Snippets of the "Champions Cup" National Online Invitation Tournament for Double Up Poker
On December 15, 2007, the national online invitation tournament for double up poker (Tractor) commenced amidst the clamor of lion dances and the grand Athlete's March. Competitors from 58 teams representing 34 provinces, municipalities, and special administrative regions including Hong Kong, Shandong, Beijing, and Gansu, totaling 258 players, entered the competition venue. Relevant leaders from the General Sports Administration’s Card Games Management Center, the Guangzhou Card Games Institute, and the China Game Center all attended the opening ceremony.
All participants in this online invitational were selected through multiple rounds of preliminaries, semifinals, and points-based competitions after applying via the China Game Center platform (http://www.chinagames.net), emerging as top-tier national online double-up poker (Tractor) players.
To ensure that the competition was standardized, scientific, and fair, the rules followed the "Double Up Poker (Tractor) Competition Rules" published by the General Sports Administration’s Card Games Management Center. For the first time, a "card distributor machine" was used to synchronize card dealing, and the organizing committee specifically developed the "Double Up Poker (Tractor) Competition Management Software," which was also being used for the first time. Additionally, during the matches, an "unrestricted bidding method" was implemented where both sides filled out "Open Bidding Notification Cards" before the start of the game, informing each other of any agreements they usually made while playing cards. This series of new rules presented fresh challenges to the elite national online double-up poker (Tractor) competitors, making the match more challenging and engaging.
In the first round of the competition, many errors occurred due to participants’ unfamiliarity with the competition rules and open bidding methods. Many online experts remarked that this was the first time they had participated in such an open and fair competition, which indeed played a positive role in improving their practical competitive skills.
The total prize money for this event amounted to 200,000 RMB. The top eight teams and the top 32 individual players would receive national-level certificates and cash prizes up to 30,000 RMB. As a result, all skilled players brought out their best moves. Overall, competitors from coastal and southern provinces performed more stably with fewer mistakes due to their earlier involvement and higher popularity rates in this sport. According to the latest updates from the organizing committee, the final three rounds will be even more intense and ruthless, truly a major showdown of strength, intelligence, and stamina.
The editor wishes the conference every success and hopes the players demonstrate their skills and embody the Olympic sports spirit!