List of Live Poker Rooms in the UK
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.
Benefits of Choosing Legal Live Poker Rooms (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.
The Top UK Live Poker Rooms
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.
Dusk Till Dawn, Nottingham
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.
- Opening hours: Wednesday to Friday (7pm to 4am), Saturday (4pm to 5am), Sunday (12pm to 5am)
- Address: Boulevard Retail Park, Redfield Way, Lenton NG7 2UW
- Phone: 0115 845 4300
- Email: [email protected]
Grosvenor Casinos
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:
- The Vic: 150 Edgware Road, London, England, W2 2DT
Opening hours: 24 hours
Phone: 0207 298 2411
Email: [email protected]
- Grosvenor Casino Birmingham Hill Street: 84 Hill Street, Birmingham, England, B5 4AH
Opening hours: 24 hours
Phone: 01216 431777
Email: [email protected]
- Grosvenor Casino Bury New Road, Manchester: 2 Ramsgate Street, Manchester, England, M8 9SG
Opening hours: 24 hours
Phone: 0161 831 6370
Email: [email protected]
- Grosvenor Casino Coventry: Ricoh Arena, Judds Lane, Longford, Coventry, England, CV6 6AQ
Opening hours: 24 hours
Phone: 02476 684747
Email: [email protected]
- Grosvenor Casino Luton: 35 Park Street West, Luton, England, LU1 3BE
Opening hours: 24 hours
Phone: 01582 813780y
Email: [email protected]
- Grosvenor Casino Leeds Westgate: Wellington Bridge Street, Leeds, England, LS3 1LW
Opening hours: 24 hours
Phone: 0113 389 3700
Email: [email protected]
- Grosvenor Casino Walsall: Bentley Mill Way, Walsall, England, WS2 0LE
Opening hours: 24 hours
Phone: 01922 645222
Email: [email protected]
The Casino at the Empire, London
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.
- Opening hours: 24/7
- Address: 5-6 Leicester St, West End, London WC2H 7NA, UK
- Phone: 0203 411 1895
- Email: [email protected]
Aspers Casinos
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:
- Aspers Casino Westfield Stratford: The Loft, Olympic Park, 312 Montfichet Road, London E20 1ET
Opening hours: 10am – 5am (Monday – Sunday)
Phone: 020 8536 5630
Email: Onsite contact form
- Aspers Casino Milton Keynes: 602 Marlborough Gate, Milton Keynes MK9 3XA
Opening hours: 12pm – 4am (Monday – Sunday)
Phone: 01908 237776
Email: Onsite contact form
- Aspers Casino Northampton: 6 Commercial St, Northampton NN1 1PJ
Opening hours: 10am – 5am (Monday – Sunday)
Phone: 01604 623580
Email: Onsite contact form
- Aspers Casino Newcastle: The Gate, Newgate St, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 5TG
Opening hours: 12pm – 4am (Monday – Sunday)
Phone: 0191 255 0400
Email: Onsite contact form
The Hippodrome, London
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.
- Opening hours: 24 hours
- Address: Cranbourn St, Leicester Square, London WC2H 7JH
- Phone: 020 7769 8888
- Email: [email protected]
Other Noteworthy Live Poker Rooms
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:
Alea Glasgow
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.
Rainbow Casino Bristol
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 Sheffield
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.
Les Ambassadeurs
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 to Look for in UK Card Rooms
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:
- Does the casino have the games I want?
- How many games typically run at the stakes I play?
- Is the venue safe, regulated and managed properly?
- What’s the tournament schedule like?
- Does the casino get busier when events are running?
- Can I order food/drink to the table or do I have to visit the venue’s eateries?
- Is there parking available and how easy is it to get to the card room?
- Is there a smoking area outside (it’s usually prohibited inside)?
- What are the players like? Serious regulars, or casual recs and tourists?
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.
UK Live Poker FAQs
Where can I play live poker in the UK?
The UK live poker circuit is packed with fantastic places to play. From the tip of Scotland, down through England, into Wales and across to Ireland, there are UK poker rooms aplenty. Some of the top venues in the country are The Vic (aka the Poker Room) in London, Dusk Till Dawn in Nottingham and the Alea in Glasgow.
Can you play online poker in the UK?
Yes, online poker is legal and widely available in the UK. In fact, the UK online poker market is one of the biggest in the world and home to all of the leading brands, including PokerStars, GGPoker, partypoker and Unibet.
Where can I play poker live?
You can play poker live in a variety of towns and cities in the UK, including London, Nottingham, Milton Keynes, Birmingham, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Can you play WSOP in the UK?
Yes, if it’s an online event. The UK played host to the first ever run of WSOP Europe (WSOPE) events back in 2007. However, the WSOPE now moves around Europe. Therefore, if you want to play the WSOP in the UK, you have to use GGPoker and enter one of its online bracelet events.
Can iPad play Grosvenor Poker?
Yes, you can. Grosvenor has an online poker room that runs in conjunction with its network of live venues. Grosvenor Poker offers a variety of cash games, tournaments, and SNGs. The games are relatively soft at the lower limits and you can play via all devices, including iPads.
Where can I play poker in London?
You can play poker in a variety of London casinos, including the Hippodrome, the Empire, the Grosvenor Victoria and Aspers Stratford. All of the best London poker rooms offer a selection of tournaments and cash games. Some have high limit games frequented by the UK’s toughest grinders.