Chinese Poker is Exploding. Here's What You Need to Know

The schedule for the inaugural OFC Poker Live World Championship has just been announced by TonyBet Poker. It will take place in Prague, Czech Republic, at King's Casino, which is contained within the infamous Corinthia Hotel. The tournament begins on December 8th and finishes shortly after on December 10th. The tournament has been scheduled so that it is during the PokerStars Prague Poker Festival, which is sure to attract a large audience of skilled players and enthusiasts. In addition, the World Poker Tour National will begin just a few days after, which will attract additional players. online poker 468x60 While the Czech Republic may seem like a strange place to hold a major tournament, the country has dominated December events in recent past, and seems to be growing every year. About the Events The entry to the main event is €1,000, which is roughly equivalent to $1,250. The main event will last two days, from December 9th to the 10th. There are satellites to the tournament for those who can't afford the big entry fee on December 8th. On the same day, the championship will kick off with a $10,000 buy-in High Roller reentry tournament for . While this may seem like a small tournament, it is one that is likely to grow in the future. There are also bound to be many cash games available for those who get knocked out of the tournaments early or just prefer cash games. The High Roller tournament is a result of consistent requests from the top players in the community. Who is involved in this tournament? None other than Tony G. Who is Tony G While most of you recognize the name, you might not know just how many things he is involved in. The Lithuanian-born player is well known throughout the poker community because of his love of trash talking at the table. While some find this quality endearing, many are not fans of his style and believe it is poor etiquette. Throughout his career, which began when he turned 18, he has had considerable success in tournaments. He's accumulated 15 money finishes at the WSOP and 2 final tables in the WPT. He has not been able to win a WPT or WSOP tournament as of yet. While most people might slow down after his long career, Tony G keeps exploring new avenues while he continues to play. As a huge basketball fan, Tony G became the vice-president of the Lithuanian Basketball Association. Poker, basketball...anything else? Much more. While doing all this, Tony decided to run for election. Not only did he run, but he won. He was elected to the European Parliament as a representative for the Liberal Party of Lithuania. Finally, Tony G is behind TonyBet poker, the online site that is sponsoring this open-face Chinese poker tournament. The site exclusively offers variations of Chinese poker and is rapidly growing. What is Tonybet Poker The only online poker site that specializes in open-face Chinese poker. It is one of the few sites that has a solid mobile application, making it a great site to play on phones and tablets. Like most poker rooms there are both cash games and tournaments, although open-face Chinese poker isn't quite as popular as Texas Hold'em, so don't expect the lobby to be flooded with games. Typically there are at least 200 players on the site during peak times, which is impressive for the site's young age and the forms of poker offered. The most popular types of Chinese poker that are offered are: classic open-face Chinese poker pineapple open-face Chinese poker turbo open-face Chinese poker They are all obviously fairly similar, but it's worth trying out all three if you are new to the game. The room operates with an Estonian license, so most players worldwide can play. However, players in the United States cannot as usual. What on Earth is Chinese Poker? Even if you are an avid poker player, you might not have heard of Chinese poker. The game really rose to popularity around 2011 when professional players started playing it for high stakes. While we won't go into all the rules of the game here, we can look at an overview. The game is played with 2 to 4 players, each player needing 13 cards per hand. Each player has a top row of three, middle row of 5 and a bottom row of 5. Players are dealt 5 cards initially to arrange as they please - face up usually. Players alternate drawing a single card from the deck and putting it in one of their rows. At the end of the hand, each row is compared to the opponent's corresponding row. For each row that is better, a player gains a point (chips are not used). There are often bonuses given when great hands are made, and the game can get really crazy with certain rules like "fantasy land". The rules may sound complicated, but it doesn't take much longer than Hold'em to pick up. It's definitely a lot of fun if you are looking for a new form of poker to try. Chinese poker, check, Tony G, check, Czech Republich, czech. That's the big news in the poker world right now, try to catch some of the action during the month of December.