The Festival Media Partner : Rafał Gładysz & Railme.com
We are very proud to announce that Rafaɫ Gladysz, with his poker media brand Railme.com, will be collaborating with us for our next event of The Festival Series in Malta. Rafaɫ has built up an incredible amount of experience within the poker industry and is a well-respected figure in the Polish poker community. Having him on board towards our stop in Malta means the world to us. Railme.com is the leading poker media in Poland. Let’s introduce him to our poker audience!
Melvin TF: Hi Rafaɫ, we are extremely happy that you and your brand RailMe.com will join our next stop of The Festival Series in Malta. For the people who do not know your brand just yet, would you mind introducing it to us?
Rafaɫ: ‘’ I've been a poker journalist for 16 years. At that time, I worked on several poker websites, and in the years 2015-2019, I was the editor-in-charge of the largest and oldest of them, Pokertexas.net.
At some point, however, I decided that I would like to create something new, something different. I wanted to build a site based around live poker and everything around it. Live coverage of poker festivals, a detailed calendar of poker events, and detailed reviews of the best and biggest tournaments in Europe and the rest of the world. Plus, of course, everything a poker site should have - news, articles, blogs, etc.
I started working on it after the summer of 2019 and already in October of the same year- RailMe.com went online. The name of the site refers to the railing of poker players during poker events. There is also a "poker eye" in the logo. At the moment, RailMe.com is the number #1 poker site in Poland and I am very happy that readers appreciate the work put into it.’’
Melvin TF: For many years you are covering events within the poker industry. What makes your job so enjoyable and what things are important to you when attending such events?
Rafaɫ: ‘’The most important thing in working in the poker industry is passion. I've been playing poker for almost half my life and still love it as much as I did at the beginning. No, I love it even more. It may sound silly, but I have a sense of mission to accomplish. I live in Poland, where poker has been practically illegal for 14 years, and we still have problems with law enforcement (they recently popped into my house at 6 am like I was a gangster). Someone has to fight it, and I took it upon myself.
So when I go to a poker tournament to cover it live, I don't go there just to tell stories about the hands at the tables. I'm going there to show how beautiful poker is, what life is like for poker players, and how cool the atmosphere is at tournaments. I want to tell the stories behind poker. I want to talk about amazing people who play poker. I want to show you great places where we play poker (btw - Malta is one of my favorites!).
Every live coverage, every festival, every trip, something different happens. I meet new people, I experience new situations (although more than once I thought I had seen everything in poker). Poker surprises me all the time. There is no time to be bored. It is hard work because I am also a reporter, photographer, and commentator and sometimes I help with my experience in organizing events.’’
Melvin TF: The Polish community is so incredibly big. Mainly in terms of live poker, they are making their way to Slovakia or the Czech Republic. What about Malta? How is Malta being received in the Polish poker community?
Rafaɫ: ‘’Polish players love to play poker, but - as I mentioned - we don't have any big festivals in our country because we have a horrible law. The fact that there are so many of us everywhere is simply a necessity - we have to go abroad to play at interesting festivals. We are closest to the Czech Republic and Slovakia, so all major events in Bratislava, Prague, Rozvadov, Koszyce, or Olomouc will not be held without the participation of Poles.
But of course, our players fly all over Europe, and for years Malta has been one of the main destinations for these trips. Many festivals were organized there for Polish players. I remember that I was in Malta for the first time, probably in 2010 or 2011, and since then I have been visiting this place regularly. Polish players have had a lot of success in Malta and I believe they will continue to do so.’’
Melvin TF: Do you play poker yourself as well? Do you play mainly live or online? Are you going to live events as a player?
Rafaɫ: ‘’I am no longer a poker player for a living. I only took up journalistic work and that's what I'm concentrating on. But I'm still a recreational player, of course, visiting Warsaw poker clubs and playing tournaments. Sometimes I will also play in a tournament when I go abroad for coverage. But I never have much time for that.
Online poker is not for me. This game is soulless, with no atmosphere, no one to talk to, and no one to laugh with. I am a typical representative of the "old school", I am an analog 50-year-old grandfather.’’
Melvin TF: It will be the first time you will cover an event of The Festival Series on location. What do you know already about The Festival Series and what can you recommend to our players visiting the stop in Malta?
Rafaɫ: ‘’We covered all previous editions of The Festival Series on RailMe.com. Each time I liked the large number of different events with different buy-ins in the schedule.
There are €550 and €1,100 tournaments, but there are also plenty of €100-€200 tournaments for players with a smaller wallet, which I like a lot. Poker should be a game for everyone, and most poker festivals are unfortunately quite expensive and many players have to skip such an event. The Festival Series gives them the opportunity to come to an interesting event, meet lots of people and have fun.
I hope that I will meet many Polish players in Malta and they will show their best side!’’
