Hey, poker playas!
We are extending our stay at Gensan Poker Club to catch up on our missed things. So most people are wondering what it is really like in Gensan.
Answering the basic questions that most players are intrigued by or as a guide to the players who may one day wish to travel to Gensan.
The question most players asked is whether it is worth it.
The answer to that hopefully will be found in this article. However, we will add a few more stuff later on as we are not yet leaving Mindanao.
Gensan Poker Club has already announced their next event which is the Tuna festival where they will have another PHP 1 million Guarantee.
Traveling to gensan
Flying direct
Manila to Gensan
There are flights leading to Gensan Direct, but the numbers are still limited.
Safe to say there are quite a few flights in Manila every day (around 4 – 8 a day) but it is still limited that the price could go up for late bookers.
There are a lot of promotions for flights to Gensan. so it would be sie to book in early they have already announced the next tournament which is the Tune Festival.
There would be a 1 Million GTD poker event this September.
When you reach Gensan, there are taxis available and the cost is somewhere from 500 to 700. Just tell them the Royal hotel
The scenic route
Manila – Davao – Gensan
Davao is a more progressive city than Gensan. Hence there are. a lot more flights available to Davao and more affordable.
From Davao to Gensan it takes 2-4 hours by land and there are quite a number of good buses that will take you there.
People have reported that the high class busses even have their own bathroom and there are p2p buses.
We would be heading to Davao soon then go back to Manila so we will update this part.
Where to stay
Royal hotel
3 star hotel
Royal Hotel is the nearest one to the poker room. basically, it is just in front of the poker room so it is very convenient.
There are other rooms that are quite decent near the poker room. if players just want a place to sleep in.
Next would be the Sun City Suite which is just 1 building away from the poker room and then there is Hannah’s place.
Hannah’s place
2 star
Hannahs’s place is where we usually stay and is the favorite among the poker players. The price of the room range from 1k – 1.5k which includes breakfast. (Love the Longanisa).
There are Malls near the poker room like Robinson, SM, KCC, and GMall.
There are quite a few more small hotels you can rent that are quite cheap and quite decent nearby that are even less than PHP 1k.
How is the game?
Tournaments
PHP 500k – 1 Million
The frequency of 500k-1 Million poker events in Gensan is 1-2 per quarter.
GPC Cup 2 is the second tournament that has clashed with a major brand in Manila and survived.
Tournaments in the South(Visayas and Mindanao) have a healthy following. The South so far has not overlayed a single tournament this year even without Manila’s help.
Compared to Manila where they are trying to kill each other. The South supports each other. The good thing about this is not only do they help each other in tournaments. But like the last tournament where Team Gensan won. It boosts the Gensan market by having one from Gensan won the event, which could translate later on to more players going for the other tournaments.
Cash game
10/20, 25/50. 50/100
As they say that the weakest of any poker room is after a tournament and after the bad beat jackpot is hit.
Having the opportunity to stay in Gensan after the event, we were able to gather more information.
There was still a game after the event. starting with a 25/50 later on blinds went up to 50/100 but the stacks were deep.
Next day was almost the same which is expected and then on the third business started picking up.
Actually yes! but it is actually a little more complicated.
The underground is flourishing in Gensan. where in wakes of people are used to having table games where the games are quite interesting and even bigger than Gensan Poker Club.
The problem is not the market, but getting more players to play safely.
Currently, Gensan Poker Club is running a promo. The two days we were there left us speechless.
You sit down and you play. the chips are already available. but then suddenly one player would get busted out. he would buy in from 3k-10k.
Yeah, you heard it right. yes, there would be players buying 200. but some would buy in max.
It is only a matter of time before players shift to playing legally.
But we can’t wait to get back to Gensan
But for now…
September 20 – 25, 2023