Hello 2+2 ,

As you all see i am a belgian player and i mainly play on Pokerstars .
I am very excited now that Belgium had made the step to regulation
of online poker . Finally we can all play online and win money without
being affraid of infraction of stupid laws and rules .

Pokerstars is the biggest online provider in Belgium and will now also
organize big live events on belgian soil, i couldn't be more thrilled .
Belgian players will have the opportunity to shine in their own country
so that will have more and more of an impact on the live poker scene
also i am sure. I hope that belgian players become not only better but
also better known because i am sure we have many good players that
are ready to show their skills , wether live or online .

My question i as follow : " what could the belgian player scene ( with or without Pokerstars )
now can do to cause even more of a poker boom in their own country ? "

I have an idea of a "2+2 like" site or forum , not for poker players that allready know how it goes but for people that don't play poker and want to know better how it works .
I want to reach out to belgian non poker players and show them the beautiful sport that poker is ,
and show them that it is a game of skill that can be taught and improved by learning and persevering .

My first idea was to post this here in the community to see how the players here think about it and also i know there are belgian players here that i know could give feedback and their views about the belgian poker scene .

tl;dr :
How can we cause a boom of belgian poker players , so that Belgium places
itself on the map ( either with or without Pokerstars )

I really hope this gets one hell of a thread and that the community receives this well .
Also if wrong place for post will mods. please replace this ; i hope it's good here
cause there are many people in NVG ...
I know about the other Belgium thread here but i want to create an other conversation
not so much about the legal stuff ( law etc.) but about the Belgian scene itself .

tx guys

you have the 9lives poker section on their forum and pokerclub . be enough tbh

The 9 lives forum seems ok true but how known is it ? I for one had heard about
it but never really went checking untill now .

I think the real belgian boom still has to come , not only with people
that allready are playing online and live, but with people that are not
aware of the belgian poker options online or live .

Pokerstars now is legal in Belgium if you are 21 . And every day young people in
Belgium become 21 so those people we have to encourage to pick up poker .

We have to spread the word to them that you can win money legal on
Pokerstars now .

Not so much as competitors of the existing forums and sites ,
but as an adition to the belgian scene ...
Maybe a big database (a la hendon mob) of players and belgian bloggers ...

Views ?

for a country the size of my backyard isnt having 4-5 posts with the word belgium in them in NVG mooooar than enough.

and yes mejis is the best belgium player; he always tell me about **** he hears before its on 2p2 from the "belgium 2p2" as he calls it.

Yeah I agree with this.

On topic, Belgians just aren't gamblers in general. It's in our blood to be carefull with our money and just leave it in our bank account untill we die.

I do hope some mainstream advertising from pokerstars will get a few new players. But I fear a lot of the people that are interested in online poker won't be able to play because they aren't 21.

I don't think it's moaaar than enough no

i think the belgian players need more respect and a bigger ego-boost
from arround the community ...

I want to see pictures of that backyard of yours lolz

True words , and i want to help Pokerstars to do that .
We have to reach out to those kids who turn 21 in Belgium .
Make them aware of the fact that is the great game of poker,
and that now they can play big events and cash games online
( and in casino also , now that Belgium has its own series )

i want a new boom , come on i know it's possible

nice! congrats on the regulation!

What use is another forum aimed at beginners? Who is going to give advice?

Open a card room.

Hehe tx for feedback, thats why i'm not sure we need another forum
more of a superblog maybe ... ?

A place where new belgian players are redirected to or some sort ,
to learn about all the possibilities , before they subscribe to a site .

i would invite belgian poker bloggers to post in there and to answer
big questions that many people have , but not in a forum way ...
Maybe exclusive interviews also with bigger names about their view
on the matter ...
I for one am not sure how to do it , but i am sure that there is a big
hole in the belgian scene that can be filled , but how ... ?

I hope we soon can, damn casino's only offer poker in the evening

Good to hear and congrats.

forum for belgians is a good start, but i think it would be better to be apart from 2+2 because there are too many experienced, but losing and cynical posters who will suck the life out of your up and coming players.
2+2 is too depressing for new players and they will definetely find it when they become more experienced and want to learn more.

Nice little positive forum for new players.

yep this !

The problem is as a poster allready told is that belgian people are not really gamblers, and the fact is that poker is now just being accepted by the belgian community . I personally think that the regulation of online poker ( now in coop with Pokerstars ) will have a large benefit on the WHOLE scene in Belgium . And now is that time . Now we have momentum.

We are not just " some backyard " like whowasit told me , but people see us that way, no doubt about that . (lulz) The problem lies within the rules and laws we had to abide . Like why the F**k are homegames illegal in belgium ? There is no action here because it's not allowed! .Poker in Belgium still has a bit of a taboo arround it i guess , something criminal . Illegal and to be frowned uppon ... Bull****

Thats why i like the online regulation . People will find out that poker has evolved in more that just " a shady card game ." And poker can be a way to pay the bills . If you are good at it . I really hope that brick and mortar will evolve as quickly possible, not just casino's that provide poker and not just in the evening or in the weekend. Every day tourneys and every day action arround the clock in big cities arround the country ( damn what a daydream )

Now is the time to reach out to the broad belgian audience , so poker can have it's second big boom here . What can we do ...

In my opinion, Pokerstars.be is a mistake.

Look at the "La maison du bluff," It's aimed at Belgians, but only those that speak fluent French. Which means that like half the country isnt allowed in.

The simple fact is that "Belgians" only exist on paper, because you are Flemish or Walloon, and most of them do not speak each others laguage for starters.

People can discuss what they think is interesting. Just because your country is bigger doesn't mean the interest in it is higher.

And I'm not even belgian by the way, but I do know a few and I'm pretty sure 1 belgian guy deserves more respect as 10 people you can find in "your backyard". Belgian people are usually very friendly, relaxed, quiet and kind, almost humble. Unlike the majority of people in a certain country I know...

What I'm intrested in is to know how hard will the Belgian government go after pokerplayers to claim taxes on their profits?

I know recreational players are supposed to pay 33%. Professional players up to 50%. Is it still possible for players that make 20k a year to keep flying under the radar?

A bit more info can be found here:http://nl.pokerstrategy.com/news/wor...ngregel_52843/

bumpz for info ...

Been thinking myself what i could do to help a bit . I am looking to create some kind of player database . A place for belgian players where they can sign up and show that they are part of the community . I would be updating results a long with the players themselves so they can show how they are doing , etc ...

I've got it all in my headz and now mostly on paperz also lol. Still could use some feedback though. I want to work together with excisting fora and blogs just as a great addition.

Like i said a bit of feedback would be great , think out of the box dudes
This is al with great intentions and i now it can be done . Just to put Belgium on the map as a great poker country , like it should be .

tl;dr : New site is coming , could use feedback ... Will give updates later this month .

Greetz

Get all of your hot Belgium euro trance sloots like the girl in Lasgo, Milk Inc and Evi Goffin to Promote poker.

true, true ...