POKER GUIDE TO : Poker in Madrid (lots of photos)

Most of you are watching Triton Madrid so I thought I write a review about Poker in Madrid, specifically at the Gran Via Casino where Paul Phua won his first Triton title last night. Heartiest congratulations!

Typical Spanish colorful market

Retiro Park, 10 minute walk from Gran Via Casino

I've been to Madrid twice, both times I played at the Gran Via. It is right in the middle of the city, close to many famous attractions like Plaza Major, Retiro Park, Royal Palace, etc. The casino is within an old building so it has a James Bond type feel to it. The interior is classy and feels more like a private club than a casino. When I was there they were spreading €1/3, 2/5, 5/10, 10/20 games. I had a good session on one of the €10/20 games where I won €8500 making my month long trip to Spain a profitable one. You can read more about that trip here. The weird thing about this casino is the cash games are run counter clockwise. To this day I still don't know the real reason why they do that and it's the only room that I've played in that does that. 

6-8 cash game tables almost every day

Ran good on €10/20

They serve free drinking water and pre-COVID even had free finger food and snacks but understandably now it has been removed. However the casino is close to many nice restaurants that are just minutes away. The higher stakes games are pretty tough but the PLO was quite soft in my opinion. I didn't play any of the lower stakes but they seem okay to play. I'm not sure about rake but I remembered it being quite reasonable compared to typical Asian rake systems. Dealers all speak fluent English but knowing some Spanish does help you make friends on the table. They have an effective queuing system and for €50 deposit they will give you a buzzer to let you know your seat is available. Staff are friendly and fast and tipping is welcomed and encouraged. 

I spent the whole month traveling to 8 cities in Spain. Madrid is a cosmopolitan city with deep history, beautiful architecture and wonderful food. Food in Spain can be on the salty side but still yummy nonetheless. I went to a restaurant that was featured in the late-Anthony Bourdain's show and his table and photos were displayed there proudly. Another must have is the Churros with chocolate and after trying most of the shops our favorite is still Las Farolas. For the famous Spanish breakfast tortillas head for Casa Dani for yummy egg and potatoes. 

Anthony Bourdain - GOAT food & travel host

Yummy yummy

Great food everywhere

Overall Spain is an affordable destination. Food, hotel, transportation are quite reasonably priced compared to most European cities. If you run well on €5/10 you should comfortably cover your expenses. Ours was on the high side as we did a lot of last minute travel and hotel bookings, mostly stayed in 4-star hotels and ate at nice restaurants. It is not unreasonable to spend €50 or less a day for everything. The people are mostly nice but some do not speak English. If you have the time you should visit nearby towns Segovia and Toledo. Unfortunately we had to choose one and didn't make it to Toledo but will definitely do so on our next visit. 

Segovia is breathtaking

Famous aqueduct still intact

APT Manila Cash Games Report

Ah well, I guess I am a cash game player after all. I have a love-hate relationship with tournament poker but cash game is like my best friend telling me to break up with tournaments 🤣 get out of an abusive relationship. But when tournaments are good, they are so so so good. But when they hurt, they hurt bad too. 

First session after just landing in hectic Manila I was off to a good start. Won enough to freeroll my first main event bullet. Was pretty happy about it but after firing three bullets in the main I was back in the red. So this time I was looking for bigger pots, bigger payouts. Playing 100/200 mp opens to 700, CO calls, I am on the button with 87hh I call. Local uncle in sb 3b to 2500, bb, mp, co calls so I called as well. Pot is now 12500. Flop comes K62hhx, uncle cbets 5000, mp folds, co calls, I call. Turn 9x. I got my open ended straight and flush draw. Uncle bets 10000 with about 40000 behind, CO now jams for 46000 total. The pot is now 83500 and now me with a decision. I don't think CO has a flush draw cause uncle's range is capped with not much fold equity, what kind of flush draws would CO jam with now? A9hh? 29hh? So my heart and straight outs are live. And I am getting greedy here. If I win this hand I am back in the black for the trip. I call hoping uncle calls behind giving me the best price for my draw, or if he folds, CO will run it twice with me. The latter happens but both rivers bricked out.

My stack before the hand

Couple of days later I visited a private game in town. When I got there the game switched to 100/200/500. I obliged wanting to have a big night if possible. The lineup was decent but the whales were all on my left and the grinders on my right. It didn't matter because I ran quite well. Hand of the night I had 55 and called the aggressor's open. Flop was AA5 I check raised the flop. Villain and the boss called. Turn blank I lead for a much bigger size to play for stacks boss folds villain calls. River another blank I jammed for his last 31k and he calls. Ended the session getting a freeroll for my championships event. 

Starting stack

Ending stack

We all know how that event went from my last post so now I am back to the grind. This time it was the best table I've seen on the casino 100/200 game. There were 4 Chinese guys on the table speaking Chinese but funny thing was they assumed I couldn't understand them! They were making comments about their hands (after the hands of course) but I just soaked in all the info and used it against them to outplay them. One hand I called a river bluff with 3rd pair and it was good. The guy complained to his friend and I tried my best to hold my poker face and not laugh. Lesson to all, never assume the players do not understand your language. I caught some hands pre so I played super aggressively and I guess they assumed I was a maniac fish. Best hand of the game came vs a solid reg though. Preflop utg1 limp HJ opens to 700, I am on the sb with 67o I called, bb and utg1 completes. Flop is 985ddx. HJ cbets 1000, I check raised to 2800, utg1 cold calls, HJ folds. My read on him is he has a good 9. Turn is a blank I bet 4000 he calls. River is another 9 but flush misses. I bet 14000 and he snap calls. My straight was good. 

Overall I won from cash games but not enough to cover my tournament losses. The last game of the trip was the most fun I had this visit. Unfortunately I don't know when my next cash game session will be nor where my next income stream will come from. Hope that you guys will also survive this recession that we are faced with and see you all again next time. 

APT Manila Tournament Report

The last time I played in a APT series was May 2019, almost 3 years ago. So when the schedule came out and COVID travel rules relaxed, I jumped at the opportunity to play. 

I played in the main event (3 bullets), PLO (2 bullets), NLH (2 bullets), Championships (1 bullet), Monster Stack (2 bullets) and I cashed in none of them. 😢 I have to be honest with myself, I played poorly in some events and spots but I played good in others. I also lacked the stamina I used to have. When I was grinding full time, I played 8-12 hours of poker a day and can jump into any session fresh and clear headed. Nowadays I play 8 hours every two weeks, so my mental strength isn't what it used to be. 

My "one-time" gorilla didn't work LOL

Some key hands could have meant a much different result if they went my way. Main event bullet 2 pre flop I 4b all in vs Mike Takayama my button vs his sb A7<K7. He thought I opened the button light and I thought he 3b the sb light, got it in good but King on the flop. 

PLO event I 4b all in preflop with AA98 got a tilt call by KJT3 flop JTx. NLH I made two 3b both times with A5 both times running into AK with ace high wet flops. 

Mid series I took a pause and told myself I didn't play the way I want to. I wasn't good enough. I prepared well before the Championships and went in playing really solid poker. I made day 2 with a very good stack but fizzled out. I had all preflop jamming hands when I had 50+bb. AK, AQ, AJ, 99, 88 at least 15 times but I could only open and only to be out flopped every time. When my stack dropped to less than 17bb I did not have a hand I could play with for the longest time. By the time I had 12bb left I had to jam with 66. One French guy tanked for a while and mucked. Chip leader called with QJ. The Frenchman announced that he had the same hand. But alas, flop was JJx. 

2 levels away from making Day 3

The final event I played was the monster stack. First bullet I squeezed with AJs to 30bb only to be overcalled by KTo. Flop was T high, I jam he called. Second bullet I managed to create a good stack 20 players in the money, when it was 28 left I 4b jammed with AK to be called by Japanese lady with A5. I did not win the hand. It would have given me a very good stack going into 7 players from ITM, instead I was now 20bb deep. She ended up finishing 5th by the way. Final hand was again 66 and called by KQ and Q on the flop and I busted 24th. 

Side note: I made a few new friends and it was fun seeing old ones. Some of them took home trophies, others going deep and cashing. Congrats guys and gals! Happy for you all. 

Of course I am disappointed and frustrated but I am proud of how I played in the end. I made some sick bluffs during this series too. One I was most proud of was I 3b commit myself OOP on the flop against a LAG with ten high no equity. I will write a post mortem on my cash games for this trip and there's more to be happy about from those. Tournament poker is tough. You can play perfectly for 3 days and one cooler you go home with nothing. But I have to be open and honest with myself, but also with those who follow my blog. Wish I had better news to report but that's okay. It is part of my journey and I will take it in stride. 

March April 2022 Update

Hey guys, sorry I just realized I haven't posted since February. A lot has happened in the past couple of months and just want to drop you guys an update.

The last few months I have been playing some live cash games, played in 6 different poker rooms and had pretty mixed results. Had a couple of big wins, but more medium to big losses. Can't say I played super well, maybe have been playing a bit too wide, or the line up is more on the sticky side so some moves back fired, but overall still a pretty fun run and not a huge hit on my bankroll as the stakes are on the smaller side of my usual grind. 

I love PLO double board bomb pots!

Recently I made friends with a group who run games in Airbnbs every weekend. The game is juicy and soft, the players are fun and friendly, and I really enjoyed playing there. Some other games are very serious and dry, everyone's focused on winning rather than enjoying themselves. However bad news, the group was raided by the cops last weekend. I was extremely fortunate because the night they got hit, I left the game early because I was super tired, and the game was full so I gave my seat to someone else. I tried my best to help them from the outside but throughout the whole ordeal, I just felt that everyone was there to scam them of more money. The cops, the lawyers, the PR, other players, other hosts, everyone was just looking out for themselves and bullying this poor group. Also these guys that were busted we not as "steady" as my group in 2015. My guys were more matured, understanding and calm. All but one handled themselves well and we ended up having a great time and experience. But this group is younger, some are spoiled millennials who's never had a rough day in their life. I feel bad for the hosts having to deal with their whining and complaining. 

2000bb stacks deep game

This incident however made me decide to quit live games in my hometown. If it isn't the corrupt police looking for earning opportunities, or backstabbing hosts upset about people "stealing" their players, or players trying to get out of paying what they lost, I have had enough with this scene. As much as I want to see the poker industry grow in my city, having these kind of people will ensure that it never will. So it's going to be more traveling for poker for me. I'm just thankful I don't need to rely on poker income to survive. 

I've booked my first poker tournament trip for 2022, heading to Manila end of this month. I am super excited as it is the first time I am going to play a full series in a long time. Looking forward to seeing some old friends, grinding without fear, and try to get my first cashes of 2022. Hope to see you there if you can make it!

How To Play Ten-Card Flip Poker (Original Rules here)

Have you been to a poker game that ended but continued on with a game of FLIP? Usually players would ante up an agreed amount, deal their cards and run it to the river. Whoever gets lucky will scoop the pot. However this game is all luck and no skill, so I have invented a new game called the TEN CARD FLIP. Inspired by the Ten Card Stud flip that is on YouTube between Doug Polk and Jeremy Kaufman for $41k, I modified the rules to simpler and easier to play at home, and between 2-5 players. Trust me, it is super fun and addictive, so if anyone decides to write it into an app, I hope I get the credit as the creator of the game.

OFFICIAL RULES: 

1. Players agree to play for an amount, for example $10, and each player will put $10 into the pot.
2. Button is dealt and cards will be dealt as usual from the small blind position
3. Each player gets 10 cards face DOWN and NO ONE IS ALLOWED TO LOOK AT ANY OF THE CARDS.
4. Starting from the small blind, each player will flip over one card each. 
5. Cards that are showing with the LOWEST hand value will continue to flip cards over one by one until they are NO LONGER the lowest value. For example first player shows K, second player shows 8, third player Ace, fourth player 6. The fourth player will flip over another card. If the two cards showing can beat the second lowest hand which is the 8, then second player will continue. If for example they draw a 4, which means they still have 6 high, they will continue to draw until they are no longer the lowest.
6. Hand ranking follows poker standard hands with lowest being high card, high card with higher kicker, pair, two pairs etc. 

THIS IS THE IMPORTANT PART

7. If a player has flipped over FIVE cards, they can decide if they want to continue or SURRENDER. By continuing they risk their entire bet of $10, but has a chance to win the pot. However they can choose to SURRENDER and get back half their bet, which is $5 in this case. However you forfeit the chance of winning the pot and the remaining players will play on. 
8. Each player will be given a chance to surrender as long as they have 5 or less cards showing. 
9. Game continues on until a winner is decided. 

Started at $50 a hand it escalated to $200 with sidebets!

I created this game a few years ago, but have not shared it openly. Today in a fun game I shared with some guys and they seem to love it. Maybe they will continue to share it to their friends, and you searched it to learn about the official rules. Now you know who invented it. Try it at your next home game, it's a great game while waiting for players to come, or when you have too few players left at the end of the session. Drop me a comment if you tried it, or are unsure about the rules, or even better if you want to pay me royalties for using my game. You can email me at happyriverpoker@gmail.com Have fun!

Phnom Penh Poker Adventure

I had three weeks of free time leading up to Chinese New Year so I took a trip to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Cambodia is one of the few places that did not require a quarantine, had poker, and I had friends to visit. I had left for almost a year and I thought it would be fun to revisit. 

Although I hate to admit it, despite being crude, Cambodia has a simple and effective strategy of tracking and controlling COVID. I've seen so many countries including my own over complicate things, unnecessary steps and forms and yet be much less effective. I applaud the Cambodian government for doing a great job on this. 

Despite only being away for about 10 months, much has changed where I used to hang. New buildings, businesses and even poker games have popped up, some restaurants I used to love did not survive the economic pressures of COVID but in their place new ones taking up the challenge. The poker crowd was different too. I recognize 30% of players but the rest were new faces to me. That's always a sign of a thriving poker community. 

PLO fun at my old haunt

I wanted to sneakily enter the country and surprise my friends but one of them messaged me while he was on the toilet, and I couldn't lie to him. There were people I tried to avoid seeing too, and I was told even after leaving the country for so long, people were still talking about me. Some even claim they've seen me at different locations. I don't know if I should be flattered or concerned but one thing is for sure, I've made my mark in the Phnom Penh poker scene. 

I played everyday except one and racked up a decent profit, most of it coming from the last few days. Most days I would play until the sun comes up as the games get better as the night goes on. It's also fun that many players give me action as I've been labeled a maniac. One uncle even called me a bluffing king. A couple of achievements were unlocked in this trip, one being calling all in with T high and was ahead of 9 high and won. A couple of notable hero calls that won were all in calls with A high and K high respectively. I also won a surprising hand when I gave up on my bluff but won with 8 high vs another bluff. 

No I do not own any share of this private game

One thing I love about Phnom Penh is the food scene. There are so many of my favorite restaurants in town. But I am proud to say I maintained my one meal a day diet and even managed two 48 hour + fasts during the trip. I am pretty sure I lost more weight and am looking forward to weighing myself when I return.  

Chinese New Year dinner with friends

Grinding daily on ICE Poker

One of the resolutions this year was to create income streams. On the 14th of January I was lucky enough to buy one of the NFTs on Decentral Games' Ice Poker. The first few rounds were minted at 0.25 ETH but unfortunately my round was 0.5 and the most recent drop was 0.75 a piece. However on Opensea the floor is at 2.3 ETH. If you have no idea what I was just talking about, well I bought something that allows me to play in the fishiest poker room that I've ever seen!

Welcome to the ICE poker room

The way it works, everyday you're given 3000 chips for free, and three tasks you have to complete to get rewards called ICE tokens. These tasks range from "Seeing the flop 20 times" to "Getting fullhouse 1 time" etc. Each task will award you 25, 100 or 200 ICE depending on difficulty. And the kicker is ICE is worth real world money. If you complete all your tasks for the day, you will earn 330 ICE. But if you are a winning player on the day, you can get up to 660 ICE because of the 1.35, 1.5, 1.75 or 2x multipliers. If you lost for the day you might also get less like 0.75, 0.5, 0.4, 0.35 multipliers. So there is an incentive to play well to win. 

My recent results daily

You must be thinking that's easy, crushing fishes all day. Well my recent results have proven that to be kind of true. HOWEVER most of these guys play without much of any poker logic and it is sometimes frustrating to play against them. Some of them are vomit inducingly bad where they can call 6bb with K2o with 2bb behind, or call all the way with A high and spike it on the river. The game is 10/20 and it allows a maximum buy in of 2000, however a lot of players buy in for the minimum 400 which is unseen in any poker game I know. But in the last week or so I have adjusted my play to be profitable in this game. 

Contrary to normal logic, the goal is not necessarily to win pots. For example if you flop a set on a wet board, in a normal game is to bet for value and protection. However in ICE poker, if your top task is to get a full house, it is more profitable to slow play in hope to see a turn and river for the house to fill up. This task for example will gain you 200 ICE which at the moment is worth about $30. Doesn't seem like much but coupled with the multiplier, and hopefully the value of ICE increasing over time, and doing this consistently everyday, it adds up. 

Ever since owning this NFT on January 14th, I've played 18 sessions, each session taking me between 2-4 hours a day. So far I've earned 6074 ICE worth roughly $880 in today's prices. The floor price for one of these NFTs is now at 2.23 ETH which means for now I am up 1.73 ETH and that's worth $4700 at the moment. Since I have nothing much to do anyways, I will continue to play and hold until I get bored of it. But even if I do, I can still delegate it for someone else to play on my behalf and get 40% of their earnings. 

Joker shirt, kinda suits me don't you think?

If you're interested in getting one of these, there will be a drop tonight. However to qualify for this one is a bit more complicated than usual. I definitely will try to mint one tonight if possible. Metaverse poker, maybe that's the future.