Daniel "Kid Poker"Negreanu had organised a plane to take us straight into LA for the Commerce WPT. All went smoothly until we arrived at the Commerce at 4am and found out all our rooms (which we had booked a while ago) had been given up to other people. Mind you, on this flight was Hellmuth, Phil Laak, Brian Raast, Jen Tilly, Daniel and myself. I was waiting for Phil H. to blow up but, nooooo, he was all Zen-like. Daniel, on the other hand was ready to tear down some walls, and rightly so. None of us slept on the street, so it all worked out.

So we get to the bubble of the main event. I'm short-stacked waiting for someone to bust. It was taking forever. Then a buddy sends me over a scotch on the rocks, and like four doubles later, we are still on the bubble. Jason Senti raised under the gun, and I shipped it for my last 54,000 (blinds 3/6k methinks).

I'm totally smashed at this stage and call for the cameras (you can check it out if you Google "Joe Hachem LAPC bubble") and what have you. Scott Siever to my left claims to have folded queens. Jason calls and I show him the nuts. Of course [As][Ac]. They hold up, and before you know it, the bubble bursts at 74 players and I survive to 33rd for $38,000.

I flew out the next day to Arizona to visit my good friend Kevin O'Donnell. I had a great night at his bar, KO's, and rested up next day.

I flew back to Vegas on March 3rd for the NBC Heads-Up drawing party and drew Phil Galfond. I wasn't too happy to draw this genius, but I had a plan (which turned to shit when he caught runner, runner straight twice to beat me). He is a really nice kid, and I have loads of respect for him. One good thing that came out of the game was when I made a really good lay down at the last moment after I picked up a tell on him, and I was right.

The next day, I flew straight back to LA for the Big Event at The Bike. I arrived 5 1/2 hours late and built my stack from 27,000 to 90,000 in 2 1/2hrs. Must be nice, right?

I came back on Day 2 and had to leave an hour early for a very important meeting in Beverly Hills regarding my show "The Poker Star." So, I got blinded down to 74,000 for the night with 70 players left.

The next day I checked out of my hotel (I had a flight that night) and headed off to The Bike. Fifty-six players would get paid, so I decided I would grind it out to the bubble, and if I caught some cards then so be it, and I would make a run for the title. Right on the bubble I had 10 big blinds, but this bubble burst immediately, and before I knew it I had 800,000. Nice run. I finished with 610,000 for the night. So, I canceled my flight and rebooked for next day. I went back to my hotel, checked back in, slept like a baby, got up did a work out, then checked out and headed back to the Bike with 24 players left.

At exactly 3pm, this hand came up. I raised in the cutoff with K8. The button called and had me covered. The flop came [3c][4c][6s]. I c-bet for half-pot, and he called. The turn was the [ks]. I fired 178,000, and he insta-shoved. Wow!

I thought and thought, and then I thought some more.I finally came to the conclusion that he must be on a semi-bluff.

My reasoning:

1) He acted so quickly
2) He is a tough online player and very capable
3) If he did hit the flop, he would have tried to get more money in on the flop

If folded, I would have had 20 big blinds left, and I didn't like that. So, I called with top pair, no kicker. He had pocket fives for 3rd pair and open ender. The river blanked, and suddenly I had 1.4m in chips. I was in contention. I got down to the final table, went back to the hotel, and recheck-ed in again--this time for two days.

At the final table with me was my good friend and fellow Pokerstars Team Pro Victor Ramdin. I was sitting fourth in chips, but very comfortable. My goal here was to focus on a top three placing, and then from there to win. Well, we got to top three, but it was a long tough road. It's a bit of a blur now, to be honest, except I did win three flips to knock three players out, so I ran pretty good.

I finally got to heads up with Victor. In mid-play, the news about the earthquake in Japan came on, and we both got rattled enough to take a break.

After we re-started, I took a big chip lead early. Then he flopped the nuts on me when I had a pair and straight draw. That gave him the lead. Half ab hour later, I flopped the nuts on him with a pair and flush draw and retook the lead. After that, he built up some momentum, and I went completely card dead. We finally got it in with me holding [Ac][Kc] vs. his ace-jack. The jack spiked, and Victor held the trophy proudly. Congrats, Victor. You played your heart out, matem and you deserve it.

I was totally exhausted after all of this. I had a day off in LA, and then took the long trip back home to family where I will be until May 5th when I leave for Madrid for the EPT Grand Final.

See you there.

Summer truly is the sporting tournament season for Aussies and poker is no exception. Just days after a hugely successful Aussie Millions, we looked forward to the very first tournament in the PokerStars.net Australia New Zealand Poker Tournament (ANZPT). This is the second year of the tour and it has a special place in my heart as my brother Tony is the reigning champion.

There's so much to enjoy about the ANZPT because it capitalises better than any other tournament on the opportunity to combine travel with poker. PokerStars.net put together such a comprehensive year-long tournament schedule, covering not only some of the toughest events and most challenging competitors, but also the best in sightseeing and local activities ranging from the beauty of the Adelaide hills and wineries, to my home town casino Crown, and the adventures (and extreme sports) of Queenstown.

At the opening Adelaide event, which is happening right now, there is the chance to compete with some great local and international talent (the proximity to the Aussie Millions means many players stay in Australia to compete in both) and to take peaceful afternoon trips through the local vineyards - a very pleasant way to spend a week.

Players taking advantage of the trips through the local wineries should bear in mind though that this is not an event to let down your guard, or indulge in a little too much vino. Because the ANZPT has a truly unique structure in the poker world, meaning a serious player needs to bring his best performance to every single event.

Unlike other tours the ANZPT is designed to reward consistency throughout the year- long calendar of events. While most tours are a collection of individual tournaments, the Pokerstars.net ANZPT operates on a points system that runs throughout each event. The overall winner is declared, not on performance in one particular event but is based on their consistent performance throughout each state heat of the tournament.

It's a unique structure for a poker tournament, to reward consistent performance across a year and one that I personally encourage, as it very simply dispels the myth that poker is about luck. By claiming the overall ANZPT tournament championship a player has to prove that they can achieve high results again and again, against a wealth of different challengers, when they are faced with great cards or when they're hit with a bad beat.

The ANZPT structure proves one of the things that I firmly believe about poker, that it is a game of consummate skill, not a game of luck. Unless you take into account the chance to travel the world, visiting beautiful tourist spots, playing a game that you love. That's pretty lucky after all.

So until Adelaide is over, pass the sugar.

The courage of a sportsman takes him through some of the most difficult moments a person can face, and he needs to face them again and again. The courage to get back out on the field or the floor after you've taken a hard knock. The courage to push yourself further and the audacity to believe you can be the greatest.

When your sport is poker, you also need the courage to risk your chips, even when you can't guarantee the outcome. While there's many things a poker player can do to determine what the most likely result of the next hand will be - read his opponents, play the odds, understand the room - even for the greatest and most informed player, there is always that small percentage of the unknown that requires a leap of faith.

A leap of faith can be both a terrifying and an invigorating prospect, but either way it requires a big dose of courage to propel you forward. Perhaps you find yourself down to the final two in a leading tournament; you've beaten your way through a field of thousands and accumulated a hefty chip stack. Your opponent has done the same and you're both feeling the pressure of the past four days of play. One wrong move and the whole game could be lost. The natural temptation is to protect yourself - play small, play close, not make any big movements or take to many risks.

However, to move the game forward, for someone to claim victory you will need to pick your moment, draw on your reserves of courage and go all in. Whether you're at a home game with your mates or the final table of a major tournament, the decision to go all in is one that brings with it a surging rush of adrenaline. A great poker player will calmly find their way through that adrenaline rush to play out the hand, and hopefully be able to celebrate when it comes to the river card.

I've always found taking that big step exhilarating, but I also know how important it is to manage that rush, which is why on The Poker Star show this week, I was looking for a contestant who felt the same. To discover who had what it took to conquer their fears and go out on a limb, I took the contestants on a heart-pumping tightrope walk between two sixteen-storey buildings.

A small plank placed between the two buildings and a safety rope were all the contestants could rely on to get them from one building to the next. Tensions ran high as players discovered what I already knew - the first step out into dangerous territory is always the scariest, but with a bit of courage you can make it the rest of the way.

As Josh, the first player to cross, made it safely, and gratefully, to the safety of the opposite building he smiled and grabbed onto the steadying wall with relief. As I smiled at him and told him that he'd done well, but now he had to turn around and come back again, he looked at me incredulously as though I was joking. When he realised I wasn't, his face fell as he turned and steeled himself to complete the terrifying walk a second time.

I'm proud to say that Josh pulled himself together and drew on his courage to turn around and cross back over one more time, as did his fellow contestants.

Because having the courage to make a brave move once is impressive, but having the courage to push yourself to make those challenging leaps again and again is what makes a true professional. And that's what I'm looking for in The Poker Star.

"There's nothing like winning, kid," Hachem said moments ago, during the first break in action of day 1b of the Main Event. "Winning is the only thing that really matters."

Although Europe hasn't been Hachem's fondest stamping ground -- notwithstanding an 11th place at the 2008 Monte Carlo Grand Final -- he's grown quite accustomed to that winning feeling. After earning $7.5m alongside the bracelet, he took another $2.2m for a WPT title at the Bellagio in December 2006, and there are eight further five-figure cashes on his record since then.

He also defeated some personal demons. "The funny thing is," Hachem said, "I busted out of the High Rollers event and was on mad tilt. I played the PLO six-max and lasted one level. So I bitched to Greg (Raymer), had something to eat, went up to my room, and came down not on tilt any more.

"I went through day one on par for the whole day, stayed out of trouble, and I never looked back on day two. I even worked out the secret to success. I was never all in in the whole tournament. It's so obvious."

When you put it like that...

EPT London side event results so far:

£1,000 + £100 - No Limit 6 Max
Winner: Andreas Gulunay, Germany, £67,000
223 entries; £223,000 prize pool

£1,000 + £100 - PLO Double Chance - 6 Max
Winner: Fabrice Soulier, France, £23,400
71 entries; £71,000 prize pool

£2,000 + £150 - European 8 Game Championships
Winner: Joe Hachem, Australia, £42,400
60 entries; prize pool £120,000

£1,000 + £100 - PLH / PLO Freezeout
Winner: Iikka Tahkokallio, Finland, £30,000
85 entries, total prize pool £85,000

£20k High Roller
Winner: Matt Glantz, USA, £542,000
75 entries; £1,485,000 prize pool

Hold on, when did Team PokerStars Pro Hachem ever run a motel? Of course, he didn't. This is cinema, folks, and the new horror flick Prey sees a cameo role from the Team PokerStars Pro, who plays a motel owner .

In his scene film-goers will see Hachem playing on PokerStars just as the main characters arrive to inquire about rooms.

The film has just been released in Australia, and with Hachem involved it fittingly gets its star-studded US premier right here in Las Vegas on Tuesday night at the Brenden Cinemas at the Palms Hotel, which will be PokerStars players' base during the WSOP.

Here's what the film release material says: "When six friends decided to leave the City and head for the surf, how were they to know that they were being drawn into a world of ancient curses and inescapable nightmares.

"Trapped in a valley of primordial evil, these friends try to come to terms with past wrong doings but no matter how hard they try to escape, they always end up staring death in the face.

"Welcome to a place where the supernatural world hunts the real world. Welcome to PREY...Dreamtime is over!"

Scary stuff!

As you might expect, Team PokerStars Pro Joe Hachem is more than a little concerned with what's happening at home. After struggling to find a way to help, he worked with PokerStars and set up a charity tournament with a portion of the buy-in going to help the people affected by the fires in Australia.

Below is an open letter Hachem wrote to the PokerStars community.

*****

My family and I have been watching in disbelief over the recent weeks to what has been happening on our doorsteps. We would like to do something to help and I also feel the Australian poker community feels the same way. With the help of PokerStars I have been able to set a tournament this Sunday where $10 of your $20 entry fee will go the bushfire appeal. PokerStars will also help by doubling your contributions. The more people who enter the more we will give. So please join me and help bring some hope to my fellow Victorians.

Please log this Sunday afternoon 22nd February 2009 at 2.30pm (AEST) to play in a charity tournament to help the victims of this tragedy. The tournament is under Events > Special tab in your PokerStars game lobby.

Regards,

Joe Hachem
Team PokerStars Pro

*****

If you've been around PokerStars for very long, you know the company and the players step up when it's time to help others. The PokerStars community has raised millions for the people affected by the 2004 tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, the earthquakes in China, and several other major causes. Now, it's time to help again.

See everyone on Sunday.

As pretty much everyone who has ever riffled a chip is well aware, Hachem was born in Lebanon but now represents his adopted home of Australia. When he charged to the world title in 2005, he did so to the raucous soundtrack of "Aussie! Aussie! Aussie!" from an enthusiastic rail. And when major result after major result followed, Hachem emerged as far more than a one-hit wonder: his bank and air miles account ticked ever upward as he became a global ambassador for the game.

But while Joe may be miles away from his childhood home when he visits Las Vegas, he is clearly wholly comfortable strolling around the Rio, whatever event is underway. And no one was surprised yesterday when Joe moved into the money in that mouthful of a tournament mentioned up there. He didn't take it all the way to the final table today -- Joe just busted in 35th for $4,619 -- but it's another impressive result for the former world champ and further proof of his pedigree.

And his presence did not gone unnoticed by his table-mates. I watched the final couple of orbits of Joe's tournament, including the moment when he was moved to a new table, checked his big blind to one limper, then folded when the limper bet. Pretty standard, until the limper - a young guy in the one seat - looked at Joe and said: "Can I take your picture?" even as he was restacking his chips.

Joe smiled, sensing a curious rub-down perhaps. But the guy said: "I'm just a tourist. I didn't plan on playing the tournament. Can I have a photo?" With that, he reached into his back-pack beneath the table and took out a camera. "Not while I'm in a hand, but sure. Of course you can." With small blind folded, Joe looked across, smiled again, and CLICK: "The day I took the big blind of a world champion" was captured for ever.

It was only a few hands later that Hachem departed. His Kh-Kc-5s-4h losing both ends of the pot, all in pre-flop, to his his opponent's Ad-4c-2c-7d when the board ran out 3c-Qc-7c-4s-As. Composed and polite, Joe took his leave. But he'll be back. And there'll be plenty more opportunities for photos as this series reaches its business end.

Hachem gave an in-depth interview with our video blog team this week. Check out the piece below in which Hachem talks about how to be successful, money management, pacing, and stepping down when necessary.