Vietnam’s first pilot tournament of bridge and poker has been kick-started in Hanoi with the attendance of about 2,000 participants who wish to win a VND40 million (US$1,783) cash prize.
A new playground for bridge and poker enthusiasts across Vietnam has been established after the first-ever championship for card games commenced in the capital on Friday.
The tourney is expected to run in nine months with the ultimate winner being granted a VND40 million cash prize. The competition has been approved by the municipal Department of Culture and Sports.
Players who wish to partake in the event are required to submit between VND1 million ($44.6) and VND2 million ($89) in entry fees and will be referred to as athletes, as they will be honored with medals and prizes similar to other sports.
A total of 18 athletes participated in the preliminary round on Friday and the winner of the qualifying stage will receive VND6 million ($267.5).
About 2,000 players are anticipated to show off their skills at the championship, from whom excellent players will be chosen to represent Vietnam at the 2017 Southeast Asian Games and other international tournaments.
Snatching cash prizes
According to Duong Vi Khoa, one of the country’s front runners in online sports (E-Sport) and mind sports, bridge and poker are intellectual games that help forge players’ patience and thinking ability.
Adepts in the card games can use their mastery to earn money by taking home cash prizes from global tourneys like soccer, badminton players, and others, Khoa continued.
Considering himself an average poker player, Khoa said he had managed to garner a combined $20,000 worth of rewards from several tourneys in Las Vegas and the Philippines between 2013 and 2015.
Topping the list of Vietnamese experts in the card games is Linh Tran, who has won over $489,000 from multiple competitions in Las Vegas, Barcelona, Manila, Macau, among others since 2009, Khoa said.
Nguyen Hong, vice-president of the Vietnam Bridge and Poker Association, stated that the birth of the championship would help minimize the number of people who play the games as a form of gambling, which is against the law.
Bridge and poker in Vietnam
The two types of card games made their first appearance in the Southeast Asian country some 10 years ago, with Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City home to the majority of players.
Common players would battle at their clubs or private houses while advanced ones were more inclined to register on international websites.
The Vietnam Bridge and Poker Association was later formed by a group of enthusiasts and officially approved by the Ministry of Home Affairs in 2014, following the completion of a set of regulations.
The association is now a member of the National Olympic Committee and is under the management of the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, with Dao Van Kinh being president of the organization for the 2014-18 term.
According to Le Hieu, a singer and one of the association’s first members, there is a thin line between gambling and mind sports when it comes to bridge and poker.
“Our group will help generalize the rule of bridge and poker and direct players to well-organized and legal playing fields,” Hieu said.
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