Rafael Nadal is recognized all over the world as he is one of the top tennis players on the circuit today. Nadal who is extremely competitive is also well known for trying his hand at poker. The tennis pro is so passionate about the game that he is also a PokerStars ambassador. Nadal recently confirmed that he has decided to take his poker game to a whole new level by entering The European Poker Tour that will be held in Prague this December.
Nadal started playing poker seriously only from June 2012 and soon found that he not only liked the game but was good at it. This will be the first time that Nadal takes part in an official live poker tournament. The EPT Prague Main Event will start on the 12th of December and Nadal will also be present on the 12th as he is scheduled to be in the capital city of the Czech Republic where is will play a live charity poker tournament.
In a statement, Rafael Nadal said
It’s no secret that I love the competition and that’s what I like about poker. It’s a game of skill that requires mental strength and the ability to out-think your opponents and in that way there are similarities to tennis. I have been playing poker online for almost 18 months and now I’m looking forward to the challenge of playing my first live tournament.
Nadal will have stiff competition at the EPT as the event will be attended by some of the top poker professionals in the world as well as a number of high profile celebrities. While, no one expects Nadal to win the main event, the tennis pro will be using his competitive streak to see if he can push his luck and do well in his first live event. Nadal has been practising on a regular basis by playing online at the PokerStars website. He has also shown that he is serious about the game by hiring Alfonso Cardalda as his poker coach. Cardalda has been responsible for coaching and mentoring Nadal for the last 18 months and helping him improve his poker skills.
Cardalda said
Rafa takes learning the game of poker very seriously, and understands the importance of practice to ensure he stays at the top of his game. The Prague charity tournament is a big milestone for Rafa as a poker player and I’m hoping that his success on the tennis court this year will translate into success at the poker table in December.
