Poker in the Park, Why Not Here In The U.S.

Poker in the Park will run from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Aug. 15, and 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Aug. 16. During that time, PKR will be sponsoring the Poker Dome, in which they will host free hourly Texas Hold'em tournaments.

The tournaments are free, No-Limit Texas Hold'em single-table sit-and-gos. They are scheduled for:

Aug. 15

• Event 1: 4:30 p.m.
• Event 2: 5:30 p.m.
• Event 3: 6:30 p.m. The SubTV Student Poker League Cup
• Event 4: 7:30 p.m. The LondonPubPoker Trophy

Aug. 16

• Event 5: 11 a.m. The Royal Surrey Tournament
• Event 6: noon
• Event 7: 1 p.m. The Poker Project Trophy
• Event 8: 2 p.m. The Nuts Poker League Challenge
• Event 9: 3 p.m.
• Event 10: 4 p.m. The England Poker League Cup
• Event 11: 5 p.m. The Bluff Europe Championship

UltimateBet and Absolute Poker are also jointly hosting a Poker Academy tent at the poker festival, where players can partake of free poker lectures given by poker pros. There will also be autograph sessions.

On Friday, Aug. 15, participants can go to a reading by Tony Holden from his book Bigger Deal, as well as take in lectures by Ian Frazer, Marc Goodwin and Paul Jackson. On Saturday, Aug. 16, Liv Boeree will give two lectures during the day and Nik Persaud, Neil Channing, Dave "Devilfish" Ulliott, Tom Sandbrook and Montel Williams will give talks on poker as well.

The lecture schedule is as follows:

Aug. 15

• 5 p.m.: Tony Holden, a reading from Bigger Deal
• 6 p.m.: Ian Frazer, How to dominate short-handed games
• 7 p.m.: Marc Goodwin, Insight into Omaha
• 8 p.m.: Paul Jackson, Tells: Reading opponents through body language and other tales

Aug. 16

• 11:30 a.m.: Liv Boeree, The beginner's guide to No-Limit Hold'em
• 12:30 p.m.: Nik Persaud, The pro's guide to online poker
• 1:30 p.m.: Neil Channing, Cash games vs. tournament poker
• 2:30 p.m.: Dave Ulliott, Table Image: Dominate the table using table talk to bully players
• 3:30 p.m.: Liv Boeree, Pre-flop Play: Hand selection and playing position
• 4:30 p.m.: Tom Sandbrook, Playing poker the professional way
• 5:30 p.m.: Montel Williams, The International Poker Federation and the future of poker

Steve Bellis of The Nuts Poker League said he believes the poker festival will be "definitely the biggest poker event for beginners and enthusiasts alike."

Steve Hedger, founder of London Pub Poker, also expressed that Poker in the Park is a great opportunity for people new to poker and also for the game itself.

"London is one of the most vibrant poker cities in the world, and the game is as popular as ever," Hedger said.

"Our leagues have seen waves of new players coming through our doors and learning the game, and Poker in the Park will be the perfect chance for those who haven't been bitten by the bug to finally see why we love the game so much."

For more information, visit www.pokerinthepark.com.