Holdem Poker Ireland

The Irish Poker Open is the longest running No Limit Texas hold ’em poker tournament in Europe and second longest in the world after the World Series of Poker.

First organised in 1980 by Terry Rogers, a well known Irish bookmaker, the tournament is Europe’s largest and a fixture on the international poker calendar. It is traditionally held over Easter weekend each year.

After Terry Rogers death in 1999 the tournament, originally held in Dublin’s Eccentric Club, was subsequently hosted by tournament director and poker player Liam Flood and the Merrion Casino.

paddypowerpoker.com began sponsorship of the event in 2005 and oversaw the huge growth in the tournament. By 2006 the event, with 339 players, had outgrown the Merrion Casino and was held in Jury’s Ballsbridge Hotel in Dublin. In 2007 the venue was changed to the Burlington Hotel, Dublin to accommodate the bigger field, while in 2008 and 2009 the Irish Open venue was Citywest Hotel, Dublin. In 2010 the tournament returned to the Burlington Hotel and numbers declined year on year up to 2015 which was inline with trends and decline in the online poker industry.

In 2016, the Irish Poker Open returned to Citywest Hotel for a week long festival from 21 to 28 March, culminating in the €500k Main Event. The 2016 Irish Poker Open was managed by JP Poker and Countside Ltd, both companies have organised tournaments in both Ireland and Europe for the last 20 years.

Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the 2020 Irish Poker Open is being staged online.