Antarctica is known for leopard seals, emperor penguins, and glaciers, but not poker. In the coldest place on Earth, air temperatures dropped to -83.2ºC (-117.76ºF) in July 2023. This was also the world's lowest temperature in the previous six years. It's easy to assume that there’s no time for games in such a harsh environment. Even though polar bears aren’t roaming around, plenty of other threats await humans in Antarctica.
But that doesn’t stop the occasional poker game from going down. Between 1,100 and 4,400 people are estimated to live in Antarctica, depending on the time of year. If we use the global online player base estimates of around 100 million, then 1.25% of the Antarctica population could be into online poker (between 12 and 55 people at any given time).
Let's quickly look at how live and online poker games happen here.
Playing Live Poker in Antarctica
When we think of live poker, it's usually in a perfectly air-conditioned casino, with complimentary coffee and comfortable seats. In Antarctica, you can expect a very different experience. On the coastlines, you can expect average temperatures of around −10°C (14°F). This is where most of the research stations are, far from the −60°C (-76°F) average temperatures of higher interior elevations. At the lowest average temperatures, it could take as little as 30 minutes to get frostbite, and that could make shuffling a deck very difficult.
But of course, most card games start inside the research bases. There are around 70 different stations of different shapes and sizes scattered across the icy landscape. Inside a few, you're sure to find small poker tables.
As one oceanographer from Palmer Station, Antarctica put it, "Station managers realized that morale is very important when sticking 20 people in a few buildings for 6 months." They might not have enough time for long SNGs, but the oceanographer and other staff members play cash games, between $0.05/$0.10 and $0.25/$0.50.
This particular researcher is an avid member of a poker chip forum and also a former dealer. After getting max value from a few budget chip sets at the base, "NotRealNameNoSir" searched for an upgrade. However, he wasn't interested in buying someone else's chips – he wanted a custom design.
The results look fantastic. "NotRealNameNoSir" picked The Ice Cardroom as the name of his fictional casino, adding Palmer Station, Antarctica on the lower edge. If you're curious, these chips cost anywhere from 20 cents to $1 per piece on Alibaba, not including shipping fees. Usually, you've got to order between 100 and 500 chips. The product might not be WSOP chip quality, but it will last many years with a bit of TLC.
One well-known poker player who went to Antarctica didn't have poker chips and used Monopoly money instead.
If you play poker and use YouTube, there's a good chance you've heard of WolfGangPoker. On an excursion to Antarctica, Alexander Wolfgang and few others dug out a snowy poker table and sat down for a game of $5/$10.
It's the first-ever poker vlog in the area, but probably not the first outdoor game in Antarctica.
Wolfgang retold a poker story very few players will ever experience.
"We make a table, and all of a sudden, these tourists with these massive lenses, like all the other people start coming over and some dude flies a drone of it. They're just going nuts. And then, three other people come over, and they're like, "You playing poker?" I'm like, "Yeah." So we got a five-handed game. I'm the only one who took my gloves off because, I like, have to deal, I have to pitch, get the money going. It's a whole home game mess, but outside in 20-degree weather. so my hands are freezing.
I'm like, "For the content!" Arctic winds are blowing the money away, so we had to put things on top of the money. I was pitching cards, but they were flipping over mid-pitch, so I had to personally hand everyone the card. I'm like, "Please! I need like 5 hands for the vlog."
Even though it wasn't a long session, it won't be soon forgotten. But, if players in the Antarctic research bases have time off, they might open up their computers and go online.
- Increased first deposit bonus
- Increased rakeback and reloads
- Help with deposits and cashouts
- Access to private freerolls
- Round-the-clock support
Playing Online Poker in Antarctica
The internet connection in Antarctica used to be slow, but thanks to new tech, things have sped up. Scientists and researchers may have even more
In the past, bringing a USB drive or CD was the only way you could reliably watch movies. Streaming movies, browsing social media, and playing online poker have just recently become feasible. Since March 2024, a Chilean mobile service provider has been offering 5G to one of the Antarctic camps. Cruise ships that pass through the area tap into Starlink and various other ISPs.
All in all, the internet speed in one of the least-visited places on Earth is getting closer to the high speeds we are all used to. One staff member even says Starlink provides enough speed to his Antarctic research ship for “moderate Netflix streaming” to ~40 crew members.
I work on an Antartic research ship and we have starlink. We spend 3-4 months away from our families and home. It’s been a game changer for us to keep in contact with family and manage our business affairs back home.
— Maus Incognito (@MausIncognito) June 28, 2024
Best technology for seafarers in the last 20 years by far
Antarctica has more than enough speed for online poker, which requires far less than the 5MB/s Netflix recommends for HD streaming.
Players on Reddit report seeing several screen names with Antarctica locations, such as “Sardinia,” who plays on Americas Cardroom in low and mid-stakes MTTs. After 187 final tables and being ITM 18.6% of the time, "Sardinia" is down around $8,000. They are still active on ACR, last seen on August 8th, 2024. According to SharkScope, “Sardinia” has been on ACR since at least 2020, playing on iPoker before then.
Also (seemingly) playing from Antarctica, “QuackQuack89” managed to take 22nd place in a WSOP Online Bracelet event in 2020. Interestingly, he lasted longer than two GGPoker ambassadors, ElkY and Felipe Ramos, who placed 86th and 69th respectively. QuackQuack89's prize was just under $8,000, but it may be one of the biggest MTT scores from this unlikely location. However, Quack's SharkScope graph isn’t illustrious, showing less than a month of activity on GGPoker. By the end of it, they were down around $4,000.
Some sites, like PokerStars, don’t allow players from Antarctica (even for free games). However, if you have an upcoming Antarctica cruise or research trip, check with your poker room. They may allow you to play there temporarily or make special arrangements for your situation.
