Poker’s rising popularity has taken the game outside of the USA borders, and all the way to the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. New Zealand is a country that not a lot of people would expect to be a part of this list because of its size. However, NZ is perfect example of the soaring growth of this card game and its adoption as one of the classic games of our generation.
There are primarily two variants of poker that are popular in the country. The first is American Texas Hold’em and the second is Omaha. Both these games can be categorized as community poker games wherein certain cards are available to all the players on the table for creating winning hands. Moreover, players in New Zealand are also known to love the Hi Low variation of Omaha poker.
The presence and popularity of poker in New Zealand is not only at the amateur level but also on a professional level with the country boasting of no less than six separate major poker tournaments in a single year. Here are some small descriptions of these tournaments.
The Biggest NZ Poker Tournaments
- New Zealand Poker Championship: The New Zealand Poker Championship is held on an annual basis in the Christchurch Casino. The tournament is a 13 day event that has groupings for three types of the game i.e. the No Limit Texas Hold ‘em, the Limit Texas Hold ‘em and Omaha Hi Low poker. It is also worth mentioning that the tournament has separate competitions for women, basic Omaha poker and a Peter Peko Memorial New Zealand Rotational Championship.
- New Zealand Poker Open: The New Zealand Poker Open is one of the newer entrants into the poker circuit of the country as it was only established a few years ago. The New Zealand Poker Open boasts of seven separate sub events and is gradually achieving recognition not only in Oceanic nations but also the whole of the southern hemisphere. The tournament is held every June for seven days at the crown jewel of New Zealand i.e. the SkyCity Casino in Auckland.
- Asia Pacific Poker Tour: The Asia Pacific Poker Tour, as the name suggests, is for the Asian and Pacific countries. The Tour is held at multiple locations on a day by day basis for five days. Needless to say, New Zealand is a part of the circuit that the Asia Pacific Poker Tour follows.
- Australia New Zealand Poker Tour: The Australia New Zealand Poker Tour is one of the largest and most popular poker tournaments in the region. This tournament is not only big in terms of its reputation but also manages to pull in world class poker players on a regular basis. Moreover, the Australia New Zealand Poker Tour also sees a lot of visitors and viewers simply because of the big names in poker that it manages to showcase on a regular basis.
- The Festival of Poker: The Festival of Poker is, indeed, like a festival for the game as it runs for over a week at SkyCity on an annual basis. The Festival of Poker, like the Australia New Zealand Poker Tour, is an extremely well respected and well regarded tournament that also draws in famous poker stars. Moreover, the festival that is held every October has also been known to be a tournament that offers one of the largest amounts of prize money on a global level to the winners.
As can be seen from the list of poker tournaments mentioned above, the nation of New Zealand needs to be considered one of the hubs for the game of poker.
Furthermore, in addition to these mega poker events that are held on an annual basis, the country of New Zealand also hosts numerous smaller local or regional poker tournaments that last for a few hours or a single day. In fact, there are numerous national poker clubs where poker players can register for free. Registration with any of the major poker clubs found within the nation means access to the list of local poker joints where competitions and tournaments are held on a weekly or even daily basis.
Some of these small pub poker tournaments also contain tickets to bigger tournaments, which means that an amateur player on a hot streak can easily reach the major events through these smaller local pub poker tournaments. The most notable aspect about these clubs is that they invite anyone and everyone to join in and compete because their registration processes are completely free of cost.
The Best Poker Players From New Zealand
While the amateur scene is good in New Zealand, the country has also been able to provide a few great poker players for the global professional circuits. The legends of poker hailing from New Zealand include Lee Nelson, Graeme Putt and Soren Eriksen.
Lee Nelson is one of the most famous names of the whole poker circuit. He has great pedigree in the game as he began playing real money poker at the tender age of five. Nelson, a full-fledged doctor, turned professional in the poker circuit in the latter years of his life and has since racked up numerous wins and even more fans. Lee Nelson has the self explanatory nickname of ‘final table’.
Graeme Putt has a fitting nickname of ‘Kiwi’ as he is a true representative of the country of New Zealand. A professional poker player since 1997, Putt has recorded major wins inside and outside the Australasian poker circuit. Putt has won tournaments in other nations such as Canada and Macau in addition to the Caribbean and the European regions.
Soren Eriksen, although a Dane by origin, has recently shifted base from Europe to New Zealand. Since his arrival, Eriksen has been clocking wins left, right and centre with some big name scalps thrown in such as David Borg and Cole Swannack.
New Zealand, although a small nation by size and population, boasts of six separate large scale casinos where a poker player can play. These six casinos span five cities of the country with Queenstown boasting of two. Here is a list.
The Best Land Based Casinos in New Zealand
- SkyCity, Auckland and Hamilton: The SkyCity in Auckland is, debatably, the largest, the most famous and the most lavish casino in the country. The place is often also referred to as the Mecca for poker players of the southern hemisphere and many stars can be spotted here, if one is regular and lucky. The SkyCity casino in Auckland offers a wide variety of games to the amateur players ranging from no limit Texas Hold ‘em to low stake Texas Hold ‘em. Additionally, as mentioned above, this casino also holds some globally significant poker events such as the Festival of Poker and the New Zealand Poker Open.
- Dunedin Casino, Dunedin: The Dunedin Casino, as is obvious, is a casino located in the city of Dunedin. Considered by many to be the staple attraction of the city that has hosted big personalities such as English royalty and prime ministers of various countries, the casino hosts regular weekly and monthly tournaments for amateur poker players.
- The Sky Alpine Queenstown Casino and the Wharf Casino, Queenstown: Queenstown boasts of two of the six major casinos in New Zealand i.e. the Sky Alpine Queenstown Casino and the Wharf Casino. Both are well known state of the art casinos that have regular but small tournaments for amateur poker players.
- Christchurch Casino: Christchurch Casino is located in Christchurch and was mentioned earlier, as it hosts the well known New Zealand Poker Championship. A globally known casino, it is known to draw a lot of people not only for its poker games but also with regards other aspects of its hospitality.
These six major casinos form the backbone of the New Zealand poker circuit as most major tournaments are held at one or another item of this list. In addition to these, New Zealand also has a wide range of online casinos which see a lot of visitors because of the popularity of the game in the country. As can be seen from the small bio of the poker circuit of New Zealand above, the country is well in the throes of the addictive game that is poker.
The country is currently at a very important juncture with regard to its poker future because of a recent lawsuit verdict. The verdict of the lawsuit basically said that poker does not have to be seen as a form of gambling. The lawsuit’s verdict has made significant splashes on a global scale with many poker players keeping an eye on how the appeal against the verdict progresses. While the lawsuit mainly related to the advertising aspect of poker in specific and gambling in general, it still stands to have a major say in the way the poker companies, online and offline, conduct themselves in the media and public.