Reports from Philippines
- Thread starter Roy Steffensen
- Start date
Hi Roy,
If Chris wants a few days away from Manila get him to pm me or if you can pm me his number?
Puerto Galera is a great place by the sea and there is plenty of action here too!! not so much on the pool table though
Its Dave by the way, I am sure you remember me.
If Chris wants a few days away from Manila get him to pm me or if you can pm me his number?
Puerto Galera is a great place by the sea and there is plenty of action here too!! not so much on the pool table though
Its Dave by the way, I am sure you remember me.
The former Rack n Roll is now the Philippine Poker Tour's PLAYERS DEN. Mainly Poker tables on the 1st and second floor but the 3rd floor has pool tables, a couple of poker tables and video equipment that cover the matches. This Players Den 3rd Floor is the Manila Hangout of the BMPAP players as it is owned and operated by BMPAP members.Vahmurka said:In case Hyatt is next door to Executive Plaza then is is. I didn't pay much attention to the hotels other than I stayedLast year R'n'R was closed, so this year it is opened after renovation and was already active for WTBC, so all I learnt about it was from reports by Jay and local posters. Hope we gonna like it not less than the first time. I loved their stylish scoreboards...
I will be accompanied by a couple of poker players looking forward that visit
The video equipment is more for providing the poker enthusiast, playing on the 1st and 2nd floor tables, a chance to follow the matches on the 3rd floor that they're sweating. Live web is just a bonus for the internet pool fans. Nice set-up ey? Can you imagine how easy it is for our guys to get a backer when surrounded by gamblers? :grin: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dL9hZX88Go
Thank you very much Roy for making this thread...
Its saturday evening here, and Roy has been pestering me with text messages since I arrived here on thursday. I should never have given him my local number.
Anyway, for the first few days I am staying in Makati, a healthy taxi drive from the pool action. But its a bit less crowded and less noisy here..
Yesterday, friday 7th, I went to PPT / Players Den which already have been described by others in this thread. There are only three tables there, and I had to go through two floors of poker players to get to the top floor.. Sad to see so many good pool players wasting their life at the poker table instead of the pool table
When I reached the top floor, the first table was occupied by Dennis Orcollo and Ronnie Alcano. Game was 10-ball (with the "9-ball" rules - no call shots), race to 21, and the bet was 100.000 pesos.
On the second table, Francisco Bustamente was involved in a small friendly bet (the type of bet I normally do when I play) of 9-ball, race to 8, 2000 pesos. The opponent was Christoffer Magnusson, a very good Swedish player, who splits his time between Subic PI and Sweden.
On the third table Roberto Gomez was goofing around , banging balls..
The tables play extremely fast, the rails bite, and the balls really bounce fast. In other words, not the way some people believe filipino tables play..
Back to the games: the match between Ronnie and Dennis continued, and Ronnie took a 12-7 lead. Both made very few mistakes, but some were made ofcourse. Even if these guys dont bet their own money, there is pressure and prestige involved. In the end, Ronnie could take it home with a 21-16 victory. If he didnt bet any of his own money, I guess that he received around 40% of the 100k bet, unless he has a special arrangement.
The other match between Busti and Magnusson went hill-hill, and even if it was a small bet, nobody in this country likes to lose, I can tell you guys that. Both of them made a mistake in the decision game. Christoffer made the last mistake, and Fransisco could win it.
As mentioned before I played a friendly game for the table time with Gomez, and almost handed him a donut. Was 6-0 up before he got some consolation games.. Must have been the jet lag which made me play good, I am sure I will settle down eventually.. As hinted by some ignorant posters here, it may have looked different if more money was on the line. But we will never know, will we?
Afterwards Gomez had a match against Lee Van Corteza. 10 ball, race to 21, Gomez got he 9, but would have to spot it if he made it on the break. If Gomez made the 10 on the break, it would be a win. If van van made the 9 on the break it stayed down, if van van made the 10 on the break it would get spotted.
I guess these guys take whatever small negotiation victory they can get. I was a bit surprised that Gomez got the 9, last time I was here, he was spotted 1 game only to 18 by van van, and chrushed him. So I placed a side bet of 5000 pesos, and could later cash that in, since Gomez won in the end, 21-16 or 17.
So I will be back again tonight, and continue to match up,and you dont need to bet high here to get a handful. If you beat one guy, they will just come up with a guy playing one ball better. I am sure they will be able to help me getting releaved of some pesos. To finance this, I will look for side-bets. I believe I have a positive record in this area at least.
Next week we are going to Bacolod. Hopefully the 8 foreign players, including some top players like Yang from Taiwan, will not be sent to hell by WPA for playing a tournament arranged by BMPAP.. At least I think I can promise that everybody will be paid very quickly.
Its saturday evening here, and Roy has been pestering me with text messages since I arrived here on thursday. I should never have given him my local number.
Anyway, for the first few days I am staying in Makati, a healthy taxi drive from the pool action. But its a bit less crowded and less noisy here..
Yesterday, friday 7th, I went to PPT / Players Den which already have been described by others in this thread. There are only three tables there, and I had to go through two floors of poker players to get to the top floor.. Sad to see so many good pool players wasting their life at the poker table instead of the pool table
When I reached the top floor, the first table was occupied by Dennis Orcollo and Ronnie Alcano. Game was 10-ball (with the "9-ball" rules - no call shots), race to 21, and the bet was 100.000 pesos.
On the second table, Francisco Bustamente was involved in a small friendly bet (the type of bet I normally do when I play) of 9-ball, race to 8, 2000 pesos. The opponent was Christoffer Magnusson, a very good Swedish player, who splits his time between Subic PI and Sweden.
On the third table Roberto Gomez was goofing around , banging balls..
The tables play extremely fast, the rails bite, and the balls really bounce fast. In other words, not the way some people believe filipino tables play..
Back to the games: the match between Ronnie and Dennis continued, and Ronnie took a 12-7 lead. Both made very few mistakes, but some were made ofcourse. Even if these guys dont bet their own money, there is pressure and prestige involved. In the end, Ronnie could take it home with a 21-16 victory. If he didnt bet any of his own money, I guess that he received around 40% of the 100k bet, unless he has a special arrangement.
The other match between Busti and Magnusson went hill-hill, and even if it was a small bet, nobody in this country likes to lose, I can tell you guys that. Both of them made a mistake in the decision game. Christoffer made the last mistake, and Fransisco could win it.
As mentioned before I played a friendly game for the table time with Gomez, and almost handed him a donut. Was 6-0 up before he got some consolation games.. Must have been the jet lag which made me play good, I am sure I will settle down eventually.. As hinted by some ignorant posters here, it may have looked different if more money was on the line. But we will never know, will we?
Afterwards Gomez had a match against Lee Van Corteza. 10 ball, race to 21, Gomez got he 9, but would have to spot it if he made it on the break. If Gomez made the 10 on the break, it would be a win. If van van made the 9 on the break it stayed down, if van van made the 10 on the break it would get spotted.
I guess these guys take whatever small negotiation victory they can get. I was a bit surprised that Gomez got the 9, last time I was here, he was spotted 1 game only to 18 by van van, and chrushed him. So I placed a side bet of 5000 pesos, and could later cash that in, since Gomez won in the end, 21-16 or 17.
So I will be back again tonight, and continue to match up,and you dont need to bet high here to get a handful. If you beat one guy, they will just come up with a guy playing one ball better. I am sure they will be able to help me getting releaved of some pesos. To finance this, I will look for side-bets. I believe I have a positive record in this area at least.
Next week we are going to Bacolod. Hopefully the 8 foreign players, including some top players like Yang from Taiwan, will not be sent to hell by WPA for playing a tournament arranged by BMPAP.. At least I think I can promise that everybody will be paid very quickly.
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Roy Steffensen said:Yeah.
I say, bet something, and let's get a report on the score then
Huh?? How is the weather back home?
jay helfert said:
So right Jay. And even if they dont bet their own money, its really really important to win. Ofcourse a big issue its their share of the win, but its also the opportunity to get more matches and higher bets next time. I also believe that at least the players who have a steady backer, will earn a higher percentage when he books more wins. If he doesnt perform perhaps he goes down to 20%. Up to the backer..
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Vahmurka said:If Jonathan didn't move the terms for Bacolod tournament I would've been there as well. For the time being I will only visit QC Invasion team match. Hopefully pooladdict shows up here and we decide how to arrange a AZer meeting
I will be here also during the QC Invasion match Dec 2-4.
mjantti said:I met pooladdict briefly at the EPC this summer. Seemed to be a very nice guy. I hope he sees this and gives us more reports ! And also have a good time there as well
Hi Miko, I will surely have a good time. I will not stay in Manila for a whole month, but travel a bit around. After all, there are 7107 islands to explore.
thefifteen said:
Sir Dave!!!
How's life?
Chris loves to travel around so I wouldn't be surprised if you get a call from him one of the next days
I thought you lived in Subic? Have you moved or have I just not listened when someone told me where you lived?
pooladdict said:
Storm coming up...
I MISS PHILIPPINES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Keep the reports coming!
Another match up between Ronnie Alcano and Dennis yesterday at PPT / Players Den.
10 ball, race to 31, the bet was either 200 or 300.000 pesos. These two guys have been playing eachother a lot lately, and there is rivalry between them..
Ronnie started strong, and quickly took a lead. He was up 17-11, but neither of the players were too happy with the refs racking, so they started rack your own. Its very difficult to give a proper rack here, and even if the refs are quite professional, sometimes I am surprised that they dont check the two balls behind the 10 better.
If Joe Tucker reads this, he can explain and illustrate better than me whats happening when one of those balls are not frozen to the 10ball..
Rack your own changed the momentum in the match, and Dennis took the lead for the first time in the match with 20-19. After that they went back and forth, with Dennis reaching the hill first with 30-29. Their game had now tightened up somewhat - until now both of them had committed very few mistakes, and made some very hard run-outs and strong safeties.
The match went to hill-hill, and a lot of people were watching the final game. Ronnie got a little awkward on the 2, and missed it when he tried to force position for the 3-ball.
Then Dennis had to play a combination 4-5, made the 5, but lost position a bit on the 4. The shot was very difficult, he missed it, and left Ronnie with a long cut. He made it, got a lucky carom of the nine which made the remaining balls easy (if anything is easy at hill-hill in this kind of match-up)
Ronnie could win it, and I booked another 5.000 pesos sidebet win
10 ball, race to 31, the bet was either 200 or 300.000 pesos. These two guys have been playing eachother a lot lately, and there is rivalry between them..
Ronnie started strong, and quickly took a lead. He was up 17-11, but neither of the players were too happy with the refs racking, so they started rack your own. Its very difficult to give a proper rack here, and even if the refs are quite professional, sometimes I am surprised that they dont check the two balls behind the 10 better.
If Joe Tucker reads this, he can explain and illustrate better than me whats happening when one of those balls are not frozen to the 10ball..
Rack your own changed the momentum in the match, and Dennis took the lead for the first time in the match with 20-19. After that they went back and forth, with Dennis reaching the hill first with 30-29. Their game had now tightened up somewhat - until now both of them had committed very few mistakes, and made some very hard run-outs and strong safeties.
The match went to hill-hill, and a lot of people were watching the final game. Ronnie got a little awkward on the 2, and missed it when he tried to force position for the 3-ball.
Then Dennis had to play a combination 4-5, made the 5, but lost position a bit on the 4. The shot was very difficult, he missed it, and left Ronnie with a long cut. He made it, got a lucky carom of the nine which made the remaining balls easy (if anything is easy at hill-hill in this kind of match-up)
Ronnie could win it, and I booked another 5.000 pesos sidebet win
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Regarding the pool rooms in the area:
I was told that Fusion, a relatively new place, now has closed. Something about the floor not being able to take the weight of the tables..?
I still havent been to One-Side, the place that used to be the center of action here in Manila. I am told that all the action now is at PPT / Players Den, but have not confirmed that by checking out One-Side myself yet.
But since there are only three tables at PPT, there should be room for some action at One-Side also.
Actually yesterday, Lolong the house pro / house hustler at One-Side came looking for me at PPT, perhaps he misses the peso donations. I am sure that Roy can dig up a picture of Lolong Gwapo, for those of you that are not familiar with his wonderful smile
I was told that Fusion, a relatively new place, now has closed. Something about the floor not being able to take the weight of the tables..?
I still havent been to One-Side, the place that used to be the center of action here in Manila. I am told that all the action now is at PPT / Players Den, but have not confirmed that by checking out One-Side myself yet.
But since there are only three tables at PPT, there should be room for some action at One-Side also.
Actually yesterday, Lolong the house pro / house hustler at One-Side came looking for me at PPT, perhaps he misses the peso donations. I am sure that Roy can dig up a picture of Lolong Gwapo
, for those of you that are not familiar with his wonderful smile
ooh, that's sad... Last years there was a good selection of places to play. One Side was occupied by pro gamblers, Rack'n'Roll was a place to play a friendly match or find a local according to your level. Last year Fusion was a replacement for that.pooladdict said:
Now when Players Den has only three tables and is a BMPAP members residence, probably One Side is less busy. And with no Fusion nearby the choice is very limited
I'm afraid we will have to go somewhere like Robinsons mall to play pool then...
Vahmurka said:ooh, that's sad... Last years there was a good selection of places to play. One Side was occupied by pro gamblers, Rack'n'Roll was a place to play a friendly match or find a local according to your level. Last year Fusion was a replacement for that.
Now when Players Den has only three tables and is a BMPAP members residence, probably One Side is less busy. And with no Fusion nearby the choice is very limited
I'm afraid we will have to go somewhere like Robinsons mall to play pool then...
It ain't hard to find a pool table in Manila. Walk down any side street or alleyway and listen for the click of balls. I played a few times in Harrison Plaza, at a little place located right in the main mall area. And last time I was there, we discovered another pool room buried at the end of a long hallway.
Even in Pasay City where I stayed there were two small poolrooms within a couple of blocks of each other. In both of them eager eyes greeted me like I was a piece of meat. I will get back in stroke before I return. I hate the feeling of being helpless.
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