There I was, playing in a fine £1/£3 no-limit hold'em game at the Grosvenor Victoria (aka The Vic), as you do when you're in London-town.
The most interesting feature of the game so far was that there was a player that I was pretty sure I recognized from Las Vegas games. Sure enough, he was an American living in London, and the other six players got to quiz us about American poker and wonder why we said that Texas poker is better than Las Vegas poker.
Pay attention at the table
But then Aaron showed up. He's an Indian fellow, and I knew I was going to enjoy him because he was wearing a puffy trapper's hat with fur earflaps. This in a culture where baseball caps are considered a bit outré. I tossed him a £1 chip and told him he'd already won the best hat in the poker room award for the day, and we were best friends. After an hour or two, he said he'd be leaving soon because "the game at the Bayswater starts at 6pm and it's way more action."
Wait, did somebody not tell me about another poker game in London?
"Where is the Bayswater?"
"It's a 30-minute walk from here – Queensway Road. Tiny room – four tables, but fantastic action."
A plan immediately formed in my head...
- Play at the Vic until 5:00pm.
- Head out to Edgware Road (on which the Vic sits) and find dinner at one of the 487 restaurants there.
- Walk over to the Grosvenor Bayswater and check out this little jewel.
As planned, at/near the appointed hour, I bade the table (and my new American friend) an enjoyable evening and wandered out to Edgware Road. One of my great joys in London is mixing poker at the Vic with some Middle Eastern stew a couple of blocks in either direction. I opted for the Al Arez restaurant and Moujadara B'zeit. Don't ask – just order it, and you're welcome.
Then it was a 25-minute stroll along the north edge of Hyde Park to maybe my new favorite poker room in London.
I arrived at 6:15pm, and sure enough, there it was. The Grosvenor Bayswater is literally next door to the Bayswater Tube station and a three-minute walk to the Queensway Tube. It's unbeatable for public transport access. Also, it seems to have an alternate/previous branding as the Golden Horseshoe (a very Las Vegas sounding name) – they're both the same place.
In terms of vibe, the Grosvenor Bayswater is the Flamingo (RIP the poker room) to the Vic's Bellagio. It is clearly a local neighborhood casino, where you go to have dinner (or after dinner) and punt a few quid on the roulette. There, tucked away on one side of the small casino, is a four-table poker room, just as Aaron had promised.
I love small poker rooms
I have always had a thing for small poker rooms. Places where they know your name after your second or third visit. Where most of the players know each other. Places that make you feel a bit more like you're playing in somebody's family room than in a giant warehouse. Grosvenor Bayswater is very much such a place.
I got there around 6:30pm, fearing I'd be waiting for a seat, but there were three open chairs at the one £1/£2 game. I happily slid into one and started playing cards. My new BFF Aaron was already seated when I arrived. After half an hour, he asked (from the #6 seat to the #2 seat), "So, is this more fun than the Vic?"
"This is pretty fun."
I had to admit, it was a different demographic than the Vic. Everything about the Grosvenor Victoria poker room screams, "Serious poker!" If you want a chance to see John Duthie, Victoria Coren, Gary Blackwood, or any other Big Name in the London poker world, you need to hang out at the Vic. The players at Bayswater are more recreational, more gambly. Again, much more of a home game vibe than the Vic (or Hippodrome), and I'm here for it.
I had a pleasant few hours playing £1/2 no-limit hold'em, then a two-minute walk to the Bayswater station, and I was back at my King's Cross Airbnb in 35 minutes.
Grosvenor Bayswater (Golden Horseshoe) by the numbers
- Getting there: Both the Bayswater and Queensway Tube stations are within a three-minute walk. There's also a huge bus hub at Queensway.
- Shufflers: DeckMate 2.
- Charging: I tried 4-5 USB chargers in the tables – they all worked.
- Cards: 'Poker' size (2.5" x 3.5") cards, as opposed to the American standard 'Bridge' size (2.25" x 3.5") cards. This is the standard across London (this may actually be a regulation). A quarter of an inch doesn't feel like much, but I always feel pretty clumsy handling poker-size cards.
- Games are dealt 9-handed.
- Buy-ins: £1/£2: £100-£500; £2/5: Don't be silly – go over to the Vic.
- Rake: 5% to £10, plus £2 for promotions. This is standard for London. It will be hard to pay for your London vacation in a £2 big blind game, but honestly, if forced to do so, I might choose that game over the £1/£3 game at the Vic. You're not going to run into many solid grinders at Bayswater, unlike the £1/£3 game at the Vic.
