Hey 3.5. Thank you for the link. I was able to find some answers there.

It seems the requirements to re-open my PS when I re-locate to the PI (from the US) are pretty straight forward, besides the landline phone number. Can anyone explain this process? I didn't think anyone (besides business) in the PI used landlines. Could I simply provide them with a front desk number for my building?

k2d.. Take everyone's advice and go to Thailand first. Also, if smoking weed is even top 10 on your list of priorities, stay in Vegas... not judging you, I smoke too, but the risk you take with even one joint in any Asian country besides Cambodia, India is just so so so -EV. -EV is a bad way to put it, it's suicidal in a way, because it just opens up a whole pandora's box of ways for you to be scammed/setup. If I was under the impression that you could float the type of cash to quickly get yourself out of such a jam, I wouldn't take such a neg line, but your posts indicate otherwise. Whatever you choose though, good luck, I'll be watching and I hope to get back to the PI about 6 months from now.

so paul has taken me up on my offer of a bet through pm, i dont want it done in pm because i think there is a much better chance of him actually paying if everyone knows about it so if you agree paul quote this and say agree like a stars chop

he bets $200 (preferably on stars) to my $100 (his offer i never asked for odds) that i will not land in an asian country by july 17th

i agree

If you are going to be living in Cebu or Manilla and in one of the modern buildings , most likely you will have the availability of a landline.
If not , email stars before you go and ask what to do in that situation.
They will probably arrange a time to phone the desk but please check with them first.

I am planning to be there full time next year ( had some massive set backs recently sob ) and my situation will be even more unusual but still think i will be ok.
The house i will be living in has no street name , no postal code and i probably will have no land line . Despite that , i have opened bank accounts there and i am optimistic that poker sites will allow me to carry on as usual.
The only thing i can show will be a electricity bill and details from my bank.

@k2d

I am glad zleej has spoken about the smoking situation . Was planning to post about it before you travel.
If you ignore all advice you have been given in this thread , please do not ignore this one.
The situation there is totally different then in the US and Europe.
You really need to keep it low key.
Keep it away from your door step.
Do not get a reputation in your neighbourhood.
I would not bring a date back to my pad and casually roll up.
i would not smoke if invited to a party.
Jails in Thailand are 5* compared to Phills.

ya i know, thats gonna be one of the scariest parts, i aint gonna tell no one about that, actually got a couple of hook ups lined up through people i know out here that know peeps in PI, hopefully if i can just get it from them and back to my apt safe and secure things should be ok

im overly paranoid about it here in the US cuz gettin on probation with regular tests would basically kill me, and i will be 10 times more cautious over there

so now that cebu is my 2nd option in PI im hoping to get any more recommendations on condo buildings or areas to stay in or avoid in that city, what streets would be good to check out, things like that

ITT has given me a couple options to check out and so has someone on another forum but overall when looking at my notes there is very little on cebu

I offered you a 1:1 bet on $100 for July 15th - did you accept? No, and I find it very annoying that you're trying to pull an angleshoot.

Everyone here (and on PIAN) thinks you're a huge idiot or full of sht. July 15 is only a week from now and you haven't booked your flights yet - you still don't even know where you want to live! Do you even have your passport? If not, I'm willing to bet even more against you.

I'm still willing to bet dollars to donuts this K2D fellow isn't coming to Asia.. and I like em fruit filled or chocolate glazed

lol what I was thinking exactly

dude the PM says $200, you can check it for yourself, you sent it not me, here is a copy

"Let's do it for $100. You can deposit it directly into my bank account. If you are in Angeles on July 15 I will go there and personally hand you $200."

that is exactly what is in your outbox, check for yourself, now its the 2nd time youve sent me a pm, ive posted what u sent on here, and then u tried to take it back.......... i never asked for odds

and i told you i would do it for whatever amount of money u wanted up to my roll, u seem sooooo confident im not gonna make it lets play for stacks yo (actually i feel much more confident you will actually pay a $100 bet than a $7k bet)

im not trying to pull an angle shoot, im trying to make sure i dont get angled by flying out on july 15th but technically not landing in asia by that date, type up the bet for whatever that says i have to leave by july 15th 11:59pm for any amount of money between 0 and 7,000 (or more, i can get a loan if i have to) and i will say i agree

i checked with the passport agency and it should be arriving monday or tuesday

how about you put up stars money and i put up $USD?

when paul pm'd me about the bet i told him i would bet anything up to the amount i had as long as we could both be comfortable in knowing that we would get paid out if we won, this is his idea of BOTH of us being comfortable


Here are the terms of the bet:
1) You deposit $100 USD cash into my BofA account by the end of Monday July 9.
2) You must depart by July 15 11:59pm and arrive by July 16 11:59pm.
3) You post your flight details and we meet at NAIA airport at your arrival time - details to be discussed.
4) If you are there, I give you $200 USD cash (this is a 1:1 payout).



i deposit money into a person i dont knows account, ya sure im totally comfortable with that seems fair

lol pauls response through pm at me not wanting to give him (the person who i dont know and obv doesnt like me) the money up front

"you're an idiot. good day."


as ive been saying in this thread for months, im a nit and i trust no one, and definitely not............

Paul is def trustworthy and you should be willing to ship first.

Please tell me your roll isn't only 7k, i wouldnt feel comfortable moving to a foreign country with so little money. If it is, treat this like a holiday, and if you can make it work then stay longer.

there are maybe 10 people in the world that i would be willing to ship first with, shockingly a guy ive never met from a place ive never been who obviously dislikes me isnt one of them

my roll is 7k, im not really comfortable with it, but where am i more likely to go broke, in vegas on a 7k roll buying in for $500+ a day in cash games, or somewhere where my living expenses are cut in half, i buy in for $100-$150 a day in many tourneys?


sigh got an emotional im worried about you letter from the moms today, granted she has every right to be worried about me but ugh ive got way to much on my plate as is dont need to be getting all emotional

how do you tell her not to worry when you have no long term life plans and dont give a ..... ??

There is nothing you can do to completely assure her here, she will always be mom and she will always be a bit worried. For a mother to stop worrying about your wellbeing you pretty much have to be living in a Manhatten penthouse with the whole world at your beck and call. Until you are overly financially secure your mom will never stop worrying about you IMO.

Btw, I've found from personal experience that if you are low on money and don't have much in terms of financial resources, not giving a **** can actually be to your benefit, not to your detriment.

It's like Bob Dylan once sang

'When you ain't got nothing, you got nothing to lose."

7k may not be much in Asia, but as you pointed out here as little as it is there, it's far far less here, here it is truly nothing, essentially meaningless.

So it's not as if you're giving up some great life hear for a big risk in Asia, you are taking a risk, but you aren't giving up much.

And if mom is sending you "I'm worried about you" letters, then if you really get in a bad spot and go totally busto, I am sure she will spring for a plane ticket home for you.

At this point, if you're heart is clearly set on going for it, with so little else but your hearts desire anyway, there is really no reason not to go for it.

Stop talking and more doing dude, like this you will talk your self out of it, Why not give it a try and if it doesnt work out go back home?

believe me i aint talking myself out of it, its just the only thing on my mind and i cant stop thinking about it even though id like to, and makati not being an option has screwed all my plans

if i was still crushing live poker like i was march-may maybe i would have backed out, but 6 weeks of run bad has me more ready than ever to gtfo

i REALLY could use some more info on cebu, ITT has given me a place to check out, and ive got another on another forum, but even just like streets that would be ok to live on or reasonably safe areas of the city to start looking for places would be a big help

mom has already set up a joint citibank account with $1500 in it that i can access with my citi card for my own personal account, if parents werent there to fly me back if all else goes to **** i doubt id have the balls to go through with this

Really wish i could give you advice about safe areas in cebu city but i cannot.
i spend all my time outside of the city ( about 30\40 minutes by taxi ).
i never played live poker either in manilla or cebu
Remember you saying that big city`s are not your thing.
Although cebu city is big , i find it manageable and easier to orientate myself then manilla.
Generally speaking i found the people more relaxed and friendlier in cebu .
What surprised me when i last went to the immigration office this year was how many more young people (20-30) i saw .
just some thoughts.

Cebu city is substantially easier to orientate oneself to then Manila is, and by city standards, I wouldn't call Cebu city big.


@K2d, If willing to play only online and no live, Cebu would definitely be better for you, especially considering your roll. Tbh with your roll as it is not sure how much you should be risking at the live poker table anyway, if you are that underolled it won't matter how big your skill edge is, and especially considering the rake is 10% UNCAPPED, you're likely to eventually go busto.

I'd stick to strictly online play until you have made some money from it, then if you want venture into live as well.

But remember that the highest game you will consistently find in Cebu, is only $.50 - $1, $1/$2 doesn't even always run in Cebu, let alone $2/$5.

Combine that with 10% Uncapped rake, and you might actually find your hourly ROI is higher in online donkaments then your hourly winrate in live cash is.

hey , i disagree strongly . Any place that has more then 2 streets is massive for me

Also k2d if you fall in love with the phils and get through the first 6 months or a year you could start moving out of the city if it is not your thing.

We were this year looking at rentals before we changed our minds .
We found plenty of places were the rent was between 3,000 and 12,000 pesos.
All of these were about 30 - 40 minutes outside of the city.
Taxi fares from any of these places to the city would be around 300 pesos one way.

No kidding that was about my weekly expenses when I use to travel there. That definitely is just barely enough to live and work on. Offcourse he can run hot and clean out the tables.

Just read the last few post.... miss out on the last 24 hours since I took a 7 hour trip to play poker and chase this 370K badbeat plus there 100K drawing. Anyway ended up playing blackjack for 10hours my 1,000 went down to my last 40 bucks but managed build up to 710 on the last hour for a 290 lost. Keep telling myself to quit playing this game but sometimes its an easy way amass a large win. I won 800 on wednesday, i probably would be playing pontoon in hyatt hotel casino if I am in manila.

Anyway, for K2K now that you mention a mom that is worried, you should stay away from any illegal substance while in a asian country. It isnt worth it even if you think you trust the people you are dealing with. Whats not to say that they are not being watch or from somone snitching on them and you? First of with your small bankroll you should also stay away from the night scene/women and such. This doesnt mean that you cant go out for a drink or two just dont go there planning on partying much. Secondly either manila or cebu you need to find a apartment that is an hour ormore away from the city for cheaper rent. You should also make sure that you live close to a shoping center were you can get basic needs if not at least have an easy access to the jeepneys which will be your main source of transportation since taxi's are costly.
I still think you should remain in vegas until you have a bigger roll. If you can beat the tourist there then you can win online

With 7k it is possible to make it

but

he really needs to find a cheap place to live ( and be willing to to reduce his standards\expectations )

he must reduce his spending to the bare minimum
cook his own food
get away from the extra expense that air con brings and switch to just using fans as much as possible .
Entertainment costs should be basic and seldom.

And obviously be a winning player on line.

for sure forgotten other things he should or should not do

If i was a winning player on line i could make it on 7k but then i am happy to live a very modest lifestyle outside of the city and have some experience living in the phils and living abroad generally.

k2d

Here's an idea. Why not just go to Mexico? There is a big thread on Rosarito.

-all the weed you want
-close proximity to Vegas
-cheaper than Manila
-no huge plane ticket expense eating 15%+ of your roll

-other areas in Southern Mexico u might check out, safe and cheap
Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, Hualtuco