No the game is capped at 400 pesos.

Could you please tell me alittle bit about average stacks and openraises in this game please?

Thanks!

That is true. I don't. All I can go off was the glimpse into your way of thinking pre-edit and post-edit from your post.

Here is the post you made (edited but I think we get the general idea):

Yep, you're a really hero buddy. Not scum at all. I take back my insulting word and apologise. It's clear I had you pegged all wrong.

rakes 10% uncap of course everyones horrible

requested a check from stars on the august 29th. got it today september 18.

just thought i'd put this in here if anybody cares.

Just to add, Pokerstars now offers wire transfers to a bank account in the Philippines (peso or dollar).

No, not quite.. NL hold'em has a way to go before it's polished to US standards..if ever. I called the dealer on a split pot decision she made, and had the money given back to the correct player. I was not in the hand, but wanted to see if she would be honest to the other player at the table.. and she was.

I've been in the Philippines for about 3 weeks now. About 2 weeks in Boracay and am currently at Dumaguete.

I went on vacation with a friend but we both went seperate directions in the Philippines, I started out towards Boracay and he towards El Nido in Pelawan.

We both had about the same kind of experiences in those areas which describes what people love about the Philippines I guess: the mentality of the people here is absolutely amazing. Because of that, this is also a country where you can have tons of fun right of the bat even if you are traveling alone.

To describe the mentality here would take way too long, but let's just say that within the first week I had like a totally new social life, many new friends (two girlfriends also, and to be honest, I don't think I'll like many European girls when I return. Someone described Filipinas earlier in this thread as playful, I agree with that completely).

But I don't think I want to describe in detail. People from western countries have to come here to experience and understand it I guess.

I had one bad experience however. I was in a great resort but I was stupid enough to leave my backpack open after looking for something, and inside on top of some clothing was a wallet with my backup cash, about 600 euros. Roomcleaning stole that from me, but I think it was just a stupid mistake on my part. That wallet was clearly in sight the whole week. If you know how little people make here it's really like dangling a carrot in front of them.

You can't expect much from the police here, other than a lot of fun. Making a police report goes like this: One of them informing if I already had breakfast, I hadn't, so I had breakfast with them at the police station after filing the report. Driving on the road while the cops try to play frogger vs Tricycles, I decide to put my seatbuckle on (I'm in a police van after all) and them finding that hilarious ("Silly tourist, you don't need seatbuckle, I drive very good!"), female police officer flirting with me etc.


I think Yoyo's posts in this thread are extremely spot on to describe what you could love and hate about the Philippines. Especially the poverty can be tough to deal with.

For instance, I've met the wife and son of one of my friends there, who was a bartender who worked from 4pm till 2.30am 6 days per week with a 30 minute break in a bar at one of the top resorts on the beach. Their house is more like a room, about 1.5 by 2 meters, no door which can close, and he lives well for a local there. Further downtown you see the real poverty, from people who don't have official jobs, and the conditions they live in are terrible. That includes children sleeping on the streets (or at the beach after begging for many hours).

Still, one night I was taking a walk around 5am towards Puka Beach I noticed the real poverty, and I stopped at a place where, just like many other places, people try to run some kind of business but never close. People sleeping on the floor, an older woman sitting on a bench waiting for possible customers. I asked her if I could order a coffee there and she seemed very happy that I arrived. Before I knew it almost all of their family (about 12 people total) had sat down around me and we talking for a bit. Their english was very bad, but it was still interesting to learn how those people lived and not hearing any complaints. They don't complain about having almost no money or a decent accommodation, or even a real job, instead they are happy because they have enough food.

I also ordered some soup, probably not that fresh and not that tasty, and afterwards I paid double the price (while the price was about a third of ordering instant coffee+soup at the beach) and they were stunned to receive a tip and did not understand it. Then again, locals rarely buy something there, let alone tourists in a place which screams poverty.

If you look at the safety here I think most areas are quite safe for tourists but I did receive a warning while traveling to Dumaguete and was waiting on a bus to leave from Bocolad. I was on a quest to find a toilet with a toilet seat, toilet paper and which could flush, did not find that but at least found a place I could eat where they actually provided me with toilet paper when I asked for it since their toilet didn't had any (didn't flush well and no toilet seat, but heck, your standards go down while traveling through Philippines).

However, the owner of that place, after I ordered some food and drink warned me it was very unsafe to walk over the street at that time. When he heard I had already walked all the way from the bus terminal he was surprised and mentioned it was 'very dangerous for me on those streets'.

Because I had my luggage with me I took his warning to heart and just returned to bus terminal and waited there for 5 hours more.

Still, when I don't have my luggage with me I generally travelled with enough cash, but not too much, and no ATM cards, and I felt very safe in all areas. The other part is that even if I should get robbed (which is unlikely in Boracay but perhaps more likely in some other places) I can just give my wallet. So far however I've seen no sign of aggression at all from locals.

I'm currently just outside of Dumaguete, been staying in town for a few days but the smog is really terrible in the afternoon and I don't understand how people could stand living in the larger cities.

So yes, the Philippines are not a paradise. I love the country, but there are multiple things I really hate about it. If people want to live here, they may first want to check it out on vacation for a longer time.

I will however be moving over in a few months I expect for an extended vacation. The good things about this country, especially the mentality of the people here, outweighs the bad things for me, but you have to experience it for yourself to decide. Another thing is that when I return to Europe I expect some other things will actually be annoying to deal with after seeing the alternatives, so things like the useless complaining about everything, lots of aggression, people not being themselves but wearing a professional mask etc.

Also, one thing which may be interesting for poker players, internet in those areas:

In Boracay I had a great room at first but terrible internet from their free wifi, so I moved to another place. They had a cable connection and hotwired it to my room, but their provider was still crap. While playing poker I would disconnect from the client about 4 times per hour on average, which costed me quite some winnings and a miniftops tournament. My last place (Club Ten) had great wifi, but the place was boring and I rarely got around to playing poker (thanks to going out and a girl I met there).

I bought a Smartbro 3G stick but it's useless in Boracay. It's too unstable to play poker on there.

If you go to Boracay and want to bring a laptop my advice is to do the same as 3 nights before I left there: Take your laptop with you, try the wifi at different resorts, and base your choice on that.

In Dumaguete I've tested 3 resorts for internet connection. The Honeycomb Traveller's Inn offers life poker (going there tomorrow to try how the life games play here) but they have terrible wifi. The Palwa Hotel has great wifi, but only downstairs at a boring coffee room. Even so, I stayed there for 1 night and I could use my 3G stick perfectly inside my room. Now I'm staying at El Oriente, which is slightly out of town to the south, they have no wifi, my 3G stick works fine at the bar but terrible inside my room.

If you stay in a large town it's perhaps interesting to get a 3G stick for around 1000 pesos because you depend less on the internet access from your resort/hotel, they could have good coverage in many areas of the town and are cheap. Initial price of Smartbro stick is like $20 (site shows double but the price has been lowered officially), for the rest you pay 300 pesos per 15 hours. 300 pesos is like $6. If you move somewhere for a longer time, it's obviously more interesting to get a fixed internet connection, but a 3G stick could still be a decent backup option then.

Smartbro is pretty bad actually, even in metro manila. I tried it in Katipunan, part of Quezon City, which has upscale residential areas even by US standards and the second best University here (i.e. it's not some poor area that it's reasonable for Smart to ignore) and it wouldn't work half the time. Within Makati City Sun is much better, but I don't know how it is for the most part outside Makati and in one part of Paranaque it just didn't work at all.

There is a room near hyatt (walking distance) I think it is called pan pacific, not too sure on the name. but they are trying to run nightly PLO 50-100 and up. The guy I talked to said its been going 6 to 8 handed for about a week and lots of bad players, have yet to check it out the fact that the guy offered me a marker on the spot, kinda scared me.

Based off what I have read from all the posts so far this what I have gathered and these are some of the questions I have:

Boracay and Palawan have the nicest beaches, Boracay has an excellent golf course, and Batangas is great for Scuba Diving. How are the other golf courses in ph? What does a round of golf go for out there? I have a feeling that majority of the courses has a municipal feel to it rather than a country club. Is anyone a member of the Golf/Tennis country clubs out there? Would love to hear your experiences with that particular club.

Have any of you guys been to the car dealerships down there? I assume that you could purchase pretty much any brand name car down there. I did a search for a Chrysler 300 and unfortunately only found 1 car, lol. I understand that traffic there is beyond bad, but that is why I am going to be hiring a chauffeur. I also understand that you don't want to bring too much attention to yourself, would being chauffeured in a 300 be too much??? I can't imagine it being, but thats why I would like to get your opinions since you are the ones that live there.

From the post that I have read, most of you do not seem to take advantage of the cheap labor there, except for YoYo who said he uses a maid. I'm guessing the reason for not having these luxuries is due to the fact that you guys are in studios and 1 BRs, so no live in quarters? When I make the move I would like to have, a chef/maid(pretty sure he/she can pretty much be a personal assistant type that does it all), and 2 body guards, since safety does seem like a bit of an issue in some locations. 1 bodyguard I can double as a chauffeur which I am pretty sure is quite common. If an accountant is being paid $200-$300 a month there I think I could pay just under $1000ish for these 3-4 employees?? Please correct if wrong.
YoYo could you elaborate more on the services your maid provided while you were in ph?

I have noticed that many have mentioned Studios and 1 BRs around 35-50 sq meters? This seems very small to me. Is a 4 BR, 3.5 bath, 3 car garage, 275 sq meters(3000 sq ft), sitting on half an acre a rare commodity over there? Or just not in the Makati area? I have found listings for such properties but would like to get your opinions for the best locations so I can narrow down my search.

I guess my Ideal location would be on or near a Golf course, thats within 15 min driving distance to a beach, but not to far away so I can still catch a movie in a quality theater, which brings me to my next question:

How long if any is the delay of release for the big Hollywood hits? I am a big movie buff and catch all the new releases every week, so being within an hour or two of a nice cinema(stadium seating, rocking chairs, 3D and IMAX) is important to me. I have a feeling there might only be one IMAX in all of ph.

I used to play baseball at the collegiate level and am curious to know if there are competitive baseball leagues down there? I did a google search and found a details about a tourney, but it gave very limited info on their homepage. If anyone one has knowledge on that, that would be great.

For those of you that have learned to speak the languages fluently how long did it take you?

Can anyone compare the live games there to the ones in Vegas? It is commonly said the Vegas $200NL ($1/$2) game is equivlant to $10NL(.05/.10 online). Can the same be said about the 25/50 and 50/100pp games they have? If this is so, is seems like grinding out the live games there could lead to a $10-25/hr win rate wich would equate to balla status from the posts that I have read???

Lastly, if I open a HSBC account here in the States and deposit lets say $10,000. When I get to ph will I be able to withdraw $470,000pp, without having to exchange currency? There is no way it could be this simple, right? I know the money issue has been talked about several times in this thread but it remains to be the most cloudy subject of all. Clarification on this would be awesome.

LOL @ wanting 2 bodyguards!! It's the Philippines, not Afghanistan man!

Or perhaps you're the tata-sala guy with the 10 million bounty on your head? lol

In response to your questions.

Thank you Alex for your reply, very helpful info.

Maids can be had extremely cheap, for 1500 php/month +room and board (about $30 salary, and then room and board). I am not sure, but it would not surprise me if a bodyguard would cost more than an accountant, and there is really no need for a bodyguard. Almost the only people with bodyguards here are politicians and very rich Chinese people (they lack political/military contacts which can prevent them from getting kidnapped and help them if they do get kidnapped, so they have to make up for it with physical protection). Most nice houses are in subdivisions with guards patrolling the area, and nice apartment buildings also have doormen and guards.

So maybe just a live in chauffeur that could act more as a personal tour guide rather than a bodyguard. Where do you look when hiring any kind of help? I assume the trust issue is might be a problem?

Just in case the thought ever crossed your mind. Don't sleep with the maid. It's considered really bad here (basically people think only losers do it) and she'll probably start doing her normal job poorly

I know how it probably sounded when I said "services", but that is not what I meant. YoYo mentioned he had her drive down to renew his Visa every two months, I was wondering what else he made her do, that may not be considered regular maid duty. Are most maids down there pretty proficient in the kitchen, or is going with a personal chef the best way to go? Assuming you have a yard or pool do they, do yard and pool work too. I am imagining they are pretty flexible down there and will do whatever the job is, and if they are not familiar with the job, I am sure they will learn. Again this is my perception of how hired help works down there, would love for clarification on this.

Golf should be very cheap. I don't remember the exact price, but here in Dumaguete I was talking to an expat who lives here and I think he mentioned something like $60-$70/month while he could play whenever he wanted to.

No clue how it differs with Manila etc though.

Boracay and Palawan have the nicest beaches, Boracay has an excellent golf course, and Batangas is great for Scuba Diving. How are the other golf courses in ph? What does a round of golf go for out there? I have a feeling that majority of the courses has a municipal feel to it rather than a country club. Is anyone a member of the Golf/Tennis country clubs out there? Would love to hear your experiences with that particular club

I might not be 100% correct here but i have been trying to find out about the golf scene over here. From people that I have spoken to and read i have the impression that most courses are quite exclusive although being a foreigner would grant you easy access. Reading through the lonely planet i got the impression that courses around Manila/boracay/cebu and Palawan cost around $100-$150.

Scuba diving- If your going diving from Manila as a day activity i would dive from Batangas. But if your going for a diving break then the best diving is in sabang (puerta galera) which is a 45min boat trip from Batangas. You can get decent priced rooms, there is a semi decent nightlife and plenty of girls.

Cinemas-I think they are quite close to US release dates.

Staff- We pay a groundsman/handman/driver for 4000p a month plus food. He works 6day a week from 6am-8pm at night. Although most of that time is spent sat on his arse eating. He probably does about 3 hours actual work a day but he would rather spend time at work than in his shack of a house.

What i would say is always be carefull about how much trust you put in anyone you employ. Because if your paying someone $30 a month there is a chance that they might try and supplement their income however they can.

Re your questions.

When the asking price for an item is P3.960T or P6.0M what does that mean?

T stands for thousands and M for million , so 6 million

Whoooooaaaa monster flood today. Check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfWpVe7w3DA at 1:24 and look what happened to the van. Electricity is out in tons of areas (Rockwell has generators though ftw), and I've been talking to people that said they saw cars floating away and stuff.

Um, I would say Yes. Like, wow! You'll have to see the traffic to realise what an hilarious idea that is. Just buy something understated that you don't mind getting fender benders all dents ALL over, something that doesn't stand out. Why make yourself a target like that?

The thought of this....



....in EDSA / Makati traffic....



...is one of the funniest ideas I've heard in while. You'll realise why within 10-15 min driving out from NAIA when you fly in.

Also, pretty sure that the levy on foreign cars is something ridiculous that makes new cars 2x what the same car would cost in US. Early on, I was looking at an SUV I wanted and the prices were all pretty much 2x US prices. The only reason I was considering getting my own car and driver was simply that most taxis are really old and terrible - and I was getting nauseous and sick every day from the exhaust fumes pouring in whilst stuck in traffic. Then I realised the optimal line was simply not to leave my apartment, so I pretty much went with that.

I was paying my maid about US$60-70/week or so. The first two maids I had to let go for stealing. It's not a pleasant thing letting them go as they're crying about their children and so on, but pretty much all I really needed was occasional cleaning and someone I could trust, and I'd make that very clarified and simple when hiring and obv promised high compensation for that. And don't give 2nd chances obv - I guess the temptation was too great for them, but I eventually found close to what I wanted in Janine, who worked hard, learned my little quirks (like not waking me up if I was asleep to ask if I wanted my room cleaned - eventually, sigh), and never stole a centavo.

I don't know what the going rates are for live-in maids (you need to pay substantially more for a live-out maid as she has to find her own accommodation, food, extended commute in from wherever her affordable lodgings are, etc) but my first apartment was too small (52sqm) and although my Manansala place was quite large (80sqm), I think living with a live-in maid would be hella annoying - I dunno. I mean, I'm kind of a low maintenance geek and didn't really ever need much done. Anything I eat I order online - Janine would come in, empty a trash can, run a couple errands for me, maybe do some laundry and be on her way.

She was great for simple stuff. Anything too complex and she'd get nervous and over-react and panic. But for things like moving or getting my visa extended or talking to locals on the phone, she was priceless. She was great at letting me pass her any local tilt and she'd just politely Tagalog it away most of the time.

(Edit: Alex's comment is pretty much spot on. You can ask your maid or driver to do just about any kind of PA stuff you need, the quality of the work attempted could swing from competent to....???)

I suspect you're aiming a bit low on that 1k/month for 3-4 staff. I'd budget for 1500/month (rough guess, I dunno for sure).

You won't be able to withdraw from your US HSBC unless it's a Premier account. You'd have to wire the money from your US HSBC PowerVantage to your Manila HSBC PowerVantage. You will get USD only then you'll have to convert it to Peso.

To open a US HSBC Premier account, I think you need a minimum balance of $300,000 - but not sure on the exact number for min balance.

(Edit: Comments re: banking above were assuming w/d the bulk amount. I lived there for 8-10 months with no bank account and just lived off ATM's - there's an ATM at the Enterprise Centre that has a much larger daily max than all the other ATM's, but I can't remember what the max was, I think 40k peso.

Movies are released close to US date due to piracy concerns I think. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by cinema quality in Manila - dunno anything about IMAX's though.)

anyone in manila right now? i wonder whats the situation right now? im flying there on tuesday and then going to puerto galera for a few days. do u think its still gonna be possible? i just read on BBC that it's meant to be the most severe flooding in the past 40 years. should i cancel my trip?

postpone it if you can, its not the best of times right now...

The prices that I have found online are pretty high, 6 million PP or 127K+ USD, for a 09 H2(75K USD Fully Loaded new in the states), I thought maybe a scam, but from your post that seems standard there. The H2 was Level 5 bullet proof, lol'd at that. It seems like the Toyota Venza or Innova seems popular down there, and might be a better fit. No prob toning it down. Also shipping my car is out of the question. The import taxes are ridiculous: b. less than 2 yrs old - 90% of car valuation. I have no intentions of driving, and am pretty sure I will be going out a bit, and from your experiences with taxis, a live-in chauffeur seems like a must.

Toyota Venza:


This one is pimped out with a 22" TV/DVD and the third row was converted to a bed! lol, stand out much?


Definitely sounds like a pain when searching for help, needle in a haystack kind of thing. Its seems like there is mixed responses on the level of security. YoYo I understand you enjoy the confines of your apt., so it is probably pointless for you, but for those who plan on spending more time away from the house, what is your opinion on having a bodyguard. While I am not going to put myself out there, my guess is that it would be quite obvious to the locals despite your car that you have money and will be at a higher risk of any kind of scam. I guess what I am trying to say is would having the extra help like one or two bodygaurds would reduce any attempts of potential scams just with their presence alone? I know it may sound that I go out looking for trouble with the hole BG talk but it is quite the opposite, I just like being cautious I guess...

Are any of you guys familiar with the baseball scene down there: recreational, amateur or pro? I googled for some info and just found an 8 team tourney that takes place once a year, which leads me to believe it is pretty much non-existent. I currently play in a Sunday league here in the states, and love the game, would probably be one of the few things I would miss if I had to give it up.

Consider getting into basketball it is much bigger there than baseball is.

well we're going with a group of like 20 other exchange students (who don't wanna lose money they already spent on tickets) so if its possible at all then we'd rather go. so i guess my question should be whether its possible to go rather than if its better to go another time. are we gonna be able to get to puerto galera from manila?