The King rules

The clock is ticking, and we are well on our way to the first elimination round of the 1st Leg of the Poker King Challenge Series. This will be on April 16, 2005.

The Poker King Challenge Series will hold several legs of this prestigious tournament throughout the country. It is a year-round national competition that will culminate in the proclamation of the Poker King of the Philippines for the year 2005. The association behind this undertaking, the Poker Club of the Philippines is organizing the nationwide search in cooperation with the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) which has benevolently agreed to provide various Pagcor casino sites throughout the country as tournament sites during the year.

For each leg tournament, entry fee has been pegged at P1,000 only, although bona fide members of the Poker Club of the Philippines are entitled to a 50-```percent discount on the tournament fee. Participants may join as many leg tournaments as they wish during the year. The top three winners of each leg are assured of a berth in the grand finals which will be held in December 2005.

The tournament site of the 1st leg tournament is the Pagcor Casino Pilipino in Parañaque, and total number of participants will be limited to the first 60 registrants.

This nationwide competition promises to be run in the most professional and ethical way. Each table will have a maximum of six players, table and seat assignments shall be determined by lottery, and no requests for change will be entertained by the organizers. Games start promptly at 1 p.m. on the designated dates (April 16 for the elimination round of the 1st leg tournament, and April 23 for the semi-finals and finals). The last round of deals for April 16 will start at 5 p.m. while for the semi-finals on April 23, the last round starts at 4 p.m. Immediately after the winners of the Semi-finals are determined, the finals will start with these qualifiers. The last round of deals in the finals starts after three hours from the first deal of the finals, or at 7 p.m. whichever comes first, and this shall be determined by the tournament arbitrator. Casino Pilipino Parañaque will provide an official tournament clock.

To ensure snag-free operations, late participants shall be penalized. A player arriving late at his assigned table after the start of the first deal but before the start of the fourth deal shall be penalized equivalent to 5,000 units during the elimination round, 10,000 units during the semi-final round and 20,000 during the final round. No player will be allowed to play after the fourth deal and shall be automatically disqualified from the leg tournament, his tournament fee forfeited.

The eliminations, semi-finals and finals participants shall be issued equal number of chips with a total value of 50,000 units. The player who loses all his chips (or is unable to pay for the required "ante") is eliminated, and at the end of the elimination round, the top three players with the most number of units on the table can move on to the semi-finals, and from there to the finals if they qualify following the same route.

After the last deal of the last round of the finals, the winners are determined for the 2nd runner-up, 1st runner-up and champion slots. In case of ties, the player who draws a higher ranking card from the deck will be declared winner.

As you can see, this is a no-cash tournament, a contest of skills rather than financial resources as all players will have equal amounts of chips to play with. The organizers have professionalized the rules and anticipated all probable snags that may occur during the tournament. A tournament arbiter shall rule on the technical aspects of the game, and each table shall have a Pagcor-assigned card dealer who shall also monitor the bets and the correct pots on the table. Only 15 seconds are allotted for a player to make his call.

Philippine Poker is a class in itself. We can have a hundred and one variations of the few basic deals, and this makes us unique. However, for purposes of aligning ourselves with internationally-acceptable deals, the Poker Club of the Philippines is limiting the deals in the tournament to the Five-Card Stud, the Seven-Card Stud, and to the table deal known as "Hibok" where there are three barrels of five cards each, with the 4th card as obligado and the fifth card wild.

Inquiries have been pouring in from interested participants and we hope we have enlightened you on your various queries. All participants in the leg tournaments must be at least 18 years old, and the organizers reserve the right to require proof of age or to refuse or reject any application for tournament participation.

We are heartened to note the interest that this tournament has sparked, and we have been getting e-mails from Filipinos in the US inquiring about the mechanics or simply congratulating the Club for putting up the tournament and promoting the game. Poker players are in a class of their own, and the legions of players all over the world share a common passion for this game of infinite patience, where the player with sustained focus and concentration has the advantage. The Poker player is keenly observant, noting all possible subtleties and nuances, his mind sharp as a razor. It is a game that instills discipline, honing one’s ability to manage one’s resources and optimizing these to stay ahead in the game. Gents and Ladies, we hope to see you on April 16.

Mabuhay!!! Be proud to be a Filipino.

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