Rake-free Home Poker Games in London

"Casinos and prostitutes have the same thing in common; they are both trying to screw you out of your money and send you home with a smile on you face."

Tired of playing poker against nameless, faceless idiots on the internet who call your re-raise with 8-3off and hit their gutshot straight on the River? Why not try your hand at one of London's private card rooms or casinos and have the same idiots do it to you face to face! Choose from any of the following:

Opened in January 2004 the Gutshot Club in Clerkenwell now has over 5000 members and holds regular Pot Limit AND No Limit tournaments (rebuys and freezeouts) with buy-ins ranging from £100 down to - nothing at all! Every Tuesday night is 'Beginner's Night (although not everyone is a beginner of course) and they have no strict membership requirements - just take along some ID, fill in a form and you can start playing that night! For fun, friendly games in a relaxed environment the Gutshot sets the standard in terms of public cardrooms in London.

44 - 48 Clerkenwell Road, EC1M 5PS

The Grosvenor Victoria (or 'The Vic' as its punters like to call it) has 8 tournament tables (catering for up to 72 runners) but they usually extend the playing area whenever they host larger tournaments (there's lots more room in the new poker lounge upstairs, usually reserved for juicy cash games). Dress code is smart casual - no trainers, no sportswear, and no ripped bloody jeans (that's me out then). Hmmm....free drinks....drool...

150 - 162 Edgware Road, W2 2DT

Satisfying the poker urges of all poker playing inhabitants of the M4 corridor the Palace of Cards fills a nice little gap in the market that to date just hasn't been met for those unfortunate wretches unlucky enough to live outside our nation's great and glorious capital. Mel, Eug and Wobble (who used to run the extremely popular Slough Palace game) are the driving force behind this venture, and they hold a range of regular poker events appropriate to all levels of experience including well-attended £10 rebuys and £50 freezeouts running every two weeks. Recommended for anyone just moving into live play.
Perimeter Road, Didcot OXON OX11

That's my left hand, that is...

Designed BY poker players FOR poker players, in my opinion The Western is positioned to become THE place to play poker in London. With over 11,000 sq ft it has the space to cater for even the very largest tournaments and the facilities on hand for the new and experienced poker player are, quite simply, outstanding. A full range of tournaments to cater for all tastes and cash games spread at limits to suit every budget. Parking for 200 cars and NO congestion charge. Go West!
620 Western Avenue, W3 0TE

Located in darkest Reigate, a rag-tag collection of mud-huts and cave-dwellings nestled deep within that mythical shire known by the locals as 'Surrey', the Full House offers even the inhabitants of Darwin's Waiting Room the opportunity to sit down and play poker against one another in friendly, informal surroundings. With regular tourneys spread across a range of buy-ins, dealer-dealt tables and a fully licensed bar and restaurant, who the hell needs to go up to London? 25-29 Church Street, Reigate, SURREY

Based in Walthamstow, the Equal Chance club boasts pool tables, a restaurant, internet cafe and poker aplenty. Managed by 'The Witch' (Billy Witcher) and owned by ex-pool pro 'Maltese Joe' Barbara, Equal Chance looks set to be a venue to rival the Gutshot in terms of what it offers to London's rapidly growing poker scene, albeit in that hard to reach corner of North East London that is 'The Stow'. Regular poker tourneys as well as pool, backgammon, kalooki, chess and a host of other games are all on offer. No Brian Harvey jokes!

74-78 St James Street, LONDON E17

The downstairs section of El Prado in SW6 is home to this fairly new cardroom in Fulham. They aim to provide a friendly introduction to live play to the relatively inexperienced player, and can also offer corporate evenings and poker training for those who are relatively new to the game. A fully licensed bar, dealers and waiting staff are all on hand, and (judging from the feedback) they serve the best tapas this side of The Pyrenees too boot! Well worth a visit if you're ever in the area.

766 Fulham Road, LONDON SW6

The Sportsman Casino boasts a very swish looking card room that features regular tournamantes ranging from a £30 rebuy to a rather juicy £500 freezeout held once a month. The biggest weekly tourney they have going is a £250 F/O held every Monday night, which is sure to bring out the wolves. Newcomers to the game would be better off sticking to Sundays, when beginners are offered free lessons in the game from 3pm followed by a £30 freezeout at 4pm. Tuesday through Thursday is always cash game action unless there's a big scheduled event on.

Old Quebec Street London W1

The Games Room is a private members club housed within (and I quote) "a beautiful Georgian listed townhouse" and by all accounts the club also "exudes an ambience of timeless tradition and modern luxury". Hmm. Sounds messy, but I expect they have very nice loos, eh? Personally I've never been to one of their tourneys, but by all accounts the games there are quite juicy, and probably not the best environment to play in if you're a complete newcomer to the game. They can also handle private tournaments.
1A Chesterfield Street LONDON W1

Another club smack bang wallop in the heart of Mayfair, Fox Poker Club is situated in yet another elegant and imposing Georgian town house dating back to the 18th century. Yum yum. Not yet open for business, but scheduled for a launch in mid-2006, Fox will be a private poker venue with the facilities to handle right up to 200-runner tourneys, televised poker events and much more. Unlike other card rooms Fox will be entirely dedicated to poker and offer a full range of games in a properly regulated, secure setting. Nice.

45 Clarges Street LONDON W1

Chiswick Poker Club is tucked away down the bottom of an industrial estate and is actually part of the Snooker Club that inhabits the same premises. With six poker tables on offer and plenty of space they have the makings of a nice little venue here if they can get the numbers up. A website might be a good starting point for them (chiswickpokerclub.co.uk IS available if you want it lads!), but at the moment the game is populated in the main by friendly, local regulars. A nice enough venue, but if large fields and long structures are your cup of PG then look elsewhere for the time being.

111 Power Road LONDON W4

I haven’t got round to reviewing this particular cardroom / club and until I do you’ll just have to make do with this filler text, which serves no other useful purpose other than to pad out this page a little and make the website look slightly less of a work in progress than it actually is. I’m kinda hoping that people don’t notice the fact that all I’ve done is write a bunch of crap here and just click on the nice picture instead, which will transport you as if by magic to the featured cardroom. A full review will follow as soon as one of my 72 minions pulls their godamn finger out, the wasters.

29-33 Church Road, Stanmore MIDDX

I haven’t got round to reviewing this particular cardroom / club either and until I do you’ll just have to make do with this filler text, which serves no other useful purpose other than to pad out this page a little and make the website look slightly less of a work in progress than it is.
Brighton Road, Purley, SURREY

I haven’t got round to reviewing this particular cardroom / club and until I do you’ll just have to make do with this filler text, which serves no other useful purpose other than to pad out this page a little and make the website look slightly less of a work in progress than it actually is. I’m kinda hoping that people don’t notice the fact that all I’ve done is write a bunch of crap here and just click on the nice picture instead, which will transport you as if by magic to the cardroom itself.
11-13 Bromley Road, LONDON, SE6

Loose Cannon Club

http://www.loosecannonclub.com/

The All In Club

http://www.theallinclub.com/contact-us.asp

- "Behold the power of the Beer Hand!" -