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.