Top 5 Live UK Poker Tournaments in 2015

The live UK poker tournament scene has never been better and whatever your budget there’s big money to be made in these five flagship events

1. Sky UKPC 6-Max in Nottingham

• Where: Dusk Till Dawn, Nottingham
• When: August 19-23
• Buy-in: £500+£50
• Guarantee: £250,000
• This year's result

Poker’s all about game selection and if you’re a recreational player you’d be advised to swerve this one – unless you like white knuckle rides! The 6-Max format is full of action and it tends to favour the pros, which means this will be packed with the best players from the UK and beyond. Saying that, last year’s £1k 6-Max UKPC was won by Leigh Wiltshire from Wales, who qualified for 1p in an online satellite! He spun that up to an incredible first prize of £110,000, a ROI of 1099999900%.

Why should you play it?

Despite the popularity of the format there aren’t many 6-Max tournaments in the UK and this is the king of them all.

2. Grand Prix Poker Tour Leg 1 in Manchester

• Where: Old Trafford, Manchester
• When: October 17-18
• Buy-in: £50+£10
• Guarantee: £250,000

With stops at some of the biggest football stadiums in the UK, the Grand Prix Poker Tour is the new brainchild of Dusk Till Dawn. They’ve slapped one of their crazy guarantees on it – £250,000 for a buy-in of just £50+£10 – which means they’ll need 5,000 players to avoid the overlay. Leg 1 is at Old Trafford and it runs as a two-day event, with three Day 1 flights on Saturday. You can play as many of these as you want and re-enter each for the first six levels. You can also play Day 1s online at partypoker. Players’ Choice Day 1s are running now – progress through one of these and you can play any Day 2 on the tour. For the fortnight before Old Trafford all online Day 1s will qualify you for Leg 1 at the Theatre of Dreams.

Why should you play it?

£50+£10 for a £250k guarantee and an estimated first prize of £50k in the hallowed Old Trafford stadium? This is a must-play event.

3. WPT500 in Nottingham

• Where: Dusk Till Dawn, Nottingham
• When: October 28 – November
• Buy-in: $500+$50 (£360)
• Guarantee: $1,000,000 (provisional)

Dusk Till Dawn’s partnership with online site partypoker is the reason behind the dual currency buy-in for the annual WPT500. Last year the buy-in was £500 with a £1m guarantee and PKR pro Eleanor Gudger scooped her biggest win of £140,000 when she beat Matthew Noonan heads-up. 2,133 players meant the guarantee was broken and we’re expecting an even bigger field this year with the reduced buy-in.

Why should you play it?

It’s your chance to experience the World Poker Tour without breaking your bankroll.

4. WPT Nottingham Main Event

• Where: Dusk Till Dawn, Nottingham
• When: November 4-8
• Buy-in: $3,150+$350 (£2,200)
• Guarantee: $2,000,000 (provisional)

Dusk Till Dawn has been the UK’s premier poker club since it opened in 2007 and the DTD crew and owner Rob Yong have worked tirelessly to put the UK back on the map. They’ve done it with showcase tournaments like this. They lured the World Poker Tour back to the UK last year and the Main Event only narrowly missed the £1m guarantee. That’s almost a success for the overlay kings and they’ve responded by dropping the buy-in (from £3k to the equivalent of £2.2k) and increasing the guarantee to $2m (£1.3m)! It means you can expect a first prize of around $400k.

Why should you play it?

The World Poker Tour is one of the biggest names in the poker world and this is your chance to win a Main Event title and have Mike Sexton commentate on your game.

5. GUKPT Grand Final in London

• Where: The Poker Room at The Vic, London
• When: November 26-29
• Buy-in: £2,000+£125
• Guarantee: £400,000

Grosvenor’s flagship tour is now in its ninth season and it keeps delivering solid festivals, with the big-money finale playing out at The Vic. Dusk Till Dawn might be the UK’s number one card room, but The Vic is poker’s spiritual home for a lot of UK players and this will be packed with familiar faces all keen to get their name on the trophy. The UK’s Charlie Carrel enjoyed his breakthrough win at last year’s Grand Final when he beat Paul Nunes to claim the £108,625 first prize. Carrel went on to win €1,114,000 six months later in the €25k High Roller at the EPT Grand Final. There’s something for you to emulate...

Why should you play it?

This is London’s flagship event and the finale of one of the UK’s most respected poker tours.

There you have it, five quintessential live poker tournaments in the UK that you just can't miss. With buy-ins ranging from £50 to £2,200, guarantees from £250k to £1.3m, and at legendary venues like Old Trafford, and The Vic how can you not play these events?