No matter the activity in life, it can be all too easy to focus on the big names and the star players. When there is big money involved, people will inevitably look towards the top players but one of the best things about poker is that it is open for everyone. On the right day with the right turn of cards, a lowly player can take out a massive name, which is something that is not always available in other activities and sports. By and large the big name poker player will take care of the smaller poker player but there can be occasions where the lesser known player wins.
However, there is a lot to be said for providing amateur poker players with their own events and this is exactly what the Amateur Poker Association & Tour is doing. This summer has seen the commencement of the 7th season of the APAT and there are plenty of great poker events to look forward to. The season got off to a cracking start, piggybacking onto the ISPT event at Wembley Stadium on the 1st of June. This Saturday event allowed players the chance to grace Wembley and join in the fun. Big name poker players were looking to play for the top prize that promised €1m but for amateur poker players, there was still plenty at stake.
This season is seventh heaven for APAT
There is going to be a stop-off in Prague and in Las Vegas but by and large, this season is going to give UK poker players the chance to stay close to home and take part in some major poker events. The next event takes place at the end of June at the G Casino Coventry when the APAT English Amateur Poker Championship takes place. The following weekend, Saturday the 3rd of August, Welsh poker players get their opportunity to get involved with the APAT Welsh Amateur Poker Championship which is taking place at the G Casino in Cardiff. There is then a run of events at the end of August taking place in the Dusk Till Dawn club in Nottingham. This is one of the premier poker venues in the UK and there are seven different events taking place over the Bank Holiday weekend.
The Gala in Bristol plays host to the LPPL Players Championship on Saturday the 7th of September and then on Saturday the 28th of September, the APAT Irish Amateur Poker Championship is played out in Dublin. The Celtic cousins are in action the following weekend as well as the Alea Casino in Glasgow plays host to the APAT Scottish Amateur Poker Championship.
That is all of the UK events for 2013 but with two foreign jaunts to end the year and then plenty more poker events lined up for the first half of 2014, this seventh season of the APAT is sure to be an exciting one for amateur poker players everywhere, which means that everyone gets a chance to be a winner.
Given the amount of poker players from around the world who are trying their luck at the WSOP in Las Vegas, it is no great surprise that there are no British or Irish players amongst the winners just yet. There are still plenty of events to go do hopes are still high that there may be some success to come but as of yet, there have been no stories of UK triumph. This is not to say that there haven’t been great performances from UK and Irish players though. There are plenty of players from here over who have performed well over there, grabbing cash finishes and making it through to the latter stages of the tournaments.
While there are many professional poker players taking part in the WSOP, there are also plenty of players that have scrimped and saved all year to take part in some of the smaller tournaments. Being able to play in the WSOP in Las Vegas is clearly a dream come true for many players and hopefully every UK and Irish player that has made it all the way to Sin City will have a brilliant time. Winning and doing well is brilliant but at times like these, sometimes it is the taking part that is the most important thing.
It is perfectly understandable that poker players will have interests outside of poker. There is no doubt that the top players in the game will have a great deal of focus on improving their skills and becoming a better player but players need to be able to unwind and step away from the game. Many poker players like to follow a sport and this is where football comes to the fore of popular activities.
Given that over 760 poker players have taken part in the UKIPT Marbella event, it has been a great achievement to make it to the end of Day 2. Every player that has made it through to this level will be guaranteed of taking away a couple of thousand euros for their trouble but once you get to this stage, you want to keep going as much as possible. Of course, every poker player will say this and there will be a great deal of competition to make it to the big money stages.
Even though a great deal of the focus and attention on the ISPT Wembley event fell on the numbers (and lack of attendees), it would be fair to say that some poker events have been achieving great success with respect to pulling in the punters. This has definitely been the case at the Marbella UKIPT event, which says a lot for the reputation that the event has managed to develop for itself.
Given that so many players failed to make the cut from Day 1B, it was no surprise that a number of major names fell by the wayside. Leo Margets and Gregorz Mikiekewicz were knocked out, leaving them to think about what might have been. Given that the event is a UKIPT event, some of the big UK names still involved in the tournament include Surinder Sunar and Martins Aeniya, who will still be harbouring dreams of big success. Some poker players will be looking forward to the UKIPT Cork event in August but plenty of poker players still have high hopes for Marbella success.
While the start of the summer for the Dusk Till Dawn club was very much about promoting and getting fully behind the ISPT Wembley event, it has been very much business as usual when it comes to the club and online events. The thing is though, you wouldn’t have known this from a casual look at their site because so much of the time and energy of the site has been devoted towards making the ISPT as big as hit as they possibly can. Now that the major event is finished, there is a need for the company and club to get back to doing what they do best, which is promoting great poker events every week!
With so many poker players from around the world descending on Las Vegas for the 2013 WSOP, it is no surprise to find that there are plenty of players from the UK and Ireland involved in the mix. Of course, when you have so many American players involved at the tournament it is always going to be difficult to make an impact but we are glad to say that over the first 20 events that have been played out so far, there have been a lot of UK players picking up the cash. If you ever thought about heading to a major event and just trying your luck, hopefully you can take inspiration from the successes that have already been achieved! The following results were the highlights from the first 5 events at the WSOP.
The fourth event of the WSOP 2013, the No-Limit Hold’em / Six Handed, saw 5 UK players bag some money that they’ll have to explain when they head home via customs! Martin Malone finished in 23rd place, which was enough to earn him $9,640 while Scott O’Reilly finished in 39th, which earned him $5,599. Craig McCorkell finished in 59th, which earned him $3,997. Sadan Turker finished in 71st place, grabbing $3,391 while Niall Farrell came 79th, taking home $3,117.
With a number of really big poker rooms and venues in London, it can be difficult for smaller venues to stand out from the crowd or even just be noticed by poker players. London is such a bustling metropolis that there is room for poker rooms of all sizes and offerings but the smaller poker rooms have to work harder to ensure that they are seen by poker players. This is definitely something that the Western attempts to do and they have created a number of poker events which have caught the attention and the headlines in recent times.
There are going to be plenty of ways to get involved and if you are the sort of poker player that likes a number of Day 1 events, you are in luck here. Day 1A takes place on Thursday the 5th of September with an 8pm start-time while Day 1B is on Friday the 6th of September, again starting at 8pm. There are two Day 1 events taking place on Saturday the 7th of September with Day 1C starting at 2pm and then Day 1D kicks off at 8pm. All of which builds neatly onto Sunday the 8th of September which is Day 2 and this event begins at 4pm.
The millions of poker players who juggle online playing with a job and real world responsibilities will no doubt be very envious of the poker playing professionals. The select few people that make a living out of playing poker are definitely people that are looked up to and respected. It should be noted that this is a tough old life with plenty of responsibilities but a quick look through Liv Boeree’s recent twitter timeline will tell you what fun it is. It is pretty hectic but it is definitely fun and this is what we should all be looking for in life.
The following day was a bit more relaxing as she got to see the world premiere of World War Z but it wasn’t all great news for Liv as she had to put up with a live performance from Muse, which is never a good thing.
With the next leg of the GUKPT set to start on Sunday and the Main Event getting into action a week on Thursday, there is every chance that a lot of poker players will have Genting Casinos on their mind. The Grosvenor G Casino in Reading is the place to be from Sunday for the latest festival poker but not everyone wants to wait that long and of course, not everyone wants to go to Reading. Given that Reading is famous for a music festival and for being the place that David Brent escaped from to live out his dreams in Slough, it is easy to see why Reading is not a top priority of many people.