The popular card game called poker is not just a simple entertainment but more like a true phenomenon attracting professionals and amateurs, with a whole industry building upon all this.
Irish poker scene certainly has its ups and downs, but usually there is no shortage of opportunities to play at local casinos. Perhaps the greatest of them all is Irish Open, happening right now in Dublin.
I think it is safe to say there is enough live poker action all over United Kingdom throughout a year that every true fan of the game should enjoy.
Special calendars regularly appear at PokerNews.com and other dedicated portals.
That makes it easy to follow the schedule for your favourite games or the closest locations, so no interesting occasions would be missed.
In this month alone, there are quite a few chances for significant poker winnings in many major cities around UK. The biggest scoops naturally can be found in London: WSOP Team Empire Qualifier at The Empire Casino, PokerStars Live London Series at The Hippodrome Casino, or 888 WPT500 (various locations).
However, when we think about large live events in Ireland as such, the first thing coming to mind is probably well-known, and not only nationwide, the Irish Open.
Of course, it means a lot for fans in Emerald Isle, but being the longest running tournament in Europe, sure attracts some prominent professionals from the continent as well.
It is actually the second longest running No Limit Hold’em event on the globe, giving in only to the famous World Series of Poker in Las Vegas.
Although not continuously, IPO has been held since 1980, originally in Dublin’s Eccentric Club, by the initiative of Terry Rogers – notorious Irish bookmaker. First edition was won by female player by the name of Colette Doherty (she did it again in 1991).
Few other places hosted the contestants, each with different space capacity which was to accommodate fluctuating number of participants.
Changing trends in poker popularity over the years were the main reason behind that, as well as the off and on presence of Irish Open in the country.
Now the tournament is back in Dublin, at 4-star Citywest Hotel. For the eight exciting days in March, from Monday 13 th to Monday 19 th , we should expect a lot of intense poker action.
Over 30 scheduled games make up for total of 20 events, including Main Event starting March 14 th and spread over few days until 18th.
Since last time the biggest game will have more than a double prize pool. The increase has gone from €500,000 in 2016 to at least one million euros (that is guaranteed money).
The amount may increase significantly also because of re-entry feature, which allows players to come back to the game one more time.
The buy-in is set on €1,150. Beside the main course, some of the side dishes include: Ladies Championship, Mini Irish Open series, special NHL event for seniors, Liam
Flood Memorial and JP Poker Masters, as well as several turbo games, couple of High Rollers, and a chance for Omaha variation enthusiasts to have some fun, too.