Liv Boeree and Igor Kurganov Come to Warwick University!

On Saturday, November 24, Warwick University's Poker Society (WSP) will hold a 24 hour charity event. Both donations and the money placed into each poker game will be presented to "Raising for Effective Giving" (REG). This charitable organisation aims to create "a world where all people use evidence and rationality to have the biggest impact with their philanthropy," in which the group attempts to "empower people to make better giving choices by promoting the idea of effective giving, providing donation advice to individuals and organizations, and supporting fundraising campaigns and events."

"This event isn't primarily about giving, it's about spreading the word of effective altruism and the principles behind it through a medium people love, Poker. What's great about this event is that due to its duration many will have the opportunity to try out the game of poker and learn about Effective Altruism." - Euan Williams(Head of Events for WSP)

The charity was founded on the third of July 2014 by a set of internationally acclaimed Poker players including, Liv Boeree, Igor Kurganov, Phil Gruissem, and Stefan Huber. Since 2014 the organisation has raised over $6.5 million with around $3 million being donated to alleviate global poverty. The group intends to be completely transparent, publishing biannual transparency reports to the public to demonstrate their progress and spending. As shown below REG has dramatically increased both the amount of money raised and the fundraising multiplier attached to these contributions, attempting to keep the organisations spending to a minimum.

"I strongly believe in Effective Altruism and the power of this movement to do the most good in the world. Poker and Effective Altruism have a number of things in common. Both think in terms of probability and try to maximize expected value. This means that poker players are particularly receptive to EA’s concepts. Effective Altruism Warwick, who we are co-hosting the event with, will be present to encourage debate and answer any questions people may have about the charity. I really hope we can inspire a number of people with this event." - Oscar Perche (Head of WSP)

Transparency:

Liv Boeree and Igor Kurganov will be attending the event to help promote their charity and increase fundraising opportunities. Liv Boeree was consecutively named the Female Player of the Year (2014, 2015) and has made $3,795,956 in live earnings. She is currently ranked 16th on England's All Time Money List. Whilst, Igor Kurganov is the 33rd seed on the All Time Money List, having $15,791,821 in live earnings and is currently ranked as the number one Russian player. The couple cemented themselves as "Pokers Power Couple: in 2017, with each winning a World Series of Poker Bracelet in the $10,000 Tag Team No Limit Hold'em Championship. They played against 101 other teams and ultimately took home $273,964 with the win.

"We're really excited to be running our society's first ever charity event and are thrilled to have gotten Liv and Igor to come too. They are two people in the poker world who we look up to, both for their poker ability and their charity work. Everyone in the society is really looking forward to meeting them! As poker players we felt that REG was the charity that best fit our outlook and we are pleased to be teaming up with EA to raise money and awareness for them." - Ollie Madelin (Vice President of WSP)

So if you are a student, member of staff, or are just in the area and want to pop along to support "Raising for Effective Giving," now is your opportunity... come and play in the 24-hour Charity Game! However, if you are unable to attend this event you still can help! Here is a link to REG's site where you can contribute to their cause.