Arena Of Poker

The rise in online poker has been responsible for a dramatic increase in the number of poker players in the UK. What started as an Internet phenomenon is now taking over the casino floors and in 2007 a competition was launched that utilised both formats of the game: live and online play. Sponsored by the sports betting website Blue Square, the Grosvenor UK Poker Tour promises to bring “the excitement of the big game experience to a casino near you”.

What is unique about this poker tour is that players can qualify for the contest through online play. The advantage of qualifying online is that while most players have to pull together £1000 for entry to the tournament, those that qualify through the Internet can do so for a lot less then if they just turn up to play. The games themselves take place in nine Grosvenor casinos across the UK in a series of £1000 Texas Hold’em tournaments. With up to 400 players in the main events, professional players, amateurs and Internet qualifiers all come to the table in the hope of winning big.

With prize money in the 2007 contest topping £3.5 million, the 2008 season is already set to eclipse this, with sponsors Blue Square adding £200,000 to the second year of the tour and a new ‘Champion of Champions’ tournament, where the prize money pool is £75,000. This tour is interesting because it appeals to both the traditional fans of poker, and the massive numbers of online players. The current leader in the 2008 tournament is Nik Persuad with 230 points, followed by Mark Goodwin with 183 and Julian Thew with 155 points, with the eventual winner set to take away a cool £10,000.