Oh yeah, another thing: I wanted to have a look at the infamous LA cafe when I went to Hyatt since it is close by but apparently it got raid accroding to the ppl I was asking for directions.

A nearby standing taxi driver then told me about the so called 'apartments' where like 8-10 girls line up and you choose one. She then stays with you until the next morning paying 2.5-3k for the night. I went to one of those places but I didin't end up staying there, just had a look (girls looked decent/sexy, however, nothing stunning. I'm not into hookers until the latter is the case). But for those of you who want a cheaper alternative than the popular gogo bars, just mention apartments+girls to the taxi drivers and they'll take you there. Those are not located in Makati though and the area seems to be a bit shady (yet not dangerous imo).

It's Manila Bay Cafe now and suppose to be better than before. I live in BKK so this trip is for poker only for me but I'm sure I'll end up over there for a beer at some point as I'm staying across the street from the Hyatt.
Thanks for the info on MC, it seemed like it's where most of the locals played hence maybe they know what they're doing so I figured big casinos may be easier (although this theory doesn't hold true at places like Commerce Casino). Like I said I'll go to all of them just to check them out. Let me know if you wanna grab a beer while I'm in town. I'll be there new years weekend.

Yeah Manila Bay Cafe is the old LA.
50m from it u also have Amazonia, also freelancer bar.

Girls in these places have a definite feeling of being filthy imo. Many of them are on drugs, have several guys a night, etc. A bunch of them have a record of stealing from the guys so be wary if ur getting them.
However I think it's a ton of fun there. I don't take the girls there but they are fun to talk to / tease and upstairs in LA it's enjoyable to have a barrel and watch the live band while the girls are hitting on u

As for live poker this is just a fact, if you're looking for good EV then go anywhere but metro.

Hi guys,

I have got some more questions atm, mostly poker/PI related:

- Can we use all pokersites without a problem? What with MB/Netteller etc.
- If we want to stay for almost a year, we should get a non-immigrant visa I guess (or tourist visa). How does it work + extensions? Because I read somewhere that I have to have some sort of business agreement from which company im working for :|.
- What if we want to open a bank account. It is best to open an account at Citibank or HSBC in our home country and then open a Philippinian branch from what I have read here?
-What is the best place to live in Cebu? We heard good things about Mactan island and Maria Luisia city.

Thanks again!

In response to your questions. Hope it helps.

How likely is it for iPoker to find out that I'm using a VPN like swissvpn? I really don't want to find my roll frozen hehe. And cashing out from a pokersite to MB/Net should'nt be a prob, it's just cashing in right?

If you set it up right it's impossible afaik, whereas if you use a proxy it is possible. That's just from reading the vpn thread though. I wouldn't take my word as final though and would read up on it.

The only spot where I could think of where they would figure it out is if you accidentally try to log in without turning your vpn.

Somehow the clouds parted and the Sun's rays shone down on Malate...

And made SMARTBRO GRINDABLE in Malate somehow. Tested it from three hotels and they all worked a charm, don't know if it was a software upgrade or what but grinded 12 tables easily. Try to get on a high floor without much building cover... Only got disconnected 4 times (over 7 or so days and very early in the morning just after sunrise) and no longer than 15 seconds but you might time out a hand or two if playing turbos etc. I only tried this on Pokerstars but jeez I was happy as the hotel could no longer take me hostage by way of internet. This was as recently as 1 week ago. I am now very happy I bought this stick. Optimally you will have hotel internet and Smartbro at the ready for back up. (takes about 20 seconds to fire up) However you can grind on just smartbro! Just find a location where you are getting 5 bars consistently. Load your handphone (Smart users) and then text the Smartbro number, space, and the load transfer amount to 808. e.g. (9870288428<>60) then send text to 808. Otherwise loading is a hassle.

Happy grinding!

me and three friends thinking of getting a place in makati for few months but struggling to find decent rental websites with condos for four, anyone got any good info for rentals I should use? email address for agents or links or whatever?

thankssss

Housinginteractive.com is decent. They are a bit overpriced in some cases so try negotiating with them.

its very possible im not looking very well, but there seems to be no pictures, think its best to just turn up and look around rent a hotel for a week or whatever?

I'd like to comment on the common wisdom that Makati is the place to stay in Metro Manila. If you ask me there are other, better and chaper opportunities.

There's nothing wrong with staying in Pasig or Malate, too. Those are the two areas I actually know best in MM. In terms of safety, I'd say Malate can appear to be a bit shaddy sometimes but I wouldn't call it dangerous. Maybe it's becaue I've lived in Rio de Janeiro long enough to get a sense for dangerous areas but I still think it's fine.

Compared to Pasig/Malate Makati is boring and too expensive for what you get. I also disagree with the nightlife being great there. Malate has a lot more to offer in terms of bars/live bands etc. every day of the week.

So all newcomers, don't limit yourself to Makati. It' actually not that great. Oh, and opposed to most ppl staying here I only hang out with filipinos/as and they say the same. Hope this is helpful.

I'm going to be moving to the PI by April-May and playing poker full time. Just thought I would say what's up and if anybody wants we can grab some beers when I get there. What's up ricflair

Well, a lot of it depends on what you're looking for and what you value in a place to live.

For sure for beginners or people without much travel/street experience, Makati is a good place to stay - because it's similar to western big cities.

For me, the best part of living in Makati are the restaurants, the ambience of Greenbelt, short distance to clubs and entertainment - burgos, etc I just don't get tired of it. There's not that many fixers, scammers, beggars and other annoying **** so that's pretty comfortable.
Brownouts are very rare.
People you meet while going out here are on average well off, which means less trust issues.

You don't get to interact (at all?) with filipino culture and "real" locals that much. It's a lot more expensive to live, eat and drink.
Taxi drivers will get on your nerves to no end.
Makati is business, stress and a lot of traffic.
It's in no way representing the experience of being in the real Philippines

For a grinder wanting to play for a living but is not used to 3rd world tendencies, I would recommend starting in Makati 100% of the time

This. There is a chance that you may like Malate better, but it's easy to move there after, whereas there is a chance you'll absolutely hate Malate/Pasig. I live in Pasig now fwiw and the people I hang out with are close to 100% local, although I'm filipino American. I am glad I lived in Makati first.

I agree with you fanapathy. For someone w/o 3rd world experience I'd also recommend Makati to get started, of course.

Was just saying for those who are more experienced there are other options. Was posting this because so far in this thread the impression I got was that Makati is the sole option in MM which isn't true.

hi couple of q's:

1) what's the water situation like (specifically, manila and davao). do you have to buy bottled water at all times and is it cheap? someone told me ice is not potable there. and u need to do this to stay safe.

2) anyone here been to davao? and what were your thoughts on it? i've heard its really safe, but is this true or are they overcompensating due to the muslim trouble in other parts of the island? anyone have any first hand experience there? or better yet, still live there?

3) going to be in manila probably around 10th feb -> 17th feb... anyone want to meet up? im australian 22 lol, semi retired long time 200nl fr player.

thanks for any help

Hi I'm in Manila and I've lived in various apartments in Makati and Taguig, I have also discussed this manner with a friend that lived in Malate that now lives in Taguig.

I have never been drinking directly from the tap. (My friend HAS consistently though in all locations, and never had any problems).
My current gf and other girls, and a couple of other locals/longtimers do NOT recommend fresh tap water. So there is some dispute. I choose to buy all my drinking water.

When I'm too hung over to buy, I've boiled water for drinking on several occasions. It doesn't taste great but it will help you on the quest for survival

I use tap water daily for cooking, coffee, cup noodles, etc. It's good for this. Just make sure it looks clear.

You can buy 6L jugs of distilled water, price range is p60-80.
You can get the 18L -ish barrels delivered, this is much cheaper per liter.

I don't make ice from tap water as this makes no sense unless already boiled.
All house water from restaurants has been fine, with or without ice but ice is not recommended. Sometimes it tastes pretty terrible though. On an irrelevant side note, it really pisses me off when they give me my whiskey on the rocks and I said straight. They also like to give you beer-on-ice. WTF!

In any case I suggest you be a water-nit if you're not used to the bacterial flow in the phils and go with the bottled water. I haven't heard about people getting sick from the water here at all.

Good luck on further expeditions

/water essay

2) Davao city is v. safe. Anyone involved in serious crime will be executed by the death squads, so no one really commits crime there. Not sure I would recommend living there simply due to the lack of variety of activities.

3) Sure, pm me.

Well, at least the alcohol will kill any bacteria and denature most viruses

regarding neteller: u just need to write to support and say that u will be in Philippines, theyll call u, ask security question and thats it. No need to use VPNs.

I've been seeing adverts by Bigfishlive for a who run apparently bring in some top DJ's to Manila.

Has anyone been too one of there events and would you recommend it?

Yesterday at APT Cebu event #1 saw quad K vs AK full house at my table within the first hour lol, should make for interesting day 2. Currently about 32 runners left today.

Any other 2+2ers in Cebu also want to meet for dinner/drinks?

Are you playing the APT Event Primesitemm?

Ya the plan is to play the side events as well as the main. You?

I'm moving to the Philippines with my fiance on Jan 25th. We're going to travel around for awhile before picking a place to settle.

I was wondering if anyone knows how difficult it will be for an american with a tourist visa to open up a bank account? any suggestions on what bank to go to?

We were planning on getting a few mobile wireless connections to travel with. Any suggestions of providers we should be sure and get? or providers not to bother with? Anyone know of a good place in Manila to go for mobile internet?

Thx in advance... All help is very much appreciated. look forward to meeting some of u in the near future.

Zurs