(Yicai) Jan. 29 -- Several executives, including the chairman of East Money Information, joined the board of Shanghai's new sports association of guandan, a poker-like card game that is replacing Texas hold’em at social gatherings.

Shi Qi, chairman of stock information provider East Money was elected the first president of the association, the Anhui Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai announced on its WeChat account recently. Guandan, which means "throwing eggs," is a four-play card game that originated in eastern China.

The new association will have vice presidents from several renowned companies such as Hong Qinghua, chairman of tourism platform Joyu International Tourism Operation Group, Ding Zuohong, chairman of tourism service provider Yuexing Group, Li Yi, general manager of Great Sports Media which is a subsidiary of Shanghai Media Group, and Nie Jianming, chairman of real estate company Hisun Investment Group.

Guandan is the favorite game of members of the Anhui Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai and an important networking channel, per the business organization. Over 20 million people in eastern China's Jiangsu and Anhui provinces regularly join guandan games and China has a total of 140 million guandan enthusiasts, it added.

The card game craze is a step toward homegrown ideas as Chinese private equity investors prefer playing guandan to the American poker equivalent during social gatherings, an industry insider told Yicai.

Last year, 11 regions, including Shanghai, Beijing, and Jiangsu, organized games of the national tournament of guandan shortly after the board and card game arm of the General Administration of Sport of China formulated unified rules for the game.

Editor: Emmi Laine