Germany wins inaugural IFP Nations Cup poker tournament

The International Federation of Poker (IFP) has been fighting to legitimize the game of poker for a few years now, and this past week they had center stage as they hosted the first ever Nations Cup -a poker tournament pitting teams from around the world against one another in a poker format called Duplicate Poker.

If you don’t know what Duplicate Poker is, here is the simple version: Basically players from each team are dealt the same hands over the course of the event and points are awarded based on how well they play the hand. According to the IFP, “Duplicate Poker is intended to reduce random chance and allow skill to flourish”

After the points were tallied, it was Team Germany who would walk away with the inaugural Nations Cup Trophy, with Brazil and France finishing in second and third place respectively, followed by the surprise of the tournament Team Zynga finishing in fourth place.

Germany finished the event with 24 points, compared to France’s and Brazil’s 22 points (with Brazil taking 2^nd place on account of ending with a larger chip-stack than France). Team Germany was captained by Stephan Kalhammer and included a solid roster of professional poker players: Sebastian Ruthenberg, Moritz Kranich and Tobias Reinkemeier, Sandra Naujoks, Konstantin Buecherl, Hans Martin Vogl and Tim Reese.

With the Nations Cup coming to a close the action hasn’t finished in London, England, as the IFP now gets set to host their $500,000 freeroll tournament. 130 of the top poker players in the world, along with a few celebrities, will be participating in the event which will crown the first ever Official World Champion of Poker according to the IFP.

About the IFP:

Since its creation in Lausanne, Switzerland, in April of 2009, the International Federation of Poker (IFP) has grown in scope and stature to become poker’s official governing body.

Having evolved from its original seven member nations to more than 40 federations from five different continents, the IFP is now the hub for a thriving world poker community.

Beyond its role in organizing major international tournaments, the IFP will compile international rankings with separate national classifications and present players from around the world with the chance to “Outskill the World,” and compete at The Table in 2012.

While the size and scope of the IFP keeps expanding, the goal remains the same: to promote poker and it’s duplicate variation as a mind sport, without any discrimination as to race, sex, creed, or disability; and to reinforce the element of skill involved, as well as the talent and determination required to succeed.