Alda bags Metro Card P1.5 million poker crown

MANILA, Philippines - Sherwin Alda outlasted a huge field of 491 players to rule the Metro Card Club’s “A Million Rush to the APT”, a P1.5-million guaranteed poker tournament held last week at the Metro Card Club in Pasig City.

The feat earned Alda, a casual cash game player who decided to join the tournament because of its low buy-in of only P3,000, P300,000 cash and a ticket to the ongoing Asian Poker Tour main event worth $2,700.

Alda survived the action-packed Day 1 as the chip leader and managed to stay in the lead pack most of the way.

The final table consisted mostly of new players who have played poker for only a year or so, but it never lacked fireworks as they went all out to be the last man standing in the tournament, which attracted players from all over the country.

Alda clashed with Jason Ong, another regular Metro tournament player, and the two engaged in a fierce battle until the final hand, which saw all of the latter’s chips going into the middle on the board of Jack-spade, 9-diamond, 8-heart and 6-diamond.

Ong tabled 7-diamond and 6-heart for a bottom pair and an open-ended straight draw.