Pub flushed with poker joy

It is hoped the game, which has become an on-line sensation in recent years, could become established alongside traditional pub favourites such as darts and dominoes.

The Black Country Poker Club, which meets every month in West Bromwich boozer The New Talbot in Black Lake, has seen its membership more than double since being set up four months ago.

Club secretary Brian Yates, aged 47, from Park Hill in Wednesbury, has been leading by example and next month will be jetting off to Las Vegas for an all-expenses paid stay at the gambling capital of the world, after winning an on-line tournament.

It follows similar success last year when Brian and his wife Karen were whisked away on a cruise of the Caribbean.

He insists interest in poker could swell during the current economic climate, with tournaments offering a night of entertainment for a small fee while giving people the chance to dream of bagging huge winnings.

Father-of-two Brian, a machinist at Brockhouse Forgings in Hill Top, West Bromwich, only took up the game on-line in 2005. "I wouldn't consider myself a brilliant player but I do OK," he said. "I'd always fancied playing and I read a few books. But the more you play, especially against better players, the better you get."

He set up the monthly poker league with fellow players he met on the amateur circuit, with members battling it out for points to send them up the table, with the eventual winner getting a $550 buy-in for a place at a national tournament. The camaraderie does not stop there with that player agreeing to share half of any winnings from national games they qualify for with the rest of the league members. Pubs do not need to get their own casino-style gambling licence to host such events, because the players are competing for league table points using chips instead of gambling cash.

Darren Hooper, 30, from The Lyng in West Bromwich, started playing with friends and got into the league through Brian, who he works with at Brockhouse.

Darren, father to 12-year-old Taylor and Ayden, aged four, has been playing for about a year but said he keeps losing his money on-line. "This league is a good format because whoever wins goes into a big tournament and we have all got a chance of getting a bit back," he said.

"It only costs us a tenner to enter for the night and we are here for a few hours and it saves you money because I'd spent a lot more than that on a night out."

Friend Paul Melia, 30, of Hateley Heath, picked up the game about five months ago, but is propping up the league table. "I've never played on-line but I just got into it playing with friends and heard about the league so wanted to give it a go," he said.