KEY POINTS:
The man's name is Boy. He's a taxi driver in Manila, the capital of the Philippines, and he's taken a fancy to my white cap.
"It's a nice souvenir?" he suggests, with almost admirable subtlety.
We're travelling from the upmarket malls in the business centre of Makati, where the big-name luxury stores, many foreign to New Zealand, give a nod to the lavish style of Imelda Marcos, the shopaholic wife of the country's infamous former leader, Ferdinand.
Boy is being subtle, you see, because it would be a souvenir for him, a local and a father several times over, not me, the visitor, making her way around the city solo.
Twenty minutes - and a fare of around $6 - later and our jostle through the city's hot, dirty and cramped streets to the popular tourist area of Malate is over.
I'm getting out, so the stakes are raised. He makes his move and goes all in. "Give me your hat."
Sorry, man, I need it to keep my head cool, it's 30C outside. It's too small for you. And, I wouldn't usually mention it, but you shouldn't have pulled up with the meter already well ticked over and then stopped for gas half-way. I know your game.
In fact, plenty of people visiting the Philippines know a lot about game playing, only the stakes are higher.
I was there for the first tournament of the Pokerstars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour, a three-day affair with a US$2500 ($3224) buy-in. Players have come from more than 60 countries, with about half a dozen from New Zealand.
After 212 hands, 22-year-old student Brett Praise from the United States will take home the top prize of US$179,775, having won his place at the tournament by competing in an online free-entry tournament.
New Zealand's best shot was 24-year-old Daniel Francis, who lucked out in 33rd position, just eight places off the money.
"This was probably my most disappointing tourney to be knocked out of," said Francis.
But luck was on the side of Hamilton student James Honeybone, 23, who's won about US$200,000 playing poker in the last year. He won the event's warm-up tournament and went home a few thousand dollars richer, taking the first-ever Manila Cup.
Honeybone and Francis were lured to the televised event in a bid to cash in on the publicity it is expected to generate in and around their home turf.
Playing cards against someone, it is said, is a great way to get an insight into how they tick. So I give it a try, going up against the city of Manila.
Hand 1:
At first, I find her hard to read. She starts off playing tightly, straight-faced and offers up few clues. But as the game grinds on, her sunglasses come off and the chips start to fall into place.
She's the unashamedly ugly big sister of the cute white-sand beaches and stunning dive spots further down the country.
Not for her the Gucci handbags - real or fake - that visitors snap up. Instead, she slumps scruffily to try to get a break from the heat and quenches her thirst with a San Miguel, a popular and cheap domestic brew.
For tourists, Manila tends to be a quick stop-over but, sitting as she does at the heart of the nation's rich and dramatic history, it's worth taking a day or two to get to know her.
The population of 14 million (at last guess) is a mix of very rich and very poor, a meeting place of East and West, one of the few predominantly Christian countries in Asia but with plenty of other religions on display, speaking English and Tagalog.
Another point of difference from her neighbours, she has Spanish ancestry that contributes a dose of Latin flair to the intoxicating mismash of cultures.
Hand 2:
Don't try to bluff this old girl.
She's asking 580 Philippine pesos ($17) for the patent leather flats at a stall. The market on the lower level of the Greenhills shopping centre is known for its knock-offs but these shoes don't try to be anything they're not, just simple loafers made down the line.
In an Imelda moment, I ask how much for two pairs. She calls my bluff and, in the end, I take one pair for 450 Philippine pesos. She proves you should never try to con an old con.
Then come the vendors hocking off handbags, "brand name" clothing and electronic gadgets; round-the-clock food markets, where the catch of the day makes eyes at passing shoppers.
Up the shopping stakes a little and you're in the sprawling mid-range malls - pass through the metal detector as you enter and open your bag for security please - offering wares from the likes of Marks & Spencer.
Or the ubiquitous Filipino department store Shoe Mart, which, perhaps unsurprisingly, stocks an impressive range of footwear.
Those with richer tastes can opt for the lavish Greenbelt development, labelled one, two, three and four. The level of luxury of the shops rises in ascending order. Greenbelt four is for those flush with funds and wanting to check out the latest Gucci or Prada range. Phase five is under construction.
Filipinos enjoy a pastime known as "malling", involving whole families heading to the air-conditioned sanctuaries for the day. In the words of one Aussie ex-pat, "Manila is shopping".
Surely, in a spot rich with such a trading history, swiping the plastic can pass as an authentic cultural activity?
Hand 3:
You want to try to learn about your opponent, so here's a bit more about Manila's background before we play.
Her Spanish influence dates from 1565, when Miguel Lopez de Legazpi wrested control of the Philippines and formed a lucrative trading post with links to Cuba on the other side of the ocean.
Manila's no stranger to card games - the Spanish apparently brought playing cards with them in those early days. The story goes that the Baluarte de San Diego, part of the fortress of the striking old walled city of Intramuros, was purposely built in the shape of a spade.
What are the odds, huh?
Manila plays tough because she's had a tough life. Hidden in her background are rumours of of buried treasure and Chinese pirates.
In her midst is what could be the oldest Chinatown outside of China, set up across the river from the seat of Spanish power 400 or so years ago. But more about that later.
The country was drawn into a conflict between Spain and the United States in the late 1800s. Cue more trouble for the masses.
There was an occupation by the Japanese. She was heavily bombarded in World War II, with great swathes of the city flattened. Later, independence brought elections. In the 1960s, Ferdinand Marcos was voted into power, happily for a time, but his rule descended into martial law until he was forced out by a revolution of the people in 1986.
With all that, it's little wonder she's got her poker face down pat.
Hand 4:
Fancy a gamble on food?
We've been promised no chicken's feet, no insects, no chopped-up, sauteed pigs' ears - put simply, nothing you'll see on Fear Factor - in the walking foodies' tour of Chinatown.
But after a couple of hours, guide Ivan Mandy decides to up the ante.
We meet in early afternoon at the Binondo Church, beneath the lucky, eight-sided bell tower, which dates from 1596.
It's a prosperous spot because of the significance of the number of sides in Chinese culture.
It's also one of the only parts of the holy building to survive the destruction of WWII.
We move on to the tasting part of the tour with some simple opening moves.
First up, a taste of bitter hot chocolate, gritty with ground cocoa.
Hit me with another round, dealer.
Next is fishball soup and a rice dish with nuts and vegetables. Later, a sampling plate of dumplings, some boiled and others fried. A pork bun, Chinese donuts, then spring rolls that haven't gone anywhere near a deep fryer.
We browse stores between stops for a digestive pause. They're still organised according to centuries old tradition, with like clumped together with like; all the fruit sellers in one area and the stationery vendors in another.
Off Ongpin St, Chinatown's main thoroughfare, Ivan the tour guide plays the joker.
He hands out hard boiled eggs wrapped in plastic bags that leak cold water on to the dusty and cracked footpath.
He won't say which mystery animal they're from until we've been game enough to have a bite.
No nasties, right? So in we go.
Crack the shell to see brown streaks where it should be pure white. Bite in and taste the yolk as it sticks to the back of the throat.
In a moment of clarity the answer is obvious: it's time to fold. One bite is more than enough.
Hand 5:
Don't like playing by the rules? Good thing, then, that the dungeons in the Spanish quarter are no longer in use.
Inside the thick stone walls of Fort Santiago, not far from Chinatown, a small stone entrance leads down to the cold and dark and - back in its heyday - lethally damp dungeon. The waters of the Pasig River slowly seeped in to eventually drown the trapped prisoners.
These days, visitors can take a gentle stroll around the fort and check out its ornate chapel and memorials to past leaders.
Anthony de Guzman, a chief petty officer in the Philippine Navy stationed at the historic fort, stops to chat.
Massive raindrops are falling in the humid, tropical weather, so in a display of the Filipinos' world-famous friendliness, the officer finds a sheltered table and calls for a couple of cups of coffee, which arrive as cups of hot water accompanied by sachets of instant coffee and whitener.
All polished brass buttons and crisp white uniform, he tells how the stones of the old city walls are apparently held together with egg whites and the huge number of chickens needed to lay all those eggs all those years ago is the reason cockfighting is still such a popular sport in Manila today.
It's a short walk to the old town centre and seafood paella and a glass of freshly-squeezed sweet lemon juice for lunch.
Work off the carbohydrates with a walk around the cobbled streets, flanked by grand edifices, porticos and striking colonnades.
At the San Augstin Church, the run-down beauty recalls Manila's sense of east meets west. There, Chinese-style figurines stand proudly between the Western-style columns.
If there's one time the cultures don't mesh so well, it's the ride in a tricycle cab on cobbled streets.
The driver, his skinny legs straining, does his best to offer a smooth ride. He manoeuvres the bicycle with a side cart so half the wheels run along the smooth concrete of the gutter. The cobbles, though, can't be escaped and it's enough to rattle the coolest player.
Time's up. No more hands for me. Manila wins. She's too good.
MORE INFORMATION
If you like the idea of taking on the best at Manila you can enter free satellite tournaments at www.PokerStars.net to win buy-in and travel to many such tournaments around the world.
* Martha McKenzie-Minifie visited Manila as guest of PokerStars.net.
