POKER
INSIDER INTERVIEW
An Interview with Pinhas Romik (Part 2) by Nolan Dalla
The CEO of DuplicatePoker.com discusses how a former international bridge champion
and co-architect of the "Star Wars" strategic defense initiative ended
up in the poker business
Note: This is the second of a two-part series.
Pinhas Romik (pronounced pin-has rom-ick) has taken many twists and
turns in his 61 years. Born in the former USSR, Romik immigrated to Israel in
1967. Always passionate about games of intellect, he became a Bridge Master
and went on to finish as runner-up in the European Bridge Championships, twice.
He also finished third in the World Championship. Later, Romik abandoned international
bridge competition altogether, choosing instead to advance his career in electronics
and telecommunications. The pursuit of greater knowledge would last two decades.
During the 1980's, Romik and a few of his associates were privileged to work
on the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), better known as "Star Wars,"
a program championed by the Reagan Administration. Romik proposed and managed
development of a system that contributed to the defense of Israel from Ballistic
Missiles. In 1992, Romik founded a Wireless LAN high-tech company, which was
sold to a giant in 1999. Now able to retire, Romik showed absolutely no signs
of slowing down. He was inspired to resurrect his earlier experiences as a Bridge
Master. He founded (and later sold) e-bridge, the world's largest online bridge
tournaments game site. He also succeeded as a player in a few major bridge championships
held in the US and Europe. Then a few years later, when poker exploded in popularity,
Romik saw that the world was about to change again. He had yet another vision
- to create a new skill-based game which would combine the concepts of Duplicate
Bridge and apply them to poker, specifically flop games such as Hold'em and
Omaha. And so, the new game site called DuplicatePoker.com was born.
DALLA:
You have mastered bridge -- both as a player and as an entrepreneur. Now,
you've come up with a new way to play and think about poker. Tell us about the
transition.
ROMIK: Before 2004, I really did not know much about poker. Then, I was
told about a great book (written by Jim McManus) called "Positively Fifth
Street." I read it and immediately came to realize that poker is a very
interesting game. I was fascinated by it. In many ways, it was the discovery
of a whole new world. I felt like Columbus, because this brand new world did
not exist for me prior to reading that book. I guess you could say that "Positively
Fifth Street" was akin to reading Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Lost
World."
DALLA: I'm sure Jim McManus will appreciate the comparison. So, how
did reading his book lead to what later became known as Duplicate Poker?
ROMIK: I started to think to myself, how can I take what I have learned
and enjoyed about bridge and apply it to poker? I believed the primary attraction
would be to try and increase the level of skill in poker, and diminish the luck
factor to the greatest extent possible. That way, making poker into even more
of a skill game would attract new players, and would even interest people who
are not poker players already. Of course, poker was exploding in popularity
during this time just as we were developing the game. When I sought out business
partners to invest in this new venture, there were many people who were interested.
I am proud to say we now have an excellent group of investors, most of whom
have backgrounds in bridge and various games, and they have given Duplicate
Poker their full support.
DALLA: There are different forms of poker - including flop games, stud,
draw, and so forth, but Duplicate Poker is only played in the form of hold'em.
Why?
ROMIK: We can actually use both hold'em and Omaha in Duplicate Poker. This
is because all of the hole cards and flop cards can be duplicated (by each player
at every table). However, in stud and draw games the distribution of cards cannot
be duplicated. This is because some players fold and make different decisions
that will affect the others involved in the game. Using a hold'em or Omaha format
essentially allows us to deal the exact same cards to each player and then measure
the skills of all players against the opponents.
DALLA: The passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act
(UIGEA) in September 2006 certainly changed the American poker landscape. Did
you foresee the crackdown on Internet poker coming when you launched DuplicatePoker.com?
ROMIK: No. I did not foresee legal changes taking place inside the United
States. The new law that was passed did not really affect in any way how we
went about developing, testing and later launching the game. The UIGEA certainly
did not affect my enthusiasm for developing a new way to play and think about
poker.
DALLA: Do you expect Duplicate Poker to be played both in the United
States, and internationally?
ROMIK: Not initially. Right now, we are introducing the game mostly to Americans.
This is largely because the simple fact is - more Americans are already familiar
with poker and are more likely to understand the basic argument we are making
about increasing the level of skill in poker. Later, as we grow I expect that
we will market and promote Duplicate Poker to more nations overseas.
DALLA: What have been the biggest challenges with developing a new game
and launching a new site?
ROMIK: There are always challenges associated with starting something new.
For me, the first challenge is to convert the idea into something practical.
There are millions of good ideas out there floating around, but most of them
are never implemented. Duplicate Poker is a great idea and now the challenge
is to get more people to give this new game a try. The second challenge is to
achieve a balance within the company. This means having the right technical
people in place whose task it is to improve the site, to go along with the marketing
staff whose job it is to introduce and promote Duplicate Poker to a wider audience.
Actually, I really think this is the biggest challenge for most new companies
because attracting talented and dedicated people is never easy. Many of the
best people in their field are already working elsewhere. But we have been very
fortunate at Duplicate Poker because we have attracted some very skilled people
with a wide variety of different backgrounds, in technology, management, marketing,
and of course - poker. The third challenge is to raise enough capital to build
the company into something successful. I'm proud that Duplicate Poker has met
each of these challenges head on and is now moving towards bigger and better
things.
DALLA: Bigger and better things? Can you be more specific?
ROMIK: Sure.
We recently launched our new online client which includes many new game features.
Duplicate Poker now plays just like a regular poker game on the computer. Best
of all, the game is now much easier to learn and more fun to play. We are also
in the process of developing Duplicate Poker clubs around the US, which are
patterned after bridge clubs. You can find a bridge club inside any major US
city. In fact, there are more than 3,000 in the US. Our goal is to create a
similar environment where people will feel comfortable coming to their local
club and playing Duplicate Poker. Improvements in technology will allow this
to happen. This will coincide with more major land-based events which will take
place in the near future. Also, in 2008 we will be introducing the first-ever
"Duplicate Poker World Championship." So, we have many exciting new
things coming.
DALLA: How is Duplicate Poker played "live?"
ROMIK: All of the decks at each table are pre-arranged and in order. This
way, each player competing gets dealt exactly the same cards. A scorekeeper
is placed at each table. The scorekeeper records the number of chips won or
lost by each player during the hand. In some places, the dealer also serves
as the scorekeeper. Then, after a pre-determined number of hands in the session
or round, all scores are compared and the players who performed the best either
advance to the next level or are declared the winners.
DALLA: Do you really think this can happen?
ROMIK: We have already held one live Duplicate Bridge tournament. It was
held last summer at the Cherokee Casino in Tulsa, OK and was a big success.
The tournament attracted 240 players. So, it seems obvious that players want
to try out new things. Also, with improvements in technology Duplicate Poker
will much be easier to offer to players in different places. First, new high-tech
poker tables are being introduced in some casinos which are completely electronic.
It's relatively simple to program and offer Duplicate Poker via an automated
game format. Second, bar-coded playing cards can be used which makes the pre-sorting
of decks much easier. The same high-tech improvements also apply to poker chips.
DALLA: Are there areas where Duplicate Poker may have even greater potential
than the prospects for standard poker?
ROMIK: Yes, indeed. I foresee the day coming when there will be international
poker federations and competitions taking place all over the world. There will
be regional, national, and world Duplicate Poker championships. Perhaps, Duplicate
Poker will be offered as an event at the Mind Olympics, which is the ultimate
gathering of what are called "mental athletes."
DALLA: One final question about the DuplicatePoker.com website. What's
the current status of games?
ROMIK: We are growing bigger each month. Right now, players can sign up
and we will give them $5 free to try out the site. All that is required is to
download the game client and set up an account. Even if you have not played
before, it is easy to learn. We have a tutorial at the site and use pop ups
as well, which helps new players to understand Duplicate Poker. Our tournaments
start approximately 15 minutes apart and sometimes run even more frequently.
We offer poker tournaments with guarantees which means that money is added to
the prize pool. This sometimes creates overlays. One thing really appealing
to many poker players is that our tournaments are short. Therefore, a player
can play in many tournaments or may wish to just play a quick tournament lasting
only a few minutes. We also award prizes to the top finishers on our leaderboard.
DALLA: Duplicate Poker's tag-line is "It's Poker. But smarter."
What does that mean?
ROMIK: We believe Duplicate Poker provides more of an intellectual challenge.
You have to think about your hand in a much broader perspective. For instance,
there is no such thing as waiting around for a playable hand. Every hand in
Duplicate Poker affects the ultimate outcome. There are also some intense psychological
elements to the game. You have to think about how your opponents might play
the hand and try and figure out how you can either win more chips or lose fewer
chips then them. On each hand I have to think to myself, 'Am I making the most
I can out of this hand?' Or, "Did I minimize my loss on that hand?' Of
course, one can already see that not only is Duplicate Poker interesting to
play, it also has great potential as a means of improvement for all poker players.
DALLA: One
final question, Pinhas: Most online gaming companies and their owners take a
low-key approach. They are neither seen, nor heard and therefore are not widely-known
by the public. You take a different approach. Why?
ROMIK: It has been our policy from the very beginning to be completely open
about exactly who were are and what we are doing. This goes for all management
and shareholders. The reasons why we are so open is because Duplicate Poker
is a game of skill and is therefore legal in most US jurisdictions. We have
nothing to hide or nor have any reason to stay behind the scenes. This goes
for me and everyone else inside the company. We are legal in every respect and
comply fully with all US laws. We keep money in US banks. We pay US taxes. We
hire American citizens. We are licensed and headquartered inside the US. There
used to be a slogan that said, 'Buy American.' Anyone who believes that would
be right at home playing at DuplicatePoker.com.
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Nolan Dalla has been a frequent contributor to PokerPages.com for nearly ten years.
He is the Media Director for the World Series of Poker. He also serves as Director
of Communications for DuplicatePoker.com. Dalla co-authored the best-seller "One
of a Kind: The Rise and Fall of Stuey ' the Kid' Ungar, the World's Greatest Poker
Player," available in bookstores everywhere.
