While everyone is digitally on their phones to record the action, there's an OG reporter there still using a pen and paper, going analog. LOL   Hello, friends! It's been a while. I took a hiatus from poker things to focus on art the past month. As I am writing this, I have a group show opening on May 8 at the Quest Plus Hotel and Conference Center in Filinvest City, Alabang, which will run until May 31st. I got back just in time from APT Taipei 2026, where I did my usual live reporting duties from April 25 to May 2. I got to cover the APT Super High Roller, the Mystery Bounty, the Main Event, the Superstar Challenge, the Zodiac Classic and the APT High Roller - all the major events of the APT that require a little bit more media attention. As usual, it was great to be at work to see some familiar faces. My thanks to Ben Wilson - lead media coordinator - for getting me the gig in the last minute. He celebrated his birthday during the tour and we had a chance to have a decent dri...

The Manila Megastack 24 just concluded in the PokerStars Live poker room at the Okada Manila with nearly two weeks of action. I got to play in the earlier part of the series with much thanks to a stake from a friend who wishes to remain anonymous. In any case, I played the Sunday Special, the Knockout (1K Bounty), the Knockout (1k Bounty) again - a different event in a different day and the Knockout (5K Bounty). I racked a big stack early in the Sunday Special, but finished somewhere 40-something out of 170+ players. My stack got hurt when We both hit top pair, but ran into a kicker problem with K-10 v K-J. Then, I had 8-8 on my big blind against the small blind, who min-raised and I just flatted. Flop came 7-7-4. He checked and I pushed all in. He insta-called with kings. And I thought I was the one trapping. The first PHP 5,000 KO (1K Bounty) I played, I managed to score 2 bounties. Racked up a very sizable stack, but got hurt calling with a top pair of aces against a Q-9 two pair. I...

Abby Merk I've watched Abigail "Abbypoker" Merk YouTube videos before. The algorithm of poker shorts just pops up regularly on my feed, and then one day I saw her move up in the poker video world by being one of the commentaries on the "No Limit" documentary about WSOP Paradise 2024 . There were a few episodes aired on YouTube before it got cancelled/postponed due to some technical issue scandal that involved using AI to create fake voiceovers of Alan Keating . Anyway, she did mention in her IG that she would be playing the Asian Poker Tour Championship Taipei 2025 , and I certainly didn't want to pass up the chance to get an interview with her.  At that time, I was still working as the lead writer for Life of Poker and asked if I could do an interview to publish at their site. The owner agreed and even said he'd give me a bonus on top of my salary for the exclusive. Long story short - I never go the bonus, while they had their exclusive on their site. ...

  The gears are turning in poker rooms around the world with some big festivals ongoing and about to take off in the next few days. One of the big events in the calendar is the WSOP International Circuit, which will be happening at the Grand Casino Gramprin in Liechtenstein. There will be 12 WSOP ring events among other side events. The WSOP ring winners also grab a package to be used in either WSOP Europe this summer or in WSOP Paradise at the end of the year. The WSOP International Circuit - Grand Casino Gramprin will run from February 26 to March 10.  Full schedule available  HERE . Currently happening is the European Poker Tour in Paris, France from February 18 to March 1. Run by PokerStars , the EPT Paris 2026 is taking place at the Le Palais de Congres with the EPT Main Event kicking off today (February 23) and will play until the festival closes on March 11. The EUR 5,300 buy-in will have two starting flights, and a Day 2 up to Day 5. It'll be a marathon for sur...

  My schedule was tight. It usually always is. Because apart from being a poker amature and poker writer, I am also an artist, a chef, a biker, a single dad and a writer for other things. So, the only moment I had to play the PHP 1.5 Million Guaranteed tournament of 9D Poker Club was on Day 1A, a Wednesday. And if I missed out on that, then that was it. I had other commitments on the other days, including an out of town weekend trip, but if need be - I'd be back for the 2PM Day 2 Final on Sunday. I jumped in at Level 7 with the 25,000 starting stack and the average at 49K. I more-than-doubled in my first orbit, scooping some uncontested pots, then braving 9-9 against A-K. The nines held and I jumped up to 72K with the average at 52,000. By the last break before end of registration, I had amassed 105,000 (70BBs) with the average at 63,000. There were 42 still playing out of the 111 total entries. My stack moved up to 113,500 and I just played a bit conservatively. Then, I got hit by...

Joshua Chargualaf had one of the most memorable poker runs of his career. At the recently concluded PokerStars Manila Super Series at Okada Manila, Chargualaf lifted two titles and closed with a Main Event runner-up finish. In a brief interview, the Guam native reflected on his breakout performance and his enduring passion for the game. My run for this series was amazing! I couldn’t ask for a better start. Winning the Warm-Up event allowed me to gain confidence as I was eyeing my first spadie for years. It also allowed me to fly my father out from  Guam  to support me throughout the rest of the series. [Chargualaf opened the series with a victory at the Warm Up event, outlasting a field of 246 entries. He followed it up with another title at the Super Knockout, keeping his head intact over the 49 entries. To cap off his series, Chargualaf finished second at the Main Event out of a field of 958 runners.] According to Chargualaf, that momentum was built on more than cards alone....

  Photo credit: Somuchpoker South Africa’s Nikki Chilchik captured her first trophy at the 2026 WPT Cambodia Championship in Phnom Penh, taking down the Early Bird Megastack. In the days following her win, she opened up about the thrill and the challenges of playing poker in Asia for the very first time. From Vietnam to Cambodia              Six weeks ago, my husband and I went on holiday to Vietnam and had no idea there was poker there. We played in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh. It was my first time playing tournament poker overseas.  At the beginning, it was extremely overwhelming and intimidating. I walked into this big poker club, there were screams everywhere, no one was speaking English, and I didn’t want to play. I told my husband, ‘I can’t do this.’ But he said, ‘Just focus on your table,  all you need to know is raise and fold.’  I’ve only started playing poker again after twenty years. I had a son and he is nineteen now. ...

With Rene on Reden I attended the APT Players' Party during the APT Jeju Classic 2026 and had a chance to cheers some drinks with former APT Main Event winner Rene von Reden. Below is a short article on our encounter that I shared with APT for their website, but I'm not sure if it was used. I wrote it immediately the morning after the APT Players' Party, partially struggling with a whiskey hangover. LOL. Anyway, revised it a bit to include his final series outcome.  Not so long ago, Germany’s Rene von Reden lifted the APT Golden Lion trophy after winning the APT Taipei Classic 2024 Main Event , securing a payout of nearly USD 450,000. More than a year removed from that breakthrough moment, von Reden remains closely tied to the tour that produced it, returning whenever his schedule allows and maintaining a deep connection with the circuit. When asked how poker life has been since that victory, he was quick to clarify his status in the game. “I am not a professional poker pl...