Paul Jackson

	it’s still about calculated, mathematical decisions

Paul Jackson defies conventional poker wisdom. He’s a top internet player who can also play live. He’s a tight player in the age of aggression. He plays 15 hours a day alone on the computer, yet has a wide circle of poker-playing friends. He plays single-mindedly to win, yet shares his experience and insights generously with younger players. And… well one could go on and on, because this man is not called ‘Action Jack’ for nothing.

At 41 he exudes energy, talks at speed in an undiluted Midlands accent and has immense powers of concentration. He describes himself as a ‘plodder’ at the poker table, his game built on a gift for mathematics (he was once a tax accountant).

In contrast to today’s ‘young guns’, he’s unimpressed by socalled ‘flair players’ and those who are said to have ‘a feeling for a hand’, arguing that winning poker players are ‘those who think more about probability than feeling, and play resolutely by the numbers’. Poker, he says, is all about decisions: ‘What you have to do is make as many good decisions as possible and take advantage of others’ bad decisions… you’re actually making the game work for you, making it come to you.’

Of course, he acknowledges that in the later stages of a tournament you have to change gear to deal with rising blinds and antes but, he says, that doesn’t mean having two gears – ‘very fast’ or ‘oh dear, my brakes have gone’ – it’s still about calculated, mathematical decisions.

Tight as a nun’s…

His long-time Midlands friend Dave ‘El Blondie’ Colcough confirms that ‘Paul is a grinder, doesn’t give a thing away… doesn’t give anyone free chips. If he has a problem, it’s that sometimes he doesn’t build up a big enough stack. But he’s well suited to take advantage of today’s over-aggressive players. He plays tight and traps people and makes them dig holes for themselves.’

It’s this logical, mathematical approach that’s enabled him to play in up to six tournaments simultaneously on the internet, winning huge sums of money. He was the 2005 top money-winner on Ladbrokes and many believe he’s one of the best online players in the world. But how does he manage to handle all these tournaments simultaneously without making mistakes? ‘In the early and middle stages of a tournament I play like a robot.’ This means he operates to strict criteria, plays the percentages, and keeps the need for real decision-making to a minimum. ‘In the early stages I sit back and watch the gamblers knock each other out. I let them get on with it and only play premium hands. You could say that in the early stages I let people give me their chips and only in the later stages do I begin to make moves to take them.’

But don’t think that this is a man without courage. The poker world is still talking about the big hand with Phil Ivey when they went head to head in the Monte Carlo Millions last year. Ivey began with a 5/1 chip lead and applied crushing pressure on the less-experienced Action Jack, raising and re-raising and forcing him out of hand after hand. So the Midlander decided enough was enough. He only had 6-5 off-suit but decided he would bet and then re-raise an Ivey raise. So he bet $80,000 on a flop of J-J-7, and, as expected, Ivey re-raised (with Q-8) for $150,000. Action Jack then re-raised him another $150,000. Ivey stared at him for over five minutes and then put him all-in. Only then, with no hand to play, did Action Jack fold.

Some have questioned Paul’s playing of this much-discussed hand (as he says, ‘that’s easily done when you can see both hands and see how the betting plays out’) but what it really showed is what a stunning player Ivey is. As Barney Boatman says, ‘I respect Paul for taking on a player like Phil Ivey. You can second guess the playing of the hand in retrospect and say Paul should have gone all-in rather than raising $150,000, but I think he’s right when he says that his was a more convincing bet and that 99 per cent of players in Ivey’s position would have folded. The trouble is that Ivey is the one in a hundred.’

Safe bet

Action Jack had outlasted a pack of top US stars as well as all the best European players and won $600,000. His performance confirmed the view of many that he’s one of the few British players you could put your money on in any company.

Not that he has to do it for the money. He could stay at home, winning it online during the day and spending the evenings counting it. So why has he begun to play more live tournaments? ‘I like the interaction with the other players – Dave Colclough, Conor Tate, Mark Goodwin, Nick Gibson, Iwan Jones, Tony Chessa – we’re all friends so we travel to all these beautiful places in Europe and have a really good time. Second, now I’ve got my own website, I need to increase my profile a bit.’

(The website is called Uncoverpoker.com and he’s developing it in partnership with cash game player Conor ‘Sealey’ Tate, his closest friend, who, incidentally, came 12th in the 2005 World Series Main Event, winning $600,000.)

What advice would he give to someone just beginning to play tournaments on the internet? ‘There are three key principles: be patient; avoid going on tilt – if you feel like you’re losing your head after a bad beat or whatever, stop playing; and play tight in the early stages of tournaments.’

Slowly but surely

So we’re back to plodding. And I ask him about getting to, or near final tables, with too few chips. ‘In last year’s WSOP Main Event I decided that when I was falling behind in relation to the blinds, I would look to raise at least once each round. If I got to the button without being able to do it, I would raise on any two cards, just to make that raise. Now that could go wrong and a re-raise could force me to fold, but I felt that to maintain my position and move forward in the closing stages I had to do that. Even then you have to have the patience to try and find the best opportunity and not overpress and throw away a position you’ve possibly worked for hours to establish.’

Is it difficult to change gears? ‘It’s really difficult… to know when to change from being a plodder to making a move… but being able to do it is the key to the whole thing.’

Judging by recent results, it looks as if Action Jack has found that key and, if so, he’s going to become a force to reckon with in world poker.

Career highlights

Tournament winnings: $991,819 (without taking into account hundreds of thousands of dollars won on the internet)
Biggest payday: Monte Carlo Millions, 2nd, $600,000
This year: €2,500 World Headsup Championships, Barcelona – 2nd, €60,000; €1000 Hold’em, Barcelona – 1st, €52,800; £1,000 Hold’em, Birmingham – 2nd, £16,400

JACKSON LOVES…
FAMILY
He’s a real family man who lives with his partner and fi ve kids aged 7-19. Maybe that’s why he prefers to stay at home and play online so much.

HORSES
‘Backing horses is like poker, you weigh up the information and make a decision.’ Although we reckon the safer money lies with the cards.

POKER
There’s no getting away from it… it’s poker, poker, poker. The man never stops talking and thinking about it. Which is why he’s so damn good.