POKER GUIDE TO : Poker in Madrid (lots of photos)

Most of you are watching Triton Madrid so I thought I write a review about Poker in Madrid, specifically at the Gran Via Casino where Paul Phua won his first Triton title last night. Heartiest congratulations!

Typical Spanish colorful market

Retiro Park, 10 minute walk from Gran Via Casino

I've been to Madrid twice, both times I played at the Gran Via. It is right in the middle of the city, close to many famous attractions like Plaza Major, Retiro Park, Royal Palace, etc. The casino is within an old building so it has a James Bond type feel to it. The interior is classy and feels more like a private club than a casino. When I was there they were spreading €1/3, 2/5, 5/10, 10/20 games. I had a good session on one of the €10/20 games where I won €8500 making my month long trip to Spain a profitable one. You can read more about that trip here. The weird thing about this casino is the cash games are run counter clockwise. To this day I still don't know the real reason why they do that and it's the only room that I've played in that does that. 

6-8 cash game tables almost every day

Ran good on €10/20

They serve free drinking water and pre-COVID even had free finger food and snacks but understandably now it has been removed. However the casino is close to many nice restaurants that are just minutes away. The higher stakes games are pretty tough but the PLO was quite soft in my opinion. I didn't play any of the lower stakes but they seem okay to play. I'm not sure about rake but I remembered it being quite reasonable compared to typical Asian rake systems. Dealers all speak fluent English but knowing some Spanish does help you make friends on the table. They have an effective queuing system and for €50 deposit they will give you a buzzer to let you know your seat is available. Staff are friendly and fast and tipping is welcomed and encouraged. 

I spent the whole month traveling to 8 cities in Spain. Madrid is a cosmopolitan city with deep history, beautiful architecture and wonderful food. Food in Spain can be on the salty side but still yummy nonetheless. I went to a restaurant that was featured in the late-Anthony Bourdain's show and his table and photos were displayed there proudly. Another must have is the Churros with chocolate and after trying most of the shops our favorite is still Las Farolas. For the famous Spanish breakfast tortillas head for Casa Dani for yummy egg and potatoes. 

Anthony Bourdain - GOAT food & travel host

Yummy yummy

Great food everywhere

Overall Spain is an affordable destination. Food, hotel, transportation are quite reasonably priced compared to most European cities. If you run well on €5/10 you should comfortably cover your expenses. Ours was on the high side as we did a lot of last minute travel and hotel bookings, mostly stayed in 4-star hotels and ate at nice restaurants. It is not unreasonable to spend €50 or less a day for everything. The people are mostly nice but some do not speak English. If you have the time you should visit nearby towns Segovia and Toledo. Unfortunately we had to choose one and didn't make it to Toledo but will definitely do so on our next visit. 

Segovia is breathtaking

Famous aqueduct still intact

APT Manila Cash Games Report

Ah well, I guess I am a cash game player after all. I have a love-hate relationship with tournament poker but cash game is like my best friend telling me to break up with tournaments 🤣 get out of an abusive relationship. But when tournaments are good, they are so so so good. But when they hurt, they hurt bad too. 

First session after just landing in hectic Manila I was off to a good start. Won enough to freeroll my first main event bullet. Was pretty happy about it but after firing three bullets in the main I was back in the red. So this time I was looking for bigger pots, bigger payouts. Playing 100/200 mp opens to 700, CO calls, I am on the button with 87hh I call. Local uncle in sb 3b to 2500, bb, mp, co calls so I called as well. Pot is now 12500. Flop comes K62hhx, uncle cbets 5000, mp folds, co calls, I call. Turn 9x. I got my open ended straight and flush draw. Uncle bets 10000 with about 40000 behind, CO now jams for 46000 total. The pot is now 83500 and now me with a decision. I don't think CO has a flush draw cause uncle's range is capped with not much fold equity, what kind of flush draws would CO jam with now? A9hh? 29hh? So my heart and straight outs are live. And I am getting greedy here. If I win this hand I am back in the black for the trip. I call hoping uncle calls behind giving me the best price for my draw, or if he folds, CO will run it twice with me. The latter happens but both rivers bricked out.

My stack before the hand

Couple of days later I visited a private game in town. When I got there the game switched to 100/200/500. I obliged wanting to have a big night if possible. The lineup was decent but the whales were all on my left and the grinders on my right. It didn't matter because I ran quite well. Hand of the night I had 55 and called the aggressor's open. Flop was AA5 I check raised the flop. Villain and the boss called. Turn blank I lead for a much bigger size to play for stacks boss folds villain calls. River another blank I jammed for his last 31k and he calls. Ended the session getting a freeroll for my championships event. 

Starting stack

Ending stack

We all know how that event went from my last post so now I am back to the grind. This time it was the best table I've seen on the casino 100/200 game. There were 4 Chinese guys on the table speaking Chinese but funny thing was they assumed I couldn't understand them! They were making comments about their hands (after the hands of course) but I just soaked in all the info and used it against them to outplay them. One hand I called a river bluff with 3rd pair and it was good. The guy complained to his friend and I tried my best to hold my poker face and not laugh. Lesson to all, never assume the players do not understand your language. I caught some hands pre so I played super aggressively and I guess they assumed I was a maniac fish. Best hand of the game came vs a solid reg though. Preflop utg1 limp HJ opens to 700, I am on the sb with 67o I called, bb and utg1 completes. Flop is 985ddx. HJ cbets 1000, I check raised to 2800, utg1 cold calls, HJ folds. My read on him is he has a good 9. Turn is a blank I bet 4000 he calls. River is another 9 but flush misses. I bet 14000 and he snap calls. My straight was good. 

Overall I won from cash games but not enough to cover my tournament losses. The last game of the trip was the most fun I had this visit. Unfortunately I don't know when my next cash game session will be nor where my next income stream will come from. Hope that you guys will also survive this recession that we are faced with and see you all again next time. 

APT Manila Tournament Report

The last time I played in a APT series was May 2019, almost 3 years ago. So when the schedule came out and COVID travel rules relaxed, I jumped at the opportunity to play. 

I played in the main event (3 bullets), PLO (2 bullets), NLH (2 bullets), Championships (1 bullet), Monster Stack (2 bullets) and I cashed in none of them. 😢 I have to be honest with myself, I played poorly in some events and spots but I played good in others. I also lacked the stamina I used to have. When I was grinding full time, I played 8-12 hours of poker a day and can jump into any session fresh and clear headed. Nowadays I play 8 hours every two weeks, so my mental strength isn't what it used to be. 

My "one-time" gorilla didn't work LOL

Some key hands could have meant a much different result if they went my way. Main event bullet 2 pre flop I 4b all in vs Mike Takayama my button vs his sb A7<K7. He thought I opened the button light and I thought he 3b the sb light, got it in good but King on the flop. 

PLO event I 4b all in preflop with AA98 got a tilt call by KJT3 flop JTx. NLH I made two 3b both times with A5 both times running into AK with ace high wet flops. 

Mid series I took a pause and told myself I didn't play the way I want to. I wasn't good enough. I prepared well before the Championships and went in playing really solid poker. I made day 2 with a very good stack but fizzled out. I had all preflop jamming hands when I had 50+bb. AK, AQ, AJ, 99, 88 at least 15 times but I could only open and only to be out flopped every time. When my stack dropped to less than 17bb I did not have a hand I could play with for the longest time. By the time I had 12bb left I had to jam with 66. One French guy tanked for a while and mucked. Chip leader called with QJ. The Frenchman announced that he had the same hand. But alas, flop was JJx. 

2 levels away from making Day 3

The final event I played was the monster stack. First bullet I squeezed with AJs to 30bb only to be overcalled by KTo. Flop was T high, I jam he called. Second bullet I managed to create a good stack 20 players in the money, when it was 28 left I 4b jammed with AK to be called by Japanese lady with A5. I did not win the hand. It would have given me a very good stack going into 7 players from ITM, instead I was now 20bb deep. She ended up finishing 5th by the way. Final hand was again 66 and called by KQ and Q on the flop and I busted 24th. 

Side note: I made a few new friends and it was fun seeing old ones. Some of them took home trophies, others going deep and cashing. Congrats guys and gals! Happy for you all. 

Of course I am disappointed and frustrated but I am proud of how I played in the end. I made some sick bluffs during this series too. One I was most proud of was I 3b commit myself OOP on the flop against a LAG with ten high no equity. I will write a post mortem on my cash games for this trip and there's more to be happy about from those. Tournament poker is tough. You can play perfectly for 3 days and one cooler you go home with nothing. But I have to be open and honest with myself, but also with those who follow my blog. Wish I had better news to report but that's okay. It is part of my journey and I will take it in stride.