Rich girls are on the whole hotter than poor girls.

You're not looking hard enough

Considering heading over for a few months in September, however Philippines seems to be getting a bunch of negative coverage in the press recently.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/8092997.stm

Pic #7

Is there a lot of **** like this going down? And does it disrupt you guys in Manila?

QFT

not really just more traffic around the main roads! this rally was held in the makati central business district and the people who joined the rally were the middle working class and noticeable people and some other politicians. it's not like one of those rallies where you see the people getting blasted by a fire truck or where the police have to whip out their mob/crowd control shields.

What he said

What is the best way to learn tagalog? Should I hire a tutor, take a class, just buy books and tapes? Any suggestions on particular classes?

GROs.... or get out of Rockwell and go live in the provinces for a few months.

NO! I suggest take a class. It's the best and correct way to learn proper filipino.

rosetta stone! get the tagalog version... its the best way to learn a language... i got it... but i aint had time to learn... been drinkin too much lol... but my tagalog is kinda alright, VERY basic, but im either wit friends and/or cousins so its cool... british born pinoy so im not fluent... im in manila now jus got back from davao...

Bump, this thread needs more love.

Considering heading over in a month... anyone wanna share a big apartment/house in Metro Manila?

Hi there!

I am thinking of moving to the Philippines. But to do so I want to be able to play live poker everyday.

I get very different info on what stakes I can find there, and was hoping anyone could give me the fact?

I play only NL Holdem and would like to play minimus NL 200/400 P stakes 7 days a week. I also would like to pay the standard rake of max 400 pesos.

I have been in contact with Metro Club in Manila, tht club seems nice but the 200/400 game is only running about 4 days per week they told me.

If I go to Manila, can I find other games to play at 200/400 stakes to play those days Metro club cant offer them?

I know there are many 50/100 games running everywhere. Those blinds are a little bit to low, but one guy at this forum says they play much higher. If there are 50/100 games running that the average buyin is alot more than 100 bb and the standard open raise like 10 BB then it also fine.

I also would like to know if Manila is my only choise if I want to play live poker 7 days of week at this stakes. I woul rather live by the ocean if it was possible. I believe I would have no problem living in Makati tho.

Hope you guys can help me! Thanks!

Thomas

when i used to play live they were always running a 100-200-400 game at hyatt, it was 6 months ago since ive been to hyatt so might have changed.
No problem finding 500/1000 homegames either if you are a social guy

I just called Hyatt, they told me that the highest game day had running on a daily basis whas this 50/100 game with a minimum 10 000 and maximum 20 000 P buyin.

I'm a Canadian born Filipino guy, 32 years old, single, and I'm considering moving down to the Philippines, and playing online for a living. Would anyone be interested in finding a place? Sort of like a poker house, where we play, study the game, strategize, and of course party and celebrate when we have success?

English is my first language, but I speak very little Tagalog. I've previously spent 4 months vacationing in the Philippines, so I've seen some of the good and bad it can offer. PM me if interested.

Go Ivey!

Who in that country has that kind of money to play those stakes? I know its only like $10/$20 in USD, but still? Are these foreign business men?

I'd be very wary as to whether the game was on the up and up, with the experiences that I've had in the Philippines for those stakes.

These are local celebrities, businessmen, and politicians, as well as korean tourists. I would trust the games spread by Hyatt or Metro to be pretty legit, but might wonder about private games.

There is something of a poker community in Rockwell, Makati right now. Each of us have our own apartments but I know three other poker players here, one in the same building as I am in but on a higher floor and two others in the building next door. If you came over and got a studio or one bedroom here then if you played similar stakes to one of us probably there could be some interaction. If you are playing high stakes or microstakes though then I guess there would be no one doing the same stuff here, but if you're playing small or midstakes then there are a few of us here.

I have been living in Thailand and loved it.

You guys who live in Manila and have been to Thailand could you please give me your opinions on the two countrys and why you choose to live in Philippines instead of Thailand for instance?

Thanks!

cherry girls imo, haha

Do you get 2/3 bedroom places there? Aren't you guys pretty bored if you don't got many friends around?

Why I live in Makati and not Bangkok:
1) Almost everyone in Makati speaks fluent English. This is huge for me.
2) Makati has better looking girls. Again, a huge factor.
3) Most things in Makati are cheaper than in Bangkok (rent, Western food, taxis, P4P, massages, etc) and even cheaper in other parts of Metro Manila.
4) More 24/7 food delivery options. Every fast food place and almost every restaurant will deliver as long as it's open. Clutch for lazy people like me.
5) Makati weather is a couple degrees cooler (Fahrenheit) on average.
6) Live poker is legal here and there are some decent cardrooms open 24/7.

Stuff that I think Bangkok has an advantage over Makati:
1) The traffic in Bangkok might seem bad but the traffic around Metro Manila is worse, although this isn't much of an issue for me since I'm never driving.
2) The BTS in Bangkok is practical whereas the Manila LRT is not. However, not that much of an issue because the low cost taxis make up for this.
3) Local food is tastier and more abundant in Bangkok than in Makati. However, I prefer Western food so again not much of an issue for me.
4) I'm a massage fiend and I think massages in Thailand are the best. There are a couple Thai style massage places in Makati but they're not home service. Swedish is the standard here, which is cheaper and more convenient but not as good as Thai massage.

As Alex mentioned, there are a few of us living in the same community (within a 2 minute walk of one another) and a growing community of poker players here in general (locals and foreigners). Personally I don't get bored easily but if I want some company I can call up one of the other poker players or go out on my own for a night of fun. With everyone speaking English here it's extremely easy to meet girls, especially if you go to the types of bars that I go to lol.

Thanks for the info!

I am a little bit surprised that you say Makati is cheaper than Bangkok. Have you been living in Bangkok or just been there on a vacation? Are you sure about this?

It would be great if Makati is cheaper than Bangkok, but the resurch I have made on internet says that Manila is much more expensive than the rest of the Philippins and Makati is the most expensive place in Manila.

About the live poker scene. I am only intrested in playing minimum 100/200 blinds do you have any idea if I will be able to find that stakes 7 days of the week if I have no problem going to different clubs?

Thanks!

Afaik no one that posts regularly in this thread knows the exact answer to this as I don't think anyone that posts regularly in this thread is currently playing those games live anything close to that frequently. Your best bet would be just to call the Hyatt and ask them how often they run 100/200+, call metro and do the same (the answer they gave me is about 3 times a week), and maybe call a couple other card rooms like the airport casino. Keep in mind though that commuting daily across cities can be a bitch. From Rockwell the metro is close, but the Hyatt and airport casinos are not so close. My guess is that you could find those games 5-6 times a week if you are just playing in the metro and hyatt.