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".  

Singapore Poker RWS vs MBS - Who wins?

Disclaimer: This is purely based on my experience of playing at the two casinos over the last 4 weeks, incidents, players, staff that happened to be there at the time. I was not swayed or influenced to say one thing or another. I am just being brutally honest but my intention is to help players who have not been there to see a clearer picture, and maybe even casino management to make further improvements. 

What attracted me to visit this time was the Resorts Poker Championships at RWS. The event was rake free with a decent guarantee. Skip this paragraph if you are only here for my cash game reviews. Possibly due to the lack of experience, there were some stark issues that I believe needs to be changed immediately. For example, every flight for the main plays down to 35 players regardless of the number of participants. Whilst I understand they are concerned about the number of players that make day 2 (due to the limited number of tables) but this is not the proper way to progress. In an extreme example, if day 1A only had 35 runners, 100% of players will qualify for day 2. Had 1C had 350 runners instead, then only 10% will make it through. Please do not use stack size as the way to explain this off. Instead there should be a % of players that make it through. If you are concerned about day 2 numbers, then cap the max number of buy ins. Secondly they should let day 1 play into the money. Otherwise I see some poor locals who make day 2, having to pay the levy ($150 a day) twice and still not cash the event. There was also a pay jump that had 0 increment. This is a big no no for me. You can easily adjust, even a $100 difference is still a pay jump. There were communication issues too. Some staff thought day 1 ended at level 15, some said it ends at the end of level 15. This is a huge difference as some players were stalling by level 14 knowing the wrong information. Announcements were poor, for example at bubble time, they didn't even mention which hand belonged to the short stack. Bagging took 30+ minutes because they needed to count every chip, get players and dealers to sign, wait for a print out.... This is where the kiasu side of Singapore comes into play. BUT, I don't fault them on this, being careful sometimes is fine. However it can be simplified to make it smoother for sure. Consult with some tournament veterans and you will know how to streamline the whole experience. 

MBS chips are nicer

As for the cash games, I will review each casino separately and draw my final conclusions. 

Marina Bay Sands (MBS)

• Games: They spread 10/20, 25/50, 100/200 and sometimes even bigger games. 
• Rake: 5% capped 5bb (for 10/20) - I didn't pay attention to the others but I believe it scales down
• Tables and queue: They had 9 tables, I believe most days the game runs 24 hours, queue is long in the evenings and weekends, especially when they are running bigger games and have less tables for 10/20. 
• Amenities: There isn't a proper waiting area, drinks are served

Pros

• MBS is a well designed casino. High ceilings, classy decor, comfortable seats and tables, bright lights, high end vibe. 
• From my observations, MBS attracts more tourists and a younger richer crowd. 
• There are more players there, new tables start up quickly, they run almost non stop. 
• MBS has a higher buy in min and max. So the games plays slightly bigger. Pots and swings would usually be bigger too. 
• MBS queue lists shows player names, so you can see who else is waiting and whether it is worth waiting around for a new table to start. 
• They seem to be more receptive to feedback, evident when "buying the button" was disallowed after 3 weeks into operation. Although I disagree with the decision, but it is good to see that they are flexible. 
• Poker room location is prime, so the possibility of getting some curious cats to try out the game is higher. 

MBS at night

Cons

• All the sharks are there. Due to the hype of the room, most of the top regs of the country now resides there. So as good as the game sounds, most days you have tables full of regs targeting 1-2 spots. 
• It is surrounded by slot machines, which can get a bit noisy and annoying
• I hope this is just temporary, but most of their dealers are terribly slow and prone to mistakes. 
• Rake is high. You'll be surprised how much it adds up.
• Floor prioritizes bigger games, so 10/20 players feel like second class citizens. My personal experience was I waited 3 hours from being 11th in the waitlist to be at the top, only to have to wait for another 8 slots to clear because the floor decided to kill a 10/20 table to make way for a 25/50 list that had 4 players queuing. I would understand if there were 8 ready to go on 25/50 but not when there's 4 whereas 10/20 had 30 waiting. 
• Service was poor and rude at times. For example, any curious player that wandered into the poker area was often met with stern tone and ushered out. I understand they are just doing their jobs but there are no signs or forewarning, and staff can just be kinder. There was another incident where the dealer over-raked $5 by mistake, realized his mistake and asked the floor if he could give it back to the player. First floor agreed, second floor said no, because the hand was dead. She even tried to explain it away that even if they under-raked, they would not ask for it back (which is totally untrue). The player clearly upset later asked the floor to reconsider and under slight duress she over turned her own decision. I understand Singapore is a country of rules. But rules are meant to be bent if it meant for the good of the business. After receiving the $5 back the player tipped the dealer instead. It is not about the money, it is how you make a customer and observing customers feel. The player unfortunately went on to tilt away a few thousand bucks, and maybe to never return. This is what I don't understand about the "kiasuness" of Singapore. Clearly you are a country full of smart people. There's doing right things and doing things right. Sometimes rigid adherence to rules is not the right thing. 

Resorts World Sentosa (RWS)

• Games: They have 5/10 on weekdays, and 10/20 on weekends
• Rake: 5% capped at 3bb (for both 5/10 and 10/20)
• Tables and queue: They have 11 tables at full capacity. But due to MBS poker opening they rarely run more than 3 tables nowadays. Weekdays game usually start at around noon to 1pm, and weekend games slightly later than that. Some days just missing the first 8 seats, I waited 2+ hours for the 2nd table to start. 
• Amenities: There is a reasonably comfortable waiting area, drinks and occasionally they will come by with finger food or snacks. 

Pros

• RWS has the lowest casino rake in all of Asia
• They have a few good dealers that keep the game flowing (but still the occasional one who stalls on purpose) 
• Although you can still hear the hum of the slot machines, it is less annoying than those at MBS
• Service overall feels friendlier and homely. Regulars get greeted by name, floor and staff would interact and joke with players. You feel genuinely welcomed and at home. 
• The migration of pros means there is a vacuum of top regs at RWS

Cons

• Although RWS was completed just 3 months before MBS, it feels like it is 20 years older. The design in my opinion is not well thought through, it's dark and gloomy. 
• RWS seem settled on attracting the older folks. There are table min bets of $1, free lunches for annual package holders, concerts of 80s singers.... I would guess average age of the typical patron is 50. 
• Location of the room is obscure. In my months of visiting the casino, I just realized there is a completely different area that I have not been to. Wouldn't surprise me if most patrons didn't know the poker room existed. 
  
• There are a lot of unnecessary delays. For example starting a new table takes 20 minutes. Checking the new decks also take way longer than MBS. Just having an unnecessary top card cover wastes 2 seconds every hand, so for grinders like me, it's less hands played, wasted opportunities. 
• Bureaucracy and inflexibility seems prevalent in Singapore. There was an incident where one table was running auto-straddle and the other wasn’t. Both tables had a seat open. Floor brings a new player to the auto-straddle table and causes the auto-straddle to break. Player complains that she should have given the player a choice to play at the other table that didn’t straddle. Floor insists that players are not allowed to choose tables and auto-straddle is voluntary. Please don’t hide behind rules or “this is how things are”. Be smart, there are better solutions, use them. It’s no wonder everyone knows it’s wrong to call it carrot cake yet no one wants to change. (It’s a radish cake for goodness sake)

So who wins? You might be surprised but in my opinion, at least for the time being, RWS. More people at MBS doesn’t mean the games are better. In fact I found it to be consistently worse. I was lucky to be on some good tables while I was there, but most of the time it took a lot of maneuvering and tricky table changes to get there and sometimes only to fill the seat the fish left and having other pros switched there as well. MBS has a high concentration of the best regs in Singapore while RWS has only a handful. I find every game at RWS had at least 3 clear spots or better. Those who migrated their annual levy to MBS will be there for at least a year so it created a unique opportunity to grind at a much weaker game than it was. While it is true that MBS attracts more tourists and whales, but since priority is given to bigger games, you’ll find that the 10/20 seats are usually filled by early bird pro campers whereas the whales give up after waiting for a long time. However I must say if you want bigger swings and higher stakes then MBS does have its strengths. If they continue to be flexible and adjust positively, then they might one day take away RWS’ edge. I look forward to returning in a few months and report back if anything has changed. 

Follow me on Instagram for more poker stories or click here to read my review of RWS poker room from last year. 

India Poker Experience (Goa)

Attracted by his posts of crushing the games, I couldn't resist coming back to India for a second visit. My friend had been doing well in the poker clubs of Noida (near Delhi) and the casinos in Goa. Since my Sri Lankan trip was cut short due to the lack of cash game options, I thought I'd give it a go. 

One of the floating casinos there

The day I landed in Delhi, the poker clubs stopped posting game updates and replying WhatsApp messages. Out of curiosity I Googled poker news in Noida and apparently the day before, a journalist infiltrated one of the top clubs and exposed their raking system etc. I was spooked so I quickly booked a trip to Goa instead, not before spending a couple of nights in Old Delhi. 

I tried to feed the stray dogs

Delhi definitely does not represent all of India, especially Old Delhi. It's bearable to visit for a couple of days, but you can't help to think about the people who live there their whole lives. They have been dealt a bad starting hand, yet they choose to grind it out, those who do well, still choose to stay as it is their home. There is much to learn from observing the people there, to appreciate what we have and our circumstances in life. Things did not change much since my last visit in 2012, as if it was stuck in time. I visited an old restaurant where I ate at 14 years ago, it was just as I remembered. 

The mangoes are amazing

Goa had a much different vibe. I got a hotel in the Portuguese old town that had a chill village vibe. A forewarning to others considering visiting, Goa has terrible taxi services. They do not allow Uber or any e-hailing apps, and insist on using their own janky app, that is virtually unusable for foreigners. You can pay the driver in cash, however you must have a balance in the app or order to do so, but as a foreigner you have no way of loading a balance. I was lucky to have a friend who knew the poker room manager at Big Daddy casino so I could request a pick up. For travelers I would suggest going online to find some taxi services that have WhatsApp and accept cash. 

To circumvent the law, the casinos are boats anchored offshore. You would arrive at the pier, purchase a ticket (yes it costs between INR 2900-5000 - approx. USD 29-50) to get on the boat depending on which package you choose. Then you would be ferried to the corresponding casino. The packages include some free chips, free flow alcohol and access to the buffets. The games are usually INR 100/200 or 100/200/500 but I heard there are bigger private games at 500/1000. However the whole system is not foreigner friendly. The exchange rate on offer was ridiculous, and it took me about 20 minutes to get it done. The table was soft but I did not enjoy it. However I must say, the food was tasty, as was with most of my meals in India, and I did not have any stomach issues with them. 

It's cool to collect my 41st poker country, and as a Jason Bourne fan, to visit another of his film locations. However I do not recommend Goa for a grind. The whole process of getting there is so tilting, and the environment on board was not fun either. It's impossible to game select as going to the next casino means boarding two other boats and paying for another entry ticket. I forgot to verify this but I believe the rake was capped at 7bbs. 

Bengaluru Airport

One thing that surprised me the most were the airports. During this visit I used 4 Indian airports and they were all very clean, efficient and fast. The Bengaluru airport looked more like a 5-star hotel. I think it is unlikely I would return, but never say never. If you haven't, follow me on Instagram for more of my poker adventures @happyriverpoker 

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. 

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. 

Win Win Poker Grand Opening

First of all congratulations and thank you to Win Win Poker and Alex Lee for inviting us to attend the grand opening of Win Win Poker Club in Taipei. In the last couple of years, Taipei has become my 2nd home. I have actually spent more time in Taipei than in my home country during this period. So when I heard there's a new club I was definitely excited and wanted to come and extend my support. 

Plenty of space for chill areas and displays

The opening ceremony was very impressive. A very strong showing of players and VIPs were in attendance. I rushed straight from the airport to the hotel and club just in time to catch most of it. Guests from overseas and all over Taiwan were there, with tons of media presence and support. 

The space is clean, sharp, spacious and well designed. Plenty of space for players to chill, rest, or cool off after a bust out. Staff were very well prepared for the crowd, even trained on what to say, expect and respond to possible scenarios that may occur. The overall vibe of the club was comfortable, professional with a touch of class. 

I was invited to play in the Invitational Event which gave me a chance to experience the place as a player. The field was very impressive to start with. I was told there were many famous people and influencers playing. Me being a dinosaur only recognized Jacky Wu and poker pros. Dealers and floor were well trained and experienced, even the photo/videographers were enthusiastically hard at work. 

I was lucky enough also to experience their really cool Final Table area. I think eventually they will continue to add to it and it would look really cool on live stream. I've typically done well when I was invited to play a tournament. Champion in the Poker Dream first Invitational, 5th when invited by APSA to Taipei, and this time managed to eek out a 2nd place finish. 

The location is great. It is walking distance to Shuanglian Market, one of my favorite Taipei morning markets. The club is also walking distance away to three key subway stations, plenty of food and hotel options around. Most of the buildings around have a classy office vibe going on. 

I hope Win Win will continue to host more poker events and tournaments. I would love to return to play some of them and highly recommend for my friends who want to try it out. Here's the link to their Google Map location and Instagram if you need more information. 

My Latin America Adventure

Sorry for not posting for a while. I traveled to Latin America for 6 weeks with just a backpack, hence I did not bring along my laptop. It was then I realized how little I could do without it. Couldn't properly run my GTO sims, couldn't do poster designs, couldn't even write an official letter, let alone post on my blog. After returning for a few days, I took another trip this time without my laptop again, only reunited with it yesterday. 

For some reason I have always been drawn to Latin America, to the extent that I started learning Spanish since 2020. My thought has always been that if I can speak 3 out of the 4 most spoken languages in the world, I can travel anywhere and make friends everywhere. (The 4th is Hindi) Needless to say I was super excited about this trip.

I decided to make Mexico my first stop. Mexico is actually considered Northern America and despite the news about the dangers of traveling there, it did not deter me. After checking in I was excited to go explore the city and put my Spanish to the test. Within less than 5 minutes, I heard someone speak in fluent Cantonese. 😂

The thing I look forward to the most was the food, especially the variety of tacos. However most of them were a let down, except for tacos de mollejas, which was recommended to me by my first Uber driver. I much preferred tortas and gorditas, and was pleasantly surprised by the fresh blackberries. (Mexico is one of the world's biggest producers of blackberries)

I played at a local tournament but lasted only 3 hands when my kings ran into a set. I also took the opportunity to visit Teotihuacan, a 2000+year old city. 

Touristy, but really nice in person

Peru was my next stop. Lima was added to my itinerary by ChatGPT because it is known to be the food capital of South America, and boy it was right. I had so many great meals in Peru, including ceviche (raw fish), cuy (guinea pig), anticuchos (meat skewers, some of beef hearts) The surprising thing was, I did not have any stomach issues at all and they were all so tasty. 

Really charming town, Ollantaytambo

I played some poker in Lima to make Peru my 37th poker country, visited the famous Machu Picchu, had some issues with my hotel in Cusco, but ended up meeting the sweetest uncle and his wife who hosted me and am now friends with, made an impromptu stay at Ollantaytambo which turned out to be my favorite stop of my trip, had to cancel my visit to Bolivia because ChatGPT messed up on visa requirements, pivoted last minute to Arequipa which turned out to be a fantastic city as well. 

I was having fun until I reached Buenos Aires, Argentina. The country was hit with hyper inflation, so everything was super expensive. Many business probably suffered because of it and the area I stayed in had so many deserted shops it felt sketchy walking back at night. There were many homeless people and the streets smelled of piss and shit. Mostly I was super tilted by the lack of system in almost everything. For example, the subway station can top up subway cards but don't sell new ones. Buses with the same number and color stop at different stops and go to different destinations. The airport bus did not have non-Spanish signs or English speaking drivers. The arrival terminal did not have a money changer and I assume because of the unstable economy, my bank does not allow my card to be used there. 

I took a day to visit Uruguay by ferry but it was a pretty boring day. My highlight was picking free mulberries from a street side tree. Went to play a satellite with some friends I made there. The casino is a 20-minute Uber ride away but I took a bus that got me there in 2 hours. The best part of my trip was a visit to the Iguazu Falls, the biggest waterfall system in the world and had a butterfly land on me and spent minutes licking my palm. Other than that, Argentina did not impress me at all. 

Looking forward to get out of there, I went to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil next. Only a few days before I landed, about 20km away from my hotel was a gun battle between police and gangsters that ended up with 130+ casualties. Similar to Argentina, many downtown businesses were deserted and many people ended up homeless and begging for money. Even though I was just minutes away from the beautiful beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema, I too was just minutes away from the favelas and slums. Made a genius move of walking back at night after busting a local tournament, I have never walked so fast in my life. 

Sugar Loaf mountain and Christ the Redeemer were my bucket list places and I do feel they are worth visiting. But I had more fun exploring a nearby path that I had to myself than the tourist packed, selfie-crazy people that felt it was more important to make the right pose than actually admire the beauty of the location itself. 

Final stop was Sao Paolo which is the business capital of Brazil. Met the lovely people at the World Poker Federation, played cash games at the H2 club, and played a tournament at BSOP. Did not enjoy this city much either. Still I fulfilled my dream to visit all 5 continents (not including Antarctica), hit 39 on my poker country list and had new found appreciation of my corner of the world. Would I visit again? Probably not. Do I regret visiting? I definitely do not. Until the next one, peace.