There are plenty of poker clubs in the UK which have a great reputation and Nottingham based Dusk Till Dawn is definitely one of them. The club has been the scene for a number of great poker triumphs and the recent Multi Prize Pool Poker event, held at the weekend, was a roaring success. This style of event carries a unique twist in that there is just one tournament but the variety of buy-in levels allows a strong number of guaranteed prizes to be offered.
Andy Young is the poker player who benefitted the most from this innovative poker tournament. From a prize pool fund of £30,000, Andy managed to scoop just less than one third of this. He managed to take away £8,550 through buying into Prize Pool 3, which was at a level of £200.
You have to speculate to accumulate
The unique nature of the event and the benefits that can come from being eligible for all prize pools can be seen in the fortunes of the players that finished second and third in the event. Robert Lane was the runner-up, bagging a total of £3,493 for his troubles. This came from his share of Prize Pool 1 and Prize Pool 2. However, third placed poker player Ben Vinson actually walked away with more than Lane, as he scooped up a total of £3,717. He may have received less than Lane did in Pot 1 and Pot 2 but as Vinson was also eligible for a share of Prize Pool 3, which delivered £1,628, he managed to leapfrog Lane with respect to earnings for the event.
There wasn’t too much money between the two players so Lane may say that he prefers the kudos of coming second but with a little bit more conviction or initial layout, he could have been celebrating a bigger cash boost.
Excitement is definitely starting to build for the 
The other announcement for the big event is the addition of Luke Schwartz to the line-up. Luke goes by the name of “fullflush” and he has a good pedigree of poker playing with over $2.5 million in winnings when you combine online and offline activities. This is a poker player that clearly knows how to finish on the main stage and again, he will be an excellent addition to the line-up.
The UKIPT Cork title is staying in Ireland this year after Thomas Finneran grabbed success on Sunday in a quick showdown between himself and the UK’s Stephen McGrath.
However, you can guarantee that the UK poker community will be shocked to hear the revelations that have surfaced from America about a well-known face and name from the UK poker circuit. Marcus Bebb-Jones was a familiar player to many in the Midlands poker circuit after he scooped thousands of pounds playing poker in the region.
Anyone looking to keep up to date with the current status of the poker community would be advised to stay in contact with the Global Poker Index (GPI). This is believed to be one of the most accurate ways to rank poker players and there is a special weighting towards recent tournaments and events.
In London, when there is talk of some big name players confirming they are heading to the Premier League, all eyes usually turn towards Chelsea to see who the club is buying now. Whether they are buying footballers who can’t hit the target, Fernando Torres, or footballers who are kicking the wrong targets, Eden Hazard, there is no doubt that Chelsea are the biggest capital club when it comes to bringing in big name players.
Reigning champion Scott Seiver was the first to be announced and he was followed closely by big poker star Daniel Negreanu. The next two names were Antonio Esfanidari and Phil Hellmuth. Given that Hellmuth has amassed a total of 13 WSOP bracelets in his career, it would be fair to say that he is one of the biggest players in the poker world at the moment. These four players will be joined by Tony G and Phil ‘The Unabomber’ Laak.
If you have ever watched Sky Sports News for even the most fleeting of moments, you can’t have failed to have noticed their formula. A male and female partnership serving up sports news around the clock which manages to promote a lot of Sky’s upcoming games. The presenters are all fully trained and no doubt big sports fans but it would be fair to say that the female presenters are all rather easy on the eye.
As well as appearing on Sky Sports News, Charlotte will be appearing on the Sky Poker TV channel as well as exclusively playing on the site. With plenty of TV adverts on the Sky channels set to feature the young presenter, there may well be a lot more people taking up an interest in poker.
The opening leg of the 2013 GUKPT is looming large and even though there are 11 legs and the Grand Final to look forward to, the curtain raiser of the season is definitely something that grabs the attention.
Genting is a major name in the UK casino industry and it seems that the Genting Poker Series (GPS) is developing a great reputation too. The first season of the series went down very well with poker players and it seems as though the follow-up season is set to be a smash hit too.
Given a title that includes United Kingdom and Ireland, you would be forgiven for assuming that the UKIPT was predominantly focused on these areas. It seems that things are in for a shake-up in 2013 though as the UKIPT is heading abroad for a little sun to go alongside the poker fun. UK and Irish poker fans don’t need to worry, there will still be plenty of great poker events lined up for home but if you are an ex-pat or fancy a holiday with a poker twist, the adventures for 2013 could have something of great interest to you.