I did for a bit. Whats up?

Cool..What stakes are available there? What is the rake? How soft are the games? Is it possible to make a comfortable living playing nothing but live poker? Do they spread pot limit omaha? If so what are the stakes?

Stakes are in pesos..

In casinos/card clubs you can play 50/100 24/7. 100/200 gets going most weekdays, all weekends and 2-3 public rooms. 100/200/500 gets going most weekends at metro/resorts world.

The games are all deep. 300BB max at 50/100, 150bb MIN no max at 100/200.

Games at 100/200+ are pretty reggy. Normal table: 4-5 good regs, 1-3 decent regs, 1 whale. Generally worse table composure than games in the states, being 200bbs+ deep with a whale and couple leaky regs may make up for it in terms of EV..

PLO is played but mostly private games. Higher stakes may be shady. Heard an instance of an aussie trying to cash out huge and never getting his money.

You can live comfortably $1000-2000 in manila. So, you can grind 50/100 or micros online. I've been playing fairly regularly over the past 6 months. The games are getting more reggy. I remember I use to be the best reg at the table in any 50/100 game. Over the past couple months, ~5-7 Russian regs and a couple korean regs moved to manila and are playing live poker 20-40hours/wk.

Also note that the dealers in manila and the Philippines are TERRIBLE. Worst in any country I've ever played (20+ sample). They constantly make mistakes with math, turning cards prematurely, not enforcing the rules, etc.

Great stuff. Thanks for all the info my man! What is the rake? I think I heard it 10% uncapped or something like that? So it sounds like the games are beatable but not the softest in the world?
Any tips for a live grinder considering moving to Manila and grinding for a living there?

can you just go to one casino and find a good game or do you have to casino jump? how many 50-100 would be going at the best rooms like metro or resorts? arent the card rooms pretty far apart?

so if my math is correct the minimum buy in for 100-200 would be around $700-$750 us right?

in 50-100 do you get a lot of open to 400 and 4 or 5 people seeing the flop? i know its very hard to say what an average game is like but is it overall more loose passive or tight aggressive with 3 betting pre? id guess its a limp call fest


oh and pooter u know we expect much much more then that, whenever u get some free time of course

Where is this? Resorts World? Metro? Both??

So would you say most of the Filipinos playing 50/100 and 100/200 are pretty tough regs? What percentage of them are whales?

Any hotel recommendations in Cebu? Looking for something on the cheaper side ($20-$30) a night but still nice and not a "hostel" type.

Anything like this?

I have a really good feeling about Tune Hotel that just opened right across Ayala. It's ~$29/night on Agoda and I imagine it's going to be like all the other Tune Hotels in Asia (small but clean, and cheap).

I've stayed at a few higher end hotels in the past but this time around I'll probably split my time between Tune, Holiday Spa Hotel (P1500), West Gorordo Hotel (P1380), and Cebu R Hotel (P1150). Tip: Agoda and Tripadvisor reviews are very helpful for researching hotels.

I've been looking around a little bit on Agoda but as I've never been to Cebu before not even sure what part of town to look at.

Which parts of town are those hotels in?

LOL how many of you guys get PM's from Phils gay guys on DIA? I reckon I get 3 or 4 per week FFS!

yeah, whatever man they are people too,I just tell them nicely im looking for a girl and good luck.

So anyway I have a question.

Ive met up with this girl at a bar/disco for first time from DIA. She also invited her friends. At the end of the night the waiter gives me the bill and I pay for it all. The just under 1k pesos. I didnt say anything but am i supposed to pay that wtf? Nobody said anything so I let it go. Told the girl next day im not interested though.

Is that how its supposed to go or what? Im fine to pay everything for the girl but her friends?

Welcome to the Philippines.

This is very common in the Phils. Actually you should count yourself lucky it was just one friend. Think of those poor saps that actually get serious with a girl, they all too often get roped into paying for the girls entire family as well at times.

And of course, in the Philippines, a 'family' can be quite large.

she sounds quite selfish and you did the right thing by telling her you're not interested. Never get into the mind frame just because you're in the PI or SE Asia that you can let these girls take advantage of you like that.. There's plenty of other girls to choose from..

Meh it is kinda semi standard for them to rock up with a friend and for you to pay. If I meet up with a girl and she brings a (fat ugly) friend along then I try and pay for my drinks as I go so when fatty attempts to order 2 pizzas and a chicken Tinola I can swiftly veto it.

Standard. You better pay if you don't want to look like a huge dick. I know first time I went there I was like WTF too but it's pretty much expected.
Also what's DIA?

date in asia dot com

Maybe you need to add that in to your DIA profile, or just mention it when talking to the girl online.

"When we meet IRL, if you bring a friend along, make sure she's not a fatty, and at least marginally attractive."


Actually, only semi joking about this. If you could find a way to get that in there, without coming across as a dick, would certainly come in pretty handy, me thinks.

No friend at all is definitely ideal, for a number of reasons. If a girl asks if she can bring one, don't be afraid to say no.

Thinking about starting a blog or a forum, Philippines-related. What topics would you guys be interested in?

The "proper" girls are often required by their parents to have a chauffeur/trusted acquaintance. (until age 25 maybe?). Even if not explicitely required, it is often an unwritten rule in the culture.

When they invite their friends (even multiple friends), it isn't necessarily selfishness and trying to advantage. It's very common and not frowned upon when asked out by someone as rich as yourself.

On the other hand, if you can somehow nicely discuss this matter before the date, they are very understanding and will conform to your wishes. If not, then...too bad for her. If you ask her to come alone, then she may feel insecure (again, depending on the upbringing of the girl). You need to do everything you can beforehand to help her feel safe and comfortable.

I've looked all over for good forums about expats in the Philippines. Almost none of them have signficant enough traffic to be of much use. You'll either need to heavily recruit outside the poker community or gear the topics to poker players.

Topic ideas: (off the top of my head)
1. Housing & tips/considerations

2. Prices (food, standard items, appliances, etc.)

3. What you need to bring or purchase there...for example, finding a can opener that lasts more than one week can be nearly impossible (seriously!). Other items you may want.

For me, it is a karaoke computer and professional sound system. I'm going to host a karaoke party twice a week...It will be a breeze to get a dozen beautiful women to come sing. Don't worry if you cannot sing in your country. I hadn't sung since fifth grade music class and I'm a good singer over there because I can pronounce the English words.

4. Regional living...advantages and disadvantages of specific cities/locations.

i'd be keen to read a blog about how your dates go (or the more interesting ones)

Exactly what thaivisa dotcom is for thailand replicate for the phils but be less nitty and less spammy and you should be onto a winner forum over blog imo.

Just did 2 nights in AC and trying and break my last record for a short TR all i can say about AC is;

Already loads of Phils forums mate

Really? I'm not aware of any that are as comprehensive and big as Thaivisa is for Thailand.


There's a very good one, Living in Cebu, that's specifically for Cebu (obv) but I'm not aware of any really good, comprehensive ones for Manila, or other areas of the country.

Links??

OK probs not as big as Visa, but here is just a few I've been sniffing around in recent weeks. The first one is easily the biggest, its AC focused with mostly sexpats on there but I've found them quite helpful when asking about other places too.

http://www.piatnight.com/forums/inde...a147654e49f190

http://www.cebunightlifeforum.com/phpBB3/

http://philippinesecrets.com/forums/

There are others too if you search, these are just the ones I bookmarked on my PC.