an atmosphere worthy of the greatest casinos in the world

The weekend of January 11 and 12, Dijon becomes the capital of amateur poker, hosting the 6th stage of the Winamax Poker Tour. Internet players meet “in real life” at the Parc des Expositions in Dijon, in an XXL-sized tournament.

It is an event awaited by poker players in the region: the 6th stage of the Winamax Poker Tour is held on January 11 and 12 at the Parc des Expositions in Dijon.

David Azan is the president of the Poker Dijon club. The tournament is a highly anticipated moment for him and the club members. Nearly half of the members will participate in order to meet other players. And the competitive spirit is very present. “800 players is huge! smiles David. We know the event, we come for the atmosphere and the hope of winning a ticket for big tournaments!”

Major tournaments also allow you to meet players known on the professional circuit. “It’s more than nice, it’s happened to me several times. I had the best poker days of my amateur life. There aren’t any unpleasant pro players.”

The tournament also puts the spotlight on regional amateur poker, an opportunity to promote the club. David specifies that “It’s the region with the most poker clubs in France, we have more than 30 in Burgundy-Franche-Comté.”

A passion that creates social bonds, David can attest to this at the Dijon club: “Poker is one of the activities where all social classes and all ages are represented. It’s quite incredible. There are all professions among the 50 members, ranging from accountants to professionals. “worker. Poker brings people together.”

Gwenaëlle is a player in a club in Vesoul (VHEP). The players “are rarer in poker” she points out. Administrative assistant in the building, this 43-year-old woman is participating with 5 members of her club in the Dijon tournament. She was able to reach the final last year in Nancy, a strong motivation that she retains: “Every year for the past 3 years, I’ve tried to get to the final!”

This regular player (online and at the club) fell into poker 7 years ago: “I happened to play a few times with family in the evening, in fact I didn’t know the clubs. It was through my partner who plays in clubs who introduced me to this world.”

There is still a little apprehension about finding yourself in a big tournament for Gwenaëlle: “We’re looking for performance and difficulty. The goal is to qualify for the final and be able to do something in the final. If we manage to win a little money, it’s always a winner! is the icing on the cake.”

But the spirit of a great tournament is summed up well by Gwenaëlle: “We’re looking for good times, we’re going there with friends! I don’t know if it’ll be ‘Las Vegas’, just 90 gaming tables, that’s already a lot of people and that’s a lot of opponents. Opponents that we doesn’t know and you have to analyze on the spot, it changes the way you play a little.”

An XXL size tournament

The tour organized by Winamax is very well known among fans, and it is also an important moment for the company’s marketing.

“Until now we had organized small tournaments of 120-130 players, but this time, it is the tournament in its large version which is stopping in Dijon,” explains Mathieu Duran, Live Event Manager at Winamax.

Online poker fascinates the French: there were nearly 1.5 million active player accounts in the first half of 2024, according to the National Gaming Authority. Whether they are amateurs, beginners, initiated, players compete on websites such as Winamax, Betclic, Pokerstars, Bwin… These sites bring together these enthusiasts who have the opportunity to compete in real life, around a game table.

“We are a website, so we attract people to us all year round,” explains Mathieu Duran, “and here we do the opposite, it’s us who go to meet the players. We try to bring them the best, it resembles these huge tournaments, sometimes we approach a thousand players. It’s exceptional and extraordinary .”

No last minute registration possible, you must qualify: it is by playing for free on the site that more than 10,000 places are offered, “But there are more than 350,000 players trying to participate and qualify. These are either very lucky, very talented, or hard-working players who managed to qualify.”

The tournament is played without a dealer, which is authorized at the amateur level, “in self-dealing, it is the players who take turns distributing the cards. At the end of the tournament, on 5 or 6 tables, the croupiers supervise the games.”

On the logistical side, this is an important moment, because at the Parc des Expositions, 90 gaming tables will be installed: “We arrive with two semi-trailers of equipment, a bus with management staff, Winamax staff.”

During the weekend, VIPs are expected, namely professional players from the organizer’s team. The presence of Gaëlle Baumann, French professional player, is confirmed: “the one who has the biggest prize list and the greatest performances in the main international tournaments.”

Also on Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., “sit-and-go” mini-tournaments: as soon as a table of 10 people is created, the game begins, down to the last remaining player: “The games are being organized very quickly, and if we’re lucky, we can have a pro player, a member of the staff, participating in these games.”

From March 29 to April 7, the final will be played in a casino, with nearly 2,500 players. There will be money issues. The Dijon stage allows you to qualify for this grand final: 16 players will be invited to this final, their stake (€500) will be released at the cash register during the final by the organizer. They will find themselves facing 200 other finalist players.