Poker Filipinas

The Main Event's Upon Us

2008-01-25T11:28:00.000+08:00

The Metro Main Event is kickin' off this Saturday, Jan 26 at 2pm. We've been looking forward to this thing for quite a while, and I gotta say I'm super excited to sit and play with the finest in the RP and some stellar performers from abroad.

If you're planning on playing and haven't signed up yet, you better do so now - go over to the Metro Website and get the number to call - 110 seats max. Not sure how many have been sold already but I hear they're going fast as the day approaches.

If you're not playing, come on down and watch the first major tourney of the poker year.

You won't be disappointed.

To the winner of tomorrow's Metro75

2008-01-22T22:13:00.001+08:00

I'm staking you to the Main Event. Yep...free seat. 50/50 deal.

Sinulog Tourney: Some thoughts...

2008-01-22T19:39:00.000+08:00

My last post extolled the virtues of the new Bravio card room in Mandaue City, and, much more importantly, hinted at the growth and excitement swirling around Cebu poker. It certainly is a growth market, and can easily lead the way for Philippine poker in general.

I'd now like to talk about the 2nd annual Sinulog tournament that was held last Saturday, Jan. 19 at the Casino Filipino Lahug, sponsored by our good friends at All-In poker and of course PAGCOR.

A whole bunch of us went to play.

Format: 5K+1K buy, unlimited rebuy through 5 levels, 1 add-on, 1.5m guaranteed. That alone is gimmicky enough, but I understand the motivation, given the organizers wanted a smaller buy but guarantee the pool. OK...we played it last year and it pretty much worked out. The rebuys and add-ons were also raked 10% for charity. Fair enough.

Oh, and an aside: to the gentleman reading the format and rules at the outset - there is no such thing as a freezeout with rebuys ;).

It's a contradiction in terms, like "intelligent nick"...

After all this, things get a little tough to swallow. I do hope my memory serves me well. The 1st 5 levels were pegged at 30 minutes each. Each succeeding level was 20 minutes long. A little too brazen on the old "we want a lotta rebuys" meter. Starting stack 10K, add-on 20K. Starting blinds 100-200, 200-400, 300-600, 500-1000, 800-1600 (I think: somebody correct me if i'm wrong) but the point is by the add-on, we were at roughly 800-1600.

After the break, the blinds got 2000-4000, then 3000-6000, then 5000-10000 with a 1K ante!!!!! So after 8 levels, anybody with 100K to 200K - who ought to be healthy even with the skews the multi rebuy and add-on format presented, would have just 10-20 BB left in their stacks! Needless to say All-In was the phrase of the evening. Congratulations to you who either held up or sucked out :)...

Not good.

Add to that slow dealers (try 5-7 hands every 30 mins on my table with one guy), less -than-stellar tournament direction (who stops the whole tourney to collapse a single table? When I asked a floor this question, he answered, "ganyan talaga e"...lol), and you get a tourney that I am unlikely to attend again unless dramatically overhauled.

We should be past all this by now. It's been 3 years since we've been running legal tournaments. We're inviting the world to our country to play. I do hope operators consider this for the future.

Bravo, Bravio!

2008-01-21T10:15:00.000+08:00

Man, I love my business. You get to meet the coolest people, always seem to find yourself in the middle of where the action is, party good, and of course, gamble.

Last Friday, 20 or so of us hopped the batplane and winged it over to Cebu for Sinulog weekend and a whole lotta poker. This was gonna be a poker-packed couple of days, with the Bravio Grand Opening and All-In Poker Sinulog tourney going on.

pre-boarding

The girls in front of the trusty batplane

First of all, Bravio. This fantastic establishment is product of a partnership between Ace Technologies, the Cebu Players Club, PAGCOR, and some other fine people interested in growing the Cebu Poker scene, which is a great scene, by the way.

Biased as I am, I must say it's raised the bar - not only for Cebu poker, but for Philippine poker. It is hands down the most exciting and well-executed concept in Poker within these shores.

8 tables, billiard lounge, full service restaurant, a massage room, and a great, great staff.

Outside Bravio

Billiard Lounge

Poker at Bravio

Bravio kitchen

Red for good luck

Opening Ceremonies

Me and Mayor Jonas Cortes of Mandaue City

Degenerates Convention

After the opening ceremonies, we were treated to some great food from the Bravio kitchen and got down to what we flew over for...Poker.

about 60 people sat the P3300 freezeout, which kicked off at about 7:30...after several hours of play, the final table convened with seven of the Metro crew in! Derick H., Eric S., Bryan M., Checkpoint Louie, Kent, and me (it was an accident, i swear)...7 outta 9 - not bad. Anyway, played on a TV table (the FT'll be televised on RCTV in Cebu) and slowly busted one after another until Derick - you may remember him from the FT at the APPT - finally took it down. GG guys.

Tourney Time

Awesome job by all involved, and special, special thanks to the Cebu Players Club for raising the bar.

Next time you find yourself in Cebu, head on over to Bravio, A.S. Fortuna Street (near the Honda dealership), Mandaue City.

Peace

Pokerstars Steps to the Plate

2008-01-10T09:43:00.000+08:00

Just got this message from Pokerstars Philippines Regional Manager and kick-ass poker player Franco M. Looks like Pokerstars has stepped up and is rolling out FREEROLLS to provide seats to the upcoming Metro Main Event, the P3 Million extravaganza scheduled this January 26-27.

Read below:

Happy January Poker Players!

As you all know by now, the biggest Filipino-created
poker event in the history of our country is drawing
very near. The Metro Main Event, slated on January 26
and 27 at the Metro Card Club in Merowalk Meralco
Avenue, boasts a whopping record guarantee of 3
MILLION PESOS!

But what you probably don't know is that the
tournament just got bigger. The Metro Main Event is
now also the first stop of the FILIPINO POKER TOUR, a
breathtaking brand new TV show presented by
PokerStars.com specifically to televise the talents of
the Filipino to be aired all over the Phlippines!
That's right, the event will be having featured tables
and a grand final table to showcase the skills of the
local players on television. This assures that the
champion of of the Metro Main Event and the first-ever
FPT will walk away a star!

As always, we at PokerStars want to give everybody a
better chance at participating in this momentous
affair. So we've prepared two easy and extremely
advantageous ways for you to qualify online.

1. The 11 Daily Freerolls: From Jan. 14-24, we will be
having satellite freerolls on PokerStars.NET where one
winner EVERYDAY will be given a free seat to the Metro
Main Event. We're not kidding. All you have to do is
log on to PokerStars.net at 7PM on any of these dates,
play without spending a single peso, and if u win any
of the 11 daily satellites, we buy you your seat.
Can't get any better than that.

2. The Last Chance Rebuy Satellite: On January 25, the
day before the event, we'll be having a $1 rebuy
tournament with a guarantee of FIVE seats on
PokerStars.COM. You heard us correctly, your single
dollar could metamorphose into a PhP30,000 seat into
this monumental event!

PokerStars is available on windows and now on MAC as
well.

Good luck at the tables everybody!

Franco Mabanta
Phlippine Regional Manager
PokerStars

An auspicious year

2008-01-08T09:59:00.000+08:00

Looks like 08's rolled on in, and i for one am looking forward in a big, big way to some exciting stuff. With the number "8" in this year as well, i'm sure you feng-shui gamblin' types are rubbing your hands in anticipation of the good luck to come. Here's to this year being beyond lucky for all of you.

Luck aside, a whole buncha people have been working hard in anticipation of 2008. In poker, I now count (and i may be mistaken) 14 legal, operating cardrooms around the country, with most peppered around Metro Manila.

Cebu has two, but we've partnered with the handsome bastards over at the Cebu Players Club to build a 300+ sqm card club/resto/lounge/billiard destination in Mandaue City. If you'll be at Sinulog, and i'm sure a bunch of you will, stop by and say hi.

We and the Davao boys are crankin' up the drawing board to move our existing Davao operations to larger premises to spread more tables. Look for that to happen in the next 60 days.

It's all good.

Pokerstars has committed to the APPT returning to Manila this year, and I'm certain the festivities and attendance this year will dwarf last year's.

Poker, poker, and more poker.

This would be an interesting time for the few of you who pop by this blog to comment on what you'd like to see in RP poker this year: comment here and we'll get on the more intriguing suggestions.

Peace and a prosperous bankroll pumpin' new year to y'all!

The Latest Addition to the Fun Bunch

2007-12-13T09:00:00.000+08:00

Some of you guys may be aware that until recently, I had three lovely daughters. Well, as of last Friday at 10:05am, I now have four! Little Zoe Clarissa showed up healthy, happy, and hungry at Asian Hospital, to all of our delight. Barb's doin' fine, has already enjoyed a few glasses of good merlot (after a nine-month hiatus from anything alcoholic), and Zoe's sisters are treating her like a little celebrity in the house.

Couldn't be happier.

Anyway, a child psychologist told me once that it was never too early to start reinforcing desirable skills and behaviors in our children. So we've now begun to try to equip her with the skills she'll need to get along comfortably in life:

Hold'em skills

Stud Skills

Stay tuned to this blog to see how she progresses :)

Peace

The Main Event has to move

2007-12-04T14:49:00.000+08:00

...to January 26 and 27. The reasons are very exciting, both to us and the player community at large. I can't give the complete details in advance of major announcements that some very big partners will be making.

I'm itching to tell all, but can't at the moment, except to say that the Main Event in January will kick off another milestone in local poker.

Apologies to those planning on gettin' it on this weekend, but believe me, it'll be worth the wait.

We'll still be running satellites at the Metro, and wait for announcements online.

Thanks and Peace

Senator Anthony THRILLanes

2007-11-29T19:42:00.000+08:00

You gave us some good TV.

You had a point, but your execution brought into question your military training.

Did they teach Strategy at your institution?

You tried this at Oakwood with 300 committed reformers...

This time you commandeer the Manila Peninsula with 30 dudes with red armbands.

Were you buoyed by your election to the senate?

Did you believe the people would take to the streets because you proved popular in the polls?

Let's break it down:

You chose to take a stand on the day before a long weekend.

In the rain.

You put out the call for the people to take to the streets. Did you ever consider that Edsa XXX might be a concept that's gotten a little old?

On the Thursday before a long weekend - much of the regular folk, whom you would need to clog the streets, are on their way home, or anticipating making their way home, to their provinces.

On a rainy day...Lando and Mina significantly diminished your chances for a massive outpouring of the masses onto the streets...Filipinos like to stay dry.

You chose to take a stand at a time when the peso is hitting all-time highs, the stock market is liquid, and foreign direct investment is buoying the economy along with OFW remittances. Didn't you study the dynamics of Philippine revolutions? You need the middle class...unlikely that they'd don their yellow shirts and troop to the Peninsula. They're busy buying new SUVs bro.

You underestimated a foe who was willing to drive APCs into a hotel - multimillion dollar renovation or not.

What did you accomplish?

You're goin to jail...

Probably lose your seat in the senate...

Weakened the moral ascendancy that the Opposition - with which you're so intimately associated - may have enjoyed to this point...

You killed economic life in Metro Manila due to the imposition of the curfew...

WTF????

Dude, get some better advisors.

Apologies to Moesha

2007-11-28T14:36:00.000+08:00

In my last post, I stated that none of the metro/manila contingent cashed at the APPT macau.

I stand corrected!

Mischa made the cash at bubble +1 (the right way)...he cashed in 40th...out 352. He also busted Lee Nelson on the way to his cash...nice job Mischa.

And sorry

errybody overseas playin poker

2007-11-26T09:25:00.001+08:00

This weekend saw a number of our local poker talents off to other parts of the world to play good ol' tourney poker. A bunch from the metro crew, including, RVS, Ice Cream, Derick, Franco and Alan went over to Macau to play the APPT Macau tourney. Nobody cashed in the Main Event, but Franco won the satellite for the USD15K buy-in tourney playing tomorrow. Good job bro, and good luck! We all know you can take it down.

Wally "The Dream" chose colder climes, and went over Vancouver, BC, to play the BC Poker Championships. Wally, in true form, picked up two satellites for the $3K Main Event and though he made a great run through the 1st 2 days, finished just outside the cash. Here's a pic of Wally and his son Brian at the gorgeous River Rock Casino.

a week later

2007-11-20T13:39:00.000+08:00

The dust is kinda settling after that malaya article. it's been 8 days and a whirlwind of activity; lawyers, press people, local and national police, etc. In the end, we came clean. There was no other possible outcome. Thanks to all those who supported us against wild allegations - PAGCOR, City Hall, and most of all, our members. You, who grind it out day in and day out. You came out in droves during that time, and we appreciate it.

In the end, that article was a non-event. It was a small rag with a thin readership base, from what I'm told. But it did spur conversation and teased the truth out into the light.

So that's over.

Got a text from Wally the Dream today. He was playing the $1100.00 event at the BC Poker Championships at the River Rock Casino in Richmond, BC, Canada. He and his son are there...haven't got an update from the 1000 player event, but let's wish the two Somberos the best of luck. They'll also be playing the Main Event being held on the 22nd.

Scurrilous Rag!

2007-11-13T08:58:00.000+08:00

I suppose some people simply don't follow the principles of responsible journalism...you may or may not have read the Malaya article on our alleged "illegal casino" situated at Metrowalk, or the response on the Metro Card Club website, or Maverick's blog. If you haven't, go read them now.

The Malaya article was pure, unadulterated BS, intended to do nothing but spark an issue and target a legitimate business.

I'm not so naive to think that irresponsible journalism does not exist; but I do believe that some level of journalistic process (if i may call it that, as i'm not a professional journalist)is demanded of professionals when dropping bombs that big on both the subject of the article as well as the public at large. What I mean is that when you state or imply that a company is operating illegally, with no permits from either the national or local governments, or that it is destroying the integrity of a commercial area, or that it is a casino, or that drug dealing is conducted within, put it on the front page of your rag, STEAL a photo from its website and pass it off as your own (no citation, or permission for that matter), isn't it your responsibility as a professional to investigate such allegations before writing or publishing the piece?

Was your editor asleep? Is he retarded? Perhaps both.

Can you not pick up the telephone and call ME? I answer my phone, even when microdick motherfuckers like you are on the other end of the line. Can you not go to PAGCOR and ask if we have a Grant of Authority? Can you not go to Pasig City Hall's Business Permits and Licensing Office and request a copy of our Business Permit? It's a document available to the public.

Or would this just be too much work for you?

Diary time

2007-10-27T13:02:00.000+08:00

Weeks go by...no posts on this blog...and i start getting that nagging, guilty feeling that i'm neglecting this blog. It's got nothing to do with the fact that people read this, really, I don't think that too many people seek this site out to get their daily fix of poker writing or anything else I might have to say. I'm sure the world would continue to turn and lives be led even if this entire blog were pitched into the delete bin or abandoned completely.

No, the guilt is more akin to the feeling a parent has when they realize they're neglecting their kids. This blog is after all one of my babies. From 2005, i've been doing everything in my power to keep it fed and growing.

Now, for a few observations from this week:

1. I played poker for 4 of the last 7 days, Thursday in Cebu at the Rajah game (win) - Friday at the Metro (win) - Tuesday Metro - (win) - Thursday Metro (stuck) - Friday Metro (stuck). The losses outweighed the wins, btw.

I love the metro card club - not just because I have a financial interest in it, but because it embodies so many things I believe live poker ought to be. Fair, convenient, competently managed, and no-nonsense. Kudos to Bryan, Mida, Charles, and now Vanessa and Kennedy for running a great floor. Props to Dirty Ice Cream for simply being a cool mofo and caring passionately about his card room. And Paolo, we wouldn't have our great staff if it weren't for you. Oh, and thanks for the dealers, floors, receptionists, bar guys, waiters, security, and utilities folks (all 50 of you!)for making the place what it is. I see nothing but smiles and hear a lot of good things from the players. We now have well in excess of 1000 members, and I believe that by and large, people are comfortable playing there.

I know these are very biased thing for me to say, but do feel free to comment and criticize anything I say. And feel free to approach any of the card room bosses with your thoughts, suggestions, etc.

2. My baby sister, Rizzie, on an extended vacation from Vancouver, won the P500 satellite to the Metro Main Event being held December 8-9, 2007. Good job, Riz! Oh, and she got heads up with checkpoint louie aka the wolf aka "conyo i can't believe my 7-4 suited missed"! Two of my favorite people at the final table...cool.

3. We've got a very cool technology coming in - can't say what exactly, but just hang tough for a week or so :)

4. Genghis won this week's metro 75 - great guy, got game...

Peace...

2 Days, Deep Stack, 3 MILLION Guaranteed...

2007-10-17T13:00:00.000+08:00

Ok, back to announcements. The Metro Card Club is pleased to present the Metro Main Event, December 8 and 9, 2007. It'll be a deepstack tourney with a very skill-conscious structure. I'll publish it as soon as Bryan turns it over to me, but if you've played the Metro 75, you'll get the idea - just pushed out to 2 days.

110 players max...

so small field, deep stack...

and we're GUARANTEEING 3 million. Yes, no fine print. If 2 of you show up to play, you can chop 3 million in level 1.

Satellites start Thursday check the details out at the metro card club website

Or go to the metro tonight and play the 75.

Peace

Thanks for shipping the video, wally...

2007-10-13T14:22:00.000+08:00

Daddy's got a new project and needs help

2007-10-08T13:46:00.001+08:00

Folks, completely un-poker related.

I'm looking for a chevy V8 (preferably a small block) to drop into my new baby, a 72 chevelle. Can anybody help me. Looking for motors available in the RP, so i don't have to ship anything over.

Help me make this thing go vroom. Thanks!

Cheese

2007-10-08T10:39:00.000+08:00

Yet another apology for the dearth of posts on this blog. I've all of a sudden found myself managing an actual business with employees and taxes and everything, which means i haven't been playing much at all, and haven't been getting around much outside of the metro. Hence the only things i could legitimately add to this blog would be announcements and other blah blah items, and i decided to spare you from all that.

Now I have something to write about. I want to define a word (some of you may remember i had a thing on this blog a year or more back where i had a poker glossary). Here's my latest entry.

cheese

–noun
1. the curd of milk separated from the whey and prepared in many ways as a food.
2. a definite mass of this substance, often in the shape of a wheel or cylinder.
3. something of similar shape or consistency, as a mass of pomace in cider-making.
4. Informal. partly digested milk curds sometimes spit up by infants.
5. cheeses, any of several mallows, esp. Malva neglecta, a sprawling,weedy plant having small lavender or white flowers and round, flat, segmented fruits thought to resemble little wheels of cheese.

Street definition: Money, cash, as in, "that guy owes me a lot of cheese"

In the context of this post, "cowardly, dishonorable, hidden behavior", as in "that was a real cheesy move"

Some of you may know that the metro has been open for almost two months now, and we're all pleased to say we can't complain about its performance. It's proven to be a great place, able to supply the games and stakes folks want, at a fair price. Because of this, it seems we've been targeted by some who don't wish us to succeed. I won't go into specifics or name names, but here are a few things we've had to deal with:

1. Complaints that our rake is too low and that we're cutting prices in the industry, and that we should be uniform with others. What?!?!?!? We are turning a profit (though not becoming millionaires) on collection policies we believe are fair to the community. We won't run jackpots (which demands an extra drop)unless we have to for competitive reasons, but we believe most poker players are smarter than that. At the end of the day (or year, for that matter) the winning player's biggest opponent is the rake. We don't wanna be the reason a good player winds up negative. It's that simple. If anything, everybody else's rake policy is too high.

2. Complaints that we are poaching employees trained by others. Huh? everybody who works for us is free and clear of employment and non-competition contracts. We make certain of that. We do not poach or pirate, because that would be cheesy. And if anybody does that to us, more power to them.

3. Here's the kicker - came in this weekend: an unidentified texter sent a rat-note into the regulator's office saying that one of the partners at the metro got into a fistfight at the metro. LOL. The next day, the story ballooned to that person having popped off a few rounds from a gun. All this from an "anonymous" texter. Message for you, whoever you are: don't be so fucking cheesy. The accused has the right to face his accuser, kindly let us know who you are.

The three points above? Cheese.

Sorry for ranting here - but it's my blog.

Peace

The Metro's New Website

2007-09-18T11:26:00.000+08:00

For up-to-the minute info and scoops on what's going on at the metro, visit the new website. Peace

Be a good citizen

2007-09-17T11:20:00.000+08:00

For those of you who don't know, I and a number of other characters that you know are partners in a company called Ace Technologies, a Philippine company operating card rooms in this wonderful land of ours. We currently operate three rooms - The Metro Card Club in Pasig City, Runners Card Club at the San Lazaro Leisure Park in Carmona Cavite, and the Metro Madayaw Card Room at the Casino Filipino in Davao.

A major component of our corporate mandate is to educate, inform and to the extent we can, uplift certain segments of the community by promoting poker as sport, entertainment, and fund raising mechanism for deserving charities.

Last March 3rd, we ran a great charity event at the Robinsons Galleria in Pasig, with the beneficiary being the Sinag Kalinga Foundation, a charity providing care, love and dignity to the destitute aged folks among us. During that event, you helped us raise roughly P140,000 for the foundation. That money went a long way.

It was a good thing.

This Saturday September 22, we are hosting a charity event for the Power Foundation Inc., a Pasig City based charity providing safe havens, care and rehabilitation for women and children in abusive life situations. P500 buy, with multi rebuys until level 4.

We'll be playing for sponsored prizes, here's the list:

Prize List for the 2nd Charity Poker Tournament

1st: NEO Laptop Computer
2nd: Sony PSP Slim
3rd: Fujifilm Digital Camera
4th: Coby Portable DVD Player
5th: Nokia M-5300 Cellphone
6th: iPod Nano 2GB
7th: Gameboy Brighten
8th: Altec Lansing Speakers
9th: Creative MP3 Player
10th: Epson Stylus C95 Printer

We are expecting more sponsored prizes to arrive during the week. So I do hope to see y'll there - 1pm Saturday, Sept. 22nd. The Metro

The Metro 75 and the Power Foundation Charity Event

2007-09-12T11:35:00.000+08:00

Well, it's another Wednesday and we're running the 2nd 75K guaranteed. Hoping to see you all there. Eric Mendoza claimed the 1st title (tho ritchie has this under protest ;)...the 1st tourney was a success, with 60 entrants pumping the pot to 120K - heckuva a lot better than the 75K guarantee ;)

Also, I'd like to ask you to bookmark your calendars to Saturday, Sept. 22. We're running a charity event for the Power Foundation, a Pasig City charity providing safe houses for women and children in need. P500, and because it's a charity, multi rebuys. All buy-ins go direct to the Foundation. Expect prizes like laptops, celphone, iPods, etc. Full official list will be published asap.

Introducing The Metro Seventy-Five

2007-09-03T16:33:00.000+08:00

Hi folks, the Metro Card Club is pleased to announce the Metro Seventy-Five, our 75K guarantee NL Hold'Em tournament. The Seventy-Five is a deepstack tourney with a 10K start stack and starting blinds of 25/50. Freezout.

Buy: PHP2000
Fee: PHP200

Every Wednesday at 8:30, registration at 7:30 - pre-registrations accepted. The Metro Card Club, Metrowalk Commercial Complex, Pasig City.

Phone: +63905 254 5369
Landline: 633-1422

Winners faces on the Metro Wall of Fame.

And winners get this shirt!

See you Wednesday night!

APPT Manila Wraps Up

2007-08-27T11:31:00.000+08:00

I'm too exhausted to do a long post. for excellent coverage, hop over to Maverick's blog. He's done an excellent job of wrapping up the coverage on the final table. Congrats to Ira B., part of the Bangkok crew and 2nd place finisher.

Congrats to Derrick Hernandez, who took two sick, sick beats in a row to finish 9th and cash 11K.

Thanks to the APPT and Pokerstars for the event.

Peace out...

Final Table today 2pm - pls come out and support Derrick

2007-08-26T11:47:00.000+08:00

Hyatt Manila - you should see the FT setup. Insane

It's Derrick, not Derek

2007-08-26T10:17:00.001+08:00

My apologies to Derrick Hernandez, the final Pinoy hope. I've been spelling his name "Derek" all along.

Derrick on the left, Eric on the right

Final Table Bubble Bursts

2007-08-26T02:18:00.000+08:00

TV Table is done. Derek Hernandez is good to go with 300+K and guaranteed 11,386. He's playing hella good. He'll get deep. GO BORD!

Amor Nario out

2007-08-26T01:18:00.000+08:00

Our very good friend Amor just busted in 12th. 11 players left, only Derek Hernandez left. Go Pinoy!

Doc Butch out

2007-08-25T23:22:00.000+08:00

Doc Butch Javier out in 15th. Derek Hernandez, Amor Nario, Carlo Lascana left. GO BORDS!!!!

RVS and Eric Sia out

2007-08-25T22:58:00.000+08:00

RVS out 22nd, Eric Sia out 17th: Derek Hernandez, Amor Nario, Carlos Lascano, Butch Javier left. 16 remain

In the Money!

2007-08-25T20:18:00.000+08:00

We are in the money!

Japanese player Norihito Suzuki has just busted out going all in with a super short stack and getting called by 2 other players to seal his fate as the bubble boy!

Six Filipinos out of 24 players left, and at least 2 of them have a good chance to make a run for first with their huge stacks. I think our boys represented our local poker community very well today, taking up 2 seats in each table out of 4 tables left.

Everybody is guaranteed just shy of $5,000 for their efforts right now.

Congratulations everybody! now go win the whole thing!

Bubble Time!

2007-08-25T20:06:00.000+08:00

BUBBLE TIME!

25 left, 24 paid.

At least 5 of our guys left.

The most heart-breaking time to bust out has come...

Philippines represent!

Hand for Hand with 27 left

2007-08-25T19:47:00.001+08:00

The players can smell the money.

24 places paid, and we are now hand for hand.

At least five of our guys are still in, RVS, Eric S., Derek H. doc Butch, and Amor N. Most of them have good stacks too.

The prize pool for this three-day event is as follows:

1st: $179,775
2nd: $113,858
3rd: $62,921
4th: $44,940
5th: $35,955
6th: $26,966
7th: $20,974
8th: $14,981
9th: $11,386
10th - 12th: $8,390
13th - 16th:$5,993
17th - 24th: $4,794

Good luck Bords!

Harvey Ty busts in 30th

2007-08-25T19:27:00.000+08:00

7 pinoys left - 5 to the bubble

Alex Pagulayan busts

2007-08-25T19:03:00.001+08:00

This leaves us down to about 8 pinoys - will get that confirmed asap

Derek Hernandez and Amor Nario in the top 5!

2007-08-25T18:51:00.000+08:00

Local good guy rounders Amor Nario and Derek Hernandez in good. Both in the top 5. Amor at 121K, Derek at 160K...

Avg. stack 77,272 level 13 1200/2400 ante 400 - 33 left

RVS: Miracle Boy

2007-08-25T18:22:00.000+08:00

Scenario:

RVS with around 100K snap calls with AJ for most of his chips

Villain shows AK

RVS down to <10K with blinds at 1200/2400

He rushes by my desk and says "that was a bad call"

Then he sits back down

Then he pushes the next hand - no action

Then he pushes the next hand - doubles

then he pushes QTo, gets called by 55

Q on the turn

He now has more than 100K

Idol

wally just busted

2007-08-25T17:37:00.000+08:00

damn damn damn...wally just busted after having played a great tourney.

Great job Wally!

Level 12 Pinoy update

2007-08-25T17:30:00.000+08:00

If my info's correct, here's who our horses are at this point: Level 12, 1000/2000 ante 300

43 players remain.

RVS
Wally
Eric Sia
Derek Hernandez
Butch Javier
Harvey Ty
Amor Nario
Alex Pagulayan

Go bords!

APPT Manila Pinoys

2007-08-25T14:55:00.000+08:00

RVS
Wally
Eric
Butch Javier
Amor Nario
Carlos Lascano
Harvey Ty
Derek Hernandez

and some guys i don't know if i know

Graham Edward
(?) Suzuki
(?) David
(?) Lim

11 folks calling the RP home

Day 2 shots: Pinoy Contingent

2007-08-25T14:42:00.000+08:00

RVS

Wally the Dream

Eric Sia

Alex Pagulayan

Aces in the BB

2007-08-25T14:35:00.000+08:00

Eric Sia raises 7K with rockets on the button. JJ moves in on him. Rockets hold up...Eric doubles...yeah baby

just showed up to day 2 and we've got 7 bustouts alread!

2007-08-25T14:25:00.001+08:00

APPT Main Event Day 2:

Got my comp with me and a wifi card from the hyatt. Barb with the cam and me with on the keyboard...

Day 2 started with 72 and I'm told 9 Pinoys left. When I showed up the Tournament Manager showed 65 remaining. 7 bustouts within 20 minutes. And I thought all these stacks had blinds in 'em!

24 spots paid.

Alan Escano walked up to me and declared he'd just busted out. Damn. One fewer pinoy...

Trying to get a count on pinoys.

Stay tuned....

The value of different perspectives

2007-08-25T12:01:00.001+08:00

Just thinking about my table through the 7 levels I lasted at the APPT Main Event. Seven hours of hands, scenarios and conversations tease out the way the players you're with view the game. Many will provide their take on how this hand or that played out, etc. All this is super valuable to all of us, even we jaded ones who think we've seen it all.

Playing locally, we tend to bang up against the same folks playing our stakes in the live tourneys and rings. I would humbly advise you to find ways to play more diverse fields to help add perspective and knowledge to your game. If you can't bankroll trips and buyins, play online, but choose your games wisely. Do what you can to find tables with smart folks on it. Rail it and read the chats. Spend tons of time there.

I had a great exchange with Negreanu during the Celeb/Media event. Here are a couple of conversations:

Daniel (looking over at my drink): Is that Philippine beer or like Budweiser or something

Nickg: Local. It's called San Miguel Light.

Daniel: Is Philippine beer good?

Nickg: Yes

__________________

Daniel (looking over at my phone): Is that a Blackberry with a local number?

Nickg: Yes

__________________

Here's another one, this time with Joe Hachem

Nickg pulls up to urinal to relieve himself during the break. Joe Hachem pulls up to the one beside Nickg.

Joe: Hey Nick, putting that seat you won last night to good use?

Nickg: Just suriving Joe, just an average stack. how are you doing?

Joe: About the same, but it's early days yet, things should be ok as long as I don't do anything stupid.

Nickg: That's precisely my problem.

Joe: That's all our problem, mate.

__________________________________

Deep stuff, dude.

You can't buy that kind of deep conversation in a book. Get out there and learn from the pros!

Officially on the rail

2007-08-25T10:53:00.001+08:00

Made it past dinner at the Pokerstars APPT Main Event. Lasted three hands into that, busting when I tried to run a bluff for my tourney life on Alan E., which would rank right up there on my list of all time bonehead moves. A lot of Pinoys fell by the wayside too; but we've got approximately 10 pinoys left in the field going into Day 2, including poker stalwarts and proven performers, Wally Sombero, RVS (who cashed deep in the 2006 Bellagio Cup). Both are sitting on big stacks.

Eric S., Amor N., Harvey T., Alan E., all uber-experienced players, are also on this list.

Alex Pagulayan has made Day 2.

I'll be railing with my laptop today, working to bring you live updates on the Pinoy contingent's fortunes.

72 players left. Playable blinds. We'll be in for some good poker. Join me in cheering the home team on.

Now I can die happy

2007-08-24T07:46:00.000+08:00

I have a beautiful, loving wife, three gorgeous kids with another one on the way, and great friends. I do have many blessings to count. To all this I can now add the fact that I've busted Negreanu and outlasted Hachem in a tournament. Sure, I have to temper this with the reality that it was a "celebrity" event with a pretty soft field, but hey - give me my moment.

It was at the Asia Pacific Poker Tour Celebrity/Media event, put together for well, celebrities and media types. It was five-table shootout for which I qualified by virtue of being a blogger. Needless to say I was always the least attractive at the table - how do you compete in the looks department against starlets and zoolanderesque really, really, really good looking male model types. Well, at least I had poker experience on my side. I found comfort in this edge until Daniel Negreanu walked in and took his seat two spots to my left! HAHAHAHA...

WTF do I do now !?!?!?!

Anyway, to make a long story short, I wound up busting Daniel Negreanu when we get heads up at our table (my TT vs. his AQ). Damn...

Final Table: Joe Hachem, Alex Pagulayan, and more gorgeous people. I watched a master play poker, avoided that very same master (in most pots), and spent most of the FT drinking the Hyatt's P220 beers.

Then, against all odds and pundits predictions, I won. Beat DJ Slick Rick (Ray Ban Celeb series champ) Virata...can't even remember the winning hand.

Got a 500-piece Pokerstars chipset (which I donated to the great folks at the PAGCOR Poker Department for their lunchtime poker games) and a $2500 seat to today's main event.

So in brief, I saved $2500 and outlasted two of the world's greatest players (note I said outlasted and not outplayed - please be clear on that distinction).

How to look uninterested while doubling up...

Awesome feeling. Got drunk with my closest friends at the kickoff party.

The Main Event plays today at 2pm; 300 players expected from 40 countries. Come down and play or hang out, whatever. Let's collectively soak in this great event.

Peace...

APPT Manila Kicks Off

2007-08-23T14:49:00.000+08:00

The Asia Pacific Poker Tour has landed, with the Hyatt Hotel Manila being its first stop on its three-leg tour around the Asia Pacific region this year (the succeeding two stops will be Seoul and Australia, where the championship is to be held).

Barb and I were fortunate enough to be invited to the kick-off press conference this morning, where media types (as well as perennial party crashers like me) were treated to a panel discussion led by Mr. Jeff Haas, APPT President, and Mr. Sarne Lightman, Pokerstars.net (the APPT's Title Sponsor) representative. Our very own Boy Rosero, Boss of All Poker Bosses from PAGCOR, and Mr. Dodie King, PAGCOR Communications Head, were also present.

On the players side, Neil "Dirty Ice Cream" Arce, the Philippines' own Mr. WSOP, and Philip Chua, online qualifier to the tomorrow's APPT Main Event were on hand to field questions.

As for the rockstars on the panel, we were joined by Daniel Negreanu, Joe Hachem, and Vanessa Rousso, Pokerstars.net players, brought a bit of Vegas glitter as well as more than a few bracelets to the table.

The APPT is a regional poker tour centered on our region (The the EPT but with an "A" instead :). Mr. Haas described the APPT's mission and vision to help develop Asian Poker and support the regional tournament needs of the Asian Poker market (I do hope I'm not putting words into his mouth - it was early). The organizers described how the Philippines and PAGCOR provided the perfect launchpad for the tour, given the comparative maturity of our poker market and the regulator's support for the game. Jeff noted that the largest poker market in the region was the Philippines. Hearing this made me a little teary; just look back to the very first post on this blog, circa May 2005. Look how far we've come!

The event runs over 3 days, with the Manila Cup having been concluded last night. The APPT Main Event ($2500 buy-in, featuring players from 40 countries, including a large local contingent to root for) plays tomorrow at 2pm. Satellites run all day today and in advance of the event. A $500 event seats tomorrow night at 8pm, and side games all throughout.

Wow...

All I can say is thanks, APPT, thanks Pokerstars, and thanks PAGCOR, for sending our local scene to the next level.

Regardless of the local crew's ultimate performance, we've already won.

Stay tuned to this blog as I try to keep you folks updated on the goings-on.

APPT Bosses Sarne and Jeff

Daniel Negreanu, Barb Galan, Joe Hachem

Daniel Negreanu, Nick Galan, Joe Hachem

Philip and Neil on a Panel - wtf!?!?!#?

Mabanta, Arce, Galan, Constantino

Negreanu keeps his head down

Neil Arce and Vanessa Rousso: The one thing I respect about Neil is he's always workin'

Joe Hachem

Read Maverick's Blog!

2007-08-22T11:17:00.001+08:00

Please read his latest entry. I couldn't have stated it better.

see y'all at the metro...

Kadayawan 700,000 Guarantee, Davao

2007-08-13T06:12:00.000+08:00

Just came back from a great weekend at the Kadayawan Poker Tournament, co-sponsored by Casino Filipino-Davao and the Metro Madayaw Poker Room. With a 750K guarantee and a 250K Royal Flush Jackpot, this was the 1st major guarantee tournament held in Mindanao, which attracted player contingents from Davao, Cotabato, General Santos, Cebu, and other areas around the south. Metro Manila was represented by Barb, Dirty Ice Cream, Eric M., Derek B., and yours truly.

The tourney was co-run by the Metro Madayaw staff, led by the uber cool Karloz Alba, in conjunction with the Casino Filipino poker crew, under the watchful and competent gaze of the man in the red shirt himself, Boss Dado.

76 players, 800K Pot.

I started the day behind the eight ball, having played the cash game till 5am that morning (needless to say I also single-handedly drove San Miguel Corporation's Davao sales up by 50% during that session).

Had brunch with local media types and the boys from the Metro Madayaw Card Room.

Left to Right: Bryan Lim, Chi-Boy Apostol, Karloz Alba, me, Dirty Ice Cream.

Us and the crew from Cebu, including Tito Nonoy Tirol, who ultimately finished in 2nd

Made the 1st break with a healthy stack.

Made dinner with a healthy stack.

Made final table with a super short stack.

Caught a series of baby pockets throughout - 88, 44, TT, 66, TT, and finally, JJ. Forced to push each time and called by big aces, I never lost a race! Never happened in my life. Poor Barb didn't share the same luck - shortstacked with 21 players remaining, she pushed with KK, got called by AQ and JJ, and busted when an A spiked.

Barely awake, I managed to get to the final 3, guaranteed 96K and some sleep. I repeated an earlier offer to deal with the other 2. With about half the chipleaders stack, Nonoy Tirol of the Cebu Players Club and I agreed to 145K each with 250 going to Armand C. Coupled with the 40K I cashed the previous night, a good weekend all in all. Ice Cream killed the baccarat table for 100K.

With the deal done and cash shipped, I lingered a bit, pushed with some suited-connected something, and busted.

Then I slept.

Great job to the organizers, all who played, and Davao City, which once again showed us the utmost in hospitality, enthusiasm, and customer service.

300K Guaranteed

2007-08-05T12:49:00.000+08:00

As usual, it was a blast playing with a buncha familiar faces at Runners Card Club in Carmona yesterday. As I'm too hung over to write anything even remotely interesting, I'll just post a buncha pics. And oh yeah, a guy named Nick (not me) won it. mnlgrind came in 2nd. 1st place paid 114,000, mnlgrind cashed for 70K. 60 players.

Nice!!!!

300K Guaranteed! Runners Card Club, August 4

2007-07-20T14:18:00.000+08:00

Runners Card Club and Ace Technologies is running a 300K Guaranteed NLHE tourney on Saturday, August 4 at the San Lazaro Leisure Park in Carmona, Cavite. This will supply a seat to the Asia Pacific Poker Tour Main Event ($2500) as well as cash down the line. We'll be serving buffet snacks as well, all in the fantastic racing environment that is the San Lazaro Leisure Park.

5000+500 and all the fun you can have.

cya there!

A graceful exit

2007-07-14T09:17:00.000+08:00

Neil ended his run at the main event a short while ago, busting out in 222nd with TT vs. AJ. Neil made a great run, and we're all damn proud of his performance. We've all seen Neil cut through local fields several times to cash or win. He's now proven he can do it against a horde of players at the Big Show.

222 is good for $51,398 - a great payday for a job well done! This is a first for Philippine poker, and I can't wait to hear the stories from the crew in Vegas, especially Neil.

Special thanks to the crew in vegas who kept us updated the whole way. RVS, Alan, Franco, you guys made us feel like we were there.

Till next year!

History

2007-07-13T15:46:00.000+08:00

Neil is in for Day 4! 340 players left, guaranteed 39K and change. I don't know what to say except I'm proud. Damn proud.

And the other pinoys aren't just railbirding either. Alan, Renan, and Amor if I'm correct have all cashed in other events in different casinos. No probs - all good for all.

Noon tomorrow Vegas.

The Bubble has burst and our boy is on the right side of it!

2007-07-13T08:40:00.000+08:00

WSOP event number 55, The Main Event. After playing hand-for-hand for a long-ass time, the bubble just popped. 621 left. And guess who's on the inside. Neil! With 165ish thousand, he's ok, and angling to get deep. He's already doubled his money, playing for the real cash. Prayers!

The General's cracked it too! Isaac's in the money with around $100K...

Bring it home!

This Ice Cream JUST WON'T MELT!!!

2007-07-12T15:21:00.000+08:00

The Vegas heat can't melt Dirty Ice Cream. Neil just made Day 3 - after grinding it out on Wednesday, he emerged with a stack of $116,000.00, ready to rip 'em apart as he barrels to the cash. Blinds tomorrow, 1500/3000 antes 400. If anybody can do it, he can. Let's ALL put our hands together and pray.

Nice job, mate.

And go, Isaac...

And the crew from Vegas just texted. None of them are coming home till Neil's done. How's that for support ;)

Till tomorrow...

Isaac makes it to Day 3

2007-07-11T15:13:00.000+08:00

Another call from the rail at the Rio - Isaac Galazan (The General), one of the Bangkok crew, but for all intents and purposes an honorary Pinoy (given the time he's spent on Philippine felt), has cracked Day 2! He'll be going on to Day 3 with $102,700. Avg stack at this point: 157K. Join me in wishing him the best of luck!

Tomorrow Neil sits for his day 2. Exciting stuff...

This is Isaac

Ice Cream makes Day 2!

2007-07-10T19:32:00.000+08:00

Neil goes where no pinoy with a Philippine address has gone before. Day 2 of the Main Event! He blasted through a field of 1800 on Day 1D. stack: $58,400...very respectable. Day 2B for Neil is Wednesday.

Go Bro...

vegas roundup

2007-07-10T14:44:00.000+08:00

just got a call from ice cream...day 1D was the day the pinoy contingent sat the main event. Sadly, with one level to go, only ice cream and rvs remain. To those who gave it a shot, gg - it's hella tough to cut through a 1500 person field.

let's all say a collective prayer that the two remaining green passport holders make it to day 2. I'll update soon as i hear anything else.

Sattelites Worth Playing

2007-07-01T10:42:00.000+08:00

Satellites seem to have become all the rage these days. You know, play here, here or here once a week and you can play this main event or that.

Well, hop over to Maverick's blog and read about a satellite series worth playing. Get ready for the Asia Pacific Poker Tour!

Good to gamble again...

2007-07-01T10:18:00.000+08:00

As the lack of activity on this blog suggests, I've taken a brief hiatus from gambling. Haven't gambled much this year, in fact, as I've gone back into my existential tank regarding my poker game. And after a particularly bad run betting the NHL playoffs, I thought it'd be wise to chill out a bit.

I couldn't resist flying down to Davao this past Friday, however, to take part in the PAGCOR annual hold'em tourney. Assisted by the good folks at the Metro Madayaw Poker Room (a card room we co-operate with some great local guys), the boys from PAGCOR ran a nice, exciting game. 68 people sat the tourney, which ultimately boasted a prize pool of over 300K. The local players like to play, and play hard. There was hardly a pot that wasn't doggedly contested multiway.

Barb, who's 5 months pregnant now, accompanied me to be my security blanket in the inevitable event of an early bust-out (I finally busted just after the dinner break). Thank God again for Barb, who cashed in 6th.

After busting and ordering my 8th beer for the day, I hopped over to the side games, where the cash action was even crazier than the tourney play I witnessed. Dropped a few grand and went to bed.

Davao poker is certainly on the upswing; the players and folks running the card room are certainly an enthusiastic crowd, with fresh outlooks on the game and even fresher bankrolls. Do pop by the Casino Filipino-Davao when you're in the south. You won't regret it.

Thanks to all who put the event together, and I hear rumors of a P1,000,000 guarantee for the Kadayawan festival this August. I'll be there for sure.

Davao Poker Tourney!

2007-06-25T16:16:00.000+08:00

I was accused of being lazy with my blog this weekend. The accuser was right! And wouldn't you know it, the 1st time I post in umpteen months is to sell something. This weekend the Metro Madayaw Davao card room is hosting its San Pedro Festival Poker tournament. This is a 2000+300 game with one (1) rebuy and one (1) add-on. Casino Filipino Davao - Grand Regal Hotel. I'll be there. Come take my dead money.

Zap...

2007-05-19T09:27:00.000+08:00

Been an interesting week - my laptop, bought six months ago, took a power surge when a transformer blew in my neighborhood. Fried battery, fried power supply. Guess I should break down and pick up a nice, expensive surge suppressor. After I pick up a new laptop, that is.

Click2Pay/BDO is rolling along well for me and the wife, real cool service, that (see below).

If there were an X-Games for elections, the Philippines would be the host country. 150+ people dead and its called "peaceful" - whoa...

Lost a chunk of money betting the NHL playoffs, but stayed away from the NBA - heheh...

Congratulations to our good friends who got in - especially to RVS, now the Honorable Congressman RVS! Good job! Our best wishes and prayers are with Maverick, who's staunchly defending his mom's votes over at Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay. Don't let the bastards dagdag-bawas you, bro!

Opened our new office at Emerald Avenue in Ortigas; very sweet.

Over at Poker Manila, somebody mentioned they'd like a WSOP style event here. Great idea - and I hear some folks are doing such a thing this September. I'll keep you posted; and yes, we can run online satellites ;)

For more Click2pay info...

2007-05-08T06:44:00.000+08:00

Hi all,

After having posted my note about the Click2Pay/BDO funding facility, I noticed that I forgot to tell you to FIRST set up an account at Click2Pay.

After you receive your account number, go to the Click2Pay Loading Registration Webpage, get your subscriber number, download the BDO loading instructions, and head off to BDO.

As for questions, please direct them to: info@aspaconline.com

Remember, they're looking for residents of the Visayas and Mindanao to try this out. So if you're out there, go for it!

A Click2Pay Innovation!

2007-05-05T11:25:00.000+08:00

Folks, I just got some great news to get us over our eWallet woes. Wirecard Philippines has provided us a way to load our eWallet account via cash or check at any Banco de Oro office in the Philippines (and you know there are a lot of those). Hehe...

No more credit cards, no more long waits.

Beta testing starts Monday the 7th. They're looking for 6-10 users to try the following starting monday. Please read the email to me below:

_____

Hi nick,

Below are the guidelines of our BETA testing:

1. between 6- 10 users. Min. of 2 in Luzon, 2 in Visayas and 2 in
Mindanao base Players.
2. BETA Testing period is between May 7 to May 11.
3. It is advised that on Monday, there at least be one player that
would do the Check Deposit. The rest can do Cash deposit.
4. Once the BETA test is successful. Full launch will be set on May 15.

Procedures on loading.

1. All beta testers would need to sign up for a subscriber number.
To subscribe, pls visit http://click2pay.aspaconline.com

2. Once you got the subscriber number. Pls remember this. Then
Kindly print the deposit instruction manual i attached in this email
so that the players would know what to do. (You can also dowload this
manual on the website link)

3. Proceed to any BDO branches nationwide to load.

Thanks in advance for helping out nick.

Kind regards,

----------

So if you wanna get involved, please comment here and i'll put you on. Get your Subscriver Number at Click2Pay Loading Registration Website.

As you can see from the note above, they especially need folks from the Visayas and Mindanao.

this is cool...

Freeroll Results

2007-04-28T22:28:00.000+08:00

Thanks soooo much to the 81 players who showed to play my middle-age celebration. Congrats to:

9. Kittyflower
8. 11Finger
7. Babygela
6. Croces
5. Donk333
4. Clockwork
3. FlipGuy
2. Toybits3
1. Jonpokertour

For cashing in this humble extravaganza!

As I said, you can leave your cash in the poker account and play it or get the money...up to you. ..just gimme a call and tell me what you wanna do...0917 628 1255 (my number). Babygela, Croces, and Jonpokertour, I know what you wanna do.

Fun, fun, fun...

Big Week

2007-04-23T09:47:00.000+08:00

I'm officially well into my late thirties this week. Geez...it sucks when you can talk about truly adult events and memories that happened 15 years ago (and longer). My oldest kid's thirteen, and teenagers call me tito. Then there's the gray hair sprouts and the flab. And I pay attention to the cosmetic surgery billboards along Edsa.

So to celebrate my approaching middle age, I'm throwing a $1000 freeroll on the DGN Poker Network. Specifically, Super 7 Gaming. Just download the Poker Client, register (no deposit required), and find go to the Tournaments -> Private Tab. NickG's Birthday Freeroll. Password: "Nickgbday". Register. I'll personally pay out the winners. Saturday, April 28, 7:00pm Manila time. For my friends in the East Coast, 7:00am, on the West Coast, 4:00am!!!

Thanks to the guys at Super7 for setting this up.

On an unrelated note, a good buddy of mine has set up an interesting site, Cockfighting Online. Yep, it's a betting site, using live streamed video and some cool sabong betting software. You can't use it from the Philippines. They won't take your action. So this note's an FYI and for my overseas buddies, go to it.

I do hope to see you all online next Saturday at 7:00pm.

Quickies

2007-04-11T10:25:00.000+08:00

Damn, this blog's slowin' down - well, it's not for a lack of good intentions - just that I've been pretty wrapped up in many, many great projects. Just a few little announcements:

1. Me, the family, and some very close friends just concluded a GREAT Holy Week vacation over in Vigan, Ilocos Sur. RVS, our very good friend and most gracious host, showed us the time of our lives and introduced us to that great city and province. My battery's fully recharged. In fact, it was so much fun, Mischa couldn't contain himself...

2. I'm gonna be celebrating my birthday in a couple of weeks. Instead of throwing a drinkfest, I've decided to sponsor a USD$1000.00 online freeroll for all blog readers and pinoy poker players. I'll post details as soon as I've got the site and tourney lined up.

3. We're opening a cardroom at the Casino Filipino - Davao in partnership with PAGCOR and the great poker playing folks in that fine city. Stay tuned for announcements.

Till the next time, peace

Asia's GEM and Doyle

2007-03-21T10:57:00.001+08:00

Remember last February? We held the first Asia's GEM gaming convention here in town and Doyle Brunson popped by to play some poker with us. It even got on TV - airing tonight, in fact, at 11:30 on SportsPlus. If you wanna see what happened last year, tune in.

If you wanna see what happens this year, come down to the Hyatt Hotel and Casino, Manila, tomorrow, March 22, to catch the action. Doyle will be there, as will a few of the folks we know from around town. I heard Chip Reese is here too, though I need someone to confirm that for me.

Another fine old time for all of us over here.

Ethics in Poker

2007-03-11T11:11:00.000+08:00

Some things I've been thinking about lately, given a spate of things I've been witnessing and hearing around town. Here are the things I'd like to talk about:

1. The new cycle of major tournaments kicking off
2. The buzz emanating from the growing community of card room employees
3. The tension between legal and not-so-legal operations

Major Tournaments

There are a number of folks producing tournaments, tournament series, and their attendant satellite series. Many hold out the promise of large pots, sweet guarantees, pathways to fame and fortune. Now the bulk of tourneys held around town are pretty straightforward: there is a published buy-in and fee, and in the case of a guaranteed pool, the amount of the guarantee. Examples of ethically questionable practices I've seen in the past are:

a) Major tournaments publicizing a guaranteed pot but not breaking fees out from the buy, and not rolling buy-in money into the pot when the guarantee has been crossed - this is a tough situation for players. They deserve to be treated fairly with respect to the prize pool, and thus are entitled to the fundamental info about how much of their buy-in is destined for the prize pool and how much is finding its way into the organizer's bank account. As I've said above, I've seen this happen twice, and I'd urge you to demand this basic information when it is missing or obscured.

b) Major tournaments publicizing a large prize pool amount (e.g. P2,000,000) and not delivering that amount when fewer that the target seats are sold. The way i see it, when you put a number up in big, bold letters, you better have that number in the bank. If you don't deliver it, that could be construed as false advertising, illegal in industries that watch out for that sort of thing. Check with your friendly pool-guarantors and ensure the number is indeed the number.

Card room Employees

The growth of the Philippine Poker industry has made the need for qualified card room staff, from dealers to floors, to brushes, a very stark need indeed. PAGCOR and the underground community simply cannot supply everyone operators need. So some of us took the bull by the horns and trained up quite a few applicants, and put most of them in regular rotation. What I'm starting to hear is these employees, particularly the dealers - the backbone of the card room - complaining of shabby treatment, including: late pay, tip boxes being raked by management, etc.

In our operations, we pay our staff fairly (I've heard that we have the best monthly base salaries in the country) and on time. They also keep all of their tokes. This is to identify the very best and develop them further.

It's my humble view that a fairly compensated and fairly treated staff member is a happy one, and being fair to him or her avoids downstream labor issues.

Legal and Illegal

Even the government will admit that the underground card room scene is nowhere near eradicated. I'd extend this to say that it's necessary for the development of the overall market. Friends bringing friends to a familiar place managed by friends takes the intimidation factor away from the game, which when new to someone, can be intimidating indeed. When we received authority to operate Card rooms both within and outside the casino environment, a few folks urged me and my partners to have the illegals investigated and "raided". We flat out refused for two reasons 1) The benefits I stated above, and 2) we simply don't want to win that way, the rat's way.

People ask me how to beat the undergrounds. One answer: be better.

My two cents for the moment. My opinions do not necessarily reflect those of my business partners - in fact they rarely ever do :)

Sinag Kaling tourney

2007-03-06T11:23:00.000+08:00

As usual, Miguel has done a fabulous job of beating me to the punch on reporting on last Saturday's charity event, so I won't go into the gory details. Just wanna mention that it worked out real well, and a broader crowd than the usual suspects (though many were there)treated us to an afternoon of fun. The mall setting - Robinson's Galleria - was great too - with mall-going onlookers catching a lot of the action.

This was the first time PAGCOR sanctioned an event outside the casino environment, and we all benefited from it. The announcement that all proceeds were charity-bound (yes NO RAKE) got everybody applauding. Special thanks to our many corporate sponsors who so generously made it all happen.

Sinag Kalinga's clients got a financial bump to the tune of 141,400, and the ability of this game to do some good for others was more publicly displayed.

Peace

Poker For a Cause - Robinson's Galleria

2007-03-01T11:02:00.000+08:00

Hi all, if you haven't read Miguel's blog", we're holding a great charity event Saturday, March 3 at Robinson's Galleria , reg at 10:30am and play at noon.

The Beneficiary charity is Sinag Kalinga, a foundation providing homes and care to our elderly, homeless and destitute folks. They provide a loving service to people who are helpless and sadly, often forgotten or ignored.

P500 gets you a seat in this rebuy (level 4) tourney. We're offering great prizes, including:

1. Trip to Bora for 2 with a stay at the Boracay Mandarin
2. Trip to Palau for 2
3. A laptop
4. 80GB iPod Video
5. Sony PSP
6. Bose Speakers
7. Mobile phone
8. 19" LCD TV
9. Canon Powershot digicam
10. iPod shuffle

Let's all get together and help out - and play for some great loot :)

Peace, and see you on Saturday

Southern Comfort

2007-02-16T12:07:00.000+08:00

Well, Runners Card Club at San Lazaro Leisure Park officially kicked off at the beautiful Manila Jockey Club facility in Carmona. We rocked a few rings and sat a 2-table SNG, playing till 4:00am. The southern boys do like their poker!

There's nothing like leaning over between hands, looking out the window, and watching a horse race.

Nuthin' like placing a bet, winning a race, then pushing with AK and winning THAT race too :).

On Sunday, Feb 18th, we'll be running our first Guaranteed tournament, with 300K in the pot. Buy's pegged at 5K+500, free food for all players.

Come check it out, make some money.

Runners, baby!

2007-02-14T14:44:00.000+08:00

Friends, a great piece of news. Tomorrow, Thursday, Feb 15 at 6:00pm marks the opening of the country's newest card club in the grandest facility. The The Runner's Card Club is the Poker Room at the San Lazaro Leisure Park in Carmona, Cavite.

In partnership with the Manila Jockey Club and PAGCOR, Runners will be spreading 10 tables, offering Hold'em and other poker variants at varying stakes in a spacious card room overlooking the newest racing facility in Asia. Catch the thouroughbreds in action, and try the casino action upstairs as well.

Come check us out. Take the Carmona exit, of SLEX, 10 mins away from Alabang.

7 days a week, starting at 6:00pm

Peace

ACF Satellite to Doyle Event Postponed

2007-02-09T17:43:00.000+08:00

Folks, I just got a call from the boys over at PAGCOR. The satellite into the March 22 Doyle event's been postponed till further notice...so stay tuned for further notice :)

Doyle's gonna be back in town...

2007-02-07T12:11:00.000+08:00

Well folks, it's official. In a repeat of last February's Doyle Brunson event, the man himself will be back in town. On March 22, 2007, Doyle's group and the good folks at PAGCOR will be putting on the 2nd PAGCOR Celebrity Poker With the Legends, featuring Doyle, Jack Binion, and other yet-unnamed big shooters from the world of Poker.

It's a 50K buy 2-table event, with all proceeds going to charity.

To this end, the Airport Casino Filipino is running the 1st of a number of satellites (3K+500) to get players into the event. Check it out this Saturday, Feb. 10 - reg at noon game at 3pm.

Peace

Cebu Action

2007-01-22T10:49:00.000+08:00

Sinulog, as we found out, is the "mother of all Philippine Fiestas". The annual Sunday party for Sto. Nino held in Cebu draws hundreds of thousands of people, though Barb and I would swear there were more than a million people lining the main city thoroughfares (it took us 1.5 hours to walk 150 meters in a crush of parade viewers).

Sinulog is a big tourist attraction in and of itself, but if you add a nice little Poker tournament to the mix, then you know our little crew will hop a plane asap.

11 of us showed up on Saturday at the Casino Filipino at the Waterfront hotel in Cebu to play the 5K multi-rebuy semi-charity tourney. The usual suspects were there - Me and Barb, Ronald S., Dirty Ice Cream (aka "kapatid), Shine, Mischa, Checkpoint Louie, Benjie, Ria, and Isaac (Mr. Bracelet, aka the General), and Avi from Bangkok.

100 people sat the Saturday tourney - mostly locals gunning for what promised to be a fat pot. In the end, and thanks in no small part to Mischa's 6 rebuys, the pot hit a million. I got no share of it, and neither did barb, when her QQ got all-in preflop against JJ and lost. 13 spots paid, and shining nicely for our contingent were: checkpoint (12th), Isaac (6th), Ice Cream (4th), and the man himself, Ronald, cashing the top money after a 4-way chop (though he ultimately finished 2nd post-chop).

Good show, dudes.

The Cebu cardroom itself is a 3-table gig, running small rings from 8pm on. Weird, given that the casino is a nice, big place, packed with people. Well, given the number of outside games around town, I guess the casino isn't dragging all the action in.

The tourney was well-run, by PAGCOR's Emi Mungcal of course, but the dealers need a wee bit more experience in my estimation.

Played cards in the side games till 6am, had breakfast, and went to bed. Played more cards with Nonoy, Richard and the gang at the Rajah on Sunday. Barb killed the game, I busted (as usual).

Peace to all the fine folks in Cebu, and great show to all the crew that took most of the tournament money home.

The Year in Pinoy Poker (or bits of it, anyway)

2006-12-30T08:58:00.000+08:00

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.

Happy Holidays to y'all

2006-12-24T09:20:00.000+08:00

It's Christmas Eve here in the Metro, and as the kids wait for santa (how does he get into Pinoy houses with no chimneys?), I wanna take this opportunity to wish all of you guys the very best this season.

So happy holidays to all, and may your bankrolls grow fatter in the new year!

Congratulations Chris

2006-12-20T08:41:00.000+08:00

Chris Parker, a face you'll see around the bigger buy-in tourneys around town, took down the PPT Final this weekend, pocketing a cool million.

I'm sure he'll have no problems in finding ways to spend it.

Nice job, Chris

Friday's the Night!

2006-12-14T11:03:00.000+08:00

Ok all, the first episode of the WPT Poker Madness event's gonna air tomorrow at 10pm on Channel 33. Make sure you tune in to check out the production as well as a LOTTA faces we all know. On Saturday, same time, same channel, we get to watch Bryan take it down!

If anybody has any digital recording equipment, kindly record it so we can all circulate the thing. Put Bry on YouTube heheh.

WPT Philippines Poker Madness - TV Schedule

2006-12-07T08:11:00.000+08:00

A New Poker Magazine For RP/Asia

2006-12-05T09:02:00.000+08:00

Another piece of great news for us over here on this side of the world. Ron Cramer and Denny Williams, Tourney Directors at the Bicycle Casino, are launching a glossy Poker magazine, The Scene. 1st issue is scheduled to hit the streets March 1, 2007.

Press Release

Premier Issue of The Scene Magazine to Hit the Philippines & Asia
on March 1, 2007

Los Angeles, December 1, 2006 – The Scene Magazine, a Cramer Group publication in conjunction with The Scene Informercial Inc., announced today their first monthly issue will debut in the Philippines in March 2007. The Scene will provide the latest insight into gaming news, poker strategy and tournaments as well as restaurant reviews, things to do, and places to visit in the Philippines. The Scene magazine expects to be the premiere poker player’s magazine to hit the Philippines, and Asian markets.

“For the last four years, there has been a huge growth in poker and many players have used TV broadcast poker shows as their information source and training material. We’ll take our readers right into depth of poker and allow them to develop their game to a new level—one that gets them to the final table.” said Denny Williams, Executive Editor. “The emerging poker market in the Philippines is set for record growth and we want to serve and fuel that growth.”

The Scene will combine poker, casino gaming, dining, and tourism information in the Philippines and Asia. It will be available in casinos, hotels, and restaurants in March 2007. Advertisers can reach new players in the rapidly developing Asian poker market. Click this link: http://www.thescene.com.ph to view a sample issue and see what’s new in The Scene.

For all distribution and advertising inquiries:

Contact Info - U.S.
The Scene Corporate office
8504 Firestone blvd, #242
Downey, CA. 90241
Office: 888-345-0447
Fax: 877-863-5026

V.P. of Sales
Donna Blevins
352-422-1441
advertising@thescene.com.ph
V.P. of Marketing
Gregory Weitzel
352.422-6886
marketing@thescene.com.ph

Philippines/Asia
Sales Manager: Shyla Garlan
Mobile: 001-63-917-850-2
Fax: 632-916-8828
E-mail: sales@thescene.com.ph

Blog more!

2006-12-03T11:17:00.000+08:00

Maverick did a great job running, playing (he finished 3rd) and reporting on the 1st ever pinoy bloggers tourney. It was a great time had by all, and I'm glad to have finally met a lot of the folks whose stuff I read daily. GG all...

One thing I wanted to ask the folks there to do was to post to their blogs more often. I wanna grow as a community, and strongly believe that 2007 will be the year of RP online poker. We've had the home game scene, the cardroom scene, the live poker scene, and even the TV thing. The only thing we have to naturally look forward to is online. Its already starting, with Finger's online league and the blog scene. More content on the pinoy blogs and boards (like poker manila and manilapoker) will only drive more traffic, and more traffic means more eyeballs and people who are aware of what we're doing.

So blog more!

Nelson's 90K richer...

2006-11-29T11:26:00.000+08:00

As if he needs more money...

Just got word that Nelson B., a regular at my cousin Rocket's weekly $1000.00 single table tourney (which they play twice!)in Vancouver, cashed in 5th at the BC Poker Championship at the River Rock Casino in Richmond, BC, Canada.

5th out of a field of 784 was good for CAD$90,000.00 in the $2500 NLHE main event.

I played with Nelson during my recent trip to Vancity, and I gotta say the guy did Rocket's game proud.

East Van...

A Mash of Things

2006-11-27T09:05:00.000+08:00

Trying to make it a habit to post an entry on Monday morning. Seems there are a number of things worth writing about. Most items are good, and some things are tough to swallow.

We held the Assumption charity event last Saturday. 87 people sat, and with rebuys, add-ons, and sponsor money, we were able to raise in excess of P200K, achieving the goal of supporting kids in need. Congratulations to the Assumption HS Batch '91, the sponsors, and ESPECIALLY, the players. Thanks also to the ACF for the support, as always.

I've been playing poker daily again, for the first time in a long time. Been quite successful playing NL Hold'em at $1/$2 and $2/$4 on FBAPoker...though some of you may remember that a losing half-year caused me to swear off NLHE and swap over to O8...but i've been doin' alright so far at small stakes, so who knows...

Congratulations to Atty Erick, Mr. High Stakes-Royal Flush at the Bellagio-Vegas Tourney Killah and all around profitable poker dude, and his lovely wife Kaye, on the birth of their daughter, Aleta Kaye Sia (AKs). :)

On a tougher note, our prayers and love are with Checkpoint Louie's sister, Katrina, who was recently diagnosed with cancer and has already had to undergo aggressive treatment. Our love to the family also. Guys, you know we're all here to help at any time. Just name it.

Prize Breakdown for the Assumption Tourney

2006-11-24T11:52:00.001+08:00

Remember that good deed your gonna do this season! The following is the prize breakdown for tomorrow's ACF Assumption Charity Tourney. WE WILL BE LAYING MORE CASH ON TOP OF THE PRIZES based on rebuys and addons, to be announced during the tourney.

Everybody's asking me if there'll be college girls playing. I personally don't know, but I'd like to see a couple of nuns sit the game ;)

I'm playing in this one, so i'm gunning for the 2nd prize. Botox, baby!

1st: Custom-made Poker Table + P10,000 cash + P25,000 non-cashable casino chips
2nd: Cosmetic Surgery worth P30,000 + cash + P15,000 non-cashable casino chips
3rd: Canon digital camera worth P28,000 + P5,000 non-cashable casino chips
4th: LG cellphone worth P17,000
5th: Levis his and her watches worth P9,300 + cash
6th: Levis his and her watches worth P9,300
7th: Canon IP400 Printer
8th: 2 nights accommodation at Willy’s Resort, Boracay
9th: portable CD player
10th: 2 pairs of Crocs shoes
11th: 1 yr membership in Club 650 for 2 people

MySpace

2006-11-23T15:26:00.000+08:00

My sister Riz told me the cool people were on MySpace. So I made one. I've always wanted to be cool.

Well, am I cool yet?

And forgive the mugshot. It's the only photo I have that doesn't make me look, drunk, confused, tilted, exhausted, anorexic, or degenerate

ACF Saturday

2006-11-20T10:14:00.000+08:00

Barb and I realized we haven't played cards together in a while, so we scooted over to the ACF last Sat to play in the PBT tourney. Had fun doing that, but busted when an ill-timed bluff and two crappy beats put me out of my misery.

So I hopped over to a side game and played some 50/100 NL. As luck would have it, I managed to seventuple up my buy-in within a couple of hours, giving me a little smile on my face.

Then it happened. A guy sat in the 3 seat and proceeded to order a scotch. He progressively got drunk (actually, he got drunk exponentially - he seemed to be the type that gets smacked in the back of the neck by alcohol at some point in time and just snaps). Couple this with this being his first time to the game and an incredible run of good luck, he quickly became the center of attention. He played wildly, got verbally aggressive, splashed pots, argued with the dealer and players, and generally was just a buffoon. Another dude sat with us and donked off about 20K. On the way to dropping his BR though, he gave some crazy action, and even went south for 10K!!!! Drunk dude ratholed for 40! LOL...

The table was out of control. I mean really far gone. The casino guys all milled around but did nothing material! I took a couple of hard hits late in the game so couldn't stand up even though the game had turned into a circus.

At the end of it all, I dropped every penny of profit plus my original buy. Bonehead me, of all people, should know that when you can seventuple early in a NL game, it's probably a good idea to bail.

The key point here though is what the hell was the casino doing? The table got chaotic and uncomfortable as hell. The guy should have been asked to leave. There were 8 casino guys around - floors, security, dealers, and they let him carry on like this. Musta been a VIP of sorts.

Hope this isn't a regular occurrence.

TourneyGodmother

2006-11-18T08:36:00.000+08:00

Wanna go to the Ball?

View my Message Board

Free Forums by Bravenet.com

My latest brainfart. Only time will tell if it was a good idea...

Do a Good Deed, boys and girls

2006-11-16T07:20:00.000+08:00

Once a year I try to do something good for those less fortunate than I. As Christmas is a great time to do it, I gladly accepted Jennie V.'s invitation to help out with a charity event her Assumption Alumni HS Batch '91 is putting on Saturday, Nov. 25 at the ACF, reg at noon and game at 3. Benefitting the World Vision Foundation Philippines, it will be a prize-based tourney with great prizes for the top 10 finishers. Structure below.

Tournament Blinds Structure

Level Ante Blinds
1 10-20
2 20-40
3 50-100
BREAK
4 100-200
5 125-250
6 250-500
BREAK
7 500-1000
8 1000-2000
9 2000-4000
BREAK
10 5000-1000

Buy-In: 1200+300
Starting Stack: T1500
Level Length: 20 mins
Rebuys: Unlimited until end of Level 6
Rebuy Cost: P1000+200 for T1000
Add-ons: 1 @ 1000+200 at the beginning of the 7th level

Payout Schedule

Ten (10) places will be paid in Prizes donated by Corporate and Organizational Sponsors.

I do hope you all can make it. I'm even personally donating a few grand to the pot. For good karma, you know...

The company limo was unavailable in vancouver, so my best buddy Shawnie L. lent me his 4th spare hog to use. Thanks Shawn

2006-11-12T15:22:00.000+08:00

Vancouver in the Rain...

2006-11-11T04:14:00.000+08:00

So I've landed in Vancouver, Canada, after 2.5 years absence. 10 degrees celcius and unending rain.

Just like I remember it...

The cab driver who took me in from the airport complained about heavy traffic after we had to wait for one light-change cycle before we could turn left! LOL - try turning left on edsa to ayala on one light.

Hung out with my mom and my sister Riz, had a nice steak dinner at Mortons the day I arrived.

I'm here working with a buncha very good folks from all over the world who've asked me to come and help on the launch of a new poker network.

Just finished an overview on the software and backend, and all I can say is *COOL* - announcements are gonna be flowing soon, I'll make sure you guys all know the details.

But in short - as you've been hearing and many of you have been suspecting for a while, we're gonna start seeing a lot more Asia-focused activities. Things like tournament schedules (I'm talkin' time zones here), language localization, etc.

More on this as I get more free to disclose details.

Gonna go check out all the new poker rooms that have cropped up since I left - lookin' forward to that too.

Peace all...

Pan Asia Poker Tour

2006-11-06T13:12:00.000+08:00

So I was drivin' northside Friday night when I got a text at about 9pm, asking me to do the TV analysis job for the Pan Asia Poker Tour Philippine Open, which ran its main event on Saturday and finished on Sunday. Ron from Solar apologized for the late notice, and I thanked heaven I had my suits drycleaned that week.

Now this event was not - shall we say - heavily marketed in Manila. It was almost totally off my radar when I heard from some PAGCOR dudes a few weeks ago that it might not be a go for unnamed reasons.

Well I guess it was a go, so off I went.

They ran a $500 MTT on Friday, which was attended by around ten or so local players. Unfortunately all the pinoys busted outside of the money.

On Saturday, they sat the $2500 main event, for which I showed up to do the TV schtick. As I sat down to get my makeup done (I always feel awful for the folks who wind up having to make me up for TV - they should all get a danger pay premium when my face is involved ;), I looked around. The lack of promotion became evident; the main event sat 34 people, with only 5 locals that I recognized in the field. Dirty Ice Cream, Wally, Derick, Alan Escano, and Mr. Kim (who got heads up with Bryan at the recent WPT Poker Madness event).

So with my makeup on, I asked around, and lo and behold, looks like some of the folks driving the PAPT are old buddies of mine from Vancouver - hehehe - you guys just won't be able to shake us off.

Ice Cream, Big Wally and Mr. Kim didn't make the final 9, but Alan and Derick did! The event paid to seven spots, and spots 5-9 chopped, giving everybody at the FT their buyins back less $200 or so.

The FT was Aussie dominated, with the big name at the table being Mark Vos WSOP bracelet holder and ultra high stakes online (he's a Full Tilt Poker spokesman). Final 2 were Marcus Cullens and Johnny Vincent, both from Brisbane, Australia. After an almost 3 levels heads up, Cullens took it down with some very impressive play.

Special mention to Alan Escano, who finished 6th and retained most of his hefty buy-in. Great job, bro.

The tourney was very well structured and run (Linda Johnson of the TDA is involved with the group), and the play was spectacular. Expect to see lots of great poker tv from our shores (provided I don't botch the job in studio).

The PAPT is moving on to New Zealand for its next event in January, and we should try to get some locals over there to contend for the championship.

Anyway, great event; would have been great to see more of us there, but two pinoys made the final table and cashed. Can't complain.

Poker Blogger of the Month :)

2006-11-05T12:33:00.000+08:00

Look! Somebody has nice things to say about me!!! :)

How did my predictions fare?

2006-10-29T12:18:00.000+08:00

Because I'm a vain bastard, I like to go back in time and read some of the entries i've posted to my blog. Was doing this this morning, and chanced on a post I made in late September, '05. Titled "Nostradamus or Ignoramus", where I boldly made a buncha predictions about local poker. I'll list my predictions here and see how those predictions played out:

1. PAGCOR will run a major cash tournament in a casino in Metro Manila. This event will be televised and will carry a pot of more than 1,000,000. Timeline? within four months

Partly right. The Poker Club of the Philippines ran a tourney in April with a pot reaching 1.6mm. Run in conjunction with PAGCOR, the event drew folks from all over, including those rowdy boys from Bangkok. Champ came from Baguio. This was televised by Solar. I was off by 3 months.

2. After this tourney, a local circuit of cash-tourney poker will kick off, supported by large corporate sponsors and big media - at least cable media...after an initial wave of furor from the moralist camps, it will proceed...This tour will push into the other large urban centers outside Metro Manila. timeline: in 6 months

A bit of a miss, as what developed was not an organic whole, as stated in my original prediction. Rather, a hodgepodge of activities involving some elements. On the local circuit prediciton, the Poker Club of the Philippines has the most unified satellite series going, and they have reached places in the country that nobody else has. Places like Tagaytay, Davao, and Cebu are on the tourney poker map. Large corporate sponsors: Not too many, though I see branded sunglasses, beer, and scotch being promoted in the tourneys quite regularly.

WPT has come to town, and is doing big TV productions...so i guess the prediction is now coalescing into a whole.

. Cardrooms will open under sanction from PAGCOR - the in-casino poker rooms will be run by PAGCOR, while the offsite rooms will be run by Operators acting under license from PAGCOR...rooms will contain between 10-20 tables at the outset. Some major gaming brands from places like Vegas will move in and change the industry. US pros will be spotted partying at Greenbelt and playing cards with us Pinoys. Local poker dealers will be living in posh condos and driving fancy dancy automobiles.

This one's largely a hit.

*Cardrooms will open under sanction from Pagcor: all I can say right now is - *wink *wink, heheheh
*Cardrooms will contain 10-20 tables - only the ACF has 11, which is currently the largest spread in town
*Major gaming brands, US Pros: Jack Binion was here and ran a celebrity charity tourney; Johnny Chan was here; and I hear a rumor that a major California Poker Brand is doing a deal with the ACF
*Local Poker Dealers living in posh condos: OK, not quite yet, but I was talking with a local dealer the other day, a guy who drove a tricycle when I first met him. Grade 6 education. But smart. Lived in a squatter area. Taught him to deal poker and run a floor about 2 years ago. Now he's made a downpayment on some land in filinvest, has no probs educating his kids, has bought a new motorcycle, has some other guy driving his trike for him, has a new TV, appliances for the house, a computer, and get this - has wireless DSL in his sitio!

4. We will witness the emergence of poker geniuses developing locally. These folks will spearhead a Philippine-based player "invasion" of the major US and European tourney circuit. They will pick up sponsorships and live professional poker lives. We will see at least one member of the less-privileged classes make millions in poker. approximately 1% of the total player population in the RP will go pro and will compete internationally.

Yet to happen

5. An online poker boom will develop. We will see the first local online poker site open within 60 days, followed by several more catering to the local market. Not all will be based in the RP, but more than one will certainly target the RP market in conjunction with the broader asian markets.

Just read the blogs in the last couple of months. We've got online jocks already. 11Finger's running a Sunday series of online tourneys. 'Nuff said...

6. A significant merchandising industry will develop - Billiard table manufacturers will get into the table business, importers will move chipsets and cards into this market in a big way, book and DVD sales will boom. The tiangge folks in greenhills will have a heyday with pirated content

Starting, but not too big yet. Though the Kowboys seem to be doing real well

7. Hold 'Em will reign throughout the next two years, but subcultures of Omaha, Stud, etc. players will emerge...US-style poker's here to stay.

The biggest games in town are now going mixed. The above is a natural progression of things. Hold 'Em's still king, though.

It's been, and continues to be, fun to watch all this unfold.

UGEIA Update

2006-10-24T09:38:00.000+08:00

I'm keeping tabs on the short and medium term impacts of the recently signed US Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UGEIA). As we all know, the Act was signed by Pres. Bush two Fridays ago Friday, and has caused immediate ripples throughout the Online Gaming Industry.

the London Stock Exchange lost billions in value as its high flying gaming companies took immediate hits shortly after the announcement that the Bill had passed.

Companies, listed on foreign exchanges like the LSE, announced hasty retreats from the US market in moves dictated by their status as public companies.

A number of private companies, though not subject to the same levels of shareholder pressure, have opted to leave the US market.

Many private companies have hung around, and are holding steady, based on their interpretations of the Act.

The Act specifically targets the financial intermediaries, the companies that enable deposits and cashouts from gaming sites.

The Act affects all types of online wagering activities, or rather, zeroes in on the lifeblood of the industry, account funding. In about 260 days the law will be given teeth by enforcement rules.

This is a poker blog, so let's have a look at how poker's been affected. From payment processing on up.

Payment processors. The backbone of the industry are the banks who process credit card transactions. The biggies in the business, Barclays and the Royal Bank of Scotland, have chosen to comply. Barclays is one of Neteller's major processors, and Neteller has recently announced its withdrawal from the US market. No more 800 lb gorilla. Firepay, another big ewallet player, has ceased taking US and gaming transactions. Another biggie gone. Who's left? Companies like Click2Pay and Citadel are still rockin.

On the poker side, PartyPoker, the Ongame Network, Titan Poker, Paradise, some of the industry giants, have all announced the cessation of US-facing operations.

Companies like Full Tilt, Pokerstars, Doyle's Room, Bodog and some others continue to welcome US business.

I'm too lazy to talk about the sportsbooks and casinos.

What we're witnessing is truly tumultuous, at least in the short term, in this industry. The companies that defined the industry are seemingly retreating. Hundreds of millions of dollars in revenues are being foregone and may shift over to former smaller players. But are these players placing themselves at risk?

Who will the winners be, and how sustainable will their successes be?

WPT Philippines

2006-10-18T10:04:00.000+08:00

I certainly won't be the only one writing about this past weekend's WPT Philippines Poker Madness event, held at the ACF. Marco and mnlgrind have already wrapped it up nicely.

All I can say is great job to all involved - and a whole lot of people were involved! Marco and Ed, TV folks, ACF poker staff led by the unflappable Emi Mungcal, and of course the players.

I was lucky enough to have been called last Friday and asked to co-host the final table. I had a blast, and am particularly proud to have been party to the fantastic play and semi-comedic antics of Bryan Malantic as he took the whole thing down.

For those of us who know Bryan, this win is well-deserved and well-earned. He is undoubtedly one of the hardest working guys in local poker, and a fine player to boot.

After this hits the airwaves, he'll also be a pretty famous dude, and will finally realize his chief goal, the main reason he plays poker: gettin' chicks

GG Bryan, GG all...

Freestylin'

2006-10-09T18:48:00.000+08:00

A little treat from our trip to Cebu. For those of you who know Mischa, and know he's the B Rabbit of the RP but haven't heard him, here's proof.

World Poker Tour Philippines

2006-10-09T10:22:00.000+08:00

Marco and Ed of Poker Bar Tour are putting on the first (well, first open to the public) WPTP event.

Poker Madness is running at the ACF, Saturday Oct. 14, running to the 16th. Yep a 3-day event.

40 minute levels.

Reg at noon, starting gun an 2pm

10K+2K with an addon through to the 4th level (3K for 5K)

Gonna be a good one, and a good chance to hook up...

Curiosity

2006-10-06T12:04:00.000+08:00

For me, this week has been marked by curiosity. I'm sitting on a number of questions that are, quite frankly, bugging me about things affecting my life, and the lives of those I care about. This post, then, is really going to be an enumeration of those questions. Perhaps you guys can help me answer some of these.

1. I'm curious as to why, on the ninth day of Typhoon Milenyo's landfall, I am still without power to my residence. I know, I know, many people have been affected in far worse ways than I have - I've simply lost the convenience of electricity, broadband Internet, cable, and suffer through spotty on-again-off-again landline service. Others have lost homes, loved ones, and livelihoods.

But I do have a problem with the fact that I can't get a straight answer from Meralco, or any other service providers, for that matter. Getting through to "hotlines" is tough enough, but cutting through the thick skulls of their CSR's is another thing entirely. Oh, and PLDT had the temerity to bill me the full pop for my phone and Internet service for the upcoming billing period. They've invoiced me in advance for the next month, including 9 days of nonexistent service.

It's not like I live in the sticks; I'm right in the Metro, in what some would consider an upscale neighborhood. I truly feel for those who'll have to wait longer than I.

2. I'm very curious about what US lawmakers think they can materially achieve in the long term with the The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006
, which was reportedly steamrolled through the House last week and has now been sent to Pres. Bush for signing. The Bill once and or all criminilazes the operation of Internet Gaming sites in and/or for US residents. This is the result of a decade-long, Republican-led effort to combat Internet Gaming (except online horseracing [huh????]). I won't go into major details here, you can see much more detailed analysis from experts in articles like this (thanks, Ronald, for shooting that one over :).

For a bulk of that 10-year period, the rhetoric justifying an all-out ban on Internet gaming has centered around the protection of US citizens/residents from the destructive effects of gaming. Minors have often been the poster people for those needing protection from gambling operators and, presumably, themselves. Fingers have been pointed at the fact that college kids can easily log on and indulge in underage gambling. They want to protect the children.

Well, I'm glad that the Party that covers up the online (specifically, lewd emails to young Washington pages) activities of pedophile congressmen is truly concerned about protecting their children.

But the above is just a soapbox thing I've added for effect. The language of the prohibitionists now hovers around the cause du jour, terrorism. Yep, those dirty suicide bombers are gonna use online casinos to launder their terror cash. I'd like to make a prop bet right now that the moment some random would-be terrorist wins a big pot in a $10/$20 NL cash game, he'll unstrap that dynamite belt and join our degenerate gambling, capitalist ranks.

The above paragraph was a joke, I think.

From what I've read, it seems the Act really goes after the middle man - the financial organizations like banks, credit card processors, and e-wallets - to curb the "problem". I guess this is an admission that they can't effectively go after offshore operators, or invade each of the sovereign jurisdictions licensing and regulating e-gaming. Well, they can go after the operators, they've arrested three execs already upon arrival on US shores; but these guys can avoid getting busted by simply hiring better travel agents. Oh, they're also putting a burden on ISPs to block access and links to gaming sites. LOL...I remember this tactic when porn was a hot topic a few years back. I'm pretty sure it didn't work ;).

Ok, so the US banks will comply, to the point that it remains economically feasible for them to do so. I'd love to see that Big Bank Board Meeting now:

Chair: "I move to create 200 full-time positions to scrub every $50 fund transfer to an online site, or alternatively, we can spend a few million bucks to automate the process. All in favor..."

Instead of making millions from online gaming transactions, which some banks assuredly do, this Act will now cost millions.

But the Act has hit home. It's shaved, no, lopped $7 billion off the industry's value. Perhaps that's the one thing they wanted to achieve.

In the short term though, they'll be costing thousands of people their jobs, suck real dollars out of the economies of sovereign nations that regulate egaming, and generally fuck a lot of people over.

This is just another "War on ____". In the 20s, they prohibited alcohol. In the 80s, we saw a War on Drugs. Now, we're in the midst of a War on Terror. The War on Internet Gaming is just another in that string, and will likely end up like all of them - with uninteded consequences worse than the original problems.

Click2Pay ewallet info

2006-09-27T10:14:00.000+08:00

11Finger is running the first ever Pinoy online tourney this Sunday, Oct. 1. He's asked me to put together a quick post informing people how to sign up for a Click2Pay ewallet account to be able to fund an online account.

The tournament is being held on the Ongame/Pokerroom Network, so if you play on any sites supported by the network you can play 11finger's tourney.

FBAPoker is a site my group put together last December to make it easy for Asian-based players to create and fund online accounts. In partnership with Click2Pay, we have enabled semi-nontraditional ways to deposit.

Here are the steps:

1. Go to
FBAPoker.com and create a user account
2. On the site, go to cashier and choose Click2Pay
3. You will be presented with the online signup process.
4. You will have the option of either funding your account with a credit card or a bank wire transfer if you do not have a credit card.
5. If you use a credit card, a Click2Pay employee will call you to confirm; if you opt for the bank transfer, you'll get a confirmation email that your account has been enabled
6. You then go to your bank and remit, via wire, funds to your Click2Pay account. There is a bank deposit form available on the Click2Pay website to be completed. You can also contact me for the form.
7. It takes 3-4 business days for your C2P account to be credited. You can then deposit directly to the poker site.
8. Credit card deposits are instantaneous.

It may be a little late at this stage to get the C2P account funded via bank wire and still make the Sunday tourney, but if you do it now, you'll be able to easily play subsequent tourneys.