League Two of National Poker in the Pub League

By the time you read this, the regional finals of the second Poker in the Pub league will be finished but hopefully not forgotten, and the third league will be well under way. The league is really beginning to gather momentum now, and this is reflected in the emergence of some big-name sponsors. We always have maintained our desire to promote Poker in the Pub as community entertainment, because we want it to be accessible to everyone. The regional finals and trips to Vegas are all well and good, but ultimately the league is about people having a fun evening in their local pub. Going all in with A-J against A-5 and watching three fives appear on the board is much easier to take when you have a pint in your hand and you are surrounded by a pub full of happy punters.

In the National Average League Table, Tina Newbury was triumphant, and next month you can find out if she was able to carry her form into the regional finals. When we went to print, Adam "AJ" Wallace was leading the National Top Scores Table, just 800 points ahead of Della "Playgirl" Plumbtree. We were just waiting for a couple of late results, but it is safe to say that one of these two will top the table.

Following on from last month's column, concerning the number of female players in the game, I am happy to report that a number of ladies actually won their pub leagues. Tina Newbury triumphed over 146 fellow players to take the title at the Bull & Chain in Lincoln. Other winners included Vicky "Black Widow" Samways at the Duke of Cornwall, Ivybridge, Jacqui "Shark" Guy at the Queens Arms, Torpoint, Joanne "Davo" Weaver at the Park Inn, Stoke on Trent, Amy "Spear Chucker" Fallows at the Monson Arms, Lincoln, and Vicky "Spellbound" Foord at the Swan in Ashford. Perhaps they can keep it up and we can push for 10 female winners for the next league.

All of our lucky qualifiers at the five regional finals will be competing against each other for a total of almost £5,000 in prizes, and there are also a number of seats in the national final up for grabs.

Now that the league has really started to spread across the UK, we are launching regional league tables to run alongside the national tables, so that players can see how they compare to other venues in their region. These will be up and running for the start of league three.

We already are planning the regional finals for the third league, and the national final that will take place during the summer. With the amount of publicity regarding gambling during the last few months, including the announcement of the location of Britain's first supercasino, we are confident that we can reach 10,000 players by the end of this year.

The British public seems divided on whether supercasinos will benefit the UK, but we believe that many people do support free poker in pubs. We decided to give these people the chance to voice their support for what we are doing. We created WSOP Europe, "We Support Our Pubs in Europe." This is an online petition for people who believe you should be able to play a free game of poker in your local pub, if you so choose. To find out more and register your support, please visit the site at www.wsopeurope.com.

Next month, we will bring you all the news from our regional finals, and let you know the identities of our lucky winners who will be sipping champagne as they soar into the heavens courtesy of Virgin Balloon Flights. Some other gifted players will have their feet firmly planted on the ground, or at least on the seat in front of them, as they enjoy free cinema tickets for a year in association with Odeon Cinemas. If you want to find out more about our league, please visit the website at www.pokerinthepub.com.

The Poker in the Pub League, sponsored by The Rivercard, has been created to give poker players a chance to enjoy a game of cards in pleasant and familiar surroundings with friends and colleagues.