2017 Cash Game Festival London
Day 1 Started
2017 Cash Game Festival London (Winter)
2017 Cash Game Festival London
Day: 1
Welcome to Day 1 of the 2017 Cash Game Festival London at Aspers Casino Westfield Stratford City
For the third time in the festival's history, the Cash Game Festival returns to Aspers Casino Westfield Stratford City in London for five days of nonstop poker action from Feb. 15-19.
The action officially kicks off at 5 p.m. with welcome drinks inside the poker room. Shortly afterward, the first of two daily televised tables start at 5:30 p.m. GMT and will be streamed on a 20-minute delay with stakes at £1/£2 no-limit hold'em on the Cash Game Festival Twitch channel as well as will be broadcasted across multiple media outlets including PokerNews.
Multiple media outlets, including PokerNews, will cover the latest happenings in the festival. Later in the day, there will also be a second higher stakes televised feature table of pot-limit Omaha with stakes at £2/£5 broadcasted on a 20-minute delay at 8:30 p.m. GMT.
However, before the start of the second televised table, soccer fans who decided to take part in the VIP hospitality package will meet in the poker room at 7:30 p.m. and be escorted over to the Sky Bar Lounge to watch exciting Champions League action. Festival organizers will be providing players plenty of beer and betting slips to sweat the action with.
Many players, however, will choose to remain in the poker room where it is expected to play out at least 20 tables across a variety of game variants and stakes. Many players couldn't wait for the festival to start with many already at a handful of ring-stakes tables around the poker room.
Tomorrow's activity off the felt will provide players a unique view of London with a trip to the 114.5 meter tall ArcelorMittal Orbit structure in Queen Olympic Park. Organizers promise a twist on the way down the tower.
On Friday, players will be treated to a VIP dinner at Jamie's Italian, while Saturday evening will feature a fun-filled beer pong party.
Here is a look at some of the hot action both on and off the poker tables during the Cash Game Festival's last stop in London and a trailer for what to look forward to this year in the British capital.
The PokerNews Live Reporting team will be covering the festival with player interviews and recaps of some of the most exciting action.
As a reminder, if you can't make London, the 2017 Cash Game Festival Slovenia is also just around the corner taking place at Casino Perla from March 8 to 12.
Six Tables and Growing
The welcome drinks ceremony, which will officially kick off the 2017 Cash Game Festival London, is still about 2 1/2 hours away. Many players wanted an early start to the festival with six cash game tables already full with action along with a handful of others waiting for a seventh to open.
High Hand Jackpot Details
The Aspers Casino floor staff shared that there will be a high hand promotion kicking off at 5 p.m. and will run throughout the festival.
Players that win a hand with four of a kind in any cash game will be awarded one raffle ticket, players winning a hand with a straight flush will be awarded two raffle tickets, while players that win a hand with a royal flush will be awarded three tickets. Two hole cards need to be used in the winning hand to win tickets.
A draw will take place on Friday where two players win a trip to the Cash Game Festival Slovenia valued at £1,400 each. Another draw will take also take place on Sunday where two more players with win packages to Slovenia.
Nine Tables Already Running an Hour Before the Festival Begins
The festival is an hour away from kicking off with its welcome drinks ceremony, however, the Aspers Casino poker room is already buzzing with action.
There are now nine full tables of action, including £1/£1 and £1/£2 no-limit hold'em and £1/£2 pot-limit Omaha.
Welcome Drinks!
Cash Game Festival's Andro Loos just welcomed everyone to the festival with a speech. Players that wanted to loosen up with a drink or two were treated to champagne.
The feature table is minutes from kicking off on a 20-minute delay with stakes at £1/£2 no-limit hold'em on the Cash Game Festival Twitch channel as well as will be broadcasted across multiple media outlets including PokerNews.
Feature Table Begins!
The first feature table just kicked off. Players are playing no-limit hold'em with blinds at £1/£2. You can watch the action commentated by the charismatic Brandon Allen on the Cash Game Festival Twitch channel or here on PokerNews.
Cash Game Festival's Inga Raudsepp joined Allen in the commentary booth to start things off.
Feature Table Bios
In Seat 1 is 21-year-old Carlos Alexander Cortiglia, who shared that his biggest poker achievement was winning almost $1,000 in a micro-stakes online poker tournament.
Duncan Higgens, seated in Seat 2, is a software developer by trade and bought into the action for £400. He has been playing poker for more than a decade and appeared on a feature table during the last Cash Game Festival in London. Higgens shared that his biggest achievement was "winning a 12-pound pot with my first and only ever royal flush."
Tennis instructor and actor Oliver Biles in Seat 3 has been playing poker since 2009 and shared that his biggest achievement to date was winning $1,000 from Daniel Negreanu as part of a prank on his birthday. He hopes to eclipse that amount against lesser known opponents than Kid Poker on his first televised poker table.
Over in Seat 4 is a player who just wanted to be referred to as Moz. He has been playing poker for a decade and bought in for £200.
Next to Moz is Nuno Filipe da Silva Andrade, who bought in for exactly £302. Pocket rockets are his favorite hand and he shared that he has appeared on feature tables in the past.
Also on the feature table is sign language instructor Paul Cripps in Seat 6. This is his first televised table and he bought in short for £100.
Software developer Stefan Bratanov is in Seat 7. He began playing poker in 2014 and this is his first televised table.
In Seat 8 is a player we only know as Ame. He also shared that he has been playing poker for a decade and that his favorite hand is six-five.
Players to Watch Bayern Munich vs. Arsenal with Free Beer and Betting Slips
Players will be meeting in the poker room at 7:30 p.m. before heading to the Sky Bar to watch Bayern Munich compete on its home pitch against Arsenal in the Champions League Round of 16.
Festival organizers will be providing players plenty of beer and also some betting slips to sweat the action with.
Some players may choose instead to remain in the poker room instead of heading to the Sky Bar with over 100 players seated on at least a dozen of tables.
No Goals and a Dozen Tables
No early goals in the football match. Some players are enjoying each other at the Sky Bar, while others are busy stacking and shuffling chips with more than a dozen tables in play.