In my 23 years of playing poker, I have met thousands of people. Some of them bad, but some of them were amazing. This article is about some of the amazing people I have met along the way. Hopefully it will inspire all of us to be better people too. The list will not be too comprehensive as I have met so many people, I might miss a few stories here and there, and some of which have become my lifelong friends and they don't need reminding of how great they are.
About 10 years ago I often frequented Macau to play some live poker. At the time I was working in Malaysia and was earning a measly salary. Every trip to Macau was a big deal as the cost was high and each buy in was about 1-2 months' salary. I remember vaguely that I lost a few hands in that session, even was taunted by a reg by showing me his bluff, but the last hand I flopped a small set only for my opponent to turn a bigger set and stack me. I guess I had that dejected look on my face. As I was walking away from the table, another player probably in his late thirties or early forties came up to me. He offered to buy me dinner at the casino restaurant which initially I politely declined. He said he had unused points and he wanted to grab a bite anyways. After losing a bunch of money a free meal sounded pretty good so I went. I forgot what we talked about during the meal, nor how he looked like or even his name. But what I still remember feeling to this day is how kind he was because I needed comforting and a friend. I don't remember if we spoke about the hands but all this time I feel thankful that someone showed that they cared and did a nice thing for me. I doubt I would recognize him if I see him again, nor would he remember me if he saw me instead. He has inspired me to be this person for other up and coming players. I thank him and wish him the best in life.
I met Basil and Winnie at a couple of tournaments in the Philippines. We had mutual friends so were introduced, chatted a bit but didn't really get to know each other that well. A few years later I was involved in an online poker club on PPPoker and invited Basil to be my agent for players in his network. We did that for quite a while until I suddenly decided to move to the city he was based in. Finding ourselves strangers in a new city, Basil and Winnie took us in like old buddies, as family even. They would offer to take us out, showed us around, brought us to their family gatherings and celebrations. Our experience there wouldn't have been so nice without their warm hospitality and friendship. To be honest we barely knew each other but it felt so comfortable with them as if we've known each other our whole lives. I am glad we are still friends and still see each other once in a while.
I used to live and play poker in Vietnam so I understand the culture very well. The first time I took notice of Quoc Bao was from an online hand discussion on Facebook. River was dealt and a foreign player opened then mucked his winning hand by mistake. Vietnamese player got the floor to help him claim the pot by a technicality. Although well within the rules but I have zero respect for players who try to win this way. But knowing Vietnamese culture, some players pride themselves in getting these advantages, slow rolling, angle shooting, etc. Quoc Bao voiced out his opinions against the Vietnamese player's actions and the actions of the floor and the rest of the players. Even though I didn't know the guy at the time, I had instant respect for him. Granted now that I do, he's more American than Kim Kardashian so maybe it doesn't count. But for a Vietnamese to voice out against their negative culture deserved my admiration, and he's a pretty decent guy too.
I've met Pham Bao at international tournaments, always polite, courteous and happy to chat. Eventually he also became one of my agents for the Vietnamese market. However at one point him and his team started to owe me a decent sum of money. At first he would clear a little at a time, but at one point he said to me that he was in a bad situation and will pay me back when he can. I didn't think too much about it because if I got back every dollar everyone in the world owed me, I would have enough to retire. Four years later, out of the blue Pham contacts me and paid me back in full. Again I had little respect for most Vietnamese people I know, but for him to keep to his word, I was very impressed. Even if he were doing better, he could have kept quiet and kept the money to himself. But he didn't and he earned my trust by doing that.
Last year I visited Spain and we stopped briefly in Valencia. Overall Spanish people are quite friendly but this guy Paco stood out. The first day I met him he would give me advice about traveling around Spain, places to eat, and made me feel comfortable in his country. It's one thing to chat on the table but another to offer ones friendship to someone you've just met.
This year I was playing a lot in Hanoi. Very typical Vietnamese game, and you feel the culture strongly as the foreigner. When I first met Quang Nguyen I felt a different vibe from him even though he is Vietnamese. I told him I could see his cards. He thanked me but asked me why I didn't just keep it to myself and used it against him. I said I don't want to win like that, and he instantly replied that he is the same. I don't know anyone in that room who wouldn't want to peek at my cards when I am playing them. In another session he waited for a seat and finally got it. But because there was a whale behind him on the list, Quang being a much better player than the whale and that he wasn't a regular, he got bullied and had to give the whale his seat. But instead of fighting he let it go. Sure, standing up for yourself can be a positive attribute but in this situation I felt he handled himself really well and more Vietnamese people should learn to think and act like him. But I also later found out that Quang is probably more Australian than Vietnamese. Goes to show the importance of culture and education.
I met these last two guys in my recent trip to Cambodia. The first one is Eddie from Pakistan. As soon as I sat down on the table, I knew he was a nice friendly guy. He seem to know everyone and anyone. He would fist bump any guy that sat down and spoke to them as if they have known each other for a long time. But instead he is just that friendly and have made friends with almost everyone there in his few days in Cambodia. So naturally we became friends too. He was discussing an incident about a guy pulling an angle claiming he didn't see his cards but he actually flopped the nuts. He even said later he spoke to the guy and told him that wasn't cool. A few days later that guy, Eddie and I happened to be on the same table and Eddie pointed him out to me so I wouldn't be angled by him as well. One morning I went to a game that was running since the night before. Stacks were deep, players tired and tilted, needless to say it was an amazing game. Unfortunately I ran bad and was stacked twice pretty quickly for $3000. I didn't have that much cash on me and didn't feel like walking all the way back to the hotel and coming back again so I quit the game and walked out. As I was outside Eddie came out for a smoke. He saw me and said I should jump back in as the game was so good. Indeed it was, the best I've seen the whole week. I told him I didn't have enough cash and without hesitation he replied "you could have asked me and I would lend it to you". As touched as I was, I told him I appreciated his gesture and trust but I have just met him a couple of days ago. It wouldn't be right for me to borrow from him and I didn't. I messaged him again just today and one of his messages to me was "let me know if you need anything, ever." I would never take advantage of his generosity, maybe just let him buy me a beer the next time I see him, but what a guy.
I played a satellite and structures are obviously super fast in those. I tried to bully the table and folds to my button and I have 34 suited. I opened and was 3 betted by the big blind. I defended in position and flop was T45 (or something like that). He surprisingly checks and I check back. turn another T and he checks again. Thinking he has AK or over cards I jammed to protect my small pair but he tanks and finally calls off with 77. I spiked the 4 on the river though to give him a bad beat. I felt bad so I genuinely apologized to him. He was tilted obviously and busted soon after. As he was leaving the table he gave a middle finger, pointed towards the table. I felt nothing about it because it was understandable that he was upset. However what happened after was amazing. 10-15 minutes later he came back to the poker room, tapped me from behind and apologized! He said he was upset but regretted what he did. I took no offense at all but I was so amazed by his gesture. To know that you made a mistake is one thing, but to have the humility to return and apologize is a totally different level. Hats off to this man. During the next few days, I would actually make an effort to seek him out and talk to him. I wanted him to know I held no ill feelings and actually was impressed by how he acted. I wished I had taken his contact so I could show him this article.
These are some of the amazing people I have met in my poker journey. I am sure there will be more. But for every amazing person, I have probably met 10x that in shitty ones. What impressions are you giving others you come across? Are you an inspiration or a disappointment? Some of these guys I will never meet again in my life, but their impact will be forever remembered. So if you meet others on the poker tables, even if it's just for a fleeting moment, your actions and words can mean a lot. Be that amazing person for someone else.
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