About the League
Q: Can a venue join up mid season?
A: Yes, a venue can join up at any time with the top 2 players in each season going through to the regional finals.
Q: Can I just turn up and play?
A: Yes, you can turn up to any of our venues and play on their night, If you don’t have a membership card, you can fill in a registration form, please ask at the bar.
Q: How does the league work?
A: Each pub has its own league and these run for 13 week seasons. Each pub will have its own winner at the end of that season. After each season we will run a regional final for the area where someone will be crowned winner.
Once per year (after 4 seasons) we will hold the national finals, this will be a very prestigious event at a central location with high end equipment, professional dealers and poker celebrities in attendance as well as large screens and full production similar to some of the televised events you will have seen. The winner of this tournament will become The Poker Tree National Champion
Q: What if two players go out on the same hand?
A: If two players go out on the same hand, then the one who had the highest amount of chips at the beginning of that hand finishes first, followed by the other player. If both players happened to have exactly the same amount of chips as well, then the one with the best hand is the one who finishes higher. In the unlikely even that two players go out in the same hand with equal chips and the same hand (for example loosing to a third player) then the two will draw for high card to see who ranks higher.
Q: Where can I get a set of rules for The Poker Tree Texas Holdem?
A: Under the new gambling act venues are required to provide written rules of the game before and during play for players to check as required.
We have created an A4 rules sheet for you - you will receive one per table as part of your kit.
Q: Can we now play for money in our pub?
A: Yes, but there are strict regulations regarding the amounts. This is all detailed on our legislation page.
Q: How much can my customers stake in a game of poker?
A: £5 per player per game. £100 total stakes per venue per day in a pub (£10 per player per game, £250 total stakes per venue per day in a club).
Q: Who is responsible for ensuring my pub poker is legal?
A: Responsibility for whether or not poker played in your pub is legal rests on the pub manager’s shoulders.
Q: Can pub poker league finals be held in casinos?
A: Yes. Pub poker league finals can be held in casinos with no limit on the maximum prize that can be awarded.
Q: Where can I find more information on the legalities of pub poker?
A: The gambling commission's guidelines can be found below (Also see our 'Law Section' which can be found within the 'become a venue section')
Legality
The Poker Tree League offers venues two forms of membership to the league.
Points venues play ONLY for points on the poker evening which is not deemed as gaming as detailed in the gambling commission guidelines Gaming is only covered by the Act if it is played for prizes of money or money’s worth”.
Low stakes venues play for points AND cash on the poker evening and have more of a legal responsibility for ensuring their poker evening conforms to the Gambling Commission Guidelines.
If you host poker tournaments in your venue you must conform to these new guidelines set out by the Gambling Commission otherwise your license may be in jeopardy.
Q: Is it legal?
A: Yes. The Poker Tree League is a 100% legal pub poker league.
Q: What type of poker do you play?
A: At The Poker Tree we play No-Limit Texas Hold'em poker.
Q: I know of a pub that would be interested in running poker on your league. What do I do?
A: We are always pleased to hear about new venues, send us an email with the pub name and post code and we will get them on board. Add your Membership number to the email and receive a free t-shirt.
Q: I don't know how to play pub poker, what should I do?
A: We have detailed instructions on our website and other players will be more than happy to teach you how to play.
Q: What can I win?
A: See league section for a full breakdown of the prize structure.
Q: Where can I play?
A: You can search for your nearest venue from our venues page. Just type in your postcode.
Q: Can I play in more than one venue?
A: Of course! You can play in as many venues as possible with the same membership card, as it all goes towards your national leader board total, increasing your chances of qualifying through to our fantastic Regional and National Finals.
Q: What if I can't play in more than one venue? How am I supposed to compete with people who can play in one every night?
A: Don't worry, that's what our venue and averaged leader boards are for. The top players from each pub, as well as the players with the highest average scores nationally will also get invited through to the quarterly finals, so playing regularly in one pub and scoring high will give you a shot at qualifying too.
Q: I don’t have a password for getting into my members area! How do I get a new one?
A: Click on the ‘Forgot your password?’ link underneath the membership number field. This will take you to the password recovery screen. Simply enter your email address here and your password will be emailed to you, provided we have your email address on the database. If you don’t receive the email it is likely that your email address has not been correctly entered into the website. In this case please contact websupport@thepokertree.com with as many of your details as you can provide and we will send you a new password.
Our Finals
Q: How do I know if I'm in a qualifying position?
A: Click here to your personal player profile, including total league stats and individual venue points.
Q: Why haven’t points from my venue been updated!
A: Updating the points is the responsibility of the venue manager, if points from your venue have not been updated contact your venue or email websupport@thepokertree.com
Q: How do I qualify to the quarterly finals?
A: Click here to get a full breakdown of the points system and qualification procedures.
Q: How will I be notified if I qualify for the quarterly or national final?
A: Quarterly final winners will receive a notifying email, provided the email address provided when signing up to the league is correct. If you are not sure whether your details are correct, log in to your member area by entering your membership number and the password you were emailed when you signed onto the league and change your details there. Alternatively you can ask the pub manager who signed you up to the league to change your details or you can contact us with your membership number and name, giving us your current details and we will update our database accordingly. The full list of qualifiers will also be displayed on the website and be made available to the pub managers when they are entering tournament results.
National final qualifiers will usually be notified during the quarterly final in which they qualified, but will be sent reminder emails prior to the final itself, confirming their position.
Q: How do I qualify from the Quarter finals through to the Nationals?
A: There are 50 places per quarter available for the National Final (200 in total over four seasons). We calculate the total number of players at all Quarterly Finals for that season. Each Quarterly final then has a proportional amount of places allocated to it from the 50 available.
Q: What happens if someone who has already qualified for the National wins another spot?
A: Nothing. The National Final place does not roll down and the number of opponents the player has to face at the National is reduced by one. With a roll-down system there is no reward for players who qualify twice and it is easier for other players to qualify from Quarterly finals held later in the year rather than earlier. By not having a roll-down system we keep the finals fair across the board and reward our players who qualify twice by reducing their competition at the National Final.
Q: How do I know if I have qualified through to the national finals?
A: Qualifying players will be informed during the week after the second set of finals. Players will also be contacted by email during the run up to the National Final. A running list of players who have qualified for the National Final will be posted on our website.
Q: Why are you holding the finals in casinos?
A: According to the regulations regarding poker laid out by the UK Gambling Commission the maximum prize fund for a tournament held in a pub or similar venue is £100. We want to offer our players the biggest prizes we can, so we host our Regional and National Finals in casinos. In these casinos we are able to offer our players fantastic prizes and they have professional, experienced staff at all their venues to assist us in the running of our tournaments.