Norwegian Poker Pro To Play Politician SaturdayOla 'Odd Oddsen' Amundsgaard Trying To Prove Poker Is Skill |
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A match that could decide the fate of online poker in Norway begins Saturday.
High-stakes poker pro Ola “Odd Oddsen” Amundsgaard, who is up millions this year online, is very irritated by the fact that the game exists in essentially a legal grey area within his country. He wanted to take matters into his own hands and influence things.
So, he made a public challenge to any Norwegian politician. He offered 10,000 hands of heads-up pot-limit Omaha with $170,000 of his own money on the line. Amundsgaard was trying to make the case that poker is a game of skill and that the match would prove it.
He was willing to dangle a six-figure freeroll for any challenger.
Lawmaker Erlend Wiborg, who is actually a supporter of online poker for Norway and agrees it’s a skill game, accepted the challenge. The two players reportedly have agreed to play at least 120 hours between Dec. 7 and May 7 of next year, with a minimum 20 per month.
According to PokerFuse, Saturday’s kickoff will be a live session at the Oslo Conference Centre. All remaining sessions will be on PokerStars, allowing railbirds.
When they are playing online, they will be grinding on at least two tables. If the stacks become too deep, 300 big blinds or more for any one player, they will close that table and open a new one. That rule might be better for Amundsgaard, as it would prevent super-massive coolers.
“I feel like I have the whole future of poker legalization on my shoulders right now,” Amundsgaard told Card Player. “If I lose this game I will not only lose the money but also maybe all poker players in Norway will lose the hope for full legalization. So losing this match will be devastating to both me and the whole poker community in Norway.”
“I hope at least it will lead to a discussion, and put poker on the agenda,” Amundsgaard added.
The issue is expected to be taken up seriously by officials in the near future.
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