Hey, poker playas!
The battle for Manila has begun. This week 3 tournaments are set to clash. Although there have been a few clashes. None has so far been as direct as this.
There was the one-day tourney of the poker room in the pink Casino versus a multi-day tour. but this will be the first time that day 1’s will clashed.
Yes, there is a protection that is set by Pagcor that no 2 tournaments exceeding a million can happen at the same time.
The rule was set of course years and years ago and the market has grown ever since. Hence the protection is of course outdated as PHP 1 million guarantees are not that attractive to foreigners. This battle is for the share of the local market.
There is a lot of significance to this upcoming clash as if all houses do not overlay. it means that there is really a good number of players in the Philippines.
Here is a deeper look.
Must read
Updated tournament schedule
GG Poker Manila Vesus Masters poker
GG Poker Manila
PHP 1 Million GTD
July 13 – 18, 2022
Buy-in – PHP 3,000
Starting stack – 20,000
The battle to 12%
30 minutes per level
Masters Poker
PHP 750 GTD
July 15 – 17, 2022
Buy-in – PHP 3,800
Starting stack – 20,000
The battle to 15%
30 minutes per level
The things that are unwritten
If things will be compared on a point per point bases alone. then it would look like GG poker has the upper edge.
They have a bigger guarantee, a lower buy-in and they get to start early.
Although the starting stack is the same and the minutes. there are a lot of things that are unwritten that could change the whole thing.
GG Poker Manila will get to start early but Masters have been giving away seats. Masters have also been starting on time with their tournaments and have so far never overlayed. so the record speaks for itself.
The ideologies behind the two are also vastly different.
On one side you have a team that copied pretty much the whole style of the poker room in the pink casino. low buy-in, fast action. Even the structure and schedule are almost the same. Even the way they handle the business is the same.
While other poker rooms have started to have RFID tables and live streams. The poker room in the pink Casino fully Embrace the CCTV production. While the copycat proudly lives streams using a cellphone complete with shaky hands.
Even the schedule available only for download was the exact same way.
It is a no-frills approach. higher guarantees and lower buy-ins. As for the rest. it does not matter and execute it as cheaply as possible.
Masters poker on the other hand is more invested in its brand. making sure the tournament has a good structure. Invested heavily in RFID technology. Paid for high equipment. They heavily invested in players’ experience.
Which one will win is still left to the players.
The clash is unvoidable
The truth is the clash can not be avoided no matter what. After all, everyone has a business to run and everyone wants to earn especially when this is not the best of times.
You simply can not close shops every time a big tournament happens.
There is also a new player on the horizon. Building your brand now does make sense.
The Philippines have a good number of players who are eager to join live events. Quite simply back then anytime one was to make a big guarantee and a low buy-in. there will be players playing.
But is it enough?
We would find out this week which one player prefers and who gets the best numbers.
so stay tuned!
