Gambling in Europe

If you are a casino goer and also a traveler, here's what you need to know about Europe. casino games has been around in Europe for some time, but it has never been as prominent as it is today. Here are some interesting facts about poker in Europe that may interest modern poker fans, no matter where in the world they hail from.

When it comes to culture, Europe is sometimes accused of being behind the curve, picking up on American trends years after they have fallen out of fashion in the United States. When it comes to poker, Europe may have been ahead of the curve. While no limit hold’em has been the game of choice in the U.S. for years, Europeans have been enjoying the challenges of pot limit Omaha. Only now are the highest stakes U.S. players online switching to pot limit Omaha, which has each player starting with four cards and more post-flop play, adding to its complexity.

Ten years ago, when video poker was just in its infancy, Noel Furlong, an Irish poker player, won the World Series of Poker main event in 1999. When he did, he was the only European ever to do so. In 2007, there were more non-Americans at the final table than Americans, including Europeans Philip Hilm, Alex Kravchenko and Jon Kalmar. In 2008, a European won the main event once again, Peter Eastgate of Denmark. Clearly, Europe is here to stay on the world poker scene.

One contributor to the success of poker in Europe is the European Poker Tour, created by online poker site PokerStars. Created hot on the heels of the success of the World Poker Tour, the EPT features high stakes tournaments all over Europe, with millions of dollars to be won. Since PokerStars sponsors the event, players have many opportunities to win seats through online satellites, so anyone can become a European Poker Tour champion, regardless of bankroll, if they have the skill to get through the satellite system. The presence of the EPT has encouraged more poker play among Europeans in live settings and online alike, which may explain the emergence of some of the strong European players of the last few years.