SuperCup 7 Incheon experience

The SuperCup series is one of my favorite because it is the only series that has a stop in the beautiful city of Busan, and the only series that has a field of 85% South Korean players. Korean players are at a disadvantage when it comes to poker because of the years of upbringing that is embedded in their culture that is so hard to change. That gives players of a different culture a significant edge against them, let me explain.

5b all in QQ pre got called by TT

Koreans are a very united people. Back when I was growing up, I went to a school that had quite a few Koreans. Whenever one Korean student gets into a fight, anyone else who is a Korean will jump to his aid, doesn't matter if they know him or not, who is wrong or right, as long as he is one of us, we will fight for him. This happens very often on the poker table too. I often get ganged-up on 7 to 1 because I am perceived as a threat. They would call super wide, over call or try to bluff me off, to teach me a lesson for overbet value their compatriot the hand before. That of course increases the variance, but if you can run well and hold your own post flop, it’s a lot of free chips that you would never get in another field. 

Beautiful autumn colors

A big part of Korean culture is respecting elders. I think that is very admirable, but when it is a forced social norm, young people might feel oppressed and elders take advantage of the youth because they were once bullied when they were young. I have seen players opting not to check raise a flop for value because that would be seen as rude. So when oblivious little me set my traps, check raise, overbet for value, thin value 3rd pair, stare at them looking for tells, it may be perceived as being disrespectful. That may be triggering for some, and they would try to teach me a lesson, and ego plays often lead to massive mistakes. 

Korean people value strength and pride, which is a great culture. Head up, chest wide, believe in yourself, never let people see your weaknesses.... But when translated to poker, it can cause many problems. For example, tanking is seen as weakness, so in order not to look weak, Korean players love to snap action at every street. Because of this, they are making lots of mistakes or giving away too many tells, unwittingly capping their ranges. 

Not going to share all my secrets here but if any Korean players want to get coached, I am sure I can help you immensely, especially if you play often in Korean-majority games. Alas, having an edge doesn't necessarily translate to success unless paired with some run good. Thankfully I finally have my best SuperCup result so far. 3rd in the mini main and 50th in the main, still didn't run good when it mattered but I am pretty happy with my result. 

Mushrooms on the field after a drizzle

Korea is a very beautiful country, my favorite city being Busan. However Incheon, Seoul, Jeju are stunning in their own right. Over the years I have also met and made some very nice Korean friends. Years ago when playing cash games in Manila, a Korean uncle would always, always transfer tables to play against me. He had a short temper and huge ego, and was determined to "punish" me whenever he can, beating me in a pot meant more to him than just the money. But after many times playing against me, I earned his respect and later, his friendship. The difference was, I respected him from day 1, but he didn't know it. 

Look forward to the next one, until then, peace

APT Jeju - 2nd time this year

I have always had mixed feelings about Jeju. On one hand it is a very beautiful island with lots to do and explore, but the Shinwa World location is boring. Initially this trip was planned as a cash game grind, but due to the employee strike at Dream Tower, and my recent MTT success, I ended up playing 3 APT events. It's my 3rd trip to Jeju this year, but the difference is, this time I stayed in central Jeju.

It takes me a 40+ minute bus ride from where I am to the tourney location, but it is such a relaxing ride, I found it helpful for my game to be able to pray, meditate, prepare on the way there, reflect, decompress, review on the way back. Staying in town has it's perks. First of all there's a lot more to do, see and eat. There are also more accommodation options to choose from. There are plenty of service businesses around, which came in handy when I needed a dentist urgently. Albeit I got scammed, it was still convenient. On my off days I could go out for a stroll, a beautiful nature reserve is a 45-minute walk away, and there's a nice market nearby too. 

The Jeju field is quite polarized. You have your crushers - some of the best players in Asia on the tables, Euro GTO machines, but you also have really weak rich players too. My 4b was called once by KTo, another time by Q4s. I have certainly witnessed some brow-raising lines and showdowns. Unfortunately I didn't cash the Mystery bounty nor the Main event, but I shallow cashed the Mini Main despite having KK < AK < AK, AA < A9 all in preflop. 

My bus route

It's always fun to play at APT. Many people don't realize how OP it is to be able to check the live seating info. You're able to study your opponents and adjust to them accordingly without needing any hand history. On the table you can also sense who has looked into your profile and how they might perceive you to be, and use that against them. It was extra useful to me to be able to check how many are in the field before taking a long bus ride to the tourney venue. 

Not bad for $40+

This trip was a pretty relaxed one for me. I took time to recover from my dental issues, spent time with people who are important to me, studied, played online, catching up with old friends, worked on federation and national team stuff... I know I said I quit MTTs, but there isn't an ideal cash game situation right now, so I have 3 full series back to back starting in a few days. Hope I can run good, but most of all, have a great time and be proud of myself at the end. 

I got scammed in South Korea

I cracked my tooth, again, this time in Jeju, South Korea. My options were to fly home to get it fixed, endure the pain for about 5 weeks before I get home as scheduled, or find a local dentist. After consulting AI, and going through Google, I found a highly recommended dentist that was a few hundred meters away from me. On their website and online reviews, many claim that they are fair and professional, had affordable prices and good service. 

When I got to the clinic, I was asked to fill out a form with my personal details, which is pretty standard. Then I was asked to sign an acknowledgement form. The form states that I will be charged 150k KRW (approx. USD 111) for my consultation, which will include x-rays but will not include the treatment. I was in pain and discomfort, I had no other choice, I signed it. On the form I also consented to the clinic taking CCTV video of my treatment for security purposes. 

Finally it was my turn, the dentist immediately suggested I do an implant and quoted me 2.6m KRW for it (approx. USD 1935) but when I rejected, he then went for the 2nd option, a crown for 1.3m KRW (approx. USD 970) In the chaos and rush, and the pain and discomfort, I wasn't converting the KRW correctly so I wasn't aware it was that expensive. Another dentist came and started working on me, but quickly realized that a crown is not a viable option. So in the end we settled for a normal extraction of my 1st molar. The dentist then told me it was going to be 500k KRW (approx. USD 370). Again I was confused about the exchange rate, and desperate for a solution I agreed. My tooth cracked further during extraction, but he still managed to complete it in less than 5 minutes. 

After getting back to my hotel, I started searching online and asking local friends and I found out that a normal extraction costs 10-30k KRW (with health insurance) and 50-100k (without). 1st molars are definitely simple extractions. So that means they charged me 5-10x the normal price on top of a ridiculous 150k "consultation". I realized then that it would have been cheaper for me to fly home and back to Jeju, get my treatment and still have money left over. If you note the implant and crown quotations, they were all way too high as well. 

Long story short, I asked for a refund, they refused, insisted that the extraction was complex because of x, y, z, which doesn't make sense as the price was quoted to me BEFORE he started, hence he couldn't have known if x, y, z would happen. But thankfully I have great friends in Korea that sent someone to the clinic to handle it. At the end I got a partial refund. The money is not the point, I just cannot stand injustice and to see it unpunished. The clinic is called Jeju Anafn Dental Clinic and Dr. Seo was the dentist's name. 

The real reason I've suffered dental issues for the past 25 years is because when I was young, one dentist decided his ego was worth more than my pain and suffering. In order to save face and avoid admitting he couldn't perform a procedure, instead of advising me to go to another dentist, he caused a cascading effect deteriorating my dental health, causing me to lose 4-5 teeth from cracks and avoidable situations. 

Since a long time ago I’ve learned that admitting my flaws or mistakes is not a sign of weakness but strength. It takes more courage to say “I’m sorry”, “I was wrong” or “I’m not good enough”. There’s nothing wrong to be proud of ourselves, but if you’re making a decision to protect your ego, it means something else just lost its protection. So next time if you see the gaps in my teeth, take it as a reminder that how people perceive you is less important than you think it is. Be kind, be honest, be genuine, let go of your ego, because saving your face now may have worser consequences later.