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Playing Pusoy
An elderly gentleman, who was living in the house next to mine, recently passed way. I did not know him and am not even sure what he looks like.

Filipino tradition dictates that the body is to be kept in the home for seven days. There must also be someone in front of the house at all times. To help people stay awake, games of Pusoy and Mah-jong are organised. Money is gambled during these games. The lowest bet I saw was one peso (2.5 New Zealand cents) and the highest was 75 pesos ($NZ 1.88). Mah-jong didn't really interest me, so I joined in a Pusoy game.

Over the 5 or so nights I played, I more or less broke even. My best night had me up by about 100 pesos ($NZ 2.50), my worse night had me down by about 80 pesos ($NZ 2.00). It is considered good manners to place a peso in a jar when you win five or more pesos. These pesos are used to buy coffee, sweets and so on.

As I was learning Pusoy, two or three locals would usually stand behind me and give my advice on how to play my hand. Sometimes they would take the cards out of my hand and rearrange them for me. This was helpful to start with but just plain annoying once I understood the game. I had to physically move my cards away from "helping" hands.

Superstitions
I think I am the least superstitious person I know. I would have no problems walking under a ladder while breaking a mirror. It just wouldn't bother me. Filipinos are the other extreme. They are very superstitious. It is bad luck to place your bag on the floor. If you drop a fork on the floor, then you will get male friend will visit, and so on.

I hammed up the whole superstition thing while I was playing. I tapped the table twice and then my hat once for good luck. If I won with a piece of sweet bread in my mouth, I would hold the piece of bread in my mouth until it got too soggy.

I learnt the words for luck (Buenas and Swerte) and used them I joked around. It was a good way to interact with the locals whose spoken English was not very good.

Bad habits
I don't drink and I don't smoke. I've missed out on some of local culture by not drinking. They have their own special brew here called Imperatris, which is made up of one bottle of rum, one bottle of beer and one bottle of Mountain Dew. I kinda regret having to miss out on joining the boys when they partake in their local concoction. The same goes when people are trying various cocktails in pubs. The regret is not enough to make me drink however.

In New Zealand, I didn't really gamble either. I didn't have any big problem with it though. I just couldn't see the point. Lotto tickets seemed to be a tax on people who couldn't do math.

Here in the Philippines though, I am really enjoying it. I enjoy betting on the cock fighting^*, and I've thoroughly enjoyed betting on Pusoy. It is one of the local pastimes that I would never have done in New Zealand.

Gambling in the Philippines
Bahala Na is a popular saying in the Philippines. It means, "God will provide, come what way". It sums up the Filipino attitude to life. In some ways it is a good saying. If your crops have been wiped out by a typhoon, then relax, God will provide for you, come what may.

Dr. Alex, a dentist living in Tabucan, had an interesting observation on this saying. He felt that it was the curse of the Filipino people and it was at least partially responsible for the gambling problems that many Filipinos have. A common thought process might goes something like this:

Hmmm, I've got my wages and that is a good thing. I probably shouldn't gamble this away.
But it doesn't really matter if I lose because Bahala Na. God will provide come what may. He'll help feed my family, even if I don't have any money.

I think that the extreme poverty also contributes to the gambling problems as well. An extra 100 pesos a week could make all the difference in the world to your family. Unfortunately, losing 100 pesos a week also makes a big difference.

Gambling is obviously not a problem for everyone in the Philippines. Some of the locals here just like playing for a peso or two and this is the type of Pusoy that I really like. I'm always up for a game.

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(c) 2005 and 2006 Malcolm Trevena.
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