lots has already been mentioned but...

if you stick to hippodrome/empire for 1/2 youll find plenty of action daily 24/7. 2.5+ at hippodrome or vic if needed

if looking for money exchange, search for Thomas Global Exchange, they have branches all over london and I believe are the best rate for currency with proper shop fronts (also online and delivery available or ask about on UK POKER ROOM facebook for anyone selling euros at spot)

The cash games in London website is down, does the owner still lurk here?

just follow each page on twitter/facebook

empire is on the Bravo app and you can register for games

The Vic / Grosvenor has their own poker app where you can see games/lists and also reg

Hippodrome have very accurate updates on their twitter page

A few things:

1. Is The Vic still doing the bad-beat jackpot and, if so, how much is taken from the pot to support this? I heard they're taking £2 per pot over £20.

2. Are they doing a cash-race as well? If so, how is this supported?

3. When they "spin the wheel" for the prizes in the Hippo cash-race; (a) is it done with a roulette wheel? (2) do the players have to be present at the wheel when it is spun? Is it done with the least valued-prize first and then goes up to the most value? Any info on this would be kinda interesting.

4. What promotions are they doing at Aspers these days?

5. The Wednesday "Win The Button" tourney at The Empire is being scrapped and replaced by a Pot-Limit Omaha tourney (in March I believe) and I heard all tournies will be starting at 12 - 12:30 PM. Can anyone confirm this?

Thank you for any replies.

I can only comment on a few of the above...

Empire is changing all its daily tournaments to 12.30pm start time including monthly Sunday LPcash race

Wednesday as mentioned is going to be Omaha

The Vic has adjusted it's rake structure. They have an in house weekly high hand promo paying 4 places (includes a £1500 seat to the £1m tournament in Coventry next month) it also takes a drop for the national bad beat jackpot. The new rake structure is rounded...but wow does it hurt in small pots.

Eg if there's £21 in the pot...they take £2 rake, and £1.50 total for both promos so £3.50 from a £21 pot!!!

This of course really hurts in small pots. Up to £20 is £1...up to £40 is £2 and so on plus the promos.



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OK, that's a solid pass on The Vic then.

Thanks for the reply.

Random question, is anyone local to the Vic or worst case Hippo that I can meet there ideally tonight, that wants some Euros for USD$ (or worst case £)? Like 2-3k worth.

Thanks

Try the UK Poker Room FB group. I've exchanged currencies with people from there twice previously.

Good point forgot about that place. Ty

Not having much luck there seems a very dead page recently. Anyone in London need Euros for Irish Open (?) for either £ or $ I can meet at Vic or Hippo. Need urgently as I leave in a few days. 3k euros equivalent ideal.

just ask about in the card room, got to be some of the regs who will be going Irish open who will take them.

If not, search thomas global exchange, they have branches all over London, very good rates, closest to spot you will get especially for a small amount.

Thanks. Issue is it’s euros -> £ -> $ with them so you don’t get a good rate at the end. They actually advised me to take my euros to the US and swap them there so I guess I’ll do that if I can’t get anyone at Vic - I wasn’t planning to go play a session now only if I can get something lined up before I go. Thanks anyway tho

Strange that UKPF FB group is inactive, I sold euros for GBP around this time last year (pre Irish Open) and had about 5 or 6 different people message me to buy them.

try another post in the UK poker room group, and I know a few Vic players going IO so worth a visit if you want to get them shifted, but for a relatively small amount you might just want to take the hit, thomas global exchange are very reasonable, you can ring them up before hand and ask the rate you would get on selling whatever you have.

Seems to take the mods forever to approve a post. I wasnt planning on going to play a session but may have to but then need to get lucky who im seated with if they want any for IO. If you know of any vic players personally if they want, I will happily pop to the vic if they like any time before Sunday feel free to dm me will buy you a pint

Will be in London next week for work... I haven't played in London in quite a while. The Vic still have the most games? Also between Empire & Hippo, which one usually has more games going? And lastly, are all 3 rooms 24/7?

does the grosvenor in london round up the rake now? ( say its 1.02 rake its rounded to 2 quid ) ?

When it comes to variety of games being run, then I guess The Vic wins but I've been there a few times recently and left soon after because they have a shortage of dealers and the waiting list moves painfully slow. The atmosphere is dull, the area is dull and there is NOTHING to do while waiting. If you're talking about number of tables rather than variety then you are MUCH better off going to Leicester Square and switching between Empire and Hippo. You will get into a game faster and there is plenty to see and do while waiting.

The Empire has 9 tables with 1 or 2 running PL Omaha 4, 5 or 6 cards - dealer's choice and the rest being 1/2 with the occasional 1/3 and rarely 2/5.

Hippodrome runs about 7 or 8, 1/2 games along with a couple of 2/5 games and an occasional 5/10.

P.S. Two more things... The Hippo gives you 10 mins as a reserved player to get there on time / The Empire has card shuffling machines (when they work) so you do get many more hands per hour.

The shortage of dealers is a real problem but The Empire has recruited loads recently and the waiting times are shorter there. My usual experience is:

1. Go to Hippodrome and join the end of a 26 player waiting list.
2. Wander over to The Empire and join a 4 or 5 player waiting list.
3. Play at The Empire while waiting for a text from The Hippo.
4. Stay at The Empire if the table is good.
5. Leave The Empire and go to The Hippo if the table is bad.

All are 24/7 but I believe The Hippo closes around 6AM (or something) and then opens at 12PM - but I don't hang around long enough to find out so I may be wrong about this.

I agree with DF's suggestion. Hippodrome runs 12pm-8am M-F and is 24/7 from 12pm F - M 8am. It's always been my favourite place to play but the lists can be extremely long at times now so his plan works well.

* There is the April Mega Series tournament at The Hippo over this weekend so expect that list to be brutal over the next four days. It can be 30, 40 or even 50 and I've seen it once at 62!!

Great feedback, thanks for taking the time... Sounds like Empire/Hippo... closer to where i am staying anyway

Ok, so can anyone supply an up-to-date link to how much rake The Vic Casino is applying to its cash games at the moment? I was playing yesterday and I'm sure £2.50 was taken from a £10 pot. The dealer was practically apologising for it! I've really tried to find the details online but I guess the casino doesn't exactly want to parade the rake fees with a fanfare of trumpets if it's that bad.

Problem is, the 1/3 at The Vic does seem to play a lot better than the 1/2 at The Hippo and Aspers at the moment (too many short-stacks at The Empire) so I actually think the hit may be worth it. I still would really like a detailed break-down of how they apply their rake though.

Thanks very much in advance.

Empire does have many short stacks. A good number buy in for 100-200 and just get crushed by the bigger stacks at the table. Some even buy in for 50 and reload for the same amount once they bust.

That being said, the level of play there is pretty bad at least compared to the other poker rooms I've been to. Your average player would print money there.

Can anybody realistically beat the rake if there are so many £50 stacks?

There aren't that many, maybe 1 in 20 buy in that short. Most of the regs still start with £300-400.

In my relatively short time there I found it to be pretty profitable. Made about 21BB/hr across 82 hours of play and I'm no crusher.