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