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 he Good Gambler |
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| The Editor, Richard
Whitehouse makes regular contributions to coverage of the gambling
world. |
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| International Federation of
Poker |
IFP's inaugural World Championship in London 2011
Back
in April of 2009 the International Federation of Poker (IFP) was formed in
Lausanne, Switzerland. Its President is Anthony Holden the well known author of
the poker world's top selling and best written poker memoir, Big
Deal.
Originally it had 7 members but now has more than 40 federations
signed up to its code and its purpose of promoting coherent governing poker
rules that show poker to be a mind sport and game of skill. Beyond its role in
organizing major international tournaments, the IFP intends to compile
international rankings with separate national classifications and present
players from around the world with the chance to "Outskill the World," and
compete at The Table in 2012. |
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The IFP now has a commercial agency
partner, Mind Sports Partners, which is a joint venture between British
entrepreneur Patrick Nally and Dentsu, the world’s biggest advertising
agency. They have secured finance to sponsor the IFP's inaugural World
Championship which they are calling 'The Table', an event taking place on the
19th and 20th November 2011 at County Hall, London. This tournament is invite
only for 130 of the world's finest players including poker playing celebrities
and they will be playing for a first prize of $200,000 out of a total fund of
$500,000.
The Table is a deep-stack Texas Hold’em competition
designed to accentuate the skill of players and unlike contemporary
casino-based Poker tournaments, The Table requires players to compete for
points and a share of the prize fund and not accumulated winnings. Although
invitation only, subsequent editions of The Table will be open to all-comers
with rounds leading up to the final being played by registered players online.
Registration will be open to all, providing amateur players of differing levels
of experience and ability to compete with the pros for the world
title.
This years Table is the final event of the larger UK Mind Sports
Festival, held under the auspices of the UK Mind Sports Federation, starting on
17th November with demonstration games in a number of the world’s leading
mind sports. They will take place in capsules on the EDF Energy London Eye,
complementing the IFP Nations cup of Duplicate Poker. The games, which will be
played by renowned international class players, including Grand Masters, are
Chess, Bridge, Go and Xiangqi (Chinese Chess).
The showcase event of the
Festival is the IFP Nations cup of Duplicate Poker. Twelve teams compete
including eleven nations, USA, United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Brazil, France,
The Netherlands, Brazil, Japan, Ireland and Denmark. Also competing are a team
from Zynga, the social network games developer, which became the world’s
first ‘digital sports nation’ when it recently became the 38th member
of the International Federation of Poker. Zynga's membership aims to challenge
conventional thinking on exactly what constitutes a sports federation in the
digital age.
Teams consist of some of the world’s leading players
who are competing not for money but the Championship Trophy, medals and
national pride. The competition sets the tone for an IFP campaign to shake-off
the sport’s association with casino gambling and promote its recognition
as a pure mind sport demanding the intellectual fitness, dexterity and
discipline associated with physical as well as mind sports.
In duplicate
poker each table is dealt an identically shuffled pack of cards which means
that each player holds the same hand as those in the equivalent seat on other
tables. The contest is not simply between players at each table but between
those occupying the same number seat on every other table. The winner is
determined by players’ performance against their opposite numbers.
IFP President Anthony Holden said: “The Nations Cup is a genuine
celebration of all that is best in intellectual sports. Some of the
world’s best players playing for pride and the honour of representing
their countries in an intense competition with the added spice of international
rivalry. “Poker is played by millions around the world and Duplicate Poker
is the game in its purest form," said Holden. "Players compete against each
other based on skill, without any fluctuation in chance. I believe that
it’s the best way to highlight poker as a game of strategic skill and as a
Mind Sport.”
After the Nations Cup is completed many of the
players will take their seat in The Table playing alongside top players and two
wild-card celebrity picks of the IFP president. Aussie cricket legend Shane
Warne and six-time snooker world champion Steve Davis will both compete. Warne,
a dedicated poker player, once said he’d rather make the Final Table at
the World Series of Poker Main Event than play another Ashes Test. Steve Davis
is a regular televised poker tournament player and has made the final table of
the 2003 Poker Million and has competed successfully in many World Series of
Poker Events.
Check back here for all the results and reporting of the
first festival of its kind. |
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