Pub poker 'diminishes the game'

2008-02-04 12:01:18

The trend of playing poker in pubs, currently taking the UK by storm, is not a good representation of the game, an expert has said.

Al Alvarez, a writer and poet with more than 50 years of experience playing cards competitively, told the Camden New Journal that poker is a serious sport with a lot of depth - and cannot be played lightly as a pub game.

"If you want to play poker properly you've got to concentrate," he said.

"I would have thought the noise and music might make it difficult."

Mr Alvarez has played at the World Series of Poker - the game's largest event - and his writings on the subject have won favourable reviews.

His book The Biggest Game In Town has a four-star user rating on Amazon.co.uk and was described by the Evening Standard as "probably the best book on poker ever written".