On my way to the 2010 World Series tournament, my goal was simple: to do the best that I could. I didn't expect to win at all. Of course, I dreamt about it, and in my wildest dreams I won it, but the reality is that I only wanted to take part to the tournament, and play the best poker of my life, making the right decisions, and letting the rest follow. And you all know what happened next: I managed to win the tournament! It was madness everywhere, especially in Quebec!

In this situation, you must be able to adapt, fast. There is media everywhere, you become instantly famous, and everybody recognizes you. It is essential to become extremely disciplined in order to perform the many tasks expected from you. I think I've been able to adapt quickly, for which I feel very lucky. There are so many requests all at the same time that you don't have time to deal with them all!

After winning the Main Event, I couldn't play poker for one month due to the high volume of requests from international and Quebecois media. Not a very big problem you'll say; yes, in most cases. To be recognized and congratulated by the public is heartwarming. You become proud. Proud of your achievement, proud to represent Quebec and Canada on the international stage but at the same time, you become a target. Some people are waiting the smallest mistake from you to shout from the rooftops that you are not perfect.

Nobody's perfect, everyone can make mistakes; the most important is to know how to deal with them and how to recover afterwards.

One month after my victory, I signed a contract with the giant PokerStars.com. Wow! Another dream which became reality - getting the chance to represent the biggest poker room in the world is just fantastic.The tournaments and promotional activities are organized. Interviews, TV show, press conferences, you name it!

Once again, it is essential to be able to adapt, as now you have to be able to adhere to a strict schedule, to be present, and in good shape, for all activities requested. But more than anything else, it is essential to enjoy the present moment. You won't win the WSOP Main Event every year. So for me it was very important to appreciate every moment and to have fun. I enjoyed the present moment, had fun with interviews, and smiled to the cameras.

This approach has been highly motivating. I knew that I had to play several tournaments in early 2011, starting by the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, so I was really motivated to make a good result again, to win another tournament if possible, to become the best poker player that I could possibly be.

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First I want to sincerely thank my family, friends and the numerous medias. Everyone gave me an incredible support since yesterday morning. This helps me tremendously and warms my heart in this difficult period.

As police reported, I was victim of an home invasion early yesterday, as two persons forced my entrance and beat me up and robbed me. After they threatened to kill me I gave them all I had. They then tied me up and beat me, hitting me in the face and all over my body before leaving my house. I'm glad to tell you that I did not sustain any major injuries. I spent yesterday at the hospital and I'm black and blue all over but no broken bones, no blood clots, nothing to worry about. Today, I am exhausted, both physically and mentally but I'm happy to be alive.

The thieves stole some money, but mainly my WSOP champion bracelet and the Rolex watch that my sponsor PokerStars gave me to commemorate the event. I won't hide the fact that these two items have a much larger value for me than their commercial value, and I really hope we will be able to retrieve them in a near future.

My bracelet is unique in the world. My name is engraved on its back. My watch is a black Rolex Submarine also with my name engraved. As for the money, it was mainly 500 Euros bills, these being quite rare here.

I would humbly appreciate it if anyone having information regarding either of these items took the time to contact the police at 1 450 463 7211.Any information will remain anonymous.

As for me, I will now try to step back during the Holidays and spend time with my family and close friends. I hope to get back to the tables soon and keep representing poker, my sponsors and Québec well on the international scene and bring back another bracelet home soon.

Finally, here we are. My three weeks of "vacation" has just ended. In a few hours, I'm flying to Barcelona, thus starting a tro-month trip across Europe! Two very, very busy months! PokerStars European Poker Tour, World Poker Tour, World Series of Poker Europe, as well as the World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP). All in all, two intense months of poker!

Yes, indeed, vacations do a lot of good. After this first year as champion, it was essential for me to get back to my roots and spend some quality time with my family and close friends. This break being over, it's back on the tournament trail.If everything goes according to plans, my itinerary should look like this: Barcelona, Ibiza, Paris, Ibiza or Cannes, Barcelona, Malta, London, Cannes, and finally San Remo. Poker seven days a week, twelve hours/day!

I can't wait. I'm eager to get back to competing, to playing against the world's best. As always, you can count on many real time updates about my tournaments by following my Twitter account, @jonathanduhamel.

I must take a moment to also announce that I have had the privilege to become an official spokesperson for the One Drop foundation. For me, it's a unique opportunity to represent this charitable foundation created by Guy Laliberté, also creator of Cirque Du Soleil. With my numerous travels, I'll do whatever I can to increase public awareness, especially among poker players, of this foundation working for a better accessibility to water around the globe. Water is the source of everything. A seemingly simple mission, but very complex in the real world. Fortunately, with the helping hand of many partners, including Guy Laliberté, concrete results are now appearing with concrete missions to ease access or purification of water. A lot of work still remains to be done, of course. So it's with great pleasure that I join this foundation. It's an honor for me and I will do everything I can to carry this message.

Finally, let me remind you that my book , essentially talking about the fundamental qualities required to become a world champion at poker, will be out late October. I can assure you that I've put all of my heart and mind into it, and, with the help of Serge Rivest and Philippe Jetté, I'm convinced that this book will become a vital tool for every passionate poker player.

I now have to leave. It's time to go to my second home: the airport!

Thanks for reading me.

Late May, departure for Vegas. I only have one thing in mind. Play as many events as possible at the World Series of Poker during the next six weeks in order to get as many good scores as possible and to try and win a second bracelet. Six weeks later, I don't have my second bracelet. I played in 25 events and my best score was a fifteenth place. It's not necessarily bad, but certainly well under my expectations.

My World Series have been over for a few weeks and I have had time to reflect and think about my summer. I really think I played my best poker of my lifetime! I was clearly a superior player as compared to last year and I had to chance to try a few different varieties of poker, besides no limit Hold'em, such as Omaha8, Stud, etc. Sometimes luck is not on your side and it becomes impossible to win then.

At the main Event, I was knocked out on Day 2, about 2 000th/7 000. Very, very far from last year's result but I'm convinced I made no major mistake all through the tournament. I played solid poker but unfortunately Lady Luck was not on my side this year!

Despite the so-so results of my last World Series Of Poker, my confidence level is at an all-time high. My game is more complete and I have a lot more experience than last year. I have played bigger tournaments this summer and thus played against better players. I now know I can maintain a level of play as high as these players, who are the world's elite.

I now have a new challenge: mastering other games than Texas Hold'em. I am now finishing a completely crazy year, one in which I traveled the globe and met tons of people I would never have met otherwise. I have lived a dream: that of living a year with the World Champion title. My next year will be identical, but without the world champ title. Just as the one ending, my next year shall be as full, especially on the travelling side. All through the next year I will be travelling to every part of the planet, playing the biggest tournaments in the world. For me it's a dream, that of living my passion fully, continuing on this marvelous road.

I'm currently "on vacation" since three weeks ago. By vacations I mean being in Quebec, at home. Still I have not stopped yet. I have a ton of projects under way. Notably, I'm currently finalizing the writing of a poker book, talking, of course, about poker strategies. It's directed toward beginners as well as more experienced players. The book will be out in a few weeks and I should soon be able to also announce a few other projects.

Also, I can finally spend some time playing online, which I could not do for the last few months. I have played a lot of tournaments on PokerStar and some cash games to make sure I'll be ready when the time comes to go back on the road.

I want to take this opportunity to tell you about a great promotion PokerStars offers during this month, that is absolutely crazy for the players. PokerStars gives as always, points to its players for every raked hand played as for every real money tournament. But in August PokerStars is letting players earn points ten times faster than normal by reducing the SiverStar, GoldStar, and PlatinumStar levels to 10% of what thy usually are.. Thus, you can climb up the ladder much quicker and get rewards much faster! These points can be redeemed for cash, tournament entries or special gifts.

Although I'm always on the road all across the globe, thus unable to play as much as I'd like on the internet, I'm already a GoldStar member because I could play a bit in August and my points literally exploded!

I'm flying to Barcelona in about ten days to play in the second leg of the PokerStars European Poker Tour. I will be in Europe for the two months, stopping in many countries to play in different tournaments but I promise you a short blog before I leave with my complete itinerary.

One thing is for sure: I can't wait! Being away from competition for so long is hard, even if I love being at home. I have a huge desire to win and I can't wait to go and play the biggest tournaments in the world, representing PokerStars.

As usual you can follow my updates live when I'm playing tournaments by following me on Twitter @jonathanduhamel or on Facebook.

Be well and thanks for reading me!

I've been very busy lately, and this explains why I could not write any new blog entry in the last two months. In my last column, I spoke about the long journey I spent in the United States west coast. I then participated in various charitable activities here and there in the Montreal area. I was about to go to Asia.

In fact, I spent a total of three days in China. Almost as much time spent in the plane as in Asia! I went to Hong Kong and Macau in order to play in the Macau Millions Championship and also to play in a cash game with the winners of a major competition organized by PokerStars. I had a wonderful stay even though I could not stay as long as I wished. I indeed had to come back very quickly to participate in a North American Poker Tour event, a tournament that was held at Mohegan Sun Casino near Boston. I was still lost in my jet lag when I had to participate in the $5,000 main event of the series. Unfortunately, fatigue and bad cards hurt me, and I could not finish in the money. I spent about one week there, and I then went back to Quebec for a few days.

The bags just unpacked, I had to redo them for a major trip to Europe! Indeed, after the benefits of a few days off, I left for about 3 weeks to play in a few tournaments of the European Poker Tour series. I had to go to Italy, but I first stopped by Paris to attend the very popular show of Morandini at the Direct 8 channel. It's a huge show in France, a bit like "Tout le monde en parle" in Quebec, for those who know. Time for an interview, followed by a photo shoot for a magazine and another interview, and I was already in the plane ion my way to San Remo, Italy. I spent about ten days there playing almost every day. Unfortunately, the results were not there for me. With the great start of the year I've had, I expected to have a sequence without a win sooner or later. As they say, ''it's part of the game.'' I finally left for my final destination, Madrid, Spain, where I participated in the Grand Final of the European Poker Tour. I played only the two largest tournaments before returning home. Again, I could never take off in any of my two tournaments, so I did not reach the money places. It is sometimes difficult to have consistent good results in tournaments. It should be noted that only 10% of the players will finish in the money, so that 90% of players leave empty-handed at each event.

So, I was back in my hometown, Boucherville, after having spent a great trip in Europe. The sun was nice and I had eaten very well, but I was back with no score from this long trip. Time to rest? No! I immediately participated in PokerStars SCOOP, a large series of online tournaments played every day for two weeks where there is always an event with three different entry prices. The small, medium and large ones. Say that the small costs $20, then the average will be $200, and the large one $2000! I have played in many, picking up some results here and there, but nothing major. A series of tournaments where my high expectations were not achieved!

I finally got some days off to recharge. I had a good time with people who are important to me and did several things here and there. I took a break to think about anything but poker. It is important to keep a good mindset. In poker, one must have a clear head and a clear mind. It is important to have the rage to win, and I can tell you that these few days of rest have given me a taste of winning as never before!

Now I'm flying for a major six weeks trip to Las Vegas for nothing less than the World Series of Poker! I've been waiting a very long time for this moment! Several friends and I rented a huge house in Las Vegas for the duration of the trip, where we'll spend most of the summer. I'll play poker ten to 12 hours a day, a minimum of six days per week! I'll try to play as many tournaments as possible in order to have as many results as possible!

Of course, the last tournament of the series, the Main Event in early July, is the most important one, and this is where I will defend my title! But the whole month of June has two tournaments a day, every day, with different variations of poker, with different entry price! More than ever, I have a mad desire to play my best poker and win another bracelet! I honestly believe that I am a much better player than I was last year at this time. I really want to give the best of myself and have several very good results! We'll see what the summer will bring me, but my mental strength and my rage to win make me very optimistic! I am motivated and ready! The next six weeks will be all poker for me, more poker, and the WSOP Main Event! Shuffle up and deal!

Throughout the summer, you'll be able to follow my live results. Every day, several times a day, I'll give you reports and news of my tournaments, both on my Twitter my Facebook FanPage. Just follow me to get results in real time throughout the summer!

I now fly to the desert of Nevada. Thank you all for following me! I wish you all the best of luck at the poker table!

I spent a few days in Montreal before leaving for the west coast. The first stop was at the Commerce Casino in Los Angeles for an invitation-only tournament: the WPT Celebrity Invitational. This tournament features several celebrities and raises money for various charities. I was sitting next to a former football player who had arms bigger than my head. Ultimately, an actress and now poker player Jennifer Tilly knocked me out of the tournament.

I flew the next day to Las Vegas to shoot an episode of the popular series PokerStars: The Big Game. The show is a cash game where each player must sit with a minimum of $100 000 in front of him--$100.000 in real money, my own money. There was plenty of action throughout the day! Great players were at the table and wild hands were on the menu. I love the concept of this show where PokerStars is paying $100 000 for an amateur to play with us. If he wins, he keeps the profits. If he loses, he actually loses nothing and PokerStars pays. It's a format that brings a lot of action, which shows how an amateur can comepete against the best in the world. Unfortunately, I can't tell you the results, but I can already share that the game involves crazy action. You can see this yourself on your TV this summer.

I then played one of the most prestigious tournaments in the world, the NBC Heads Up event. Only 64 players had the chance to play and pay the $ 25,000 entry buy-in. Among them, the world's best players were present. I won my first three duels and then had to face the biggest winner in heads-up online poker, Olivier Busquet. This was by far the most difficult match, but I finally won that heads-up too, letting me advance to the semifinal match against Chris Moneymaker, the 2003 World Champion. Several strange hands took place, and I finally lost the match. I'm still very happy with a 4th place finish against 64 of the best players in the world, and another invitation for the same tournament next year!

I then left for the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles and arrived just in time to play the Bounty Shootout tournament--$ 10,000 buy-in, nine tables of nine players. It is important to finish first on the table to move to the next. Indeed, the 2nd place finisher doesn't win anything. Moreover, whenever a player is eliminated, a certain amount of money is allocated to the one who eliminated him. Again, everything went very smoothly. Chris Moneymaker was at my table and as Lady Luck sometimes do the things for the best, we got to the heads-up. This time, however, it was I who took the top spot so I could move to the final table. I was eliminated in 6th position. Again, no victory, but I finished in 6th position out of 81 players.

After this tournament and a long journey, I finally returned to Montreal.

I made a few appearances here and there, such as spoke person for the foundation ''United in perseverance for excellence", a project that Olympic medalist Nancy Drolet created. It is a program to raise funds for various elementary and high schools.

I then went to the "Casino de Montreal" to play in Vincent Damphousse's charity poker tournament to raise funds in the fight against the ALS disease, which affects more and more people in the world. It was a very emotional day for me because my uncle who is himself afflicted with this disease was present.

I was then present for the Quebec Poker University Championship sponsored by PokerStars.net, a 100% free competition which allowed 90 students from the 15 universities of Quebec to have a free poker weekend in Montreal. The winner, Pascal Turcotte, will fly next January to go compete in the prestigious PCA main event tournament, a package valued at $20,000.

My next few weeks bring me in Asia, specifically in Macau, and in Mohegan Sun to play in the PokerStars North American Poker Tour. Europe will follow next, but one thing at a time please!

For more news, you can follow my twitter @jonathanduhamel or my facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/DuhamelJohn

Thank you very much for reading!

In my last blog, I had just finished a trip to Nassau in the Bahamas and was about to spend a few days at home in Boucherville. My next trip was then a stop in France at Deauville, for the EPT - Deauville.

This small village of just 5000 inhabitants shows great charm. Old buildings and narrow streets, the look is rustic and comforting. Several of the biggest players in the world were there for the occasion, including Daniel Negreanu.

My first tournament was the main event, with an entrance fee of 5000 euros. Everything was going well until this huge hand happens: I call a raise from the small blind with JJ (pair of Jacks). The flop comes J-4-3, giving me the best hand at that time, a set of jacks!

I check to let my opponent bet, which he does. Immediately, I raise. He thinks a few seconds and reraised. I play a little comedy and announce all-in. He calls me instantly, showing a pair of kings.

I am heavily favoured to win the hand, with about 95%, but a king fell on the river and I lost the hand, and the tournament at the same time. Sometimes in poker, making good decisions is not enough! If the cards do not cooperate, nothing good happens!

I played two other tournaments, which went quite well, but not enough to allow me to cash in them. The last on the schedule was the high roller event. High buy-in, fewer players, but with a much stronger level of play.

A total of 58 players participated in the tournament with an entry price of 10,000 euros. We played for 12 hours and only 14 players were still present at the end of the day. I was then third in chips!

The next day went really fast and well, and we reached the final table. I was 3rd out of 9 at this time. After several hours of play, we were only 2 players remaining and I had a good advantage in chips. The final duel lasted about one hour, and I finally won the tournament, and the purse of 200 000 euros that goes with it! Wow! Only two months after my victory in Las Vegas, what a feeling it was to win another major tournament so fast!

I returned to Montreal for one day, soon to head back to Foxwoods. This casino was organizing a fundraising event where the 9 participants from the final table of the last World Series of Poker were present.

It has been a week where everyone had the opportunity to have fun and relax a little! I went to see 2 games of the Boston Celtics, and I also saw the famous Montreal-Bruins game! PS: I had my CH sweater and was ready to face the Bruins fans!

Then came the fundraising tournament where we were a total of 30 players, including the November 9 finalists. I finished in 5th place on 30, but finished 2nd of the group of 9.

Unfortunately, it's Matt Jarvis who finished in front of me, and I had made a bet with him. If I finished in a best position than him, he had to wear the Canadians jersey with the name Duhamel for 3 tournaments of the next WSOP. Given that he ended in a better position than I, I lost the bet and I will have to wear the Vancouver Canucks jersey with the name Jarvis! Small consolation, I will wear number 8, not 1!

I am now back in Montreal for a few days and I'll then fly for a long trip. On the menu, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, etc.. I'll spend several weeks on the West Coast for several tournaments, and I'll be shooting the PokerStars Big Game and the NBC Heads-Up Championship! Another long journey coming up, I'll keep you updated on the latest developments!

For more news, you can follow my twitter @jonathanduhamel or my Facebook page.

Thank you and goodbye!

Where to start? Winning the WSOP Main Event bracelet in November and all that followed, of course! The madness began as soon as the river ultimately fell. Wow, what a feeling! I do not remember the seconds that followed, but the first thing I remember is being lifted into the air by my friends dressed in Habs jerseys. Then I realized something: I am now the world champion of poker! I will remember this moment for the rest of my days. The rush of adrenaline was completely unbelievable.

Obviously, these moments were quickly followed by all the media surrounding me. There were 20 to 30 journalists all asking me loads of questions. I remember having a lot of trouble finding my words, with everything that was happening; I was just on a cloud and the reality of what had just happened had not yet set in.

Then I was able to celebrate with all my gang in the most beautiful suite of the Rio, offered by the WSOP. It seems that this suite cannot be rented, but is only offered by the hotel for special occasions. It was really a magical place with larger rooms than my first apartment - it even had a private pool and jacuzzi. We were offered a giant buffet and gallons of champagne. It was truly a memorable night, along with my family and friends. I will never forget it.

The next day was a little harder! After only one hour of sleep, a nice lady from PokerStars was knocking at my door with a coffee in one hand and a cellphone in the other. I knew the day that was waiting for me, but the adrenaline of the moment compensated for fatigue. The following days were a flurry of interviews. It obviously started first while still in Vegas where my schedule was managed by others. I then returned to Quebec to hold press conferences for home media and I finally flew to Toronto for the last big sprint. Three full days which were really exhausting but at the same time, slowly helped me to realize what had happened. There is no doubt, when you win the biggest poker tournament in the world, your life changes.

The end of the year was absolutely awesome. I was invited to center field at the Olympic Stadium for the CFL East finals game between the Montreal Alouettes and the Toronto Argonauts. I still get chills when I think back at the 58,000 people who applauded me. Again, what a feeling! It's a chance of a lifetime to have had the opportunity to be in the center of the field during the game. With everything that was happening, the mere fact of being back in Montreal and to enjoy the game was amazing. The support of the crowd hit me right in the heart, and I again thank all who attended.

I was then invited to attend the UFC fight with George St-Pierre on December 11th, with the best possible tickets right at the edge of the ring. Being a fan of UFC for several years, I was euphoric waiting for this moment. George St. Pierre is by far the athlete that I respect the most and he definitely is an inspiration. To see him dominate his sport for years always pushed me to try my hardest at what I do. He is a true gentleman who honours his sport and Canada. Honestly, it does not surprise me that he keeps retaining his belt.

I then participated in the High Stakes Poker show which will be aired soon. I cannot tell you about the results prior to the release (sorry) but I can tell you there was a lot of action. A great experience where once again I had the chance to meet many interesting characters.

I then went back to Quebec for the holidays where I had the chance to spend quality time with my family and my close friends. I was a bartender for a night at Radio Lounge in Montreal to benefit the Ste-Justine Hospital for children Foundation. A great fun night where I partied like crazy, in addition to raising funds for the sick kids of Ste-Justine.

I had about a week and a half off to take a little rest, a matter of booting into force in 2011. I knew the year to come would be very, very busy.

The first stop on the international circuit was in the Bahamas for the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. I played all the major tournaments there, but I didn't hit a big score. It happens, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. I still had an amazing trip and I was formalized at the same time as a member of Team PokerStars Pro. I became the first Quebecer since Isabelle Mercier to join this prestigious team, representing the largest online poker room in the world.

Back at home, I spent a week with my family in Boucherville, where I finally got to skate a little. Incredible feeling to finally play hockey again. That's definitely what I miss the most with all my travels.

I then headed off to France for EPT Deauville where I did rather well in the €10,000 event. But that's another which I'll tell you about soon.