Poker Across the Pond - Introduction

The poker world has become globalized. There is no arguing this: just a look at this year’s WSOP Main Event final table should be proof enough: the final nine covered four continents and five different countries including the US, Great Britain, South Africa and Russia.

Poker’s rise in popularity all over the world has many causes, but online poker is definitely one of the most important among them. After all, one of the most exciting aspects of online poker is the diversity of people you get to play against: gone are the days of playing in the local casino against the same old mates whose quirks and tells you knew by heart! Now on any given day you may sit across a virtual table from an Irish plumber, an American housewife, a British student and an Australian manager. Differences in play, culture and manners suddenly become important, and generalizations and clichés are also par for the course.

Bricks-and-mortar tourneys have followed suit, and the World Poker Tour and European Poker tour have also gained popularity, attracting players from both sides and mixing the field even more. 

And so, as the World Series of Poker prepares for its first-ever venture in the Old Continent, we decided to take a look at poker on both sides of the ocean and at how players from each side think about the other. We have tapped many sources: academic historians, professional players, blog ranters – all have something to say about how the other half plays.