"Playing poker is kinda like my love life, it's done alone and in front of the computer"

Do you fancy chancing your arm at one of the smaller buy-in events at one of London’s public card rooms or casinos? Why not indeed? But here’s a caveat - a £5 or a £10 re-buy might sound like a cheap way to go, but pick the wrong game and you might find yourself nursing a bigger hole in your wallet than you’d bargained for.

The casinos have, thankfully, just recently woken up to the fact that they have to cater for the novice player in order to bring new blood into their bigger buy-in tourneys and cash games and have recently started spreading eminently affordable freeze-out tournaments for those among us who are looking for some Brick and Mortar experience but who like to know what they’re getting into. Listed for your delectation below are the six cheapest freeze-outs in and around London, all of which should be suitable even for the relatively inexperienced player.

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Address - 620 Western Ave, London W3 0TE

Telephone - 020 8896 0033

Venue Type – Cardroom

Buy In - £10 + £1

Starting Chips – T2000

Format – No Limit Texas Holdem

Structure – 25/50, 50/100, 100/200, 200/400, 300/600, 400/800, 600/1200, 800/1600, 1k/2k

Clock – 20 minutes

Maximum runners – tournament can cater for over 100 runners (most recent event had 18)

When – Friday evenings at 20:00hrs

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Address - Old Quebec St, London W1H 7AF

Telephone - 020 7414 0061

Venue Type – Casino

Buy In - £30 + £3

Starting Chips – T2500

Format – No Limit Texas Holdem

Structure – 25/25, 25/50, 50/100, 100/200, 200/400, 300/600, 400/800, 600/1200, 800/1600, 1k/2k

Clock – 20 minutes

Maximum runners – tournament can cater for 60 runners maximum (most recent event had 20)

When – Sunday afternoons at 16:00hrs

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Address - 150 - 162 Edgware Road, W2 2DT

Telephone - 020 7262 7777 

Venue Type – Casino

Buy In - £30 + £3

Starting Chips – T2000

Format – No Limit Texas Holdem

Structure – 25/25, 25/50, 50/100, 100/200, 200/400, 300/600, 400/800, 600/1200, 800/1600, 1k/2k

Clock – 25 minute clock for 5 levels + 20 mins thereafter

Maximum runners – tournament can cater for 72 runners maximum (most recent event had 25)

When – Wednesday evenings at 19:30hrs

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Address - 620 Western Ave, London W3 0TE

Telephone: 020 8896 0033

Venue Type – Cardroom

Buy In - £30 + £3

Starting Chips – T2000

Format – No Limit Texas Holdem

Structure – 25/50, 50/100, 100/200, 200/400, 300/600, 400/800, 600/1200, 800/1600, 1k/2k

Clock – 20 minutes

Maximum runners – tournament can cater for over 100 runners (most recent event had 18)

When – Sunday afternoons at 15:00hrs

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Address - 25/29 Church Street, Reigate, SURREY RH2 0AD

Telephone -  01737 233 999

Venue Type - Cardroom

Buy In - £30 + £3

Starting Chips – T2500

Format – No Limit Texas Holdem

Structure – 25/50, 50/100, 100/200, 200/400, 300/600, 400/800, 600/800, 800/1600, 1k/2k

Clock – 25 minutes

Maximum runners – tournament can cater for up to 72 runners (most recent event had 60-65!)

When – Sunday evenings at 18:00hrs

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Address - 44-48 Clerkenwell Rd, London, EC1M 5PS

Telephone - 020 7253 9980 

Venue Type – Cardroom

Buy In - £30 + £3

Starting Chips – T2000

Format – No Limit Texas Holdem

Structure – 25/25, 25/50, 50/100, 100/200, 150/300, 250/500, 350/700, 500/1k, 700/1500, 1k/2k

Clock – 20 minutes

Maximum runners – tournament can cater for over 100 runners (most recent event had 25)

When – Sunday evenings at 20:00hrs

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                          - "Behold the power of the Beer Hand!" -