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. 

Revisiting Cambodia and playing at the GOP (Gods of Poker)

I left the workforce in early 2018, at the time not knowing that it was actually perfect timing. We all know soon after there was political turmoil in HK/China followed by COVID19 so had I kept working, I would have likely been out of a job by then anyway. One of the first places I was based out of was Vietnam until my regular game was raided by the police and everyone caught was sent to jail for 6 months, I knew I had to choose a safer environment to grind in, hence Cambodia. 

It's funny how life turns out as never in my wildest dreams I would think of living in Cambodia, and now looking back, boy what a time that was. Many of my tablemates or customers were probably from the scam companies we now know about. But at the time I was oblivious of what's happening in the dark corners of the region. It turned out to be a key turning point of my career as I grinded out a living and it also inspired my giving mentality. Although I didn't know what they did, I always assumed many of the Chinese players I played against were bosses of at a minimum - grey area businesses. Some were clearly bad people, some on the run from the law, a few rare ones did feel genuine and were actually nice people. Outside of the few genuine friends I made,  my comfort was I felt like Robin Hood by taking money from the shady guys and giving to others in need. 

Used to grind here 6-7 days a week

I eventually left the country not on great terms as I was bullied out of a super profitable position but I chose not to fight it so it always felt bitter sweet returning for a visit. But this time, I got the time to reconnect with some old friends and I felt that I was still loved and missed by some, and I felt touched that my time spent there left a lasting impact years after I had left. The government has since cracked down hard on the scam centers so I think most of them have left, but some that remain now stay on looking for the next money grab opportunity. I even met an old acquaintance who proudly shares his involvement in the scam industry. If that is winning, I never want to win like that. 

I have had a rough year so far, so when I had a sun run day 1 of the GOP main it was a welcomed relief. But day 2 quickly sucked all the life from me when I went from 2nd chip leader to bubble boy. I had 4 all ins on day 2 all ahead but did not win any of them. I played the mini main as well and also went from chip leader to out over just two major hands. Experiencing GOP for the first time, I must say the Kraken day 1 has an amazing structure that no one else offers. Especially for someone like me who enjoys playing deep stack poker, it was so much fun. It definitely is something one needs to experience to truly appreciate the beauty of the structure. I hope in the future they can draw in even more numbers and offer higher guarantees as I look forward to playing more of this structure.

During my trip I also had a devastating run at PLO5, winning 1 pot in 2.5 hours. I also ran super bad at OFC, losing 500+ points in 2 hours, a game that I used to play at the highest stakes in Asia. Granted one opponent was not a fish but still he would hit in 1 outer draws where I would miss my 20+ outs. It seems like every decision I make was the wrong one and I am down a pretty massive amount of my bankroll so far this year. But I have taken the time to appreciate the things I have. Looking back to my time in Cambodia and now returning as a visitor, I have come a long way. I am doing much better in so many aspects of my life, being upstuck is nothing I can't handle. I am more matured, and I like to think smarter than I was before, hopefully a better player as well but definitely more disciplined and composed. Sometimes you have to swim a long way against the tide until you catch the big wave. 

Until the next one, peace. 

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. 

Down US$16K in 2026 so far

As they say, poker is a hard way to make an easy living. Recently Stephen Chidwick expressed that of his $76m in cashes, he probably has a profit of between $5-10m. Many people who have an impressive Hendon Mob score are still losing money. 

Instead of telling you my set over set coolers, aces cracked stories, I am actually quite proud of the work I've put in this year. 21 sessions of cash games across private games and Macau and 10 tournaments. In the first 45 days of the year I've put in 194 hours of playing time, which averages to about 4.3 hours per day. On top of my regular study groups, I have created a private tuition class for willing students. I am like the avid investor, constantly dollar cost averaging into a falling market, hopefully eventually to catch the bounce and have everything pay off. 

On average I am spending 1-2 hours a day on studying, although admittedly it's more on trading than poker, but I am finding myself more knowledgeable in current events, geopolitics, AI, economic catalysts and the psychology of investing (which I find to be somewhat related to reading poker psychology) But being aware also has made me a more pessimistic of the trajectory we are on. Tensions are rising, people and countries are more self serving, staying in power trumps using that power for good (pun intended), movie storylines used to shock us but nowadays real life news events puts John Grisham to shame. Gestapo-like ICE agents running wild, killing innocent people... then there's Epstein and his evil empire, trafficking, rape, murders, alleged cannibalism (notice how I put alleged only to this), so many people of power, influence, fortune involved in this web of evil, and now top people in law enforcement, justice department blatantly covering up... 

Ignorance is bliss

What I am trying to say is, put into perspective, being down $16k doesn't feel so bad when the world is on fire. Instead it has reaffirmed me of my life's mission to be a positive influence to the people around me, to be a better human being first. I have my own demons and burdens to bear, but I find that I get more peace helping others than helping myself. Apart from allocating my time to teaching, building the MPF community, I also actively reach out to my friends that I feel need encouragement, support and kind words. I cannot change the world, but maybe I can change someone's world. 

10% into the new year I already know this year is going to be one of the most eventful of my life. I am continually picking myself up, dusting myself off, so when opportunity meets preparation, God willing I can finally soar. Till the next one, be kind be good be safe. 

Waiting for my sun run

2025 going into 2026

It's become a yearly tradition for me to write about my past year and share my plans for the one coming up. This year I am going to combine the two into one blog post. 

2025 was a slow year for me. January started off with a bang finishing 6th in the Super High Roller and 11th in the High Roller MB but things did not go well from February onwards so I ended up winding down my playing time for the year. I cashed $61k for the year, surprisingly more than I did in 2024, but my cash game results were not great. I did well in my Macau trip but lost 1000bb+ within a week in Singapore. That was the key trigger for me to take time for myself and step away from the tables for a bit. I essentially broke even in tourneys and took a $10k loss in cash games. 

Bayonne, France

As usual I travelled a lot in 2025 but what's different was we did it full nomadic style, without an actual place to call home. Travelled to 20 countries including making it to South America for the first time in my life. Also hitting 39 on my poker countries list.

I spent a lot of time studying in 2025, not just poker, but about health and investments, psychology, self improvement, etc. Ignorance is the worst thing anyone can have, pride is usually the main cause. 

Key achievement for MPF

Another focus I had for the year was continue growing the Malaysia Poker Federation. There were a few highlights such as sending our first National Team to the Asia Nations Cup, securing world class top pros for MPF events, including Stephen Chidwick, Danny Tang and local heroes Victor Chong, Sean Ooi, Peter Sim... We also conducted about 10 live classes in 3 different cities, and lots more online. However it wasn't without it's downs. Spending lots of time on a non-profit thankless job can be draining, not just for me but also for other volunteers and committee members. Thought about quitting many times but going to push for another year and decide by then. 

World #2 in total cashes what more do you want?!?

Just did a full blood test and happy to report all's good physically. This is my 5th year on intermittent fasting and to me it is the greatest health hack ever. I am shocked so many people are still operating under outdated health knowledge and even fewer try to learn about it until it's too late. I used to play in a big private game, so out of respect I would address the others as my elders. Indeed they were my elders in terms of financial and business success, and to be honest, they all looked much older than me, a few I even address them as "uncle". I later found out that they were younger than me! One time someone took out a blood pressure test kit mid game and I think I was the only one with a normal reading. I briefly mentioned about my dark side, but this year I have also improved on my mental and emotional health. 

I plan to get back into the grind slowly for 2026 but amping up mid-2026 till the end of the year. Not going to share my entire roadmap here so no resolutions or specific goals of any kind, but if all goes well, I think it's going to be a very interesting year. Thank you to those who's followed along all this time. 

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. 

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!

MGM Macau Series Report (and Macau poker update)

Miss the good old days where Macau was the Asian poker hub. Nowadays due to dumb rules (yes you heard it here) by the gaming commission, foreign organizers are not allowed to host in Macau, and in house events are not allowed to be advertised. This is the same gaming commission that disallowed mobile phones on the table, as to hinder people gambling via live stream. Someone with half a brain would know that shouldn't apply to poker. How can you capture all the information needed to play a hand? And what about when you don't have a hand? Anyway, it is clear Macau tourist numbers are suffering and the gaming commission isn't helping. 

This is technically the second time I have attended the MGM series. I joined their second series. The way it works is they have their main series, and it is longer, with more events (including a seniors event, and no, I don't qualify YET), and a bigger main event guarantee. In between they have smaller series, which were the ones I attended. 

I didn't bother with the side events but I played in the main. The field wasn't as soft as I thought it would be, I guess the fishes didn't bother to wake up early to play the 12pm level 1. And because of the size of the venue, players who came late had to wait a long time for a seat. One guy on my table arrived for level 2 only having to wait a further 2 hours and finally got his seat on level 6. It also didn't help that the levels were 30 minutes long. On top of that the dealer I had was super slow and rude. The rule is to stand up if you want to use your phone. She went even as far as where the phone was pointing at. This is a general advice for everyone. Whenever enforcing a rule, always think of the purpose of the rule. The rule is there to stop people from live streaming gaming tables for other players to gamble remotely. How is my phone pointing at the table while I am standing, and without cards going to achieve that? 

I counted at least 4 Malaysians attended this series. Not bad for an event that is not advertised. But in my opinion there is zero effort from the organizers to make it a good experience for foreigners. I don't put all the blame on them because it could be they are restricted by the gaming commission. However I am sure there are things that can be done. Until such upgrades are in place, I do not recommend it for visitors to travel just for the series. Furthermore the tournament rake is on the high side. If it is coupled with a holiday or grinding some cash games (which is what I did) then it might still be worth it. To be fair, MGM has come a long way since their first series which was a nightmare. I hope they will improve quickly to be on par or even better than other international brands. 

The Macau cash game scene changes so often it is hard to keep track. So I will try to keep you all updated after my every visit. For now, the only rooms that are still in operation are the Venetian and MGM Cotai. As far as I know, Wynn and MGM Macau have ceased their poker operations. The two available rooms offer games from HKD 50/100 up to 1000/2000 by demand. MGM has a point system where you can easily grind for free meals. I don't think Venetian does that. But on the flip side, I felt that the field at Venetian was consistently softer. MGM offers better drinks and I feel that their poker room location is more welcoming of curious first timers. But I've had more encounters with complete newbies at the Venetian. 

As for my personal result, I bricked the two bullets fired in the main, but won 4 out of 5 cash game sessions for a modest profit. I would definitely return more often but mainly to play cash games. 

My Dark Side

Most people who know me through my blog or IG sees the glamourous side of my life, the travel photos, food pics, ITM photos, cash outs etc. Those who's seen me in person sees that I am always smiling, often making jokes, striking up conversations. But only very few people know the darkness of my life. 

I wanted to share this with you to keep it real. On the outside I am doing reasonably well, but when I am alone, or late at night in the dark, my heart wrenches and for years I had to cry myself to sleep. Nowadays not so much, I really thank God for this indescribable peace that I get when I ask for it, and having a super sweet partner really helps make the darkness bright. I really feel I do not deserve her, and you might have seen me sharing about doing good deeds, helping random strangers on the street, giving to charity etc. It is not because I am a goodie goodie guy. I feel that I don't deserve the goodness in my life so I am trying my best to earn it. Paying it back one good deed at a time. 

I have many regrets in life. I've done things I am not proud of. But as they say, no amount regret can change the past, no amount of worrying can change the future. I can only focus on the things that I can control, which is living each day the best I can, being the best I can, and getting better day by day. As a Christian I also believe that broken things can be mended in heaven, so I will get another chance to right some wrongs at some point. Life on earth is just a short journey of all kinds of experiences, to help us appreciate what's important. 

We all have our own baggage that we carry, but you don't see mine as it doesn't surface in my daily life. Happiness is a choice and I have chosen it. And my cheat code is spiritual peace and joy which is OP in this game we call life. Sure I have my cloudy days that most people don't see. My heart still aches and bleeds when I think of certain things. But I have grown so much stronger in dealing with things and I want to encourage you, just like my poker career. If I can, so can you. 

There's a reason I have my demons. Maybe I deserve them, maybe they are there to teach me something, maybe it's there so I can help others who have demons of their own. To be honest, my dream is to live a peaceful life in the countryside, growing my own food, maybe create a shelter for stray animals and fade into the sunset. But for now, I hope to use my journey to encourage and inspire others to find joy and peace in life, and to spread that to more and more people. 

APC/APJC/TLT in Taipei Report

Some of you might know that currently I don't have a permanent place I call home. The closest would be my mum's house which I return to from time to time. With my travel and unsure future, I didn't want to be tied down to a rental contract or mortgage. So when my friend told me there's a good chance APC Main Event would be overlaid, I jumped at the opportunity. 

You would think we'd be sick of Taipei by now but actually it's quite the opposite. We are finding new things to explore every time we visit and would strongly consider it as a more permanent option had they had bigger TLTs running consistently. For those who don't know TLTs are Time Limit Tournaments that last between 2-5 hours with a fixed fee for each buy in/add on. 

I realized I have been to this night market 20 years ago!

Anyway I did not do well at APC, firing 3 bullets in the main. The field was so soft being that WSOP Vegas just started, APC is not a well known brand, so the field was probably 80% recs, 19% non intimidating regs. But somehow I just couldn't win. About 2 years ago I told myself I should not feel entitled to win because of skill differentials, and I have put effort in fixing my mindset. But this trip I realized that I am tilting because of the hands that go to showdown. How villain could cold call 4b with AJo and get there on the river vs my JJ. 

Poker is a non-discriminatory game. It doesn't care how long you've played, or how good you are. It doesn't care how much you love it or the effort you've put into understanding it. Or how elegant your line was vs the brute force triple barrel and got there with a runner runner. I describe it as putting effort to pursue the girl of your dreams but she walks away with the rude gangster with bad breath. As I was thinking about all this, suddenly I could feel something change in my mind. Yes poker is unjust at times, but all I can do is focus on playing the best I can. How others play is not in my control and good on them if they can spew because they must be doing well in other aspects of life. Suddenly I feel a lot more positive and happier regardless of result. 

On the last day of my trip I received an email saying my onward flight was delayed by 3 hours. Instead of whining about it, I extended my stay in Taipei and confirmed my attendance at another series in Busan South Korea. That meant I could also play in the AJPC main event and could grind out some TLTs in the next few days. 

APJC didn't go well either but I quickly pivot to focusing on TLTs which I did quite well. But I'm more interested in sharing an incident that happened on the table. I limp back raise with TT (not recommended but this was one of my game adjustments to the lineup) and got called by initial raiser and another player. Flop came JT2hhx I cbet he called. Turn until today I am 100% sure it was another 2 hence I checked. I would mix in some cbets and checks but his range was so capped I felt I could let him peel for free. River came another J so I bet a blocking size and he snap call showing AJ. But to my surprise, the pot was pushed my way, and even villain acknowledge that he lost by mucking his hand. I wanted to say something but I didn't. The other caller next to me made an "ehhh??" sound voicing his confusion about the winner of the hand, but he left it there so no one said anything else. 

But this hand and the outcome was eating at me the rest of the session. I felt bad that I took a pot that wasn't mine so after a while I told the guy, "hey I think you won that hand, so at the end of the session I will pay you back 50k." He on the other hand insisted that he lost the hand, that he had trips only. To my surprise, the guy sitting next to him said the same thing! I looked at the other caller and he thought the turn did pair the board. The other two were adamant that I won the pot but the loser appreciated the gesture. For some context, the other caller and I were in seats 4 and 5 respectively. The loser and his friend were in seats 8 and 9. Could my eyesight be so bad? Regardless I felt my guilt lifted and proud that I did something about it. 

The next day I saw the guy in seat 9 so I asked him again, did you really see the board unpaired or were you just helping me win the pot against the fish that misread his hand? He insisted that it was my pot, and even said no wonder I bet so small on the river cause I must have thought I would lose to all Jx. 

Anyway this was not the only interesting event that happened. That night when I was going for dinner with my wife, she mentioned that she saw a foreigner at the nearby police station. After dinner we bumped into him again at our hotel lobby but thought nothing of it. The next day as we were checking out, we bumped into him again. We struck up a conversation and he was complaining how Western Europeans look down on people, bad people like that deserve to die, terrorists need to feel terror blah blah. I found out he was Latvian and we loved our visit to Riga so I tried to calm him down by talking about his homeland. It worked for a bit and he saw the cross on my necklace and we started to talk about God. In fear of triggering him even further, I politely slotted in positive stuff into our conversation like do the right things, God is watching, and the likes. He said he doesn't have many friends so I gave him a hug and he also took a selfie with my wife, then abruptly left on his own. Somehow it was fated that I would extend my trip, book this hotel, my wife seeing him the day before and telling me about it, with us having been to Latvia... that I had the chance to talk to him. I hope he is ok and often remember him in my prayers, along with the many prayers I pray for my friends. 

As I am writing this, we are preparing to head to South Korea not knowing how that series will turn out for me. What's different now is I used to think that God would vindicate me with success to show that I made the right choices in life. But now I think it's God that is vindicated in His choice to choose me, by me making the right choices in life. 

Poker and Spirituality

I just watched the NFL legend Aaron Rodger’s career story “Enigma” and in it he was quite open with his spiritual views. I too was raised in a structured, traditional church upbringing. But my poker journey also intertwines with my spiritual journey. I am not your typical Christian. Most Asians let alone Christians probably would not consider poker a legitimate career. But in the last few years I’ve grown closer to God than I ever was, and I feel that it has helped me and my life in so many ways.

First thing is acknowledgment. I love nature, and if you look closely, it is impossible to believe that nature occurred without design. Bees, we used to run when we see one. Apparently the whole world would crumble if we lost them. Wolves, that were hunted and eliminated in North America. The whole ecosystem and even economy was affected, it got so bad they actually reintroduced wolves back into the wild in 1995 on purpose. Koala bears, puppies, cute little animals like that, what other purpose do they serve other than to delight us, add fun and color to human lives? You’ve got to acknowledge there’s someone above humans that have designed and planned this. A higher power EXISTS. (“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” Psalms 19:1)

Reach out. There are so many “brands” of god and religion, the worst one that tilts me when people bring it up is the poker god. But which one is the real one? How do you know for sure? My trick is, just talk to God. It goes something like this “hi, are you God? I don’t know you, but I would like to get to know you more. If you’re God I’m sure you can hear this, and you can make it happen. Thanks” (“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” Matthew 7:7) Don’t worry if God is real, He will have plenty of ways to respond, for example through someone like me, a feeling, a thought, an emotion, an event, a song, etc. If there is no God, then you just spoke to yourself for 10 seconds.

Now that you know God, it’s time to form a relationship. Just as a parent delights in their child talking to them, spending time with them, appreciating them… God delights in us doing the same with Him. You may ask, if God is all knowing, why do we still need to tell Him things? Imagine your kids or nieces and nephews, they come to you and tell you something, it’s a story you’ve heard a thousand times. But you watch their cute little faces telling you as if for the first time. God knows what I am going through. He knows villain hit his runner runner, but He wants me to share it with Him, to involve Him in everything I do. Even if He doesn’t intervene doesn’t mean He doesn’t care. (“Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” Mark 10:15) and in return, I let Him speak to me through the Bible, nature, and good people around me. 

Do what God likes or what God wants you to do. Especially in Chinese culture, we see god as a shortcut to getting what we want. Burn some incense, buy some roast pork, or fruits in exchange for what you want. In the Old Testament God also required burning sacrifices, namely a lamb, because it symbolizes purity, innocence but is also often a prized possession so it reflects sincerity. But the sacrifice is not in exchange for success but rather an atonement for sin. Because success can only come when you are without sin. (“Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.” Isaiah‬ ‭59‬:‭1‬-‭2‬) Imagine going to your boss everyday asking for a raise, promotion, upgraded equipment, more holidays… instead of doing things to genuinely help the company, make your boss look good, being a good example, helping your colleagues, being kind. If you’ve done the latter, a fair and good boss will reward you whether you ask for it or not. 

Doesn’t mean you can’t tell God what you want. In fact He asks us to. (“do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭6‬-‭7‬) I am 97% a super happy person. I have so many things to be thankful for, an angel of a partner, a decent career, a colorful life. But yet I still have my struggles, days where I would cry in the shower, wake up middle of the night crying, or “crying” on the table when the eventual SHR champ jams K9 vs my 99, flop clean and turn 9 I still lost. Winning isn’t sweet if you never lose, success is not satisfying if you never fail. But what makes it different for me, is the peace I get that is truly out of this world; the hope I have even when things look bleak; and the love I can share because of the abundance that I have received. 

I used to think “hey God, I’m your spokesperson now, don’t make me look bad, You scratch my back I scratch Yours…” The truth is, it doesn’t work that way. Most good Christians do not have earthly success. The thing is, the poker industry does not have the best of reputations, let alone exemplary life choices and pureness of heart. With company closure, HK riots and COVID I was pushed into the poker industry. Didn't really give me much of a choice. But I wanted to be different, in Chinese saying "grow out of dirty mud but unsullied". Somehow I grinded out a decent career but now, I want to influence others to be good too. To influence someone you need a certain degree of success. My success is not necessarily in dollars and cents or trophies, but the richness in friendship, loyalty and respect. (but results help too) Whether God grants me that or not, I leave it to Him. But if I am successful in helping another person, give them joy or hope, offer them solid advice, inspire them to give, make them a better person.... then these are my trophies. Of course my argument with God is that poker trophies would make me even more effective 🤣

If you are going through something and need a listening ear, a helping hand, sound advice, or anything at all, you can reach me at happyriverpoker@gmail.com God bless

 

APT Taipei, Dream Room Opening report

Recently things have been really hectic for me. Our poker federation has been flying at supersonic speeds not just with member growth, events and content but now we are reaching and gaining recognition internationally. This trip we have secured the support of CTP (Taiwan), HKPPA (Hong Kong) and GPI Asia. I will have even better news end of this month. In the coming weeks I am also traveling to multiple cities to join meetings and conduct classes. 

But since 2015 I have committed to keep this blog alive with at least one post a month so I want to write about my most recent trip, to Taipei. I love Taipei, and it is rare for me to miss a major event there. Plus with meetings lined up I couldn't choose anywhere else. The costs are reasonably low, food is great, direct flights, soft fields, it is an easy decision for me. In fact I am returning there within a month since I left, and most likely will go again before the end of the year! Like any of my trips, before I go I would pray for 3 things. Safe trip, happy trip and a profitable trip. I know I have not been specific enough previously so I made sure to ask for at least a 5-6 figure profit. 

Nice moment with this guy right after his win

First two events I felt I played flawlessly. In one of them I played hyper disciplined coming back from 5bb to a 55bb stack only to run KK into AA. The other I had JJ vs QQ on a QJ board. I came to rail my friend MrEnox just in time to see him win the mystery bounty for about $USD60k. Not bad when I had 5% action on that. Then I continued to maintain a 100% OTM (out of the money) record for the rest of the series whilst he was 100% ITM. Shoutout to BlueIce for beating the Pros as well. I like to think that I played a big part in these two Isaacs' careers. I was the one who encouraged Enox to play full time, and BlueIce would not have gotten the votes he needed without MPF! At this point I was stuck roughly 192k. 

Best ROI horse

On the last night before our flight home, instead of firing another bullet for a trip saver, I resigned to cutting my losses and spent my time preparing a special invitation for MPF. I finished the invitation and sent it to my high profile bosses and friends. The next morning as I was getting up to go to the airport, one of my bosses replied that Paul Phua is coming to Taipei. My first reaction was, ah too bad I am leaving today. As I continued to get ready to pack up, it suddenly dawned on me, why don't I extend my trip? So in a matter of 15 minutes we burned our return flights, decided to stay another 4 days.

The following day APT was still running, so I took another stab at the Closer event. Two bullets later I am now stuck 212k! Not sure if extending the trip was the best decision, the following night I went to visit the Dream Room, which coincidentally was in the same building as my Airbnb. I was touching distance away from Paul Phua, who's my poker inspiration for a while. Sabah gor as he is affectionately known as has a colorful past. I believe he is one of the few people who's life is more interesting than mine. When he was playing on PokerStars long ago, his nickname was "MalACEsia" (Malaysia). He since went on to create numerous poker companies, including the prestigious Triton Poker Series. In some ways we are quite similar, in terms of bankroll, then no. That night even though I didn't get to talk to him, I had a profit of about 60k. (balance -152k)

Mad respect for the man

The following day Enox calculated my 5% share, and it came to 138k, so out of the sudden, I am only stuck 14k for the trip! That night I crushed the TLT for a 190k profit to put me now in the black for 176k or so. Unfortunately though I did not get to see Paul that night but I did catch a very impressive lineup of who's who for the grand opening. Little did I know I had one more shot the next day. I took my photo with him, gave him our patch as a conversation starter, and it worked! He asked about it and we had a short but productive conversation. Now that the seed is sowed, I hope we can continue this conversation at a later date. Since I was there I saw a table opening so I jumped in not knowing it was a VIP invitational to play with Jungleman. It was pretty cool and I even hit my 5th career royal flush and beat Jungle on the very last hand of the day. I booked a small loss for this session though.

Second time meeting Jungle

At the end, I got a safe, happy AND profitable trip. You can technically argue that it was a 6 figure profit. As amused as I was with His sense of humor, the fact that I got to where I am was a culmination of a number of things that had to happen the way it did. From way back when I started poker, expanded my network, always making friends, got jobs in poker companies, built a bankroll to afford HR events, running deep in one of them, getting recognized enough to be invited to high stakes games, won on those to afford creating MPF, to bricking all at APT so I had enough time to write that invitation and send it, and be invited to meet Paul... I can't wait to see what will unfold in my very exciting journey in poker and in life!

My Limsanity Moment? Poker Dream 11, Genting Malaysia Report

I’m a big Jeremy Lin fan. Been following his career when he first burst into the scene down to his G-league years and later in China and Taiwan. Both him and I are pretty vocal Christians. I respect the ways he handles adversity, criticism, haters, challengers, and how he lets his faith guide him in not just being a basketball player but also as a human being. He is quick to stand up for the right things, but never condemning or out to hurt anybody. He is also generous in giving and helping others. He’s an inspiration for me to do the same, just in the poker industry. 

I’m writing this article at 1:31am on the 1st of August 2024. Poker Dream 11 starts later today and I have a feeling my time, my "Limsanity" moment is near. (Yes Jeremy and I have the same last name just spelled slightly differently) I wanted to write this before it happened instead of after to show you if I predicted it or not.

My life can be made into a very interesting and entertaining movie or Netflix series. From me battling gambling addiction since I was 15,  getting involved in some shady stuff, bouncing around in my poker career including living and playing in Vietnam and Cambodia, dealing with lots of personal issues, getting scammed, bullied and locked up… to changing my life completely, vowed to be honest, humble, kind, giving, loyal, caring, a selfless person, quit all forms of gambling, to make myself a person deserving of great things in life, all the while giving credit to God and counting His blessings. It has not been an easy journey as change does not come overnight, and till this day I’m still being tested, and sometimes I still fail, but every time I’ve come back a stronger, a better version of the person I was. But the blessings are there. I have the most amazing partner in life that brings me so much joy and comfort. I truly believe I’m one of the happiest people on earth. Recently I’ve done okay for myself financially too. I know this is just the start, and I want to inspire other people that you can be successful by being good, kind, some would even say soft and weak even dumb, often bullied, scolded, lied to, taken advantage of, face injustice, unfairness, judgement, but as long as you stay true to yourself and be the best you can be, be more concerned about making God happy than people, great things will happen for you.

Coming off a downswing in my cash game life, I’ve learn so much to continue to grow as a poker player. Since my last post on my losing run, I’ve won 1/10 small stakes sessions, 7/10 mid stakes (but only for a small profit) but thankfully 4/5 high stakes games. But I could have been at least 2000bb richer in the high stakes if I had left at the peak of those sessions, instead of losing TT vs 96, QQ vs 33 all in pre flop mind you for ridiculous size pots. So my point is, I shouldn’t be feeling super confident at the moment. But somehow, I am. All these years of hiding in mediocrity at least in tournaments, I feel my breakthrough is just around the corner. I’ll stop writing here and if my feelings were right, I’ll share with you what happened below. 

I prayed for a trophy, but wasn't specific enough!

Now it's the 13th of August. Poker Dream 11 is over, well, things were a little insane for a while. From my experience, God has a great sense of humor. I prayed for a trophy but next time I will be more specific! 😂I did win a trophy and had a pretty cool moment on stage, but, it was an invitational event, even though there were some money up top. I felt bad for some of my table mates that finished 3rd and 4th (long story) so I gave them 10% each of my prize, including the 2nd place finisher. I was in the top 4 of the Big Mystery Bounty event and chopped the prize 4 ways. After the ICM chop the immediate next hand I lost a 3 way all in pot with AA vs JT vs Q2. Was close to winning a proper trophy but it was not to be. Had a third final table in the Big-O event but bricked all my later events. I could feel my mental stamina was not as it used to be and made some pretty bad mistakes later in the series. I ended the series with a modest profit, and congratulations to my friends who did exceptionally well this series. To those who didn't, gambate and keep grinding!

Real people are hard to find

Maybe my time is not here yet and my biggest takeaway was to be humble and keep working hard. This trip there were other positives such as meeting potential future business partners, stakers, students, life long friends. The most touching moment was how my core MPF boys stood by me, and to see how the community we have built have grown. Our community was built with time, care, sacrifice, and not benefits, marketing or giveaways. So what I got in return was friendship, respect, loyalty. Thanks guys, you know who you are. I have come to another crossroad in my career, and I have some interesting plans ahead. Stick around to follow me on my journey! 

I don't want a lucky break, I want deserved success