Is Nottingham the Capital of UK Poker?

When I was a student I went to Nottingham Trent University. My incentives were twofold, I didn't want to get a job and I heard a very popular myth that there were 3 times as many women as there were men in the City. If that was true, I certainly didn't see it and another thing I didn't see at the time was possibly the home of UK poker.

I'm starting to think now that Nottingham is fast becoming the capital city for poker players in the UK. And I'm not talking about Dusk Till Dawn by itself either. In just over two months the city is home to three major UK tournaments, alongside the aforementioned only fully licensed poker club in Europe.

Last month it was home to one leg of the Genting Stanley National Poker Championships, the only rake free tournament in the UK. Later on this month it will impressively be the venue for the Norwegian Poker Championships, as the wider international poker community recognises the potential of the amazing Dusk Till Dawn.

And right now I am setting my Sat Nav once again (you'd think I would know the way by now) to play in the Great British Poker Tour, the 2nd biggest tour on the UK Circuit. This is its second time in Nottingham and the £500+50 event is held over three days (two day ones).

So why is poker so big in Nottingham? For one thing it is the home of one of the most successful players in the UK, Julian Thew; A perfect ambassador for the city and game alike. Another good reason is sheer geography, it's an easy drive for us in the North and those in the South, and a stones throw for anyone in the Midlands. A perfect neutral territory for poker players across the country.

But the single biggest reason has to be Dusk Till Dawn. This really is the greatest place in the UK and possibly Europe to play poker on. With capacity for hundreds and surroundings to impress the highest of rollers, it is no wonder the Norwegian Championships picked here over a more predictable London venue.

So wish me luck as I travel to my old stomping ground of Nottingham. I rarely pulled there as a student despite the apparent 3:1 odds, so I reckon I am due a bit of luck at its many poker tables this time round.

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