Poker Debt

Poker debt is part of poker though it's often kept between the people involved. I just feel that it's timely to bring it out in the open and talk about it a little.

It's common for poker players to lend and borrow from each other; maybe poker players just view poker money differently. This ranges from a few hundred to thousands of pesos. The reasons also vary from need (player needs to play but is short) to convenience (player has money but not at that particular time and place). I've heard of a few people who have borrowed money from other players for gambling. No one has heard from them after they've "gone into hiding" from not being able to pay. On the other hand, there are also some who seems to always be short and needs a helping hand, but they always pay and no one hesitates to lend them. There are some who would ask to borrow from strangers or acquaintances.

Here are some guidelines when it comes to poker debt:

• Don't lend money to strangers.
• Don't lend money if you can't stand to lose the amount.
• Don't borrow money without a sure way of how to pay. (Don't assume that the money borrowed will win)
• Don't borrow money from people you won't lend to.
• All debts have to be paid.

Poker Break

I'm running bad again. And as usual, I'll be taking a break from poker. The thing is that my bankroll can't sustain a two-week losing streak. And I don't even play that often. This is becoming a routine which I definitely need to stop.

I don't want to start playing again only to find myself in the same situation. I'll only be playing invitational tournaments or if I'm staked. In the meantime, I'll be focusing on the other things like writing and painting. Not to mention my kid and my day job.

The thing is that I always here about people who don't have to worry about money winning at poker tournaments and cash games. I guess there really is that unquantifiable factor about playing scared. I can have a 50x buy-in bankroll and I'd still be a little scared only because I'm not rich. So first things first, I need to be rich before I start poker again. That can be a long time.

Korean poker players

When poker started in the Philippines, people generalized Koreans as loose players with a lot of money to give away. They mostly played in the casinos and they were, in my opinion, instrumental in how popular poker is in the Philippines.

After a while, they started to learn how to play and there were less customers. But today, a Korean fish sat at my 10/20 table at The Metro.

Everyone's play instantly adapted. Players started playing tighter than a nun's... ummm... whispering eye. One didn't need to raise monster hands as they could just limp and the Korean player would more than likely raise to 30x BB. He raised 95% of the time and folded 5%. He never limped, called a raise or checked. And he'd always bet on the flop. I think he actually bet on all streets.

The main problem was that he was very lucky. His pockets would hold and draws would hit. There would be someone in the table who would rebuy after every other hand.

Needless to say, I lost 2 buyins and I called it a day. Last hand, I called his massive 40x BB preflop raise with my AKs which put me all in. I missed the board and his 66 held.

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Skylounge Reunion

I wish the Metro people would create a Skylounge Reunion. It would be great to get to play with people who around five years ago when only a few played poker.

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The Professor, the Banker, and the Suicide King

I just finished reading The Professor, the Banker and the Suicide King by Michael Craig. I have to say, it's the best book I've read in a while. And I don't normally read books written by people who are still alive.

The book doesn't necessarily make one a better poker player but it made me think about being a professional poker player more than before. Maybe it doesn't sound so crazy after all. Everything he said about the characters were dead on as the way they are here. Poker does transcend race and age and everything else that keeps people apart. It doesn't matter if you're a pro playing in the Bellagio or a rounder playing in The Metro, everything's the same.

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This month I'll be rebuilding my bank roll again. This time I'll do it right. I'll put 20k in the cage at The Metro and leave it there. That's only for poker and I won't take out anything from that except to play poker. I'll build it so I can move up.

Fold AA?

It's been a while since I encountered a hand worth writing about and this ranks near the top of the list. It happened during a PokerManila satellite for the P3M tournament this coming March. There were around +/- 45 players who joined, 21 of which were initially set to have seats to the P5,000 buy-in main event.

This is how I remember the whole scenario. Pardon me for writing a very long post.

There were around 28 players left. I had a healthy stack of about 25,000 to 26,000. Blinds were 500/1000 with 100 ante. People were starting to tighten up as we were approaching the bubble. I was in middle position with AA. I raised to 3500. Everybody folded and I showed my aces. Ariel saw the aces and commented that if I had limped, he would have gone all-in and he would've been in trouble. I replied that if I had limped and he had gone all-in, I probably would've folded my aces as I would be risking too much of my chips as he almost the same amount of chips as me. Besides, if I did limp, I would only have 1000 invested and I didn't think it was worth it.

An orbit later with the blind still at 500/1000, I got AA again. I was again in middle position and I raised it again to 3500. Ariel was in late position pre-flop (button or SB, I can't remember) and he raised all-in. I had around 27,000 to 28,000 and I had him covered by a little more than 1000. I tanked.

My initial thought was he had KK or QQ. I didn't want to go against those. He could have low or middle pockets but with the cards that I've been advertising, I doubt that he'd re-raise against me with those cards. He could have nothing because I said that if he'd push all-in that I'd fold even AA. There's a chance that he has Ax but that's not too probable. And there's a smaller chance that he has AA as well. I decided that he has big pockets and I don't want to be chasing an ace if he hit his trips on the flop and be busted out with only a few people left.

I said "fold" and I showed my AA. I never thought I would ever say that I folded AA pre-flop, but I did. Ariel was a sport and he showed his AA. We both had the same cards and he won the hand without contest.

If I knew that he also had AA, I would've called in a heartbeat. Sklansky said that "Every time you play a hand differently from the way you would have played it if you could see all your opponents' cards, they gain." Does this mean that since I would've played it differently, I actually lost?

Mathematically however, I really had way too much to lose if I had called. All 21 winners would get the same seat which has the same value. I wouldn't need to win 1st place; I just need to outlast 7 people. With my stack, it would be easy for me to do that. My stack wasn't enough to guarantee a seat because the blinds are going to increase but it won't be hard. With the bigger picture in mind, my decision can be seen as sound.

But since there's math involved, there's nothing better than AA and if I won't call with AA, what else would I call with? AA can play against any hand and it'll still be a favorite.

The argument can go both ways and there may not be a right or wrong in this particular case. But I think that just by thinking about it this much shows that my game has matured. I also don't have any reservations about my decision and I'd probably do it again in the same scenario. I won the seat and I think that it made folding aces the right decision for me.

Neil arce places 2nd in pokerstars

Neil Arce remains to be the most decorated Philippine-based poker player today. He just recently placed 2nd place in the PokerStars' Sunday Warm-up. You got to hand it to Neil. I don't think anyone in the country has accomplished what he has in the recent past.

I just can't wait for the Neil Arce Cup this March 2010.

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