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. 

Royal Poker Tour - Again

This was my 5th trip to Hanoi this year. I know I said I want to give MTTs a rest but because I won some Vietnam Dong in my last trip, I took it as an omen to return and play. My friend had helped me transfer 50m into my balance at Royal, and my plan was not to go above that amount. 

I fired a bullet each in the Kick off and Mini main without making the money, it cost me 17.6m in total. So of the 50m I had 32.4m left. There were two events left that I wanted to play in. The Championship (22m) and the Main (27.5m) Unless I cash in the Championship with one bullet, otherwise that would be the end of my series. I skipped flight A to give myself more rest, flights B&C because I was conducting a federation event, planning to fire in 1D. However it rained quite heavily on the morning of 1D, and at the same time I was invited by a friend to attend an up class event at a one-star Michelin restaurant. So Main event it is then.

From a starting stack of 50k I bled down to 17k and grinded my way up to 11m+ at one point. Close to the end of day 2 I made some good plays, one I deviated from a standard calling range because I saw a clear tell on a top player's arm that helped me remove most of his top ranges. But I also made a couple of bad mistakes including the last hand of the day. My stamina is better than before, but still not optimal, especially after 12-13 hours of intense play. But somehow, thank God I made the final table.

This was my 4th career main event final table, and although not the highest paying FT I ever played in, but was one of the highest. But I entered it playing with no fear, adjusted to the passiveness of the table, tried to dominate the table but at times failed. I came to the FT with one goal, make myself proud, and I certainly did. A key hand was losing JJ to QT all in pre. Even though it wasn't a huge pot, it would be a turning point as the floodgates would open with 7 left and I would be a massive chip leader at that point. The guy went on to finish 3rd. Then with a huge ICM spot, I had AK vs a Korean ego player with JJ but we couldn't win that flip. JJ probably shouldn't have been in there, or at least not an all in, but the player just wasn't ICM aware enough. Winning that hand would have meant another player out with me holding 40% of the remaining chips. Alas it wasn't to be, and he ended up winning the event. 

Eating clean in Hanoi

I finished 6th for a decent bounce towards the right direction for a change, and a boost of confidence. I can't helping thinking another 2-3 pay jumps would make such a difference. But I have no complaints, learned a lot in the process and still a decent payout despite my many mistakes. Happy to have made a decent ROI for my most loyal backers. Off to the next adventure, hope the run good never ends. 

Quick stop at the HSOP

Wasn't planning on playing any MTT, and after grinding cash for almost a month straight in Singapore, the first event (mini main) felt weird, as if I have lost some of my love of the format. But since I was in town for some meetings, I felt I mustn't miss the main event.

First bullet I played well and was cruising until the last 3 levels I just bled out and crashed out 15 spots away from the money. Rebuying was not on the cards, but when my other plans fell through I decided to try again. This time I had a similar ride but manage to squeeze into the money with a short stack. Entering day2 with only 180k (roughly 15bb) I managed to run it up to 3.3 million albeit a rollercoaster ride in between. Although in the end I finished 17th out of 1278 runners, it felt bitter sweet. Proud that I grinded it out, but wondering why do I keep falling short when it mattered. 

Nonetheless it was a short and sweet stay in Hanoi, compared to my usual 3-week-long migrations, so this post would be short as well. 2 other friends made it deep with me in the main and 4 others won trophies in the series so I am super happy for them as well. After this experience, I might be back again real soon, and maybe come out of my MTT "retirement".  

Sri Lanka Poker Experience (Colombo)

I think most of you are like me, shocked to hear that there's poker in Sri Lanka. A friend of mine was grinding in India in the past few months and told me games were good there, and heard that Sri Lanka was also great. I was looking for a break from MTTs, want to add to my list of poker countries (now 40th) and it sounded like an adventure so off I went. 

My initial plan was to grind cash games, but it just so happen that there was a series at the same time called the Royal Spade at the newly built City of Dreams. This time I had a couple of poker friends going together as well so it sounded like fun. 

We arrived at night and it was off to a bad start as my friend was stopped by immigration for having travelled to Cambodia too often. Interestingly I used to live there but I got by with no issues. We went to our separate hotels and he got semi-scammed, first by a tuk tuk driver who aggressively asked for a 5-star rating and a tip. He received 1-star and no tip. Then by the food delivery app that sent him a tiny burger. The next day he also had a bad experience with a cafe, overcharging him for a coffee by 40% based on the price on the wall. I on the other hand had a more fortunate experience. My Airbnb host was kind, the place was decent for the price. 

Our first day we explored 3 different casinos, only to find out the poker room permanently closed at Majestic Pride, rake uncapped at Bally's, and COD capped at 20bbs. The rake alone probably would have been okay but they enforce a minimum commitment time of 2-4 hours, and a 1 hour call time. That means you have to play at least 3-5 hours before you can leave the table. Cash games have edge because of game selection, seat selection, start and stop at your choosing... but with this setup, plus the rake, I felt that I had a better edge playing the tournament, so I did, shallow cashing the main, but nice to get my 12th flag on Hendon. To our surprise, we even met a couple of Malaysians there. 

The tournament was fun, the field soft, the environment comfy. The structure for the main was decent, although I would have preferred if they played till ITM or had a slower structure instead of being neither here or there. There was a lot of stalling as well so I hope they will introduce time banks at some point. The customer service and marketing need a lot of improvement but maybe just lacked initiative and experience. 

Colombo is pretty boring if you ask me, we covered half of the sights we wanted to see within the first day. Sri Lankan food is not as exciting or flavorful as their counterparts in South Asia, the best meal I had was at the Ministry of Crab but it was ridiculously overpriced. You'll easily spend $250 per person not to mention the 20% VAT and 10% service charge. 

This was the 3rd largest size they had on the menu

Sri Lanka in my opinion has potential, but it is a bud that needs to be nurtured. If operators are willing to spend the time and effort doing proper marketing, not go crazy with the rake, improve on the overall user experience and customer service, it can blossom into one of Asia's hot poker destinations. But if not done with care, it will just die off and be long forgotten. I am currently writing this in India, which I will share about my poker experience in another post. Stay tuned. 

Busan SuperCup 2026

I have travelled to South Korea probably more than 15 times in my life and Busan is actually my favorite city of the whole country. So when I was invited back to Busan SuperCup for a second time, I couldn't pass on the offer. 

Busan sunsets are gorgeous

This time the event was held at the Busan Port International Exhibition Center (BPEX) and personally I prefer this event location than at any hotel or casino. The place a super spacious, just a stone's throw away from the Busan train station and Chinatown, and we were put up in a beautiful and super spacious luxury condominium. 

SuperCup is packaged as a sporting event, which allows local Korean players to join by connecting through local poker clubs. (local players are not allowed into casinos) That is what makes the field one of the softest I have ever played in. Korean players are fearless, and if there is anything that they fear, is to be shown a bluff. Hence I have seen more 3b calls, or three barrel calls with one pair than anywhere I have played. The trick is, you got to have a hand to start with. 

Charity Invitation event

I managed to run deep in the Samsung Medicos event finishing 9th, but I busted every other event including 9 bullets in the main. Those who followed my stories on IG or Facebook would have seen some of my bust outs, including a massive chip leading pot AK < A3 all in pre in the High Roller, folding KK correctly post flop, KK < QJ all in pre, and many other bad beats and cooler spots. Losing isn't fun, but I enjoyed the fact that I managed to get under their skin to get it in worse hands with me. During this trip, I also somehow learned to accept losses that are out of my control. Tap the table, smile, wish everyone good luck and walk away. Keeping my dignity, my poise, my class and maybe to a certain extent, earn the respect of my tablemates. Most local players are hostile, especially to a foreigner they view as a threat. But I also managed to make a few friends, by showing them I can be kind and funny even when others do not reciprocate. 

Dinner with Isabelle Global and S. Ent bosses

The surrounding area of the venue and our condo was beautiful, especially at night. So the busto strolls from sunset to dusk by the river and ocean gave me some comfort, a chance to decompress, evaluate my day and get back on the horse the next day. This series I grinded for 10 straight days, even played 17 hours straight in one of them. 

Recharging strolls at night

The MTT business is a tough one, and I've seen many brands struggle especially during their early years. SuperCup has their own struggles as well. It is a relatively new business and with lots of polishing that needs to be done. For example I do not understand the 1 hour dinner break at close reg where the level before was 20bb starting and the level after was 15bb. It means if you wanted to late reg for 20bbs, you would have to register, than take a 60 minute break only to continue, or join right before the dinner break ends with 15bb. But what I know is, this is a brand with tremendous potential. The ability to have local Koreans play is a USP no one else can offer at the moment and with strategic positioning and targeted marketing, it can become one of the strongest circuits in Korea. 

The inaugural World Poker Games Taipei

It was my honor to be invited to the inaugural World Poker Games (WPG) held in Taipei. I've known Anh Nguyen since the Pro Poker Club days. Those were pretty fond memories as they were the early days of my poker career. 

In the past 8 years, I have witnessed the explosion of the Vietnamese market, the wave of the Taiwanese and emergence of the Malaysian players. I would say Anh Nguyen was super involved in the MTT poker boom in Asia. If I remembered correctly, Pro Poker club was the first in Asia to break thousand player fields and completely changed the landscape. Since then, Taiwan and Vietnam jostled for the pole position, breaking record after record, both worthy to be the strongest MTT market in Asia.

Why the history lesson and the trip down memory lane? The unfortunate part is I can see a decline in the Taiwanese market. There are many brands that faced overlays because the local market is exhausted. I witnessed more players playing TLTs (time limit tournaments) at one club than at side events with a 200x TLT buy in guarantee. WPG was also in the same boat but with a smart satellite strategy, they managed to close the gap in the major events. Even though overlays are good for players, it is not healthy for the industry. Instead of trying to slice a shrinking pie, I hope the organizers and venues can work together to bring in new blood and bring back old ones. Some people often ask me what purpose does MPF serve. We are here to stretch the longevity and sustainability of the industry. 

I did not have a good result all series, barring a sun run in a satellite claiming the first ticket out of 20. The WPG staff were great and I enjoyed their creativity with the daily media. However I did have some poor experiences with APA dealers. Maybe that is contributing to the market decline as well. 

I have no regrets of attending WPG, just wished I had better results to report. But overall I had a good time, I played reasonably well except for a few mistakes. Those who followed my stories probably felt some of my pain of how I lost most of my hands. I believe my luck will change at some point, but I just hope I will still be around to capitalize on that. 

The Lord Poker Tournament (TLPT) Experience

Really grateful for TLPT's invitation to experience their series first hand. Jeju is not my favorite poker destination but I really wanted to play at TLPT and meet the people behind it. 

I joined the middle of the series and immediately I could feel the energy in the room. There were a lot of Mainland Chinese players, and it's quite obvious most of them do not travel to other series to play. There were a mix of American, Taiwanese and Korean players as well. I saw Jungleman again and this time he was grinding his Mandarin on Duolingo, and I had the pleasure of sitting next to DJ Washburn at the cash game table. 

The livestream was pretty cool with Celina Lin and Vidur Singhal commentating. The counter staff albeit inexperienced were very friendly and helpful. Shoutout to Austin for arranging my invitation who had to wear many hats during the series and handled himself really well. 

Decent cash game action

TLPT is relatively new to the industry but I see that they are willing to invest into their brand. They generously offered 9 Super High Roller tickets for free, each worth a whopping USD 16K+. 2 were in a lucky draw and 7 over two freeroll satellites. The freeroll was worth more than some of the side events I have ever played in! 

This is what I eat during Jeju events

Overall I had a great time and I hope TLPT is here to stay. I am sure with the right positioning and marketing direction, they can become a permanent fixture in the Asian circuit schedule. They have a strong following from Mainland China and ample resources to make it in such a competitive landscape. I wish them all the best and hope I can join one of their future events again. 

Grinding One Month In Hanoi

Sorry for the late post as I used Shanghai as a stopover after my Hanoi grind and China blocks so many of the apps and websites I use. Even though I did not like Hanoi the first time I visited it, over the years I have grown to appreciate and even love it. 

Random Hanoi Park

I started the trip strong, making the money in the first 3 events I played in. But when the hands truly mattered I could not win flips or even 70/30s 80/20s and I did not run deep enough in those events. To make matters worse, I bricked the following 9 buy ins, most of them were higher buy in events than the ones I cashed. Compounded with a bad year so far, I felt super drained and dejected. However I have already committed to joining 3 upcoming series in the following month so I want to give it a good go before deciding what's next for my poker career. 

Maybe because of my faith, and maybe because I have survived through worser pain, or maybe at a young age I learned how to choose happiness, somehow thankfully I could muster the strength, hope and inner peace to continue on, be positive and appreciate the things I have, focusing on the things I can control. Sure I have had some dark days, but thank God for the people who love and support me, for their kind words and actions that have helped lifted me. 

Newest Poker Club in Hanoi, Quads

This trip I ate really well, mostly home cooked meals. Sometimes the simplest ingredients given the right care and effort can turn into the most amazing things. My sleep pattern has improved significantly, and I can honestly say this whole month I did not make any fatigue-induced mistakes. 

Follow me on Instagram if you haven't for daily updates of what could be the last 30 days of my MTT career. If not, you'll read about it here in my post mortems. Until then, take care. 

Experiencing Poker Dream 21 and Genting Culture

As a poker traveler, it makes me happy to know there's poker on home turf. I can only imagine the struggles the founders of Poker Dream had to finally get a regular series in Malaysia. In poker terms, you might say Poker Dream was dealt a series of bad hands, such as the short sighted, backwards business culture of Genting and the introduction of the sales and service tax but I am so happy to see Poker Dream's innovation and pushing for the best in the realms within their control. It is obvious to me this time round they have stepped up their game. They've improved their customer service levels (at least the ones I have encountered), try to make the cash out process as painless as possible, introduced live reporting, facial recognition for the photo library, added in lots more freerolls, etc. I can really appreciate that effort as a player. Just as we can't always get great hands, we try to improve on other aspects of our game and even being dealt marginal hands, we can make the best of it. 

I made it through day 1 of the Malaysia Open only to bust out of day 2 on hand number 2. I then jumped into the heads up tournament drawing possibly the second toughest opponent of the field. A Chinese pro with an impressive résumé including the recent SHR trophy. He was super aggro at first but later held back which I took as a sign of respect of my play. I also switched gears all the way and made a few top plays including bluff catching with bottom pair and once with ten high. It was an intense battle and I could feel my stamina waning. We swap leads like a yoyo but in the end he had a series of good hands when I had second best. Took a spot with my last hand that I might have been able to give up had more in my tank. One suggestion for the heads up is having regular breaks because by then we were 2.5 hours into the match without one. Heads up is way more tiring as you do not have any downtime. But overall I felt I played well, without fear, and gave a tough player a run for his money. I also fired twice in the main event but no bueno. 

One of the little things, and the way the staff explained it

It's always refreshing to play at Poker Dream Malaysia because it's a time to meet old friends and make new ones. Seeing so many people putting on the MPF patch proudly without asking for anything in return, and for them to represent the federation and our nation with poise and pride always warms my heart. Sometimes we take the little things for granted. A smile, a hand shake, a nod, a fist bump, a pat on the back, a complimentary word, a congratulations, a like on a post, a positive comment, putting on a patch, wearing a jacket, for me they are the fuel I need to keep going. Years ago I came across a lady helping poor people in Indonesia voluntarily. I started to support her financially whenever I could. To our shock not only some people did not support her work, they actually had negative comments about it. I remember saying to her that everyone should participate in a good cause. If they can't participate, then they can give money. If they can't give money then they should give encouraging words. If they can't say anything positive, then they should keep their mouth shut. Light bringers are rare on earth, so if you see a light, if you can, help. If you can't, the least you can do is not put it out. But I guess if you’re reading this, I might be preaching to the choir. 

I can see Poker Dream's culture increasing in care and positivity. Hence I wanted to encourage and support it. But at the same time I can see Genting's culture is still as negative and inconsiderate. I hope more and more Malaysians can wake up. Little things take little effort, but as our ancestors said, "sikit sikit lama-lama jadi bukit". (little by little, after a while it becomes a hill) It only takes a spark to get the fire going, but it also only takes a drop of water to put out a spark. 

Quick update of my recent tournaments (Players Series & Royal Poker Tour)

Recently in my travels I caught up with a lot of old friends. Some of which have commented that despite being apart, they have followed me through my blog. Sorry I have not been posting much but thank you all for your support. I love writing but in the age of AI, I feel like this skill has kind of lost it's value. But I promise you all that 100% of my posts will be hand typed by me. No AI will assist in my writing, so I can keep it real, my true authentic self. 

In the past two years or so, I have been reluctant to call it a "downswing" as it implies it is mainly caused by luck. I have objectively tried to analyze my hands, and also put in lots of study time to make sure it is not a skill issue. I do admit that I have my shortcomings, and sometimes discipline or stamina issues, but I have since tried to correct them. And many of the spots I've had, I can't say I have had the best of luck. But as the saying goes, "what goes up must come down", I do believe "what goes down must come up" at some point. I have been preparing. I have been patient. I have been grinding. Waiting for MY time. 

Street food in Hanoi YUM

Since the start of 2026, although not super smooth, but there were glimpses of run good, which I have not had in a good long time. Recently I played a cash game where they had a bounty for winning 3-4-5 in a row, I managed to get to 5 picking up 3 all in pots along the way. That has gotta count for something. So it has given me the confidence to go out and play, together with my newfound skills and knowledge. 

After finishing second in an invitational in Taipei, I played a couple of events at Players Series as well, finishing 9th despite a blunder right before FT. That I think came from fatigue and a lack of self awareness. After that I took a trip to Phnom Penh (which I will write on a separate post) and it was so nice to catch up with old friends. Some of these guys I spent time with every single day for months. They know me at my best and at my worst, and yet they still choose to be my friends. I wanted to keep the momentum going so I hopped on a plane to Hanoi to join the Royal Poker Tour. 

Second to Malaysia, Vietnam is where most of my tournament cashes come from. I had two ITMs. One in the mini main and one in the main. Neither were deep enough and I essentially broke even for the trip. However there were a few highlights that I was super proud of. I kept my discipline, ran up a 5k (2.5bb) stack to 195k and bag the mini main. Day 2 of the main I ran JJ into AA and also flipped up 2.5bb to get a couple more pay jumps. However I did have a blunder on my last hand where had I had more time to think, and better brain processing power I could have folded that hand keeping my last 8bb. In the final event I played, I managed only to lose 7bb (off a 20bb stack) with KK vs AA. But ultimately couldn't escape as my QQ ran into KK soon after. 

Studying has helped me immensely, but it has also added many layers to my thought process on the table. As a result, my stamina gets depleted much quicker than it did before. I am incorporating brain exercises now to my daily (non playing days) routine and recently my sleep pattern has also improved a lot. My body used to only allow me 5-6 hours of sleep. 

Pho Suong, highly recommended

Anyway I haven't started to make a dent into the losses I have incurred in the past 2 years. BUT I can already feel the cards are falling differently for me. Just yesterday I had a sun run, something I haven't experienced in years. So maybe, just maybe, this year might be the year for me. Stick around, I hope this chapter will be a more positive one. 

Incheon SuperCup Report

This was my second SuperCup experience and I must say it was a lot of fun. In spite of the rough runs and lack of results, I had a great time. I think it is great that poker is now available to local Koreans in Korean venues via the Mind Sport Show, and it is also gaining publicity. This SuperCup was broadcasted on Korean TV, and there is an upcoming movie about poker, starring Im Yoon-Ah (famously known as the lead in the recent Netflix hit, Bon Appetit, Your Majesty)

Okay let's skip the venting, the bad beat stories, the coolers. I must say when I made hands, it was so fun extracting value. I also pulled off a couple of daring bluffs that I was pretty proud of. I manage to sneak into day 2 of the Mystery Bounty only to be knocked out on the 2nd hand. This was the 3rd time I got knocked out the 2nd hand on day 2 just in the last two months. (Recognize the pattern you idiot! LOL)

If I am being honest, Incheon is not the best location. I much preferred our experience at Busan where there were so much to do, see and eat. But I did go out a couple times by bus to local parks, markets, shopping areas. Incheon is super clean and the autumn air is crisp. On a sunny day it is super beautiful and nice. 

Sinpo Market, about 50 minutes away by bus

There were quite many international players that came as well, namely from China and Japan. Met a few of my long time friends there as well. I think with the continued exposure and positive experiences, the SuperCup brand will grow tremendously. 

Can't talk about any trip without mentioning food. I used to find Korean food boring but now at my age, after doing much research about health, the importance of anti-oxidants, gut health, the harm inflammation can cause, and the foods that help, I have grown to like and respect Korean food culture. There is a lot of wisdom in Korean cuisine. Fermented foods like kimchi, pickled radish, bean pastes are all great for health. The accompanying "ban chan" adds fiber and variety good for gut bacteria and microbiome diversity. Some restaurants offer you a very sour vitamin-C before a meal, which science has proven to lower insulin spikes and inflammation from food consumption. The sequence a Korean meal is had is also scientific for controlling health. I am just surprised that there is still a junk food culture here. 

Overall I really enjoyed the trip and the experience. Stay tuned as my next post will be a very interesting and unexpected one!

Dragon Poker Festival (LPT) Report - lots of photos

Before this series, my Vietnam tournament cashes accounted for about 23% of my lifetime cash total. (ChatGPT analyzed it for me hehe) I love Vietnamese food, the chaotic nature of the country and people and travel cost was always easy on the bankroll. So needless to say when international events were cancelled and all the controversy happened, I was very sad. So when I heard about this series, I just couldn't resist. 

Food crawl with this crazy guy

Fresh off a rough trip to Singapore, losing 5 of 5 cash game sessions for a chunky amount, I planned to take some time off poker. But after 10 days without touching any cards, I was back at it again in Hanoi. Dragon Poker is a room in the Grand Plaza hotel. One of the nicest venues I have seen in Vietnam, and the turn out was very good. 

Overall I played 3 events, min cashed the mini main (AJ < A6), shallow run in the main (AK < AT), busted the monster stack (AKs < AKs). But I had a great time, the field was fun, great action. One funny story was a few Chinese players assumed I didn't speak the language and was making derogatory statements about the table including me. I took one nice spot to suddenly speak fluent Chinese and at the same time, it so happened I had AK so I 3b it as if I was angry about their comments of me, guy 4b jams with with KQ and easy double. (PRO TIP: Never assume people don't know your language. Unless you are trying to give reverse info.)

The most fun part of the trip was a food crawl with a friend. Went to some tourist traps, but some shady alleyways as well, long sweaty walks, risking our lives evading the traffic, lots of laughter as well. The food was nice overall but the next day all of us had diarrhea! 

Night lake view

I love the markets

I essentially broke even for the trip, but it was a well needed trip and a small boost of confidence. If more legitimate tournaments resurface in Vietnam you betcha I will be back!