Am I too nice?

Lots of thinking

This year has given me a lot to reflect upon. Recent experiences has made me question some of my principles and I want to share this with you as my last post of 2018. Something to think about and something to help guide me into the new year.

Am I too nice?

STORY ONE: I recently played in a cash game in Perth. (don't worry I will write a Perth review next week) There was an obviously drunk guy who didn't know what he was doing. He called an all in with a J high flush draw on a 6688 board. He called my preflop 3b with K2o and on a QQQ flop he called again when I over pot shoved with my pocket tens. He already rebought 5 times and I get aces in big blind. Someone raised to 7x, he called, button called, I made it 20x. Everyone folded and but he called. Flop came QJ7 rainbow I insta shoved effective 70x and flipped over my hand. He said he had a 7 in his hand but folded. I was being nice to him and gave up a 70bb profit (granted I might have lost the hand if it went to showdown but...) but instead I was yelled at by the floor man. I continued to watch everyone take advantage of the poor guy and he ended up losing about 800bb before security came and took him away.

More thinking

STORY TWO: In my visit to Sydney, I stayed at an Airbnb. The location was fine until it was night time and cockroaches came out to play. On my first night I killed about 20+ of them. If you're keen I got a video of that. On my second night I killed another 30+. I did not report to Airbnb, instead I told the owner to fix the problem and I would not complain about it. He came by to did a spray but it did not work. It was so bad, I was woken up one night by a cockroach crawling on my leg. I couldn't take it anymore and reported to Airbnb. The resolution was I would receive 50% refund of my booking. I accepted it, even wrote a very "toned down" review of the place, mentioning the issue but given the host credit that he tried and would fix the problem after my stay. Instead I got the host's review as being a "complicated guest, high maintenance". I don't think expecting to sleep without cockroaches on my body is being complicated nor high maintenance.

One of the 50+ cockroaches I killed at my Airbnb rental

STORY THREE: At this moment in time, I am being OWED about USD 75k and I can honestly tell you I have much less than that in my bank right now. Some of this debt are good but some I can tell you I do not expect to ever see the money again. I help people whenever I can. Despite not having a job and steady income, I help others and gave friends time to pay up. I am not rich by any means and to be honest I am struggling a bit at the moment. But sometimes I get scolded when I ask for my money back, or some "friends" can quickly forget about you when there's money owed. Yet in my heart I forgive them and even feel bad for them that they can be so cold and selfish.

God is still better than any artist

I am not a saint and I have made many mistakes in my life. I am not writing this to boast or to show off. I am indeed struggling with this question. But one of the principles I have is not to do to others what I wouldn't want done to myself. There are so many cash games that I had to stay on playing after winning a big pot because I don't want to hit and run, even if I don't know the people nor will I ever see them again. Because of this principle I probably lost a lot of money over time for just sticking around. Others may owe me, but when I owe someone I will go out of the way to get it paid back, even when I am struggling. When we were arrested for playing poker, I volunteered myself to be jailed for longer so my friends can be released earlier. I gave to charity when I had a winning month even when I had a losing year.

Am I too nice?

After lots of reflection and soul searching, my answer is NO. This is who I am and who I will continue to be. I believe in karma and even if I don't get rewarded, knowing I am doing what's right is reward enough. Let this post and you reading it be a witness to my future. One day when I look back on this, I hope I can say, karma is a generous bitch.

My Poker Journey in 2018

Before the end of 2017 I set myself some goals for 2018 and here'e a look back to how I did.

In February I officially ceased my employment so I guess you can say I "turned pro" in Feb. However I feel a more accurate description would be I was unemployed between Feb - June and decided to pursue poker as a career at the end of June.

My poker this year - looks good but pretty shaky when inspected

I started the year really strong and final tabled the APPT Platinum Series Main Event. I also cashed in the APT Vietnam main event and I was on a roll. Then I had a series of bad results. Red Dragon, APPT Incheon, APT Seoul, honestly I look back and I knew I wasn't playing well. My head wasn't in it and I wasn't focused. I took time off poker for a couple of months and started playing again in June. Still I didn't do well. I felt I was being impatient and trying to make moves that had low chances of success. It wasn't till the end of July I told myself I played so badly I deserved to lose, and I bucked up and the results started rolling in.

Sorry APL, ugliest trophy I have ever seen but I'll take it

Before the year I set myself a goal to cash at least 10 times and win my second trophy. I managed to do just that. I cashed 11 times, including 2 trophies, making 8 final tables, finishing 2nd and 3rd once each. I had a great run from August to October but fizzled out in November and December where I bricked everything I played in. On one slight bright side, I was on the feature table twice at the WSOP main event where I played decent. I bluff jam with ace high, max value 3rd pair, max value a full house but also made 2 calls that were questionable. Lol. I did also win 4 other trophies in OFC as well.

On the feature table

4 OFC trophies

I put some money into Crypto in the 3rd quarter and as you all know what happened after that. It has been a rough year for me financially. Having lost the safety of a stable income, playing poker professionally can be really frustrating and stressful. At one point I was doing okay because there was a cash game I was consistently doing well in. But that game got busted and the people involved were thrown in jail for 6 months. That was a wake up call for me.

To be honest, 2019 is looking bleak. Bricking tourneys is not fun and it is a huge blow to the bankroll. But I am proud to say despite not having the best year I gave the most this year to charity. I am not trying to toot my own horn but I believe in doing what I do with integrity and purpose. Maybe the Big guy upstairs will have mercy on me and give me a second chance.

I don't even dare to set any goals for 2019 as I am not living month to month. But if possible I hope to better my results from this year and hopefully have some traction in my financial life. But whatever it is, for those who know me, I will always have a smile on my face, willing to help others whenever I can, and be the best I can be.

I am addicted to OFC Pineapple Poker!

How do you know when someone is a OFC Poker addict?

When you ask him what is his wildest fantasy and he replies........ trip aces on top!

What's amazing about this hand was it was in Normal play, was not in Fantasyland!

Recently I am hooked on OFC. If you think PLO is addictive and have a love hate relationship with it, wait till you've tried OFC. OFC stands for Open Face Chinese poker and over the years the rules have evolved greatly making it both a skilled but swingy game. In the last month alone I think I have played more than 20000 hands and mind you, each hand takes like 2-4 minutes to play out. I have also won 4 trophies in OFC so I like to think I know what I am talking about.

I wanted to write a few articles about OFC strategy here and the more I wrote the more I realized how much there is to write about. I have now about 15 pages of strategy so I thought maybe I will hold out and write a book! I love writing but writing a book is a totally different animal. It requires a lot of focus and time, which I have neither. But nevertheless I will continue on this little project (probably take super long) but who knows, maybe I will have a product on the shelves!

Obviously double straight flush will have lots of points!

For those who do not know what OFC is, you should really try it. There are lots of apps that you can play without money online. It is a combination of skill and luck of course but it does not have the stress of bluffing and calling and every hand is exciting and something happening. If you know the game you can skip the stuff below.

53 points in royalties, that's the best I have ever gotten. If you beat this please let me know and send a screenshot

The objective of the game is to get as many points as possible by having a better hand than your opponent and gain bonus points from royalties from special hands like trips, straights, flushes etc. You have to build two 5-card hands on the bottom and middle and a 3-card hand on top. The bottom level has to be the same or stronger than the middle, and the middle the same or stronger than the top. Obviously if you put a better hand on top you will get more bonus points (royalties) but it is harder because you have to beat that hand in your middle and bottom rows. Hence the skill of the game comes into play. You can foul your hand if you do not fulfill this requirement and that's an instant additional 6 points for your opponents. However if you can have QQ or better on top, you are guaranteed a non fouling hand because you will get what's called Fantasyland where you get all your cards in one go and you can arrange them any way you like. Although I have seen one guy accidentally fouling his fantasyland but he was still learning at the time.

It's fun when you don't have to scratch your head about your hand. Obviously the additional 2 card from Aces fantasy helps!

Now the game has evolved into a monster with ultimate mode and jokers. In ultimate mode, you get more cards in fantasyland if you get KK or better. But if you stay in fantasyland (needing quads or better on the bottom row or trips on the top row), you get the bonus cards that you received when entering fantasy. Throwing in a couple more jokers into the mix and the game can be super wild!

Let me know if you have any questions, or love the game yourself but want to improve, drop me a message at happyriverpoker@gmail.com! Love to hear from you.

Charity Poker Tournament

This year I planned to do more charity work. Playing poker professionally is tough, especially when you don't know where your income is going to come from. You already have a difficult life trying to manage your bankroll, and especially in tournament poker, you can go on long droughts and even negative months. But having traveled and even lived in some places like Vietnam, Philippines, India, Pakistan, etc I feel that I am very fortunate as I am, and I get to play the best game in the world for a living. In order to motivate myself to earn more, but also to give purpose to what I do (other than making money), I pledged 10% of my income to charity work.

In January, despite making a loss, I made a donation to the Saigon Children's Charity. A very good cause for less fortunate kids in Vietnam. In September and October, although I struggled throughout but I had a decent result at the end so I forked out (more than 10% actually). I say this because I don't want some of my asshole friends not seeing the positive side of things and actually spinning this into "oooh so you're rich now, I don't have to pay you back"... To be honest, I am not doing so well lately but I want to stick to my pledge and it means even more when the giving actually "hurts". Kind of.

HKPPA (Hong Kong Poker Players' Association) actually came up with a great idea, for me to sponsor two main event packages (buy in and hotel) to the upcoming APL in Vietnam, which includes 4 days to spend with me, which is always worth it LOL. In the end we generated a total of  HK$21000 which will be distributed to the Homeless World Cup (HK), The Hong Kong Society for the Aged and the Hong Kong Children's Foundation.

Pretty decent turnout, HK$21000 collected for charity

Not only that my money generated more for charity than expected, I hope to inspire other players to give more. I hope it can become a practice and even tradition in the poker community.

In the end, the prizes were won by Mr ChuChu and Zack so congratulations to you both and I look forward to seeing you guys in Vietnam. Both winners if they cash in the main event, will give 10% of their profits to charity as well! So pay it forward!

Mr ChuChu

Zack

Poker in Taiwan - REVIEW

Taiwan has produced many great poker players in recent years like Kitty Kuo, Jack Wu, Pete Chen, Terry Fan, Chen An Lin, etc. And with many major tournaments kicking off for the first time in Taiwan in 2019, it is about time we find out more about poker in Taiwan.

Poker at CTP Taipei

I visited a few poker clubs in Taipei and Taichung and to my surprise, despite it being a "grey area" activity, poker is very open and active. There are small tournaments happening everyday starting from just NTD 1000 (USD 33) with rebuy and addon. There's also a very interesting "limited time" tournament where there are only 2 levels, and at the end of 2 hours, the tournament stops and you cash out what you have. (basically a cash game) but with a pretty high rake. I played in two but it was fun and loose.

I did go to another club that ran a cash game but they took lengths to mask their activity, hidden in an industrial building with a sign that said they were a different business. That game was USD 3/3 and the action was pretty good. I ran pretty well with my pocket 3s flopping J33, pocket 6s flopping K66.

World famous Taiwanese Bubble Tea (invented by this restaurant)

In previous years when you wanted to get good tournaments in Asia your choices were Macau (expensive and just a gambling town), Philippines (fun but dangerous), Korea (expensive and turn outs are not as good as locals are not allowed into casinos). But now with Vietnam and Taiwan, they have a lot going for them. Both are relatively cheap and lots of great food, sightseeing, shopping, night life and very safe. In terms of cost, Taiwan is definitely more expensive than Vietnam, but compared to cities like Hong Kong or Tokyo, it is very affordable to stay in Taipei for an extended period of time.

Live telecast table with RFID reader

CPT seems to be the pioneer for International poker in Taiwan and I visited their location which was very nicely designed, wide open spaces that can accommodate a good number of tables, with a super cool final table setup for 9 with broadcast capabilities and RFID scanners. Maybe in 2019 you will catch me in one of the telecasts. :)

Poker at CTP Taichung

Taichung is only 40 minutes by High Speed Rail away from Taipei. And it is a different city altogether. We visited a club that had bacarrat tables, three card poker and blackjack. And it was in a glass building, visible to the public. I did not post any pictures of it because I don't want to bring too much attention to them, but I think they don't mind it at all. It is basically a casino under the guise of a themed cafe. CTP had a club in Taichung as well and they have tourneys like the "limited time" games. I wouldn't recommend them as the rake is pretty steep but it was fun to play though. 

If you want more information about poker in Taiwan you can contact me directly at happyriverpoker@gmail.com

3 Weeks of Poker in Vietnam

After a gruelling two weeks of poker in Manila, flew straight to Ho Chi Minh for even more back to back poker. First it was the WPT followed by APT Vietnam. It was 3 weeks full of ups and downs, with mostly downs but a great finish. It was a rough time for me on my confidence and morale, big hits on my bankroll as well but I think I found the turning point of my short poker career. In this 3 weeks I felt that I improved my game vastly as well! So maybe this is the beginning to great things to come.

First event I got into the final table. With everyone on even stacks, I chose a bad spot to bluff and got called by aces and first one out of the final table. Quite upset as I felt that (and some players on the final table commented) that I was one of the stronger players left. Had a rough main event so I jumped into the high rollers. Was struggling all the way until end of day 1 I managed to spin 9bbs into a 50bb stack. On the bubble I was probably 10th shortest stack but I manage to throw away a certain cash and maybe even a deep run. I won a big session on the cash game which soften the blow a little bit but I was so tilted for more than a week. It sent me on a downward spiral of bad decisions after the next, including double bullets in the Super High Rollers that I didn't have much edge in. I knew only about top 6 was going to cash that one and I could count at least 7 players I was sure was better than I.

WPT High Roller stack. Should have at least cashed

However in the turn of events, I sat beside many great players like Danny Tang, Victor Chong, Kunal Patni, Pete Chen, etc. and I learned a lot from them. Namely Danny who gave me a few simple comments that I took to heart and applied immediately. If I start to crush the FTs you guys know who to blame. :p

Cash game run good

I fired 4 bullets in the APT main event (very unlike me) because I felt I was playing better and better but just getting unlucky. One hand for example I defended my big blind with A4o in a 4-way pot. Flop was A45. I checked raised and got jammed into by A9. River 9. But the 4th bullet was uneventful, I just chipped up slowly picking up small pots here and there, but played disciplined without spewing any chips unnecessarily. I managed to go reasonably deep but had a bad beat jamming 16bbs on the small blind with QT into big blind's JT only for him to catch the Jack on the turn. But it ended up being a blessing in disguise when I quickly used my prize money to buy into the highrollers' event where I ran super hot and finished 3rd.

Monster tower

Several key hands that got me to 3rd.
AA vs 99 (Victor Chong)
77 hit set vs monster draw (Dylan Wilkerson)
AA flop set vs double belly (unknown Vietnamese)
Lost QQ vs A9, KK vs AQ but still managed to keep a decent stack.

99 flop set vs KK (Pete Chen)
A9 over bet river on a 9QQ99 board and got jammed into (Linh Tran)
AA flop quads (unknown Vietnamese)
KJ vs AQ (Japanese player)
A6 vs AK (Vietnamese player)
AJ vs JT (Duong Vi Khoa)

Half a billion!

Sorry to those I bad beat. Next tournament APL Vietnam, so I have a whole month for studying and some cash game grinding. Although I barely turned a profit, but I did pledge 10% to charity so I am going to keep to my word. If you have any charities to suggest please drop me a message.

Thoughts about playing professionally and latest update

I don't have a full time job, my main income is coming from playing poker, I guess I can be considered a professional player now? I have been playing at a full time rate in the last month or so, grinding cash games and tournaments.

First thought, it is not easy! Cash game grinding is okay because I do feel my edge and can realise it more often than not. But it means long hours at the table, late nights, suppers, smoky rooms.... not really the best of lifestyles. But it is profitable, and I can't think of a better job without a nagging boss, troublesome clients, reports blah blah. However tournament grinding in a whole other world. This past 2 weeks I have been hopping on tournament after tournament. Made two final tables (2nd and 10th) but I missed out on cashing on the major events (Main and Championships), even a few weeks ago I outlasted 1200+ people to cash in the main but I felt so disappointed and drained. 3 days of tough play only to get a small cash. I felt dejected and maybe more upset than the first guy that busted.

Made a chip Robot

I am going to continue on this path, for maybe another 2-3 months and see how it goes. I have come a long way in my poker journey, and I thought the destination was playing full time, but now that I am here, I do kind of miss my monthly pay checks, the stability it provides. Maybe I have yet to "bink" a big tourney but how often does that happen? Against stiff competition, or sometimes fish with deep pockets, I don't know if I have what it takes to tough it out.

I set my goal of 10 cashes this year, and I made my 8th this past week, 5th final table of the year. In this sense I am quite happy. But despite having a good outing, I barely made any profit, after deducting travel costs. I am still set on giving 10% of my profit away. This actually motivates me as it is not just for making money, it is about making a difference.

A surprising turn of events was that I scooped 4 OFC Sit'n'gos, maintaining a 100% win rate and my hypothetical trophy cabinet is looking much better now. One match I was most proud of, I was left with 2900 chips vs 77100 chips at 800 chips a point. I didn't give up. I knew a come back was hard but not impossible.

Four new trophies for my "cabinet"

WPT Vietnam is happening soon. I hope I can "bink" a big one for all of this to make sense, and also validation of my abilities, but most importantly to boost my bankroll so I can continue this path comfortably! Wish me luck. Check out my article on Vietnam poker if you're interested in joining me for this event.

Poker in Vietnam - REVIEW

I have visited Vietnam at least 30 times now and can speak a tiny bit of the language so I consider myself part Vietnamese lol. The poker fever hit Hanoi before any other cities so the games there are more prevalent, the field tougher as well. Unfortunately I did not play there and among all the cities I've visited in Vietnam, Hanoi is my least favourite.

Nice feed for less than USD 5

Saigon also known as Ho Chi Minh City with a population of about 9 million, is the biggest city of Vietnam. It is also a city of motorbikes (scooters) zooming about in all directions, even if it is the wrong one. It gives new meaning to hustle and bustle and there is a lack of respect for traffic laws. Green means go, red means go at your own risk. I was laughed at for putting on my seatbelt and sidewalks are for pedestrians and bikes. I still haven't gotten used to it yet and I really hope Vietnam can improve on this because it is not only dangerous but it reflects poorly on your country. Cutting queues, peeing on the street, eating with mouths open.... can't really blame them because the country only came out of war 44 years ago. But it's about time the people are educated and brought up correctly.

Back to poker. The tournament poker scene has exploded in Vietnam. Credit to APT for kicking it off with a 2 billion VND (USD 85k) guarantee, followed by APL 6 billion, and WPT up the ante to 8 billion (USD 342k) all within the same year. There are local tournaments running literally every day. There are also decent value in the NPC (National Poker Championships) where the field is 99% local and much softer than the international fields. There are some solid local players and a few pros who have done really well in the international scene but generally I would say poker is still very young in Vietnam so there is still lots of room to grow. Buy ins are quite low by comparison and really fun. I experienced the funnest bubble time antics as the whole room cheered when the big stack busted bubble boy's Kings with 24 spades.

Another place I played poker at was at Da Nang city where the National Poker Championships are held. Da Nang is a nice beach town with lots of great seafood and nice sandy beaches. Food and accommodation are pretty good and very affordable. For a decent 3 star hotel expect to pay less than USD 20 per night.

The view from my hotel rooftop swimming pool

*Cash games are illegal in Vietnam so play at your own risk. However it is also very popular with locals and foreigners alike. 

Interactive Coaching

Many people read books or watch videos to improve their poker skills. I have done that before but I felt that it was not very effective, especially without someone there to explain certain things, or answer my questions. So I have created a new interactive coaching series.

Everyone needs a helping hand

HOW IS IT DIFFERENT?

First of all, you are not reading a book. I will explain a certain concept and give you some challenges. It might be questions, hand analysis, quiz, etc. After you have done the exercise, you will email it back to me, together with any questions you may have. I will PERSONALLY respond with what I think is the best answers, together with my comments of your responses, and a quick analysis of your skill level, strengths and weaknesses and what you need to improve on.

WHY ME?

Well any pro isn't going to take their time to answer your questions. I am not a top level pro but I do think my fundamentals are strong enough to give you a great lesson. My focus is on how you can APPLY the skills in your next game and see instant results. It took me months before I started to understand what I read from poker books. My way saves you that process. By explaining it to you in detail and answering your questions directly.

WHAT TO EXPECT?

Expect to spend at least 2-3 hours on each topic. I don't want you to just read. I want you to think, and methodically answer the questions and quizzes. Expect to see things differently at the end of the course. I expect you to say "wow, I didn't think of that before".

HOW MUCH IS IT?

USD 15 per topic!
I will split this series into manageable chunks on specific topics. The first topic is on RANGES. The amount of time I will be spending on responding to your answers and answering your questions, I think USD 15 is way too cheap. But I love poker and I love helping others so I do get non-monetary satisfaction from it too.

HOW TO JOIN?

Just drop me an email at Happyriverpoker@gmail.com with the following information.

- Name
- Country
- Brief background of your poker career

I accept PayPal, Skrill or cash deposits.

Latest update and reflection

Earlier this year I set myself a goal of at least 10 cashes and possibly a title or two. We are now 3/4 into the year so it's time for a review.

I started the year strong in January but February I played quite bad at the Red Dragon and APPT Korea. I had flashes of brilliance where I think I pulled off some super moves but I had flashes of stupidity where I jammed 30bb into the stone cold nuts. After that I played less, only occasional cash games and a couple of small tournaments. In July I played at the APT Vietnam Series. Like I said in my previous post, I played badly and deserved to lose. Only after that I turned my game around and started to see some positive results. So I think I am on the right track again but I cannot become complacent or lose my discipline.

Poker players are secretly structural engineers as well

So far this year I have cashed 5 times, including 3 final tables where I won one tournament. I probably played 25 tournaments already this year so my hit rate isn't impressive. But with so many events still left in the year and I'm in the best state of mind all year, I think I can still hit my 10 cash target.

When can I get a brick like this in USD?

I have developed a deep respect for MTT professionals. It is truly a grind, more so than cash games. Despite outlasting over 1200 players and cashing the recent APPT Manila Main Event, I felt dejected and worn. Because if you don't finish in the top 0.5% of the field, it feels like a failure. The mental conditioning of tournament pros need to be much stronger in order to do this day in day out. And for those who are dreaming of playing tournament poker for a living, it's not as fun as you think.

Outlasted 1200 players in a 1300+ field but still felt sad :(

Asian Poker Tour (APT) Vietnam

I have always been supportive of APT and some of my most memorable moments in poker have come from this circuit. Vietnam is always a great place to go to, so it's hard to miss the APT Vietnam.

I will do a review of Poker in Vietnam and maybe even a video when I have the time. But this post is more about my post mortem of how the series went for me personally.

In one word, BAD. I busted from the main event, Championship event, head hunters, Big Blind Ante 2, albeit a final table on a side event, but overall a very disappointing trip for me. The most upsetting is that I felt that I played so poorly, made so many mistakes and really deserved to lose.

The first event for me was the headhunter. Busted twice, AT < 67 (30bb), A7 < 35 (24bb). I felt that I played okay, but just got beaten by uber loose players that got lucky on me. Then it was the main. The structure is beautiful, and with crazy loose players every where I elected to play a looser range early to build a stack. It was working fine, starting stack was 25000 and by level 2 I already had 45000+. Then came this eventful hand.

Blinds were 50/100, I was on the SB with 6h5h. UTG+1 made it 300, mid post called, I called but BB (nitty player raises to 1500). Both other players called. They all had about 20k ish stacks and I covered them all with about 42k. Effective 200bb deep in a tournament, I elected to complete the 12bb more. Flop was 234! What a beauty! I checked the nuts, BB bets 5000, UTG+1 tanks a raises to 22k, mid position shoves for 21k and of course I can't fold the nuts. 4 way all in.

BB had AA
UTG+1 had 88
Mid post had 44

If I won this pot, I would have 1000bbs+

Turn 3 - GG

But what pissed me off the most was UTG+1 had about 475 in chips behind when he raised to 22k. That was part of my side pot. But he insisted that he did not commit those chips and folded on the flop. I am like WTF?!? Are you kidding me? You committed 23500 and you fold for 475 more? At the end I let him keep his 475, but him and the Vietnamese people he represented lost the respect I used to have for them.

Had I won that hand I would have been sitting on about 1000bbs. But I guess it just wasn't mean to be. After that I just lost focus and patience and played really badly from then on, and carried over to other events as well.

After busting the Championship event, I did a lot of soul searching, reviewed my every play and my conclusion was, I PLAYED SO BADLY I DESERVED TO LOSE. The following day I played another event and I managed my only cash and final table this trip. The payout was tiny but I was happy I adjusted my mindset and fixed my mistakes. I think I made one mistake that tournament which is a huge improvement from the numerous mistakes I made the days before.

My only cash and Final table this series

Did well at a local cash game

I did play one session of cash game and I ran good and played okay and won a decent amount to soften the blow this trip has cost me. I haven't been playing as much as I planned to earlier this year and I am still far from my 10 cashes target for the year, but I am happy that I was critical at myself and it made me a slightly better player afterwards.

Poker in Phnom Penh - REVIEW

When you think of Cambodia, probably you'll think of Angkor Wat, cheap beer, the Khmer Rouge, but seldom would you consider it to be a poker destination. But I am going to tell you why it's a great place to go for some fun and poker!

Cold coconut on Hot day in Siem Reap

The last time I visited was 5 years ago and man so much has changed. Phnom Penh has become a bustling international city. I am so surprised that many Cambodians speak English and speak it well. I've also seen guides who speak Mandarin, Spanish, Japanese and Korean fluently. Most shop signs are multi-lingual and foreigner friendly. My first impression 5 years ago wasn't that great but this time round I am quite impressed.

As far as I know, there are 3 main poker rooms in Phnom Penh. Nagaworld is the main casino, but I went there and felt it was quite dark and the games only start at night. Riverking is the other one but I didn't go there. The latest one is called Poker Ace. Games start at around noon everyday. Free food, free drinks. (The food is really good, you can order steak, salmon, etc) Rake is reasonably low, about 3bb, pretty good for Asian standards. Dealers are fast, speak English and some even speak Mandarin. Holdem, Omaha game are available starting from US$1/3 to 10/20. Location is good too, it's inside an entertainment center, so if you want to get a massage, or sing your bad beats away at the KTV, they are just next door.

I ordered Duck Breast with Mash Potatoes. Yummy and FREE!

Most people are put off by uncertainty. After coming here a second time, I highly recommend making it one of your poker stops in Asia. The city is pretty cool for a developing country, much better than Manila or Jakarta in my opinion. Food isn't as great as Vietnam but you have lots of choices with international franchises everywhere. It feels really safe but you might have the odd tuk-tuk driver trying to scam you for more money, but you can get around that by downloading PassApp, I call it "Uber for Tuktuks".

I had a good day. I suggest to bring your sunglasses for this game though haha (Bright table)

If you like more information, you can contact me (happyriverpoker@gmail.com) for more details. The poker room can provide airport pick up, hotel arrangements, local guide etc to save you the hassle and stress. Check out my YouTube Channel for a short video I made about poker in Cambodia.

OFC (open face chinese poker)

If you're reading this I assume you already know the basics of this game. If you don't, pokernews wrote a great article about how it's played and the rules here

Recently almost all the poker I play is OFC. The game is gaining in popularity and there are tournaments at the WSOP. I'll explain a bit why I think many love the game so much.

Lifetime best hand out of fantasy (Trip queens, quads, quads)

1. Every hand is fun

Most of the time you fold your Holdem or even Omaha hands so it can get a bit boring. But in OFC, you play every hand, every draw is exciting, you're almost never drawing dead until the last card.

2. Less stressful without the bluffing element

Poker can be very stressful as you're put to the test. OFC you just play what's dealt to you and hope for the best.

3. There are lots of fish

There are so many videos and books about Holdem and Omaha but not many on OFC. Even though it is hard to say what is the right way or wrong way to play, but there are definitely better ways and worse ways. I have seen some fish do really stupid stuff.

Recent best hand out of fantasy (Trip Aces, full house, full house) 

I have now started a Youtube Channel dedicated to Poker and with the main section on OFC. Since the beginning I kinda wanted to keep my identity secret until the right time, but now you can hear me on my videos. I share my gameplay videos so you can watch me as I explain how I play the game and why. I might be wrong but I want to create a platform to promote this game and also to encourage sharing of strategies and tips.

Poker in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) REVIEW

I've always been fond of Saigon, I have traveled there at least 12 times. The food is great, people are nice, everything is cheap, lots of things to do, great place to relax, and now, I can add POKER to the list!

Recently there are some licensed clubs in Vietnam where you can play poker legally! That's great considering Macau, Korea and Singapore are super expensive and full of pros, Manila is dangerous and seedy, so Vietnam is your best option!

Classy European Decor and well trained dealers and staff

My ritual usually is wake up at 10 ish, grab a quick bowl of hot pho and Vietnamese coffee, then head to the salon to get my hair shampoo'd and and nice back rub. Then off to lunch and nap then poker at night! What a life! And everything is so cheap too! One week of hotel is almost the same price as one night in Macau!

Oh and their rake is LOWEST in ASIA! 2-2.5bb per pot maximum! That's super good value!

Here are some pictures and videos of the club. Free food and drinks for players too!

Games are 100k/200k (Vietnam Dong) and up, around USD 4/8. Dealers are fast and professional, the place is spacious and nice. The video only shows probably 1/5 of the whole place. If you're interested please visit www.vietnampokervacation.blogspot.com they offer package tours for poker and other fun activities. 

INTERVIEW with Michael Soyza

Just one week before he surpassed the USD 1 million mark in cashes. He followed it up with 4 cashes at the recent Asia Pacific Poker Tour including 2 titles - NLH/PLO and the Main Event. Who is Michael Soyza? I am proud to say he is a fellow Malaysian, and a nice guy to boot. Very honored to have him agree to an interview with HappyRiverPoker. I hope his journey will inspire you even more than mine!

He won the Aussie Millions Accumulator Event back to back in 2015 and 2016

Q: Who were your poker heroes if any? Anyone in particular influenced you the most in becoming who you are today?

- I used to love Tom Dwan when I first started out, his loose aggressive style was fun to watch. I also used to watch a lot of Phil Galfond's videos back in the day. Nowadays I really respect the German boys because they just crush so hard. To be honest I think my game improved the most after I met Kitty Kuo and her friends through my buddy Victor Chong in 2016. Hanging out with Kitty and her crew definitely exposed me to better players and gave me the opportunity to pick their brains and learn from them.

Q: What would you say is your proudest achievement in your career?

- Not going busto and being a consistent winner haha. Winning is great and all that, but anyone can win once. It takes a whole lot more to win consistently and not go busto haha.

Michael with good friend and fellow Malaysian Pro Victor Chong

Q: What's next for you? Do you intend to play poker for life, or have a number in mind and retire after that?

- I will keep playing poker till I get bored of it. I am sure I will have other interests along the way, but the best part about poker is that you have the flexibility to decide when to play and when not to.

Q: If you could talk to the Michael Soyza of 2008, what would you say to him?

- You're good bro, enjoy the ride.

Q: How did the nickname Maharaja come about?

- Oh God -.- To be honest, I really do not like the name Maharajah -.- It would be fine if there was a single shred of truth to it, but there is not. I have no Royal links whatsoever. Therefore it is a lame nickname in my books. My buddy Charles Chua AKA Chucky AKA Mr. Macau created the nickname for me for no apparent reason because he is an idiot. He used to randomly go to tables that I was playing on and tell people that I was a prince from so and so country and that I am a Maharajah etc etc etc for his own entertainment. Since then, Victor Chong has taken up the torch and has been proliferating this nickname much to my despair.


Q: What was your lowest moment in your career and how did you overcome it?

- I think my lowest moment was when I had my last $500 of my $4000 allocated poker bankroll on the table in a really good 5/10 game when I first started playing. Thank goodness my allocated poker bankroll was not linked to my life roll so I wouldn't be busto if I had lost it, but still it would have been annoying to have busted my poker roll haha. Lucky for me, the poker God's were on my side and I distinctly remember the defining hand which decided my fate. I had folded for an orbit and had around $470 left, it goes raise call, call, call call, call or smth, I look down at QQ, rip it in for all my chips and get like 4 callers pre. Flop comes 3 low cards, checks around, Turn comes an A, one guy bets, another guys raises all-in, and I'm like GG that's that, however the other guy folds and the guy who went all-in showed a bare flush draw lol. River bricks and I scoop. Basically won my entire roll back that night and that marked the beginning of my upswing which has carried on till this day.

In my encounters with Michael he is a very humble and nice person. He is very friendly and chatty on the tables and I was quite pleasantly surprised that he remembered my name. I don't think I have heard him swear on the tables, nor has he thrown any tantrums. Even after bad beats he would just smile and nod and move on. He is an exemplary poker pro to learn from. I wish him the best in his career and hopefully we will meet again, maybe heads up for a title someday.

Join Soyza on Natural8 using the code POKER168 and play!

Poker in Barcelona - REVIEW

Think of Barcelona and you'll think of Sagrada Familia

I got to Barcelona at around 6am local time, I booked my visit to Sagrada Familia at 9:15am. I finally killed 3 hours of my time, queued and went through security and finally is my turn to see this place and turns out my ticket was for the wrong day. So I did not see the insides of Sagrada familia. :(

Barcelona is a beautiful city. I highly recommend joining a hop-on hop-off bus tour. You will see so many sights in a rich city. I went my Camp Nou although it didn't bring fond memories as I remember my favourite team got crushed here many times. If you love architecture and history, Barcelona has so much to offer. Although it can get pretty cold in winter. The food is great as well. 

Back to the main topic. The poker room I went to was at Casino Barcelona. A two-floor casino by the beach. It is a nice location. It is also on the route of the hop-on hop-off bus. Register yourself for a member card and get to the kiosk, swipe your card and click on the tables you want a seat on. I didn't see too much action as I was in a rush to get to my bus but there were about 7 tables running when I was there, 1/2, 2/5 and 5/10 Euros. Sorry I can't provide more details here but I do recommend stopping by if you want some poker action.

What are you thinking?

What makes poker different from most other games? Cause it is a thinking game. I know players who play it without thinking much, sometimes even high or drunk. That's their loss, our gain. But those who play it well are thinking all the time. So what are you thinking? What to eat after the game? What to do with your winnings?

My chip and card protector collection

What should you be thinking?

When you are betting, this is my thought process.

1. What hands can call your bet that you are AHEAD of
2. What hands won't call that you are AHEAD of
3. What hands won't fold that you are BEHIND to
4. What hands can fold that you are BEHIND to

For example, you opened preflop with AK, flop is AA2 and you're thinking to bet or not to bet.

1. What hands can call your bet that you are AHEAD of

Any ace except A2, pocket pair maybe

2. What hands won't call that you are AHEAD of

Pocket pair, some players might fold a weak ace too

3. What hands won't fold that you are BEHIND to

22, A2

4. What hands can fold that you are BEHIND to

None

Based on this analysis, slow playing with your hand is best. (btw, I am just putting my thought process into laymen terms. I am by no means saying this is the best play or GTO, don't complain to me about balancing ranges and cbet % blah blah, turning your KQ into a bluff on this flop etc.)

Let's take a less obvious hand, let's say you opened UTG+1 with 88, and 2 callers complete the hand. Flop comes AK2 rainbow.

1. What hands can call your bet that you are AHEAD of

Gut shot hands like QJ, QT, JT, any 2 and pocket 3-7 might float

2. What hands won't call that you are AHEAD of

Same as above, and unpaired overcards to your 8s like T9

3. What hands won't fold that you are BEHIND to

Set, two pairs, strong ace, maybe even strong K

4. What hands can fold that you are BEHIND to

QQ, JJ, TT, 99, weak K, maybe even weak A

Okay so what does this analysis achieve? I believe in VBB. Every bet is either for VALUE, BLUFF or BLOCK. After you've done this analysis you can decide if you want to VBBC (Value, bluff, block or check)

So what do you think about when you are facing a bet? Reverse it! Which of VBB is this guy doing?

1. What hands can value that I am BEHIND of
2. What hands might value that I am AHEAD of
3. What hands might bluff
4. What hands might block bet

For example, let say same situation, you open with 88, flop comes AK2 rainbow, you bet, villain check calls. Turn comes an 8, you bet and villain check calls. River is an Ace, villain leads out with a half pot bet.  (board AK28A)

1. What hands can value that I am BEHIND of

AK, A2, KK, A8, AA (although all unlikely as played)

2. What hands can value that I am AHEAD of

22, maybe some fish might value AQ, AJ but unlikely

3. What hands can bluff

QJ, JT, 35, 45, any K, pocket pair

4. What hands will block bet

Weak Ace, strong K

Come join me on the Asian Poker Union @ PPPoker ~ contact me on happyriverpoker@gmail.com if you are interested!