Playing poker for fun has led to three Samford locals having the chance to share in hundred of thousands of dollars – without having to risk a cent.

Tim Rodman, Bill Ambridge and Seamus McConn will represent the Samford Valley Hotel at the APL State Finals to be held at Kedron-Wavell Services Club at Chermside on 30 January.

The trio will battle it out at the poker table against 500 of the best free poker players from across Queensland.

A far cry from playing poker every Thursday night at Samford for the chance to win $50 cash, a carton of beer or a bottle of wine, the state finals will see competitors share in a $600,000 prize kitty.

“I’m chuffed that I’ve made it to the state finals since I only started playing poker last year,” said Tim, who finished the season as the Samford venue’s winner.

“It would be a bonus to finish in the prizes because I really just play for fun.”

On top of playing at the state finals, Tim also won a seat at the Queensland Pro Open to be contested the following day.

APL state finalists also have the chance to participants in larger events such as the World Series of Poker and the APL Poker Classic, worth over $10 million.

APL district manager Gabrielle Dahmen said the poker games attracted a “great mix of people from all backgrounds”.

“It is great to see such a variety of people qualifying for the finals, in what other sport do you find 18y-ear-old students playing with people 40 years their senior and the atmosphere is great,” she said.

Ms Dahmen said the APL poker events were free to participate in, with players receiving free chips to play with and membership free.

She said the APL had more than half a million members on its books, with more than 4000 events held across the country every month.

As well as the Samford Valley Hotel, APL also plays at Bunya Sports Club. Visit http://www.playapl.com/