It's that time again: the calm before what promises to be a category Scandinavia poker storm. The players have arrived and the draw has been made. That means the lobby to Casino Copenhagen is full of the anxious and their friends, fidgeting from foot to foot, smoking strong coffee and drinking cigarettes.

Meanwhile upstairs in the casino ballroom, men in suits stand guard beside tables empty but for a scattering of coloured discs. Chips we call them. (Or is that fries?)

Last-minute preparations


The weapons

As mentioned earlier, Day One is split into two flights so we're only seeing half the field today. Still, that includes the likes of Chris Moneymaker, Gus Hansen, Isabelle Mercier, Barny Boatman, Rob Hollink, Bertrand Grospellier and Pascal Perrault. Marcel Luske, Ram Vaswani and a certain chap named Hachem are among those seen sizing up the opposition, ready to join the action tomorrow.

The cards will be in the air soon.