We play No Limit Texas Hold Em and try to find a balance between playing *properly* and having some fun. Quite a few of the regulars have played in Casinos and mojor poker events, here in the UK, Monte Carlo and over in Las Vegas, including the ESOP and WSOP.

The rules we play are not quite as strict as you will find in the big games, however there are some things you should be aware of :

Blinds, Antes and the time. Varying Blind structures, some with antes, are set for each tournament and often differ. Steve has been running Tournament Director on his laptop recently and this seems to work to everybodys satisfaction. The laptop screen is on view and all can see what the blinds are and how long they have left to run.

String Betting - Steve Osama launched a successfull Fatwa against string betters and you will find that your first bet will be taken as your final, e.g. pushing 300 chips into the middle, then trying to push another 400 after them once you have seen the reactions . . .

Your first call is final - saying "Call" then "Raise 500" will be taken as just a call.

The player to the left of the dealer [small blind] shuffles, afterwards the person to his right cuts the deck.

Swearing will get you banned or sin binned elsewhere, but is allowed - within reason.