Cza Yujuico is the Araw ng Dabaw Champion

Cza Yujuico aka The Queen, Araw ng Dabaw Poker  Face Champion

On March 2011, Czaria Yujuico aka "The Queen" pawned the asses of the big boys to take home the Championship of the Araw ng Dabaw Poker Face Tournament.  82 players played during the three day tournament get a spot on MCCD Wall of Fame but it was The Queen who proved best of them all.

With a P3,000 buy-in and a P300 registration fee, each player went into battle with a 20,000 chip stack to play with.  A P500,000 pot was on the line and nobody took it lightly.

Eagle Cup Day 3 Updates

It's August 22, the BIGGEST day in Davao poker history yet.  Day 3 of the First Eagle Cup and there are 9 players left with the chance of grabbing the P630,000 Champion's Prize.

Here's the cast of the First Eagle Cup Final Table and their chip stacks:

1. Koko Gotil (CDO) - 762,000
2. Joe Magnotti (USA / Davao) - 632,000
3. Mon Santos (Davao) - 581,000
4. Henry Acain (Visayas / USA) - 541,000
5. Martin Cepeda (Manila) - 506,000
6. Tony Jarman (UK / Manila) 440,000
7. Amphie Colendres (Davao / Cebu) - 334,000
8. Vic Catalan (Manila) - 242,000
9. Bryan Lim (Davao) - 211,000

6 pm Bryan Lim out in 9th Place.  

Amphie Colendres out in 8th Place.

Martin Cepeda out in 7th Place.

Mon Santos out in 6th Place.

Joe Magnotti out in 5th Place.

Henry Acain out in 4th Place.

Koko Gotil out in 3rd Place.

1 am Final Heads Up
Tony Jarman has an overwhelming high stack with about 3,200,000 while Vic Catalan only has 300,000+.

Vic Catalan is 2nd Place

TONY JARMAN is the First Eagle Cup Champion.

Eagle Cup Day 2 Updates

It's Day 2 of the First Eagle Cup!  We have 68 players left with a chance of grabbing a piece of the 2 million pot.

Here are our chip leaders at the start of the day:

1. Tony Jarman – 216,800
2. Henry Acain – 184,700
3. Kenneth Tan – 168,700
4. Martin Cepeda – 155,500
5. Jib Garcia – 148,100
6. Winnie Odog – 136,100
7. Vic Catalan – 119,700
8. Henry Haw – 116,300
9. Mia Amor Oano – 115,000
10. Medel Torres – 99,200

Good luck players! :-)

3:22 pm Only 54 players left.
Among those eliminated is PilipinasPoker.com's Aron Angeles.  Angeles went all in with pocket 7s against Kenneth Tan's pocket Queens.  The Queens won.

Eagle Cup Day 1B Updates

It's Day 1B of the Metro Card Club Davao's 1st Eagle Cup.  With P10,000 buy in plus P1,000 registration fee, it's a freeze out tournament.  Starting stack is at 20,000 with blinds going up every 45 minutes.

Scheduled to play today are mostly players from out of town.  Among the highly anticipated players are Metro Card Club's Neil "Dirty Ice Cream" Arce and Jojo Tech who won the May 1 1M Tournament at the MCCD last year.  Adding to the excitement is 1991 WSOP Champion Brad Daugherty who is currently based in Negros Oriental.

Local veteran player JVA is also in the tournament.  7 lady players are in, only Lala Mejaro is from Davao.

110 players total for Day 1B.

The action starts in a few minutes.

Eagle Cup Day 1A Updates

It's Day 1A of the Metro Card Club Davao's 1st Eagle Cup.  With P10,000 buy in plus P1,000 registration fee, it's a freeze out tournament.  Starting stack is at 20,000 with blinds going up every 45 minutes.



99 players are playing for Day 1A.  Some notable players joining the fray for Day 1A are Ramil Tandoc, Nick Galan, Vic Catalan, Mike Takayama, Emman Segismundo, and Juvy Aldave.

From among the locals, there's past champions Kirby Te, Czarina Lim, Mike Gempesaw, Bong Lu, Henry Acain, Kenneth Anzano, and Rebel Madagasang.  Young Davao poker guns Andrei Martin, Nate Lorenzana, Bong Reyes, and Jib Garcia are also on the tournament tables.  Prominent CDO player Raphael "Paeng" Escano and Tagum player Tyron Uy are also playing.  Billiards player Gandy "Yang Yang" Valle is also joining the fun.



Day 1A will end at the end of level 12 or until 25 players are left, whichever comes first.

Davao Poker TV Commercial featuring the Eagle Cup

Here's the first Davao Poker TV Commercial featuring the Eagle Cup:

Davao Poker Player: Ferdinand "Bong" Lu aka The Specialist

Bong Lu The Specialist

 Upon entering the Metro Card Club Davao, one of the people you are sure to notice is the chatty Bong Lu.  Whether it be during cash games or tournaments, Ferdinand "Bong" Lu, is ready to talk quite a storm with just about anybody who's willing to listen.

It's no wonder, this poker player slash businessman is known as "The Specialist."  Oftentimes quoting from his non-existent poker book, Bong Lu will give you reasons, tips, and strategies for most of the moves he made or didn't make.  And even those of other people.

People might think he is simply a know-it-all, but his wins tell you, Bong Lu knows his poker!  Having been in the Poker Face Tournament Final Table a handful of times, he won his first Poker Face Championship in October 2009 during the MCCD Poker Face Anniversary Special.

Davao Poker TVC

Davao Poker TV will be launched sometime September (*crosses fingers*) but we will be releasing our television commercial tomorrow.  The Metro Card Club Davao has already started playing the first version of the tv but the final cut will be ready by tomorrow.

I'm excited!

Davao Poker Player: Kirby Te

Kirby Te

You don't know enough about the Davao poker scene is you don't know Kirby "Kbte" Te.  Kirby, single handedly put Davao on the poker map by being winning big in the Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) legs.  In March 2009, he was the only Filipino in the final table of the First Chairman's Cup with a $1M pot held in Metro Manila.

Kirby first entered the radars of poker aficionados when he won as runner-up in a Filipino Poker Tour some years ago.

Ladies of Davao Poker: Czarina Lim

Czarina Lim

There's only one pioneering female in the Davao poker scene: entrepreneur Czarina "Cza" Lim.  Don't let her smiling friendly demeanor fool you, she plays poker aggressively.  While she always play good-naturedly, peppers games with laughter and banter, she takes poker seriously.

Eric Raises to 50k, Rose Goes All In, What Will James Do?

Another archive video from the Metro ONE Tournament held on May 1, 2009 at the Metro Card Club Davao.

During the Final 20

After a raised flop shows number cards, off suit, Eric Cheung of Cebu bets 50k, Rose Newman of Davao is already all in, what will James Young of Davao do?

Wennie of CDO Goes All In

During the first major tournament of Metro Card Club Davao, the One Tournament, a player raises pre-flop. Wennie Odog of Cagayan de Oro City goes all in. BuddhaGeorge, a player from Manila is next to act...

Poker Face Tournament for July 2010

The Southspot Crew together with Executive Producer Choco and Director Kenth Bajo labored for hours to cover the highlight of Davao's poker scene, Metro Card Club Davao's Poker Face Tournament.  It was the first Davao Tournament with TV coverage.

Technical Rehearsal

 And everybody was visibly excited.  Players dressed up and prepared their game faces.  70 players dared to dream.  10 won prizes.  Only 9 got the chance to exhibit skill and patience as they played for 5 hours in the final table.

In the end, it was a grudge match between Bong "The Specialist" Lu and Alex Chua.  The two had previously battled for last year's Poker Face Anniversary Match on October 2009.  Bong won in October 2009.  But July 2010 belongs to Alex Chua.

Metro Card Club Davao Eagle Cup

The 1st Eagle Cup with a 2 million pesos guranteed pot will be held from August 19 - 22, 2010 at the Metro Card Club Davao.

The buy-in is at P10,000 and the registration fee is P1,000.  It's a freeze out tournament.

It's gonna be an epic.  See you at the tables! :) 

Poker Face of June Live

4:15 pm Start of R3, 100/200. 70 players. 30 min blinds. 3 former champs already out.

5:17 pm Break. R5 200/400, 25.
50+ players left.
Chip leader: Adjong de Guzman.
150k pot guaranteed.
T1: Kirby, Aris, Mitch A
T2: Jay, Lala
T3: Nate, Franz, Jubrill, Baldo, Rebel, Rodel
T4: Ria, Andrei, Albert C, Henry, Bong T, Karloz
T5: Adjong, Johann, JvA, Yoyong, Ritchie
T6: Boy A, Jam, Reggie B, Albert A, Erwin, Jib, Ed

7:30 pm R8 500/1k, 100
30+ players

UNO Magazine's Poker Tournament

Another reason why I hate being a blogger / poker player in Davao? I don't get to go and join cool events by UNO Magazine like their poker tournament on Friday, May 21, 2010. GRRR! /wrist

For only five hundred pesos, you get to play poker and UNO's May 2010 Issue. *Imagine me with a bitter look on my face.*

In case you didn't quite get it, here are the details...
When: May 21, Friday 8:00 PM
Where: Manila Bay Club, San Miguel by the Bay MOA
Joining Fee: PHP 500.00 inclusive of UNO Magazine’s May issue

RSVP: Muriel Evaristo (0915-740-0049 / 842-6524)

Poker enthusiasts in Manila... JOIN! JOIN! JOIN! And do tell me about it. ;-)

Ohhh SH*T!

Damn! I forgot I play poker too. NAH!

Just been very busy with this and that being this and that. With work, events, and getting sick every now and then, I haven't had time for poker anymore. CRAP!

But mark my word, I'll be back at the Metro soon. I hope... RAWRRR!

Metro Poker League First Quarter 2010 Winners

Champion - BOY ARIZOLA

2nd Place - Rebel Madagasang
3rd Place - Nilo Lim
4th Place - Kenneth Anzano
5th Place - Henry Nucum
6th Place - Reggie Braceros
7th Place - Beep Yngente
8th Place - Jeric Sucaldito
9th Place - Erwin Rañon
10th Place - Mike Gemepesaw

Metro Poker League First Quarter 2010 Top 20

The Metro Poker League Top 20 for the First Quarter of 2010 is finally set and here they are...

#1 Johann de Guzman is a newbie poker player who started playing at the Metro Card Club Davao just last year.

#2 Michael "the Duke of Hazzard" Gempesaw was also part of the MPL 2009 Top 20 and the Poker Face Champion for January 2010. He is known for his crazy and wild poker playing style.

#3 JVA is the veteran of all veterans in Davao City. He is wildly admired by many for his solid game. JVA, a former house player, has been a consistent tournament placer since MCCD opened in 2008. He was the top points earner of MPL 2009.

#4 Bong Reyes is the youngest Poker Face Champion ever at only 22 years. He won the championship for March 2010 after playing live poker for only a few months. It was his first time to join a major tournament.

#5 Reggie "the FISH" Braceros is another familiar face in the Davao poker scene. He has been a force to reckon with in local tournaments. Reggie is part of Team Tight.

New Rule Implementation

During Day 1A of the Poker Face Araw ng Dabaw Special Tournament, I was reprimanded during one of the early rounds. I was given a verbal warning by the dealer for standing up from the table, even when I was dealt a card and it was not yet my turn to act.

Given that, (1) I was not around when the tournament began and I was assuming this new rule was announced while I was not around, (2) I understood the logic and rationale of the rule even if it was not explained, and (3) the floor manager/tournament director announced the rule to the room after I was warned, I accepted the verbal warning. I even informed my friends who were going to play in Day 1B regarding the new rule.