How long have you been playing poker and how did you start?
I first came across poker four and a bit years ago when a friend on my MA course invited me to a home game. Something just clicked straight away. Whilst I was fuzzy on the hand strengths by the end of the evening I had picked up clear tells on two of the players. I went through the poker books we had at work in the Ottakers in Norwich and bought Phil Hellmuth's 'How to Play Poker Like the Pros.' I read it cover to cover twice before I began dabbling online in Limit hold' em cash games and No limit hold' em tournaments.
How did you get started on PKR?
PKR have always been good at using advertising and they generated a lot of buzz around the time the site launched. Whilst I wasn't one of the first people through the door, I certainly feel like one of old guard around here. The 3D was fun but the inventiveness displayed in the website and in the special tournaments and events was the real draw. No other poker operator can boast such a strong community element. I had to take a break from here for six months when I had major issues with my then internet provider. Once that was resolved I was straight back and haven't been away since.
Where do you live?
I live near Oxford and have done for most of my life. I like the sense of history the city has and it is a great cultural hub for the arts. No casino though (me/boos)!
What’s your day job?
I have been in the book trade for about six years on and off. I am currently the manager of a small store, though oddly enough you can always find some decent poker books on the shelf!
Who are your best mates on PKR?
It was great to finally meet some people for real at HUGS like Jabba, Chiv, NexusWR and TheSqueeze. I look forward to seeing them and many others at PKR Live III. There are plenty of people it is good to have a chat with at the tables including Quillion, noxico, japete, Garyzak and too many others to mention.
What do you love most about poker?
Wow, where to start. I love the fact it is deceptively simple yet infinitely complex. I love the psychology and the competition. I love those moments when you make a play based on a perfect read of what your opponent is holding. Most of all I love of the feeling of winning a deep field tournament.
What’s your biggest poker achievement to date?
Purely in cash terms it would be beating 1,790 other players in a $10 rebuy, having also won a 120 runner $33 rebuy in the same evening. Cash aside I took a lot of satisfaction in winning a PKR Springfest bracelet a couple of years back and loved being able to watch my 3rd place in the Masters this year on PKR TV.
What drives you nuts?
My biggest pet hate is players who have read a little bit of strategy sounding off at a table and having a go at 'bad players'. First of all I believe anyone who pays to sit down at a table can play however they like, but also of course DNTTG. If people enjoy themselves they come back, I don't want to see beginners scared off by some idiot who just read their first poker book.
Who would you be sat with at your fantasy table?
I have been lucky enough to play online against some of the best players in the world including Gus Hansen and Barry Greenstein. I'd love to be able to pick the brains of Phil Ivey, Allan Cunningham and Elky for strategy tips. My fantasy table would clearly be the final table of the WSOP Main Event so it would be made up of whoever else had made it that far.
What do you like to do to unwind when you’re not playing poker?
I am a total culture junkie. I love books, film and music. I'm currently working my way through the remaining Haruki Murakami books I haven't read. Cooking and food is my most recent obsession. Some of the highlights of my year were meals out at Boxwood Cafe and Pearl.