Smoking Aces – The Dramatic Rise of Poker in Asia

A game that has enthralled the West for years is beginning to make waves in the East. There’s no denying or stopping poker’s growing popularity and it is only a matter of time before the game reaches its status as a global game played by everyone from all corners of the world.

 

10 years ago, Poker in Asia was a virtually unknown commodity and you could not pick out a poker player from a crowd. Today, you would be hard pressed to find someone who does not play the game, or at the very least, does not know how it works.

 

While it was popular across America, specifically in California, and some parts of Europe, poker remained in the dark among Asian countries. For a long time, land based companies have expressed interest in pursuing the Asian market but have been largely unsuccessful in part because most of these countries, with the exception of Macau, banned any form of gambling. As a result, poker remained a Western game, completely detached from the East.

 

10 years later and it is a different story altogether.

 

It is no secret that poker's popularity experienced an unprecedented surge with the introduction of online poker. Not only that but broadcasts of the World Series of Poker and the World Poker Tour introduced the game to millions of casual viewers.

 

But most importantly, poker’s introduction to Asia happened because the countries slowly began to open its collective arms to land based and on line gambling.

 

The allure of Asia as a poker crazy region comes as no surprise considering almost half of the world’s population can be found there. China and India alone comprise almost 2.5 billion people when combined and that is not even counting Indonesia, Japan, and the Philippines, densely populated countries in their own right.  With all these people starting to get familiarized with the game and the attraction that comes with it, it was only a matter of time before poker games and poker tournaments exploded in the region.

 

And now, to say that Texas Holdem, unquestionably the most popular type of poker, is being played everywhere is a vast understatement. Poker rooms are sprouting like full blown seeds all over Asia. Macau, a baccarat dominated country, is slowly beginning to experience the thrill that is poker. In recent years, it has hosted numerous poker tournaments including the Asian Poker Tour Macau 2008. Incidentally, the APT now has its very own poker room at the Galaxy StarWorld Hotel and Casino.

 

Even in the Philippines, poker is growing faster than you can say, “All In!” The country has hosted its fair share of tournaments not the least of which is the Asian Poker Tour. As a matter of fact, the success of last year’s APT tournament, which drew well over 316 poker players from all over the world, has resulted in the APT holding another tournament to kick off its 2009 season. The Asian Poker Tour Philippines 2009 held its first stop last January 27 to February 1, 2009 at the Dusit Thani Manila Hotel and as expected, some of the best poker players from around the world participated in the event.

The Asian Poker Tour Macau is next and will be transformed into a record breaking 12 day extravaganza creating Asia’s first festival of poker. The Asian Poker Tour Macau Festival will run from August 12 to 23, 2009 at the Galaxy StarWorld Hotel and Casino in Macau. This is bigger and better with 12 days nonstop poker action. The poker festival will feature the largest range of side events ever seen in Asia, guaranteed to make the poker fest even more exciting and appealing to players at all levels.

 

Asian poker players have also become instrumental in the propagation of poker in Asia. Some of the best poker players in the world, including Johnny Chan, Men “The Master” Nguyen, JC Tran, Nam Le, Steve Sung, Quinn Do, David Rheem and Kwang Soo Lee all trace their roots in Asia and their impact in the world poker scene hasn’t gone unnoticed.

 

With the dramatic rise of poker in Asia, it only seems inevitable that more and more of the future top players of poker will come from the region. It is a testament to a game that only ten years ago was not even an afterthought. From the darkness of obscurity, poker has risen to become one of the most popular games in Asia.

 

With the way things are going, it is a safe bet that poker is far from reaching its peak popularity and that’s good news, not only for Asia, but for the entire world.

 

 

About the author:

Asian Poker Tour is the original and the biggest poker tour in Asia. Its growing popularity as a highly respected poker tour is a testament to its goal of bringing world-class poker experience in Asia. As a result, the Asian Poker Tour continues to be highly anticipated by poker players and enthusiasts in Asia and all over the world. Visit www.asianpt.com for more information.