Larger than life and greater than mountains

In perhaps the ‘hand of the tournament’ we see how very differently teams play exactly the same cards. Garth Kay of Australia (here winning one of the biggest single pots of the event with his pocket rockets in seat 4) probably wasn’t too thrilled about having multiple opponents see a flop. However, when the flush draws and straight draws all miss, it is exactly what he wanted. India and Israel laying down their AA in this hand cost them dear, as did Mongolia getting in all-in in no less than four of the six positions around the table. Japan was all-in in five spots, winning two. China pulled off yet another miracle, winning both their all-ins in seats 4 and 6, and Singapore’s cautious strategy came good once again also, playing only the aces.

Hand_No216

The final hand

Despite the all-in strategy not working well for last-placed teams Japan and Mongolia, the final hand saw fireworks from these two teams once again, and with mixed results. Each got it all-in in four spots, Japan only winning once, and Mongolia an incredible three times. Elsewhere Singapore and Israel’s flopped flush held up, both managing to get their seat 5 opponents to fold before the river. And so came to an end an incredible tournament in which China demonstrated both its fine qualities as host nation and superb poker ability as a team. The event was the most sporting poker competition this author has witnessed, played not for money but for true national pride. Congratulations to everybody that took part and see you at the Finals!

Hand_No240

The Montenegrin Poker Association was formed on 5th August 2013 and officially became a member of the International Federation of Poker (IFP) on 4th September 2013.

The IFP promotes poker and its Match Poker variation as a game of skill and as a mind sport. Having evolved from its original seven member nations to more than 50 federations, the IFP is now the hub for a thriving global poker community.

President of the Montenegrin Poker Association is Zoran Ivanovic. Mr Ivanovic said, “For us poker is nothing but sport. Not just playing but competing, not gambling but to be better than others. We will put all our efforts to make the sport of poker number one in Montenegro.”

CEO of the Montenegrin Poker Association is Aleksandar Sekulovic, born on 23rd of February 1979. He is General Secretary of the Montenegrin Tennis Association. Mr Sekulovic said, “Poker in Montenegro has great history. We want to be able to give our players the opportunity to showcase their talent and skills at international events. We also want to host and organise the largest poker competitions in Montenegro.”

Manager of the Montenegrin Poker Association is Slobodan Nikic. He is the organiser of the largest sport event in Montenegro and Balkan. He is also a manager of WAKO PRO (World Kick Boxing Federation) for Montenegro and manager of Professional Boxing Federation of Montenegro.

The Montenegrin Poker Association can be found online at:

www.pokermne.com

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