London Prepares For Elite Poker Action

Some of the world's best poker players will be heading to London this month.

Poker players from around the world will be heading to London for a series of major tournaments over the next few weeks.

The capital is set to host the World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) and the latest leg of the European Poker Tour (EPT), with both events guaranteed to attract some of the world's top card sharps.

Although the EPT's London stop is always a popular event, much of the early anticipation has surrounded the WSOPE, which promises an elite field featuring some of the biggest stars in the game.

British poker pro Julian Thew told the City AM newspaper: "The thing about this tournament is that it really is a uniquely tough field, it's the best of the best up against each other, without anyone else getting in the way.

"The huge buy-in means you only get a few hundred players and the ratio of pros to amateurs is much higher, so there's very little of what you'd call 'dead money'."

Getting underway on Saturday September 26th, the no-limit Texas hold'em main event at the WSOPE features a buy-in of £10,000.

The WSOPE schedule also features the Caesars Cup event, in which a team of European poker pros will battle it out against their North American counterparts in a Ryder Cup-style encounter.