From Sweden With Love: Chicago Takes Over Banco Casino
If you are wondering when The Festival Series will be held at Banco Casino Bratislava, then you must have missed the news lately. From November 18 to 24, we are going to the capital city of Slovakia! And guess what’s the very first tournament on the schedule? A schedule mainly put together by a Swede, of course! The game is called Chicago!
This game could really be a game-changer if you ask me. It perfectly combines casual card games with poker. It has everything poker has to offer, it's competitive, it pumps the adrenaline, and more! The Swedes claim to be the best at it, since they ‘invented’ the game. You can compare it to football: the English claim they invented it and that they are the best at it, too. You can fill in yourself if that is reasonably true or not. But just like football, people everywhere are playing Chicago—often from a young age, with family and friends.
>> Full Chicago Schedule - The Festival Series Bratislava
Take Norway or Finland for example. The territory of this great game has grown over the years, and now it’s going to reach even more new ground as we’ve added the Chicago tournament to the schedule in Bratislava for the very first time in our humble history of The Festival Series.
While Franke is taking his Hungarian boys on tour through Hungary with all the Festival friends like Geza Nagy, Andras Balogh, Peter Kovacs, and Robert Varga, we’ll first tell you a couple of stories about the Swedes who are coming to Bratislava. After that, we’ll reveal what Franke and co. have been up to in Hungary.
Let’s start with Joakim Olin, famous among The Festival crowd for being a back-to-back Seniors Championship winner and a very charismatic player on our tour:
“When I was young, I worked for a short period as a forest worker. We had a work shed where we would sneak out to rest on breaks. But instead, we played Chicago every break. That’s how it was then, and how it still is at many workplaces in Sweden. I’ve never been in prison, but from what I’ve heard, that’s the game they play in Swedish prisons too.”
Ingela Charlez is another familiar face on our tour, and she is absolutely crazy about the game of Chicago. She told me a story that involved Mauritz Altikardes, someone who has already meant a lot for the game, and thanks to his knowledge, the Chicago tournament is structured the way it is now in Bratislava.
“I was playing against Mauritz and two others during the Swedish Championships in Bratislava in August. We play a lot of Chicago between tournaments when we are away. Mauritz was already complaining before we started, saying I always have so much luck. Fifteen minutes into the game I hit a royal straight flush and won.”
Perhaps it wasn’t the best idea to ask the man, the myth, the legend himself—Martin “Franke” von Zweigbergk—but Franke is very diplomatic these days, despite reminding him not to be so serious all the time. So his answer was this:
“For me, Chicago was the game we played at home, in school, with family, on holidays. It was a game we learnt long before poker with chips, betting, or money. For many Swedes, like me, this is the original ‘poker.’”
And of course, Franke will be playing as much Chicago as possible in Bratislava. From the bottom of our hearts, on behalf of the whole Festival Series crew: please, pretty please, do not let this guy win. If he does, we’ll have to listen to it for the next decade (and probably longer).
Then we have Adam Tomasson, a Swede and friend of the Series, living in Malta. Whenever fellow Swedes are on the island, like Franke and Mau, then you can be certain that the game of Chicago will be played before, after, and during their activities on the island. Adam looked back to the PokerSM event in Bratislava, the Swedish Championships:
''Fast forward to Bratislava during PokerSM. We go for lunch with Franke at the famous Mexican place, and while waiting for food, we obviously play some heads-up Chicago. Hand number two—Franke hits a royal. Game over, lmao. Since that meant I got set to 0, I had to pay double points. And I can’t even complain it was rigged, because I was the one dealing! Absolute scenes!''
As you can see, Chicago creates some pretty wild and funny outcomes, and it really brings out the competitive spirit. If you want to learn the game, I highly suggest you check out the tutorial page we’ve created for Chicago.
Now, about Franke in Hungary. Somehow he managed to meet several super nice Hungarian players and turned it into a little road trip. Along the way, of course, he also jumped into a poker tournament. And guess what—this tournament had six €125 entry tickets to the Chicago tournament during The Festival Series added to the prize pool!
Make sure to follow our social media channels to see what else Franke is up to in Hungary and what's the next stop on his journey. For now, see you on November 18th in Bratislava at the completely renovated Banco Casino!
