Poker the big thrill in Germany

Deutsche Welle reports that the upcoming WPT European Poker Tour leg scheduled for Dortmund, Germany in March is just the latest manifestation of the fascination poker has for Germans.

In an article that claims the game has become "hip and popular" in the country, the publication reports that poker clubs are springing up like mushrooms, and poker tournaments take place in practically every urban area on a weekly basis.

Explaining the phenomenon, television poker commentator Michael Körner said poker's fascination is due to three elements of the game.

"It's about money, suspense and player types, which people can relate to," Körner said. "You have the poker lout, the nice guy, the parvenu or the young wild one."

Figures by the German Poker Players Association show there are some 260 000 active poker players in Germany - 90 percent of whom are male.

Sandra Dellenbusch from Rhinepoker in Hilden said her poker school offered seminars for an average of 200 players every week.

"A lot of them are young people, who are also interested in strategic computer games or chess," Dellenbusch said.

Poker's popularity is also due to this transformation into a spectator sport, said Jo Mainz, head of the poker division at Casino Hohensyburg.

"We have really experienced a tsunami of poker here since it started showing on television," Mainz said.

Among other shows, German comedian Stefan Raab is hosting five poker tournaments in his popular late night show "TV Total" this year. And DSF plans to broadcast 800 hours of poker by the end of 2008. It reaches an average of 200 000 viewers with each tournament.

According to Körner, poker on television is all the more fascinating, as cameras give viewers a head start in terms of information. "The viewer becomes omniscient and this lets him get very close to the game," he said.