I'm using PLDT's 3mbs plan in Eastwood and so far no problems for megatabling, other than the ping sometimes isn't the best.

I'm going soon but I might have to change the games I play slightly
Is this connection playable with 20+ tables and tableninja?

i had the same plan at the fort. was okay, probably depends on what stakes ur playing though. disconnects once a ~week but only for a minute, just enough to time you out... so for 200nl not a big deal, could be a problem if ur playing high stakes.
...it's the best plan out there anyways...

paulb. when we all going to subic?anyplans yet?

Subic, yea. Here was my original post:
But I'm thinking it should be a shorter trip, i.e. 2 days 1 night.

Day 1
Morning: Drive from Manila to Subic.
All day: Tree Top and Ultimate and Trekking Adventure (trekking, jungle survival, rappelling, ziplining)

Day 2
Morning: Zoobic Safari and Ocean Adventure
Afternoon: Camayan Beach or some other beach, rent a cottage, swim, grill food, get drunk, etc.
Evening: Drive back to Manila.

If we want to go to Subic Extreme Adventure Park or the water park in Clark, it's an additional day.

Who's down to go? Should we take cars or rent a van? I've got a hotel in mind (Subic Park Hotel) but if anyone else has a hotel suggestion just post it here.

Off topic: Just found an awesome food blog (http://allanko.net) today. Who's down for some fine dining? Geoff, I keep texting you to get dinner but you never respond

I'm likely in for Subic, depending on when we go (later, like late May or anytime in June, is better for me than earlier)

I've played 16 tables on FTP (with HEM/TableNinja/Pandora or Windows Media Player running in the background) without much of an issue.....other than, yes, I guess I have had a couple disconnects for a minute.

sounds good. i'll go whenever. just text. i got ur text last time, just was too lazy to respond, i think i was playing at the casino at that time just text when a group is ready to eat i'll go to that too.

Anyone here staying in the Fort Bonifacio area? Wondered if it is possible to get a decent 1 bedroom furnished apartment there for around 30k/month? Need to be decent standard and I'd prefer a building with outdoor swimming pool. Seems like a pretty nice area to stay in, and a good location too.

It'd probably be a studio for that price imo. 1br is likely 40+ unless it is a really small one.

I see a bunch on craigslist for 30k or less. Just search for "fort", 1br+, 20-30,000. Jot down all the buildings and get in touch with the leasing offices directly.

By the way, I checked out Eastwood the other day with Tyrese Sebastian. Cool place, but Rockwell is still the best.

Hi! I have booked tickets now (mid may) and wondering what the "best" area is. Some say Makati and some say Rockwell.

I'm going without very specific plans, so I'll book into a nearby hotel and start the search. I'll be looking to stay at least 3-6 months initially.
Looking for apartment with furniture and AC, with options of housekeeping and preferred security. Max price 1500-2000USD/month but prefer a little lower.
If anyone have references to good reliable real estate companies or specific areas, I'd be very grateful!

It depends on what you want. Here is something of a breakdown of a few areas. For $1500-2000 you can get a pretty nice 2 br place, anyhow:

Rockwell
-all buildings are of a very high standard, mall is pretty good and overall living experience is pretty good
-recommend PLDT over skycable, if you do get skycable CHECK TO MAKE SURE THERE IS NO PENDING BALANCE ON AN OLD ACCT BEFORE YOU SIGN A LEASE, otherwise you will have no internet for several weeks
-you can't beat Rockwell for convenience in your lifestyle, but to be honest I think it gets boring living there and I certainly got tired of the dining options.

Ayala Center (greenbelt/glorietta) area
-a lot of the buildings are older, and even some of the newer buildings are not as nice as Rockwell/Fort buildings, but you can't beat the location. There are some buildings that are as nice as any (Shang Tower, Greenbelt Residences), but they generally start at 2 br units and are relatively speaking quite expensive. This area is generally more expensive for equivalent quality than either Fort or Rockwell.

Salcedo Village
-Buildings in general are not as new as Rockwell, but are often newer and have better maintained units (i.e. Paseo Parkview suites) than buildings in the Ayala Center area. Rents are slightly lower compared to other high end Makati/Fort areas.

Fort:
-buildings vary in quality from medium high end to extremely high end. However other than Serendra it's not such a close walk to the mall.

Eastwood
-buildings do not have aircon in the living rooms. No grocery store in walking distance. Units are slightly cheaper than Rockwell/fort/greenbelt area and buildings are relatively new and well maintained.

Alabang
-has a range of buildings from mediocre to very high standard. I know at least one mall is usually within walking distance. Alabang is a very nice area but you are essentially living in a suburb.

Ortigas:
-slightly less safe than the aformentioned areas, although still relatively safe. Building are generally older and less well maintained, with some high end exceptions. A bit more chaotic than the above areas.

Other:
-if you live in any other area in Metro Manila than these that is not a residential village (where you absolutely need a car), you will probably be a lot more exposed to the poverty and the third world element of the Philippines.

Great post Alex! Very informative, looks like you have good experience.
Rockwell seems like a good place to start, as I'm pretty clueless about the city and general experience, then if I don't like it well the options are endless.
I'll get in touch with some of you 2+2ers staying in Manila when I'm down there for some beers and trashtalk, would be fun

Yeah, that's what I did in Makati last time, Burgos area, it does seem quite expensive at the Fort overall though, and Rockwell even more so, which is another area I was thinking about. Many of the craiglist ads are actually for studios even though 1+ BR shows up, they're renting out both studio and 1BR under the same ad and just listing the price of the cheapest.

Wish traffic wasn't so bad in Manila, then location wouldn't matter much at all, cabs are pretty cheap after all. Anyways, first problem here is this volcano stopping me from leaving Norway, hopefully it'll take a break soon, miss you like hell, Manila, hehe: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_as0isKlqs

Pablocito and I were there a few days ago and the buildings which were 2-3 years old looked like they were built in the 80's.

JayPez spotted at several of my 200nl FR tables, confirmed busto?

Also, FutileWar spoted at 2n00 nl . [X] confirmed busto

i think he's practicing 24 tabling so he can chase elite.

i see a lot of 5/10 regs playing 1/2 nowadays including myself. not that i was ever a 5/10 reg though...

but the player that surprises me the most is redargoe. he used to crush 10/20 and after his downswing i thought he'd recover quickly. now 6 months later he's dropped even lower and is playing 100nl.

no i was just kindding , jayPez big boss for sure. iknow he's not busto probably

(AGx19 is best)

what has all these nicks(jayPez et.) to do with the Philippines?

jayPez lives in RP, so do we... i don't know what nick meaning but

nickname?

Hi again,

I'm sure similar questions have been asked before.

Trying to think ahead more than the 10 minutes I'm capable of as I'm preparing;
I need some advice on finance. Is it easy to set up a local bank account in PH? Is it possible to use some "online bank" solution, like Neteller or Moneybookers with their creditcard to withdraw in ATMs and such? How do you pay the rent, in cash?

I do have a VISA-card with my national bank but I do not wish to use it for a number of reasons and I guess it's not smart to cash out relatively big amounts and carry it around while I'm a newbie.
I wanna use online poker profits for expenses obviously and would like inputs on the best way to do it. Possible solutions are greatly appreciated.

Other than that, 4 weeks to go as a prologue to the new life I lucked out a nice win yesterday in the stars $55 90K GTD, not going broke for a while I hope

When you get there, go to immigration and I think it is easy to get an ACR to become a long term visa holder (you still have to go every two months I think) and then you can open a local bank account. HSBC or Citibank are the two banks there I would most trust with my money fwiw, although I believe BPI actually has decent credit ratings. RE rent, you can pay by wire or cash, but the money has to clear before they will let you move in to the unit and sometimes if you pay by wire you have to inform them well ahead of time.

Be advised that being unable to withdraw enough in a short period to pay rent, which must be paid upfront, is an issue I have seen repeatedly. One of your best bets might be to find a short term (one month) apt. on the internet that you can pay for by credit card, and then set up a bank account and look for another place within that month, otherwise you may wind up stuck in an expensive hotel for longer than you planned. You could also try and set up a local HSBC account while still abroad, although I'm not sure if this is possible.

If you're looking at an apartment for your first month within the makati area online, PM me and I can probably tell you if the building you found is decent or not.