Morocco Poker Trip Report Part 1 (The good)

I am going to split this into two parts, the good and the bad. I've always wanted to visit Morocco. Maybe because I am a huge fan of the Jason Bourne series and part of it was filmed in Tangier, or I've seen so many travel videos of Marrakesh especially the night market at the square, Jamaa el Fna. My food heroes Anthony Bourdain, Mark Wiens, Gordon Ramsey had eaten whole roast lambs, snails, tagines in Morocco. It is a beautiful place with deep history and now with great poker as well. 

I landed in Marrakesh after just 30 hours of travel, and the next day hopped on a train to Rabat the capital. There I met a local who sometimes host live and online poker games who showed me around. Rabat is called a green city and it really is beautiful. Majestic trees lined the streets, parks everywhere, orange trees, palm trees, it was very nice. I stayed in one of the Riads (guesthouses) inside the medina (old town) and it was a nice experience. I went to a local poker game twice but the first time I didn't get a seat but the second time I lost 400bbs lol. But I made plenty of friends. 

Rabat's old castle (Kasbah)

From Rabat I took another train to Tangier where there was a casino with a proper poker room. I managed to visit some of the places where Bourne Ultimatum filmed their scenes. 16 years later the places were still recognizable. Had a coffee where Julia Stiles sat at. It was by chance I happen to be in Hollywood 16 years ago also on a work trip and I was at the premiere where I saw Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. This was a nice follow up to that. The cash game was good, 50/100 dirham game and I believe a rake cap of 300/350. But unfortunately I only broke even in the two times I was there. 

Very typical Tangier (feels like it's stuck in the 80s)

On my way back to Marrakesh I had to make a stop at Casablanca so I spent a couple of nights there just to chill before the intense poker ahead of me. Strayed into a very old very local market, had a sardine bun for just €0.50. There are stray cats everywhere but the occasional stray dog. The people are very nice to cats and would put food and water out for them. Dogs not so much but you do see the occasional dog lover who would do something for them too. 

Did you know they use red for meat markets so the
blood doesn't stand out?

Finally I was back in Marrakesh for the WSOPC. All the cities had a different vibe. Marrakesh is very orangey and brown. Almost every building is in a different shade of brown/orange/beige. The Es Saadi casino is on the smaller side but the hotel complex was very beautiful. The turnout was very good. The opening event had 554 runners and I finish 33rd. The second event I played in there were 631 runners and I finished 12th. (painful exit as I jammed AK into AJ aipf with a decent stack) The third event I played had 207 runners and I finished 20th. (I was chip leader with 28 left and I had AK vs AQ aipf, then got 2 outered and then out) But 3 cashes in 3 tournaments I was pretty happy. I played well too. Folded QQ correctly preflop losing only 4.5bb, over jamming KK correctly getting snap called by AJ preflop for a 200bb pot.... The rest of the series I will leave for part two.

Jamaa el Fna at night

Food in Morocco is pretty good and surprisingly I didn't have any serious stomach issues the whole trip. Maybe a bit bloated after a couple of meals but that was about it. I definitely overate the first few days then I had to force myself back to my intermittent fasting routine. The Moroccans definitely have a sweet tooth and I was not used to that. But after my first cake in Rabat I was hooked! They do their desserts really well so not recommended for diabetics. I also had a lot of firsts, boiled snails (I've had baked snails before), sheep's head (eye balls, tongue and everything), lamb ribs, cow lungs, cow hearts and they were all pretty good. 

Seriously good cake

Overall Morocco is a nice place to visit. Most people I came across were nice. I obviously do not look local, so I would get people talking to me, smiling, saying Konichiwa, Ni Hao, where are you from that kind of thing and I would respond back. I find if you respond nicely they will be nice to you. Don't be like some tourists who think everyone is out to get them. Kids would come and talk to me, some would shake my hand, and especially when I was wearing the Moroccan national team jersey. Random people would smile and yell Ziyech as I walked by. It took awhile for me to realize it was the name of the guy on my jersey. I made a lot of friends at the tables too, from all over the world. Took a couple of pictures with Lon McEachern (WSOP legend) but I was surprise no one else seem to recognize him. He was very nice in person and very approachable. I also got to brush up on my Spanish and now can even speak some basic French on the tables. Oui oui. 

Casablanca

If given the opportunity I would definitely return to Morocco for poker and if you are interested in going for the next WSOPC, you can contact me and I can offer you advice that is tailored to a poker player, ie. where to stay, how to get taxi, how to change money, how not to get scammed, etc. Feel free to contact me at happyriverpoker@gmail.com if you have any questions.