Living in Cambodia and turning Pro

where is the safest place to stay in cambodia? is it as corrupt as thailand ect? what to look out for if staying there as a foreigner?

Thanks for the info. I don't think I can register from another country because I would need proof of address to register. Also If the poker site finds out my IP is from different country I get banned. I get from your response that online poker is included in the online gambling ban. But if that's the case I don't think poker sites would even allow IPs from cambodia to register. So there is no need to hunt me down 😀

You mean in live poker right? I guess I can't min buy and leave after doubling up 🙂

I think Cambodia has easier Visa requirements, at least 1 year visa requirements. So that's why I would prefer it.

Thanks for the reply. Interesting. I have been trying to find out for sure but most sites don't list Cambodia in either banned or allowed lists. So I was torn. I guess that means online poker is legal as I these sites wouldn't operate illegally.

That's nonsense, sorry. Tons of online poker sites operate in all kinds of illegal markets. And not just online poker sites, uber, airbnb etc. all operate in clearly illegal markets. Granted, I haven't read the online gambling ban law of Cambo but I'm pretty sure such a law includes poker. However, there is also what I said before, so you have to make your own decisions. Quite frankly, not many peeps care much about the law in Cambo. Unless they get caught ofc 😀

At the live poker tables, in social events, bars, nightlife, whatever. You don't wanna rub info that could potentially be used against you into peeps you can't trust well...

The 1/3 NL at Ming Men in PP is pretty consistently good. We have a good mix of Chinese baccarat players, local businessmen and barangs.

During WPT the cash games actually tend to get tougher from my experience.

It'd be worth giving Ming Men a shot for NL stakes vary mostly 1/3 and 2/5 with the occasional 5/10 or 25/50 squid game.

For Sihanoukville Jin Bei 1 just relaunched and has been doing quite a few tables, games are good but rake is on the higher end. Queenco seems to be doing a relaunch thats been doing well, and I heard Big Fish does some decent things with lower rake.

Cambodia is overall pretty safe, just be wise about how you do things and you won't run into problems. Like I personally had an issue with another room here, and just let it go as it's not worth it. Quality of living is definitely better in Thailand and Vietnam.

Well, overall yeah, I guess you could say it's at least as corrupt as Thailand, basically no big thing is happening in the country without "friendly interactions" and prolly many small things neither. All the countries in the region are poor and supercorrupt. However, in Cambo, I guess it's arguable, but it doesn't affect you quite as much as in TH. Traffic popo extorting peeps for money is rare. The corruption even works to your advantage or why do you think you can extend business visas for like 30$/mo indefinitely with no biz at all.
Most common things to look out for in Cambo (that is PP and SR, I don't have much experience in SHV, and I think SHV is a little bit like a different matter, prolly not quite as safe):
* Bars / restaurants /nightclubs (mostly bars and nightclubs) inflating your bill. Far more common in Vietnam but it is known to happen.
* Everybody always warns me of thieves snatching phones or other stuff from you on your tuktuk. I never experienced / seen this, but apparently it's a thing. Note in Cambo you can actually get a tuktuk at very reasonable prices unlike TH. Use grab/passapp. Moto also available, nobody cares about helmet, but make sure you use the apps or always negotiate the price in advance
* Don't buy drugs or girls from tuktuk drivers or other unknowns. You will be offered this frequently. It's never good quality and at worst dangerous or they have some malicious plans with you. But it's not that common. The happy pizza/shake shops at the riverside are ok. If there are dealers in front of them, they are not. Ofc when you are blacked out lying somewhere in the street don't expect to wake up with money or credit cards you previously carried with you.
* Don't carry CCs anyway, they are not always accepted, sometimes subject to surcharge, and who knows what some of these bars do with your number. Cash is king.
* Generally use common sense, don't do anything you wouldn't do at home, but IME esp PP and SR are not very dangerous, the countryside even less. Cambodians are very nice peeps on average, most of them will treat you very well, not steal from you, etc. Buddhist traditions.
* Be aware, unlike TH, many girls in the bars are not available for take out. Ask early to avoid disappointment.
* Pontoon is the main nightclub for westerners in PP, there are others but that's the main one. Many freelancers there along with expats, tourists, locals, pretty wild mix. Don't openly do drugs there, you will get kicked out
* Cambo has many similarities to Thailand, obv since they are neighboring countries but also some unique features. Cambo music is better than Thai music also IMO. I always liked it and at least thus far never ran into major issues. Obv it is not quite as developed and dirtier than TH. They often say Thailand 20 years ago, there is some truth to it. Once I played in a game in SHV which I later found out was rigged, but I just played a few hours and came out ahead mostly bcos of a set vs AA against another westerner.

I thought all major poker sites would stop accepting players from Cambo in fear of fines. I read about arrest in Thailand and Cambo for online gambling. I assume it's mostly for sites managers and ring operations and not lone players. But I guess arrest for lone players don't make the news. What do I know

Last question, I know it's a broad question, but what would you recommend SR or PP? SR is cheaper, quieter, and cleaner I assume.

There were some Russian whales in cashgames last WPT, but beside them the games were a waste of time.

Unless they are looking for you for other reasons it's very unlikely they will arrest or even fine individual players. They have other problems and interests. Very likely they investigate the Chinese syndicates only as much as they are demanded from China too.
Also Cambo (and also TH) popo are not the CIA, they have limited means and working morale. PS prolly doesn't even have a license or anything in Cambo (as mentioned it's banned), if they are threatened with something they will just stop accepting players and that's it. That's how they were operating in large parts of the world for along time. They were sitting in Costa Rica, Isle of Man and a couple of other places and pretended to have never heard of the local gambling laws, or pretended this would not apply to them since they were elsewhere.
When the politicians finally caught up to them, they tried to strike deals and influence the legislation in their favor, if not successful they just left. Rarely did someone go to prison. Unlike the US, most countries do not claim extrajudicial jurisdiction, so their means are limited naturally, also probably online poker was much bigger in the US than in most other countries. Some countries went forcefully against the likes of Uber or AirBNB since that was threatening locals businesses.
Never go up against local businesses BTW, that's the surest way to get into trouble in EA/SEA and much of the rest of the world. But online poker, just not worth the effort for the most part, esp in a country like Cambo, that's a tiny market and mostly foreigners.
SR is mixed. Tourist town, more foreigners with money, everyday stuff tends to be more expensive than in PP. Many tourist traps. Angkor Wat is the biggest tourist trap, haha, 40$ entry for a couple ruins. Maybe somewhat impressive if you realize some peeps have built this 1k years ago in the middle of a remote jungle. But I haven't been to SR in quite some time. I heard on accommodation you can still get great deals. Be aware SR has two parts, the tourist part and the locals part. The tourist part is generally cleaner than PP, I guess you could say that, but the locals part probably worse. The two parts are clearly separated in the middle of the town by a park. But last I was there was in 2019. I heard they also did some developments on the other side, I need to visit actually just to see.
They have their pub street and surrounds and some nightlife options but it generally tends to be quieter than PP, yes. It's up to individual preferences, I would try both. I recommend PP, bigger city and more where it's at, SR is more like a holiday town, you can go there on vacation or something, but after a while it will usually get boring. But it's up to individual preferences.

Really appreciate you taking time of day to write these well thought replies. Feels like I just got crash course in economics/politics. Regarding SR or PP, as you said one probably needs to experience both to decide.

fwiw, speaking as a short term tourist: i loved visiting angkor wat and strongly recommend anyone to visit it, if you're in cambodia.

besides that: i didn't find SR too appealing (contrary to PP, which i loved).

just to give my 2 cents.

woah wtf, you guys think angkor wat is overrated, traveled the world, been everywhere, that was one of the most impressive places i've ever been to

Are you sure about Cambodia being banned? I contacted their support and they told me that Pokerstars works in Cambodia.

Angkor Wat is one of the best places I've been to.

I'm glad you guys enjoyed Angkor Wat it's prolly a me problem. I've seen a lot of castles, churches, temples and whatnot, hell, I'm from a region where I saw a lot of castle ruins even as a teenager. So that didn't excite me too much. If you have something unique and pretty, like the Sagrada Familia or whatever, just as an example, I'm all for it, but that, well, whatever, I wasn't that excited about it, that's all I can say. As I mentioned the beauty is prolly the historical context.
Sylvester, I tried to explain to you in some detail why whatever a poker site is offering to you isn't necessarily a good indicator of whether something is legal or not but it seem you can't or don't want to understand. I have nothing more to say. Anyways, good luck on the grind.

I think you misunderstood my reply. I wasn't questioning the legality, as all gambling sites are illegal. I was questioning whether PS specifically still accepted Cambo players, because not all sites do. Anyways good luck 2u2.

https://www.pokerstars.com/prohibited-ju...

GGpoker no problem as well if you use the Asian flagship skin of the GGNetwork, Natural8

Yea man u can play pretty much all sites np.

I did it 2018 to 2023 no issues. Only i think party poker is banned...but there are work arounds.

Ahh so that's why I never saw anyone from South Georgia and The South Sandwich Islands playing on PS

If only I could access these sites/links, then I wouldn't need 3rd-party sites for info.

I think Ipoker network doesn't accept either. Any regrets, advice or funny stories you willing to share?

Pr sure u can play ipoker too.