Yes, People From Different Countries Do Seem to Play in a Predictable Pattern

Underestimating opponents or making assumptions without enough evidence is always a bad idea, but having said that, there are trends and common characteristics of players from individual countries or regions. Of course, no one will ever fit these stereotypes perfectly, but they do make a good rule of thumb. Often though, the very good players tend to be the ones who play the opposite of how their country is viewed, while the best players will not only be able to do this, but also can quickly switch gears with ease and are not limited to a single style.
    Here we take ten of Europe’s most popular poker-playing countries and explain how their styles are perceived by players of other nationalities. Knowing this can only help your game and also is a good last resort when all else fails.

United Kingdom

Ahh, good old Blighty, my home of wet weather, cups of tea and the natural habitat of anything queue-based. For many years, British players have typically been seen as rocks, preferring a tight game with an occasional bluff. Some players from other countries see them as weak/passive, and it must be noted that until the recent Internet poker explosion, with a few noted exceptions, many British players were unable to accumulate big stacks early on. More recently, though, the younger players coming through – like Laurence Houghton and Chris Moorman – are challenging people’s perceptions with their strong, aggressive play. But at the same time you’re still unlikely to see large, multi-stage, elaborate bluffs from Brits early or late in a tournament.

Ireland
Probably one of the most fun countries to play poker in, Ireland has great tournaments running most weeks in some part of the country. Many Irish players love a gamble and are not afraid to mix it up, which is no doubt a reason why they tend to love pot-limit Omaha so much, having seen several winners in that category in recent times, the last one of course being Marty Smyth in the $10k PLO event at the 2008 WSOP. Against the younger generations, many of the slightly older Irish players are unlike their peers in other countries, and instead of waiting to trap the usually more aggressive kids, they’re more likely to tussle with them earlier no matter their hand, which can sometimes cost them. All in all, there’s not much better than having an Irish player at the table; whether in or out of the hands, he or she will make it more entertaining!

Spain
Whenever a Spanish player goes deep in a tournament, he always has a vociferous backing along the rail, and with each crucial hand won comes a cry of “Vamos!” More than perhaps any other country, the Spanish are passionate about their poker, and sometimes this can be almost too much as it can affect the way they play. Nevertheless, the Spanish tend to play an aggressive game that seems different to many other countries. It appears to be more of a high risk/reward style that can often see a player go from nowhere to chip leader in a few short hands if the timing is right. For example, this has turned out well for Juan Maceiras Sr., who has taken down
several of the biggest tournaments on PokerStars, while his son Juan Maceiras Jr. and daughter Maria have become regulars on the EPT, the former having finalled twice.

France
In days gone by, everyone wanted to play against the French, and they were considered by many to be Europe’s whipping boys. They didn’t like to fold, whether they had a piece of the flop or not! Indeed, I remember a hand from the EPT Grand Final in 2007 between Roland de Wolfe and a French player getting it all-in for their 15k stacks in the first level on a flop of J«-8♠-3♠, Roland holding J♠-8↔ against his opponent’s 9♠-5♠. The latter duly hit! Nowadays though, the top French players are amongst the best in Europe, with players like ElkY, Anthony Lellouche and Arnaud Mattern having hit the heights and won big. Juxtaposed with these are the large number of recreational players with large disposable incomes who still have much to learn and might be considered ‘fodder’ by some of the other players...

Denmark
Gus Hansen’s success on the World Poker Tour inspired a whole generation of Danes and 2008 certainly was the year of the Danes, with Peter Eastgate triumphing in the Main Event and Jesper Hougaard becoming the first player to win both a WSOP and WSOPE bracelet, the fact that he did it in the same year was all the more remarkable. But although Hansen might have inspired many of his countrymen, the Danish success is more down to their learning ethic and the fact that many of them bounce ideas and hands off each other to improve their games. Like the other Scandinavians, they are naturally aggressive, but don’t play overly crazy except in rare cases (see Holstrup, Frederik).

Sweden
The general assertion goes around between most of the Nordic countries that of them all, the Swedes are the most aggressive, which is akin to being in a room with a group of ogres and getting them to point at which is the ugliest. The truth, though, is Sweden is the most successful country at the WSOP in ratio of players playing the events to number of cashes, which tells you something about the quality of the average Swedish player, let alone those like William Thorson and Erik Friberg. But this also shows that compared to Denmark and Norway, there are not quite as many Swedish tournament players around, but when they are, they tend to be an equal measure of fearlessness and skill. When it comes to playing against such aggressive players, it can often become like a judo match – sometimes you simply use their strength against them, and given enough rope they can be lured into bluffing way too much if they think they can win the pot.

Finland
Say Finnish poker, and straight away people are thinking of just one person, Patrik Antonius – it’s hard to talk about Finland and poker without mentioning his name! The Finns are not Scandinavian (I got told this once by a Danish guy – Scandinavia is Norway, Denmark and Sweden. Add Finland and Iceland and then you have the Nordic countries). Anyway, Finns are very similar in that they tend to be extremely active, like to play a lot of hands and are prone to execute some barmy bluffs every once in a while. Finns also seem to be more willing to risk their whole stack than those of other nationalities, so the committing (or seeming commitment) of their stack is a powerful weapon.

Norway
Ditto the last three countries. End post. But seriously, with all four there is little difference in terms of what to expect when facing a Nordic player; generally, you’ll be facing a player who tends to be comfortable playing any two cards, preferably in position but who can occasionally make overaggressive moves that can often find him or her trapped or, as is becoming more often the case, being constantly called down light as well as being three-bet and four-bet much more often. Certainly players like Annette Obrestad have been forced to reduce their aggression slightly because of situations like this that now arise with great frequency.

Italy
Italy is an interesting case. Having experienced last year’s San Remo EPT and this year’s Prague EPT, both times Italians were the largest set of players in the tournament. In the latter of these two, three Italian players made the final, causing some of the loudest vocal support in the stands ever seen. Two of these players ended up heads-up and the scene seemed more appropriate if it had been at a football match than a poker tournament. Both players seemed to stride on flamboyantly, and this word is perhaps the best way to describe Italian poker players. They do seem very flamboyant and like some of the Spaniards, are very passionate about winning.
    One colleague put it another (slightly crueller) way when referring to some of the part-time businessman-type players who now populate much of the EPT: “It’s more important for them to be seen as being poker players rather than actually being able to play poker.”
    But away from all these semi-pros and their exaggerated gestures at the table, there are some exceptional players at the top end of the tier. Dario Alioto and Max Pescatori have both found great success winning PLO titles, Luca Pagano has cashed more times at EPT than anyone else, while the diminutive scarf-wearing Dario Minieri (now really scarf and much bling) has arguably one of the best preflop games in the world.

Germany
Unlike practically every other country in Europe, the German background in poker tends not to be based in hold’em but in stud. Katja Thater and Michael Keiner took bracelets in 2007 in the razz and seven-stud disciplines, while Sebastian Ruthenberg won the $5k stud high/low in 2008 (though admittedly in the last of these Ruthenberg said he’d only been playing stud/8 for about six months).
    Poker in Germany is perhaps starting to boom now because of these victories, especially those by Ruthenberg and
others around him, such as Johannes Strassman and Florian Langmann. Typically in life we view the Germans as industrious, hard-working and efficient, but their average players are probably not experienced enough to be up there with the Ruthenbergs and the Strassmans. However, given their reputation for efficiency, it perhaps won’t be as long as one might think till they get there.

    Poker is becoming a global game, and betting, checking, raising and staredowns are part of a universal language. Keep the preceding in mind when put to the test by players whose language you may not understand, but who seem very at home at the poker table.