My Poker Journey in 2019

At the beginning of the year I set a few goals for myself not really knowing my path for 2019.

* Spend more time studying and reflecting

* Improve my ITM rate

* Improve my focus and patience

* Degen-free for 2019 

* Keep better track and management of my money

* Doing right things, doing things right

First of all I did spend time studying and reflecting. Maybe not as much as I should but I can honestly say I am a better player now than I was in the beginning of the year. I have made some new friends who have helped my game. 

Up till May 2019 I was still focusing on tournament poker. There were a few highlights, including breaking my lifetime 100k mark on Hendon, winning a high roller tournament against a tough field, playing the highest buy in event of my life (10k USD - won a satellite) seated next to John Juanda and Nananoko. My ITM rate is still not high enough but I managed to go deeper in my cashes than before. 12 cashes including finishing in the top 5 six times. 

I am also very proud that I went the whole year degen-free. No blackjack, baccarat, sports bet, or anything like that. Did do a last longer bet with an old friend but that was money in the bank anyways LOL. I am also quite pleased with the way I have managed my money and kept track of my results.

This year together with HKPPA we raised USD 3500 from my Charity Tournament for CCF. Also I had some personal donations to them and other causes. But I am most proud that I have inspired others to pay it forward in their own ways. I can only do this much but the impact of many can make a big difference. 

November and December were not as smooth and unless I get a huge score in the next couple of days, I am ending the year with 2 losing months in a row. However I am still grateful for the journey this year as I feel that I have grown so much as a person and a poker player, I was fortunate enough to move up stakes and played the highest stakes of my career so far, met and befriended some very interesting people, seen and experienced things that I would not have imagined. I saw some players snorting cocaine during the game, and just the other day, someone put a gun on the table. A couple of friends were kidnapped and beaten up by a rival private game and the kidnappers were arrested and it went on the news. Hopefully I have seen it all by now. 

I am thankful for this year in spite of some rough patches. I have learned to be happy in whatever situation, live a life of principles with positivity, don't judge, boast or be envious, always doing the right thing even when it's the unpopular choice. I have a feeling 2020 is going to be even bigger for me and I hope you will join me on this journey for another year!

Happy new year to all!

APF Manila Poker Room - REVIEW

This week I visited the Asian Poker Federation's first poker room in Manila for their soft opening. Grand opening will be on the 12th of January where they are running a USD 100K guaranteed tournament for only USD 100 buy in! Check out my YouTube video on Poker in Manila

Main poker room floor

The room is located at the Sheration Manila Bay Hotel (previously Pan Pacific). Years ago I was there at the old poker room owned by Manny Pacquiao but it got shut down. Now the place has a new facelift and looks and feels more professional than the old one.

Games start from 25/50 up to 100/200/500 with Holdem and PLO available. I managed to play a 500-a-point OFC session as well. Action is good, with mostly Korean, Japanese and Taiwanese players there. I had one insane PLO session when I ran 20k up to 170k in 4 hours. PS: PLO is not my main game

From 20k to 170k in a cash game

They have a "Final Table" setup and private rooms for special functions or private games. A comfortable rest area for guests who are waiting, a bar serving drinks and snacks, security guard and metal detector and can house up to 30 tables, and the theme is in my favourite colour blue.

Featured table ready for big events

The location is in Ermita, walking distance to the Robinson's Mall, I counted at least 10 hotels that are within 2 minutes walk, lots of restaurants and bars. If you feel like living in comfort, the Sheraton Manila Bay is great (I stayed there once when it was still Pan Pacific), highly recommend Pearl Garden Hotel that's just across the street.

Overall a great experience, highly recommend a visit, especially for the grand opening main event. I had a decent haul for my trip which made it just that bit sweeter!

30 days, 6 sessions, 4 tournaments, November Report

Yes I am getting lazier. Earlier in the month I was grinding online and ran up 24k in profit. Thought everything was going great. Went on a huge downswing. That profit is now a loss. 6 live cash sessions for a modest profit, but 4 tournaments where I bricked everything, and bought someone else's action for 4 tournaments that all bricked too gave me a bad losing month.

At least the view from my apartment is comforting after a bad day

Even though the last few months went well, I want to share with you guys bad news as well. A poker player's life isn't all smooth sailing. It is actually pretty stressful not having a steady income and having to make difficult decisions all the time. But life goes on, you buy in to the next game and pray that you can turn things around.

Ran up a healthy stack

I actually ran deep in a couple of tournaments and I am going to spare you the bad beat stories. It just wasn't meant to be. It reminded me of November 2018 where I bricked everything too and had a rough end to the year. Let's hope December 2019 will be better.

On a side note, I have laid down an OFC challenge. I will play anyone for a minimum 100 hands or when someone loses 300 points or more. So far I got one response but due to timing issues we had to postpone our match. I will update you guys if I do play.

Modest win in live cash

Due to travel and tournaments, I have not played football in a while. So my fitness level has dropped a bit and some weight came back to visit. Looks like I am going to travel a bit in December as well so that front is not looking good.

Met with Sona the teacher with cancer. It was humbling to see her in person and unfortunately due to the bad result this month I have no donation budget for her. But I am sure everything will work out for the both of us.

Poker in Singapore - REVIEW

Was in Singapore for the weekend, decided to check out the Resorts World poker room again. I was there about 4 years ago and even then I did not have the best impressions of the place. Before this visit, I was already warned by many people to expect the worst but I wanted to see for myself.

Credit to RWS, the views outside the casino is stunning

First of all, only in Singapore you have to queue to enter the casino. Sure it is to check your passport and visa validity blah blah but again the #kiasu mentality is so obvious. Sorry my Singaporean friends but it is true. According to their staff, the whole casino only has ONE cashier area. When I was cashing out, there was a queue of about 50 people waiting and there was only 3 people serving us. Maybe it's their way of discouraging cash outs. They do have some smart machines where you can deposit your chips and it will cash you out. But they only take 30 chips at a time. As if they don't expect you to win. Also they let you buy in in $1000 notes but only cashes you out in $100 notes even if you win a darn lot.

We did meet a really helpful staff who brought us to the poker room and card service area. To play in the poker room you need a membership card. That took us like 20 minutes to get. Okay fine, they want to know who I am, go ahead. Here is where things get funky. We had to go through a briefing before the game before we were allowed to be seated. Here are some of the rules.

1. Do not show your hands (even if it obviously went check check) before the dealer flips over the YELLOW button that says SHOWDOWN. Apparently if you reveal your hand before the hand is dead.

2. Verbal does not count. You can say all in but drop in one chip and only the amount of that chip counts.

3. One chip is not a call. If someone bets 80, and you drop 100, IT IS A RAISE! You can min raise 20 apparently! If you drop a 100 chip and say CALL it is still a RAISE! Remember verbal does not count.

4. So if someone bets 180, and you want to call using 2x 100 chips, then you better drop them one at a time, otherwise you might be forced to raise it to 200.

Other silly things that I have observed. The dealer does not shuffle by hand when the machine hasn't done the next deck. It slows the game down so much. The have to slide the cards into a box to deal out from. Pots over $5000 will need a supervisor to come over to "verify" the pot and record it down. You can't buy chips on the table, but you should buy them from the baccarat table nearby. Remember there's only one cashier in the whole casino. Every 4 hours they change decks, and that takes like 20 minutes to do. You can't choose your tables, you draw for your tables.

The game is usually 10/20 Singapore dollars and the rake is 5% capped at 75. They do have free water, tea and occasionally some snacks. The lineup wasn't as bad as I thought. It was fun pretending to be a fish and see my overbet bluffs get through when they didn't know who I was. Thankfully I won, to ease my "suffering" at the game haha.

Overall the experience can be summed up by one word. KIASU! (definition) I think the background story of these rules has to do with security cameras. Since the cameras can't pick up voice, they can only see your actions so in order for them to "track" the way you play, they can only watch. But come on, this is poker. Why does the casino need to track how the game goes? As long as it is fair and played with international rules, it shouldn't matter. Also some local regulars camp out there making the game feel hostile and unwelcoming. Is the game beatable? If you can pretend to be a fish and exploit the regulars, I think it is. But it is frustratingly slow, dealers seem to help the regulars, there's no game selection as you draw the tables you get, it's not a fun grind that's for sure.

Thankfully the food in Singapore is excellent

Dear Resort World Sentosa, if you're reading this, please make your poker room a welcoming place for players of all nations. Whilst Singapore produces some of the best players in Asia, none of them has anything good to say about your only legal room of the whole country. You're the laughing stock of foreign players and a disgrace to your own countrymen that has been there. Imagine if you run a football league but your's the only one in the world that players can use their hands.

31 days, 100% Win Rate, October Report

In July, August and September I played a combined 91 sessions of live cash games. In October, I had a 100% winning rate because I played only ONE session haha. This has been my laziest month so far but I had good reason.

My ONE and ONLY winning session

If you read one of my recent posts, first week of October I was playing a tournament and ran good to finish 4th. I hit my monthly income target with that score so I decided to stay on to play a few more tournaments. The next Main Event I made day 3 but fell 5 spots short of the money. Pretty disappointed but not as disappointed as stone bubbling the High Roller event. But still I had a good trip with a decent profit.

During this time I joined Neverlose as their agent and naturally started playing on it. At the end I pulled out a modest profit from it. I probably logged about 40+ sessions and it has improved my OFC game as well. Unfortunately in the last week we had a downswing of 2200 points combined. After that experience I am having mixed feelings about the site. PS: Did you know CST stands for China Standard Time? I guess Google doesn't know everything.

Go BIG or go home. Opps, I am already AT home

This month I met up with the fundraisers for the Cambodian teacher suffering from cancer. Bless them as they volunteered themselves to take up this task for zero personal gain. Since then they have inspired many to participate but also given the teacher hope. They would tell me when they first visited her, she barely had any energy to do anything. I guess $20,000 felt like a death sentence to her. Since the fund raising started, she would start to eat, sit up and even speak during their visits. Mind you her cancer is in her throat so speaking I assume would be a big challenge, and possibly painful.

This month was also the 2nd Happy River charity tournament at HKPPA. Again great organization by the association and great support by the members. I am very amazed by the closeness of the HKPPA members and their show of support of everything HKPPA. At the end we generated a total of USD 3500 for charity. The Children of Cambodia thanks all that was involved.

Charity event turn out

Because I was at the tournaments, I missed about 6 sessions of my bi-weekly football. I did get in some biking and hiking, but it does not compare to the huffing and puffing chasing the ball. I played a couple of games since I got back and in my second game I was so tired I almost blacked out. I hope I can rebuild my stamina and continue to lose weight. I think I did not lose any weight this month because I ate a lot in Taiwan.

Don't forget to join me online on Neverlosepoker and Natural8 using the code POKER168 to sign up and play!

Pay it forward

When I first started playing poker full time, one of the key principles I had was to give 10% to charities and helping people. Last year I gave to charities, to churches, and organized a charity tournament with the Hong Kong Poker Players' Association (HKPPA) and generated additional donation money for those in need. However I did that in a losing year. To be honest, the drive to give was a selfish one. I believe if I give, I will be blessed and earn more. I didn't. Not until after I fixed some things.

This year I had started to do well, especially when I switched my focus to cash games. I have been giving to orphanages, charities, and also a special case I came across - a Cambodian teacher suffering from cancer. I mentioned this in one of my earlier posts where I won a decent amount the night before, and the next day I saw this story on Facebook and contacted the person in charge. I did not want to be scammed again but felt the story was legit. Immediately donated money on the same day. She has gone through the CT scans and thankfully the cancer has not spread to other parts of her body. She is preparing to travel to Bangkok for the surgery soon. Today I met with the fundraisers and contacted the teacher for the first time. It was humbling and yet gratifying to hear that my contribution has made a difference. I also received warm messages not only from the teacher in need, but also a touched fund raiser that was inspired by my actions.

Post from the fundraiser

Personal message from the sick teacher

I want to stress that sharing all this is not to boast and I have kept my donations anonymous. The main reason is to inspire you to do the same. Sometimes we are too focused on our own needs, we don't realize how much more some people around us need that money. For you it might be to save up to buy a car, a house, a nice watch, for them it might be to save their lives. A few months back a friend on Facebook was inspired by me and decided to make a donation to a Vietnamese orphanage. He goes on to share that his experience of seeing the joy he brought to the kids and the volunteers moved him to pledged more donations in the future. The feeling you get seeing how much it means to them, and how much impact you made really doesn't compare with anything in this world.

Matt paying it forward

Last December I wrote a post "Am I too nice" and at the end I said that I hope I will be rewarded for my actions. I believe I have been rewarded and it is only getting started. I will continue to keep doing the right thing, be more selfless and help others whenever I can.

Charity event Sunday 27th October

This year HKPPA and I are doing another charity event this time for the upcoming WPT Cambodia. Proceeds of the charity event will go towards the Cambodia Children's Fund (CCF). If you can make it, I hope you will join. If you're just reading this post, I hope it will influence you to pay it forward. The problem with our world today is everyone just cares about themselves. Giving money away seems like such a -EV and dumb thing to do. But believe me, it is more +EV than you can ever imagine.

You can also help by signing up to Neverlosepoker or Natural8 using the code POKER168 and generate charity money by playing!

Guide to Asian Poker Destinations - TAIPEI

Taipei has burst into the poker scene as one of the main stops on almost all Asian poker series. In 2019 alone I have traveled to Taiwan at least 5 times with another visit scheduled for December. Poker is definitely booming here and with Macau seemingly severing all ties with Poker, Taiwan is fast becoming a poker hot spot.

One of the most recognizable buildings in the world

However this guide is not about the poker here, it's more about the destination. Taipei is a beautiful city with a well-balanced culture and lifestyle. Despite being a highly populated city, it does not have a lot of dense accommodation. There are parks every other block, and strong emphasis on recycling and cleanliness, it is a very green city. After a long day of poker, or like me, stone bubbling the High Rollers, I love to rent a city bike and ride around in the cool night breeze. It costs less than USD 1 to rent it, and you can park it at any bike stop and not worry about anyone stealing it. I rode it a lot from the poker room back to my hotel and if you ride for less than 5 minutes it's free. There are bike kiosks everywhere so you can drop it off at your destination.

Ride the negativity away

I'm an outdoorsy person, however most poker destinations are usually big congested cities far away from nature. I just visited a random community park in Taipei and I saw 6 or 7 squirrels running around on the trees. Taipei zoo is also amazing. Only USD 2 for a world class zoo, it is amazing value and one of the best zoos I have been to regardless of price. Jiufen and Shifen are just an hour away and Beitou hot springs too. The hike up Elephant Mountain is also not to be missed. Super nice views of Taipei 101 and the city.

Public park squirrel

Don't get me started on Taiwanese food. Although to be honest, after 5 visits in a year, each time staying minimum a week, I am losing interest in eating the same things over and over again. However for someone visiting Taiwan for the first time, you will love it. Notable recommendations are Jinfeng Braised Pork rice (must try the duck eggs), Ay-Chung Flour Rice noodles (that's how they spell their own name), Yamatoya Ramen (in case you crave Japanese food) and Sushi Express (for super great value only USD 1 per plate).

Lastly I am quite impressed with the Taiwanese culture. Probably second in the world to Japan but a more laid back version. Generally the culture is friendly, polite and well-mannered. Children are brought up properly, respecting of elders, no cutting of queues, or speaking loudly in public spaces, etc.

Overall Taipei is a great place to come for poker tournaments. Only complaint for me is no legal cash games and the players are too fishy! (just kidding)

Don't forget to join me online on Neverlosepoker or Natural8 using the code POKER168 to sign up and play!

NeverLosePoker - REVIEW

Disclaimer: I am an official exclusive agent for NeverLosePoker in Malaysia and Hong Kong. However in all my poker room reviews (online or live) I am always honest and tell you exactly how I feel. Different people will have different experiences and I am only sharing mine.

NeverLose PC lobby

NeverLose is a skin of the J88 platform. I did play on J88's site a few months ago and now things are surprisingly much better. There are usually about 20-30 active tables especially at night. The app is smooth and easy to use, but I most prefer their PC version. It reminds me of the good old PokerStars days. You can easily tile or cascade your tables to multi-table like the good times. Bring out the Nanonoko in you.

Mobile version

The game has their own Game Points (GP) or Crystals, and the currency is USD 1 = 100 Crystals. Maybe that's why it does feel more like a game rather than a Poker site, but the advantage of that is you will have players that will play it like a game. You can buy and cash out your Crystals via your trusted agent. (like me) The platform was first introduced in Korea and have since spread to major markets like Taiwan, China, and Southeast Asia. I haven't played much of Holdem or Omaha on the site, but I love the OFC games there. I think there's a bunch of players that are hooked on the game playing $5, $10 even $20 a point. Let's just say my skill and experience has paid off well so far.

They also have MTTs and SNGs around the clock. It's a great place to hone your tournament skills and even make some money. There are some guaranteed events really worth your while. The next one is going to be on October 27th only USD 88 to join with a USD 30k guarantee.

Overall I like what they are trying to do. The marketing team is pushing hard to get the action going and they have attracted a whole bunch of recreational players on the system. The app has improved in leaps and bounds in just the last few months alone, and they will be introducing more games and MTT guarantees in the future.

For a limited time, I am offering new players a 25% CRYSTAL PURCHASE BONUS (T&C applies).

1. Go to neverlosepoker.com
2. Download your preferred platform
3. Create an account using the code POKER168
4. Contact me to make your Crystal purchase
5. Start playing!

My first tournament in 5 months

Tournament poker is frustrating, especially you're playing it for a living. That's why I quit and switched to playing cash. But I needed a break, wanted a holiday, and missed some friends on the circuit so packed my bags and joined the HKPPA series in Taipei.

Taipei is a really nice city

Before I got there my plan was only to play two events. The Main Event, and if I bust, then play the Central Cup. Of course the ideal situation is I would go deep in the main causing me to be unable to play the Central Cup.

I had a pretty smooth day 1. Picked up small to medium pots along the way only losing one decent sized pot, then had someone jam 5b jam 96o when I 4b with KQs. Thankfully I committed myself with my 4b and built my stack from there. Made a big bluff when OMC preflop 3bets, lead river for 3600 into pot of 22000 with only 5000 behind. I put him all in basically 5000 to call for 30k pot and he folded. Last key hand of day 1 was when I had 44 on a Q84ccc flop, I check raised turn and got jammed into by QK no club. Ended the day with a top 10 stack heading into day 2.

Day 2 started off pretty well, had AK twice and got jammed into by AT and AQ and held both times. But I lost a big pot when my bluff back fired. I moved to a new table and aggressive uncle with big stack opened on button. I defended my big blind with 24o. I know I probably shouldn't but a friend told me a day before how loose and crazy this uncle plays. I thought I would have great value if I hit a hand he wouldn't expect me to have.

Flop comes 964. He cbets small I call. Turn is a 5. I check he bets almost the pot this time, 40k. I had 116k left and I check raise all in and he snap calls. Instantly I yelled out GG. Everyone laughed but to my surprise I was ahead! He had A7 for the open ended straight draw. River bricked out and I had a big stack. I later won another all in pre pot vs a Hong Kong pro when my AK hit a runner runner flush vs his AJ top pair. I was the chip leader at that point with 20+ players.

Chip leader with 20 player left

After a failed hero call, a bluff went bad, I was down to 25bbs+ with 10 players left. I pick up 77 vs AK jam with 10bbs. Did not hold and I am suddenly the smallest stack. Late position and super tight BB, I decided to jam my final chips in with Q9 only to be called off by AQ. I yelled GG again but thankfully I spiked the 9 on the flop. Final hand of the night I opened mp with 99, button strongest player on the final 10 3-bets 80% of this stack, sb chip leader decides to go all in. I decided not to gamble vs chip leader. Button had AT and chip leader had 66. Sixes held, and my nines would have scooped the pot making me the chip leader but I made the FT 6th in chips instead.

3rd hand of the FT I am on UTG with AJdd, sb had KQss. Flop came KQ6ddd. I doubled up. Came another key hand where I was the shortest with 6 players left, decided to jam with J9o and got called by TT. Again GG! But lucky me flop was A99. The live stream went on to show I floated a Q62scc flop with 93dd, lead turn when 2c hits, and bet big on river 6s. I wish I was that high level a player to pull that stunt, but it was an RFID error. I had a full house. I built my stack to overtake the chip leader and when we were 4-way, we decided to chop the money. I ended up getting almost 2nd place money even though I finished 4th.

Immediately spent about 1/4 of the prize money, still left with a decent chunk

It was a great result and I miss being on the tournament circuit. I feel really at home on the tournament floor. Many people know me well and it has a homey feeling. I decided to extend my stay for another week to play the next series. As I am writing this, I made day 2 of the following Main Event as day 1A chip leader so maybe I might play on a bit more when I am running good! Hopefully I will have great news to share in a few days too!

30 days, 25 sessions, September Report

September has been my laziest month. In the last week of the month I only played 3 sessions but had a hot start to the month. Unfortunately had a bad end with me losing the last 3 sessions straight. But still I had my best month so far, more than doubling my monthly target so I guess I deserved a little break. I played 25 sessions, won 16 lost 9.

Played 2 sessions of PLO (lost both) and one session of OFC where I crushed for 500+ points

Previously I gave you guys a sneak preview, telling you I lost a lot in my worst session of the month. It was not the biggest loss of my career but this time I had 100% of my action so it hurt the most. I would get it in good but get sucked out, or miss monster draws. To give you some perspective, I lost almost my entire month's target in one sitting. The amount was equivalent to 8 months salary of my last job in Malaysia. I was visibly down and left pretty dejected. I went back to my room, watched a movie, had dinner and tried to be positive. Remember a few weeks ago I helped a guy move houses? Despite knowing him for just a few weeks, I volunteered my help when no one else he knew did. But I just did it out of kindness and never expected anything back. Anyway he was at the game and he saw how down I was. I could feel his eyes on me and feeling my pain when I lost every big pot. Later that night he sent me a message, "the whale is back". I wasn't sure if I wanted to play the whale again. If I lost it would put me in a hole, so I thought I'll just play a computer game. But the game wouldn't load, and I tried like 5 times, restarting my computer and still it wouldn't load. So I went back to the poker game.

Sorry it's a long story LOL. First hand I sat down, I had AK. Before I even got my chips, it was all in and against the friend who messaged me back. He had Queens but I spiked an Ace of the flop. I felt bad but he was really cool about it. After the double I had KK vs JJ against the whale. And the last big pot of the night I won with 34o.

At that point there was a lot of limping because the two main whales would give so much value post flop. 6 limpers and I am on the SB with 34o so I complete. BB was a reg friend often would check back but decided to make it 6x. All 6 players called giving me super good odds so I called. Flop was A83 rainbow. To my surprise but worry, it was checked around. Turn another 3. I decided to play it cautiously because BB is very capable of checking AA top set there. I checked, BB checks again and whale decides to bet almost the pot. Everyone else folded so I called. BB decides to call too! I did not like that call but nothing I can do about it. River was a 4. I checked because I wanted to see what BB would do, and let the whale hang himself. BB checks and the whale bets overpot putting me effectively all in. I called and to my relief BB folds. Not only did I win back what I lost earlier that day, I ended the day with a healthy profit. Hence the biggest winning session of my career. I was so thankful and humbled afterwards.

A week later I had another decent session. The next morning when I woke up I saw the news of a Cambodian teacher fighting for her life needing life saving surgery. I immediately contacted the person and sent my donation. I later found out not only the money meant a lot, it also gave the fund raisers, family and friends hope and strength. At this point in time they are still fund raising but I hope I will have good news to report on her situation. I know some of you might think, what if it is a scam? It's dumb to just give money away. Of course I did my due diligence but even if it were a scam, my pure intention was to help, and I am sure I would still be blessed for my actions.

Ate lots of sushi this month

After a few weeks of football, long walks by the river, even a couple of gym sessions and hitting the pool, no supper, less fatty foods, I have lost some weight and continue to drop in size. But still not completely there yet. Give me a few more months and I should be back in tip top shape.

Poker vs Football (Soccer)

As you know, I have committed to losing weight and being more healthy, so I have recently joined two weekly football games to do just that. I have not played regularly since 2005 and even when I did, I was not a good player. In the weekly games I play now, there are some European and American players that are very good. Now I know how it feels to be a football fish. I constantly make mistakes, don't really know what I am doing and even when I make a good pass or nice shot, it is because of luck.

One of my earliest posts was about poker as a sport. It is one of my proudest posts so click the link to read it. Like football, skills are very important. You may have watched the game hundreds of times on TV or YouTube but it doesn't mean you can play it. The concept seems simple but it is harder than it looks. Passing is a basic skill that every player needs, but varying levels means the accuracy, precision, power, and types of passes differ from player to player. Just as in poker, betting is a basic skill. But when to bet, when not to bet, and how much, using which color chips, in which position, Hollywood or speech before the bet, etc will determine which level you are playing at.

One of the weekly games I go to

I am also feeling the pinch when it comes to stamina. At my age, it is excusable if I am not in tip top shape, but I also don't want to be huffing and puffing just after a little jog. No matter how skillful you are, if you can't keep up with the pace, or last the entire match, you will be crushed. Often you'll find late night poker is better than other games because many players are tired. It is less obvious when you run out of stamina on a poker table vs a football field. Some players push on without knowing that they are not playing optimally, their thought process is sluggish and they are prone to more mistakes and tilt easier. I guess like football, the more you play the more stamina you build, but you also have to take care of your body, be very aware of your mental state at all times and know your limits.

When we were young, no one wanted to be the goalkeeper. But at my age now, I gladly take that position to catch my breath. But I find that speed and reaction times are very important as a goalkeeper. Sometimes I see the shot coming, but my hands and feet don't react quickly enough to stop it. This is also the same for poker players. Sometimes you are only allowed a short time to make decisions. I for one do not like taking too long to make a move, I like to balance my bluffs and values by taking the same amount of time. In some spots, what to do is pretty clear, but in others, it may require a bit more thought. There are "hacks" on how to make your decision quicker, and maybe I will write another post on that.

As part of taking care of myself, a healthy diet makes a difference

I find that my football skills are lacking, but I am too embarrassed to ask for coaching. Right now I can only improve by playing, and only touching the ball maybe 20 times per night does not help me improve very quickly. Even if I were to get coaching, I can't be practicing every hour every day. But with poker, you can. Even when you are not in the hand, if you pay attention to other players and how they play, you can learn a lot. Of course your skills will improve vastly if you get a coach, but you can also do self study at your own pace. One major difference between football and poker is your football skills will decline with age no matter what you do, but with poker it can continue to grow in spite of age.

In the last two football games, I had some minor injuries. First I used my hand to block an incoming shot as it was heading straight for my face. However the shot was so strong, it struck my arm so hard forcing it onto my jaw cracking my lip and also created an involuntary bite mark on my hand. This week I blocked a shot with my lower leg and now my ankle hurts when I walk. In poker, you might not think there is chance of injury, but I see injury as bankroll management. In some games you might lose a small chunk of your bankroll. So it hurts but you can easily recover. But if you lose discipline or take shots you shouldn't, you can lose a big portion of your bankroll or even go bust. Like any injury, it takes time to heal. So if you had a bad run in poker, do not expect it to turn around over night. If you lost 1000bb, you can't expect to win it all back in one sitting. Some people do, and try to force too much action and end up digging themselves into a bigger hole.

There is so much to learn about poker from my football games. It reminds me about my game and how I should continue to improve. I know the players laugh at me, and they would pick me last for their team. I am okay with that. I would probably laugh at them on a poker table too. I can't be good at everything right? Right now I am super grateful that I do not play football for a living. Because if I do, I would be broke.

Living and grinding in Cambodia

September has been a good month for me so far. I had my worst personal losing session in my life, but immediately the next session thankfully I bounced back with my biggest win ever. But I'll leave that for my monthly postmortem as we still have 2 weeks of the month to go.

Many people asked me about living in Cambodia. If you told me that one day I would be playing poker professionally in Cambodia I would never have believed it. Cambodia does not come across as a poker destination and if you haven't been here before, you might have a negative image of the place. But in just a short few months, I have adapted well to life here and have accepted it as my  home for now.

Just a photo I took while on an evening walk

Cost of living in Cambodia is higher than I first imagined, but I guess due to the influx of mainland Chinese business people, it has raised the living standard of Phnom Penh but also the costs as well. If you don't mind the traffic, a decent studio would cost about USD 600 (including utilities) but if you stay close to the casino area, expect to pay about USD 1000 a month. If you think about how most locals live, and how much they earn (average salary about USD 250), it is super expensive. Just take the average salary of your city and times that by 4 and you'll get the idea.

Food is also quite expensive. But if you're like me and like to cook, it can be somewhat lowered. Eating out costs about USD 5-10 per meal but if you cook at home then it is maybe USD 3-5 per meal depending on your ingredients of course. If you followed my recent posts, I am trying to lose weight so it has been mostly a low-fat, high fiber diet for me. I play futsal twice a week now and try to squeeze in some evening strolls by the riverside. Also I have completely stopped having supper at games. No more late night munchies and surprisingly I can fight off the urge. 

Carrots the size of baby arms

I don't drink, I don't club, I don't party, I don't smoke, so don't ask me about night life in Phnom Penh. Anyways I am usually playing poker at night, if not I am pretty content with YouTube, or movies in bed or playing computer games. If you're a night owl then you might find it disappointing. Plus I save a lot of money by not partaking. I would imagine it is pretty expensive here other than the local beers.

It's really hard to describe Phnom Penh as it is somewhat a melting pot of cultures. Some buildings have obvious French influences and if you squint it does feel like you're in Europe. Then there are Chinese enclaves that feels like old Guang Dong. Yesterday I took a stroll to the Korean embassy and that block felt like a block out of Myeongdong. If you go to a bit further, it has a typical Southeast Asian feel to it, like street food stalls and markets. So depending on where you live and spend most of your time, you will have a different feel of the city.

Would I stay here for the rest of my life? I would say no. But right now it serves a purpose. Hopefully I can build a good bankroll to either play bigger stakes somewhere else, or invest it into other things. Right now I don't know what the next step is yet, but I am just plugging away, trying to enjoy every day of my life as it comes. 

31 days, 27 sessions - August Report

I know August is not officially over yet but I think I am gonna take a break tonight so I'm calling it a month. July was a huge month for me so August had a tough act to follow. It started out great and within the first 3 sessions I was already close to my monthly profit target. Then it see-sawed back and forth to end the month at almost the same point. I experienced my biggest losing session of my career, down 600bb in just 5 hours or so along with some interesting events.

Don't be shocked. The pink stack was not mine. I borrowed from the guy next to me

Overall this month I played in 27 sessions and was personally up about 1000bb of my average stake game. It works out to be a decent 6bb per hour. 6bb/hour is not a great hourly rate but because I'm playing at a higher stake, the bottom line is not too shabby. But after deducting action sold and bought, ended up with a profit of just shy of 500bb. Considering I had one session that I lost 600bb, and my daily expenses here costs only about 3bb, it's a good result. I also squeezed in a holiday to Bangkok in between, so it's been a decent month. Sorry for being vague about the numbers but I also want to be transparent about my journey for those interested in pursuing their poker dreams too.

I had a few interesting "incidents" this month as well. There was a guy that owed me money and I think blocked my WhatsApp. I managed to find his wife and got him in trouble with her. He immediately messaged me asking me to cover for him. I told her it was a prank and he paid me back the next day and even thanked me for it. Don't mess with me man. Haha

There's a company across from my room and every morning at 8:40am there's a shift change and they are super noisy when they are waiting for their 9am shift. I was so pissed one morning I ran out there and into the office telling the boss to control his staff. It worked at least for the next few days. :)

Found time to take a river cruise with some friends

Another interesting story. There's a poker room in town that offers free food vouchers for play. I had two that expired. Granted I was naughty to change the dates and tried to use them but I was pretty upset that the F&B supervisor wanted to take further action. For all the rake I have generated for them, the positive reviews and support, and just being like the regular joker always friendly with everybody, they want to be petty about $20? He may have saved them $20 but he just cost the company a lot of money. I haven't been there ever since. Haha.

I have a backer that trusts and supports my game. But recently he has not been able to be present at the game. I had one session I was grinding hard and ended up winning a lot for the both of us. Then greed poked it's head and had a small voice in my head. "Why not just tell him you won less than that. You worked so hard for this profit." I am not a saint and I am human, but I am learning to be a better version of myself. Though tempting, I insisted on reporting accurate results to him all the time. I would be a hypocrite if I did otherwise. All my posts about being ethical, being a better person, blah blah. I hope I will be rewarded for my honesty.

Let's lose some weight

Also I started to do something about my weight. Just today I joined a Futsal game and I was seriously out of breath. At one point I was worried I was going to collapse and get a heart attack. I have not played regularly for maybe 8 years and I am seriously out of shape. But hopefully I can join them every week and rebuild my stamina and shed some pounds.

Finally I am planning to start a small business soon. It is very exciting times but I am quite lazy and a procrastinator. Right now I need a local graphic designer that speaks good English. If you know anyone who might suit, please let me know. And also please follow me on my Facebook page if you haven't. I will post regular updates there about my story.

What In The World Is Happening?

I deviate from poker and want to talk about other things. When I started this blog I wanted to inspire other poker players like myself to pursue their dreams. Since then I have found a higher purpose which is to inspire all to be better versions of ourselves. Be ethical, considerate, helpful and caring, doing what we can to help those in need. Sometimes we think we can't do much, so we end up not doing anything. But I want to tell you, it's time we do something, anything.

Amazon is on fire

Global warming is real

So much has happened in August. Amazon is on fire, the arctic is melting at the highest rate ever, protests in Hong Kong, two mass shootings in the US in the space of 24 hours.....

Once considered one of the safest places to visit - Hong Kong

Innocents killed over nothing

I saw a few of my closest friends donate and urging others to donate to the Amazon situation, which is great. But at the end of the day, if we don't address the root of the issue, these things will never end. I believe the root is "selfishness". The Amazon is on fire and every year Indonesian forests go up in flames because of lazy farmers that light up their fields to save time from clearing it for the next season. Local authorities and governments do not do anything about it because they are profiting from it. Global warming is caused by a lot of factors, including deforestation, eating habits, our over dependency on fossil fuels, etc motivated by profits, self comforts and convenience. Hong Kong clashes will never be over because each faction cares too much about their own stances to back down. Protestors wanting democracy, politicians want to keep their jobs, police wanting a break, businesses wanting their livelihoods back. White supremacy, racism are also prime examples of putting oneself ahead of others.

Maybe you might say I don't do any of those. But we might all be guilty of being "selfish" in a more subtle way. Do you give your seat to the elderly on the train? Do you let people out of the elevator before entering? Do you queue? Do you pay back your creditors? Do you litter? Do you smoke in public spaces? Do you say please and thank you? Do you use headphones when listening to something in a public place? Do you attempt to reduce your carbon footprint? Do you press both buttons on the elevator despite going only one direction? Do you hold the door open for the next person?

Two days ago I helped a new friend move apartments. But I felt kinda sad because after being here for 1.5 years, the only friend that helped him move was someone he met just 3 weeks ago. If only everyone was just a little bit caring, giving, helpful, considerate and selfless. If everyone was nicer to everyone else then maybe people will change. Giving to charity is great, but there are so many things we can do. Smile more, compliment people, be friendly, hold the door after you've opened it, let others walk through it first, say please thank you and sorry more often, keep some plants in your home to produce oxygen, use less plastics, recycle, pick up trash when you visit the beach, put down your phone and talk with the people around you, visit a poor country, do some volunteering, do something for others without expecting anything in return..... Try it. Trust me, it is more rewarding that you would think.

Hope you're inspired. Share this with someone else if you are.

83 sessions in 81 consecutive days - RECAP

As some of you know, I was grinding tournaments full time up to May 2019. Although I did okay, I did not have great momentum. The cost of travelling and falling short at key moments was like one step forward two steps back. But I was pretty happy I almost mirrored my 2018 success in just 5 months.

My dream is to have a roll like a drug dealer LOL

After deciding to play cash game full time, I have played 83 sessions since May 23rd. I went from grinding USD 2/5 to now comfortably playing USD 10/20 and I couldn't be happier with my decision. During this time I have made quite a few friends some of which has taught me so much about my game and from experience I have learned so much about other aspects in life that has made me a much stronger person. I am quite surprised at my stamina but also passion for the game. I thought I would be sick of the game by now but to my surprise I look forward to the next game every day. Of course winning consistently does make it more fun. Some people ask how do I do it, one thing I realised is I socialise on the table and make jokes. Sooner or later you'll either make some cool friends or find some crazy comedians that will keep you entertained for hours. If not, I will entertain myself. For example, I occasionally play at a Chinese private game. As a show of respect, the hosts and dealers will call your name with title at the end like 总(chairman) 董(director) or 哥(big brother). For some reason they think my name is Lee 李 and I have never bothered to correct them. Sometimes I don't realise they are talking to me because they call me by this name. On one occasion, there was a guy called 胡哥(hu ge) and me 李哥(li ge) and 发哥(fa ge). I just kept laughing because it sounded like Hooker, Licker and Fu....

In the last few months I have grown to appreciate Cambodia and it's people. It is actually a very beautiful country and I have a great view of the city from my room. Apart from the small number of lazy tuk-tuk drivers camped outside my apartment trying to scam the lazy Chinese who can't be bothered to use an App or haggle, most Cambodians are down to earth, hardworking, humble people. It's a stark contrast with their closest neighbours. I've also found a great charity that I can partner with. It was much easier to donate when I wasn't making a lot but when I had a big month it was really a test of faith. But seeing CCF's mission and their success really made it easier because I know the money will be well spent on changing lives.

After 81 days I finally took a break from poker and went for a visa run/vacation to Bangkok. Games are still pretty good in Cambodia at the moment so I rather come back and grind as soon as possible, so Bangkok was the quickest and closest choice. It felt weird not playing any poker at all, but I think my mind needed a break too.

My favourite oyster omelette place in Bangkok

Beautiful sunset in Bangkok

One downside to playing full time is I have gained quite some weight now with late night heavy foods and celebratory meals and snacks after winning sessions. So for the next few months I hope to do some regular exercise, cut down on late night munchies and hopefully lose some weight. I will update you guys on this as well. PS: I have a page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/happyriverpoker) Please follow if you want to be updated everytime I post a new blog post. I will also post random pictures there from time to time.

River King One-Pub - REVIEW

It's been a while since I last written a poker room review. But something sparked me to write this. Over the next few weeks I will review the poker clubs in Phnom Penh with my honest take on them. Disclaimer: these are my personal experiences and others may have different experiences themselves. Do feel free to check the clubs out yourself and see if it fits what you're looking for.

First of all, do not confuse the River King Poker Club with the River King One-Pub. Before coming to Phnom Penh, for many years my friend has recommended the River King club but when I got here, there was a big change and River King was no more, and the River King One-Pub was born. (although today they are operating as River King) I am not going to delve into the politics behind and how they came into business, but it is an interesting side story if you have the time.

I've been to the One-Pub so let's start with the positives. It is right above a cafe, pretty obscure so it does feel private and secure. They serve free food from their menu, free drinks. They have low rake (but I never asked how much it was) and they have lots of bonuses. High hand bonuses paid to the top 3 hands paid out 3 times a day, a bad beat jackpot now at about 15k, a rakeback if you play enough hours and they recently offered a monthly rakeback race where the top grinders will get a cash prize at the end of the month. When I was there they were running two tables, and games usually start at around noon. The player pool has more Khmer players than other rooms, and typically softer as well. They are the only club that regularly runs PLO games if you are into PLO.

The game I went to was the 5/5 PLO with a couple of locals and couple of Japanese guys. Action was okay but then we switched to Holdem and it was not a great game. Closer to the end a drunk middle eastern guy sat down and it got a bit interesting until he won a big pot and broke the table. Overall my first impressions of the place is a bit dated, reminded me of the Metro Card Club in Manila. Maybe they have improved since then I don't know. The dealers were fast but a bit unfriendly. The 1/3 game had many short stacks but I have heard sometimes there are deep stack 1/3 games that can be very juicy. I guess it is just luck which day you show up at.

But what really rubbed me the wrong way was how they did their marketing. Every day I would be spammed with so many messages from 3 different chats on WhatsApp and 2 on Messenger. Furthermore the message is always the same copy and paste, big fish big action blah blah. I personally prefer the undersell, over perform approach but they obviously don't. Also their mode of marketing is sending negative messages about other rooms instead of highlighting their own positives. I think that is unethical and unprofessional. But still that may just be my own principles. Some people don't care that much if there's a good game. I was seriously considering another visit when my conversation with their marketing manager took a negative turn when he said "You think we need you?"

I wonder if they are rude to everybody

I continued to have a 30 minute conversation with Tony (marketing manager) but I won't bore you with the details. But one funny conversation was about the legality of the game. Tony neither admitted or denied the place is illegal. His only defence was if they can run the game for 7 years, it must be legal/safe. My argument was I have not died in so many years, does that mean I will never die?  The truth is, private poker clubs are not legal in Cambodia, so visit at your own risk. However River King advertises themselves publicly, on Facebook, even on Google Maps. I am sure they must be well-connected to be this open, and might not fear the police, but they are also at risk from robbers or curious journalists. (similar thing happened to a poker room in Hong Kong in 2017 where a journalist infiltrated the room, took hidden videos and wrote a full blown article about it)

Overall I personally would not recommend this place. There are games juicier and softer than here, however their rake, bonuses and rakeback is still the best in town. But it is still worth checking out at least once. Maybe poke at the marketing manager on Messenger and see if he is rude to you as well. Finally, please play at your own risk.