Poker was growing in Manila. The World Poker Tour(WPT) was able to hold once again an event in Manila. The Red Dragon was able to reach the shores of Manila Bay. New poker houses came in.
The truth was if the pandemic did not happen, there would have been a Major tournament almost every week. The Manila poker scene was growing.
But so was the dark side to it.
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The things we do not see in the light
The Global Poker Index (GPI) shows us the winnings of a player. But not their true character. There are those who may be on the top 20 of the GPI list but have “red in their ledgers”.
Although they have won events, it did not stop them from making foolish decisions. Proudly they wear them around the rooms parading as if it was some sort of victory.
Trickery or deceit. there were things that were happening and it was growing.
Even during the pandemic, we heard bad stories of those players getting or doing something not so legit.
That was why we need some light.
Jay Lubas
More than a decade ago, when poker was growing in Metro Manila, players were identified as those who played at the Metrocard Club and the players of Malate. That was because there was a big poker room in Ortigas where players from that area play, and then there were a lot of small poker rooms in Malate. Jay Lubas was part of the Malate crowd.
A few players stood out. One of them was Jay Lubas. He did stand out as he was more than 6ft tall and a muscular body.
He also stood out because back in 2012, he was and probably is the only Filipino that was on the featured table of the Main event of WSOP. He was the chip leader of multiple days of the Main Event.
He is the “Kuya” or elder brother to a lot of Filipino poker players.
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Kuya Jay
Being the “Kuya” to a lot of the players in Malate, he has played that part well.
Quick to rescue his friends when they are in trouble, but the first to scold them as well they would misbehave. He would remind his friends not to gamble too much if he believes they are. He was a brother to a lot of people.
He was one of the few we knew who were active to correct people’s mistakes.
People would go to him and ask for helped and he would from time to time share words of wisdom.
One of the stories that were shared with us was he scolded a friend of his for pushing a staker or benefactor for stake to a big tournament.
“Do not push them to fund you to play, if they are not comfortable then stop. If they are not comfortable to stake you, then you will be bringing that negativity into your play. It is a heavy load and you won’t win.”
Listen to some music
Semi-retirement
Jay Lubas has semi-retired. but then again the pandemic did force a lot of people to retire.
But as the world slowly opens again. We need people like Jay Lubas back.
We need good people to come back to the industry. What is the point of having champions who screw their benefactors on percentages just because they won? “Premium players have bigger percentages”
Or players who won a big tournament and the next morning couldn’t pay the hotel bill because he gambled it and lost it all in one night?
We do not need big champions when the world fully opens once again. We need good winners.
Because it will take time before we can recover, and we need “Kuya’s” to lead them the right way.
Will he return?
Stay tuned!
Hope to see you soon poker playas!
