Straight From Gemmy - "I think it was national spirit - something that exists everywhere."

 

The Final Table of The Philippine Poker Millions

There was some buzz around the Asian poker scene concerning what went down on the final table of the PHP 50 Million Guaranteed Philippine Poker Millions Main Event that recently played at the Metro Card Club. There were 7 Filipinos on the final table and two foreigners - Quac Huyen "Gemmny" Ngoc of Vietnam and Manjong Kim of South Korea.

Manjong Kim ended his run as the first casualty in 9th place, but came in with a short stack. So maybe that was expected. However, Gemmy sat 6th in chips and couldn't find any momentum, became short-stacked and bowed out in 6th place.

There was some talk about collusion among the Filipinos who would open, three-bet - get Gemmy to fold - and then whoever opened folded. Like people were saying - they didn't allow her to play because they applied so much pressure. 

I've heard things like - "How could that guy fold Ace-King?" and I've seen things sent out on social media like 



All card games - especially poker - have always been those things where those who play against each other try gain an advantage. There has been history of cheating in card games as far back as when the first card was dealt. "Ace up the sleeve" and all that.

I'm not sure of how much the game really showed collusion, or if these were just biases of foreigners who've played in the Philippines and weren't as successful playing against Filipinos. Could the Pinoy Tribe have really done this? After all - many wouldn't really close the idea given the Philippine reputation for corruption, graft and perjury - but that's another topic and issue altogether.

"Hindi Niya Pwede Iuwi Ang Pera Natin"

In the video shared here by Gemmy herself during her hand (which she won by the way) - someone was heard in the background saying in Filipino, "Hindi niya pwede iuwi ang pera natin." - which translates to "She cannot take home our money." or as you can see in the screen shot above what someone else translated. (Watch the video HERE of the screenshot)

Understandably, things like this - even if the tone of the background voice you hear was done in jest and for fun - give it a bad color for anyone else who doesn't understand the tone of the language. I am not defending - I'm just saying. Cultural differences bring a certain discomfort - and maybe paranoia - among those of us who cannot comprehend.

Nevertheless.... when all is said and done, the one that is supposed to be more affected than all the railbirds, livestream viewers and opinion makers is GEMMY! Gemmy is the one who was directly targeted by this alleged collusion.

When it happened, I asked her how she felt about people saying that "she was robbed" and she herself admitted, "It's OK. It was my choice. If I can be brave." And she admitted to being nervous on livestream, no one really on her rail to support her, four big stacks to her left, plus the pressure of the camera crew and all. In the end, she just said, "It's OK. That's life."  That chat happened just hours after she busted out of the tournament. She was in Manila and I was in Taipei.

However, the noise hadn't died down weeks after the final table and there were players seriously contemplating whether or not to travel to the Philippines to participate in certain events - especially the big APPT Championship coming around the corner.

So once again - in the words of Gemmy herself:


And with that. I'm gold. I hope the naysayers can make a little less noise, maybe even make peace. Like what Thumper said, "If you ain't got nothing nice to say, then don't say nothing at all."  

Hope to see you guys in the Philippine felts soon.

Thank you, Gemmy!

You can watch the livestream of the Philippine Millions Final Table by  clicking below.


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