Jean-Robert Bellande goes Busto!

Photo courtesy: lasvegasvegas.com

Jean-Robert Bellande (@BrokeLivingJRB) poker pro and former Survivor: China contestant has been tweeting his bankroll updates since he started his $0 to $1million run. His last bankroll update simply read:

Cash 0 Stars 0 FTP 0 I feel sleepy.
Sun May 09 02:31

Starting from nothing he got up to around $100k playing a variety of cash games and tournaments.

Some staking deals and credit lines got him going. Following his tweets poor table selection and bankroll management really did him in.

From an interview with PokerLizard Bellande has this to say about his bankroll management:

The leak in my game is that I tend to play much too high for my bankroll. The people who play in games who need to have at least 200 or 300 big bets in order to play; I can commend those people, that’s great . I wish I could that, but for me if I see a live one in a game and I have a couple times the buyin; I am going to try and play. If I think someone is going to be giving away money. That’s a bad habit I have, playing too high for my bankroll.

Based on this post from twoplustwo it seems that this started out as a plan for a reality show called "Broke and Living Like a Millionaire".

It is amazing how much joy my misfortunes seem to bring folks. That WSOP beat was one of the most brutal moments in my life. Losing with the nuts in a 24k pot with one to come and then a 15k pot with AA double suited to KK double suited in the same suits is tough to fade. And last month when I lost a 70k pot with my set of 8s on a 10 8 3 board to Dave Williams' A-3 made me want to cry. But each time I feel pain, smiles are made all over the world. I mean 15 million viewers were high 5 ing each other when I got booted off the Survivor Island.

Brutality entertains and CBS, ESPN, and WPT have all profited from my bloody noses.

Recently, the producer from the movie Jumper approached me about doing my own reality show: "Broke and Living like a Millionaire"
Really? Make money by exploiting my bankroll mismanagement? I love it!

My actual bankroll will be the tying thread between episodes. The show will be less about the game and more about the lifestyle, banter between players, and the hustle.

Exposing my weaknesses is extremely scarey for me but an honest look at my real struggles will be edgy and entertaining.

Pilot scheduled for March.

He played a lot of poker, made a few prop bets, hung around with some of the big names in poker, traveled to different parts of the world and looks like he had a great time doing it. Even though he lost it all he really did seem to be living like a millionaire.

I'm not sure what the status of the pilot is but based on his tweets it sounds like "Broke and Living Like a Millionaire" would be programmed in my DVR. There may also be a book coming out.

It's been a rough few months for Bellande. In addition to going broke he also lost his Bodog sponsorship. He doesn't seem like the type to give up, at least not permanently. I'm hoping he starts over because I'm really going to miss his bankroll update tweets.