This month heralds the birth of two new developments at
Card Player - the launch of www.CardPlayerEurope.com and www.CardPlayerOdds.com.
As poker in Europe continues to expand, so do we. CardPlayerEurope.com aims to become a leading information portal for poker players - from up-to-the-minute news and exclusive blogs to web-based TV, our own dedicated forum, tournament reporting and information, and the magazine reprinted in full with your favourite strategists, features, and tournament reports.
From little acorns grow great oaks and over the coming months you will see a huge increase in content from
Card Player across all channels, including CardPlayerOdds.com, which helps the sports bettors among us comparison shop for the best odds and find the bookies with the best sign-up deals. This is something that will hopefully help us beat 'em up good!
Your input is valued, so that we can give you what you want, so get into the forum, send us some news, and tell us what features you'd like to see, and together we can create a community where everyone gets a little of something they like and our scene continues to flourish.
The Wild West Tames Poker
Ireland has a long and illustrious tradition as a nation of poker players. By the time you read this, we'll have a new PokerStars.com
European Poker Tour Dublin champion, and the country continues to thrive as a host nation for some of the world's best poker.
The PartyPoker.com
Irish Poker Championship returns in January, way out west in Galway. With a €2,000 buy-in and TV coverage on national broadcaster
RTÉ, it promises to be a fantastic boutique festival to blow away the Christmas hangover.
The paddypowerpoker.com
Irish Open returns over Easter weekend to Citywest, Dublin. With a €3 million guarantee and €4,500 buy-in, it continues to grow. This year it will host 1,000 players split over two days, in what many agree is one of the most unique tournaments on the circuit.
But possibly trumping them all - in terms of sheer audacity, if nothing else - was the little-trumpeted
International Poker Open, organised by Poker Ireland and Danish online room Mermaid Poker in October 2007. It achieved the remarkable feat of attracting 1,072 players - the largest field ever assembled outside the U.S. - and, incredibly, registration for the €150 event was done entirely online.
For a small island on the edge of a huge continent, Ireland continues to push the boundaries of European poker and is fast becoming the frontier to which others look for inspiration.
