The Year in Pinoy Poker (or bits of it, anyway)
A Happy New Year to all!
And we have a lot to be happy about when it comes to Poker’s trajectory in our little sliver of the world.
Yep, this is gonna be another retrospective. Why? Because they’re easy to do and what year-end would be complete without one – or a dozen?
Momentum characterized 2006 in RP poker. If you read Ariel’s recent retrospective about the scene, you’ll know that if 2005 gave us our starting blocks, we began to hit full stride in 2006.
Casino cardrooms
Beginning with the Airport Casino Filipino (ACF) in December 2005, PAGCOR entered the world of regular Poker Operations. The ACF pioneered the whole thing, opening its Poker Room in Dec. of 2005 and carrying on right through to December 1, 2006 (more on this later). 2006 also brought us cardroom operations at the Tagaytay Casino and Angeles City. People could now grind it out without looking over their shoulders.
Tournaments, Tournaments, Tournaments
This year gave us more tourneys than we could shake a stick at – Wednesday and Saturday events at the ACF, the monthly ACF5K, and the more specialized, one-off, larger buy-ins held at places like Tagaytay and various places around the country.
We also saw the coordinated efforts of the Poker Club of the Philippines with its Philippine Poker Tour, which rolled around the country in a satellite series (two this year), culminating in two million-plus Peso championships in Metro Manila. This was certainly an achievement, though some in the community have questioned some structural elements found in the championships.
International Glitz
In February, none other than Doyle Brunson and Jack Binion, along with other Vegas glitterati, treated us to a Celebrity Charity Poker tourney. Driven by our very own Big Wally Sombero, those who attended enjoyed a gala night and some great poker with the Legend himself.
Early November brought the Pan Asia Poker Tour over to the ACF. They held a three days’ worth of events, delivering the highest tourney stakes we’ve seen yet. At the $2500 NLHE final event, two of our very own made the final table and cashed nicely.
Tourney Organizers
Big ups to Marco and Ed of the PBT for emerging as the pre-eminent tourney organizing group in local poker. Their bi-weekly events at the ACF and numerous big-hearted charity gigs not only gave us our fill of tourney poker, but also made many people’s lives a little brighter. The PBT point ranking system also gave players something to play for other than the odd cash in this tourney or that. They made poker sticky. But key thing about the PBT’s tourneys is the level of technical “correctness” the players enjoy. Aligned with international standards, players face no surprises at the PBT events.
I do hope they grow in 2007.
Cebu's hardworking crew at the Cebu Players Club also deserves special mention. The Rajah Park has become a mecca for the Cebu crowd, and I'd like to shoot a special greeting to Nonoy and Richard this New Year's.
World Poker Tour Philippines
ABS-CBN licensed the WPT brand in 2005, and ran its first public (the first one was a celeb tourney) event in October. Ably run by Marco and Ed, the WPT Poker Madness event gave us a taste of slick production and a great heads-up between our very own Bryan Malantic and Korean Kim Tae Hyung. Bryan overcame a 7-1 chip deficit and took the whole thing down.
The Underground Scene
Ummm..because I never break the law, I don’t know much about this – but people tell me there was plenty of regular action around town, including a robust high-stakes scene. I’ll take their word for it, and thank the undergrounds for doing their bit to build the player base.
Online
Grinders like mnlgrind, nutsboy, and the other online jockeys who blog about their experiences made online poker more visible to us. Earlier this year, Gamefrog went on a work stint to the US and promptly won a gazillion dollars online, whetting many people’s appetite for the online wold.
Of course, we've got the Boards, like Pepesmith's Poker Manila and Oli Z.'s ManilaPoker Group kept us all abreast of the latest news.
Special mention to 11Finger, who runs a Pinoy Online Poker League. It’s a Tuesday night league, running two $5.50s per week, with players accumulating points. Again, someone’s making online poker sticky for the rest of us. Watch this one grow in 2007.
Independent (legal) Operators
On December 1, 2006, the ACF cardroom was turned over to a concessionaire, Pacific Poker Palace. The guys from the PPP promptly rolled in some cardroom veterans and treated the playing public to freerolls, big guaranteed tourney pots, jackpots, and time-based rakeback promos. Their tables filled, and they continue to rock the place. Good job, guys.
Closer to home, yours truly and some very recognizable local guys are putting the finishing touches on a new card club, the Metro. Located in a primo Pasig/Ortigas spot, players from the Northside will have an accessible, legal haven for all things poker. We open early January. Stay tuned brothers and sisters.
In Closing
2006 is on the wane, and 2007 looks insane. A Happy and Prosperous New Year to All – my family and I are off to Boracay for a few days of chill-out before the blast of activity that faces us in January.
Stay safe, get some rest, and don’t buy them bogas - they’re illegal.
