Pulse of Poker: Down Under

By Aaron Angerman

It´s hard to believe that it´s been more than three and a half years since Joe Hachem and "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie! Oi, Oi, Oi!" were each introduced to the poker world. The unknown tournament veteran from Melbourne earned a place in history after outlasting 5,618 others to claim the 2005 WSOP Main Event title and $7.5 million, earning superstar status in the process. He may have also triggered a poker avalanche Down Under through the help of the age-old Aussie war cry.

It´s hard to believe that a simple chant could spark a poker revolution, but it seems as if Hachem´s "Aussie!" chant did exactly that in his homeland. Long used as a cheer at Australian sporting events, Hachem rendition of "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie! Oi, Oi, Oi!" helped shine a positive light on poker to any doubters Down Under. For years, Australians struggled to find poker socially acceptable. Most times, the game was downright hard to find.

When Hachem left the Outback to make history, players had just one option; about a dozen and a half tables to choose from at the Crown Casino. When the Crown introduced the Aussie Millions nearly a decade ago, only four tables showed up to pay the $5,000 buy-in. Poker was put so far on the back burner that travelers had no reason to travel to the bottom of the Earth to play a game with little to no local support.

Skip ahead to 2009. Thanks to a WPT Five-Diamond win in 2006 and a plethora of cashes since, Hachem sits behind only Jamie Gold and Daniel Negreanu in the career tournament earnings list. Impressive turnouts at Asian Pacific Poker Tour stops in or around Australia and New Zealand have triggered PokerStars to give Down Under players their own tournament vehicle, the Australia New Zealand Poker Tour (ANZPT). The Crown Casino is now 60 tables strong and just one of about ten places to play live poker in Australia. And the once feeble Aussie Millions has grown to a 15 tourney series. Its Championship event has become so popular that the Crown was able to guarantee $2 million to this year´s winner. While many were looking outside of the U.S. or Europe to find the next poker hotbed, it seems that maybe those living on the world´s smallest continent have already staked their claim.

In a recent interview with CardPlayer´s Ryan Lucchessi, Hachem likened his effect on Australian poker to the effect Chris Moneymaker in 2003. "Just explosion, not even growth," said Hachem. "Just absolute explosion; we´re kind of where the U.S. was two years ago. It´s amazing every time I come back, it´s great."

While the poker boom may be a few years behind Down Under, their legal views on poker may be decades beyond the U.S. They at least see it as a game of skill.

In the fall of 2008, courts in South Australia saw the case of Police v Jones, Police v Ravesi. This case came to be after police had raided the 3rd South Australia Poker Championships (SAPC) in June of 2005, an event organized by the Australian Poker Association (APA). When the cops showed up on Wednesday the 8th, APA members were playing a freeroll with $20 rebuys and one $60 add on. Up for grabs was a seat in the SAPC Main Event, valued at $1,100. Here are the findings, according to a report by Addison´s Commercial Lawyers.

According to Section 51 of the South Australian Lotteries and Gaming Act:

"Any person who in any public place at or with any table or instrument of gaming, or any coin, card, token, or other article used as an instrument or means of wagering or gaming:

(a) plays at any game or pretended game of chance;

(b) bets by way of wagering or gaming on any game of pretended game of chance, shall be guilty of an offence."

In the end, poker experts wowed the pants of ‘em and ultimately convinced the right people that poker is not just a game of chance. Instead, they found that over time, skill would separate the winners and losers. Duh. So bring on the poker.

Want to play online? Play any of the top sites you want. You´re not getting taxed or hassled here. While you´re on there, qualify for any of the quality live events the Outback has to offer. Start with the Southern Hemisphere´s biggest event, the Aussie Millions.

The Aussie Millions has grown from its humble beginnings as the frumpy "Crown Australian Poker Championship" in the late 90´s to one of the most anticipated poker events on the calendar. Within a few years, the event saw its buy-in balloon from $1,000 to $5,000 AUD, but they were lucky to fill even a dozen tables. By 2005, there was a $10,000 price tag and the world took notice. A total of 263 players showed up that year. When superstar Gus Hansen became the event´s most recognizable champion in 2007, the Dane outshined a field 747 strong to take the largest part of the nearly $7.5 million prize pool, a cool $1.5 million. Moscow´s Alexander Kostritsyn would take home $1.65 million the following year as champ.

The 2009 Aussie Millions wrapped just three weeks ago. The 18 event series was highlighted by the Main Event. There was $2 million guaranteed to the winner by the Crown Casino, and Australian Stewart Scott was able to keep that money at home after outlasting 680 others. If you were able to catch any of the undercard events, they were great as well. In addition to former Aussie David Steicke taking down the insanely priced $100K Challenge, local poker legends Mel Judah and 2006 Aussie Millions champ Lee "Final Table" Nelson were each able to score wins. For nosebleed ring game junkies, Tom "durrr" Dwan, Patrik Antonius, Phil Laak, Chris Ferguson and a few others gave railbirds something to cheer about in the $1 Million Cash Game.

Last year´s Aussie Millions Championship saw 780 players show up, 99 more than this year. But before jumping all over the drop in attendance, consider this. Over the last three years, the Aussie Main Event has averaged 736 entries per. Outside of the WSOP, the only events other than the Aussie Millions to consistently top the 700 player mark are the monstrosity that is the EPT PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, and the EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo. Respect.

PokerStars took notice. When they fired up their Asian Pacific Poker Tour in 2007, Sydney played host to the Grand Final. It was a hit. The following season, the final was back in Sydney, plus an Auckland, NZ, stop was on the schedule. More than 1,300 entries between the three stops must have impressed somebody. Cue the Australia New Zealand Poker Tour (ANZPT).

As of Feb. 7th, the first-ever ANZPT event is in the books. Melbourne´s Karl Krautshneider bested the field 205 strong at the SkyCity Adelaide to claim the $170,215 AUD prize. At least two more events are on the Season I schedule; one to hit Sydney´s Star City Casino at the end of April, and one for the Kiwis in July, at the SkyCity Queenstown in New Zealand. According to www.anzpt.com, they are leaving the option open to add more events.

But just 205 entries? Should PokerStars be worried about the turnout?

Apparently, they were capped at 240 players anyways. And while the Sydney event has a 50 table capacity, the event in Adelaide can only accommodate 150 entries. They´re obviously not expecting miracles, so seeing 20 of the 24 tables filled up at a time when most non-locals are experiencing the dead of winter seems very respectable. Of the 205 Adelaide entries, just 14 didn´t hail from Australia or New Zealand.

Looking at the numbers, the APPT saw 561 players show up for the Season 1 Grand Final in Sydney. In Season II, the newly added New Zealand stop in Auckland saw 305 entries, while 477 played in the second Grand Final. The market is definitely there. Although, it does raise the question as to what PokerStars plans to do with the Season III APPT schedule, which hasn´t been announced.

Will they continue to hold events Down Under, running the risk of flooding the tournament market? Will they swap out AU/NZ stops for other Asian stops, or eliminate them altogether, leaving the Outback for the ANZPT? It seems like a simple adoption of the APPT´s Auckland event and maybe even the additional Sydney event would make for a nice five-stop ANZPT season. It could also utilize an added perk of the ANZPT, the Overall Champion race.

PokerStars has ponied up an extra $85,000 AUD worth of prize to the top three finishers in the race to be the ANZPT Season I Overall Champion. To the winner, a sponsorship into each main event on the APPT Season IV schedule (worth $50K AUD). Runner-up will get seats in each stop on the ANZPT on the next go around ($25K AUD). Third-place on the leaderboard is worth $10K AUD in assorted PokerStars events. A fairly clever marketing idea to keep ANZPT cashers coming back for more. Something I wouldn´t be surprised to see Stars implement on their other tours in the future.

Just entering an ANZPT event gets you 10 pts. Krautshneider is out in front with 70 pts, thanks to his win. Tournament pro Tony "Bond18" Dunst is right on his heels with 64 pts. Two-time bracelet winner Mel Judah finished 16th, but still bagged 40 pts. Each of the 22 who cashed at Adelaide earned 35 pts, or more, so you have to figure this points race is going to assure strong turnouts at each of the ANZPT´s remaining stops.

Aussie and American fans alike still crowd the rail to partake in the famous chant anytime the former champ Joe Hachem takes down a pot. I also think there is some sort of law which forces all Aussie players to use "pass the sugah!" anytime the cards fall their way in any game. We have Hachem to thank for both of those things. Australia has Hachem to thank for becoming a celebrated poker destination. That and the fact that many desperate online pros are dying for the chance to swap their Winter weather for a Summer vacation in January.

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Aaron Angerman is Content Manager for PokerPages.com. Raised in small town Alaska, the self proclaimed 'sports fanatic' had dreams of being a sports writer. After moving to Las Vegas in 2000, he rekindled a childhood love for poker. Grinding it out in card rooms and on the virtual felt helped Aaron to fund his schooling, eventually earning him a journalism degree from UNLV. After a couple short stints in tournament reporting, Aaron realized the poker world was the place for him.