I was thrilled when an invite popped up in my inbox inviting me to a charity poker evening in association with Labrokes. It’s been a long time since I’ve played poker so I was looking forward to a refresher and thought it would get me in the mood for my upcoming trip to Las Vegas. The theme for the evening was Great Gatsby. I have to admit I left my outfit until the last minute so I opted for a sparkly top and skirt and, after following a few YouTube videos did my hair and makeup inspired by the 1920’s. There were some fantastic outfits on the evening from the other blogging attendees and it was great to meet some people I’ve met before and make some new friends too!
The event was held at the Hilton Doubletree in Granary Wharf, Leeds. There is a new entrance now out of Leeds train station which takes you straight to Granary Wharf, this was a big hit with me! We were welcomed in the Sky Lounge with a glass of prosecco and a chance to get talking to some other people who were there. The hashtag on the evening was #holdem4charity so you can check out who else was there on Twitter and Instagram. It was dark with red lights in the room so it was difficult to take photos but I managed to get a few on my iPhone! Soon we were taken into the poker room and everyone took their seats. On each table there was a mixture of people who had played before and people who hadn’t. We had a few practice rounds and I found the card with the winning hands on really useful, as I am never positive what beats what! 
Fortunatly on this evening we didn’t have to use our own money and everyone was given a set amount of chips, we also had the chance of 2 buy-ins if we lost all our chips – This something I took full advantage of! We then began playing properly, I was the first person in the room to go all-in and on that occasion I had the winning hand. After that it all went downhill for me as I didn’t win anything again! Gradually I lost all of my chips and left the table. The blinds began going up quickly and it was difficult to stay in the game without a couple of winning hands! 
There was also a game of blackjack taking place which I had a little go at. The poker itself was down to the final two and a crowd gathered to watch the final showdown between Yorkshire Dad and Breakfast at Bryony’s. I had been sat next to Bryony earlier and she was the ultimate winner so at least someone on our table did well! The winner was able to donate £500 to a charity of their choice. I had a really enjoyable evening, it was fun to get back into the swing of playing poker and I met some lovely blogging folk on the night too.
It’s always good to do something difference and this was a fun way to spend a Saturday night. It’s got me thinking of having a go at poker in Las Vegas but it’s a bit different when you’re playing with your own money…
I had such a great time at this event although I was pretty terrible at poker!
Carolanne | aliterarycocktail.com xx