RIP Black Belt Poker: 2009 To 2014

On 27 April 2009, English professional poker player Neil Channing launched Black Belt Poker, a grass roots poker room with a unique business model which rewarded players for interacting with other members, and also allowed players to trade loyalty points for live tournament buy-ins. Almost five years later, however, and the online poker room has decided to shut shop, with the final day scheduled for Friday 28th February. Confirming the sad news, Black Belt founder Neil Channing wrote the following on his blog post at BlackBeltPoker.com:
“It’s now almost six years since I came up with an idea which I thought at the time could lead to a shake-up in the UK online poker market..Sadly sometimes in life you just have to accept that things are not working and you need to move on. That time has come with Black Belt Poker.”
Throughout its short history, Black Belt Poker pros have made the poker headlines on a regular basis including Sam Razavi, Jamie Burland, and the founder himself, Neil Channing, who won the 2010 GUKPT Luton for $101,958, and also finished runner-up at the 2012 WSOP $1,500 NL Event for $406,409. In total, Channing, a cash game specialist, has won an impressive $3,391,730 throughout his live poker tournament career.
After announcing news of Black Belt Poker’s demise, Neil Channing was quick to emphasize that the business would still continue to operate as a Ltd company, and that all player balances were in ring-fenced bank account and safe. However, customers are advised that withdrawing funds from the iPoker site before it ceases to trade on 28th February was the quickest way to retrieve their money.
Bowing out, Channing concluded his farewell piece by saying: “All that remains is for me to thank everyone who invested, who worked hard for us, who were sponsored by us, who participated in poker discussions on our website and particularly those who played on Black Belt Poker.”
Players are now advised to direct any queries regarding player accounts or withdrawals to neil@blackbeltpoker.com; Boyles support@blackbeltpoker.com; or by calling 0800 316 0441.