A group of about 15 poker players, most of them Norwegians fell victim to an armed robbery in the early hours of last Friday, 22 August, 2014 at a farm in Hogdal Bygdegård, Sweden.
Since organising poker games that involve money transactions is forbidden in Norway, poker players often take part in games organised in neighbouring Sweden, where the law allows closed poker games in private surroundings.
Police suspect that the armed robbers were well informed about the location of the poker game and knew how much money is involved.
The players were told to lie down on the floor, as the robbers quickly vanished into the night with their cash.
The only positive thing that the robbers left behind was a great bad beat story for the players to tell over and over again — and the kind that somebody is actually interested in hearing.
The moral: Land-based casinos or official poker rooms are usually the best option for safe cash games and tournament poker; if you choose an illegal card den or a stranger’s kitchen you will always be vulnerable to security risks like robbery or, more commonly, cheating.
Norwegian legislation makes the lives of poker players really tough and we doubt that it will get much better if a currently-proposed law which caps organised, closed poker events at a maximum prize pool of NOK5,000 should pass.
A NOK5,000 ($800) prizepool just isn’t big enough to allow for a proper tournament, still less one that is worth robbing!