We Love Lucy. Poker Player

Bringing poker to the streets of London where it belongs… this time with the lovely Lucy Porter


	His girlfriend gives him the alternative of shopping with her, or playing heads-up and being single.

Lederhosen, bratwurst and more wench cleavage than you can shake a frosted two-pint beer mug at. Has Guerrilla Poker gone German? Nein! We’re at the Frankfurt Christmas market, deep in the centre of… erm, Birmingham.

This month our challenge is to turn the sweetest person in comedy, Lucy Porter, into a hard-assed hustler. Should be a breeze compared to the heckling she’s used to. Getting off to a flying start, Matt, a product designer, slaps a fiver down and attempts to unnerve Lucy with talk of his latest invention. Handcuffs for psychos anyone? We’ll take a pair.

Five hands in, Lucy makes a pre-flop raise with K-Q. Matt is quick to go all-in with his pocket Sixes and Lucy calls. The feisty lady sees her King pair on the flop to give her first taste of victory.

A few more punters come and go, when we’re stopped by Prajesh. His girlfriend gives him the alternative of shopping with her, or playing heads-up and being single. The clincher isn’t down to his future happiness and the spreading of his seed, but whether we’ll open a fresh deck of cards. We may be guerrilla – but we’re never dishonourable. Prajesh, hush your mouth. Enjoying his newfound bachelorhood though, he takes the last game and we quit while we’re ahead.

Never mind, Miss Porter proved her worth, clocking up six wins out of eight over the course of the afternoon.

The nightlife…

CITY INN 1 Brunswick Square, Brindleyplace, B1 2HW www.cityinn.com/birmingham

Conveniently located in the centre of Birmingham. Inconveniently full of visitors to The Clothes Show on the weekend we decide to do Guerrilla Poker, which means we had to stay in the tatty Holiday Inn down the road. A bit like the nativity story without the donkeys.

PLAY HERE

BROADWAY CASINO 1-4 Broadway Plaza www.broadwaycasino.co.uk

Modern casinos have one massive advantage over their traditional rivals – the cardroom The Broadway Casino boasts a load of professional poker table as well as one of the most charming cardroom managers we’ve ever encountered. £20 no-limit tournaments take place every night (bar Saturdays), and there’s a league that gives you the chance to win a seat at the 2006 WSOP. Live in Birmingham? Get your arse down there.