Cheese Heads

Coverage of the World Series of Poker has spread all over the world. And poker has gone through a dramatic growth in popularity in the Netherlands. Add those two factors together and it's not surprising that last summer, the WSOP was the subject of many conversations at parties, spontaneous online chat sessions with friends in the morning work hours, and the web logs of most serious poker players. In a time when not much else was going on in the gambling world, all magazines and websites regarding poker in the Netherlands were focused on the World Series. And I assume it has not been otherwise in the other European countries where poker has become increasingly popular lately.



Consequently, I must assume that everyone knows about all the results, all the final tables, all the heroes, and all those defeated. So, I will not repeat the praise and glory the Dutch must have received all over the world. Surely, there wasn't a magazine or website in the country you reside that didn't cover a story on those miraculous Dutch. In this column, I will give you a peek behind the scenes of what happened in the Dutch camp during the World Series that made our players stand out so much; that is, if you will forgive my slightly biased look at the matter.



Like football players united on the national team, our representatives stuck together. People from the Amsterdam scene were cheering for the players from the Groningen scene, and vice versa – note that the Rotterdam scene was at home writing this column – and final-table appearances were celebrated with the red, white, and blue flags on the rails. Also, the orange items that otherwise show our national pride and creativity at football matches were spotted in the crowd.



When your country is represented by a number of players that does not add up to half of 1 percent of the total playing field, it creates a certain David versus Goliath atmosphere. This must be the same for all countries that are … well, that aren't called the United States. So, how did this show?



As said before, when a Dutchie made the final table, the rest of the small gang gathered around and made more noise than all the Yanks combined. Here's another example: During the main event, all players affiliated with PokerInfo or any other poker site in the Netherlands had their dinner breaks together at a place called the Tilted Kilt. There, they swapped bad-beat stories, bragged about their undoubtedly brilliant plays, and played a little game called Golden Tee. This computer simulation of a golf game was so addictive that Peter Dalhuijsen almost skipped his final table of a $1,500 event, expecting to make more money swinging an imaginary golf club against his fellow Dutchmen.



The gang of wooden shoe wearers further felt supported by the attention and feedback they received from the people at home; PokerInfo was as busy as ever. Many players reported their progress and were congratulated. Others reported their defeats and were consoled, as it was obviously a bad beat that knocked them out. The PokerInfo administrators even flew out to Vegas to show their enthusiasm – and maybe hit the tables for a little while. That's how it was possible to find four regulars of the website sitting down at the lowest no-limit hold'em table available in Las Vegas at 3 in the morning, and driving the whole table nuts after 10 minutes. Money was moved around faster and more at that table than at the stock exchange in Amsterdam. It was all good, clean fun, though, and the Americans enjoyed it as much as the Dutchmen.



While most Americans were supported only by their wives – if they were lucky enough – most European countries had a much higher "supporter per player ratio." This is a good thing, and I am sure that this has helped many Dutch players in preparing for their tournaments and processing possible losses, but I think that next year, the number of supporters per player will be lower. That's not because the popularity of poker will have diminished, but because many supporters of today will have built a bankroll to compete next year.



Hopefully, I will be one of them.



Anthon-Pieter Wink is a writer for http://www.pokerinfo.nl/.