You may get dozens of search hits for live poker rooms in the UK – from Grosvenor to Genting. However, as great as it is to have options, you need to choose – and we can help you decide.
Many of the industry’s biggest names will rise to the top of the rankings and having such a variety of live poker venues to choose from in the UK is encouraging. In fact, it’s one of the reasons the UK poker scene has earned a reputation for excellence in recent years.
Unlike online poker, you can’t multi-table in a physical casino, so you need some information beforehand. Therefore, in this guide to UK live poker rooms, we give you all the facts and tips on how to find your place to play. With a spotlight on some of the best live poker events and venues in the UK.
Safe where cash outs and prizes are guaranteed.
Reputable and secure, regulated by the UKGC.
Trained dealers who keep games flowing efficiently.
Codes of conduct designed to keep things friendly.
Anti-cheating policies to stop collusion and such.
What’s the best live poker room in the UK? Well, that depends on your perspective and whether you’re talking about cash games or tournaments. However, when it comes to overall quality, action and atmosphere, the following venues are among the UK’s finest.
Poker Tables: 45
Membership
Other Table Games
WiFi
Smoking-free (smoking shelter outside)
Parking
Restaurant
Dusk Till Dawn (DTD) is, for many, the best place for live poker in the UK. That’s surprising for a few reasons. Firstly, it’s an independent operator. It’s not part of a chain like Grosvenor’s casinos or The Empire. Secondly, it’s not one of the many London venues - which are by far the best in the UK.
However, Dusk Till Dawn bucks this trend and takes some of the shine from London. From its base in Nottingham, it offers the largest live poker room in the UK and, moreover, one of the biggest venues in Europe. This live poker room has 45 tables and hosts a mix of cash games and tournaments.
As a general rule, you’ll be able to play Hold’em, Omaha and Dealer’s Choice cash games ranging from £1/1 up to £10/£25+. You can also play a mixture of inhouse live poker tournaments, such as the DTD Grand Prix. Finally, as the top venue for all things UK poker, brands such as partypoker, the WPT and the WSOP all use DTD’s facilities.
Poker Tables: 35
Membership
Other Table Games
WiFi
Smoking-free
Restaurant
No Parking
The Grosvenor Victoria, aka the Vic, aka the Poker Room, is one of the premier live poker venues in London. Located on Edgware Road, this place is famous for its high stakes cash games and for being the host of GUKPT London and the GUKPT Grand Final. Venture in on any given day and you’ll find cash games starting at £1/£1 and scaling up to the heady heights of £50/£100+.
You can tell that this is a serious place for live cash games because the Grosvenor Poker app allows you to reserve a seat online. This means you don’t have to hang around and waste time. You’ll also find some of London’s top grinders plying their trade at the Vic. This becomes even more apparent when the GUKPT rolls into town.
Of course, that doesn’t mean you should avoid this place if you’re a novice. However, it’s worth noting that a lot of serious UK players frequent this venue. For slightly softer cash games and for weekly tournaments starting at £25, check out some of Grosvenor’s other card rooms. The company has 31 venues across the UK. Some of the most popular are listed below.
Locations:
Phone: 0207 298 2411
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 01216 431777
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 0161 831 6370
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 02476 684747
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 01582 813780y
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 0113 389 3700
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 01922 645222
Email: [email protected]
Poker Tables: 5-10
Membership
Other Table Games
WiFi
Restaurant
Not Smoking-free
No on-site Parking
When the organisers of the WSOP wanted to host a series outside of the US, they needed a popular location in Europe. London was the obvious choice and, because The Empire is owned by Caesars Entertainment, it became the WSOPE’s host venue. Since then, this live UK poker room has become a hotspot for cash games, tournaments, and entertainment.
In terms of size and capacity, The Empire isn’t as big as other London rooms. However, it does offer a solid mix of games. Daily tournaments start at 4pm and buy-ins range from £48 to £78. You can also find monthly specials and loyalty promotions with larger buy-ins and prizepools.
In terms of cash games, you can sit down with as little as £25 at a £1/£2 table. There’s a mixture of Hold’em and Omaha action throughout the week and blinds top out at £2/£5. However, because The Empire is one of London’s more intimate poker rooms, the staff are accommodating. Therefore, other games and limits can be organised on request if enough people are willing to play.
Poker Tables: 12-15
Membership
Other Table Games
WiFi
Parking
Restaurant
Not Smoking-free
Aspers has four casinos in the UK, all offering Texas Hold’em and other game variants. One in Newcastle, one in Milton Keynes, one in Northampton, and its main poker room in London. Aspers Casino Westfield Stratford is regarded as the company’s main venue because it offers some of the best London has to offer. There are tournaments running every weekend with buy-ins starting at £40.
Aspers Stratford also plays hosts to various low and mid-stakes tournaments operated by the likes of 888Poker. However, on a daily basis, this London room is bustling with cash game action. Stakes start at £1/£1 and you can find a mix of Hold’em and Omaha action. In fact, the £2/£5 five-card Omaha games are some of the liveliest in London.
Another thing that’s impressive about this brick and mortar card room is its size and location. It’s huge, which is unusual for London. Moreover, it’s based inside Westfield shopping centre. That means you get a lot of casual players and tourists jumping into the low stakes cash games. So, if you want plenty of options and some fish, Aspers is perfect.
Locations:
Phone: 020 8536 5630
Email: Onsite contact form
Phone: 01908 237776
Email: Onsite contact form
Phone: 01604 623580
Email: Onsite contact form
Phone: 0191 255 0400
Email: Onsite contact form
Poker Tables: 5
Other Table Games
WiFi
Smoking-free (outside area for smoking)
Restaurant
No Parking
No Membership
Sleek, classy, hidden away from the main gaming floor and run by PokerStars Live. The Hippodrome has one of the best poker rooms in London if you’re a fan of cash games. The action here is loose on account of it being located in the heart of Leicester Square. Of course, if you turn up at lunchtime on a Thursday, there won’t be many British players and the ones that are there will probably be solid. However, go between Thursday night and Sunday afternoon and it can be fish central.
Why? Because the Hippodrome is as much of an entertainment venue as a casino and the players it attracts reflects this. You can jump in a selection of live poker cash games starting at £1/1 and scaling up to £2/£5. You can also find a selection of £5/£10+ games when London’s business types roll into the mix.
You can also find some of the best live poker tournaments in London courtesy of PokerStars. Anything this operator puts its name to is high quality and the Hippodrome’s weekend events, such as the London Poker Series, offer excellent structures for buy-ins starting at £250.
OK, so we’ve shown you where to go to get a true UK poker live experience, but what about the rest? Even though the above venues are some of the country’s finest, there’s a lot more besides. We can’t list every alternative. However, if you want to try some more fantastic spaces in England, we’d suggest starting with the following:
Head up to Scotland and Glasgow’s Alea Casino is one of the best places to play. As a member of the Caesars Entertainment family, Alea Glasgow has a similar vibe to London’s Empire Casino. It has the largest cash game area in Scotland and games start at £1/2. Rake is capped at 5% and, if the pot is an even split, nothing is taken. You can also play live UK poker tournaments at Alea Glasgow. There’s something on offer every day (start times are 7pm on weekdays and 2pm at weekends) and buy-ins start at £20.
Located on Explore Lane in Bristol, the Rainbow Casino is open from 2pm to 2am, seven-days-a-week. Members and non-members are welcome but you will be required to show ID when you visit. Cash games are the order of the day at this casino and the team can accommodate a maximum of five tables. One of the nice things about Rainbow’s casino is that it runs rake-free promos throughout the week.
Napoleons Casino in Sheffield could be described as the Steel City’s second poker room on account of Genting stealing the limelight in recent years. However, with Genting closing its physical doors in 2020, Napoleons has the chance to shine again. The casino usually has around 3-5 cash game tables running on weekends. You can also play £50 rebuy tournaments every night from 9.30pm.
If you’ve got the money and the kudos, the only place to play high stakes in London is Les Ambassadeurs. Previously used for episodes of Full Tilt’s Million Dollar cash game, this casino is beyond exclusive. However, if you can get a membership, it’s home to some juicy games where millionaires aren’t afraid to splash their cash.
What should you look for when it comes to live poker in the UK? Well, that all depends on you. Everyone wants soft spots and fishy players. Comfy chairs, efficient dealers, and a safe atmosphere are also important. However, once you’ve covered those bases, things get a bit more personal. Perhaps you want a UK poker room with live streams so your friends can watch you play? Maybe you want high stakes cash games or low cost tournaments?
You need to feel comfortable before you ante up. So, make sure you ask and answer these questions when you’re sizing up where to find your next in-person game:
If you can ask and answer these questions, you stand a better chance of finding your ideal card room in the United Kingdom. Of course, you’ll never be certain until you ante up. Therefore, the best advice we can give you is to check out our top-rated live poker rooms in the UK and see if you like them.
