Best poker sites for tournaments in the UK - where are the softest fields?
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Been grinding tournaments for about 2 years now and looking to branch out from my usual spots. Currently playing mostly on PokerStars but the fields are getting tougher by the day. The Sunday Million used to be decent but now it's full of crushers.
Anyone found softer tournament fields on other top poker sites uk? I'm talking about recreational heavy pools where you can actually make some profit without grinding 12 hours a day. Budget is around £50-200 buy-ins.
Heard Bet365 poker might be good but their software looks dated. What about the best poker websites uk for weekend tournaments specifically?
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PokerStars is a nightmare these days mate. Too many pros multi-tabling 20+ tournaments.
888poker has been my go-to lately - way softer fields in their weekend tournaments. The £55 Sunday Challenge regularly gets 800+ runners but at least half are recreational players. Made £1,200 last month just from their Sunday schedule.
Paddy Power poker is also decent if you can stomach their clunky software.
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@betting_pro How's the withdrawal process on 888? I've been burned before waiting weeks for cashouts.
Also, what about William Hill poker? They're always advertising tournaments but never tried them myself. Anyone know if they're on the softer side?
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Let me break down the tournament ROI calculation that most players get wrong:
ROI = (Total Tournament Winnings - Total Buy-ins) / Total Buy-ins × 100
But the real formula accounting for rake and opportunity cost is:
Adjusted ROI = [(Σ(Winnings - Buy-in - Rake) - Opportunity Cost) / Σ(Buy-in + Rake)] × 100Where Opportunity Cost = (Hours Played × Hourly Rate Alternative) + (Bankroll × Risk-free Rate)
This is why chasing "soft" fields without proper volume analysis is often -EV. You might win more often but if the prize pools are smaller, your hourly rate suffers.
@poker_pete_uk What's your current sample size? Need at least 1000+ tournaments for meaningful ROI assessment.
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@casino_dan About 850 tournaments logged so far. ROI sitting at 12% but variance is brutal - had a 40 buy-in downswing last month that nearly broke me.
@james_uk 888 withdrawals are usually 2-3 days to my Monzo account. Much faster than Stars which takes a week minimum.
William Hill poker is dead honestly. Lucky to get 50 runners in their evening tournaments.
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You're all missing the obvious choice - Unibet poker!
Seriously underrated for tournaments. Their weekend series gets decent fields (300-600 runners) but the skill level is way lower than Stars or Party. Plus they have this loyalty system where you earn points just for playing, not just for raking.
The software isn't flashy but it's solid. No HUD support though if that matters to you.
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@ukgambler99 Unibet is solid but their tournament schedule is limited. Only runs big tournaments on weekends.
What about BetVictor poker? They launched a new tournament series recently. Anyone tried it?
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Here's my comparison of the best uk poker sites based on 6 months of tracking:
Site Avg Field Size Soft Rating Withdrawal Time Software Quality 888poker 450 8/10 2-3 days Good PokerStars 1200 4/10 5-7 days Excellent Unibet 320 7/10 3-4 days Average partypoker 280 6/10 4-5 days Good Bet365 180 9/10 1-2 days Poor Bet365 poker is criminally underrated. Yes the software looks like it's from 2010 but the players are absolute fish. I've never seen so many people limping with pocket aces.
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@mike_bet That table is gold! Bet365 poker being a 9/10 for softness explains why their guarantees are always overlay.
Just won their £30 Sunday tournament last week for £890. The final table was embarrassing - people folding to min-bets with decent hands, calling all-ins with ace-high. It was like playing live poker at a holiday resort.
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Am I the only one who thinks chasing soft fields is the wrong approach?
Sure, you'll win more often short-term but you're not improving your game. I'd rather lose money on Stars learning from better players than beat up on pensioners on Bet365.
It's like... do you want to be the smartest person in the room or do you want to get smarter? Can't have both.
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@tom_slots Philosophical question there mate. But I've got bills to pay and a bankroll to build. Once I'm rolled for higher stakes then sure, I'll seek out tougher competition.
For now, I need to maximize my edge where I can find it. That's just smart bankroll management.
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@tom_slots raises an interesting point about skill development vs profit maximization. There's actually a mathematical sweet spot:
Optimal Challenge Level = Current Skill × (1 + Learning Rate) - Risk Tolerance
Where Learning Rate = (Skill Improvement per Hour) / (Current Hourly Rate)
If your primary goal is bankroll growth, you want opponents approximately 15-20% weaker than your current level. Too weak and you don't improve, too strong and variance destroys your roll.
@poker_pete_uk At 12% ROI you're in the optimal zone. Don't move up until you're consistently beating your current level.
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This thread is getting too deep for a simple "where to find fish" question lol
@sarah_g Did you try their satellite system? Bet365 runs £3 satellites to their bigger tournaments and they're basically freerolls with the player quality.
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Plot twist: while we're all debating optimal challenge levels, the recreational players are having more fun than any of us.
Maybe they're the real winners?
@betting_pro Those satellites are juicy but the volume is too low for serious grinding. Better off just buying in direct if you can afford it.
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Update on William Hill poker - tried their Sunday £25 tournament and it was actually decent. Got 140 runners which isn't terrible, and the late stages were definitely softer than equivalent Stars tournaments.
Still think 888poker is the sweet spot though. Good balance of field size and player quality.
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New to tournament poker here - which of these sites has the best beginner tutorials or training materials? Don't want to just donate money while I'm learning.
Also, what buy-in level should I start at? Currently have £500 set aside for poker.
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@newbie_casino With £500 start with £5-10 tournaments max. You'll want at least 50 buy-ins for proper bankroll management.
888poker has decent training videos in their poker school section. PokerStars has more content but it's more advanced.
Honestly though, YouTube and Twitch streams will teach you more than any site's built-in materials.
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@newbie_casino Don't listen to Pete about 50 buy-ins - that's cash game advice. Tournament bankroll management is different due to higher variance.
For SNGs: 75-100 buy-ins minimum
For MTTs: 150-200 buy-ins (depending on field size)
For high variance formats: 300+ buy-insWith £500, stick to £2-3 tournaments until you prove you can beat them consistently.
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@casino_dan is right about bankroll requirements but wrong about starting stakes.
£2-3 tournaments are full of nits and bingo players - weird mix that's actually harder to beat than mid-stakes. The £10-15 range has the best balance of decent action and beatable opponents.
Trust me, I've lost more money in micro tournaments than I care to admit.
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Three months later and this thread is still going! Shows how much we all love arguing about poker strategy
@newbie_casino Hope you didn't get too confused by all the conflicting advice. The truth is, any of these sites will work if you put in the study time. Pick one with software you like and grind away.
Personally still crushing Bet365 tournaments. Their player pool hasn't gotten any tougher despite this thread probably sending a few sharks their way.