Although most people think that the poker
boom started in the United States, that is not entirely true. Even
though poker did explode in the United States in the early 2000s,
the genesis of that explosion happened not in the United States, but
in Europe.
Poker in Europe: Before the Boom
It was actually in England that the first poker show aired which featured
cameras that could view the hole cards. On Late Night Poker, cameras
underneath the table revealed what each player was holding. It was
the immense popularity of this show in England that led poker entrepreneurs
to create the World Poker Tour in 2002 and even online
casino games in Europe, which some say is when poker really started
to take off.
Poker in Europe: After the Boom
Once the WPT and the WSOP had everyone in America speeding towards
their local casino, Europeans began to catch the fever as well. European
players were playing more frequently online, as not every European
country provided easy access to poker rooms. Furthermore, while America
was going crazy for no limit Texas hold’em, and many Americans may
not have realized there was any other type of poker, Europeans were
enjoying a different game.
Poker in Europe: PLO
In Europe, the game of choice has been pot limit Omaha. In pot limit
Omaha, players get four cards instead of two, and must use exactly
two of those with three of the five board cards to make their hand.
Since it is pot limit, betting escalates, so multiple players will
often get to see a flop, but a player may still be facing an all-in
bet by the time all the cards are dealt out. Today, there are many
top uk
casinos online sites for Europeans who are enjoying no limit hold’em
as they enter high stakes tournaments which feature this game, while
the top high stakes online players in the United States are all switching
over from hold’em to pot limit Omaha.
Poker in Europe: The Future
Given the popularity of the European
Poker Tour and the number of Europeans popping up at World Series
of Poker final tables, it’s likely that we will continue to see great
European players gracing the poker felt for a long time to come.
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