Poker Overkill in London.
Is there such a thing as too much poker? Not for European poker players and especially those from London. For the third year in succession, London is at the centre of the poker world. The World Series of Poker-Europe (WSOPE) is underway in the capital and the European Poker Tour (EPT) rolls into town just as it is reaching its conclusion. The World Series is taking place at the Empire casino, a Harrah's owned property situated on Leicester Square, right in the heart of the capital. The first event, a £1,000 no-limit hold 'em freeze out attracted more than 600 players.

JP Kelly, a 23-year old from the UK claimed first prize of £136,803 and his second bracelet of 2009. The other three events in the European version of the world's best known poker brand include a £2,500 pot-limit Omaha, a £5,000 pot-limit Omaha, and the £10,000 no-limit hold 'em main event.

The EPT also upped its game this year by scheduling a full week of support events to compliment the £5,000 no-limit hold 'em main event. A £20,000 high roller tournament kick-starts the festival, which this year takes place at the Hilton Metropole hotel, just a short distance from its previous venue, the Grosvenor Victoria casino. The event is still being run in conjunction with the casino, where the cash games will remain.

World Heads-Up Championship.
Just a few weeks after the WSOPE/EPT festivals conclude, London once again plays host to a major poker event. The ninth annual World Heads-Up Championship takes place from October 27-31st, at the Victoria casino. For the last five years it resided in Barcelona; however last year the event was unable to attract a sponsor and lacked TV coverage, resulting in a disappointing turnout of just 59 players.

This year UK gaming company Littlewoods has secured sponsorship, ensuring that the £3,000 event will once again be broadcast on TV. Event promoter Peter Singleton is confident that all 128 available seats will sell out, creating a first prize of £200,000. Layne Flack has already indicated he intends to play and several other big name players are also expected to take part.

An American in the UK.
The Grosvenor UK Poker Tour (GUKPT) continues to attract players from far beyond the shores of Great Britain. The most recent of these to make his mark on the UK's largest domestic poker tour was Chuck Thompson from Santa Cruz, Ca. Chuck, an executive host at San Jose's Bay 101 poker club, likes to plan his holidays so he can play a bit of poker on the way.

He was due to go on a luxury cruise with his wife around the Baltic Sea in Scandinavia and targeted the Luton GUKPT in August as an ideal place to pick up his spending money for the trip. As it turned out, he managed to more than cover the cost of the entire trip with a fifth place finish in the main event for a pay-day of £17,350.

Chuck, who finished sixth in the WSOP main event in 1995, commented afterwards that he had tremendously enjoyed playing on the UK tour, citing the good spirit and camaraderie among the players as highlight of his time here. He also cashed in one of the side events. No American has won a GUKPT main event yet, although Canadian Leo Kam captured a title in 2007. There are events every month and the buy in is usually £1,000. Perhaps the first American winner of a GUKPT event could be you.

Jonathan Raab is a poker consultant and tournament reporter. He also represents online poker site Blue Square at live poker events in the UK and Europe, and manages the GUKPT. Email Jonathan at jr@bluesq.com