Poker in the UK?

[CrazyLond]

Has anyone here played any poker in England or Scotland?  I'm visiting there in April for about 10 days to see some relatives but I will have some time to myself to explore a bit.  Has anyone got any recommendations of places to play in London or other towns?  I'll probably be staying in Cambridge and then Edinburgh but I will have a rail pass to take me wherever.  I believe stud is more popular there but that's a game I like so it should be fun.  Also, I've heard they have some crazy ediquette rules and stuff.

[that_pope]

I have never played there, nor never been to England (but have been to Italy, France, Germany).

Crazy etiquette might include dressing up with a coat and nice shoes (like Aviation Club in Paris)

Hold'em is quite popular, they have 2 or 3 regional poker tours that run there.  I know Grosvenor Casinos host poker there.

A 10 second search on google found this link, maybe you can expand the search around a casino in your area

http://www.poker-tomorrow.com/casinos/uk/

[CrazyLond]

Thanks for the link.  One of those casinos has a game called Punto Banco.  I have no idea what that is but it sounds like fun.  I'm a sick man.  Also, at that Victoria casino...

Dealer’s Choice Cash Game
Buyins start at £100 -£500 with a minimal £5 open and a $10 open. Depending on which table you choose the hourly rate can be £10 for the lowest limit table up to £20 for the £5/£10. Three dealer’s choice tables are open daily.

Pot Limit Omaha Cash Games
The casino provides four Omaha tables, with minimum buyins starting at $50 spreading up to $500. The hourly rate for the dealer is based on the table. £1/£2 games have a dealer charge of £6 an hour while the £5 table has a fee of £20 an hour.

It's a shame the dollar is doing so poor against the pound (and everything else) right now, but hey, I guess that means I win more if I win  ;D

[that_pope]

OUCH!!!! An hourly time charge of £20, us Americans can't afford that.

[CrazyLond]

I don't think I'll be playing the limits with that charge, but even the £10 per hour one will bleed me dry if I stay too long.  Haha, it's alright, I'll be on vacation.

[CrazyLond]

I fly out tomorrow.  I am spending the first couple nights in London, in Chelsea which is only a 20 minute bus ride from the Grosvener Vic Casino.  One thing that I've found out makes up a little for the rake/per hour charge is that it's illegal to tip dealers in England.  I'll let you guys know how it went when I come back on May 1.

[that_pope]

Have fun, good luck, and please don't spend every waking moment in a casino...you can do that back here, enjoy your trip!

[CrazyLond]

Haha, I won't do that.  I'll probably just go there for a few hours on Thursday while I'm in London.  I've seen most of the big London sights before although never the British Museum so I may check that out also.  The rest of the time I'll be in Cambridge and Scotland where I won't be playing any.

[CrazyLond]

I just arrived back in yesterday.  Here's a trip report:

Arrived on a Wednesday afternoon at Heathrow, took the underground to central London, and dropped my baggage off at my father's friend's house where I was staying.  I then met my cousin in town to see a stage production of the "39 Steps".  It was a four-actor show in the old Criterian theatre and was quite funny actually.  I slept about 11 hours that night, and then made my way to the Grosvener Vic casino which was a 15-minute bus ride from where I was staying.  I foolishly forgot my passport but they accepted my American driver's license as identification.  I was quickly registered, my coat was taken and I was given a membership card.  The main casino was one floor above the lobby and the poker room was another floor above that.  I went to the poker room and there was just one game going with 6 players seated.  I asked what game it was and I thought he'd said "£5/£5 NL Holdem."  I figured, being the equivalent of $10/$10 NL, I could play a little higher than usual since it was probably going to be my only time playing for the trip.  The buy-in was £250 minimum with no maximum.  100 Big Blinds is what I usually buy in for at NL live games so I handed the cage downstairs $1000 and about £10 and they gave me a pretty shiny plastic disc that said £500 on it, instructing me to use that to buy-in upstairs.  I did so and then found out it was actually "£5/£10 NL which seemed a bit more standard of a structure but of course is about twice as big, more like $10/$20 NL.  Also, I was now short-buying with only 50 BBs.  I figured I'd take a shot anyway since I was on vacation but did not want to buy in any deeper, saving some of my hard-earned money for the CAZ sharks.  The next thing I found out was that the price to play was £7.50 per half hour.

The stacks at the table varied from about £300 up to a couple people with as much as £5000 in front of them.  The players seemed fairly standard tight and aggressive types for the first hour or so, most players staying about even in chips.  At some point, however, some more players filled up the table and things started to get crazy.  All of a sudden every few hands seemed to be someone going all in.  I remember one hand where a player who had raised preflop instantly called a £450 bet into a pot that was about £300 pounds on the turn with Q-T-rag-rag on the board.  When a king came on the river, he again called, this time all-in for about £700 instantly.  When the caller showed AK and won(after the other player flashed a Q), I thought of the insane barrage of insults that would probably follow such a hand.  The poor chap obviously wanted to lash out but table etiquette seems to be taken far more seriously there.

Anyway, this is far too long for a single visit trip report although there were a number of other things which amused me there, including a lot of interest and no small amount of side action in a snooker game on television.  I ended up cashing out for about £950.  They transferred the original $1000 back at the same exchange rate which was nice and I took the rest in pounds.  Overall, it was a very enjoyable and fairly profitable outing.  I then saw the British museum, spent some time in Scotland and then some time in Cambridge although I was very sick during that last few days.

[that_pope]

Great stuff, pretty profitable day at the casino.  Sounds like a profitable game!  I enjoy reading about poker in other countries, so thanks a lot.