After missing the Olympics with the Philippine Curling Team in December 2025, I needed the next challenge. The pattern is always the same: pick something slightly insane, commit publicly, figure it out along the way.

This time: Poker.

The goal is the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, summer 2027. That gives me several months to go from casual card player to someone who doesn't embarrass himself at the biggest poker tournament on Earth.

I started training at the Grand Casino Baden, my hometown casino, ten minutes from where I grew up. First at the tables, then with a coach. Compared to the Olympics, poker has one decisive competitive advantage: if all else fails, you can buy your way into the World Series. That was not an option with curling.

Poker combines strategy, psychology, risk management, and the kind of competition I've been missing since curling ended. It's a game about incomplete information, emotional control, and making good decisions under pressure 

I'm currently the world's worst poker pro. But that's fine. I was also the worst curler in international competition once, and we ended up winning the Asian Winter Games.

I'll document the whole journey.

My poker journey is supported by Swiss Casinos.