The good, the bad, the ugly

Sorry guys I have been super busy and haven't had the time to post more than one post a month, but I will try my best to do so.

As a poker player, agent, host, I have come across so many different people in my career. If I were to estimate how many different individuals I have met on a poker table, I would put the number in the thousands. I have met some really great people who have since become my good friends but once in a while you would come across some really shitty characters.

If you want to judge your daughter's boyfriend, have someone spy on him on the poker table. Because I feel that poker brings out the real character of every person. I've seen some of the best guys, willingly give back most of the pot to another who's made a very obvious mistake. And I've also seen the worst who would try to win the pot by a technicality.

One of the worst guys I've met is from Hong Kong and I wish I knew him better cause I would gladly post his name here. A friend of mine was obviously folding his hand when the chip protecting his cards accidentally crossed the line. The guy insisted it was a call and my friend relented even though he showed down Jack high. This was only one of the many dick moves he made within a 3 day period that I witnessed.

Over the years I have loaned money to people I thought were friends to help them out. Surprisingly none of them helped me when I was down and out. One guy even had the audacity to contact me again after owing me for years. He said he's happy to see me doing well. Well my friend, me doing well doesn't mean you don't owe me anymore. He couldn't even say sorry and has since continued to ignore me.

Earn money to live, not live to earn money

I've had people scammed me with fake bank transfer receipts, angle shoot on the table, stab me in the back, and even called the cops on me. I am pretty sure I went to jail because someone sold me out. But over the years I have learned to forgive them. One guy who owed me about $1000, disappeared, blocked all contact about 4 years ago. Recently he reached out and apologised and offered to pay me back. I didn't take his money. Not because I don't need it, but his change in attitude and apology deserved to be rewarded. Not many people have the guts nor the decency to reach out to an old creditor.

Recently I've met someone who generously gave his money to locals he barely knew. One of them had teeth problems but to have them fixed would cost them months of their salary. The guy willingly paid for it because he wanted to make her smile (literally).

When you spend hours a day with some guys you get to know their characters really well. Money is the best test of character. Some people are the way they are because of how they were brought up. There's nothing wrong with looking out for oneself, but I wished the world had more selfless people. Maybe you might think there's nothing wrong to protect yourself but I can personally testify to getting opportunities, doors opened for me, or solutions out of problems that I would not have gotten had I not been a genuine, unselfish person. Selfish people may seem to get ahead or do well and even become super rich, but only happy people realise that we earn money to live, we don't live to earn money.

31 days, 219 hours, BIG LOSS, May Report

May was brutal, and I am glad it's over. I hope it gets better from here. A few interesting facts in May. I played Omaha only in the entire month. Not even one hand of Holdem. There were two days the game ran for 32 and 34 hours respectively. I lost in both those sessions.

If you need proof that the life of a poker player is hard, this is it. You can have 8 winning months in a row but one bad month can kick you down into the abyss. If not for 3 sessions where I won more than $1500 each, I would have had it much worse. So how much did I lose? Slightly more than $12000. To put in into perspective it is about 2-3 years of apartment rental in Cambodia.

One of the few rare big pots where my AA double suited held up

I'd admit I played bad in quite a few hands, but I would say 70% of my losing hands were unlucky and 30% were due to bad play. I have a few in mind like when I had 22 outs and missed, ace high flush one outered by the straight flush, top full house vs quads multiple times, you know the drill. At one point every pot I lost I actually felt my heart ache.

But a few things I am proud of, firstly I never threw a tantrum or got visibly angry. I may take a few seconds to compose myself then I continue to laugh and joke with the others. Sometimes I would get these beats whilst having to deal with other stress or problems at the same time. But overall I am pretty proud of how I juggled everything and kept my sanity. On losing nights I would be disappointed but I always went home positively and still thankful and feeling blessed to even have this opportunity. Midway in my downswing I still gave to charity because the Cambodia's Children Fund was doing a matching donation drive.

Another rare night when I came back from -$1500 to be up $2000

Thankfully Covid19 is still under control in Cambodia. We can hang out at restaurants and live life normally. Before my downswing got out of control, I told the dealers if I can cash out more than $5000 that session I would treat them to sushi. Mind you I bought in for $3000 that day and I had $1500 in front of me at the time. I ended up cashing slightly more than $5000. But ever since the sushi meal, my results just looked like the stock market crash. No more sushi for you girls!

Great restaurants in Phnom Penh

I have not been able to play football because of my schedule, but I have started intermittent fasting and it seems to be working. I am trying to push my fasts to be 18-20 hours long. I am working every single day for 220 hours a month. I don't know how long this will continue for but I have to push on and hopefully I will have better news to report end of June.