Poker in Perth - REVIEW

Perth is a beautiful city, with clear blue skies almost every time I visit, close drive to vineyards, fruit orchards and wonderful scenery every where you look. This is my second time visiting Perth and both times I rented a car. Highly recommend that you do so. Public transport is not very convenient and taxis aren’t cheap either. Traffic is usually pretty good apart from the city centre and plenty of free parking everywhere. 

Beautiful Perth sky with sweet and juicy strawberries

The casino is also part of the Crown group however they do have a different rake system. There’s no time charge and they fix the rake not by percentage but by different calculation. It ends up being slightly better than the 10% in Melbourne and the cap is at around 4-5 big blinds. There’s no jackpot in play but that doesn’t bother me. The jackpot in Sydney and Melbourne is pretty impossible to hit anyways. 

The most popular game is 1/3, buy-in cap is at 100bb. Occasionally when there are enough players, they will have a 2/5 game with a buy-in cap at 200bb. The game in my opinion is much softer than Melbourne and Sydney with some really crazy players overcalling with one pair or a low equity draw. There are lots of regulars that play there, but most of them are not tough to play at all. 

Had a couple of good sessions there

Dealers are generally pretty good and efficient, however the seem more laid back than their Australian counterparts. I also encountered a rude floor man who made up a new rule just to argue with me and a seemingly racist dealer. He reacted quite differently to a similar situation involving players of two different races. There are no free drinks or food but there’s a water dispenser available within the poker area. 

Perth is definitely worth visiting. The game at the casino is not 24 hours, so you’ll have time to explore the city and its surroundings. On weekdays the game starts in the afternoon but I recommend playing around or after dinner time. Within the city is King’s Park where you can escape the hustle and bustle or go for a nice picnic. The park overlooks the city centre and has great views all around. If you have a car you can drive to Swan Valley. There are vineyards offering free wine and cheese tasting. However I would not recommend that you buy the Cheeses. We bought one that was 3x the price from a local supermarket. In Swan Valley there’s a chocolate factory as well and yes there’s free chocolate. So if you have a nagging girlfriend who’s fed up with your constant poker grinding, you’ll spoil her with the wine and chocolate without spending a cent! 

The other place to visit in Freemantle and Cottlesloe Beach. The water is amazingly beautiful and inviting but unfortunately even though it was the middle of summer, the water was still freezing cold. But it did not deter many locals from diving in. If you’re a dog lover like me, there’s a dog friendly beach near South Terrance at Freemantle where you can see dogs roam free and run around in the sand. 

Dog friendly beach

Cottlesloe Beach

If you’re in town at the right time, you can try some fruit picking. Strawberries were in season while I was there but in other times of the year you can pick apples, mangoes, even lychees. Freshly picked fruit is super sweet and despite the hot sun and risk of sun burn, it was still a fun afternoon. Perth zoo was nothing spectacular but still not a bad way to spend half a day. 

Not bad for AUD 10

Overall Perth is a great place to visit for poker and balanced with sight seeing. If you are not looking for bigger games, it is just nice to play some friendly poker and enjoy a nice vacation as well. If you guys are interested, the Perth Poker Championships are happening end of February (2019)

New Year Resolutions

Where should I go?

2018 was a rough year for me. Yes I got some great results offline but online was a different story. Then my main grinding spot was busted and was lost for what I should do next. But just before the new year I played cash games almost everyday and it kind of renewed my passion for playing professionally. I might be receiving a job offer soon but I am not sure if that is my direction. 

Whatever happens I will not give up poker completely. I intend to play tournaments whenever I can and might consider moving somewhere that has regular cash games. It is another big challenge ahead but I have a feeling 2019 will be a big year for me. 

In 2018 I made 8 final tables but won it twice. It gave me a great realization that I need to improve on my finish. It's nice to cash and get on the final table but making just one pay jump can be a big difference. It was most evident when I was playing the APT High Roller in Vietnam where I was the monster chip leader going into most of the final day. When we got to 3 handed, I had half the chips in play. Instead I finished 3rd for about USD 25k where first place would have been USD 75k. That 50k difference is huge, not just monetary wise, but in terms of confidence, bank roll management, game selection, etc. 

I hope 2019 will be fruitful and sweet

What has gotten me to where I am now is the constant reminder that I am not good enough. This past few months I have invested time and money into coaching programs and I have learned a lot. But I still need to put them into practice and continue to improve. 

Resolutions for 2019

* Spend more time studying and reflecting

* Improve my ITM rate

* Improve my focus and patience

* Degen-free for 2019 

* Keep better track and management of my money

* Doing right things, doing things right

No comment

Am I too nice?

Lots of thinking

This year has given me a lot to reflect upon. Recent experiences has made me question some of my principles and I want to share this with you as my last post of 2018. Something to think about and something to help guide me into the new year.

Am I too nice?

STORY ONE: I recently played in a cash game in Perth. (don't worry I will write a Perth review next week) There was an obviously drunk guy who didn't know what he was doing. He called an all in with a J high flush draw on a 6688 board. He called my preflop 3b with K2o and on a QQQ flop he called again when I over pot shoved with my pocket tens. He already rebought 5 times and I get aces in big blind. Someone raised to 7x, he called, button called, I made it 20x. Everyone folded and but he called. Flop came QJ7 rainbow I insta shoved effective 70x and flipped over my hand. He said he had a 7 in his hand but folded. I was being nice to him and gave up a 70bb profit (granted I might have lost the hand if it went to showdown but...) but instead I was yelled at by the floor man. I continued to watch everyone take advantage of the poor guy and he ended up losing about 800bb before security came and took him away.

More thinking

STORY TWO: In my visit to Sydney, I stayed at an Airbnb. The location was fine until it was night time and cockroaches came out to play. On my first night I killed about 20+ of them. If you're keen I got a video of that. On my second night I killed another 30+. I did not report to Airbnb, instead I told the owner to fix the problem and I would not complain about it. He came by to did a spray but it did not work. It was so bad, I was woken up one night by a cockroach crawling on my leg. I couldn't take it anymore and reported to Airbnb. The resolution was I would receive 50% refund of my booking. I accepted it, even wrote a very "toned down" review of the place, mentioning the issue but given the host credit that he tried and would fix the problem after my stay. Instead I got the host's review as being a "complicated guest, high maintenance". I don't think expecting to sleep without cockroaches on my body is being complicated nor high maintenance.

One of the 50+ cockroaches I killed at my Airbnb rental

STORY THREE: At this moment in time, I am being OWED about USD 75k and I can honestly tell you I have much less than that in my bank right now. Some of this debt are good but some I can tell you I do not expect to ever see the money again. I help people whenever I can. Despite not having a job and steady income, I help others and gave friends time to pay up. I am not rich by any means and to be honest I am struggling a bit at the moment. But sometimes I get scolded when I ask for my money back, or some "friends" can quickly forget about you when there's money owed. Yet in my heart I forgive them and even feel bad for them that they can be so cold and selfish.

God is still better than any artist

I am not a saint and I have made many mistakes in my life. I am not writing this to boast or to show off. I am indeed struggling with this question. But one of the principles I have is not to do to others what I wouldn't want done to myself. There are so many cash games that I had to stay on playing after winning a big pot because I don't want to hit and run, even if I don't know the people nor will I ever see them again. Because of this principle I probably lost a lot of money over time for just sticking around. Others may owe me, but when I owe someone I will go out of the way to get it paid back, even when I am struggling. When we were arrested for playing poker, I volunteered myself to be jailed for longer so my friends can be released earlier. I gave to charity when I had a winning month even when I had a losing year.

Am I too nice?

After lots of reflection and soul searching, my answer is NO. This is who I am and who I will continue to be. I believe in karma and even if I don't get rewarded, knowing I am doing what's right is reward enough. Let this post and you reading it be a witness to my future. One day when I look back on this, I hope I can say, karma is a generous bitch.

My Poker Journey in 2018

Before the end of 2017 I set myself some goals for 2018 and here'e a look back to how I did.

In February I officially ceased my employment so I guess you can say I "turned pro" in Feb. However I feel a more accurate description would be I was unemployed between Feb - June and decided to pursue poker as a career at the end of June.

My poker this year - looks good but pretty shaky when inspected

I started the year really strong and final tabled the APPT Platinum Series Main Event. I also cashed in the APT Vietnam main event and I was on a roll. Then I had a series of bad results. Red Dragon, APPT Incheon, APT Seoul, honestly I look back and I knew I wasn't playing well. My head wasn't in it and I wasn't focused. I took time off poker for a couple of months and started playing again in June. Still I didn't do well. I felt I was being impatient and trying to make moves that had low chances of success. It wasn't till the end of July I told myself I played so badly I deserved to lose, and I bucked up and the results started rolling in.

Sorry APL, ugliest trophy I have ever seen but I'll take it

Before the year I set myself a goal to cash at least 10 times and win my second trophy. I managed to do just that. I cashed 11 times, including 2 trophies, making 8 final tables, finishing 2nd and 3rd once each. I had a great run from August to October but fizzled out in November and December where I bricked everything I played in. On one slight bright side, I was on the feature table twice at the WSOP main event where I played decent. I bluff jam with ace high, max value 3rd pair, max value a full house but also made 2 calls that were questionable. Lol. I did also win 4 other trophies in OFC as well.

On the feature table

4 OFC trophies

I put some money into Crypto in the 3rd quarter and as you all know what happened after that. It has been a rough year for me financially. Having lost the safety of a stable income, playing poker professionally can be really frustrating and stressful. At one point I was doing okay because there was a cash game I was consistently doing well in. But that game got busted and the people involved were thrown in jail for 6 months. That was a wake up call for me.

To be honest, 2019 is looking bleak. Bricking tourneys is not fun and it is a huge blow to the bankroll. But I am proud to say despite not having the best year I gave the most this year to charity. I am not trying to toot my own horn but I believe in doing what I do with integrity and purpose. Maybe the Big guy upstairs will have mercy on me and give me a second chance.

I don't even dare to set any goals for 2019 as I am not living month to month. But if possible I hope to better my results from this year and hopefully have some traction in my financial life. But whatever it is, for those who know me, I will always have a smile on my face, willing to help others whenever I can, and be the best I can be.

I am addicted to OFC Pineapple Poker!

How do you know when someone is a OFC Poker addict?

When you ask him what is his wildest fantasy and he replies........ trip aces on top!

What's amazing about this hand was it was in Normal play, was not in Fantasyland!

Recently I am hooked on OFC. If you think PLO is addictive and have a love hate relationship with it, wait till you've tried OFC. OFC stands for Open Face Chinese poker and over the years the rules have evolved greatly making it both a skilled but swingy game. In the last month alone I think I have played more than 20000 hands and mind you, each hand takes like 2-4 minutes to play out. I have also won 4 trophies in OFC so I like to think I know what I am talking about.

I wanted to write a few articles about OFC strategy here and the more I wrote the more I realized how much there is to write about. I have now about 15 pages of strategy so I thought maybe I will hold out and write a book! I love writing but writing a book is a totally different animal. It requires a lot of focus and time, which I have neither. But nevertheless I will continue on this little project (probably take super long) but who knows, maybe I will have a product on the shelves!

Obviously double straight flush will have lots of points!

For those who do not know what OFC is, you should really try it. There are lots of apps that you can play without money online. It is a combination of skill and luck of course but it does not have the stress of bluffing and calling and every hand is exciting and something happening. If you know the game you can skip the stuff below.

53 points in royalties, that's the best I have ever gotten. If you beat this please let me know and send a screenshot

The objective of the game is to get as many points as possible by having a better hand than your opponent and gain bonus points from royalties from special hands like trips, straights, flushes etc. You have to build two 5-card hands on the bottom and middle and a 3-card hand on top. The bottom level has to be the same or stronger than the middle, and the middle the same or stronger than the top. Obviously if you put a better hand on top you will get more bonus points (royalties) but it is harder because you have to beat that hand in your middle and bottom rows. Hence the skill of the game comes into play. You can foul your hand if you do not fulfill this requirement and that's an instant additional 6 points for your opponents. However if you can have QQ or better on top, you are guaranteed a non fouling hand because you will get what's called Fantasyland where you get all your cards in one go and you can arrange them any way you like. Although I have seen one guy accidentally fouling his fantasyland but he was still learning at the time.

It's fun when you don't have to scratch your head about your hand. Obviously the additional 2 card from Aces fantasy helps!

Now the game has evolved into a monster with ultimate mode and jokers. In ultimate mode, you get more cards in fantasyland if you get KK or better. But if you stay in fantasyland (needing quads or better on the bottom row or trips on the top row), you get the bonus cards that you received when entering fantasy. Throwing in a couple more jokers into the mix and the game can be super wild!

Let me know if you have any questions, or love the game yourself but want to improve, drop me a message at happyriverpoker@gmail.com! Love to hear from you.

Charity Poker Tournament

This year I planned to do more charity work. Playing poker professionally is tough, especially when you don't know where your income is going to come from. You already have a difficult life trying to manage your bankroll, and especially in tournament poker, you can go on long droughts and even negative months. But having traveled and even lived in some places like Vietnam, Philippines, India, Pakistan, etc I feel that I am very fortunate as I am, and I get to play the best game in the world for a living. In order to motivate myself to earn more, but also to give purpose to what I do (other than making money), I pledged 10% of my income to charity work.

In January, despite making a loss, I made a donation to the Saigon Children's Charity. A very good cause for less fortunate kids in Vietnam. In September and October, although I struggled throughout but I had a decent result at the end so I forked out (more than 10% actually). I say this because I don't want some of my asshole friends not seeing the positive side of things and actually spinning this into "oooh so you're rich now, I don't have to pay you back"... To be honest, I am not doing so well lately but I want to stick to my pledge and it means even more when the giving actually "hurts". Kind of.

HKPPA (Hong Kong Poker Players' Association) actually came up with a great idea, for me to sponsor two main event packages (buy in and hotel) to the upcoming APL in Vietnam, which includes 4 days to spend with me, which is always worth it LOL. In the end we generated a total of  HK$21000 which will be distributed to the Homeless World Cup (HK), The Hong Kong Society for the Aged and the Hong Kong Children's Foundation.

Pretty decent turnout, HK$21000 collected for charity

Not only that my money generated more for charity than expected, I hope to inspire other players to give more. I hope it can become a practice and even tradition in the poker community.

In the end, the prizes were won by Mr ChuChu and Zack so congratulations to you both and I look forward to seeing you guys in Vietnam. Both winners if they cash in the main event, will give 10% of their profits to charity as well! So pay it forward!

Mr ChuChu

Zack

Poker in Taiwan - REVIEW

Taiwan has produced many great poker players in recent years like Kitty Kuo, Jack Wu, Pete Chen, Terry Fan, Chen An Lin, etc. And with many major tournaments kicking off for the first time in Taiwan in 2019, it is about time we find out more about poker in Taiwan.

Poker at CTP Taipei

I visited a few poker clubs in Taipei and Taichung and to my surprise, despite it being a "grey area" activity, poker is very open and active. There are small tournaments happening everyday starting from just NTD 1000 (USD 33) with rebuy and addon. There's also a very interesting "limited time" tournament where there are only 2 levels, and at the end of 2 hours, the tournament stops and you cash out what you have. (basically a cash game) but with a pretty high rake. I played in two but it was fun and loose.

I did go to another club that ran a cash game but they took lengths to mask their activity, hidden in an industrial building with a sign that said they were a different business. That game was USD 3/3 and the action was pretty good. I ran pretty well with my pocket 3s flopping J33, pocket 6s flopping K66.

World famous Taiwanese Bubble Tea (invented by this restaurant)

In previous years when you wanted to get good tournaments in Asia your choices were Macau (expensive and just a gambling town), Philippines (fun but dangerous), Korea (expensive and turn outs are not as good as locals are not allowed into casinos). But now with Vietnam and Taiwan, they have a lot going for them. Both are relatively cheap and lots of great food, sightseeing, shopping, night life and very safe. In terms of cost, Taiwan is definitely more expensive than Vietnam, but compared to cities like Hong Kong or Tokyo, it is very affordable to stay in Taipei for an extended period of time.

Live telecast table with RFID reader

CPT seems to be the pioneer for International poker in Taiwan and I visited their location which was very nicely designed, wide open spaces that can accommodate a good number of tables, with a super cool final table setup for 9 with broadcast capabilities and RFID scanners. Maybe in 2019 you will catch me in one of the telecasts. :)

Poker at CTP Taichung

Taichung is only 40 minutes by High Speed Rail away from Taipei. And it is a different city altogether. We visited a club that had bacarrat tables, three card poker and blackjack. And it was in a glass building, visible to the public. I did not post any pictures of it because I don't want to bring too much attention to them, but I think they don't mind it at all. It is basically a casino under the guise of a themed cafe. CTP had a club in Taichung as well and they have tourneys like the "limited time" games. I wouldn't recommend them as the rake is pretty steep but it was fun to play though. 

If you want more information about poker in Taiwan you can contact me directly at happyriverpoker@gmail.com