European Tour - UK pub league

So one day after arriving I am at a Royal British Legion Club in Hampshire playing poker in the Live Pub Poker League. The concept is simple - you sign up online with your name and email address and then attend one of several games they host each night at various pubs. You play for points instead of cash and periodically the players with the most points play in regional and grand finals where they can win big prizes.

With me only being here a month my points were irrelevant and I wondered if I could motivate myself to play poker without any money at stake. Surprisingly the answer is a resounding yes.

First the social side is great. Everyone at each location seems to play there most weeks so they all know each other, crack jokes, buy each other drinks and generally have a great time. Everyone was really welcoming to me and I enjoyed this atmosphere. The quality of the poker was mixed with some soft players likely influenced by their pints of beer and some very strong players - normally the same bunch of strong players make the final tables in each location and get the most points. Also as a bonus the players knocked out of the official game often play low stakes cash games on the side - winning these games can cover your costs for the night!!

The purpose of the league is to bring customers into the pubs and clubs on quiet nights (the pub pays the league a hosting fee). Therefore on Friday night and Saturday night there is no game but normally this is offset by at least one of the regulars hosting home cash games (completely legal in the UK). These tend to be 5-10 pounds per game with 20 players or so - enough to enjoy winning a little spending money but not enough to feel too upset if you lose.

I have played at about 5 different locations in the 2 weeks I have been in England so far and enjoyed the company of the different regulars at each place. Could this pub league concept work in America. I am not sure - the culture of the bars over there makes me think it would not. Especially as the card rooms and Indian casinos would compete and offer real money games. However my opinion is based on my time in California where there are many places to play - maybe in other states the league would work very well.

I am still here for another week or so - hopefully I will continue to enjoy playing lots of poker in these games, even without having money at stake!!