Black Belts Go Down Under

January is usually a time for licking your financial wounds and preparing for the upcoming tax bill, but for the top poker pros, an even tougher predicament faces them: should they play the Aussie Millions, or head to Bahamian shores for the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure?

For Black Belts Richard Ashby and Sam Razavi, the perhaps more illustrious and equally sunny former is their destination of choice, with the action kicking off this Thursday and culminating in a total of 51 tournaments including the A$10,000 Main Event.

"I'm heading over on Tuesday evening," reveals Richard. "I'm going to be playing the Main Event, and all the non-Hold'em side events, although I'll skip the really small ones, and also the two big ones: A$100,000 and A$250,000. This time I'll be pretty much playing poker throughout the whole trip.

"The cash games are really good over there and I'll be playing them daily unless I'm still alive in a tournament. They used to have big Limit games, Omaha High, which were great, but now they tend to be Pot Limit games instead.

"I'm a big fan of the Aussie Millions," he adds, "and would say it's the best event on the calendar, with Vegas second. The complex and the hotel are really nice, and the dealers and staff in the Crown Casino are friendly. There's always a lot of action too."

Both Richard and Sam have enjoyed success in Melbourne. Although Richard took down an Eight-Game side event in 2011, his biggest payday was A$150,000 when he came seventh in the Main Event in 2009. Fellow Brit Barny Boatman came eighth.

"The Main Event's usually quite soft," Richard claims. "I think when Joe Hachem won the World Series back in 2005, it attracted a lot of players to the tournament, and there are also tonnes of satellites. I won't be treating it any differently to other big tournaments though."

In last year's event, Brown Belt Sam Razavi made a star-studded final that included Chris Moorman and Patrik Antonius. He ultimately departed in sixth place for A$250,000. Former Brown Belt James Keys finished second for $1,035,000.

Sam's performance earned him enough points to reach Black Belt and formed the launch pad for his tournament career. Just a few months later, he would join Jamie Burland as one of two Black Belt Poker UKIPT Champions when he took down the title in Cork.

This year, both Sam and Richard will be looking to go that one step further and bring home the title, and we'll be keeping a close eye on their progress and keeping you updated via the Black Belt Poker Groups.