Sapphire Poker Kiev

Situated in the Eastern part of Europe, Ukraine is the largest country within the entire European continent by land area – and is even one of the largest countries in the world. Surrounded by the Black Sea and the Sea of Ozoz as well as the countries of Belarus, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia and Moldova, Ukraine is a phenomenal nation with a population of more than 40 million people.

Arxondas added a bet 'Bitofastar' with odds and prediction +400 to Bitofastar, stake - 6/10. Office building have a security and an open parkong, which is located in front of the main entrance to the building. The SAPPHIRE business center stands out for its location in the central part of Kiev in the zone of business activity, where all the conditions for the active development of business in any direction are created.

It has a rich history as well as a wealth of diverse tourist attractions and heritage sites. People from all over the world visit Ukraine every year for the numerous Orthodox monasteries and churches (Saint Sophia Cathedral and Kiev Pechersk Lavra in the capital city of Kiev are prime examples), the Potemkin Stairs in Odessa, the 14th-century Kamianets-Podilskyi Castle, the Carpathian Mountains, and other fascinating sites.

When it comes to gambling, however, Ukraine is rather unsatisfactory. Most forms of gambling were made illegal in 2009, and as of 2018, there are no casinos in the country. With that said, poker has remained legal and is considered a sport there.

List of Poker Rooms in Ukraine

– Button Poker Club (Kiev)
– Europe Club (Kiev)
– Flash Poker Club (Kharkiv)
– Full House Kiev (Kiev)
– Full House Poker Club (Kharkiv)
– Full House Poker Room (Kramatorsk)
– FreeZeout (Lviv)
– Good Game (Kiev)
– Poker Club Замок (Kiev)
– Sapphire Club (Kiev)
– Sparta Poker Clud (Dnipro)
– Twins Poker Room (Dnipro)
– WIN Poker Club (Odessa)
– Школа Покера (Black Raincoat) (Odessa)

History of Casinos and Gambling in Ukraine

What started off as a massive gambling industry went through a detrimental stage in 2009 as the Ukrainian authorities declared all forms of gambling illegal. First, the history of gambling in Ukraine is quite debatable, like most eastern European countries’. The country itself has gone through a range of diverse phases—and throughout those phases, there are little to no references to any form of gambling being participated by Ukrainians.

To think about it, Ukraine is verified to have been established as the area where the domestication of horses by humans occured between 43,000 BC and 45,000 BC. From the Antes people and the Golden Age of Kiev (when Kievan Rus’ was the largest, most powerful state on the European continent) to domination by foreign kingdoms and states and the creation of the Ukrainian People’s Republic in the 20th century, gambling in Ukraine was completely nonexistent.

Legalization of Gambling

Eventually, a negligible amount of gambling activities were introduced as the country was declared independent on June 30, 1941, based on the Declaration of Ukrainian Independence. This continued until the industry witnessed a re-framed growth when Ukraine finally became an independent state on August 24, 1991, with the Act of Declaration of Independence of Ukraine.

Accordingly, both local and foreign operators developed an interest in the country’s gambling industry, mainly because of its massive area and population. The very first gambling legislation—law “On Gambling Games in Ukraine”—was passed and came into effect in 2003.

As gambling became legal, many gambling facilities emerged. There were roughly 40 casinos – large like those in Macau SAR and Las Vegas – and there were more than 100,000 gambling halls spread throughout the country, according to former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko in 2009.

Gambling Becomes Illegal

Tymoshenko, the first and only female Prime Minister of Ukraine, believed that gambling takes the last money from poor families and corrupts young citizens. So when the Verkhovna Rada (the Ukrainian Parliament) sent the bill that placed a blanket ban on the Ukrainian gambling industry, she welcomed it delightfully. She also stated that the gambling fine would be a total of 8,000 minimum wages, which is a good reason why people should deviate from gambling.

What actually caused the debate on whether to ban gambling in Ukraine or not took place in early-May 2009 when a fire broke out in a gambling hall situated in one of Ukraine’s largest cities, Dnipropetrovsk. The fire – which began when soccer supporters were watching Chelsea versus Barcelona in a Champions League semi-final – claimed the lives of nine people and severely injured 11 people due to the hall’s substandard safety measures; the director was soon confined. Immediately after the event, all gambling facilities (both gambling halls and casinos) and nightclubs in Dnipropetrovsk (known as Dnipro at the time) were closed so the Ukrainian forces could verify their safety measures.

Gambling Ban Law

The Verkhovna Rada seeing this deemed gambling an unfortunate activity as there were controversies prior to the event. The Verkhovna Rada created a bill in no time and passed it on May 15, 2009, as the law “On Prohibition of Gambling Business in Ukraine” (popularly called the Gambling Ban Law).

The majority of Ukrainian citizens protested against the law for three reasons. One, Ukraine’s gambling industry was enormous at the time; there were hundreds of thousands of gambling facilities. Two, the gambling facilities employed tens of thousands of citizens; banning them would render many unemployed. Three, the industry was about to witness more growth as more foreign operators were close to being licensed.

In spite of those protests and criticisms, the law was finally signed by former President Viktor Yushchenko on June 23, 2009, and came into effect two days later. According to the Gambling Ban Law, all forms of gambling (except some specific categories, which are listed in the Current Gambling Climate section below) became illegal; any business of such nature or participation in such activity were banned.

Enforcement Actions

To enforce the prohibition, Ukrainian forces confiscated more than 6,000 slot machines on July 10, 2009. At the same time, more than 500 illegal operations were uncovered and there were roughly 220 criminal charges. And according to former Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Turchynov, the operators made around UAH 300,000, which accounted for a total of UAH 16 million fines. But instead of the Ukrainian forces to stop such operations, gambling operators bribed police officers successfully.

Interesting enough, the ban—which was prompted by a conflagration in a land-based establishment—touched online gambling as well. In fact, Turchynov stressed that online gambling is a form of gambling business—and since the Gambling Ban Law did not specify a form of gambling, the Law is also applicable to online gambling operations and operators. As a result, licenses of both land-based and online operators were revoked and could not be renewed.

To utilize the popularity of gambling in some areas before the ban, a draft law “On Gambling Organization and Maintenance of Gambling Activities in the Special Gambling Zones” was created in September 2009. The draft law was still on hold until it was introduced in 2010 (and made public on November 3) due to the country’s political instability when it was created.

According to the draft law, the state would establish and operate a gambling regulatory body—the National Gambling Operator—that will be tasked with overseeing the licensing and regulations of private gambling operators. Another draft law, “On State Control and Legal Basis for the Organization of Gambling”, was registered on July 24, 2015, by the Verkhovna Rada.

The draft law was established so the gambling industry of Ukraine can be rejuvenated according to EU regulations, laws and rules, and to create an effective and strictly-regulated licensing system with defined requirements. According to former Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, gambling would provide extra income to fund Ukrainian cinema, art, and culture if it becomes legal once again. However, both draft laws have not been passed or signed since then.

Poker Remains Legal

Meanwhile, there were a number of flaws in the war against gambling when the Gambling Ban Law was signed. For one, poker was included in the list of recognized and legal sports on July 1, 2009, by the Justice Ministry of Ukraine; hence, gambling on poker games was still legal. Also, foreign online gambling operators were not prohibited to operate in the country; so, online gambling operators could simply move their servers to another country and still provide their gambling operations to Ukrainian players.

The first flaw made poker even more popular as poker tournaments thrived widely after a few months. To resolve the issue, the Justice Ministry of Ukraine removed poker from the list of recognized and legal sports on December 31, 2009. However, the Ukrainian Sports Poker Federation appealed the removal in 2013, which yielded a positive ruling as the court declared poker a sport. The second flaw was rectified in 2011 when the Gambling Ban Law was amended.

Nonetheless, the most powerful prohibition (Resolution No. 14 of January 6, 2010; an amendment of Resolution No. 1698 of November 14, 2000) was passed by the Cabinet of Ministers on January 6, 2010. The Resolution removed gambling from the list of businesses and economic activities that can be issued a license in Ukraine.

Current Gambling Climate

According to the law “On Prohibition of Gambling Business in Ukraine”, these forms of gaming are not considered gambling:

– Drawings (free, in form of competitions, or part of advertising)
– Any type of two-coordinate gambling machines called crane machines with material prizes
– Creative competitions
– Lotteries
– Sporting events with monetary or property prizes
– Pools
– Bowling, and similar games without prizes
– Broadcasted interactive quizzes (exclusively on channels with defined access)

For these reasons, casino gambling (gaming machines and gaming tables) is illegal in Ukraine as well as interactive gambling, bookmaking, and online gambling.

Casinos in Ukraine by Area

Prior to the 2009 ban, there were roughly 40 casinos in Bulgaria spread throughout nine cities: Kiev, Lviv, Odessa, Donetsk, Zaporozhye, Poltava, Kharkov, Dnipropetrovsk, and Chornomorsk (Illichivsk). Out of the 40 casinos, Kiev alone featured about 20 of them. Fast forward to 2018, and there are no longer any legal casinos in Ukraine.

Types of Casinos in Ukraine

As stated earlier, lottery games and poker are the only legal forms of gambling in Ukraine. Sports betting, casino gambling, pari-mutuel betting, bingo, online gambling, and others are completely illegal. And although online gambling is illegal, Ukrainian players can actually play on offshore gambling websites without any penalty or prosecution.

Pertaining lotteries, the Ukrainian National Lottery is a state monopoly under the Ukrainian Ministry of Finance, which offers Keno, Loto Triyka, and Super Loto both online and land-based. The company has seven branches: Kiev, Kharkov, Odessa, Dnipropetrovsk, Simferopol, Donetsk, and Lviv. Additionally, the Molod’SportLoto (successor of Sportloto, established in 1973) is another state monopoly that offers lottery games (such as Sportsprognoz and Megalot) in partnership with Scientific Games.

Facts About Casinos in Ukraine

– For the legal forms of gambling, the minimum gambling age is 18 years.

– Casino gambling is illegal.

– Paid interactive quizzes that are broadcasted on radio and TV channels were restricted to channels with defined access on March 6, 2012, as signed by Viktor Yanukovych. Art and sports competitions and lotteries with monetary or property prizes were not included.

– In Kiev, the very first Ukrainian Gaming Congress was conducted at Radisson Blu Hotel on September 29, 2015. The congress was created to discuss all things gambling in Ukraine by unifying lawyers, gambling operators, hotel owners, government bodies, investors, and other experts from all European territories. CASEXE—an online casino software company—is one of the Ukrainian Gaming Congress’ sponsors. Programmes such as this are organised by the Ukraine Gaming Association: a nonprofit association geared towards bringing gambling back to Ukraine.

– Similar to the Ukrainian Gaming Congress, the very first Ukrainian Gaming Summit was organised in 2017 by the Ukrainian Association of the Gaming Industry (UGIA). While the Congress is organised for experts in Europe, the Summit welcomes attendees from all over the world.

– According to the draft law “On Gambling Organization and Maintenance of Gambling Activities in the Special Gambling Zones”, gambling should be allowed in hotels with at least 100 rooms and four-star rating, and complexes, nonresidential establishments, and ships registered in Ukraine with at least 500 sq metre of space.

– There are more than 150 gambling websites on which Ukrainian players can participate in any form of gambling.

– Molod’SportLoto is a member of the European State Lotteries and Toto Association.

– Even though casino gambling is completely illegal in Ukraine, there are numerous casinos and gambling halls in Kiev—even in the heart of the country’s capital. Most are large and offer poker and minuscule table games and gaming machines.

Introduction

High Tier

Middle Tier

Low Tier

Bottom Tier

Untiered

Introduction

The best Pokémon is one who is obtained at the start of the game, can OHKO enemies off the bat, and only loses 1 HP when damaged. It also learns every HM, heals itself automatically, and has some neat ability to top it off. Such a Pokémon doesn't exist, of course, but this means that Pokémon closer to this ideal are the best.

The goal of this in-game tier list is to recommend a select group of Pokémon for an efficient run-through of the game. Those will be put in High tier. Very inefficient Pokémon will be put in Low tier. Pokémon who are neither efficient nor inefficient – for example, Pokémon who have an initial downside but can eventually perform as well as High tiered ones – are put in Middle tier. [the intent of this sentence was confusing but by skimming the list I came up with that description.

Pokémon are graded based on five factors: availability, raw stats, movepool, typing, and matchups against major in-game battles. Availability is a measure of how easy it is to obtain the Pokémon, and it ranges from very low (gift Pokémon) to very high (common 'tall grass' Pokémon). It also takes into account the part of the game at which you are able to get the Pokémon. For example, a Pokémon could be extremely good, but he is worthless if you get him after every major battle. Raw stats affect the Pokémon's ability to KO others and to take hits in-game. Obviously, you want Pokémon with great stats, since that means they can easily KO many other Pokémon without fainting.

A Pokémon's movepool is the variety of attacks the Pokémon learns. Does it need a lot of TMs to have a good moveset? Can it learn a lot of HMs to help you navigate in the overworld? Does he learn powerful attacks of his own type? TMs are available but can only be used once. Giving items like Super Potions is fine because you can buy them and you have almost infinite money in the game. Giving a Pokémon a TM like the Dig TM in RBY cannot simply be assumed, as there is lots of competition for that TM. The less competition there is for a TM, the more likely it is that a Pokémon can get said TM. Pokémon with great movepools do not present much competition for TMs, allowing them to be used on other Pokémon (However, a buyable TM can always be assumed).

Typing and matchups go hand in hand. The optimal typing gives a Pokémon STAB on useful attack types while leaving it with few or no weaknesses. If a Pokémon is a dual type, his typing should complement it offensively and defensively. Typing also determines the major battles in which a Pokémon will be useful (major battles can range from Gym Leaders battles to Rival battles.) Therefore, it is useful to use Pokémon with good type combinations that give them an advantage in most of the game's major battles.

Don't confuse an efficient run with a speed run. Speed runs are often segmented and recorded while manipulating luck through resets; these aim for the absolute fastest on-screen time, but the real time spent on them is much, much more. If you want to play through the game in a relatively low time frame, then you're looking for an efficient run.

A team is actually the most efficient (in terms of utility per team member) if it only consists of a single member; however, this tier list will assume a team size of around three Pokémon. Otherwise, the list would be extremely centralized around starters and early-game Pokémon while everything else would be too crappy to use. Also note when reading through this guide that some of the moves and abilities listed for a Pokémon may only be obtained by their evolutions. Some Pokémon may be placed in higher tiers due to their evolutions capabilities as well.

High Tier

Abra

Availability: Early
Stats: High
Movepool: Decent
Additional Comments: Evolving him is somewhat difficult, but Alakazam's sheer strength and power makes it worth it.

Chinchou

Availability: Late
Stats: Above Average
Movepool: Wide
Additional Comments: Lanturn has passable stats and Water/Electric is an awesome STAB combo.

Electrike

Availability: Early
Stats: Above Average
Movepool: Shallow
Additional Comments: Fast and strong; Bite + Thunderbolt offers great neutral coverage.

Groudon (Ruby Only)

Availability: Late
Stats: Excellent
Movepool: Wide
Additional Comments: Comes late at a high level, but is incredibly strong and sweeps easily with Bulk Up + STAB Earthquake. Drought also removes its Water weakness and it has Fire Blast to crush Grass- and Ice-type Pokémon. In Emerald, it doesn't come until after you beat the Champion.

Kyogre (Sapphire Only)

Availability: Late
Stats: Excellent
Movepool: Wide
Additional Comments: Comes late at a high level, but is incredibly strong and can sweep the Elite Four pretty much by itself with a moveset of Calm Mind / Ice Beam / Hydro Pump / Thunder (it comes with three of those moves). In Emerald, it doesn't come until after you beat the Champion.

Lotad (Sapphire and Emerald only)

Availability: Very Early
Stats: Average
Movepool: Decent
Additional Comments: Dual STABs have great coverage without need for TMs, while his typing doesn't leave him with many weaknesses. It's easy to get as well.

Mudkip

Availability: Beginning
Stats: Above Average
Movepool: Wide
Additional Comments: Learns a lot of HMs, is bulky, and is strong. His dual STAB combo offers great coverage when coupled with Blizzard, which is an easily purchased TM.

Ralts

Availability: Very Early
Stats: Above Average
Movepool: Decent
Additional Comments: Very strong, moderately fast, and has a pretty good movepool. Psychic + Thunderbolt is a good attacking combo to use, especially since Ralts gets Calm Mind as a level-up move.

Rayquaza (Emerald only)

Availability: Late
Stats: Excellent
Movepool: Very Wide
Additional Comments: Hard to catch, but comes at a very high level and is extremely strong. Needs no TMs. In Ruby and Sapphire, it doesn't come until after you beat the Champion.

Shroomish

Availability: Early
Stats: Above Average
Movepool: Decent
Additional Comments: Slow, but Breloom is very strong and has a good movepool.

Skarmory

Availability: Mid-game
Stats: Above Average
Movepool: Shallow
Additional Comments: Excellent typing lets it take many hits, and it outright walls a lot of the game's more deadly Trainers, such as Norman, Winona, Steven, Sidney, and Phoebe. You should also have the Steel Wing TM as soon as you find it, meaning that it can pull its weight very quickly.

Staryu

Availability: Late
Stats: Above Average
Movepool: Very Wide
Additional Comments: Very fast and strong with a great movepool. It comes a bit late, but training it is well worth it.

Taillow

Availability: Early
Stats: Above Average
Movepool: Shallow
Additional Comments: Reliable STABs, great early movepool, and extremely fast.