This scam happened in Saigon, however I read that the poker group operated on the Phnom Penh riverside too. The scammers were Phillipine. We're talking 2011 so I wonder what happened to them and if they are still doing the rounds.

Frequently I went to the park with my badminton racquets and often was invited to play by people I knew or didn't know. One day I was walking with my kit and a shuttlecock fell at my feet. The sportswoman and her playing partner both about 40 years of age invited me to play . They claimed to be Thai, but I surmised after a while that they were Pinas. They were playing each other and invited me for a game. We exchanged numbers at the end and we met again. After a couple of sessions the lead girl messaged me telling me that it was her birthday and instead of playing badminton today she'd like to invite me to her house for a party.

Before meeting I went to the Russian market and bought some cheap face cream for her as a gift. She picked me up on her bike and we ended up at her house in District 3. There was one man in the house watching tennis on TV. We went to the kitchen and I was invited to sit at a table big enough for one and they stood over me. On the table was a Coke and some sandwiches. This woman and man invited me to eat and drink. Nothing communal about the atmosphere. Very strange party you probably think.

Anyway here comes the scam bit and I went along to; a) watch them first hand (at this point I knew a scam or something similar was about to happen and I curiously wanted to see what it was that was going to happen) and b) talk my way out of it. The thrill of the chase is one reason why I don't P4P. The euphoria that comes with adrenaline is why some people jump out of a plane. A wordsmith I am not, but I'd rather challenge myself to a mental dual than a physical one. You know some panic in the confusion on a scam, some don't. Still I believe a professional would notice if the person they wanted to scam was vigilant and give up the game.

So I was invited upstairs by the man I had just met. He was going to teach me Poker and we were going to scam a third person. Greedy and gullible I am not. I knew that although the premise was to scam the third person it would actually be the two of them attempting to scam me. Apparently this Philipino worked on a casino boat as a croupier and he has other foreigners in the know who pose as genuine customers at his table to scam unsuspecting players. He merely wanted to try me out first. I went along with it for the reasons listed above.

We played a few games of poker and he showed me the scam. The deck was loaded and he would play with his ring or tap the table to prompt me. A bit lame. I guess casinos regularly follow the CCTV for such gestures. Anyway he calls his customer for a private session and a few minutes later Mohammed from Brunei arrives. I'd never met anyone from Brunei before. Anyway we play. I am using the Phillipinos money. Then low and behold the money is gone. I'd lost it all even though I was following the dealers prompts. He asks if I'd like a loan and I looked at the clock on the wall and said. "Oh is that the time? I have an appointment. I'll have to go now. We can continue another time."

He asked his customer to leave the room for a moment while we discuss something. His reply was something along the lines of you lost my money (obviously the money from the first few games). I simply said a piffling $100. He already told me he makes $10000 a pop using this scam in the casino. He didn't immediately reply to that so I make the next move. I just stood up and politely thanked him for his time and hospitality and we'd keep in touch/organise something at a later date. He didn't say anything. In his face was absolutely no emotion (a poker face). I shook his hand and left.

I kind of expected a more forceful attempt to retrieve his money. If he'd got out a gun I would have been in a pickle, but as it was he followed me to the door and he was very polite in his manner and his farewell. The house was in a maze of alleyways so I just asked at the nearby coffee shop in Vietnamese where I could get a XeOm (motorbike taxi) and the old guy jumped to attention and threw me a helmet. "Ba muoi nghin Pham Ngu Lao" I told him. "Uh" the reply. I felt quite smug as we drove away. Slight adrenaline and buzz from negotiating the scam.

A couple of weeks later I saw a poster in a restaurant warning others about a scam two Phillipine women and a Phillipine man. The date of the poster predated my meeting with them. The story in the poster was written by a male tourist/expat who wasn't as savvy as I was. He was pressured into going to an ATM and withdrawing the money. Perhaps it was someone like me and the scammers upped their game or used a threat which they didn't with me.