Let’s look at the facts – Dublin hosts the Irish Poker Open, the oldest poker tournament in the world and the second-oldest behind the WSOP.


We deliberately avoided countries where government gambling monopolies strangle the game, as well as places where the rakes in cash games are exploitative to the player – instead, we looked to reward variety, value, enthusiasm and “action”. Dublin is packed to the brim with those.


“It’ll always be a close run thing between Dublin and London for top spot, but we just had to give it to the Irish again this year, simply because we’re always overwhelmed by the enthusiasm we encounter for the game whenever we visit,” said Philip Conneller, editor of Bluff Europe. “Dubliners are mad for it, and in Ireland poker seems so much more of a passion than elsewhere. Even the table banter is just – well – better.”


London was praised for enthusiasm and a wide variety of tournaments including pub-level poker. TAGS: Poker News, Dublin, Voted, European, Poker, Capital, 2009.