2018 Cash Game Festival London
Day 1 Started
2018 Cash Game Festival London
2018 Cash Game Festival London
Day: 1
Welcome to Day 1 of the 2018 Cash Game Festival London
For the fifth 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 Jan. 3-7.
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 £2/£5 no-limit hold'em on the Cash Game Festival Twitch channel and will also be embedded in the PokerNews blog under the Live Stream tab.
The game will change to £2/£5 pot-limit Omaha for the later feature table which kicks off at 8:30 p.m. GMT. Terry Jordon, who made a splash at the Cash Game Festival the last time it visited London in September, is among the players confirmed.
As has been the case during the past three Cash Game Festivals, a trophy and prize will be awarded to the player that wins the most big blinds during any of the 10 feature tables.
Away from the feature tables, festival organizers expect at least 20 tables today with stakes low and high across a variety of games including no-limit hold'em, pot-limit Omaha, Sviten Special and super dealer's choice.
The Cash Game Festival has organized many activities away from the felts throughout the festival for players with the hospitality package. In addition to opening drinks today, there will also be a trip to a trampoline park on Thursday, a VIP dinner on Friday, a rocking party on Saturday and a guided tour of London Stadium where West Ham United calls home on Sunday.
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.
It's Going to Be a Huge Opening Day
The festival has not yet officially started but that hasn't stopped players from getting into the action early with seven tables already running. The festival organizers expect this figure to triple during the evening.
All of the tables are currently featuring lower stakes no-limit hold'em games with one lower stakes dealer's choice 4-5-6 pot-limit Omaha table.
The floor manager shared that higher stakes games should begin soon and that he wouldn't be surprising to take place before the opening drinks festival signals the beginning of the festival.
Welcome Drinks Begin
The 2018 Cash Game Festival London has officially kicked off with players enjoying welcome drinks before hopping into the action.
The first televised feature table, a £2/£5 no-limit hold'em affair, will begin in about 20 minutes on a 20-minute delay.
Ryan Mullarkey Headlines First Feature Table
The first feature table of the first Cash Game Festival of the year has just kicked off with stakes at £2/£5 no-limit hold'em. Cash Game Festival regular Ryan Davey will be handling the commentary throughout most of the festival with many guests expected throughout the stream.
You can check out the action by clicking on the Live Stream tab in our coverage or by heading to the Cash Game Festival Twitch channel where you can also join in the chat.
The table is full of familiar faces and new ones headlined by Cash Game Festival regular Ryan Mullarkey in Seat 6. Mullarkey, who learned about the Cash Game Festival during a previous stop in London traveled to as many stops as he could last year including to Gibraltar, Dublin and Tallinn.
David Newson, in Seat 1, is one of the players making his first Cash Game Festival visit to the feature table. He has been playing poker for almost two decades and shared his favorite hand is queen-jack suited.
China's Gang Wang, in Seat 2, always loves the Cash Game Festival whenever it visited Aspers Casino in London. Even though his English is limited, it is rare not to see Wang visibly enjoy himself at the tables.
Manoj Mohindra, in Seat 3, also has appeared at the feature table in the past at the Cash Game Festival when it has visited London. His favorite hand is pocket deuces and looks at poker as a social game.
French poker pro Tony Blanchandin is in Seat 4. We may see him at bigger stakes later in the festival as he shared he has played as high as €25/€50 no-limit hold'em online.
Murray MacInnes, in Seat 5, shared with PokerNews his favorite poker moment and about his poker style.
My favorite poker moment is winning a £1,600 cash pot with quads online against two of our Scandinavian relatives
in a £1.50/£3 cash game," said Macinnes. I also have cashed in a few tournaments, the most recent being taking 37th place in a local Aspers tournament for £800. I usually play cash at Aspers on a Saturday and always go home up. I'm not a bingo player. I'm just slow and steady like the tortoise and enjoy the company.
Craig Sweden, in Seat 7, loves both poker tournaments and cash games. He has made multiple EPT final tables and has over $250,000 in live tournament cashes as tracked by The Hendon Mob.
Perry Smith rounds off the action in Seat 8. This is his second Cash Game Festival with his previous visit taking place the last time the festival visited the British capital in September.
Big Hands Early on at the Feature Table
The feature table is full of action early on. On the very first hand, Perry Smith raises from under the gun with 
to £35. Gang Wang calls from the button with 
before Manoj Mohindra with 
fired out a three-bet to £105 from the small blind.
Tony Blanchandin woke up with 
in the big blind and four-bet to £260 before Smith five-bet jammed the rest of his £1,000 stack. Wang quickly folded and Mohindra went into the tank before he called. Blanchandin also quickly folded and Smith doubled up early on after the board ran out blanks for his opponent.
11 Tables
The poker is buzzing with action with 11 tables running. Here is a look at the breakdown.
| Game | Tables |
|---|---|
| £1/£1 NLHE | 3 |
| £1/£2 NLHE | 5 |
| £2/€5 NLHE | 2 |
| £1/£1 NLHE | 1 |
Someone's Wallet May Become £35K Heavier at the Cash Game Festival
Aspers Casino is hosting a variety of jackpots where players can win big during the festival. The biggest right now just passed £35,000 which can be triggered by any player that has a royal flush in diamonds on the flop. The jackpot increases from the rake and players are not contributing an extra rake.
Photos From First Feature Table
Win a Cash Game Festival Package to Bratislava
The Cash Game Festival will be visiting Casino Banco in Bratislava, Slovakia for the first time on April 4-8. Players can win one of four packages valued at £1,350, which includes five-nights accommodation, a hospitality package for two and €500 in stake money during the Cash Game Festival London.
Every time a player winds up with quads, he or she wins a ticket for two drawings at 9 p.m. on Jan. 4 and 6 p.m. on Jan. 7 where two packages during each drawing will be awarded.
Players can win two tickets for nailing a straight flush and three tickets if they have a royal flush in a hand.