Raising the stakes

I’m absolutely petrified of heights, so naturally the prospect of playing in the world’s highest poker game seemed like a simple way to conquer my fear.

However, the importance of whether I was holding decent cards dwindled once my feet were dangling an unsafe distance above the capital.

Betting firm Betfair decided to launch this month’s World Series of Poker Europe with a day of aerial contests for journalists, poker players and assorted fools.

So here we all were, strapped in with seatbelts in swivel chairs, trying desperately to carve out a poker face that did not resemble look a rictus grin of terror.

Leaving the table was not an option, unless you wanted to plummet back down to earth like Wile E Coyote.

All we could do was sit tight, peel cards off the table with our sweaty palms and be careful not to drop any chips onto unsuspecting passers-by.

I took the role of “poker bully�, launching chips into the pot with psychotic abandon as I tried to forget that our table was spinning on a length of wire like a conker.

But I was soon found out, and spent the last few minutes twiddling my thumbs and trying to work out why conquering my fears was such a good idea.

Unfazed by the height however, Wharf businessman and poker star Richard Redmond, won his particular game in the sky later that afternoon.

Richard started playing poker in 2004 while on gardening leave from a publishing business, and earned £700,000 in 12 months from his poker skills just over a year later.

Now, the founder of Citybunker is offering Wharfers another chance to learn the tricks of the trade when he re-launches his poker academy on October 1.

Professional poker players will descend on the Cannon Workshops bar on Mondays to tutor wannabe players on a different poker topic each week, from stealing to bluffing and basic tells.

The 12-week course is split into tables of beginner, intermediate and advanced, giving participants the chance to gain first-hand experience as well as watch the pros do their stuff online.

Citybunker also offers a regular Wednesday night poker session, and has hosted corporate games for companies such as Credit Suisse, Citigroup and Thomson Reuters.

Richard said: “There used to be a stigma around poker and gambling, but now there are celebrity tournaments and its almost fashionable.
“The beautiful thing about poker is that on any given day anyone can sit down and have a chance of winning any poker tournament.
“The academy is about teaching people to be profitable, experienced and responsible. But it’s also very sociable and a lot of fun.�

For more information, email richard@pokerbunker.co.uk, log on to www.pokerbunker.co.uk or call 07940 737796.