What is match poker and how does it work?

Debates over the status of poker have been raging for decades. Supporters point to the critical role of skill in securing victories and demand the card game's inclusion in the Olympic programme. Detractors focus heavily on the gambling aspect and long to see it banned. To establish poker officially as a sport, a distinct discipline was created with its own set of rules and regulations. Let's delve into the details.

Key Facts About Sporting Poker

• Played exclusively in a tournament format. Its sporting status rules out cash prizes; tournament winners receive symbolic awards.

• The discipline is promoted by the World Poker Federation (WPF) and the International Mind Sports Association (IMSA).

• In 2024, poker was officially recognised as a mind sport.

• The sporting version of the card game operates under TDA regulations.

• In Russia, the sporting discipline is developed through clubs, which offer poker with no monetary stakes. Real-money gaming is restricted to four designated gambling zones.

Sporting Poker: What Is It?

Sporting poker sparks debate regarding its core definition and criteria. The modern industry presents two distinct viewpoints:

• Sporting poker is a game played against real people. This category encompasses any live festivals and online tournaments. Some even include cash games. It is contrasted with games played against a dealer in casinos. Competing against humans makes it a sport; competing against the house makes it gambling.

• Sporting poker is a card game played under specific rules. The dividing line is money. If the battle is fought for leaderboard standings, points, or titles, it is a sport. Any cash payouts turn the game into gambling and completely strip away the sporting element. 

Many countries around the world classify poker as gambling. The sporting branch allows tournaments to be legally organised in regions where gambling is otherwise banned.

For this article, we will focus on the second perspective, whilst keeping one crucial caveat in mind: long-term success in poker is determined strictly by player skill. Whether a player ultimately takes home $10,000,000 and a gold WSOP bracelet or a certificate of commendation is completely irrelevant. 

What Sets Sporting Poker Apart from Regular Poker

Sporting poker completely eliminates the element of gambling. Players do not contribute money to a prize pool, and competitors do not receive cash payouts based on their finishing positions at the end of the event. The sole objective of the participants is to earn rating points or sporting titles. For example, whilst an EPT champion wins a trophy and a massive cash prize, a sporting tournament winner is rewarded with a cup, a certificate, and one hundred rating points. 

Sporting poker is also defined by its tournament structure. The battle for cups and medals takes place in MTTs and Sit & Go tournaments, whereas gambling is more commonly associated with cash games. The organising bodies also distinguish the two versions. Sporting matches are coordinated by the World Poker Federation or its national counterparts. In the live scene, cash games are offered by casinos, whilst online, they are hosted by poker rooms and mobile apps.

Another point of difference lies in the tournament regulations. Casinos are free to alter rules and gameplay setups, such as limiting action clocks or allowing the run-it-twice feature on community cards. Poker federations, on the other hand, enforce unified rules across all tournaments. Under the sporting version, strict dress codes may be imposed on players, including bans on wearing logos of poker rooms, bookmakers, or casinos. On the WSOP, EPT, or Triton Poker circuits, players are constantly wearing t-shirts, patches, and other industry brand merchandise.  

There is also a noticeable variance in the players' skill-execution dynamics. At a sporting poker table, competitors do not risk real money, allowing them to play with complete freedom. In professional high-stakes tournaments, the cost of a mistake is incredibly high, forcing players to tank longer over decisions and execute highly precise, calculated strategies. 

Here is a summary of the differences in table format:

The History of Sporting Poker

While the sporting version of poker has been developed over the last couple of decades, the history of card games spans several centuries. 

For centuries, poker was played strictly for cold hard cash. The industry transitioned towards a sporting format at the dawn of the new millennium.

The key milestones on this path include:

• 16th Century. Ancestors of poker gain widespread popularity across medieval Europe.

• Mid-19th Century. Draw poker and seven-card stud are invented in the United States.

• 1872. Robert Schenck, the US Envoy to Great Britain, writes down the unified rules of five-card draw poker for the first time. He later introduces the game to Queen Victoria. 

• 1931. Gambling is legalised in Las Vegas. The opening of new casinos sparks a surge of interest in poker.

• 1970. Renowned player, casino owner, and visionary Jack Binion gathers the world's top poker minds in Las Vegas. Over the course of a week, they face off in various disciplines to crown the ultimate champion, marking the birth of the World Series of Poker (WSOP). 

• 1998. Launch of Planet Poker, the very first online card room offering real-money poker games. 

• 2003. Chris Moneymaker wins the WSOP Main Event, igniting the legendary "Poker Boom". Within a few years, millions of new players flood the game, with WSOP Main Event fields eventually reaching 10,000 players.

• 2010. Professional player Steven van Zadelhoff wins a landmark court case in the Netherlands. The judge rules that skill overwhelmingly dominates luck in the game of poker. This official ruling bolsters poker's status as a sport. US District Judge Jack Weinstein later reaches a similar conclusion in New York. 

• 2024. The International Mind Sports Association officially includes poker in its roster of mind sports.

The 2024 decision opens up massive new horizons for poker, which warrants a closer look.

IMSA in 2024: Poker is a Mind Sport

The International Mind Sports Association (IMSA) was founded in 2005. 

The International Mind Sports Association unites 9 federations, including the World Poker Federation.

The organisation comprises federations for bridge, chess, mahjong, draughts, xiangqi, go, esports, and card games. The association:

• promotes the global interests of mind sports;

• develops these disciplines on a national level across member countries;

• organises Mind Sports Games under the patronage of the International Olympic Committee (IOC);

• runs campaigns to feature these disciplines in the Olympic Games programme.

The World Poker Federation (WPF) gained membership of the IMSA in 2024. In just two years, the WPF evolved from a local alliance of several South American federations into a massive global union of 39 countries. The World Poker Federation pursues the same core goals as the Mind Sports Association, organising competitive tournaments and high-level conferences under the WPF banner.

Poker's new status paves a possible path to the Olympic Games. However, a long and challenging road lies ahead. Historically, even less controversial contenders have struggled to secure an Olympic slot. Take chess, for instance: the IOC officially recognised it as a sport back in 1999. In chess, the outcome of a match depends 100% on pure skill, yet it has still not made it to the Olympic programme. Arguments against its inclusion centre on the lack of physical exertion, low spectatorship rates, and logistical complexities in organising events—all of which apply directly to poker as well.

Variants of Sporting Poker

The vast majority of sporting poker tournaments are played under the rules of No-Limit Texas Hold'em. The core mechanics include:

• The game is played using a standard 52-card deck;

• Each opponent is dealt two private hole cards;

• Players in the SB and BB post mandatory blind bets;

• A hand consists of four rounds of betting: pre-flop, flop, turn, and river;

• The hand can conclude on any street if a bet goes uncalled;

• The pot is claimed either by showing down the best five-card combination or by executing a successful bluff;

• The lowest winning hand combination in NL Hold'em is a high card; the ultimate hand is a royal flush.

To diversify the competitive landscape, sporting poker schedules also feature Pot-Limit Omaha, Short Deck, Mixed Games, and Match Poker. Let's examine these formats in detail.

PLO. Every player is dealt four private hole cards. To construct a winning hand, players must use exactly two of their hole cards in combination with exactly three community cards from the board. Position names and betting sequences mirror NL Hold'em.

Match Poker was introduced in 2017 but has yet to become a mainstream hit.

Short Deck. This action-packed variant uses a stripped-down 36-card deck. All deuces, treys, fours, and fives are completely removed. The betting action and position names align with No-Limit Hold'em. Removing these cards shakes up the hand rankings, meaning that in Short Deck:

• A flush beats a full house;

• Three of a kind (a set/trips) beats a straight;

• An ace can act as a five to form the low straight: A-6-7-8-9. 

Mixed Games. These events test a player’s complete skillset by rotating different variants of card games in a single tournament, shifting formats after a set number of hands. The classic H.O.R.S.E. rotation consists of: 

• H — Texas Hold'em, 

• O — Omaha Hi/Lo, 

• R — Razz, 

• S — Seven-Card Stud, 

• E — Eight-or-Better (Seven-Card Stud Hi/Lo).

The elite 8-Game mix expands on this, rotating: Triple Draw 2-7, Limit Hold'em, Omaha Hi/Lo, Razz, Seven-Card Stud, Seven-Card Stud Hi/Lo, No-Limit Hold'em, and Pot-Limit Omaha. Mixed Games represent the ultimate test of a player’s versatility, requiring deep technical mastery across several disciplines.

Match Poker. A team-based discipline featuring highly unique rules:

• Players are split across different tables, with teammates occupying identical seat positions and receiving identical starting cards;

• Competitors play the exact same hands under identical conditions;

• The winning team is determined by the total accumulated chips over a series of hands, eliminating the element of luck;

This format is promoted globally by the International Federation of Match Poker (IFMP). 

Rules and Regulations of Sporting Poker

While early poker disciplines trace back nearly two centuries, their rapid global expansion resulted in localized variations. The Moneymaker boom of 2003 accelerated the desire for a standardised global tournament format. As major live tours like the WPT and EPT emerged, a pressing need for a unified MTT rule set arose. Under the guidance of the Tournament Directors Association (TDA), a comprehensive global standard was established. 

These standardized sporting poker rules are strictly enforced at major international live festivals.

Key tenets of the TDA rules include:

• Clear and Unambiguous Verbal Actions. Players must use official terms: bet, raise, call, fold, or all-in. Embellished terminology or ambiguous gestures are strongly discouraged, as the dealer may rule an action against the player’s intent. 

• One Player to a Hand / Game Integrity. To protect the integrity of the game, players are strictly forbidden from discussing active hands, giving advice, or analyzing holdings while action is live. 

• At-Your-Seat Rule. Players must be physically present at their seat when the first card of the deal is pitched, otherwise their hand is instantly ruled dead. Mobile phone use is also prohibited during active play.

• Official Language. At the World Series and most international events, English remains the sole official language permitted at the tables during active play. 

• Tournament Structure Material. Players are provided with complete structure sheets before events, detailing blind levels, antes (such as big blind ante formats), and level durations (e.g., 30 or 40 minutes per level). 

• Penalties and Sanctions. Violations such as exposing cards mid-hand, persistent stalling, verbal abuse, or collusion lead to penalties. Sanctions scale from official warnings and sitting out one or more rounds, to outright disqualification from the tournament.

If you plan to jump into the live tournament circuit, mastering TDA regulations is crucial to avoiding costly penalties at the tables.

Sporting Poker in Russia: History and Status

The initiative to establish poker as an official sport in Russia began in the mid-2000s, spearheaded by Dmitry Lesnoy. 

The official website of the Sporting Poker Federation was archived in November 2007. 

The timeline unfolded as follows:

• 2006. Representatives from 50 regions gathered to establish the Russian Sporting Poker Federation (RSPF). 

• 2007. Rosspace, the national sports agency, officially classified poker as an athletic and intellectual sport.

• 2007-2009. The RSPF actively promoted tournament disciplines, launching major series including the inaugural stages of the Russian Poker Tour.

• 2009. A sweeping federal law regulating gambling reclassified all poker variants. Under this new legal framework, real-money poker was banned nationwide outside of four specially designated gaming zones. The RSPF subsequently ceased operations. 

• 2010. The first dedicated gambling zone, "Azov-City", officially opened its doors. 

• 2017. The premier "Krasnaya Polyana" gambling zone launched in Sochi, quickly becoming the epicenter of live Russian poker.

Classifying poker alongside table games like roulette significantly stalled the offline growth of the game, pushing the majority of players to sharpen their skills in online rooms. 

Where to Play Legal Sporting Poker in Russia

In 2024, sporting poker witnessed a revival through dedicated clubs operating under a strictly recreational format:

1. Players pay minor administrative fees. These covers dealer staffing, equipment maintenance, and venue space. Clubs explicitly state on their websites and social channels that no real money is ever put at risk.

2. No Cash-Value Chips. Players receive starting stacks with absolutely zero monetary value; chips cannot be redeemed for cash.

3. Pure Tournament Formats. Games are run as classic freezeouts. Formats allowing cash rebuys are strictly prohibited.

4. Tangible Rewards. Champions are awarded trophies, branded merchandise, and ranking points.

These non-money sporting poker clubs currently welcome guests in Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Ufa, and several other Russian cities.

Krasnaya Polyana has hosted world-class international festivals, including the European Poker Tour (EPT).

For players looking to test their skills in real-money poker tournaments, action is legally headquarterd in four designated zones:

• Krasnaya Polyana (Sochi). The country's undisputed poker capital. Its superb location attracts tourists year-round, offering beach access in summer and ski resorts in winter. Sochi regularly hosts the major Russian Poker Festival and Sochi Poker Festival series.

• Yantarnaya (Kaliningrad Oblast). Located in the Baltic enclave, its geographical detachment makes it a niche destination. Its premier local event is the annual Amber Poker Championship.

• Primorye (Vladivostok). Situated just an hour from Vladivostok, this eastern gaming hub is poised for massive expansion, with venues like Tigre de Cristal and Shambhala regularly running the Russian Poker Cup and Shambala Poker Series.

• Siberian Coin (Altai Krai). Nestled in the scenic Altai mountains, this zone caters to regional players, hosting the flagship Altai Palace Poker Series every quarter.

For a deeper dive into the Russian poker landscape, check out our comprehensive guide.

How to Master the Game of Poker

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