Hey, Poker playas!
This week, We want to feature the beauty of Cebu. Cebu has been the home of some great international tournaments.
APPT and APT were held in Cebu for so many years. Although APPT has now relocated to Manila. APT may come back to Cebu.
As the pandemic is still not over for the Philippines. Why don’t we visit other parts of the Philippines?
Great players were born there and gained recognition as a poker pro, and we have the pleasure of having them guide us on how the Cebu poker market is
Introducing our tour guide – Alexis “Shoti” Lim
We have featured Alexis “Shoti” Lim on our website quite a number of times. That is because even when there is a pandemic. He did not let it stop him.
Adapting to the new normal, He has been doing great on the online poker scene. He is a true Cebuano and the perfect guide to help us understand how Cebu was like for poker players.
Bits! – Lapu-lapu
The first Filipino hero because of his resistance to imperial Spanish colonization. Lapulapu[ or Lapu-Lapu (fl. 1521), whose name was first recorded as Çilapulapu, was a datu of Mactan in the Visayas.
He is best known for the Battle of Mactan that happened at dawn on April 27, 1521, He and his warriors defeated the forces of Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan (Fernão de Magalhães, Fernando de Magallanes) and his native allies Rajah Humabon and Datu Zula.
Magellan’s death ended his voyage of circumnavigation and delayed the Spanish occupation of the islands by over forty years until the expedition of Miguel López de Legazpi in 1564. Legazpi continued the expeditions of Magellan, leading to the colonization of the Philippines for 333 years.
Back to Alexis Lim
Pokerstars APPT came to Cebu on November 11–15, 2009. The first season and second season of APPT were held in Manila but were relocated to Cebu in 2009, and then it went back to Manila in season 8 (2014).
For 8 years, International players went to Cebu.
The Asian Poker Tour (APT) started making events in Cebu in 2011 and has made regular events there until the pandemic.
With Cebu becoming a go-to place for international poker events. The locals there started loving poker and spreading the news.
So how did our guide heard about poker?
A friend introduces me to the game, poker was growing as many people were talking about it. I started watching videos about poker, played first in home games then off to the poker rooms.
What is it like in Cebu when you wanted to play.
I didnt have any problem if i wanted to play some poker in Cebu when I was starting out, People were talking about the intentaional events a lot. We do have low stakes and high stakes games. But for tournaments, the community was stuck to a 50-80 player entries. So for me, prizepool arent that great here with regards to value.
Was it legal or illegal to play poker in Cebu?
We have 3-5 legal poker rooms in Cebu back then. But now we have only 2 that is operating. I think there are private games occasionally until now and I do get invited.
Bits! – Sinulog
The Sinulog-Santo Niño Festival is an annual cultural and religious festival held on the third Sunday of January in Cebu City, and on the fourth Sunday of January in Carmen, Cebu, and is the center of the Santo Niño Catholic celebrations in the Philippines.
The festival is considered to be first and Queen of festivals in the Philippines, with every celebration of the festival routinely attracting around 1 to 2 million people from all over the Philippines every year.
Aside from the religious aspect of the festival, Sinulog is also famous for its street parties, usually happening at night before and at the night of the main festival.
Back to Alexis Lim
Having been one of the players that have played on both Manila and Cebu. Is the market different.
Completely different. You can just imagine the number of players in Manila compared to cebu. It could be 7 times or more. With that alone i can say Manila poker is advance because they have many players to play and grow up with. A number of Cebu players have stayed in Manila for live events. but I love Cebu and the market is growing.
How are the events in Cebu?
In the past, APT and APPT events were held here once or twice. We do have 1-2 million php gtd twice a year? Haha. 100k gtds on weekends. 50k gtds twice a week. Yeah so sad. Hopefully the community will grow faster in Cebu after the pandemic.
Who do you idolize in poker?
There are some (many to mention) who i looked up to before. Now cebu is adapting and learning the game fast. Believe me, cebu do have talented players that is short on exposure and the lack of oppurtunity to compete and showcase their skills. But for PH, Lester Edoc, Mike Takayama, John tech. Those are my top 3 filipino poker players who i look up to.
Shoutout to Cebu’s Top Guns: Tony seol, Van Boc, Peng Mendoza, Kim Enriquez, JR Mascunana. Cebu Homegrown successful poker players both live and online.
Once the pandemic is over, where would you recommend players to go in Cebu?
The Beaches of course. From north to south east to west beaches are great. Now Cebu have lots of amusement parks like Anjo world, Cebu Safari, Cebu Ocean park, etc.
Is there a community live or online that can help Cebu players improve their skills?
Sadly none. But planning to build my own for my homeboys.
