POKER GUIDE TO : Poker in South Africa

Never did I think I would ever play poker in South Africa but surprisingly I had a great time. The South Africans are a super friendly and hospitable group of people. Even before landing in South Africa I have already made a few friends and they offered me plenty of suggestions and advice making my trip much smoother. I met with most of them and they were just as nice in person as they were online. 

I landed in Johannesburg so I spent a few days there exploring the local cash games. According to most of the people I've met, COVID has pushed the cash game scene online and to private games. The only casino game anyone knew was at Montecasino. Typically it starts at around 7-8pm every night and game ends at 2am when the casino has to close. The only game is 10/25 ZAR (roughly USD 0.6/1.50) but I usually sit down with 10k ZAR (USD 570). Rake is 5% capped at 150 ZAR. There is a bad beat jackpot that's slightly easier to hit than others as one card plays. Most drinks are free and some days there are 2 tables. One thing I didn't like was they played up to 10 handed but otherwise the game was fun and reasonably soft. I've heard of many private games (most of them USD 3/6 or higher), some hosted by my newly made friends, unfortunately I didn't have to chance to partake. I hope to be able to try them out if I get to visit again.

Montecasino, Johannesburg

The tournament I joined was called Monster Jam Poker Tour (MJPT) or also known as the Sunbet Poker Tour. They have 5 stops all over South Africa every year but I think I probably chose the best one for my first experience. Cape Town is an amazingly beautiful city. I was truly mesmerized by the natural beauty of the cape. Johannesburg was not bad but Cape Town is in a league of its own. Table mountain stands majestically in the middle of the city surrounded by world class beaches that lined the coast, shades of clear blue water and clear blue skies, almost everywhere you turn is like a screensaver or wallpaper-worthy scenery. The tournament was brilliantly run as well. I have been regularly playing tournament poker since 2013, and I know how hard it is to please everyone. But not every organizer has the players' experience at heart. MJPT I felt was passionate about building the industry in the region and genuinely wanted everyone to have a good time. The atmosphere felt more like a extended friendly home game rather than a competitive tournament series. Almost everyone knew everyone else, players were chatty and friendly on the table, pros and recreational players all had a great time. They also had a world class live stream to boot. There is another brand of tournaments called ShuffleUp Poker or South Africa Poker Open, but I had an unpleasant experience in my limited interactions with them. Based on the data on Hendon Mob, MJPT has better turnouts and prize pools so no loss there I suppose. 

Camps Bay, Cape Town

One of the people I met on the tour was South African Poker Pro David Rosenthal, affectionately known as Bozo because he was the class clown in school and that nickname stuck since then. We were fortunately seated next to each other in the SHR and we quickly hit it off. We shared a similar sense of humor, love for poker and travel and even though we've just met, it felt like we've known each other all our lives. He made me feel at home and my trip was much more memorable because of his friendship and banter. We had the opportunity to have dinner together too and made plans to link up in Morocco and Taipei next year. I want to dedicate this article to him as only a few hours ago I received news that he passed away suddenly. We were just on a phone call a couple of days ago planning our hotels in Morocco and to hear that he's gone is hard to take. I told him in South Africa I have a feeling we will be lifelong friends and he agreed. Most of the people I met in South Africa were really kind and nice but David was a level above. Reading the comments on his Facebook now confirmed my impression of his character. He was well loved and respected, a truly wonderful human being, one of the rare ones. Till we meet again my South African brother. 😢

Till we meet again brother 👊

The lack of public cash games is a worry for the industry and a hinderance to the development of new players. David was very passionate about growing the poker industry. We discussed starting a Poker Association and poker school in South Africa and I might do that in his honor. Overall I had a great time in South Africa and gained so many friends including a life long brother only to be taken away so quickly. But it has only reinforced my passion to travel for poker. Win or lose, you might meet and make the most amazing friends, and the chances of doing that in friendly South Africa is just that much higher.