The Crazy Cypriot king of poker
Having an analytical mind proved a great advantage for student Argyris Argyrou who played poker to supplement his income. He is now one of the most well-known poker stars in the world
Cypriot student Argyris Argyrou has found the perfect way to earn extra money while studying for his Masters Degree in the United States. The 24-year-old, also known as the ‘Crazy Cypriot’, is a renowned poker player and takes part in tournaments and competitions with some of the best poker players in the world. He is also known in some online competitions as polpolpol.
In just a few years, after leaving Cyprus to go and study abroad, he has evolved into one of the most entertaining poker players in the world and can often be seen on Eurosport and other major sports channels competing in big tournaments.
“I’ve always been interested in games and especially card games,” Argyrou said. “I am quite analytical so cards always fascinated me. I started playing poker for fun at Christmas with my family and when I went to the UK to study there was a poker boom and I started playing there as well. I entered tournaments at around the time I was in England, like on online games. For a while I was even playing without money.”
That is hardly the case now, however. Argyrou, whose favourite hand is a four and five of diamonds, now sweeps in around $10,000 a month and has so far amassed just under $200,000 in winnings.
Some of his major wins include $119,118 he won online on September 17 last year before finishing fourth to win $54,000 in a $200 buy-in Sunday Million tournament a few months later.
More recently, Argyrou has appeared extensively on Eurosport after finishing tenth on the European Poker Tour (EPT) in Baden this year, winning 18,867 euro. It was during this tournament that Argyrou made a name for himself because of his constant non-abusive chatter at the tables. His stream of observations and banter amused onlookers and earned him a reputation as one of the most noticeable new characters on the scene. One observer said, “this guy sure can talk.”
One poker website recently described Argyrou as a “loose-aggressive player, prone to volatile periods of play and unexpected raises. That makes him a dangerous opponent, particularly as he’s capable of unnerving nervous adversaries with his banter, too.”
Argyrou’s game is Texas Hold’em Poker – the most popular poker variant being played in the world today with the exception of some casinos that still prefer to play old school style poker. Texas Hold’em is a community card poker game – some cards are available to be used by all players – in contrast to games like stud or draw where all the cards are available only to their respective, individual players.
So how do you get to where he is? “You need to be dedicated, as with a lot of things in life. The more effort you put into what you do, the better you will become at what you want to do. You also need to really enjoy playing poker and to have fun.”
It is no secret that the majority of Cypriots have gambling in their blood. One has only to see the popularity of betting on football and horse-racing while some men prefer to take their families on cruise holidays simply to escape to the casino whenever they can. And let us not forget the huge influx of Greek Cypriots to the occupied north to play in the casinos there.
“In England, when I would visit casinos, I can honestly say that the main language at a lot of the tables was Greek. Perhaps they were even Cypriots that have been living in England. But I do think that Cypriots have gambling in them, which is a bad thing most of the time.”
So there it is, keep it fun, keep it safe and always make sure that you control gambling and that you don’t let it control you.
ARE ONLINE CASINOS WORTH THE RISK?
Argyrou first began playing poker online but a lot of people are still tentative about playing and waging money through internet casinos.
Online casinos, also known as virtual casinos or internet casinos, are online versions of traditional “brick and mortar” casinos.
“The best way to play online is to play on sites that are safe and you do that by playing on one of the bigger sites,” Argyrou explained. “For example, the sites that are from big companies have so much more to lose if they try to cheat you compared to perhaps smaller sites. But I think if you are careful, then playing online is generally safe.”
One managing director of an e-gaming service company in the UK told seven that so far playing on an online casino is about as safe as anything can be. “There have been almost no problems with casino payouts and deposit security, especially with regards to major online casino companies.”
He went to explain how you are guaranteed to get your winnings should you score big while playing online. “Many of the jurisdictions require that the licensee posts bonds of cash or insurance as part of the license requirements. As an example, the groups that are licensed have to post an amount of money equal to the average win in a special account to guarantee that they can pay winners.”
Even getting a licence is not that easy, he continued, with most governments especially protective over such online activities. “To even get a license, those who apply have to go through some extensive government checks. Your personal security (including credit card details and other personal information) is also guaranteed under license agreements in many, if not all, jurisdictions. Most casinos and sportsbooks use secure servers to conduct all of their transactions, and all information about you is held offline.”
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