Full of Eastern Promise

I have been playing poker in Eastern Europe since 2000, in both tournaments and cash games. In the beginning, poker was played in very few casinos, mainly seven-card stud and Texas hold'em. To me, it seemed evident that it would grow, but I never could have imagined the impact of Internet poker on the growth of the popularity of the live games. Based on my experiences of playing in Russia, Ukraine, Slovenia, Romania, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, this column gives an overview of the present situation and looks at potential future developments.

Tournaments and Cash Games
In Russia, the tournaments have so far been concentrated in St. Petersburg and Moscow, especially the latter, where they have daily tournaments from $50 upward and international tournaments with buy-ins up to $10,000. My experiences are mainly from the Moscow and Russian Open Poker tournaments, which have been held in the Cosmos and Korona casinos.

Players are very varied in skills, from top world-class players to those who are not aware of what the game is about; this, however, does not prevent them from playing. Often, one hears that someone has called because it was so cheap, only $300 or $500. Casinos treat clients well, offering drinks, meals, and transport.

In the Balkan area, I have visited Nova Goricia in Slovenia, where the Perla poker parade is held. There are a number of ways to get there. The most popular for the English and northern Europeans was to fly to Trieste in Italy, where the casino arranged transport to Nova Goricia. Most of the players were Italians, with a large contingent of Romanians. Cash games were mainly Omaha, and lively, at that. The casino organises discounted hotels and a buffet during tournaments.

In Romania, they don't, as far as I know, have tournaments yet. However, Olympic Casino has applied for tournament permission for its casino in Bucharest. I have understood that in Timisora near the Hungarian border, they have big-action cash games, which sounds realistic since the group in Nova Goricia was from Timisora.

In Ukraine, poker is spreading very fast. First it started in Kiev in the Slavutis and Salud casinos, where mainly cash games are played daily. In Taro in Odesa, they have also played international tournaments, as well as in some places in Kharkov, Lviv, and other cities. Omaha and seven-card stud are popular, and high-roller games are also played.

So far, large-scale international tournaments have not been held in Ukraine. I hope this will change when Olympic opens its poker room in Kiev, because Ukraine is still the "Wild East of Europe" and has a special attraction.

In Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland, Olympic Casino has a dominating role. It has organised a four-tournament series in 2008 with tournaments in all of the Baltic states and Poland in each series. It seems that it is taking the matter seriously and professionally.

In Estonia, poker is played at Olympic Casino in Tallinn. During the international tournaments, around 100-120 players participate, and cash games are often very lively due to the presence of drunk Finns, Swedes, and Norwegians, playing mainly Omaha.

It seems that the active nightlife of the Baltic capitals contributes favorably to participation of players from Nordic countries coming to poker tournaments there. Advice on this matter can be sought from the Norwegian groups participating in the tournaments - as they seem to be the best experts on the nightlife.

In Latvia, live poker is played in Riga, mainly at the Olympic Casino, with some games at Tobago Casino and the Playboy Club. Tournaments are held nearly every night at Olympic, and international tournaments are held four times a year.
Riga is a little quieter, and about 30-50 players participate in the international tournaments. The cash games are more conservative there during tournament weeks, and again, mainly Omaha is played.

In Lithuania, games are spread between the Olympic and Grand casinos, depending on the present mood of the bigger players. New players can play in daily tournaments at the Olympic.

During international tournament weeks at the Olympic, about 40-60 players participate in the tournaments, and cash games are normal or lively depending a lot on whether a few lively players participate or not. The main cash game is Omaha.
Poland has a shorter history of poker tournaments than the Baltic states; they started tournaments in 2006 with a European Poker Tour stop at Poland Casino.

In Warsaw, poker is played mainly at the Olympic Casino and Poland Casino. Poland Casino offers mainly cash games and the EPT, and Olympic offers daily small tournaments as well as its international tournaments. Cash games are different from the other countries, in that the games are mostly dealer's choice with a selection of eight games. The most popular seem to be Omaha eight-or-better, crazy pineapple, and double-flop hold'em. Cash games in Warsaw tend to be action games.

The Future's So Bright …
I believe poker will grow to 10 times its size in 10 years time in Eastern Europe, and options for players from other countries will multiply. At this moment, the Olympic Casino group is the only chain of casinos that is doing systematic work spreading its casino chain to all Eastern European countries and organising poker and poker tounaments on a daily basis, so I believe it will dominate at least 50 percent of the poker market in Eastern Europe, exluding Russia.

For good players, there are still a lot of chances to get good results in tournaments and cash games in Eastern Europe, and also to enjoy the unique kind of atmosphere. Look at it this way - if I have managed to make the money 38 times in international tournaments in Eastern Europe and win 10 times, it cannot be that difficult!