MTT Poker Player

I am a Professional Poker Player and Coach from England.

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About Me

My name is Ben; I was born and raised in Essex in England.  I lived mainly in Essex until the age of 25 when I moved to Devon in England to work as a croupier.

I have 10 GCSEs, 4 A-Levels, 1 AS Level and a BA in Business Administration from the University of Plymouth.

I was introduced to and started playing poker at university by a friend who was playing SNGs on PartyPoker.com at the time.  From the first time I saw my friend playing online I knew it was a game I would enjoy as it wasn't just about luck, it was about rewarding those with the sharpest intuition.  As it was my first year in university and I didn't have much money I had little access to the internet and wasn't able to play online that year; instead I found out through friends about a regular local home game.  It was SNG with usually 7-10 players with a £10 buy in and a top three payout, similar to many online SNGs.  I found I had a natural knack for the game and started to be profitable, by the end of my first year I was nearly £300 in profit.

After my first year I was hooked.  I wanted to improve and develop to get better at a game that I felt could be beat; this was around the time Moneymaker had won the Main Event and I knew the games were soft.  With barely any knowledge of ICM I was beating the $22 games on Stars for about 2-3% Roi and was playing 10-12 tables at a time.  I ended up hitting a variance streak and just withdrawing my money through frustration.

By the start of my third year I was playing again and had found my way to full ring cash games.  By this point I was used to nine handed games and holding the view that the players were bad and that ABC poker would consistently make money at the low limits, and of this I wanted a piece.  I played and was about $1100 in profit running at about 8ptbb/100 at 25nl when I was picked up by two private investors who wanted to stake me and I went from there.

I started to play NL50 6 max (which believe me is a whole new beast) and went on a major downswing, despite actively seeking out advice on improving my game from various sources.  The downswing caused me to doubt my ability and the staking stopped after about a year.  I took a lot from that stake as I learnt from two professional poker players and they took the aggression in my game to a new level.

After messing about playing cash games on my own and a couple of big tournament scores (but not enough to play pro,although I did try) I decided to go back to my roots of SNGs and see if I couldn't crack them again.  Another reason why I prefer SNGs is that each tournament has a beginning, middle and an end which helps to fight the grind of poker when you play 30+ hours per week.  I ran well for my first 200 or so SNGs at $7, then went on quite a bad downswing and had to move all the way down to the $3.50 SNGs.  I then proceeded to break my shoulder which meant I couldn't work and as such money was tight and so my bankroll had to be withdrawn.  I decided being staked was a good option to help fill my time whilst not working and would also allow me the opportunity to make some extra cash.

I then applied to be staked by a reputable company which offered a full bankroll and coaching for a 50/50 split.  I had my application accepted and played for them for 2 and a half years.  The company was very well run and the team were brilliant.  It also pushed me to play at least 100 SNGs per week(contracted) and made me actively seek ways to improve my game as I had to prove my worth.  I studied ICM very hard, read articles and discussed common situations with my coach regularly.

This leads me to my current situation.  I have left the stake with Team Moshman and built my own bankroll.  After talking with a few knowledgeable poker friends about the best value in poker i settled on MTTs.  In general these games are the weakest and have the most value, but they also carry very high variance.  I still study the game very hard and watch videos, discuss hands and reads book regularly.

My hope for the future is to move up the MTT limits and improve my game as I go.  It has always been my dream to play professionally and i have finally reached that target.