Irish Open betting

Paddy Power Poker are up their usual tricks and have announced a host of new and innovative betting markets for the €2 million guaranteed Irish Open 2007, Ireland’s largest poker tournament and Europe’s most historic.

The additional markets, which can be found at www.paddypower.com, include:

Number of minutes before 1st knockout
Winner to be younger than Irish Open
Nationality of winner
Female to make the final table
Number of Irish at final table
Number of English at final table
Number of Americans at final table
Number of Scandinavians at final table
Age of winner

For the first time in poker betting Paddy Power has priced a ‘number of minutes before 1st knockout’ market:

0-3 minutes 4 /6
4-6 minutes 2 /1
7-10 minutes 4 /1
11-15 minutes 7/1
15-20 minutes 20/1
21-30 minutes 50/1
More than 31 Minutes 33/1

Paddy Power, spokesman for the Irish bookmaker, said, ‘Last year’s Irish Open was our most successful poker betting market ever but with twice the number of players expected this year the market is already looking like it’s going to blow 2006 out of the water.”

Punters can also have a tickle at the ‘Outright Winner’ market with each way odds 1/5 for the final table of six.

A further raft of markets including more than a dozen match bets and a ‘to make final table’ market will be launched before the event which is held in the Burlington Hotel, Dublin on April 9, 2007.

Players can qualify online in one of three ways:

Win a Grand Final seat daily at 2 pm, 6pm, 10 pm, midnight and 2am, – buy-in $12 + $0.60 (rebuy) Buy in directly to a Grand Final for $198 + $9.90 every Sunday at 9 p.m. (rebuy) Win a $1 (10c registration fee) Shootout Tournament on the 1st Monday of every month at 8pm.

Live satellites in 33 card clubs and casinos across Ireland, UK and Europe are in full swing. Full details of venues hosting these games can be found at www.irishpokeropen.com as well as information on registering, online payment, the venue, side events, the Paddy Last competition and much more.

This year’s event, which will be filmed for TV, is the biggest in Europe with a €2 million guaranteed prize pool and a capacity for 700 players paying €3,300 (+€200 reg) to play over Easter Weekend 2007 against the best players in the world.