Where to Play Live Poker in Australia
Australia has a very popular poker following, and thus it is very easy to play live poker in Australia. There are a few places where live poker is easily accessible and very fun. Note that with any gambling-related event, you have to be 18 years or older to play live under Australian laws.
Casinos
The two largest casinos in Australia are the Crown Casino (Melbourne) and Star City (Sydney). Both are very popular, especially amongst tourists, and the poker games attract a large base. Both spread quite a few poker limits, although Crown is larger and thus has larger limits/more variants available. The lowest limit spread in casinos is 1/2 NL (also called 200NL). Depending on the casino, the buy-in for this game ranges from $80 to $200. This is by far the most commonly played live cash form of NL hold’em, and as thus the field is very soft. Making money at these games is easy – just play a little tighter than usual and go for fat value on your monsters.
Poker Tournaments also run daily at these venues. Buy-ins usually start at around $200. Field sizes are usually quite small – these daily ones rarely get more than 300 runners. However, taking one down can net you close to $10k. Crown is also home to one of the largest live events – the Aussie Millions. This attracts hundreds of players from around the globe. Marquis events are the $100K high rollers event, and the $10K Main Event. Both casinos also play host to the APPT (Australia Pacific Poker Tour). These are a series of events sponsored by PS, with buy-ins ranging up to $5k. The main event is a $3K tournament played at Star City.
APL
APL is the Australian Poker League, and is a series of small tournaments run country-wide culminating each year with much larger events. It is sponsored by FTP. APL is entirely free to join and play, although there are some tournaments with buy-ins. With events happening daily, a point system is allocated to winners based on finishing place. The winners of the point score are entered into larger events towards to the end of the month or year, which have large prize pools. The main event at the end of the year sends the winner off to the ME at the WSOP the following year. Events usually run in locations such as RSL’s, football clubs or town halls. With events running around the clock at hundreds of locations, including online at FTP, APL is really a fun way to play poker. Visit the APL website for more information on tournament schedules.
NPL
NPL is the National Poker League, and runs very similarly to that of the APL. It is sponsored by PartyPoker. NPL is also free to join and play, but there are many more events with a buy-in associated with it. Unlike APL, NPL operates exclusively at pubs, bars and hotels, and thus is often called the ‘Pub Poker League’. There are fewer venues and tournaments running than APL. NPL operates on a scoring system like APL, with winners entered into larger events. Visit the NPL website for more information on tournament schedules.
Whatever your skill level, you will be able to find a place to play live poker in Australia.
