SIAS Poker Tournament

Set under atmospheric railway arches, the up-and-coming Loose Cannon Poker Club hosted the inaugural SIAS Poker Tournament. A venue usually filled with city moguls and high rollers was commandeered for the evening of 11 March by 75 excited actuaries, each with pound signs in their eyes.

The evening commenced with a novices’ session — the audience a mix of true beginners wondering what they’d got themselves into, and hustlers pretending to read lists of hand rankings. Play started nervously at 7pm with everyone feeling the pressure of sitting down at a table of their peers, sizing up the opponents, chips in hand, wondering when to make that big play. No-one wanted the embarrassment of going out first! 3000 chips doesn’t go that far and for James Williamson, member of the SIAS Social Committee, they only lasted two hands — top pair beaten by three of a kind. His only consolation was winning a copy of Poker for Dummies.

The whole room breathed a sigh of relief, guards dropped and the chips started flying. More than one of the gents fancied themselves as Daniel Craig in Casino Royale. One player in particular expected to do well having ranked highly in the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas but went out early — ‘bad luck’ apparently but there are suspicions he underestimated his actuarial competitors! Players thinned out pretty quickly, some moving on to the cash games on offer, others enjoying the bar refreshments.

After four hours of hard play (and a break for some tasty food) only the final table was left seated. Avraam Pekris, Tamanna Shah, Lee Huddleston, Darryl Brundle, Louis Manson and Jean Eu could just about reach over their enormous chip stacks to place bets. The atmosphere was tense and no one wanted to be rushed. Play looked like going on to the early hours but at 12:30am Avraam Pekris and Tamanna Shah decided to call it a night and split the prize money and prestigious first place.

Congratulations to them and thanks to everyone who took part — we hope you enjoyed yourself. We’re looking forward to next year’s event already.