The IFP Nations Cup is now just days away making it high time we started looking through the teams to ask ourselves we think is going to win.

While you can answer for yourself on the IFP Facebook page today, we’ve decided to start by making it a matter of money. Just which team has earned the most collectively, ahead of their date with duplicate poker history.It’s hardly a great surprise to find that the Americans have won the most. Team USA has won a staggering $22,270,120, with $7.5 million of that earned by team captain Barry Greenstein (who has even given away a large chunk of it to children’s charities). Antonio Esfandiari’s $4.5 million isn’t bad; neither is Vanessa Selbst’s $4.4 million. With that kind of firepower don’t be too surprised to see Team USA triumphant on Friday night.Behind the red, white and blue it’s another team of red, white and blue. The home nation Team UK are second in winnings, with $17,514,378 in the books and Sam Trickett their highest earner with more than $5 million in tournament earnings. Denmark is not far behind with $16,335,969, more than half of that courtesy of Gus Hansen.

Following them are France ($15,115,300), Ireland (13,828,859, Germany (11,174,664), Australia ($10,643,731), Holland (9,598,002), Brazil ($6,087,477), Spain ($5,183,061) and then Japan ($178,468). Find details of all of their players on the IFP Facebook page.
But is money the best indicator? And what about the twelfth Nations Cup team?

Well, that would be Team Zynga.

As the first Digital Federation, Team Zynga have the least in terms of live tournaments winnings, with their amateur line-up yet to score big wins on the world poker arena. But while that may not make them one of the favourites, they have between them some $62,837,742 in Zynga poker chips.

It’s also worth remembering that the students of Imperial College won two of the three duplicate poker trials, beating various professional players in the process.

Only a fool would write off Team Zynga, and what they lack in loot they make up for in team spirit, if the comment function of Facebook is anything to go by.

We’ll find out soon enough when the Nations Cup begins on Thursday.