SIAS annual poker tournament hosted 70 guests on 15 March at Grosvenor Victoria Casino. The evening began with a refresher course, geared towards novices and anyone who needed a reminder of the rules.

SIAS' annual poker tournament hosted 70 guests on 15 March at Grosvenor Victoria Casino. The evening began with a refresher course, geared towards novices and anyone who needed a reminder of the rules. The main tournament kicked off at 7pm, with everyone sizing up the opponents, chips in hand, wondering when to make that big play. No-one wanted the embarrassment of going out first. Players were slowly knocked out of the game until there were just three tables left.
After almost four hours of hard play (interspersed with quick breaks for food), only the final table was left seated. The atmosphere was tense and no one wanted to be rushed, but the players slowly whittled down until the winner was left. Yuming Mei (above) was crowned Poker Champion of 2017, saying "I don't know how it happened. Definitely a case of beginner's luck!" Rajinder Poonian and Andrew Neilson followed closely in second and third place. Congratulations to them all.