In late November, the Dusk Till Dawn poker club will open its card barn doors for business in Nottingham. The venue will offer poker exclusively – on a scale not seen in the UK before – and will be run by poker players, for poker players. Hopefully, it will signify the start of a new era for the game in this country.

I for one am looking forward to playing in a player-friendly environment. Dusk Till Dawn’s state-of-the-art poker room, complete with 45 tables and fully trained dealers, will no doubt offer a slightly different feel to some of the back street joints I have found myself in over the last 20 years.

A couple of months ago I recalled some memories from one such ‘private members’ poker club at the legendary Barry’s in Birmingham – owned by Barry Hawkins.