Does Poker Exist in Europe?

You would be fooled sometimes by what "World Championship" means with all the events being held in the US – such as the World Series of Poker (WSOP) and the World Poker Tour (WPT) Championship Event – and I certainly feel like there is a gap that needs to be bridged between the continents in the poker world (many US pros never even make an appearance in Europe and vice versa).

The only real saving grace is the World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE), which, in my opinion, is held at the completely wrong venue: The Empire Casino.  A much more suitable location would be further north at Dusk till Dawn, Nottingham.  The problem is, of course, that The Empire is the best Harrah's-owned venue in Europe, and London is far more accessible for foreign players than Nottingham.  However, the English Poker Open was held at Dusk till Dawn last year, big name players like Doyle Brunson attended, and the whole event went off without a hitch.  Nottingham is also a place with arguably more historical background than London (but as mentioned before it all comes down to Harrah’s reluctance to change to a venue that is not owned by them).

Another thing hampering the worldwide spread of poker is that the size of the European game is miniscule compared to America (and probably the Australian and Canadian versions too).  The disparity is partly because no one from Europe has ever come back and really promoted the game in any sort of way.  The fact that Europe never really felt any part of "The Moneymaker Effect" has really hurt the development of the game on our side of the pond.

(That being said, at the time of writing this article none other than Chris Moneymaker himself is atop the chip counts at the European Poker Tour (EPT) Grand Final in Monte Carlo.  So you never know.  Poker can be a funny game sometimes).

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During the course of "The Euro Muck" I will be writing about different cash games going on around the European poker scene, reviewing various casinos and card rooms in the UK, Holland and other places (and giving an honest critique for both beginner players and more experienced ones).  Also, I will be interviewing various live and online European pros (the game is a lot different over here with the likes of Party Poker still being open to the masses).  “The Euro Muck” will be a relatively low-stakes view on the games as there is not enough high stakes action going on for any regular reporting (don't get me wrong, there may be the occasional rich-businessman-alert on my travels which will spur a worldwide cavalry call for pros to take his money, just keep an eye out).  Now you that you have an idea what “The Euro Muck” is about I hope you look forward to its content as much as I enjoy bringing it to you.