It's been a while... i miss this place. So many things have happened since my last post. The last two months have really beena crazy circus, what with the elections and everything that comes with it. Speaking of which, i have officially lost whatever iota of hope i had for this country's system.

I witnessed, first hand, blatant cheating and disgusting political tactics. My mom ran for re-election for her city council post in Pasay. Everyone who knew anything about our local city politics knew she was a shoo-in, and even the INC (a huge block voter) put her in thier ticket, which they rarely do for independent candidates. A few days before the election, she received a text from one her her political rival's "hound dogs", so to speak. "Nung huling election, pang anim ka. Ngayon sisiguraduhin namin pang pito ka na." In Pasay, only six councilors are elected per district. Election day comes, and my mom is in panic. We got word that in several precints, dozens if not hundreds of her votes are being voided! The reason? My mom's name is Antonia, and she goes by the nickname "Ate Tonya". They were not counting her votes that didnt have "ate" in it. Sickening. She also lost in one of her strongest bailiwicks, a depressed area where she spent a lot of time helping out and doing projects. People came up to us and said that men were going around giving 500-1000 pesos to people to NOT vote my mom.. we couldnt believe it. And when counting came, i personally witnessed 5 votes magically turning into 51 votes in the final tally. In the end, my mom held on to a slim lead for 5th position, then slid down to 6th, and in the final day, went down to 7th, where she finally lost by a few hundred votes. I really pity this country. I was so disgusted. I really cant see this country going anywhere in the next 50 years unless we have a bloody revolution or something.

anyway....

Poker-wise, Ive been seeing my fair share of hands and games lately, but seldom in the live games. Yup, I'm now officially an online micro-grinder, putting in the hours
in Super7casino, a DGN poker network member site. I blindly stumled in my first few weeks playing and losing, getting a feel for the game. Down to $3 at one point, I finally stumbled upon Chris Ferguson's Bankroll Management System, with which he turned $1 into $20,000 over a period of time. It got me rocking the ring games, and in a few weeks, i somehow turned my last $3 into $135+! It works SO well, you have almost ZERO risk or ruin. And thanks to the convenience of Super7, i was able to withdraw $80 instantly and enjoy the fruits of my labor hehe. I'm now on track to making a daily grind of an extra $200-$300 a motnh, if i run well ;) Not bad for something i do for fun eh? Pang kape-kape... hehe. And it's so easy to withdraw and deposit too!

So if youre looking for an easy and convenient wasy to scratch that poker itch anytime anywhere, just tell me and i can hook you up instantly. Dozens of local
players are already playing and enjoying the online poker scene too!

In other news, the long awaited opening of the The Metro is expected to be delayed once again,and because of... what else? Two words: Electoral Protest. Sucks to be caught in the crossfire but all we can do now is sit and wait. Let's cross our fingers and hope for the best.

Speaking of the live poker scene, there has been a lot of action everywhere! You can find a game anytime, anywhere now, which is a good thing. But ive also heard people complaining about some organizers and how they run their games. From blinds changing on the fly in a 22,000 peso Million Guaranteed tournament to Guaranteed pots being given only if they hit the amount of players needed to fill the pot. Geez. I guess it's a fact of life that there will always be some people who will do anything to make a quick buck. Let's just be aware of these things and be on the lookout for scammers.

On the upside, there are also great games all around. Even the PPT has learned from their previous fiascos and made a great payout structure and blinds schedule for their P3M tournament. The PBT is thriving in their new home in the Hyatt and more and more people are playing in their home games and elsewhere.

so there... whew. I'd like to congratulate a couple of guys from the crew. Dirty ice cream and Sunshine, congratulations on the new baby boy! That kid's first words should be "All-in" ok? Also, congrats to the boss, or should i say "Hon. COngressman"? hehe! Time to churn out the poker legislation!

So there. I'll update more often for sure. I'll also post my progress from my ring game adventures... I've been making about $6 an hour in the last 3 days doing my daily grind, that's at an average of 3 hours a day only. As soon as the stats get more substantial, ill post the updates hehe.

Till next time... watch your backs!