Poker Fuse – The million Kroner challenge match between Norwegian politician Erlan Wiborg and PLO pro Ola “Odd Oddsen” Amundsrud has started badly for the pro-poker politico. After the first 1,000 hands at $0.5/$1 PLO, the pro is up $2,666.
There is 1m Kr ($170k) of Amundsrud’s money at stake should he lose the match he proposed in order to prove that poker is a game of skill. Currently, Norway bans online poker. The Norwegian gambling regulator, Lottstift, states on its site: ”Poker is considered a lottery in Norway and is therefore not legal. This means that it is not legal to arrange poker clubs or poker tournaments.”
Before the match, Wiborg said: “I may smile when I have really bad cards, or look disappointed when I have good cards.” When asked by a Norwegian newspaper if he thought that would be sufficient, he answered: “No …. In recent years, I’ve only played poker once and that was yesterday against a former world champion.”
2+2 observers of the action are united in a pessimistic view of Wiborg’s chances: “Sick: the guy said he already played poker and he is checking back the nuts river.” And, “Folding every hand preflop would be a better strategy for Wiborg, lol.”
The two players agreed to play a minimum of 10k hands or 120 hours before May 7 next year. Each player starts with 300 buyins at $0.5/$1, and if Wiborg ends up with the most chips, he will be paid $170k by Amundsrud. Wiborg has already promised to donate the money to charity if he wins.
