CR83-p30&31-Poker:SJC-Casino Review 23/8/09 12:45 Page 1
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Poker in space
Poker star and founder of Cirque de Soleil, Guy
Poker
Laliberte, has announced he will be spending his
winnings on becoming one of the first civilians to
enter space. The entrepreneur came fourth in 2007’s
World Poker Tour, netting himself $696,220 and
booking a place on GSN’s High Stakes Poker and
TOURNAMENT Poker After Dark. Laliberte will pay a staggering
$35m for the zero gravity experience.
Why won’t
legislators
acknowledge
the skill?
The ever-rising profile of major
poker tournaments - and the
persistent wins enjoyed by the elite
- adds some much-needed weight
to the argument that poker is
indeed a game of skill.
toughluck
LEGISLATION
A definitive answer to the perennial question ‘Is
poker a game of skill or chance?’ would benefit
the entire industry. Yet while legislators, particu-
WSOP is more
larly in the US, continue to shun the debate, the
multiple tournament wins enjoyed by some
players have resulted in the ‘chance’ argument
becoming weaker and weaker. international than ever
Indeed, as Phil Ivey prepares to contest the
Final Table of the WSOP 2009 Main Event, we can
but marvel at the extent of the great man’s ‘luck’.
US tournament dominance
Germany, Hungary, Iran, Australia, Canada, face a break until November 10 when
In his poker career to date, Ivey has collected Mexico and England taking home silver- battle will resume. All nine are guaranteed
seven WSOP bracelets. His fellow player and the
is dwindling, as poker hits a
ware. This figure is equivalent to 34 per a minimum prize of $1.26m with the even-
other ‘Phil’ (Hellmuth) holds eleven. truly global stage. cent of all winners, so it is clear that US tual champion taking home $8.5m.
Given that the law in most countries states dominance gets less secure each year. Worldwide media exposure is also part
that they play a game of ‘chance’ then these increasedexposure For the English, success was unprece- of the package, with ESPN airing 30 high-
must be two very lucky gentlemen indeed. When WSOP dented with John Kabbaj, Roland de Wolfe lights programmes leading up to their
described in this way, simple common sense and John Paul Kelly all joining the bejew- ‘almost live’ Final Table coverage. But,
tells us that describing poker as a ‘game of If evidence were needed of poker’s elled elite. Also worthy of mention is Jeff despite the emergence of poker players
chance’ is somehow complete nonsense. But if growing global coverage then the interna- Lisandro of Australia who took home three from outside the States, it’s the US players
legislators are going to listen to expert opinion tional magnitude of the 40th annual World bracelets and over $745,000. that dominate the line-up with seven final-
then, as some of the more forthright commenta- Series of Poker was conclusive. Unlike In the Main Event, the $10,000 No Limit ists, including seven-time WSOP bracelet
tors have suggested, they really should stop lis- baseball, this particular World Series is no Hold’em Championship, 6,494 entrants winner Phil Ivey, with Antoine Saout of
tening to the rent-a-quote moralists and start longer a misnamed US private affair. generated a massive $61m prize fund. France and Londoner James Akenhead
listening to the scientific experts. In 2009, the 57 events attracted 60,875 Again, the global flavour was confirmed representing European interests.
Maths Professor Ben van der Genugten of the entries from 115 countries and generated with players from 35 countries finishing The industry waits with eager antici-
University of Tilburg in Holland claims that poker’s a total prize pool of over $174m. In addi- in the prize money places, including an pation, and the message that has come
skill levels are “comparable to those of chess”. A tion to prize money each winner is unprecedented 39 from Great Britain and out of WSOP 2009 is that those who are
decade ago he devised a formula to assess the awarded a coveted WSOP bracelet and in Ireland. Maintaining the same 34 per cent talking of a bubble that may be bursting
levels of ‘skill’ required in a range of games regu- 2009, 19 of the 56 winners have come average 17 non-US players finished inside should study the statistics because this
lated by the Dutch Betting and Gaming Act. from outside the US, with players from the top 50 positions. The so-called ‘Novem- year, more than ever before, it truly is a
According to van der Genugten, Blackjack has a Russia, Finland, Sweden, Belgium, ber Nine’ who made it to the Final Table poker ‘world’.
skill rating of 0.049 while Fantasy Football, recog-
nised in Holland as a game of skill, has a rating of
0.3. Significantly, Texas Hold’em has a rating of 0.4
and yet is not recognised as a game of skill.
Further compelling evidence is supplied by
Land-based tournaments continue to thrive
researchers Cigital with the hypothesis that
Texas Hold’em only becomes a game of chance Tournaments have become a key pull factor for the majority of casinos with poker
when a hand reaches ‘showdown’ stage. Prior to
rooms, and operators around the world maintain that growth of online sector should
this point hands are won or lost when players fold
to one another without all the cards being shown
be viewed in terms of the synergies it holds - not the threats. Edgar Stuchly,
or seen. Pure player decisions are being made poker manager for Casinos Austria in Vienna, explains.
and are therefore based on skill alone. The con-
clusion is that the less ‘showdowns’ that occur, austriananalysis tournament weeks in different casinos with
the more skilful the play. OPERATORS’ VIEW prize money of more than E5m.
In December 2008 Cigital analysed 103 million I think that online and traditional poker can
hands on PokerStars. In a massive 75.7 per cent of The standing of poker has grown over the last work hand-in-hand and complement one
cases all other players in the hand folded to the pot years and generates about 10 per cent of live another. Online poker rooms have the optimal
winner. The defence, it seems, rests. game sales these days. Since 2003, major poker requirements to begin the event, run low-
tournament fields have grown dramatically, stakes tournaments and to generate players for
Phil Ivey
and one of the special draws for the online big live events by online satellites. The most
poker community is the opportunity to play important events, however, will always be live.
online satellites for high stakes tournaments Live table gaming continues to remain a
held in Austria’s casinos. Thus you can qualify crucial part of the entertainment in all Austrian
online for big live poker tournaments with casinos. It is the thrill and the flair of the live
very little money. At the moment, you can game that creates extraordinary atmosphere
qualify for the E4,000 Texas Hold’em Poker and emotional excitement that are such an
Championship for only E5.00, and our users do essential part of the whole casino experience.
respond very well to this offer. Looking ahead, we will carry on the way
Casinos Austria has expanded its poker we started. We will continue to organise tour-
range over the last few years. Our main focus is naments and events of the highest standard. It
now placed on the Casinos Austria Poker Tour, is a major principle not to fully exploit exist-
with its highlight being the European Poker ing market potentials, but to allow a con-
Championship. The tour comprises seven trolled growth instead.
30 September 2009 • pokerreport
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