Start Preparing for the 7th Philippine Poker Tournament, Just One Week Away

The countdown begins at Metro Card Club as the 7th Philippine Poker Tournament opens the room’s 2026 festival season running from February 6 to 16.

As Asia’s longest-running brick-and-mortar poker room, home to more than 30 fast-action poker tables, Metro once again becomes the proving ground for players in and around the country. The upcoming PPT is the first of six Metro marquee festivals this year, and the first of six Metro Main Event titles waiting to be owned.

Looking back, the PPT broke ground in 2019 with Gideon Galpo as the first-ever champion. In the years that followed, the PPT crowned  Rasid Paitao (2020), Maxwell Rosete (2022), Jharome Pena (2023), Alexander Lai (2024), and Rene Mar David (2025).

To give players an idea of how popular this event has become, in 2024, the Main Event drew a record 1,656 entries. Alexander Lai turned his ₱4,500 buy-in into a jaw dropping ₱1,009,032 payout, and is hands down the richest PPT champion to date.

Alexander Lai – PPT 2024 champion

For this year’s run, the Metro has announced a Main Event guarantee of ₱5,000,000 (~US$ 84,500), that’s one million more than last year’s offering. And with the past two editions shattering their targets, there’s a high chance of the same result this year. Currently, the PPT Main Event record is ₱6,518,016 (~$116,500) which was set in 2024. That year, the event crossed the six-figure USD mark for the first time in the event’s history.

All You Need To Know About the PPT Main Event

Like all Metro festivals, at the PPT, players get value for their buck. Buy-in is just ₱6,000 (~US$ 100) with six flights to choose from. Players are given a 25,000 starting stack which is 250 times the opening blinds. Each flight plays down to ITM of 14% of the field.

• For players that enter Flights A, B, C, and E, blinds increase every 30 minutes.
• For players that enter Flights D and F, blinds increase every 20 minutes.
• Registration closes at the end of Level 10.
• Multiple stacks are allowed but only the largest stack advances to Day 2.
• Day 2 and Final Day blinds increase every 40 minutes.
• PPT structure is Big Blind Ante then changes to Regular Ante at the final table.

Main Event Structure

On Making A Deal

Deals are welcome at Metro festivals however, upon doing so, keep in mind that 10% of the remaining prize pool must first be set aside along with the trophy for the eventual winner. This ensures that players battle it out until the end for a well-deserved title. The remaining prize will then be divided among the players depending on what is agreed upon albeit ICM, even chop, or other.

Main Event Satellite

For players looking to book a Main Event seat at a fraction of the cost, two Main Event Satellites are on offer, running February 9 and 10 at 7pm. Buy-in is just ₱1,350. Starting stack is 10,000. These are milestone-style qualifiers, which awards you a seat the moment you accumulate 50,000 in chips.

Build Your Bankroll At The Pre-Event 700K GTD

As always, kicking off the festivities is the PPT Pre-Event where players have a chance to boost their bankroll and possibly even freeroll to the Main Event. Last year, Eugenio Bestil won this event for a juicy six figure ₱261,541 which turned out to be higher than the third place Main Event prize money!

This year, the Pre-Event features a ₱700,000 guarantee with buy-in at just ₱3,000. It runs on February 6-8, with four entry flights scheduled across the first two days. All of the qualifiers then advance to the final day.

*The top 9 finishers receive a seat to the Main Event as part of their winnings. 

Pre-Event Structure

Single Day High Roller 1M GTD

Metro High Roller events are typically stacked with Metro Team Pros and local standouts like Marc Rivera, Lester Edoc, Mike Takayama, John Tech, and more. At the PPT festival, you can expect these familiar aces to make an appearance in the Single Day High Roller – unless they’re still making a deep run in the Main Event.

If you’ve been itching to measure up against the country’s best, this is the perfect opportunity. And for players who prefer a tighter, more elite field with serious payouts up top, this is one date worth circling, February 15 at 3:30pm. The event carries a ₱1,000,000 guarantee with a ₱33,000 buy-in.

Other Events With Guarantees

The 7th annual PPT festival boasts a total ₱7.75 million guarantee across nine events. In addition to the Pre-Event, Main Event, and Single Day High Roller, we’ve listed other events to look forward to.

• PPT 100K GTD Special: February 8 at 4pm – ₱1,500 buyin
• NLH 200K: February 9 at 3pm – ₱3,000 buyin
• Survivor Knockout 200K GTD: February 10 at 3pm – ₱3,000 buyin
• Ladies Showdown 50K GTD: February 12 at 6pm – Free Entry / Re-entry ₱1,100, Rebuy/Add-on ₱1,000
• Deep Stack 200K GTD: February 15 at 5pm – ₱3,000 buyin
• The Closer 300K GTD: February 16 at 3pm – ₱4,000 buyin

PPT 2026 Schedule