A culture clash as the poker world descends on Monte Carlo for the European Poker Tour Grand Final
I never knew how poor I was until I had a little money,’ says Charlie Sheen’s character Bud Fox in seminal 80s film Wall Street. Well I didn’t know how poor I was until I visited Monte Carlo last month.
Apparently you have to ‘prove your wealth’ to live there. But that’s a totally unnecessary restriction – simply let people see how long they can afford to sustain their basic life functions; the average visitor will max out their credit in a day or two. We are, after all, talking about a town where a beer can cost up to €25, a banana €7 and a 400 sq ft apartment somewhere around the €3m mark.
For just a few days each year this sanctuary of the rich and richer is invaded by a poker circus for the EPT Grand Final. The poker circuit has always been a totally portable self-contained world that descends on a venue and makes almost no concession to its existing conventions. I was reminded of this on arriving at the casino when I found the usual Monte Carlo dress code of 100 percent hand-washed elegance replaced by hoodies and tracksuit bottoms.
Given my total inability to pack suitably for any trip, I had of course brought only my Sunday best. In a desperate attempt to recover I went with the formal attire and tried to pass myself off as a millionaire French count who enjoys poker as an interesting diversion. It went badly.
Most of the players seemed oblivious to this clash of cultures – but when you’re busy betting thousands of euros on heads-up Wii bowling matches it’s hard to notice anything else. It was obviously too much for some though, as a well-known pro ended up settling a bet one night with a quick spot of topless (Michael) Greco- Roman wrestling. Luckily it was just topless – the sight of his money-maker would surely have killed poker forever…
But even the casual attire (and man boobs) of the poker players couldn’t dim the setting – the poker room at the Monte Carlo Bay Hotel and Resort is a bit special. I know when you play you’re supposed to be zoned in, not missing a twitch from your opponents, but I spent most of my time gazing at the floorto- ceiling windows.
Child’s play
Among all the glamour was a final table largely populated by adolescent children who had somehow got themselves into position to play for a few million euros. I say children, they’re all of age – but you know you’re getting old when you could feasibly be the father of anyone at the final table. And the incredible thing is how well they know the game. The top online players like Isaac Baron (who finished fourth for just under $1m), have played hundreds of thousands of hands and have an understanding of the game far deeper than many of the established names.
The final table line-up here wasn’t chance – online superstars will be dominating the big live events for years to come.
If you have any doubt about the quality of their play check out the following hand where eventual tournament winner Glen Chorny trapped the aforementioned Baron with Aces. He disguised the hand by smooth-calling preflop, then took the unusual line of leading out into the pre-flop raiser on the flop.
As Isaac considered his decisions, Chorny called for a clock, which is pretty close to shooting an angle – you gotta love it. Isaac took the bait, shoved all-in with his overcards and Glen called immediately, springing his trap to perfection.
The kids can play to be sure – now who said poker isn’t a responsible career choice? So where was I in all of this mayhem? Well, I had a ringside view of some of the best action as I commentated on the final table for the Pokerstars EPT Live website. If you haven’t encountered it yet it’s a joy, as the hole cards aren’t revealed to the audience or the analysts.
For those of you that haven’t read my recent semi-rants on the state of modern poker you can imagine how much I loved this. The mainstream viewer may need to see the cards to find the game interesting but once you know something about the game it’s so much more exciting and dramatic when you’re kept guessing.
Time to go
I joined a few poker stragglers checking out of my hotel on the final morning and I swear I saw a couple of Monte Carlo residents pushing up the sleeves of their Gucci suits and checking their Cartier watches to see if our time had expired. And as my far too short trip to Monte Carlo ended I was left with several questions…
If any of the poker players had stayed on beyond the end of the tournament would they have politely but firmly been told to ‘leave now’? What’s the French for ‘would you like to see my massive yacht’? Will mentioning Gucci and Cartier in the column get me a boat-load of their products gratis? And what… what the hell is a principality?
You can read more awesome articles like this in Poker Player magazine every month (and it’s now free here)
