Wait

You're playing zoom?

Well, i also do play a bit zoom, about 30k hands a month on 5NL.

When i see a Russian of someone of Ukraine go out of there line with a strong cbet (+50%pot) or 3bet flop or so, you may be sure they are not bluffing. The average paycheck is there somewhat around $500, so $5 means a lot to them.

[@Giorgio Yeah most seem to be playing the typical ABC, raising when they have it folding when they don't with the odd 3bet as a bluff. I was starting to think they were bots at one point there were so many.


[=Jon-PokerVIP] I dabble when I'm bored and my internet is too slow to stream certain movies.

Those are all big countries you mention, could just be that. Lot's of people play poker in Brazil, Russia. I never see any Luxembourg regs!

Harvie, main reason is that in Latin and Eastern European countries, the idea of making even as little as 500 Euro / month is MOTIVATING!

For this reason there are a lot of professional micro stakes players from these countries. In Western countries with higher prices, higher standard of living, being a micro-pro is a lot less lucrative.

Becoming a poker pro is still relatively easy, but it's easier to do it, when you can pay all bills from the second month on. A western person will need to "suffer" a bit longer until they make enough to survive.

It's basic economics. Factories go to the cheapest country to produce your t-shirts and shoes because paying a Brit/German/French $15/hour with insurance, free holidays, and all of that stuff...well it's just not very competitive.