Poker Déjà vu

When I was young-er I would wake up and record my weird dreams. Some days I remember my dreams vividly, other days I struggle to even recall the plots. Often I would be chased by some bad guys and I would have a weapon on me, they would always fail. The bullets fall to the ground, the stick become limp, or I get shot first. But as I grew up, and gained confidence, I can actually overcome and kill the bad guys. As I continue to age, I only remember the weird scenarios, scenarios that are familiar but out of place at the same time. And so when I see it play out in real life, the Déjà vu feeling is very strong to me. I have minimum three scenarios that really blew my mind.

I started playing poker in 1999, but that was just for fun. At the time I probably got to play live poker maybe a few days a year so playing live was a treat. In 2005 I was in Sydney for a work trip so I took the opportunity to play poker after hours. During that time they only had 2 tables, one NLH and I was playing on the limit table. In one particular hand I remembered dreaming about the situation. And I remembered a Japanese player would turn his head and say something to me. At the time I remembered what he was going to say before hearing him say it about a second later. Playing poker was something familiar with me, but in Sydney with a Japanese guy talking to me was not. I even mouthed the words he was about to utter before he did. 

April last year I was playing tournament poker in Taipei. One night I had a dream that I won a tournament and the key hand was 77 vs AK. When I woke up I even told my partner about it. I was in the midst of a bad run and was down 200k NTD (7k USD) for the trip at the time. It was the last tournament of the series, and the toughest being the high roller's event as well, and I lost my first bullet. But I rebought and made my way into the final table. 5 players left and I was the chip leader. Second chip leader was close behind but the others were short comparatively. I looked down at 77 and opened. Second chip leader decides to put me all in. If I lost that hand, I would be the shortest stack. But I felt a wave of confidence and remembered my dream. Snap call, he flips over AK. Flop 7. I went on to win it and turned my losing trip into a winning one. 

Nice prize money to go with my trophy

In 2019 I played full time cash games at a private game and also at the casino. The casino had the ugliest chips I've ever played with. One night I had a dream I was playing with the casino crowd, but somehow the poker room was different, and the green chips were different. Familiar and out of place at the same time. A few weeks later the casino hosted the WPT tour. The cash game tables were moved to the ballroom, and they introduced a new design for the green $25 chip. It then came to me I dreamt about this before. 

Old chips old tables

The chips in my dreams

I don't know what is Déjà vu, whether it is a glimpse into the future, or I am just reliving history, or someone altered the code in Matrix and it's a glitch. But often good things follow when I have a Déjà vu moment, or it gives me a sense of assurance that I am on the right path. Whatever it is, it proves that dreams do come true!

If you have any Déjà vu experiences please do share with me!

What happened in September 2020

In September I played a total 174 hours of poker, this time I had some Holdem under my belt. After playing PLO every day I do miss Holdem even though it is slower and more grindy. Unfortunately my results in Holdem was lacking but I still made a small profit for September. 

250bb and still a short stack

Can you believe I've played 1500+ hours of live poker in 2020? I guess I shouldn't complain that I have this opportunity but maybe I am close to burning out. Playing as a player is one thing but playing whilst hosting is another. I have been involved in 5 poker clubs but none as tiring and complicated as this one. I can feel the stress get to me everyday and it's affecting my sleep and health. But I didn't know that I was a workaholic until now. Even when I am "not working" I am. 

I have put on a lot of weight in recent months, because food has become my reward after a hard day's work. Plus I lack the energy and time to work out. Someone very close to me passed away in September and I find myself questioning my own mortality. I am not afraid of dying but I do not want my loved ones to suffer if I leave. Health has to be a top priority in the coming months and I am trying to work on my diet and maybe work in a small daily workout. 

One of my self rewards

Recently I have also been thrown into a tough financial situation. I find myself out a lot of money and unless things start to turn around for me, all may have been for nothing. But that shouldn't affect the giving mentality and helping others who need it more than I do. But it is becoming a bigger internal struggle as every dollar hurts, and my logic is fighting with my heart everyday. 

Sorry my posts have become more depressing and philosophical. I actually have so much to share but I can't at the present time. When I was in Vietnam I often thought to myself how I would write about the truth of my experience in Vietnam. But after I left, I have put that behind me and moved on. I say the same thing about Cambodia but maybe I'll look back and feel the same way. 

Charity Work for September (HappyRiver Fund)

I was debating to share this one or not but I want to inspire others to do their part to help, not necessarily giving money but sometimes just offer a helping hand, a listening ear, a shoulder to cry on, a comforting smile, an encouraging word. Also if anyone wants to join me in my donations, I can setup a HappyRiver Fund and make everything transparent to those involved. 

This month I continued supporting the Animal Rescue Centre and also a bicycle repurposing effort. Some locals have to walk a long way to school, to sell their produce, to town to get supplies, so there is a guy in town who gets unwanted bicycle parts and repurposes them and gives it to people in need. I'll keep you guys updated and possibly some photos. 

Someone brought my attention to a cause in Indonesia delivering food for struggling locals. Jo-Anna is a resourceful woman who brought this mission onto herself when she saw the need. With the funds I sent, she turned it into 660 eggs, 645kgs of rice amongst other goodies including some spending money. 

The fact is there are always people that need help. Monetary needs are most obvious, but some people are facing depression, anxiety, emotional and mental issues. We can make someone's life so much better by offering our help. Wouldn't you wish someone helped you when you're the one suffering? Have some compassion, have some empathy. Changing the world is easier than you think. 

What happened in August 2020

My monthly post mortems somehow get the lowest readership, so I am changing the title. In August the 777 poker club moved into a new bigger room and things didn't go well for me. Early in the first week I was already stuck $5000 for the month. But after 178 hours of grinding I managed to end the month with a small profit. I also got my first WSOP cash finishing 99/1200+ on a $800 PLO tournament. 

Playing games while waiting for the next seat to open up

The games at 777 have been great lately, and some days like yesterday we have a full table (of 10 players) and a waitlist of 4. So on these kind of days I have been able to bring my laptop and have some me time. Otherwise I would entertain some guests by playing OFC with them. Overall I think I am up on OFC. Just the other day I was up 200+ points, was in fantasyland with Royal flush on the bottom, full house on the middle and trip tens on the flop. (for those who don't play OFC, it is a freaking monster hand) But I wanted to go home so I told the guys let's just pretend the game never happened. 

Phnom Penh has some amazing restaurants

This month however I haven't been able to sneak out for nice dinners, so I compensated that with some nice lunches. Lobster and oysters at Ostra, Dim Sum buffet at Golden Chimes and afternoon tea at Khema. Yes I only went out to lunch 3 times this month not including two lunch meetings. Time is such a luxury for me right now. And I wish I had someone who can take over things from me so I can go on holiday or even have a day off. After 163 days straight of working I finally fell sick one day. I still went to work sick but at least I had more rest than usual that day.

One of the better days this past month

I am not living the healthy lifestyle I wanted. No time for exercise, sleeping late, not sleeping well because of all the stresses in life. But I'm not complaining. Life can be much worse and I am thankful. I have the most amazing partner anyone can wish for, a good job, and some money saved up. I am thankful and happy. 

Who is the China Boss?

If you've been playing at 777 poker club or have been following our group posts, you'll often hear the name China Boss come up. Every time his name pops up, the table fills up, and there's a queue waiting to play with him. Since 777's opening in March, he's probably lost close to 100k already when playing no higher than 2/5. So who is the CHINA BOSS?

Those who've followed my blog would have heard of him in 2019 when I was playing in the Chinese private game. My first encounter with him was in June 2019 when I stumbled into the Chinese private game that was running 5/10 Holdem. He was fishy as hell and me and my friend had a limited bankroll suddenly find ourselves in a juicy but deep stacked game. He was playing crazy hands with no range whatsoever and he limps on the button. I have Q9 suited on the big blind I check. It was 6 or 7 way. Flop comes Q92 with flush draw. Long story short, we both went all in and he had QQ. A few sessions later on an A98 flop he had A9 and I had A8. But I never seen him win, and most days he would lose $10k and leave the game. But somehow he runs good against me. 

Dropping one of these each session

Fast forward two months, we are now playing 10/20 and this was an unforgettable night for me. My usual buy in in this game is $2k and I went all in pre flop with him 4 times, and I lost all 4 times. AT vs K4, AQ vs 79, AJ vs 54, every single time I was ahead preflop and I lost every time. Losing $8000 in a day is not fun, considering at the time that was almost my monthly target profit. I went home pretty dejected. But that was not the end of the story. I went back to the game intending to play only another $2k and I won it all back plus a $3k profit for the day including a $11k pot with him at the end of the night. 

When initially considering the location of 777, his place is an obvious choice cause if my mind, if he comes to play at the game often, and play like he used to, players would beg to be allowed to play. But to my surprise he did not play as often as I thought, but still often enough to always create a buzz and lots of excitement when he does. 

One of the happy winners

You would often see him yell and scream on the table, and that's also because most of the time he comes to the game drunk. He can be demanding and rude, but I feel deep down he just wants to be respected and loved. He often makes himself to be the all powerful, all mighty guy who runs a little hotel, but he can be very soft and generous with his people when he chooses to be. He wants things his way because it makes him feel important. 

In the last two visits to 777, he lost $10k and $14k respectively. The last hand he played, he called $2200 bet on the flop, and shoved another $2000 on the turn yelling for a 9 or a 5 but already drawing dead on the flop. If you haven't played against him you should at least watch. Join one of our broadcast groups to see announcements of his next appearance!

Charity work for August

It has been a frustrating month with results going up and down, and having to deal with some difficult situations, but still extremely thankful for opportunity we are in. The new club is great, it feels like a proper poker club, a very exclusive high end feeling to it. 

I pledged to write more blog posts but also pledged to give more to those in need so why not combine the two. This month there were two causes that moved me to give. I have mentioned in my previous posts before that one of my friends often gives to the animal shelter. He says human beings should have the ability to take care of themselves, but helpless animals can't. They deserve our care and attention. I agreed with him and together with his help, we donated about 320kg of food to the shelter. I wanted to visit myself but am too busy at the moment. But definitely will make it there one of these days. My friend was kind enough to go source for the food and delivery it personally. They have a website too, but we thought that buying and delivering food is the more effective way of giving. This way we ensure all the funds benefit the animals directly. But if you are interested to help you can check out the Animal Rescue Cambodia website. 

Food "Panda" for the animals (my friend Ras on the left and I'm not in the pic)

Another cause that came to my attention was the food situation in Beirut, Lebanon. After the devastating blast, a lot of food storages were destroyed. Being in the desert, Beirut has to rely on imported foods through their ports that are now inoperable. So the United Nations' World Food Programme has been sending in food deliveries to feed the local people. They need more help to be able to supply all the people affected. If you are interested to help please also donate. You can join their monthly donation or donate a one-off amount. 

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My two recent charities both involve food. Everyday we have the feeling of being hungry, but we are never in hunger. The next time you are feeling hungry, think of the people and animals that are suffering and might not have a meal waiting for them. Also I hate wastage. I despise the people who waste food. Do not be like them. It may sound cliche but really, think of the starving people in Africa, or maybe even just outside your street. Have compassion, don't waste, give generously. Feeding someone is more satisfying than feeding yourself. 

31 days, 159 hours, July Report

After 5 months working and grinding at 777 Poker Club, finally I am in back the black at the club! In May I had a $12k losing month but after adjusting my play and ranges, thankfully I have managed to turn that around in June and July. I can't believe I have played over 1000 hours in 5 months. That's crazy.

Downswing took two months to recover

I am really thankful this month I got some help at the club which allowed me to have more free time, sometimes even sneak out for dinner or a stroll, which has really helped me mentally and emotionally to have some kind of life outside of poker. When you work in a poker room and play lesser hours it either means you're doing well, or you're in big trouble. Thankfully, the room is pumping and players are really enjoying themselves. We have also moved into a new room and it is great there. Much bigger space and more fun and relaxing for our players.

Snuck out for a nice dinner

This month I offered to help people who are in need. There were some who reached out that I felt were deserving of help, but unfortunately I can't save the world and help everyone. With the dramas at work sometimes I would question myself why am I doing this. Everyday I am betting on questionable characters to do the right thing. What if they don't? Then I am going to get hurt. But there was one highlight where we ordered pizzas and ended the game with lots of leftovers. After the game me and my partner drove around the streets of Phnom Penh at 2am handing out pizzas to trash collectors and cyclo riders. That was a heart warming moment.

Handing out food at 2am in the morning

This month was also tough because I heard of people spreading lies about me, rumours behind my back, and some misunderstanding over certain things. Some people have been really unreasonable and downright evil sometimes and maybe I am too honest and nice for this business, but I truly try and do my best to make everyone happy. Unfortunately it is just an impossible ask. All I can do is do my best and hope for the best. The people who have gotten close to me knows what kind of person I am and how I operate. And over time I hope to influence them to be better versions of themselves as they inspire me to do the same.