What is Match Poker? | Philip Wang talks about Match Poker in Taiwan & Asia

Hello! I will talk about Match Poker in Asia. Okay, this year in Taiwan, was the Asian Nations Cup held last month (November 2019) in Taoyuan, an hour away from Taipei. Officially, the name is the IFMP Asian Nations Cup. The Asian Nations Cup ran for 3 days: 2 days of preliminary rounds and 1 day for the final round. Nine teams participated, each with 6 players. Of the 9 teams, 5 are progressing to the World Cup.

I think the IFMP sends out invitations to teams in each region, so there is a European Nations Cup, there is Asian Nations Cup, there is American Nations Cup etc. So, four teams from each continent will be selected to compete for the World Cup. Any country can enter, and I think they send out invitations. So, they have relationships with those countries that they know are already involved in Match Poker. No particular entry fee. The host nation will pay for all on the ground expenses. They pay for all the activities, all the hardware and software. That is part of the role of the host nation. 

I was in the team because I am the liaison for the CTP Club here in Taipei but by the time I joined, two Asia Nations Cup events had already taken place. We won for the first time last year, in an event called the Asian Pairs Challenge. Me and Bonsai  represented our country and we earned the silver medal. After that we went to play at the World Cup in Ireland in February 2019. 

As for the background, this is all held by the International Federation of Match Poker. Chinese Taipei only entered the sport two years ago and the first event was the Asia Nations Pairs Challenge hosted in Bangkok. The Singapore team won 1st place. That was the first time that IFMP invited Taiwan because they, through a connection found out about the CTP Club and then they asked our interest and whether we want to send our players from Taipei to participate in future events and then also we had to apply to our Government to allow Match Poker as a sport, which was successful. 

And IFMP also needed to recognize Chinese Taipei as participating nation, and now they  recognize CTP Club as the official organizing club representing Chinese Taipei, so once they sponsored that, we can send our players, they can start invitations to us and we can send out eight players to participate in regional Match Poker events.

I think it originated in Europe a number of years ago.

Anybody who is good at poker can play Match Poker for sure. But you don’t have to be that  good player, although most players are experienced but there are some fresh players too. Tournament skills help and postflop skills are most relevant. For Chinese Taipei, anybody who is interested in poker may enter the selection contest. We discovered that those players who are good in cash games, especially post flop, do well in Match Poker; they have aggressive styles. 

Each country has their own selection process. Some might select via a league. Some might have a selection contest. For Taiwan, the CTP Club is the appointed organizer and they hold a contest, with around 50 participants who paid a low fee to enter. 

Holdem game skills do transfer to Match Poker. I think experience with exploitation helps. You find the opponent’s weaknesses then you exploit it to the maximum to win the max and lose the least. I think the people that are good at that are generally good in Match Poker. In Match Poker, each hand is scored on points rather than ongoing accumulation of chips. So to sit and wait for better spots is not a winning strategy. You need to do the best on every hand, so I think generally aggressive players who can exploit are the weaker players eventually will be doing the best for the team.

I think about, you know, how many years to be a good Match Poker player, may be two years. One year of practice and get more experience, and you need more practice. The team, the Taiwan lacks is more, because, we this is only the second year and also not many people are involved yet. So, maybe next year we will have more opportunities such as competitions directly organized by CTP. May be one year after that will be pretty good, like India who already has a league that has run for a couple of years. So, they are the best team right now by far in Asia. So, the more you practice, the better you become.

Ozy: This video explains the game format in 60 seconds. Basically, the game works like this: Each team has a player at each table, but at a different seat on each table. The cards are randomly shuffled, however each table receives a deck with the same shuffle as other tables. In this way, each team is effectively playing the same hand. The element of luck of the draw in other poker games is mostly absent. Preflop is pot limit and post flop is no-limit, and there is a flop, turn and river. After completion of the hand, the chips of the player determine the player’s score. For the next hand, a new shuffle is done and chips reset to starting stacks. Points accumulate and are totalled for the team and all hand histories are public for data mining and adjusting strategies.

In the Asian Nations Cup 2019, 9 teams participated. After the matches, the top 4 placers were invited to progress to the World Cup. The 5 bottom teams entered a second elimination round, and the winning team was also invited to the World Cup. So in total 5 teams progressed to the Word Cup. There are no cash prizes in the Asian Cup. However, trophies are awarded and it is a great honor to be part of a winning team and represent your country.

At the Asian Nations Cup, each team had 8 players: 6 playing at tables and 2 substitutes. For a given event, say there are 9 teams in total, which totals 54 players playing at 9 tables. The first two days are the preliminary rounds and are scored by points earned during each hand. So, each hand is worth 6 points.  

The total match is a fixed number of hands, say 300. So, after all the hands are played, each team gets a total score from the six players from each table. 

By example, let’s say I am in seat 1 on Table 1 and I’m dealt AA. Well, at Table 2, perhaps India is in seat 1 and he’ll get AA as each table has the same deck. Likewise at Table 3, perhaps Singapore is in seat 1 and he’ll get AA and so on. So the luck factor is absent when viewed from a team perspective. So, which team can get the most value from AA, and lose the least with say 22.

So, you always start with 200 BB, and if you lose all your chips in one hand, you will get the all back for the next hand. If you lose 5000, you will get 5000 back. So, every hand starts with 200 BB. 

So, it’s pot limit preflop and no-limit after the flop. You cannot go all-in with aces preflop like in NLH. After each hand, every player is reset to 200 BB. Players don’t accumulate chips, but rather aim to score points.

Match poker is played on a digital system using tablets. We sit around a table like any live poker but hold tablets, not cards. Software developed by IFMP runs the game. You have two minutes per action and time banks to use.

Luck is still involved, but much less than in no-limit texas holdem poker. The luck from the card shuffle is absent but then there is still some luck element to the play because if skilled players are seated at the table, but the other player gets seated with fishy table, then yeah sure, you know if someone is splashing chips and your score will be higher on this particular table. So, if you happen to have good hands on this table and all the bad players, that’s the crazy players at the same table with you then sure, your score could be somewhat higher. For the whole team, everybody gets 75000 chips but then since there is one crazy player at your table that is splashy and playing too aggressively and you gain 10000 chips, so you will get six points as opposed to like three points, which is more typical.

The major luck component from the card shuffle itself is totally absent because every table gets a deck with the same shuffle.

“Match Poker tournaments are unique in allowing a fair assessment of the skill of the players  without any influence of the random deal of cards. Furthermore, players/teams begin each hand with a fixed and equal stack size, allowing for clear comparisons to be made and the most skillful play to be rewarded.” https://matchpokerfed.org/

Yeah, the  goal of the game is for the team to get the most points after a certain number of hands. Chips matter only for each hand. It is quite common that the team who gains the most chips does not score the most points. For a hand, the team with the highest aggregate chip increase will receive the top number of points (if there are 6 teams, it would be 6 points). The team with the next highest chip gain gets 5 points and so on, with the team who loses the most chips getting one point.

There is some element of teamwork because every team has a goal. Our goal at that time was for the Chinese Taipei was to make sure we progressed to the World Cup. Winning the Asian Nations Cup was not the first priority because you know, that’s something we cannot control. Good to have but it’s not our ultimate goal. Our ultimate goal was to be in the top 5 or top 4, at least get the invitation to the World Cup. So, then we have coaches, we have consultants to the team so that we follow a planned strategy. We don’t want to be too aggressive. So hands that result in top or bottom score (6 or 0) are undesirable) because of the overall variance for the match. The top 4 teams out of 9 teams that was our goal. If we became too aggressive, yeah we could finish first but then you the aggressiveness can lose a player’s stack and blow all the points for the team for that hand. If you don’t control the pot, if you are coming last in a lot of hands, then your team gets a lot of one or zero point scores. So, if you team aims for 3 or 4 points or sometimes 5 points then we will be happy. So that was our goal to at least get the top 4 and to be in world cup, so that was the teamwork part of it.

Teamwork by the Indian team was interesting. They intentionally scored less in the first two rounds and then when the other teams saw their score, they started to target the Indians as weak. But they surprised everybody in the third, fourth or the final two rounds, and scored well  because nobody will put them as the top opponents. So, there is some strategy part, but mostly it’s still individual skills that the game with following core team philosophy.

Many teams they just meet up and play at a series, especially new teams such as Korea. Our team, we have coaches, we spend a lot on resources and we prepare. At the end of each competition day, you get hand histories, and our coach will examine these and we discuss what’s the best play. So, we try to get more experience and see how the other teams are playing then we try to adopt and adjust. We do study. For example for the Nations Pairs event that we played, we studied for three hours. 

It’s a blend of online and live. So, it’s a live environment held at a hotel or conference center but each player sits at the table with a tablet. In this way, collusion and cheating and removed but the benefits of using digital technology are present.

Generally, I think the European teams are the strongest because they also have many, many years of experience. I think Spain won the Match Poker World Cup last year, so they have a long history. You can Google Match Poker and get lots of information on that. In Asia, India is considered the best right now because they have a league. So, this year they are the champions of the Nations cup, Chinese Taipei came in second.

This year, starting in 2020, the CTP Club, our club, will put more focus on Match Poker. We already have a deal and signed agreements with Match Poker, IFMP, to promote and then expand the sport in Taipei, so we will have more events, and hopefully we will have bigger events and then next year more people will be playing, more people will gain experienced, we will become better, more skilled. So, that’s our goal for 2020.

We are talking about having other events, live poker events, at the same time with Match Poker. Also, supposedly there is a Match Poker event, a big event, then when they finish then they can play some side events, that’s either a Match Poker or traditional live poker.

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Right now Match Poker is just starting to heat up in Asia. For instance this Asian Nations Cup, some very strong players came from Korea, Japan, Israel, you know, India, of course, so many, Hong Kong, Macau. I think China also played at one point. So, it’s becoming more and more popular in Asia.

And hopefully with the help of CTP and then their agreement with IFMP that will be promoting this thing more this year. So, there will be more interest in this IFMP, bigger events for 2020.

In my opinion, Match Poker will be more addictive than Texas Holdem because at least you can go out to play, make a big accomplishment, and then you can claim yourself to be the strongest player because all the luck element as absent. In NLH any player can get lucky and win a tournament. So maybe down the road they will try to have Match Poker in the Olympic Games and if you win an Olympic gold medal in Match Poker you will be totally recognized. So, I think that’s one part of the challenge that I look at. I would like to be more involved in Match Poker starting 2020 because I hope one day I will be participating in the Asian games, you know, then the Olympics, the World Cup, and be officially recognized.

If you want to get involved, you should be in a country that participates and talk to the sponsor of your country. Find out whether a league is running in your country or if there is a national team selection process.

在台北CTP舉辦的亞洲撲克巡迴賽裡，我遇見Philip，一位充滿熱情且有趣的撲克玩家。當我正在與他討論他在現金桌牌局的創記錄時，他提到2020年將專注於比賽撲克(Match Poker)。我聽說過Match Poker，但沒看過或體驗過。搜尋一些Match Poker網站時，有個觀點激起我的興趣：遊戲格式在於消除撲克運氣成分，而以技術為主。老實說，我被這觀念嚇到了，我想我應是靠運氣的那些人之一。感謝菲利普（Philip）同意接受本採訪，讓我們就玩家的角度進一步了解Match Poker。開始吧！

International Federation of Match Poker Website

Youtube International Federation of Match Poker Channel

Asian Nations Cup 2019 Event Highlights

IFMP Asian Nations Cup Interviews

Hello! 讓我以亞洲Match Poker說明。今年(2019)11月，台灣桃園舉辦亞洲國家杯(Asian Nations Cup)，桃園距離台北約一小時的車程，這賽事的正式名稱應為IFMP Asian Nations Cup，整個賽事期間為3天，前二天為預賽，最後一天為決賽。九個隊伍參與，每個隊伍有6個比賽人員，在這九個隊伍中，有5個將可晉級世界盃。

IFMP(International Federation of Match Poker, 國際比賽撲克聯合會)向每個地區的球隊發出邀請，因此有歐洲國家杯、亞洲國家杯、美洲國家杯等。因此，從各洲大陸分別選拔出的四支隊伍可獲得資格參加世界杯比賽。任何國家都可以參加，我認為他們知道那些國家有Match Poker比賽，並取得聯繫，因此向這些國家發出邀請。無須特定的入場費，但主辦國得支付所有相關費用，包含所有活動、軟硬體設施等。這是主辦國的義務之一。

IFMP(International Federation of Match Poker, 國際比賽撲克聯合會)向每個地區的球隊發出邀請，因此有歐洲國家杯、亞洲國家杯、美洲國家杯等。因此，從各洲大陸分別選拔出的四支隊伍可獲得資格參加世界杯比賽。任何國家都可以參加，我認為他們知道那些國家有Match Poker比賽，並取得聯繫，因此向這些國家發出邀請。無須特定的入場費，但主辦國得支付所有相關費用，包含所有活動、軟硬體設施等。這是主辦國的義務之一。

是的，我是成員，加入團隊時的我是台北CTP俱樂部的聯絡人，當時已經舉辦過兩次亞洲國家杯比賽。去年，我們首次贏得名為“亞洲Pairs挑戰賽”賽事。我和Bonsai代表我們的國家獲得了銀牌。之後，我們去了2019年2月在愛爾蘭舉辦的世界杯比賽。

這些活動背後都是全都由IFMP舉辦。中華台北在兩年前第一次參加這項運動，當時在曼谷舉辦的亞洲國家Pairs挑戰賽，IFMP經由CTP俱樂部聯繫台灣，第一次邀請台灣是否有興趣參與派員參加未來的比賽，同時我們必須向政府申請允許Match Poker作為一項運動，並獲得成功，當年是新加坡隊獲得第一名。

IFMP還需要承認中華台北為參加國，現在他們承認CTP俱樂部為代表中華台北的官方組織俱樂部。一旦他們贊助，他們可以發出邀請，我們就可以派出隊員，於是我們派出八名隊員參加區域Match Poker賽事。

我想應該是多年前起源於歐洲。

任何擅長撲克的人都可以玩Match Poker。但是不必得是專業的玩家，儘管大多經驗豐富，但也有一些並無經驗。但擁有比賽技能和post-flop的技能對能成為Match Poker玩家是較有幫助的。對於中華台北隊而言，任何對撲克感興趣的人都可以參加選拔賽。我們發現那些擅長現金桌牌局（尤其是翻牌後）的玩家在Match Poker中表現出色，可能是他們具有侵略性的風格。

每個國家都有自己的遴選過程。有些人可能以聯誼賽進行選拔。有些人可能會參加選拔競賽。台灣則是由CTP俱樂部(被指定的組)舉辦選拔賽，大約50名參與者，每位只需支付低廉的報名費即可參加競賽。

德州撲克遊戲技能確實可轉移到Match Poker。我認為知彼知己的遊戲經驗能助益Match Poker。您發現對手的弱點，然後極大化地利用對手的弱點取得最大的獲利及最少的損失。我認為這類的人通常在Match Poker中很出色。在Match Poker中，每一牌局都是逐一計分，而不是不斷累積籌碼。因此等待最佳出手點並不是一個成功的策略。您需要全力以赴，我認為通常攻擊型的玩家能利用較弱的對手，最終當然可以為團隊最好的成績。

要成為一名優秀的Match Poker玩家可能需要數年，或許兩年可以養成。一年的練習可以獲得更多的經驗，但最終還是需要更多的練習。台灣隊缺少的練習的機會及經驗，因為這只是我們的第二年，參與人數也不算多。或許明年我們將有更多機會，例如直接參加由CTP主辦的比賽。可能一年之後會有非常不錯的成績，例如印度已經擁有一個已經運行數年的聯盟組織。目前他們是亞洲最佳的團隊。因此，練習得越多，就會變得越好。

Ozy：想要了解Match Poker遊戲規格，推薦您觀看這60秒短片。基本上，遊戲的運作方式是每個團隊在每張桌子上都有一個隊員，且在每張桌子上的座位不同。紙牌是隨機洗牌的，但是每張桌子與其他桌子相同的洗牌完全相同。這樣，每個團隊都有效地發揮了相同的作用。相較其他撲克賽，Match Poker運氣元素的平局幾乎不存在，不論是有底池限制翻牌前(Preflop)、池底無限制翻牌後(post flop)、翻牌(flop)、轉牌(turn)及河牌(river)。每局完成後，每位隊員的剩餘籌碼即為得分。下一步，將重新洗牌並重置籌碼。累積所有隊員的積分彙總至團隊，每一局的比賽紀錄都可公開提供資料探勘及調整策略使用。

在2019年亞洲國家杯中，有9個團隊參加了比賽。比賽結束後，排名前4的隊伍受邀進入世界杯比賽。排名最後的5個隊伍則進入第二輪淘汰賽，獲勝的球隊也會被邀請參加世界杯。因此，總共有5個團隊晉級世界杯的比賽。亞洲杯並沒有提供現金獎勵，但我們對於可以獲得比賽獎杯感到與有榮焉，因為這代表我們是獲勝的團隊且可以代表所在國家/地區。

在亞洲國家杯比賽，每支隊伍有8名隊員，其中6人可上桌比賽，另外2名則為候補隊員。假設一場比賽，總共有9支隊伍參加，則會有54名隊員在9個賽桌比賽。前兩天是預賽，由每局獲得的積分來評分。因此，每個牌局相當6分的價值。

整個比賽設計固定的牌局數，比方說300。因此，在比賽所有牌局後，團隊的積分為六名隊員在每張牌桌中獲得積分加總。

舉例來說，假設我在第一桌的1號座位，拿AA牌。同時在第二桌，印度在第1號座位也會拿AA牌，因為每張桌子都有相同的牌組，也就是說在第三桌許位於第1號座位的新加坡，也會拿AA牌，依此類推。因此，從團隊的角度來看，沒有運氣因素，就看那支隊伍可以從AA牌得最大價值，或從22牌損失最少。

一律從200 BB開始下注，如果您在一牌局中輸掉所有籌碼，會在下一局取回輸掉的籌碼，例如，如果您損失5000，您將拿回5000。每局從200 BB開始就對了。

每一牌是翻牌前底池限制，也是翻牌後無限制。您不能像NLH那樣在王牌(A)翻牌前全押。每局後，每位隊員都將重置為200 BB。玩家不以累積籌碼為主，而是旨在得分。

Match Poker是在使用平板電腦的數位系統進行比賽。我們像任何現場撲克賽一樣圍坐在桌子旁，但拿的是平板電腦，而不是紙牌。這遊戲程式軟體是由IFMP開發，每個動作有兩分鐘時間，計時器可以協助你了解時間狀況。

幸運仍然存在，但比無限制德州撲克少得多。缺少洗牌帶來的運氣，但是仍然有一些運氣因素，因為如果老練的玩家坐的桌子旁是另一位明顯差勁的玩家，那麼當然，您知道有人在撒籌碼，在該特定桌的得分將會更高。如果您碰巧在賽桌子上有一手好牌，而所有其他玩家手上的牌是爛透了，那你就是與氣急敗壞的玩家同桌，得分相對會更高。對於整個團隊來說，每個人都獲得75000的籌碼，但是由於桌上有一個激動的隊員，表現過於攻擊，因此您獲得100000的籌碼，那您將獲得6分，而不是3分而已，典型的運氣。

一般比賽主要的運氣成分來自洗牌，但在這比賽是完全沒有紙牌洗牌運氣成分，因為每張桌子都具有相同的洗牌。

“ Match Poker錦標賽的獨特之處在於可以公平評估玩家的技能，而不會受到隨機發牌的任何影響。玩家/團隊每手牌都是從固定和相等的籌碼量開始，因此Match Poker是能明確清楚地比較，及獎勵熟練技巧的遊戲。” https://matchpokerfed.org/

是的，比賽的目標是讓團隊在經過一定數量的牌局能獲得最高分。籌碼僅與單一牌局有關。獲得最多籌碼的團隊沒有獲得最高分是很常見的。單一牌局，總籌碼增加最多的團隊將獲得最高分（如果有6個團隊，則將是6分）。擁有第二高的籌碼的團隊獲得5分，依此類推，失去最多籌碼的團隊獲得1分。

團隊合作有一些要素，每個團隊都有其目標。當時我們的目標是確保中華台北隊能進入世界杯，贏得亞洲國家杯並不是最重要的，但結果是我們無法控制的。贏得亞洲杯很令人高興，但這不是我們的最終目標。我們的最終目標是進入前5名或前4名，至少獲得世界杯門票。因此，我們有教練、團隊顧問，我們遵循計劃策略，不想太激進。因此，每一牌局獲得最高分或最低分（6或0）是最不可取的。我們的目標是成為9支隊伍中的前4名。如果我們表現過於激進，我們是可以先完成比賽，但隨後這侵略性可能會讓一名隊員失去籌碼，因而破壞所有的積分。如果無法控制底池、或如果在很多人中都排在最後，那麼該團隊會得到很多的1分或0分。相反地，如果團隊目標得分是3或4分，有時5分，那麼我們將很高興，因為這是我們的目標，至少是可以獲得前四名並進入世界杯，這就是一種團隊合作模式。

印度隊的團隊合作很有趣，他們會故意在前兩輪比賽中得分較低，然後當其他團隊看到他們的得分時，他們會將印第安人視為弱者，當沒人會把他們當作頭號對手時，他們在第三輪、第四輪、或最後兩輪的表現將令所有人感到驚訝，獲得高分。因此，比賽是包含一些策略部分，但遵循核心團隊理念的哲理是屬於個人技能的一部分。

許多隊伍大都是一群玩家碰面就參加一系列比賽，韓國就是這樣組成的新隊伍。而我們的團隊有教練，找很多資源並做好準備。在每個比賽日結束時，我們的教練會針對比賽中每手牌的比賽記錄、檢視，討論出最佳技能。我們也會看其他團隊的表現，從中獲得更多經驗，嘗試採用及調整。我們也會從事研究，例如，之前參加的Nations Pairs賽事，我們事先花了三個小時研究。

它是線上與現場結合的比賽。比賽場地大都在酒店或會議中心舉行的現場環境，但每一玩家都坐在桌邊持著平板電腦。好處是現場以數位科技呈現，可以消除勾結和作弊的可能。

總的來說，我認為歐洲團隊最強，因為他們也有很多年的經驗。西班牙去年贏得Match Poker World Cup，我認為是因為他們有悠久的歷史。您可以Google “Match Poker”獲得相關訊息。在亞洲，印度被認為是目前最好的，因為他們有聯盟組織，今年他們是國家杯冠軍，中華台北排名第二。

從今年(2020)開始，我們CTP俱樂部更加關注Match Poker。我們已經與IFMP Match Poker，達成共識並簽署協議，於台北推廣並促進這項運動。因此，我們將舉辦更多的賽事，然後明年更多的人將會參加，更多人獲取經驗，我們也將變得更好、更熟練。這就是我們2020年的目標。

在舉辦Match Poker同時，我們也討論將舉辦其他賽事，如現場撲克賽。另外，假設這裡正在辦一場Match Poker大賽，大的比賽，當他們完成賽事，也可以參加一些其他比賽，可能是其他的Match Poker或傳統的現場撲克賽。

Match Poker在亞洲才剛剛開始升溫。例如，在本屆亞洲國家杯有來自韓國、日本、以色列，及來自印度非常有實力的隊伍，還有香港、澳門，中國也開始這個風氣，我想Match Poker在亞洲應該是越來越受歡迎。 透過CTP的幫助，及與IFMP達成的協議，將有助於今年進一步推動，撲克玩家將對2020 IFMP舉辦的大型賽事將更有興趣。

我個人認為Match Poker比德州撲克更具吸引力，因為您可以獲得很大的成就感，可以聲稱自己是最強的玩家。運氣不會是贏的主要原因，不像NLH可以靠運氣贏得比賽。將來，或許會舉辦Match Poker奧運，如果獲得奧運Match Poker金牌，那是無上的成就與榮譽，這是我想要面對的挑戰。我希望從2020年開始參與更多的Match Poker，因為我希望有一天我會參加亞洲運動會，然後奧運會、世界杯，得到正式的認可。

如果您想參與其中，你應加入一個有Match Poker的國家隊並與該隊的贊助者談談是否您所在的國家/地區有舉辦聯賽；或者有隊員選拔程序。