Two weeks at Ha Long Bay for the USOP Vietnam Ha Long Bay 2026 series doing some media work for Somuchpoker . Wow! Yes, that was a grind on the side of media, doing all the live reports with 12-hour work days, short sleeps and hangry tummies. Yes, HANGRY. Anyway, thanks to Somuchpoker for the opportunity. Thank you to USOP for the hospitality.  My personal thanks to the friends I've had the chance to reconnect with while here and to the new ones that I've met who have entered my life in such a heartwarming way. And thanks to all that I've learned. It's not old news that I play poker. Maybe not as regularly as the grinders and sharks I write about, but I hold my own on days I am available to play. Availability (well, and bankroll) have always held me back. I have two kids to put through college, but they'll graduate soon, so maybe I can build a better bankroll then. Availability - yeah, that's important. I can't go into a multi-day event and just lay all m...

  So, I wrote about Thi Minh Hong Pham aka Sarah Pham in a previous post . In that post, I told the story of how I met her, how kind she was and how she floored me with that one hand. Now, I write about her because the damn lady made history by being the first woman to ever win a USOP Main Event . Not only that, this is her second Main Event championship title this year. Earlier in January, she won the Main Event of the UK Poker Championships - by GG Poker in London. This time, she did it in Vietnam. And this time, I was so fortunate to have witnessed it. I cheered for her, obviously, because I consider her a friend and if I had to bet on anyone in poker, I'd put money on her. She has a great head for the game and an even bigger heart and passion. Back when she started to consider poker a career, she confessed that it wasn't something that her parents were too happy about. I mean, a woman gambling - just not the kind of career Asian parents consider or value. But it was her...

  I met Sarah by accident. I was in Hai Phong, doing some work for the USOP Grand Finale Hai Phong 2024. During one lunch time, Derrick and myself (both reporters for SMP at that time), decided to go hunting for food. Being a former chef and an obvious foodie, I had done some research and found a place that had Crab Noodle Soup, or in Vietnamese - Pho Cua.  The one I wanted to go to was closed, but there was one next door that was open. Yes, they still had Pho Cua. So... we stumbled into there anyway. We were lost in translation trying to look at the pictures and making use of Google translate when someone said hello. She introduced herself as Sarah and asked if we were here for the USOP. Derrick had his lanyard ID around his neck. So yes, we introduced ourselves as media reporters, then she said she was a player coming home from London, where she is based, and that Hai Phong was her hometown, back to see her parents and all, play some poker, yada yada. She then, of course, su...

  So.... I'm here in the posh InterContinental Ha Long Bay in Ha Long Bay, Vietnam for the USOP Vietnam Ha Long Bay series. Was that enough Ha Long Bay for you? Once again, doing some media reporting for somuchpoker.com  (SMP) with the live reports, updates, recaps - you know the drill. I'm here working with my fraternity brother Derrick Elomina, which is a treat of some sorts. Way back three years ago, my friend Triccia David (who was with SMP at that time) was asking if I could write for poker. I didn't take the offer at the time, but I did have recommendations. Derrick ended up being one of them. Fast forward to today and he is still with SMP, doing coverage and so much more. He's been able to travel around, have the time of his life and gain some weight.   When I finally decided to take the opportunity of the poker writing job, I had the chance to work with Derrick in the USOP Grand Finale Hai Phong and some festivals in Manila. Also, I worked remotely from home ...

  This is a bit of a late post just because I haven't found the time. I got back from APT Taipei and had to work on some art for a group art exhibit. In case you didn't know - I'm also an artist. Anyway, the exhibit was going to ingress on a Thursday with the opening reception on Friday. The only opportunity I had to play the Okada Manila Millions Main Event was on Wednesday, either on Day 1A and/or Day 1B. Hopefully that window of opportunity would be enough for me to find a bag to make it to the Day 2 on Saturday.  To be honest, I don't like the feeling of being limited to playing one day. Of course, for a main event, I would've wanted to have the opportunity to play more Day 1s, or to at least have that option should I fail to qualify in the earlier flights. But then, it is what it was. So I jumped in on Day 1A probably at around Level 8 or 9. I was on the big blind on my very first hand. Someone raised and I defended... Anyway, here's how it went... So, of c...

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....