Duplicate Poker Tournament Begins Tomorrow in London

While poker has always been a game with a delicate balance of skill and chance, one group is hosting a major event in which none of the players will be able to complain about going card dead.

The International Federation of Poker is hosting a tournament known as the Nations Cup as part of the London Mind Sports Festival. The tournament begins Thursday, and will feature a unique form of the game: duplicate poker. This version of poker, based on duplicate bridge, effectively eliminates the luck component from poker.

“Duplicate poker removes the element of luck and conforms more to a truly sporting occasion,” the IFP said. “Rather than competing against those at their table, duplicate poker pitches players against opponents dealt exactly the same cards in exactly the same position on neighboring tables. With all players in a particular seat given the same allocation of cards the only determining factor in the result of the tournament is how skillfully each player uses them."

As the name might suggest, the Nations Cup is a team competition, pitting teams from 12 different countries against each other, including the United States, the UK, Ireland, and Germany. In addition, a 13^th team representing Zynga – the online poker company known best for its Facebook poker game – will also be competing. Each team will be comprised of ten players, meaning every team will have one player sitting at each position on at a ten-handed table.

The tournament has attracted a very strong field of players, many of whom are likely eager to test their skills on an even playing field. Some of the bigger names involved include Barry Greenstein, Antonio Esfandiari, Vanessa Selbst, Gus Hansen and November Nine member Eoghan O’Dea.

The teams will be competing for $500,000 in prizes, including $250,000 which will go to the winning team. The event will be filled with the intention to televise the contest worldwide.