International Federation of Poker
Encyclopedia
The International Federation of Poker (IFP) is a non-profit organization
incorporated as a legal entity pursuant to articles 60 to 79 of the Swiss Civil Code and is headquartered in Lausanne
, Switzerland. IFP's stated purpose is to "serve as the global governing body for poker".
.
worldwide and to secure its recognition as a Mind Sport
based on strategic skill, played without any discrimination of race, sex and creed. IFP also seeks to assist its member Federations in securing legislation that gives players the right to play poker safely and legally, both online and in bricks & mortar establishments.
at IMSA's annual congress in Dubai.
.
IFP's President and Executive Board take counsel, at their discretion, from an Advisory Board of poker luminaries including, among others, Al Alvarez
, Doyle Brunson
, Humberto Brenes
, Gus Hansen
, Mel Judah
, James McManus
and Tom McEvoy
.
The seven founding members of the IFP are:
Each of the above seven organisations where set up at the same time as the International Federation of Poker.
Additional members are:
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
incorporated as a legal entity pursuant to articles 60 to 79 of the Swiss Civil Code and is headquartered in Lausanne
Lausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...
, Switzerland. IFP's stated purpose is to "serve as the global governing body for poker".
History
IFP was founded in Lausanne on April 29, 2009. IFP is structured as an International Sports Federation and is recognized by the Court of Arbitration for SportCourt of Arbitration for Sport
The Court of Arbitration for Sport is an international arbitration body set up to settle disputes related to sport. Its headquarters are in Lausanne and its courts are located in New York, Sydney and Lausanne, Switzerland...
.
Goals
The goals of IFP are to promote the development of pokerPoker
Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...
worldwide and to secure its recognition as a Mind Sport
Mind sport
A Mind Sport is a sport or a game of skill where the mentalcomponent is much more significant than the physical. The official bodies that use the term have over 500 million registered users.- History of the term :...
based on strategic skill, played without any discrimination of race, sex and creed. IFP also seeks to assist its member Federations in securing legislation that gives players the right to play poker safely and legally, both online and in bricks & mortar establishments.
Poker’s recognition as a ‘Mind Sport’
In April 2010, IFP secured membership of the International Mind Sports Association (IMSA)International Mind Sports Association
The International Mind Sports Association is an institution of the world governing bodies for contract bridge, chess, draughts , and go, namely the World Bridge Federation , World Chess Federation , World Draughts Federation , and International Go Federation...
at IMSA's annual congress in Dubai.
Internal structure
The supreme authority of IFP is the Congress, the assembly of all the members of IFP on a one-country-one-vote system. Congress meets once a year. The Executive Board of IFP is elected by Congress for a period of three years and is the managing body of IFP. The Board elects a President from among its members for a term of three years, which can be renewed. IFP's current president is Anthony HoldenAnthony Holden
Anthony Holden is an English writer, broadcaster and critic, particularly known as a biographer of artists including Shakespeare, Tchaikovsky, Leigh Hunt, Lorenzo da Ponte and Laurence Olivier, and of members of the British Royal family, notably Charles, Prince of Wales...
.
IFP's President and Executive Board take counsel, at their discretion, from an Advisory Board of poker luminaries including, among others, Al Alvarez
Al Alvarez
Al Alvarez is an English poet, writer and critic who publishes under the name A. Alvarez and Al Alvarez....
, Doyle Brunson
Doyle Brunson
Doyle F. Brunson is an American professional poker player who has played professionally for over 50 years. He is the first two-time World Series of Poker main event champion to win consecutively, a Poker Hall of Fame inductee, and the author of several books on poker.Brunson is the first player to...
, Humberto Brenes
Humberto Brenes
Humberto Brenes is a professional poker player. Brenes currently resides in Miami Lakes, Florida with his wife and three children ....
, Gus Hansen
Gus Hansen
Gustav "Gus" Hansen is a professional Danish poker player who lives in Monaco. In his poker career, Hansen has won three World Poker Tour open titles, the 2007 Aussie Millions main event and was the season one winner of the Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament...
, Mel Judah
Mel Judah
Mel Judah is an Australian professional poker player, also known as "The Silver Fox" . He learned poker at the age of 14 by watching his father play 5-card draw....
, James McManus
James McManus
James "Jim" McManus is an American poker player, teacher and writer living in Kenilworth, Illinois.-Poker and Positively Fifth Street:...
and Tom McEvoy
Tom McEvoy
Thomas K. McEvoy is a professional poker player and author. He is best known for his win in the 1983 World Series of Poker main event.-Early life:...
.
Events
The IFP will launch for the first time the official World Championship of Poker (Labelled The Table) and the first Duplicate Poker Nation's Cup to take place in London in November 2011, in London's County Hall and the Iconic London Eye.Membership
Membership in the IFP consists of National Poker Associations and Federations from around the world. The IFP currently has 35 members including the seven founding members.The seven founding members of the IFP are:
- Confederação Brasileira de Texas Hold'em (Brazil)
- Dansk Pokerforbund (Denmark)
- Fédération Française des joueurs de Poker (France)
- Stichting Nederlandse PokerBond (Netherlands)
- Russian Sport Poker Federation (Russia)
- Ukrainian Poker Federation (Ukraine)
- UK Poker Federation (United Kingdom)
Each of the above seven organisations where set up at the same time as the International Federation of Poker.
Additional members are:
- Asociacion de Poker Texas Hold'em de Argentina (Argentina)
- Armenian Poker Federation NGO (Armenia)
- Austrian PokerSport Association (Austria)
- Belarusian Sport Poker Association (Belarus)
- Poker Federation of Bosnia & Herzegovina (Bosnia & Herzegovina)
- Bulgarian Federation of Tournament Poker (Bulgaria)
- Federations Costarricense de Poker Deportivo (Costa Rica)
- Cypriot Poker Federation (Cyprus)
- Asociace Pokerových Klubů o.s. (Czech Republic)
- Estonian Tournament Poker Federation (Estonia)
- Suomen Pokerinpelaajat Ry (Finland)
- Georgian Sport Poker Association (Georgia)
- German Federation of Poker (Germany)
- Magyar Póker Szövetség (Hungary)
- Pókersamband Íslands (Iceland)
- Japan Poker Association (Japan)
- Republic Federation of Amateurs and Poker Players (Kazakhstan)
- Lithuanian Sports Poker Federation (Lithuania)
- Federación Mexicana de Juegos de Cartas de Habilidad y Deportivas, A.C. (Mexico)
- Mongolian Sport Poker United Association (Mongolia)
- Nigeria Poker Federation (Nigeria)
- Polska Federacja Pokera Sportowego (Poland)
- Federatia Sportiva Nationala de Poker (Romania)
- Serbian Poker Federation (Serbia)
- Poker zveza Slovenije (Slovenia)
- IFPo de España (Spain)
- United States Poker Federation (USA)
- Asociación Poker de Venezuela (Venezuela)