Professional poker is a dream career choice for a number of poker players across the UK and for the lucky few that dream is a reality.
These are the top 5 UK professional poker players that are active across the poker tables of the world.
Sam “Tricky” Trickett
Trickett is 5th on the all-time tournament winnings list
The list starts with arguably the most famous UK professional poker player and also one of the youngest. 29 year old Trickett shot to international fame when he lost the Big One for One Drop heads up against Antonio Esfandiari. He still earned $10 million for that loss and has gone on to become the fifth highest earner in tournament play of all time.
Born on 2nd July, 1986 in East Retford, Nottinghamshire, Trickett is one of the new generation of poker players that became drawn to the game after its increase in popularity online back in 2003 when Chris Moneymaker “revolutionized poker” with his World Series of Poker win after qualifying via an online satellite.
Trickett’s career began after he suffered a knee injury that ended his career as a professional footballer. He began playing in 2005 and soon became a familiar name on the UK poker circuit. He won the Grosvenor UK Poker Tour Luton Main Event in 2008 earning $215,178 in prize money.
In 2010, Trickett not only won cash prizes on six different occasions at the 41st edition of the World Series of Poker but he also earned £1 million playing in a series of high stakes table games in Macau alongside big name players including Tom Dwan and Phil Ivey.
Since then, things have only got better for Trickett. He won €1 million at the Partouche Poker Tour Main Event in Cannes back in 2011, he finished runner up in the Big One for One Drop tournament in 2012, and also earned $2.1 million at the 2013 Aussie Millions in the same year.
Jake “neverbluff67” Cody
Cody started playing poker online with just a $10 buy-in
Cody is another fine example of the new generation of poker players that have learned their trade online and have been able to transfer it to the live table arena. The 27 year old from Rochdale is a relative newcomer to the professional poker scene but has already had a huge impact on the UK poker tables.
He has become a bit of a cult hero after he revealed in Bluff Europe poker magazine that his online poker career began when he deposited just £10 into his online poker account and has not made a further deposit since. He also went on to win so much online that he quit his psychology degree to focus on poker. He’s one of many poker pros whose success has meant the online poker industry in the UK is thriving and continues to grow, as he inspired other players.
Cody initially came to prominence in the poker industry when he scored some big wins at the European Poker Tour in Deauville back in 2010. He won a total of €857,000 before going onto the World Poker Tour in London that same year and took home an additional £273,783.
His total live winnings to date are recorded at $4.1 million and even though he is still some way short of matching the winnings of other UK greats it is the fact he has won so much in such a short space of time that has seen his reputation go through the roof.
Cody already has a World Series of Poker bracelet to his name after beating Yevgeniy Timoshenko in the $25k Heads Up No Limit Hold’em event at the 2011 WSOP. He has also earned an appearance at a final table in the 2011 WSOPE Main Event. He plays regularly at PokerStars under the tag name of “jakecody”.
Liv Boeree
Boeree studied astro physics at Manchester University
If you want to talk about some of the most well-known UK poker professionals then Boeree is certainly up there. She crashed onto the professional poker scene when she was chosen as a contestant for a reality television poker show called UltimatePoker.com Showdown back in 2005. On the show, she was coached by retired UK icon Dave “Devilfish” Ulliott.
After the show, she turned her attention to playing at live poker tables and also getting involved in screen reporting work for Gutshot TV at the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. She then went on to report on further tournaments including the European Poker Tour and World Series of Poker Europe.
In terms of wins, she is one of the most successful female professional poker players to have graced the tables. In 2008, she won the Ladbrokes European Ladies Championship earning $30,000. She has also tallied a total of twelve cash finishes at the World Series of Poker.
In 2010, she secured a first place win at the European Poker Tour Main Event in Sanremo where she walked away with €1.25 million. She was only the third ever female to win a European Poker Tour title.
Boeree has, in essence, created a brand in her own right. The 31 year old from Kent has been a member of the Team PokerStars Pro since 2010 and has now won a total of $2.5 million in cash wins at the tables. She has also appeared on a number of UK television shows including University Challenge, Golden Balls, and I Bet My Life.
Victoria “Teacup” Coren Mitchell
Coren Mitchell has enjoyed a career at the tables and commentating on poker
Any UK-based poker player worth their salt will recognise this name on the list. Formerly known as Vicky Coren, the illustrious female poker professional rose to fame on the UK poker scene after she became the first female to win an event at the European Poker Tour.
Her trailblazing reputation continued as she became the first player to win both a live televised professional poker tournament and televised celebrity tournament when she won the European Poker Tour London in 2006 and the Celebrity Poker Club in 2005 respectively. She also then became the first player to win two European Poker Tour Main Events when she took victory in the European Poker Tour London in 2006 and the European Poker Tour Sanremo in 2014.
At the European Poker Tour London 2006 event she won £500,000 for her victory. Her win at Sanremo eight years later saw her take home €476,100. In total, she has won $2.4 million at the live poker tables.
Over recent years, she has become more famous for her on-screen presenting roles. She took on the role as co-commentator for episodes of Late Night Poker after experiencing success in previous series. She has also had presenting roles on television shows including Heresy, Have I Got News For You, and Only Connect. She is also married to British actor and comedian David Mitchell.
Ram “Crazy Horse” Vaswani
Vaswani is considered as one of the most aggressive players on the UK poker scene
The last player on this list might not have earned the most live cash winnings but he still has an emphatic record at the tables and is one of the most charismatic players to ever grace the UK professional poker scene.
His early involvement in the Late Night Poker series saw him become a recognised face with British poker fans and his erratic style of play at the tables which was focused on an aggressive style also won him a number of followers.
He is the only professional poker player to have reached four European Poker Tour final tables with the latest one of those four coming at the European Poker Tour Monte Carlo back in 2007. It was also in 2007 that he won his first World Series of Poker bracelet in the $1,500 Limit Hold’em Shootout event.
In total, Vaswani has won $3.4 million in cash prize winnings. His best live cash earnings is totalled at $231,413 but it is more his attitude at the tables and the excitement that he brings that has made Vaswani such a successful player for the past decade. He has also enjoyed success at Full Tilt Poker. He is sponsored by the online poker site and experiences regular wins with his best cash prize recorded at $160,000 on a pot limit Omaha table.
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