31 days, 219 hours, BIG LOSS, May Report

May was brutal, and I am glad it's over. I hope it gets better from here. A few interesting facts in May. I played Omaha only in the entire month. Not even one hand of Holdem. There were two days the game ran for 32 and 34 hours respectively. I lost in both those sessions.

If you need proof that the life of a poker player is hard, this is it. You can have 8 winning months in a row but one bad month can kick you down into the abyss. If not for 3 sessions where I won more than $1500 each, I would have had it much worse. So how much did I lose? Slightly more than $12000. To put in into perspective it is about 2-3 years of apartment rental in Cambodia.

One of the few rare big pots where my AA double suited held up

I'd admit I played bad in quite a few hands, but I would say 70% of my losing hands were unlucky and 30% were due to bad play. I have a few in mind like when I had 22 outs and missed, ace high flush one outered by the straight flush, top full house vs quads multiple times, you know the drill. At one point every pot I lost I actually felt my heart ache.

But a few things I am proud of, firstly I never threw a tantrum or got visibly angry. I may take a few seconds to compose myself then I continue to laugh and joke with the others. Sometimes I would get these beats whilst having to deal with other stress or problems at the same time. But overall I am pretty proud of how I juggled everything and kept my sanity. On losing nights I would be disappointed but I always went home positively and still thankful and feeling blessed to even have this opportunity. Midway in my downswing I still gave to charity because the Cambodia's Children Fund was doing a matching donation drive.

Another rare night when I came back from -$1500 to be up $2000

Thankfully Covid19 is still under control in Cambodia. We can hang out at restaurants and live life normally. Before my downswing got out of control, I told the dealers if I can cash out more than $5000 that session I would treat them to sushi. Mind you I bought in for $3000 that day and I had $1500 in front of me at the time. I ended up cashing slightly more than $5000. But ever since the sushi meal, my results just looked like the stock market crash. No more sushi for you girls!

Great restaurants in Phnom Penh

I have not been able to play football because of my schedule, but I have started intermittent fasting and it seems to be working. I am trying to push my fasts to be 18-20 hours long. I am working every single day for 220 hours a month. I don't know how long this will continue for but I have to push on and hopefully I will have better news to report end of June.

30 days, 229 hours of poker, April Report

It has been a while that I have played every single day in a calendar month. There's 720 hours in a 30-day month, and I played poker for 229 hours. That's 31% of my time. At my age, I would think that is a minor miracle.

Average stack on 1/3 omaha

I was doing well for the month until I had a $2000 losing session close to the end but still ended the month in the black. I will probably share my results at the end of the year. But I can say I did much better than last month. This also marks my fourth winning month in a row. 12 winning months out of 14 since I started playing cash games full time.

Interesting fact is this month I am down playing Holdem but up playing Omaha. The Omaha game at the 777 poker club is super fun and action packed. It's quite common to have pots of $2000 and up. Almost everyone at the game is really friendly and funny, so it is quite entertaining to play even on a losing day. There's some intelligent conversations going on, and believe it or not, I am learning new things almost every day.

Action packed games

At one point I was trying to learn Spanish and I got decent traction. Occasionally there are other players that speak it too that I can "practice" with but so far I am still pretty bad. I have not been able to play soccer and have been eating fattening foods like pizza and fried rice. I have put on a lot of weight so now I have been bringing my own salad dinners to eat healthier.

Chips, Tea and Rabbit Food

I am very thankful that in Cambodia we are living a life that is so different from almost the rest of the world. We have a poker game every day, hanging out with friends, the opportunity to earn a living while so many people in the world are struggling to make ends meet. I wish you all the best of health wherever you are.

What we should all learn from COVID19

Some people say, everything happens for a reason. If we do not learn anything from COVID19 it would have happened for nothing. Over the last few weeks, from my observation and also reading lots of comments from many different angles, this is what I have learned and trying to learn from all of this.

1. We are all equal

We are all human beings with the same anatomy. Not money, race, religion, position, authority can make you immune from COVID19. No one is more superior than another.

2. Times of trouble brings out the best and worst in humanity

All across the globe there are medical practitioners risking their lives working non stop to save lives, people volunteering their time to help others, whilst there are selfish people not following instructions and putting more people at risk, causing panic, placing blame, spreading hate and fear. Which one are you?

3. Leave God out of this

God gave us freedom to choose what we want to do, but God also gave us a brain to make wise decisions and not do stupid shit. We are in no position to say God this God that. I don't care what you think God told you, He told me to tell you to shut the F up. (PS: I am religious)

4. Learn to appreciate true value

Masks, toilet paper and food are worth more than previously expensive stuff. I remember the story of Pablo Escobar burning $3 million dollars to keep himself warm when he was on the run. In times of need you'll see the true value of life, time, friendship, family, health, and how vain it is to pursue materialistic possessions.

5. Mother nature fights back

We are not taking care of mother earth that we are over populating. It is natural for mother nature to fight back. Covid19 will have a vaccine and cure soon. But there is no vaccine for climate change. We are close to crossing the point of no return and Covid19 is just a reminder if we don't take care of our home, it is going to "take care" of us.

Just a random picture from my window so the preview pane has something to post

Some people are fighting for their lives, some people are fighting to save people's lives, some people are fighting for their rights, some people are fighting random people on the street because of their skin colour. Some fights are worth fighting, some are outright dumb. Let's strive to make the world we live in a better place, be better people ourselves, be nicer to the people around us, take care of the world we live in.

31 days, 40 session, 204 hours of play, March Report

First of all I hope all of you are well and healthy. In troubled times like this, we should care more about the people around us, because at the end, all we have are each other. The world is already pretty shit with disasters, pandemics, climate changes, pollution, etc but it can be better with more smiles, kind words, care and support. <3

Secondly I know you must be thinking, how can you play 40 sessions in 31 days!?! Well there are days when we started playing one game and then switch to another, ie. PLO to Holdem or vice versa. And how a 40+ year old like me can play 204 hours in a month without getting a stroke. Well, by the grace of God I am still alive.

The month started with a bang and I was running great until I went on a $9000 downswing. I was up $3305 for the month and ran down to -$6301. But after much clawing and grinding I managed to bring myself up to a whopping profit of $949 for the month. You know when you are up and end up breaking even you feel like shit? But when you're down and claw yourself back to even you feel great? Well, I choose to feel like the latter.

Woohoo $4.66 per hour, which I am honestly thankful for

Honestly I am thankful to even having a "job" in the current landscape. People everywhere lost money in their businesses, or lost money from their investments (myself included), lost their jobs, or are on unpaid leave, and I don't even dare to think about the inflation or financial situation post COVID19. Poker players everywhere are suffering because of the closure of casinos and games, but I still get to play on a daily basis, I should appreciate that. Not only so, it is one heck of a game with tonnes of action. Just last night we were playing $1/3 Omaha and there was $15000 on the table.

$5000 pot in $1/3 PLO

I've also moved to a new apartment, and even though it is slightly more expensive than before, and in the current market I can get much cheaper, I guess it is worth it to live a little and enjoy the time that we have cause you never know when the world is going to end. Although I seldom get to enjoy it, the sunset view from my living room soothes me and gives me hope. No matter what happens in the world, the sun will rise and set, it shines on everyone, good or bad. It doesn't discriminate, it doesn't judge, it doesn't take breaks or days off. Life is fair, and life goes on. What you do under the sun is your choice, but the consequences of your choices is yours to bear.

Chaotic but beautiful Phnom Penh

29 days, 17 sessions, February Report

February was a lazy month for me. Only played 17 sessions and my excuse was poor game selections and Coronavirus. Started the month in the freezing cities of Bratislava and Vienna, then back to the heat and humidity of Malaysia and Cambodia. Thankfully Cambodia has no Coronavirus outbreak so far.

Bratislava

Despite just playing very few hours and sessions, I managed to get close to my monthly target. I am sure my data is skewed but for Feb I managed 18bb/hour and overall for the year 23bb/hour. I could have had a much better month if I didn't lose two huge pots with bottom set on flop.

Games have been quite dry at my usual grind, with an influx of Macau grinders making it even worse. I saw a guy play 4 hands the whole night (probably 6+ hours) and three times it was Aces. Maybe I play a more loose aggressive style and can still get a decent hourly, or maybe I am just a luckbox. This year there has been a few sessions even I'm surprised at how good I ran. Maybe 2020 is the year for me!

Boss game is back!

Thankfully I've now found a much much much much better game. Back to the good old days where bosses would go all in blind, or blind raise willy nilly, call all ins with K4o, etc. So I will camp myself there for now and see how far it goes. Keep you guys updated! Stay safe and stay healthy!

Don't forget to join me on Natural8 using the code POKER168 or click here!

31 days, 6 cities, 21 sessions, January Report

I started the year playing in Phnom Penh, ended the month in Prague, in between was playing poker in Taipei, Hong Kong, Macau and Vienna. It has been an interesting January for sure.

I played in my first tournament of the year, made ITM but not a deep run but still nice to cash. Had 21 cash game sessions where I won 67% of them and made an ROI of 27%, played in 5 different currencies including USD, NTD, HKD, EUR and CZK. I'll be making another poker stop in Bratislava, Slovakia next week making it the 19th country I've played poker in. In the next few weeks hopefully I'll have the time to post some videos on my YouTube channels about these locations.

Hong Kong was an interesting experience which I will write on a separate article, but I went when the coronavirus was not a big issue yet. The hotels were cheap and no queues at most places even without the epidemic scare, but poker is very much alive there.

Little did I know the risks I took by being there

Macau was another surprising trip. I made a mistake thinking my flight back from Hong Kong was 4pm but it turned out to be 14:00 and I missed it. So last minute option was to take the bus to Macau. Turned out to be a great trip. Met up with a couple of old friends and had great conversations, and also won on the cash games as well. The last time I played there was 2 years ago and I remembered it being very reggy and tight. This visit totally changed my views about it but with the threat of coronavirus I have put off making a return trip just yet. I was in the crowds struggling to make it up to the ruins of St Paul's church not knowing that it was such a high germ risk. Thankfully more than 14 days after that trip I do not have any signs of the disease.

Vienna is a beautiful city which I will feature on its own article, but also a video. I will post both when they are ready. Poker was fun there as well but not much of game selection to be honest. But it was cool to visit the city during the day and still can unwind and grind at night.

0 degrees Celcius in Vienna

Now I am in Prague as I am writing this, and there was a juicy 200/400 game yesterday which lasted more than 24 hours and escalated to a 500/1000 which I was ready to join after a nap but it broke before I got there. But if Vienna was beautiful, Prague is super Pretty!

First reaction was WOW

Overall it was a decent month although I did have a bad run online. Could have been a better start to the year but can't complain. Please stay tuned for more detailed reviews of my trips.

New Year Resolutions

Poker has given me the opportunity to see the world, make new friends, expand my horizons, have new experiences. 2019 was indeed an interesting year. Each year I have given myself resolutions and I am proud that I did all of them last year. Hopefully I am not just growing old year by year, I am growing up.

I've learned from first hand experience how important game selection is. Unfortunately it seems the games here now are drying up. So 2020 might be a challenging year for finding good games. It was nice to be able to settle down a bit, finally could tell people a place I was based in. But it looks like we might be back to the nomadic lifestyle.

1) Seek alternative source of income
This year I hope to reduce my reliance on poker winnings and have some other income as supplement. Where this income is going to come from, I don't know yet. But I am working on a few projects.

Standing tall for 2020

2) Remain degen-free for 2020
There were a few times I was tempted in 2019. Someone shared a fixed UFC match and indeed the tip was true. A few times after a rough grind, the blackjack table called out to me when I walked pass. But I know it will pull me into a bad spiral if I do so.

3) Be profitable in tournaments
I foresee myself playing fewer tournaments this year. However thanks to a couple of decent scores, I manage a small profit for tournaments in 2019. But once you include travel costs, and opportunity costs (time away from cash games), then it was not a good investment. This year I hope to play once in a while but manage a profit from my time.

Building something strong for 2020

4) To be healthier and lose weight
After committing to two soccer games a week, I can feel myself getting fitter. Still have some weight to lose but my stamina is better. I am eating healthier too but the occasional trip to Manila does not help.

5) Give to those less fortunate and inspire others to do so
Money is important, and sometimes hard to come by. But the value of money differs from one to another. Everyday I come across the whole spectrum. From the aunty to sleeps on the sidewalk near the casino to the guy who spends USD 1200 for a few grams of coke. I pledge to continue to give on my profiting months.

I am going to start 2020 with a bang. January is going to be an interesting month for me, stay tuned and I will be sharing what I will do. Hopefully it's the beginning of a great year. Please follow me on instagram and join me on Natural8 if you want to support my causes!