Gambling has had such a bad image for centuries. It’s supposedly a degenerate form of entertainment that wastes away hard earned wealth to the wiles and whims of Lady Luck.

In recent years, one particular form of gambling has stood out above the rest and entered the mainstream –Texas Hold’em Poker. Numerous men who gamble for a living had come out in the open flaunting their skills at poker achieving a celebrity status – at least to poker aficionados who remain a niche market.

I am a woman, a mother of two beautiful young girls, and a professional poker player. I am one of a handful of women that pit their wits against the male dominated poker world. I have earned the respect of my peers and the disdain of society.

Whenever asked what my profession is, with pride I answer that I am a professional poker player. Some of my peers have tried avoiding this question, coming up with numerous made-up professions from a strategic investor to a useless bum. Apparently, it is far more honorable to be branded a bum than a professional poker player. I, on the other hand, being fully aware of the difficulties of my profession, honestly answer the question and every time I do, the gamut of reactions amuse and annoy me at the same time. Others scoff at it, others awed by it, and others look down upon it, worse yet because I am a woman. Nonetheless, knowing society I have reconciled myself to being judged an addict, a compulsive gambler and an immoral woman.

Nevertheless, when one of my best friends called my profession still gambling my hackles went up. Somehow when one close to you, who has witnessed your skills, who you’ve had confided the trials and tribulations of your job to still claims that your occupation is nothing more than gambling you feel misunderstood and slighted.

As much as Texas Holdem Poker has reached the mainstream and is actually being openly shown on television, poker as a sport has not been accepted and is still seen as a gambling vice by the whole world including the ones closest to you.
In my defense, and in behalf of all the professional poker players out there, let me relate the nature of my job and what it requires of me.

As the old poker saying goes, “it takes a second to learn how to play poker, but it takes a lifetime to master.”
How do you master a game based on luck? Luck is only one factor of the equation and the factor that you can try to contain. The other factors consist of math, economics, behavioral psychology, and self-discipline.

Math is one of the most important factors in the game. You have to be able to calculate the probabilities of you winning a hand. You have to be able to permutate 52 cards as compared to the amount of money that is currently at the table. Alongside, this is the economics of the game. Having calculated the probabilities of winning, you then analyze your profit-loss ratio – how much money could you possibly win/lose given the amount of resources, i.e. chips, available or potentially available to you.

After which, you study the competition. You have 8 other competitors in this market called a poker table all of whom are doing the math and the economics. You hope that they’re not as good in math as you are. Nonetheless, by studying their behavior they may just leak out pertinent information that you can use to your advantage – are they giving you false information? Are there chances far better than yours? Is he scared and nervous?

All these calculations and analysis to be done in a matter of seconds before you make the decision that will either make you earn money or lose everything you have.

Then there’s the self-discipline. To be a professional poker player you need to have mastered your emotions and know yourself extremely well. You cannot afford to fall in the trap of becoming an adrenalin junkie or compulsive gambler.
And like any other male dominated industry, it is very difficult for a woman to be taken seriously or to gain the respect of your peers. You have been branded an emotional and flaky being that can easily be bullied into giving away your chips to the much stronger macho man. Women seem to be deemed more of gamblers than men.

And yet, the irony of it all is that, as a professional poker player, you cannot afford to gamble because your livelihood is at stake. This is a truism that most people cannot fathom, process and understand.

We work at least 5 or more hours a day continuously sitting, thinking, deciding, risking and investing. We are no different from brokers who risk their money investing in commodities, the futures or the stocks. We are no different from a businessman who makes feasibility studies so that he can risk his capital to put up a business. We are no different from professional athletes who constantly study their craft and train in the hopes of one day winning the World Cup, Wimbledon, and, in our case, the World Series of Poker.

Yes, gambling has had a bad image for centuries but it’s changing its face. We are not clueless degenerates or are we doing this for entertainment to waste away hard earned money. This is my job where I work hard, like everybody else, to make a living. I am professional poker player and proud of it.

I just realized that everybody in Bad Player’s Den (with an apostrophe after r and not after s apparently) each have a line that they constantly say which I believe says a lot about their playing style. I really can’t call it a tell. It is more a profile than anything else. Why not try to profile these people by what they say?

These are said on almost every hand, every other hand, or often enough that the lines will stick at the end of the night.

Akong – “Pocket Aces!”
Bob – “I can’t call! I can’t call”, “The flop will disappoint me!” “Jesus loves me, yes I know!” “The game is slow it must be Be’s turn to act!”
Fred – “The flop is your friend.”
Gabby – “I love my cards!” “Call!”
Jean – “No look all in!”
Titus – “Why did you do that? What the fuck are you thinking?”
Mars – “Tus…”
Deej – “Cloak of whatever on! Ring of Pakshet activate!” (this said in hand language)
Annie – “What can you do if you’re playing with a bad player? Would you do that at the Metro?”
Nix – “I’m trying to practice my precog!”
Eric – “What can you do? (sigh) Tae bitch but I’m happy with my play!”
Allen – “I did that because (whatever)…” “You can only have top pair top kicker with AK”

Are you still wondering why it’s the Bad Player’s Den?

Congratulations to Mr. Kent Del Rosario for winning the Filipino Poker Tour Perfect 10.

It definitely was one of the best coverage done by the Red Mango production team, the official production company for the Filipino Poker Tour. Sadly in a way, I was not part of this very animated production as I chose to play in the tournament instead.

Needless to say, I got flak, questioning looks and the very telling shaking of the head when I busted out on Day1a. Being chip leader for most of the day, most people wondered what happened to my wonderful stack especially since I busted out 1 hour and a half away from Day2. Comments and advice from friends came pouring in from “you should’ve sat out” to “you overplayed your hands” to “you were playing turbo in a regular game”.

Of all the comments, overplaying my hand was the most on the dot. Actually, I believe I only overplayed my 88s. But what the hey, the guy had J9os with a bloody King on the board. I was button and pre-flop raiser. What I should’ve remembered is that this guy would play all the way to the river as long as he hits his bottom meow pair. But that was still fine because I recovered what I lost with 88s full over 22s in the next hand.

What eventually killed me was KKs vs. A-10os. Once again, I raised pre-flop, A-10 obviously called heads up and hit his 10 on the flop. He pushes, I call and he gets two pair on the turn.

I just love poker.

But then again, when that happened I was the running joke of the field because of one extremely lucky hand. “Karma!” they said. My friends from Bad players would love this story as it reinforces my tag name of gut-shot girl.

Listen to this – limped pot. I had A-2os. Flop went 4-A-9. I led out and got one caller, a player whose game I knew. Turn was a 3. Once again, I led out with 2/3 the pot and he goes all-in. What the hell was I thinking? He could have had A-10, or A-3. But then, I was thinking, A-10 and above he would have pushed pre-flop. Could it be A-3?

This hand occurred after I made a donkey call and lost my chip lead. I could honestly say I was on semi-tilt mode. I called an all-in that could have crippled my still more than average stack. He turned over his cards and showed a set of 9s. Surprisingly, he started threatening the dealer with burning the dealer’s house as I was shouting “Give me a five!”

What the hey was he worried about? I had 4 bloody outs! In response to this violence, I threatened the dealer that I’ll run over him if he didn’t give me my measly outs. Cameras all over, tournament director allowing the savage threats to fly in the air, heckling and laughter from friends heard all over the floor. Then TD Bryan Malantic on the mic went, “Dealer, the river… is…. A FIVE!!!!!!” Hahaha.

Oh my god, I just love poker.

Going back to the main event, another staff member of Red Mango Productions made it all the way to the final table. Congratulations to Mr. Dell Ty, and yes I will listen to your advice next time.

In the final table, with 6 people left, there was a housewife named Danna. The production crew was rooting for her as it would have made good tv. A housewife, who initially didn’t want to play, becoming the champion of the FPT would have been a nice story. But then her last hand was a bit questionable and open to discussion. Kent, chip leader, went all-in pre-flop. After patiently folding every single hand which made her reach 6th place, she called the all-in with Q9os. The audience was shocked when she turned over her cards and there was an audible, “Huh?” from the spectators. When asked, she just answered that she felt that Kent was going to make a play and that she felt she was ahead. Kent had 5-6 of clubs and hit his 5. Still…..she waited that long, might as well wait for a premium hand, right?

What other highlights did the tournament have? Well… Dell Ty destroyed one of the lights jumping for joy, Alex Pagulayan was escorted out of the floor, and it was Neil Arce’s birthday.

Also, I would like to congratulate all my poker buddies who made it in the money (namely, Brick, Alloy, Charlie, and Mark). Do I hear balato anywhere?

A non-poker friend of mine told me that I should have just chosen to work instead of play…..

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

Why is it that people don’t change?  Of course, this question is relevant to real life situations but let’s limit it to poker. 

I have spent the last two evenings with a poker buddy and he hasn’t changed a bit.  There’s much bravado around him, much knowing-it-all attitude hovering over his head and up to this day he has lived up to his reputation of being the ATM of the group. 

When I organized a home game and I told everyone that “ATM” was coming, the turn-out was fantastic.  I normally just get 6-9 players to come to my house, if I can even get them to come.    Last night, I had 15 players all wanting to have a go at “ATM.”

The funny thing is “ATM” works for a poker company and somehow, I believe, he believes that working for a poker company gives him some sort of authority over the game. 

Whatever…

At the beginning of the game he bought in for 2,000 worth of chips.  I had 3,000.  At the middle of the night I became chip leader to his surprise, uttering statements like, “When did she learn how to play poker?” 

Whatever…

A few hours later, after playing so tight, he turns his 2,000 chip stack to a 15,000 chip stack then to 30,000.  How did he get there?  By calling and calling and calling.  To which I asked him, “Why are you calling with such trash?  There’s just no logic to that.”  Then he goes, “It’s not a matter of logic.  It’s matter of luck and I’d rather be a lucky player than a good player.”   With that statement and with now about 40,000 in chips, hell broke loose – in a good way.  It was like catching manna from heaven.  By the end of the evening, rather at the start the morning, he lost all his chips, he lived up to his name, and everyone was happy.

A thousand and one reasons why he lost all his chips but he never said it was because he was unlucky or he played badly – and that how I got the answer to my question.  People don’t change because they don’t see why they should.

Day2 of the APPT Grand Final in Sydney starts today.  Top on the chip count is Jason Gray from Australia.    Gray was 3^rd in this year’s WSOP Omaha Split Tournament so the question is will he be able to maintain his lead until the end of the day?

Following him in chip counts is Team Pokerstars Pro Gavin Griffin with 134,700 in chips. 

Curious thing, in Manila when Day 2 started Van Marcus was among the chip leaders while Manish Sansi was at the bottom of the poker food chain.  In Sydney entering Day 2, Sansi has 103,600 in chips making him 5^th largest stack while Marcus is way down in exactly the same position as Sansi was in Manila. 

Now that Sansi is having a good run in Sydney I am hoping that he makes it to the final table.   Since I know Marcus as well then I am praying that he switches on his extremely effective “suck out” power to get himself to the final table. 

I really wonder who’ll make it to the final nine.  There are quite a number of good pros that are still in the tournament.  Apart from Griffin and Marcus, we still have Lee Nelson, Eric Assadourian, Ivan Tan, Masaaki Kagawa and Chris Moneymaker.  The day is early and chips will surely transfer hands quickly enough.   From 95 players there will be 48 left at the end of the day…. All in the money… I shall cross my fingers for my friends…

Unfortunately, I am not in Sydney and I have been killing myself because of it.  But this slight sorrow will be rewarded by 4 days in the beautiful island of Cebu.

The Bravio Cup in Cebu will be holding the 6^th and final leg of the Filipino Poker Tour (FPT) for this year.  It has a PhP33,300 (US$667.75) buy-in with a guaranteed prize pool of 3 million pesos (US$61,000).  It will happen on December 13 to 14, 2008.   

Cebu will be my pre-Christmas vacation.  I have made sure that I have extended my stay so that I will not be working the whole time I am there.   So come over to Cebu have fun at the table and enjoy the beach, the clubs and the people of Cebu.

More news from the grapevine…..

Surprisingly, APT posters are being put up at the Metro Card Room.  I heard that satellites will start there soon…January maybe or hopefully even sooner.  Currently, there are ongoing satellites at the PPT, ACF and at particular card rooms in Pampanga.  There are also online satellites happening at IPoker network, Dafa, Tila, FT, Bodog and Party.   For more info, check the APT website.

I have also been told that the APT will give the FPT a run for its money.  Really?  Apparently, APT will be holding a local circuit for Filipino players starting next year. 

More tournaments are good for the community.   Gives poker players, like me, more income, for sure…

Signing off for now… will keep you posted on FPT 6 at the Bravio in Cebu….

Have you seen a true poker face?

Poker faces are meant to hide tells.

Tells are mannerisms that give out information to the opponent.  For example, there are some people that look at another person’s chips when he’s bluffing or when the player has strong cards, his hands shake. 

To avoid giving out tells, poker players use numerous paraphernalia – from shades, to hoods, to caps and to surgical masks.  Others, however, do not use anything instead they try to discipline their bodies and muscles to have that poker face. 

Well, my friend has developed the ultimate poker face.  He needs no shades, no caps or hoods, or surgical mask.  He has trained his facial muscles to hold a particular pose for hours, without flinching, blinking or twitching.  It is a look that projects stoic and friendliness at the same time.  It is a happy face.  For sure it is a face of a winner. 

Governement Warning: For amateurs, Don’t try this at home.  It is dangerous to your health. 

Poker is definitely blooming in Asia. Recently, the Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) finished its 4^th leg of the season in the Hyatt Hotel and Casino in Manila and as this event ended, preparations for the next leg immediately began. Their season-ender, the APPT Grand Final, is happening at the Star City Casino in Sydney Australia. It is a 6-day poker festival that starts from December 2-7, 2008. Satellites are on-going at Pokerstars.net, so log on and win a package to the Grand final for free.

Apart from this, numerous events prior to the Grand Final are happening in Sydney. If you ladies have the time to fly out to Sydney, there will be a Ladies Tournament on November 26 at the venue. The APPT NLH Ladies Tournament is the first of its kind in Australia awarding the winner with the title of “Sydney’s Female Poker Champion.” For $200 you may receive the prestige of being an Australian Poker champion, so what are you women waiting for? A championship and, for sure, Australian hunks await you. For more info, please check the APPT website.

Pokerstars.net is also hosting the Macau Cup on December 12-14, 2008.  So as you can see, Pokerstars is real busy making sure we all have our fill of poker before the year ends.

As this is happening, the Asian Poker Tour (APT) is holding satellites for their season starter in Manila. The first leg of APT’s 2009 season is a 5-day event from January 27-February 1, 2009 and is going to be held at the Dusit Thani Manila Hotel. Land Based satellites will start in the Philippines on November 23, 2008 at the Philippine Poker Tour (PPT) Card Room and at the Ace High Poker Room at the Airport Casino Filipino (ACF). There are also satellites happening in Pamapanga, a province North of Metro Manila. For more info visit the APT website.

But before that happens, the APT is holding the Ironmonger Poker Challenge at Starworld Hotel in Macau. Buy-in is at HK$5,500 and the event has an estimated prize pool of HK$650,000 with a cap of 130 players.

Finally, let’s not forget about our local tournament happening in the beautiful island of Cebu. Filipino Poker Tour is holding its 6^th leg at the Bravio Hotel in Mandaue City in Cebu. Cebu is famous for its dried mango and pristine beaches. So you can play poker, win PHP1,000,000 and enjoy the natural beauty of the island.

All of this is happening starting this week until the end of January. And people ask me why I want to be a professional poker player? With all these events, and all these poker opportunities, who wouldn’t?

]]> http://badplayersden.wordpress.com/2008/11/22/poker-events-in-asia/feed/ 0 pokerpadme for_poker_tourn http://badplayersden.wordpress.com/2008/11/20/the-asia-pacific-poker-tour/ http://badplayersden.wordpress.com/2008/11/20/the-asia-pacific-poker-tour/#comments Thu, 20 Nov 2008 10:40:01 +0000 pokerpadme http://badplayersden.wordpress.com/?p=30 ]]>

It has been 4 days since the week of the APPT. Maybe this post is a little bit delayed. But there is a reason to that.

First, by the end of the days of the APPT, I was literally crawling to my bed. Since I worked for Red Mango Productions, the production firm covering the APPT Manila, I was pretty much running around the tournament floor and chasing after poker players who needed to be interviewed.

There were some players who were easy to drag for an interview but there were others who were just so much on tilt that all they wanted was to let off steam somewhere. Tilting was quite understandable since most of them had complained that the Filipino players were extremely lucky gamblers.

Nevertheless, having to deal with tilting players, tilting bosses and tilt inducing situations, at the end of the day, I was really not in any condition to blog. More so because my day would end at 2:30am and my call time was at 8:00am with a 1 hour travel time in between. Needless to say I was on perennial tilt.

The second reason is that at the end of the week, I had to entertain some of the Pokerstars people and get my own fix of poker. Today, the last of them has left the country and now I have finally found the time to write and blog.

What do I think are the highlights of the APPT Manila?

Van Marcus

Van Marcus and his winning hand

The highlight of the APPT can be summarized in one name: Van Marcus. It is amazing the amount of times this man had sucked out during the tournament.

His defining moment, I believe, had been against professional poker player David Saab from Australia. It was Day2 of the tournament and Saab was on the same table as his compatriot Marcus. Both players had great proficiency in verbally abusing each other. So when they went against each other on a big hand where both players had gone all in pre flop, the action was explosive. Saab had pocket 10s while Marcus had pocket 3s. Saab was ahead especially since he flopped a set. Thinking he had a sure win, the verbal abuse commenced. The turn was a 3, giving Marcus a set but still leaving Saab ahead. The river was a disgusting and nauseating 3 giving Marcus the winning hand of quads. You should have seen Saab’s face – He was agape in absolute shock as Marcus obscenely tells Saab to get out of his table.

This sick hand placed Marcus at chip leader and this hand propelled him to the final table.

The Final Table

Another highlight was the final table make-up. There were 3 Filipinos, namely, Rainier Aquino, Benjamin Lim, and Ramil Tandoc; three Koreans, Michael Chang, Hyoung Jin Nam, and Tae Jun Noh; Van Marcus from Australia, Lee Nelson from the US and Manish Sansi from Hong Kong.

The presence of 3 Filipinos definitely made that final table one of the most animated ever. There was a 30% chance for the country to win in their turf. You can just imagine how excited everybody was about that.

Manish Sansi in the middle of a crucial hand

Of the 9, however, the most surprising was Manish Sansi. Sansi started Day2 with 12,300 chips. He was 5^th from the smallest chip stack. At the beginning of Day 2, he was seated beside Day2 chip leader Michael Shell and as I was interviewing Shell, I figured that this guy would bust out anytime as the rest of the players at his table were pretty deep. To my surprise, he got himself in the money and into the final table busting out as the 7^th placer.

Needless to say, the final table lasted 14 hours. The action was fantastic. The Koreans dominated the table. With the aggression that the Koreans were showing, I had thought that the tournament would end early. At about 9pm the players were down to 3 with 2 Koreans and Van Marcus. We were planning after parties and what-have-you’s as we foresaw the end of the tournament. Danny Mcdonaugh even predicted that the tourney would end at 11pm giving us enough time to relax and celebrate one whole week’s work. He obviously caught his foot in his mouth as the tourney ended at 5am.

Narcolepsy

People may think that sleeping during a game was not a highlight at all. But I have to say, Australians know how to wake an audience. Somewhere at the 3am mark, people were beginning to doze off as they watched the heads-up between Marcus and Tae June. Marcus enviously complained that the camera man behind him had been sleeping for 3 hours, if only he could do the same.

Pokernews.com even filmed the “narcolepsy” that was spreading through the audience.

The brady bunch that started the commotion: Rob Parise, Mat Varidel, Brett Parise, and Kiel Cram.

It took a bunch of Australians to change this. It all started with slow clapping which picked up into a steady beat and into a wild ruckus with the banging of chairs, the stamping of feet and savage cheering. The production crew woke up and ran into the feature area all with anticipatory looks on their faces. To their dismay, all they received was the laughter and the cajoling of those who participated in this enjoyable wake up call.

In the end Marcus prevailed. Everyone was happy both for his win and for the fact that it finally ended.

Last night in Bad Players’ Den there was this new player that said something which I had heard numerous times before. He was obviously in a winning streak and immediately he went, “Maybe I should just quit my job and do this [play poker] professionally.”

I have heard that line so many times. I have even said that to myself at one point. Almost all my friends want to go pro. They have even tried to convince me to become a house player with the amount of time I play poker.

It’s not that easy. It requires a lot of discipline and even with that the flop may just disappoint you, in different occasions numerous times. Those players that say that they always win lie. Let me share with you what Mike Caro (2008) said:

“When you play poker professionally, you’re a free spirit. You have no obligations to anyone except yourself. You answer only to yourself. You depend only on yourself. You’re a renegade, a bigger-than-life cowboy of the felt. Sure. But for most people it doesn’t turn out that way. I’m not here to harm your hopes or damage your dreams. But, before you quit work or leave college, here’s a word of caution. Bullshit!

HOW IT REALLY IS

Let me tell you how it really is for most players. You’ve heard about going to bed when you want and sleeping until noon. Okay, you’ll sleep until noon, all right — but as often as not it will because you’re escaping from a huge loss and you just don’t want to wake up and face reality. Over the years, you’ll lose your perspective about money. You won’t be able to separate the cash that comes and goes in great tides during the course of a single poker session from the reality of your everyday budget.

You’ll carry around wads of cash when your bankroll is bulging and feel exhilarated by the knowledge that you can buy three of everything you see in the electronics store — and all you’ll need to do is win again that night and not even notice the expense. You’ll head straight for the poker tables after your new acquisitions, expecting to repair the damage. Sometimes that won’t happen. The magic is missing and you gouge deep wounds in your money reserves. You play until it seems hopeless. And then you slink from the table, and you sleep off the hurt. Long sleep, deep dreams. Except the hurt is still there when you awaken.

Maybe this stuff doesn’t apply to everyone, but be advised that it applies to most players. Sometimes it applied to me, so I’m speaking from experience. And I know it applied to the majority of aspiring pros I befriended during my poker career. You’ll decide to play tournaments, and the first times you enter you’ll imagine yourself winning. But you won’t. After five years and over a hundred tournaments, you’ll realize that no matter how well you play, you’re probably going to lose your tournament buy-in today. And tomorrow.

It sucks so bad, but you’ll get used to it. And then one day you’ll be in the money or even win first place and you’ll be inspired. If you’re really good, over the years you’ll make a profit playing tournaments, but you’ll feel futility doing it, with only one in ten players making any money for a given event — and everyone else going broke.

(From Bluff Magazine May 2008. To read the full article, click here)

That is how it is…. Needless to say, that guy who wanted to go pro lost all his chips at the end of the night. Luckily, it all went to me.

]]> http://badplayersden.wordpress.com/2008/11/10/do-you-really-want-to-go-pro/feed/ 1 pokerpadme http://badplayersden.wordpress.com/2008/11/07/apt-to-hold-tournament-for-hong-kong-and-macau-players/ http://badplayersden.wordpress.com/2008/11/07/apt-to-hold-tournament-for-hong-kong-and-macau-players/#comments Fri, 07 Nov 2008 03:16:25 +0000 pokerpadme http://badplayersden.wordpress.com/?p=15 ]]>

Heeding the call of poker players in the Hong Kong/Macau area, the Asian Poker Tour (APT) has announced its first-ever APT Ironmonger Poker Challenge.

Established in conjunction with Ironmonger Events Limited (IME), the tournament will be open exclusively to Hong Kong and Macau residents over eighteen years of age. It will be held at 10:00 AM on December 6, 2008. The venue will be at Level 11 of the Galaxy StarWorld Hotel and Casino, home of the Tour’s APT Macau event.

Buy-in is set at HK $5,500 (HK $5,000 + HK $500) with a prize pool set to go as high as HK $650,000. Players should register as soon as possible, though, because the maximum number of players is set at 130.

The APT Ironmonger Poker Challenge comes months after the APT Macau 2008 event, which was won by poker pro Yevgeniy Timoshenko. Some of the biggest names in poker, including Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chan, and JC Tran, participated in the tournament.

The APT’s next main event will be held in Manila. APT Philippines 2009 will be held at the Dusit Thani Manila Hotel in Makati, Philippines, from January 27 to February 1, 2009. Buy-in is set at USD $2,700.

Interested parties may call Ironmonger Events at +852 2973 0372 or e-mail them at info@ironmongerevents.com. More information on the APT may be found on its official web site at www.asianpt.com.

About the Asian Poker Tour

The Asian Poker Tour (APT) is Asia’s biggest and original poker tour. The Tour was recently acquired by AsianLogic (AIM:ALOG). After holding two successful tournaments in 2008, the APT plans to hold at least four major events in 2009. Each tournament is set to attract live players as well as Internet players who will qualify via online satellites. For more information, log on to the official web site at www.asianpt.com.

About AsianLogic

AsianLogic is a leading online and land-based gaming company focusing on the Asia-Pacific markets. The Company operates eight online casino brands and four online poker rooms as well as land-based sportsbook operations through its MegaSportsWorld brand. It is a specialist in Asia-specific games such as Mahjong, Cho-Da-Di, Do-Di-Zhu and 13 Card Poker. The company owns and operates the Asian Poker Tour.

The Company also maintains a corporate advisory team specializing in the gaming sector which is an active investor in gaming-related businesses as well as providing consultancy and analytical services. AsianLogic enjoys strong commercial relationships with leading gaming providers including Playtech and LVS. Founded as ESL in 2002, AsianLogic employs over 300 employees, the majority of whom are based in the Philippines.

(www.asianpt.com)