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...

Tony Ren Lin Hello from Jeju! Its day 8 of the APT Jeju Classic 2026 and things are winding down. As usual, it's always amazing to rekindle friendships and make new ones. I'm always happy for APT because of these opportunities. One of the best things was getting to fanboy over Tony Ren Lin and grab a selfie with him. This was even before he won the APT Super High Roller and follow it up with a win in the APT Superstar Challenge. I wanted a picture with him for the simple reason that he is a person who faced adversity, accepted the consequences with grace and professionalism, then continued to be the person that he is. Last year, Tony Ren Lin was banned from the WSOP and removed from GGPoker as its ambassador following a "cheating-scandal." Lin made an apology, accepted the consequence and moved on. The WSOP suspension would be lifted and he would cash in WSOP Paradise, and while he may have lost his GGPoker ambassador-ship, an opportunity came for him to jump in with ...

  I do enjoy when players tank. TANK = to use a Time bANK. LOL. I hope I didn't invent that shit. Anyway, when players tank, it allows me to exercise what kind of thoughts they may have apart from the obvious poker dilemma they are currently faced with. I mean, 30 seconds or more is a long time and the mind can wander...  So far, these are what I've used:  And yes, there are more. I just try to make the poker entertaining so it doesn't seem too dry. I don't do it every hand, but just enough to break the monotony of the live reports. Maybe add some humor, but definitely to make it entertaining.  Are you not entertained?

As a live-reporter, my first duty is to capture poker in action, getting down hands, watching the chips shift. Hopefully, catch a big pot, a double-up, a bust. But then, while all that is already instinctive to the job description, there are stuff that I enjoy writing about that isn't always about the poker action, but more of the "capturing the moment." For example:  Mehdi Makes The Right Call https://www.theasianpokertour.com/series/apt-jeju-south-korea-2025/events/75be5fc6-00fe-4e41-b056-ba244035af5d/live-reports/qbkpqib3no9ao5xcl3apyhlk Yamashita Flips A Coin To Call https://www.theasianpokertour.com/series/apt-jeju-south-korea-2025/events/0335b732-45b3-410a-9261-a6d06c3f2324/live-reports/tjg24n47bbaxphlnf1mmlylr Tran Puts The Pressure on Wei https://www.theasianpokertour.com/series/apt-jeju-south-korea-2025/events/0335b732-45b3-410a-9261-a6d06c3f2324/live-reports/xyzdjmq8ore622mqeh1vqyvx Wong's 9-3 Doubles Up https://www.theasianpokertour.com/series/apt-jeju-sout...

The Asian Poker Tour 2010 Philippines Main Event is set at a buy-in of $2500 + $200. That's a pretty big buy-in, and will certainly attract some of the biggest poker names in Asia. For those who can't afford it, Resorts World Manila will be holding satellites to give hopefuls an opportunity to win seats. The RWM Satellite Series Event #2 will be held at Resorts World Manila’s poker room on Sunday, July 11 at 2:00 PM. Buy-in is set at only Php 5,000 with no registration fee Up for grabs will be a Php 500,000 guaranteed prize pool, inclusive of a seat to the APT Philippines 2010 main event! Of course, other prizes will be given to top placers. If you don’t have Php 5,000 to spare? A mega satellite to the RWM Satellite Series #2 will be held at 2:00 PM on Saturday, July 3 and 10. Both will have a buy-in at only Php 500 (with optional one rebuy and one add-on) and no registration fee. If you want to qualify online, then you can also play at PKR.com .