggage for me. It was actually quite nice! I didn't realize how quickly you could navigate thru an airport when you are in a wheel chair. That was my Monte Carlo experience!! I'm back in Vegas and still not well enough to play in the Five Diamond Event at the Bellagio but it did give me a chance to catch up on some blogging. I immediately went to the doctor after getting back home and I have all kinds of stuff wrong with me!! Low blood pressure, fever, food poisoning. The doctor tells me I'm too stressed out and along with the food poisoning and travelling I just need to chill out for awhile. I know many of you have been emailing me when you noticed I didn't play either of the last two major events and rest assured; besides being quite ill right now from some bad salmon everything is okay. And as soon as I get my strength back, I will probably play some cash games exclusively until the WSOP. Cheers!

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April 15, 2008 - Circling Europe

Date: Sun, Apr 27, 2008 Professional Live Tournament Women

Hello from beautiful Monte Carlo, although I hardly feel beautiful today. It's been a crazy few weeks, including my time in Malta with the Chilipoker team, a cash at the EPT San Remo, and a lot of expectations heading into the EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo. I was so looking forward to getting off to a great start, but I unfortunately I never got out of bed. I spent a lot of time working with the Chilipoker team in Malta. Alex has put together some terrific people, and we're working on many great things for the rest of this year. I'm so glad I chose Chilipoker and Alex as partners, because that's what they are: true partners in every sense of the word. From there, I headed to Italy and EPT San Remo. San Remo is near France and not too easy to reach, as I flew into Milano then rode in a car for almost three hours. It is a beautiful, ancient place, but I had no time to see the sights. It was a great tournament for me, and not due to the fact that I cashed (although that is always welcome). No, it was great because I played great, made good decisions, and made no real mistakes. I was near the chip lead on Day 2 and would have been strong for a deep run had it not been for this tough hand. The blinds were 800/1600 with a 200 ante, and I picked up pocket 4's. I raised to 5k and both blinds called. The rainbow flop came 9-8-6, and I checked behind both blinds. When I saw 4(d) come from the dealer on the turn, I caught my nice bottom set. I bet 9500 after both blinds checked, then one of the guys moved all-in for 49,200. I quickly called and saw him turn over J-10o. If I could avoid a queen or 7, I'd have a great stack. It was one of the queens that spiked on the river, and it crippled me. I went out in 53rd place with 8,000 euro (a little over $12,600). I felt I'd played poorly in Poland, and here I played really well. I even had a little luck, with my dreaded pocket aces holding up five times in a row! After heading back to Malta for a bit, I flew to Monte Carlo for the final event of the EPT season, the EPT Grand Final. I arrived early so I could be really relaxed and prepared for this big event. I even skipped the PokerStars party the evening before Day 1A. I ordered salmon for room service and headed to bed early. When I woke up, I felt horrible. Major headache and drowsiness. I called Alex at Chilipoker to see if he could reschedule me for Day 1B (he could), and I went back to bed after taking some medication from the concierge. The next morning, it was worse. I reached back out to Alex to see if he could get a refund, and I felt relieved when he told me he could. I was able to have a doctor see me, and I didn't really feel better for a couple days. I missed playing in the tournament, but I'd rather not play then not play my best. I owe it to Alex and Chilipoker to only put my best foot forward, and Alex has been great throughout the EPT season. And now, I'll be heading back to the US and Las Vegas. I can't wait to get out of the hotels and back home again. I play in the $25k WPT Championship at the Bellagio this weekend, and I'm hoping I'll feel 100% by then. I'll be staying in Vegas throughout the summer at the World Series, and I have high hopes to have a great few months. Join me at Chilipoker when you have a chance. And if you're somewhere in Asia, you can find me on the cover of Asian Poker Times as well (one of my nicer photos, too!). Keep up all the encouraging comments and thoughts. They really, really help me a lot!

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April 15, 2008 - Circling Europe

Date: Thu, Apr 17, 2008 Professional Live Tournament Women

Hello from beautiful Monte Carlo, although I hardly feel beautiful today. It's been a crazy few weeks, including my time in Malta with the Chilipoker team, a cash at the EPT San Remo, and a lot of expectations heading into the EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo. I was so looking forward to getting off to a great start, but I unfortunately I never got out of bed. I spent a lot of time working with the Chilipoker team in Malta. Alex has put together some terrific people, and we're working on many great things for the rest of this year. I'm so glad I chose Chilipoker and Alex as partners, because that's what they are: true partners in every sense of the word. From there, I headed to Italy and EPT San Remo. San Remo is near France and not too easy to reach, as I flew into Milano then rode in a car for almost three hours. It is a beautiful, ancient place, but I had no time to see the sights. It was a great tournament for me, and not due to the fact that I cashed (although that is always welcome). No, it was great because I played great, made good decisions, and made no real mistakes. I was near the chip lead on Day 2 and would have been strong for a deep run had it not been for this tough hand. The blinds were 800/1600 with a 200 ante, and I picked up pocket 4's. I raised to 5k and both blinds called. The rainbow flop came 9-8-6, and I checked behind both blinds. When I saw 4(d) come from the dealer on the turn, I caught my nice bottom set. I bet 9500 after both blinds checked, then one of the guys moved all-in for 49,200. I quickly called and saw him turn over J-10o. If I could avoid a queen or 7, I'd have a great stack. It was one of the queens that spiked on the river, and it crippled me. I went out in 53rd place with 8,000 euro (a little over $12,600). I felt I'd played poorly in Poland, and here I played really well. I even had a little luck, with my dreaded pocket aces holding up five times in a row! After heading back to Malta for a bit, I flew to Monte Carlo for the final event of the EPT season, the EPT Grand Final. I arrived early so I could be really relaxed and prepared for this big event. I even skipped the PokerStars party the evening before Day 1A. I ordered salmon for room service and headed to bed early. When I woke up, I felt horrible. Major headache and drowsiness. I called Alex at Chilipoker to see if he could reschedule me for Day 1B (he could), and I went back to bed after taking some medication from the concierge. The next morning, it was worse. I reached back out to Alex to see if he could get a refund, and I felt relieved when he told me he could. I was able to have a doctor see me, and I didn't really feel better for a couple days. I missed playing in the tournament, but I'd rather not play then not play my best. I owe it to Alex and Chilipoker to only put my best foot forward, and Alex has been great throughout the EPT season. And now, I'll be heading back to the US and Las Vegas. I can't wait to get out of the hotels and back home again. I play in the $25k WPT Championship at the Bellagio this weekend, and I'm hoping I'll feel 100% by then. I'll be staying in Vegas throughout the summer at the World Series, and I have high hopes to have a great few months. Join me at Chilipoker when you have a chance. And if you're somewhere in Asia, you can find me on the cover of Asian Poker Times as well (one of my nicer photos, too!). Keep up all the encouraging comments and thoughts. They really, really help me a lot!

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March 24, 2008 - The Liz Lieu Exclusive on Chilipoker...Come Join Me!

Date: Tue, Mar 25, 2008 Professional Live Tournament Women

Well, I made it back to Malta, barely in one piece after the EPT Warsaw event. You can read my recap on PokerListings, but I can tell you that I need some good luck with pocket aces sometime soon! Losing three out of five times in Day 1 will do that to you. I made it through the first day and made a horrible play short-handed on Day 2 that could have put me back in the thick of things. The flight back to Malta was a nightmare. It took me over twelve hours including a layover in Frankfurt. Needless to say, I'm not a very big fan of Air Malta now For the first few days back in Malta, I played a good bit online at Chilipoker after I went to the office for three-four hours. It was really great being with Alex and the team, and it made me feel even more a part of the Chilipoker family. When there are so many people working so hard, it gets you motivated, especially since they've involved me in many things going on there. A highlight for me was meeting Eric, Chilipoker's main web designer. I've been working with him via email for several months, so it's always great to connect in person. Chilipoker is working on some great things to continue to grow the site. One of the most exciting things just popped up, a "cheaproll" tournament that I'll be hosting. Anyone who knocks me out gets a free Wii, and they'll be adding $500 to the prizepool plus giving an Xbox to one player who makes the Final Table. It should be a really fun time, and it will be 26 March at 20:00GMT. It's a $1.10 buy-in, so it should be loads of fun. Alex and Eric took me to see The Other Boleyn Girl, which was really a great movie. I was startled though when they stopped the movie in the middle for a fifteen-minute intermission. They used to do that in the US back in the '60's, but it was really odd to see everyone hustling out to get snacks or take a smoke break. On Saturday, Alex had rented a convertible Mini Cooper and took both Eric and myself on a sight seeing tour around Malta. Some places he took us to had amazing views and scenery. We spent most of the morning to mid afternoon just driving around and stopping at nice places as we go. Fabrice and his girlfriend joined us later Saturday, and we had a great time out that night. Easter Sunday we went sightseeing on another island near Malta called Gozo. I was exhausted, but it was great to take some time and see a place I'd been working. Hope to see everyone at my cheaproll at ChiliPoker! I'll be shooting to win it so I can keep the Wii myself!

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March 10, 2008 - Back on the Road Again......

Date: Wed, Mar 12, 2008 Professional Live Tournament Women

After 6 weeks playing cash games at the Commerce and my early exit from the LAPC main event, i'm back on the road again. First stop on this round of my travels was a quick stop in London where I did an interview with Gambling Online Magazine for a front cover feature to come out next month and also to catch up on the progress of the new site I am involved in www.ipokercal.com. The very next day I took a flight to Malta where I will be situated for a few weeks working closely with my sponsor Chilipoker as we prepare for the next stage of my tournaments in Europe and start to discuss future plans. While I was in Malta, which is my second visit to this hotbed of online gaming companies I had chance to spend some quality time with Alex and the Chilipoker team who have just moved into a beautiful large new office which is very impressive. It just shows the quick growth in this amazing company and proves to me that the vision of Alex is coming to reality. Also Alex was kind enough to take me on a quick tour of the island and it was right on the day of the elections and so there were tons of Maltese people voting for either the red or the blue party. While I'm not fully up to date on Maltese politics, the blues winning was a popular signal for the online gaming industry on the island. The driver that took me to the airport the next day said "more power to Chilipoker". So it was an interesting introduction to island life but before I could even unpack my suitcases I was on a plane to Warsaw in Poland for the next stop on the European Poker Tour. However I had to fly via Munich because there are no direct flights from Malta so it was a 7 hour journey just to get here but luckily the hotel laid on a limo pick up for me to bring me to the Mariott Hotel where I am now staying right on the top floor – the views of this beautiful city are just amazing so I couldn't resist going for a bit of sightseeing and of course checking out the local boutiques! :) So let me just say first off that I have a new strategy for this tournament. As you know I normally prefer to play on day 1a if there are two first days. This gives me chance to get straight into my game and if it doesn't work out to travel home. However since my 2 Final tables in Macau APPT, my tournament life has not been as good as I would have liked dropping out early in Melbourne and the LAPC in Los Angeles. Of course the hectic travelling also does not relax me sufficiently well enough. So this time I decided to travel a day early and book my seat in day 1b. This has allowed me to relax in my hotel, catch up on some much needed sleep, get my business affairs in order so that I am fully prepared for the day that I start to play in this event. The EPT Poland is one of the latest additions to the European Poker Tour which seems to be ever expanding and I really enjoy these European events. I hope with my new start time and a couple of other strategic decisions I have made (which i'm keeping quiet about !) that I will go deep into this tournament and hopefully the final table. So if you don't get chance to follow my progress online then I will certainly let you know how I progress. After Poland it's back to Malta for a short while where I will be staying until the next EPT event which is in Saint Remo on the 1st April. So I will write again when I am back in Malta before I'm back on the road again ! Cheers!

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March 01, 2008 - Back Playing High Limit Cash Games...And Still Loving It!

Date: Mon, Mar 3, 2008 Professional Live Tournament Women

For the last few weeks, I've stayed off of planes and spent more time playing cash games than I have in probably a year. Playing high-stakes limit hold-em brought me back to my roots in poker, back to a time where I was constantly working on my game amid marathon sessions at the Commerce. The players were familiar, including Kenny, Cathleen, Max, Lee, Sam, Hansu, Tommy, Shawn, Joe, Jun, Ted Forest, Tony Van, JC Tran, and Jimmy. I booked some nice wins over the first three weeks at the Commerce before we moved to the Bike a few days before the LAPC Main Event started. We were playing $400/800 or $500/1000 LHE most of the time, with players crossbooking each other up to 100%. Unfortunately, I also got sick a few days before the Main Event. Nothing too severe, but it knocked me into bed for several days. I felt better but still a bit fatigued when the Main Event started. I don't think it affected my play at all, but the deck must have caught the same flu bug that I had. After my aces got cracked to send me to the rail vs. K-9, I couldn't do anything much but to laugh about it. These things seem to run in cycles for me, running good in tournaments then running bad. I avoided almost all of the tournaments at the LAPC and did much, much better sticking to cash games. I didn't ignore the Main Event, and it ended with one of the best Final Tables the World Poker Tour has had in quite awhile. One of my good friends in poker, Quinn Do, made the Final Table in 5th chip position with 1.45mil in chips. He was sitting with some very tough players, including Nam Le (1.18mil), Phil Hellmuth (2.38mil), and Phil Ivey (4.10mil). Ivey has been pretty quiet in tournaments over the last year, with a runner-up finish in the $5k WSOP 7-card stud event his only significant cash in the last eighteen months outside of Poker After Dark on NBC. I was in the crowd cheering on Quinn, who I'd played and worked with a couple years ago. He may not be a household name, but he didn't win his WSOP Bracelet by accident. By the time the dust settled, he sat across from Ivey heads-up to battle for an extra $687k, the difference between the top prize of $1.596mil and the runner-up money of $909k. Quinn was outchipped 10.8mil to 2.5mil, and the first hand quickly got rough. Ivey bet 700k on a spade flop of A-8-6, leaving him with only 1mil behind. The other black ace, A(c), hit the turn, and Ivey moved all-in. Quinn held 9(h)-8(h), and he took about five minutes to decide what to do, and he ultimately put Ivey on a spade draw and made the call. Had he been right, he would have doubled up and been within striking distance of Ivey. It was a bold play with second pair, and it was sick to see Ivey flip over A(h)-8(d) for the full house and the title. We all waited for Quinn to cash out after the tournament was over, and it took him over an hour. Figuring out how to cash out $909k is a good problem to have, believe me! A dozen of us joined him to celebrate at a Chinese restaurant. We were all starving! None of us fought for the check as we stuck Quinn with it. :) So after a month in LA, I'm headed to Malta next week. I'll be working with the ChiliPoker team for about a month as we work on everything from the site to a new DVD series, as well as marketing ideas. I will also be playing three EPT events while I'm in Europe - Polish Open, San Remo, and Grand Final Monte Carlo. I've recently also launched a new project with a business partner of mine, iPokerCal. This new site is a one-stop shop for any and every poker event going. Whether it's an online tourney, big tournaments in poker rooms all over the world, even televised poker, you can have one place to quickly find what's going on in poker any day of the year. It's all a bit strange in some ways. I was happy to head back to LA, glad to stay away from planes for awhile, thankful to be with friends, and really excited to be spending a lot of time at the poker table. And now, I'm ready to leave LA and get to Malta. It will be my second time in Malta, and the team at Chilipoker is just terrific. I'm sure I'll be playing on Chilipoker while I'm on the road, so jump onto the site and sign up to play. Lots of different sign-up bonuses depending on how much you play, up to $600 and even an iPod on top of that. Remember, the only thing better than dead money is free money! Have a great weekend, and I'll talk to you next from Malta. Cheers!

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February 07, 2008 - Happy New Year!

Date: Sun, Feb 10, 2008 Professional Live Tournament Women

Happy New Year! For those of you confused, today is Chinese New Year, one of my favorite times of the year. It's been great to be in LA as the New Year approached, spending time with my girlfriends and playing cash games all night long. I've only played one $1k tournament at the LA Poker Classic. Commerce has flattened the payout structure, bumping up the money for those who just cash while lowering the winner's prize. I've just avoided the tournaments and have been playing the regular $400/800 game. It is playing so wild, I love it! The games have really been full of action and big swings for some of the players. Being up or down $75k is fairly standard in this game, and I've come close to some really big nights. Maybe I'm a little greedy, I don't know. I'd get up to nine stacks of $5k each and try to get that tenth before quitting, then I'd leak it down, then build it back up to nine stacks again! These games are so juicy, it's hard to leave. It really has renewed my enthusiasm for poker and cash games, and I'm glad I've spent time in LA. I also got to spend some great time with one of my best friends, Cathleen Tran. It was her birthday this week as well as her son's, and her party has become an annual tradition for us, a truly genuine time just to be together and do the things we love. Fashion, new trends, clubs--all girl things! And if you see me around, you'll probably notice something different about me-my hair color. I went six weeks with purple and now have gone back to brunette. Changing my hair keeps me feeling fresh and alive again, just like a butterfly! Hehe :-) Until next time everyone! Cheers!

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December 13, 2007 - Back to Sin City For Bellagio's Five Diamonds Main Event

Date: Sat, Dec 15, 2007 Professional Live Tournament Women

Here's the latest update from Las Vegas. Yes, I'm back home in Vegas again, after spending three weeks in Hong Kong, Macau, and Vietnam. Whew!! That was quite a trip. I flew out of Vietnam and after traveling for almost 24 hours, hopping on and off several flights, I finally arrived back in the states on December 8th. Boy, was I glad to be back home and finally sleep in the comfort of my own bed again. I haven't done much since I've returned to Vegas. I spent the first two days jet lagged and rested as much as I can at home. I think the wear and tear of traveling got me a little sick so I've been staying home mostly trying to get healthy for the Main Event. I did however make it out of the house a few times. I arrived in Vegas on a Saturday and the following Monday I spent a few hours in a photo shoot with my teammate Fabrice Soulier. Fabrice was already doing the photo shoot by himself before I arrived and the last two hours of his session were photos of both of us to be used for our website (www.chilipoker.com). Afterwards I headed to the Bellagio to do an interview with a U.K. television crew. The interview was for ITV Series called 'How to become a Poker Millionaire'. They are conducting interviews with top pros from all around the world and the aim of the show is to show the public glimpses of the lives of the worlds poker elite, and how they've succeeded and stayed at the top. So, if you're in the U.K. keep an eye out for that show sometime in 2008. After the photo shoot and interview with the U.K. television crew, I decided to go play some poker since I was already at the Bellagio. My normal game wasn't going so I jumped into a 100/200 Limit game and luckily I was playing lower because I wasn't running very well and ended up with a losing session and after 2 hours, I decided to cut my losses and go home. I probably needed to rest up anyways and get better for Wednesday's Day 1A start for the Main Event at the Five Diamond. I was still feeling a little under the weather at this point. I didn't do much on Tuesday, except go back to the Bellagio to register for the Main Event and meet up with my good friend Jennifer Newell. We went to dinner at Fix Restaurant and that was pretty much my night. Wednesday was the first day of Event 13, the Main Event and 15k buy-in. I decided to play in Day 1A which is normal for me. I usually compete on the first day of the tournament if there are multiple starting days. I want to get it out of the way and it gives me an extra days worth of rest between days which is sometimes nice since the tournament is potentially 5 days long and each day is pretty long and grueling. I'd have to say I played well the first day. I ended up in 11th place when the day ended with 80,125 chips which was well above the average stack. I was able to accumulate some chips early in a pretty big pot. I picked up some information on one of the players at my table. I noticed he made a big raise from the big blind with pocket tens in the first level. Later, I limped under the gun with pocket nines and watched as it came to the BB with three other callers in between. The BB raised to $750 and from the information I gathered earlier on this player, I felt like he had worse than tens this time around so I re-popped him another $3k and everyone folded back to the BB and he called. The flop came J-5-6 and it was checked down on the flop. The turn came 5 and I felt like I had the best hand and again the BB checked so I bet out $3,650 into the pot. The BB decides to re-raise to $13,200 and after taking a bit of time to analyse the hand - the amount he re-raised was too much to make me believe he's got my 99's beat so, I called. The river brought a non heart 3 and this time the BB checked and I checked behind. He turns over 77's just a bit shy of beating my 99's so I take down a large pot. :-) Another big hand during the first day was towards the end of the day. I got into a big hand with Brian Powell as the day was closing. Brian limped from the cut-off and I raised it up to $1,700 from the small blind. I had A(d) Q(s) and felt confident I had the best hand at this point so I raised. Brian made the call and the flop fell J(h) 10(h) 6(h). We both checked and the 6(d) fell on the turn. I checked again but this time Brian fired out $2,500 into the pot. I still felt like I had the best hand and immediately check raised him to $6,500, Brian thought for a bit then flat called. I didn't want to see a call at this point but then the river brought a Q(d) and now I have top pair. I was pretty sure Brian didn't have a 6 or A-K so I fired $10,000 into the middle and after some thought, Brian made the call. He showed A-10 and turns out my Ace Queen caught up to his Ace Ten and I ended up finishing with the better hand. That's pretty much how my first day ended. I did get involved in a couple of pots where I lost some decent amount of chips but I was able to chip up each time and luckily I finished the day pretty strong and I'm right near the top of the leader board. I'm at home now checking up on Day2 and I notice some very strong players are on top of the leader board. Most notably Phil Ivey, who is the only player with more than 200,000 in chips. Both my friends John Phan and Joe Sebok are also near the top of the leader boards and John Hennigan who finished with the chip lead on Day 1A. There are so many big names near the top of the leader board and I have my work cut out for me. I think once the dust settles, we're going to end up with an extremely tough final table with lots of big name pro's. Hopefully among one of those names will be Liz "The Poker Diva" Lieu. HeHe ;-) Until next time everyone, Take Care!

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December 03, 2007 - Back to Back Finals In Macau, China!

Date: Sun, Dec 2, 2007 Professional Live Tournament Women

After 3 hours of delay at the airport, I finally arrived in Hong Kong. That was my first time there and I was really excited about it. I heard from friends that Hong Kong is a shopping paradise. I knew my schedules are booked solid for the next few days, but I was hoping I could squeeze a little time in between meetings to go and pamper myself. :). It seem like when work starts, it will never stop. I had an interview with Prestige Magazine as early as 10am, followed by a 30 min recording with Bloomberg TV. During the recording, we discussed about poker and the life of the poker diva. I'm not spoiling it by going into too much detail, so do watch out for that episode! Right after that, I had to do 2 interviews with the local newspapers before I can headed back to my room at JW Marriott Hotel. What the day! The next morning, the crew from Capital, the leading documentary programme of France, joined us in Hong Kong. They would be following us throughout the events in Macau as Alex, Fabrice, and myself will be appearing in their 60-minute documentary. The next morning, we headed to Macau, the Las Vegas of Asia. It was a 45-minute ferry ride from Hong Kong to Macau, and Alex just could not resist snapping pictures along the journey. When we arrived at the Venetian, I was totally surprised it looked almost identical to The Venetian in Vegas. Home sweet home! Haha. This is sure going to be fun. There was Opening Night Party held at The Waldo Casino. I managed to catch up with many of the pros in the poker circuit. Day 1 of the Main Event was a roller-coaster ride for me. My chip stack was moving up and down, but I did manage to go into Day 2 with an average stack. I had a much better run on Day 2 and did not take any big hits. I was below average in chips going into Day 2 but managed to double up my chips the first round with 10 10's against A K. I kept my chips pretty steady the entire night and finished Day 2 with 232,000 and off I go... TO THE FINAL TABLE!! whoohoo :) The chip leader, Dinh Le, played well in the final table. He made very good use of his chips to dominate the table and I was having a cold run of cards. There was one hand where I had A8 suited and raised it to 35k in middle position. Everyone folded and action got to Dinh Le in the small blind. He re-raised up to 90k, and after going into the tank for few minutes, I decided to fold. I later found out he had Aces on that hand. Phew! The cold run continued after that hand and soon I was short stacked. I picked up A6 and pushed all-in from late position. Guillaume Patry called from the big blind, and showed 72 (off)!! The board came 8 3 7 J 7 and I was eliminated in 7th place. Well, I was going to have the 15k High Roller Event the following day, so I wasn't going to think about that bad beat and just go get a good nights rest in my room. Anyway, I would like to congratulate Dinh Le for winning this event. The 15k High Rollers Event featured quite some big names. There was even once where Nick Schulman, Jeff Lisandro, Scotty Nguyen, Guillaume Patry, Vanessa Rousso and John Juanda were all at my table. This was not an easy field of players and I had to battle through to about 4:30am to lock myself a back-to-back final table. However, I was the short stack in the final table and was busted in 8th after my A10 did not hold up against my opponent's AQ. Although I'm quite disappointed for not able to win either event, but I'm satisfied with my overall performance in this APPT Macau. Let's just hope I will win this next year when APPT is back in Macau! :) I'm now in Vietnam, and heading to Danang tomorrow to do more charities. It will be a good break for me as well. After that, I'm flying back to Vegas on the 8th for the Bellagio Five Diamond Event. Till then, take care!

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January 26, 2007 - Feeling Confident and Being Positive

Date: Fri, Nov 30, 2007 Professional Live Tournament Women

I have such great things in the works right now, and I'm feeling more positive than I have in a long time. It's good to feel this way! Do you ever feel sometimes that you've worked so hard for so long with few results, and you just feel like things are never going to get better? That's how I was feeling for awhile! And when things started to turn around over the past month, I almost couldn't believe it! It takes some time to realize that it's okay to feel good and positive, and that things are really looking up. First of all, I did close on my Vegas condo at Panorama Towers, and I can start moving in any day now. I do have to figure out if I'm going to Colorado to oversee the move of my furniture, which I think might be a good idea, as I'm afraid of it getting damaged. I'm quite excited to have four magazine covers coming out in the coming months! I'm going to be on the cover of Woman Poker Player, Total Poker, Pro Poker, and Flush. Wow, huh? I'm very flattered and anxious to see the covers and the articles. Second, I've signed a deal with an international sports agent, Stephen Pearson, to handle my PR and endorsement deals. He is located in London, but we communicate a lot by e-mail and telephone, and things are already moving along very quickly. He has amazing vision for my career, going outside of the poker world and treating poker like the international sport that it is becoming. Our goals are the same, and it's awesome to be working with someone who thinks along the same lines as me. I wish I could mention some of the things that we're working on, but as soon as contracts are signed, I'll be posting the news here first. Stay tuned! On another note, I'm a little concerned about this NETeller news that some former executives from the company have been arrested and charged with money laundering conspiracy. What?! This is getting crazy! All we want to do is play poker, right? Why does the government have to try to take that away from us? I don't understand! I hope to talk with some friends and understand more about what is going on with NETeller, but for now, they've decided not to accept deposits from U.S. customers. It's truly ridiculous that these people have been arrested, but I guess we'll have to see how it plays out. Maybe poker will suck out on the river and send the U.S. government out of the game! Hee hee! Well, I just wanted to touch base with you and let you know what's going on in my life. Take care, and I'll talk to you again soon!

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