While poker continues to grow as an international game, the U.S. has primarily been the dominant country in terms of talented poker players. Throughout poker's history, players from the U.S. have acquired the most bracelets, championships and total WSOP cashes.
Over the past few years poker has reached new levels in terms of becoming an international affair. During the 2008 World Series of Poker, over 118 countries were represented through the 55 events on U.S. soil, with an astounding 72 countries represented during the main event. Some might attribute the international growth to players who came from abroad and put themselves in the spotlight; Joseph Hachem fits that category perfectly. When Hachem won in 2005, he ignited a poker boom in Australia, raising the profile of the sport in his county and encouraging more poker action, whether live or online.
Ivan Demidov's performance during 2008 has brought about talk that Russians are ready to take over the poker world, but what other countries can step up as well? We asked a panel of players to find out if their home countries fit the bill, and obviously, each felt that their own country would come out on top.
Isabelle Mercier (Canada): Most of the Canadians I know have been playing poker with their family since they are very young, essentially giving them a jump on older players. In Canada, online poker is a popular activity because the cold weather makes us spend most of the winter inside. In my opinion, the young Canadian online players are some of the best out there, and hopefully will make a large impact in major tournaments soon.
Humberto Brenes (Latin America): Latin America is in a middle of a boom that is increasing the exposure of poker and giving Latin America some of the best up-and-coming players. A majority of Latin American players are the student population, and personally, I think an educated player will be better at poker than those lacking education. Being able to understand math and psychology involved with poker is really important. Almost all the new players are ones that are at college, so they have a better understanding of the theory of the game. Initiatives like the LAPT [Latin American Poker Tour] have also helped increase the popularity of the game and players' skills. The region is full of young and aggressive players, ready to show their skills to the world.
Dario Minieri (Italy): Italy is a country of gamblers. It's in our blood. Ever since no-limit Texas hold 'em came over from the States, new players are popping up all over the place. Our players are young, disciplined and aggressive. Just look at how well the Italians did at this year's WSOP! It's hard for me to say we are the best, but we are for sure the best up-and-coming players. Online poker just became legal, and within the first year of online poker being legalized, 500,000 accounts have been opened throughout the Italian poker industry -- creating an estimated €400 million market.
William Thorson (Sweden): Sweden has some really good Internet players. All of our players are students of the game and want to learn, improve, and are willing to put in the time needed to do so. In Sweden, most of our players start playing at a very young age, about school time (similar to freshman year in high school for the U.S.). But our players are smart about it. They know that they have to learn and move up, so they start to practice the basics and move up step by step. It's a game that combines skill, competition, dedication and a fighting spirit. The goal for most of us is to be the best -- not just make a lot of money -- and that's why we have the best players.
Victoria Coren (United Kingdom): The English have always been the most natural poker players. We are famously reserved with a stiff upper lip and hide all our feelings. Thus we are terrible lovers but brilliant poker players. We have a natural affinity for the game of secrecy and disguise. Londoners are especially drawn to poker, being prickly and suspicious by nature. We're always looking for the bluff, on the table or off it. As the growth of online poker continues, we are improving our strategies and grasping all the necessary skills. For the next few years I say that England will be the one to watch.
Joe Hachem (Australia):
Online poker in Australia has gone through the roof with thousands of people playing online every day. Our young up-and-coming players are some of the best talent in the world. There are many young Australian players coming through right now that are absolutely tearing through the tournaments on PokerStars. The most prominent that comes to mind is Andy McLeod, a shy young chess master who has won just about all there is to win. Our players are technically brilliant and absolutely fearless in their approach to tournament poker. Australians are generally very competitive, and so they have taken on the sport of poker with the same passion and determination that our best athletes show in other sports such as swimming and cycling. Personally, I look forward to seeing many more Australians on the leaderboards of online tournaments.
Ivan Demidov (Russia): Russia has the hottest up-and-coming online poker players in the world. More and more people are starting to play online, and new poker clubs are opening all the time. Russian online players started to show their dominance when poker was finally broadcast on TV. Nikolay Evdakov broke the record for most cases in the WSOP and some guy named Ivan made two WSOP main event final tables. I expect to see even more to develop in our country in terms of poker, especially after we have proven our game.