Game for a profit

Offering poker in pubs has really caught on. Graham Ridout leads off a four-page special on entertainment with a look at how to make poker a success

Long gone are the days when landlords could sit back and rely on thirsty hordes of people flocking to their pub. Now, the challenge is to wring every penny out of the increasingly diminishing leisure pound.

Licensees must offer attractions that customers can't get in the comfort of their own home, surrounded by large plasma screens, music systems, online entertainment or PlayStations.

Thankfully, there are a number of activities and events that are unique or can only be best enjoyed in a pub.

We'll cover some of these over the coming pages, but let's start with the latest craze - poker. Pub poker is really rocketing since the Government allowed the game to be played for small stakes with a maximum prize of £100. In little over a year, poker organiser Redtooth has seen the number of pubs subscribing to its service quadruple with around 1,000 venues participating, thanks to Carlsberg helping sponsor a national competition.

Redtooth's Steve Saul says poker has invigorated quiet mid-week trading periods, with some pubs recording takings up by between £500 and £600 since introducing the offer.

He adds that some licensees are even reporting that trade on poker nights is better than on Fridays and Saturdays.

Apart from the attraction of extra trade, Saul says the sessions "can engender a good community atmosphere inside a pub".

He suggests licensees should adopt random seating arrangements so that groups of friends are not sitting at the same table, which encourages customers to mingle and make new friends. He also advises that "table service is absolutely vital" because customers are naturally reluctant to disrupt play while going to the bar for a drink.

Saul says that people are drawn to playing in a pub because they have probably seen poker being played on the television, but are "too intimidated to go into a casino" or fear that playing online would run up huge credit-card debts.

Another of his suggestions is not to play for cash prizes. Instead, Saul recommends the use of vouchers.

"Playing for cash can create the potential for conflict. The idea is that people should be playing for entertainment and to see who is best in the pub.

"If it is purely for cash, it could attract people only after the money and not there to drink, which defeats the object of pub poker."

He says that using vouchers will give the evening an inclusive nature and, hopefully, attract more female participants.

Redtooth supplies two card tables, cards, chips, promotional material and a DVD showing how to play the game, for £20 per month, plus VAT.

The company has a helpline operating from Sunday through to Thursday for dealing with any queries that may arise during a session.

Each playing season lasts 13 weeks and the winner in each pub can go through to a regional final, with the best players qualifying for a grand final. This year, the final will be held in Nottingham on 30 March.

To maintain interest over the course of the evening, players receive 2,000 chips at the start of the session and a further 1,500 at the interval after about one hour's play.

This aims to keep players in the pub, especially those unlucky enough to lose their 2,000 chips early on.

Saul says that Redtooth has no gambling affiliations. The company's aim is "to build business in the pub, not to encourage online gambling".

A game of two halves - the value of sport

Improving your entertainment offer doesn't have to mean trying to tap into the next big thing, traditional avenues, like sport, can still be lucrative, if well considered. Sky and, to a lesser degree, Setanta, have cornered the market for sport. Yet, as every licensee knows - it doesn't come cheap.

Also, while there are plenty of matches televised, most are unlikely to appeal to the majority of customers. It is important to make sure that the televised sport you offer is going to appeal to your particular clientele.

Therefore, it makes sense to consider carefully which fixtures are likely to tempt people into your pub before shelling out on a subscription. If the figures do suggest it is worthwhile, then it is down to promoting as hard as you can to fill the pub.

At least one day before a suitable fixture, bar staff should be encouraged to ask customers whether they will be coming to watch the match, thereby creating a sense of anticipation. Also consider raffling drinks to the people who predict the time of the first goal or the player to score.

It is worth considering offering cheap or free snacks after the game, such as chips, burgers or hot dogs, to make sure there is not a mass exodus at the final whistle. Another consideration is holding a sports-related quiz after the game to tempt people to linger longer.

Other mechanisms include raffling the prime seats in front of the screen for the next big match, with table service and quietly playing football anthems in the run-up to the kick-off. To further enhance the atmosphere, don't lower the big screen until shortly before kick-off.

About the only other thing worth checking is that all the big or plasma screens are working properly. If anything's malfunctioning, there are numerous firms that can supply audio-visual equipment on a next-day basis.

how the big operators are breaking into gambling

Poker has become a major attraction at outlets within the nation's two biggest pubcos. Enterprise Inns offers licensees its own branded game, Pokerpockets. Licensees subscribe on a monthly basis and receive all the necessary equipment. Customers can post scores on a dedicated website and leading scorers will then be invited to regional and national competitions.

Enterprise lets licensees decide whether they also want to run separate sessions offering cash prizes or vouchers.

Enterprise's head of retail service Russell Wood says that around 300 pubs have signed up to Pokerpockets: "The feedback is positive, especially among licensees who promote and create an evening around it."

The pubco has also arranged sessions for interested licensees to show them how to run a successful evening. "It's not just about putting out the chips and letting people get on with it. The session has to be organised, with proper breaks to allow people to get food or drinks or to have a cigarette."

Over at Punch Taverns, online gambling site Pub-Casino is being promoted in both its leased and managed estates. The site also features blackjack, roulette and a number of slot machine-style games.

Punch says that Pub-Casino is a responsible website also offering a play-for-fun option and featuring measures to protect players from suffering major losses.

A spokesman explains: "The initiative is not designed to encourage customers to bet online in pubs. We are tapping into a leisure pursuit - it's not about going to the pub to gamble. Customers will be able to pick up promotion cards and play online at home."

In addition, the pubco is promoting traditional poker evenings with partners such as Redtooth.