If you loved 'Casino Royale' and you dream of holidaying in Las Vegasu00a0headu00a0tou00a0theu00a0India Poker Open at Casino Carnivalu00a0in Goa

Starting today, the India Poker Open will witness nearly 150 poker enthusiasts from across the country converge in Goa, the only state where betting is legalised.u00a0u00a0The India Poker Open will offer the Pot Limit Omaha Freezeout, which is a big bet game where four cards are dealt with and the players have to use two cards to make five cards. Poker is a card game with rules are akin to betting; here the focus is on how the cards are dealt, the number of rounds allowed, bet size limits and whether the high or low hand wins the pot.


Canadian Jonathan Duhamel (L) and American John Racener (R)
play at the final table takeof the 2010 World Series of Poker Final
Table in Las Vegas, Nevada November 08, 2010. Duhamel and
Racener outlasted 7317 other players to vie for the USD 8.94
million winner's pot. PIC/AFP

"This event has been organised since poker is a massive craze across India, with at least 10,000 players," says Sumit Malik, Poker Room Manager, Casino Carnival. The organisers are the IPRT League who had organised the first few poker tournaments in 2008 and The Shark (India's first poker magazine).

The events will include a No Limit Hold 'em Rebuy (May 12) for which you pay Rs 5,000; a No Limit Hold 'em Freezeout (May 13) for which you pay Rs 10,000; No Limit Hold 'em Freezeout (May 14), priced at Rs 1,00,000 and a Pot Limit Omaha Freezeout (May 15), priced at Rs 15,000. There is complimentary entry to the casino carnival for registered players at the tournament.

On May 12 to 15; At Casino Carnival, Mandovi River, Goa; Call 9404909724 / 9404909710; Log on tou00a0www.theshark.in / www.iprt.in