Well, congratulations are in order for the British team that won the first ever Britain versus Russia Poker Match, which was held at Casino Olympia during the Winter Tournament. If any of the players would like to put pen to paper or fingers to keypad, then I would be happy to publish the full story.
Ok, lets see what’s on offer for you players in Europe this month, with Christmas just around the corner and the new year on the horizon. If you still feel in the mood to do some traveling, then we have the last days of the Winter Tournament at The Aviation Club in Paris. Then it is off to the Helsinki Freezeout at Casino Ray in Finland, this is also going to be a special event as they are holding the Inauguaral European Poker Awards, where all the votes will be counted and the winners awarded trophies for:-
Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Dealer or casino staff person of the year, Individual tournament performance of the year , Poker personality of the year
Then once this excitement is over, it is a quick stop in Bregenz, for the Christmas Tournament with Casinos Austria, which takes place from 13th – 15th December.
The Christmas Cracker is sure to be full of surprises when it kicks of on December 10th at The Grosvenor, Luton. Carmel certainly knows how to put on a great ligaz11 tournament, and this last minute addition to the December calendar was a very welcome one, as things are very quiet in the lead up to Christmas in England. I am sure that David Holmes will be out there buying extra Christmas gifts this year with the first place prize money of £141,250 from the QuarterMillion in Walsall last month.
Late Night Poker IV
As I am typing this (we are 6 hours behind you in England), it is Thursday night for me at 8.00pm so for all of you late birds that stayed up to watch the final of Late Night Poker, you will be watching the winner with very mixed emotions.
Hemish Shah was a very special person and it is sad that the year that he came into his own with his winning achievements in poker, it would be his last year. I am sure that his family will always look at the WSOP bracelet, and now the Late Night Poker series IV title, and be so proud of the legacy that he left behind.
He was and still is a credit to the Poker World, and I am sure that a lot of you will have learned many lessons from him that will see you through your own poker journey. God Bless, Hemish.
It is hard to believe that it is December already and in the Australian poker world that means that The Australasian Championship is just around the corner. Crown has planned a special weekend of Poker from the 20th to 23rd of December and will focus mostly on Satellite events for entry into the $5200 No Limit Holdem in January as well as the New Zealand Championships to be held in April.
A fantastic poker weekend has just concluded at Christchurch Casino. Satellites were held for the New Zealand Championships and attracted players from the North Island of New Zealand as well as a few Aussies that managed to claim a seat or two for the April event.
I am still on vacation in Perth and have enjoyed a couple of nights playing Poker at Burswood Resort Casino, where I first learnt to deal. The players are very friendly although the games are run very differently from those in Melbourne or the US. Unfortunately the room has shrunk to 2 tables, usually one Draw and one Seven Card. The commission still remains uncapped although in the Draw game I don’t believe a $10 cap would be reached very often, most pots remain under $200.
If you get the chance to visit the beautiful city of Perth I recommend that you make time to visit this small Poker room and have a little fun meeting the locals. It’s 32 degrees and Cottesloe beach is calling me, time for a break from poker.
