"So you get young, smart people who start playing poker in Poland. “It’s easier to live cheaply in Poland so you don’t have to make as much money as if you were living in London," Horecki said. “We’re good at chess and we’re good at bridge and it’s easier to be a winning player poker player in Poland." Representing the Game “We’re a country of really smart, talented players,” Horecki said. Horecki said Urbanovich and Panka’s results helped propel the idea that poker was a game of skill, but nothing stemmed from it. Then Urbanovich won EPT Dublin this February. The 21-year-old Urbanovich is now attending his first WSOP with nearly $5 million in live tournament earnings already. Then an even younger Pole with slightly curlier hair popped onto the scene and started scoring multiple six-figure scores.ĭzimitry Urbanovich won the EPT High Roller in Malta last year and finished 2nd in the EPT Barcelona and EPT Monte Carlo Super High Rollers a few months later. Panka’s live tournament earnings now sit at about $2.4 million. There’s been a few young rising stars since.ĭominik Panka became Poland’s top-earning player after he won the 2014 PCA and $1.4 million. The young Panka followed up that win with an EPT High Roller victory a few weeks later.
Polish poker card game pro#
Horecki then went pro in 2006 and has since amassed $1.4 million in live tournament earnings since. Horecki was a fan of the game though and one of his Magic: The Gathering friends, David Williams, introduced him to online poker. Back then, Horecki said it was hard to draw 15 to 20 players for a national tournament. Horecki started playing poker in Poland in 2004. The battle worn Horecki has been on the forefronts of Polish poker since its early days. “I’m afraid what might happen even in the next two months.” “The Polish authorities that should be in charge have no clue. "But now we have new members of parliament that know nothing again. "I'm afraid what might happen even in the next two months." “The problem is that the people in charge have no clue about poker,” Horecki said. “We started getting to know the previous members of parliament and they started getting a better understanding of the game. He’s petitioned his case to a number of government employees, but the uphill battle seems to get steeper every year.
Polish poker card game free#
Horecki is part of Free Poker, an organization dedicated to help legalize poker in Poland.
The new government wants to capitalize on this and establish a closed market, state-run poker site and ban all other sites from the country.
Local reporters say that tens of thousands of Poles still play online poker. Other politicians dropped the hammer on casinos and saw no difference between gambling and poker. The online ban was more of a “ban.” Online poker is illegal, but the law isn’t enforced. Horecki says the ban was a knee-jerk reaction by the government after three politicians were caught plotting backdoor casino dealings in a cemetery. The previous government banned online poker in 2009 and imposed a 25 percent tax on live games, but Polish players say the law didn’t have teeth. He’s afraid the same might happen with poker in Poland. The Law and Justice Party in Poland won 51 percent of the seats in Polish parliament last October and now they have their eyes set on poker. Horecki had a shining moment of glory only to be shot back down. It was like I had an open-ended royal flush draw in the first few minutes.”īut then it bricked. Renato Sanches hit the equalizer in the 33rd minute and Portugal took it into penalties. “I bet Lewandowski to score first,” said Team PokerStars Pro Marcin Horecki. “And I bet Poland to win 3 to 1. Robert Lewandowski scored the second-quickest goal in UEFA EUro history and put Poland in the lead 100 seconds into the game. Things looked good for Poland initially though. Poland went on to tie against Germany and won their last group stage match against Ukraine. They kept the dream alive when they beat Switzerland in the round of 16, but it all came to an end in the quarterfinals. Arkadiusz scored against Northern Ireland in Poland’s first game and the Northern Irish couldn’t respond. They first qualified for the tournament in 2008 and didn’t get their first victory until earlier this month. They lost to Portugal in penalties, 5-3 It was the furthest Poland had ever made it in the UEFA Euro Championship. It was the last few minutes of the game and the teams were tied. When service was back up, Poland was out of the Euros.