The chips have been cashed and the winnings counted. InsidePoker can now reveal the top five UK poker players of 2008
5
SAM TRICKETT
TOTAL POINTS 705
FINAL TABLES 2
HIGHLIGHT: GUKPT LUTON WIN
The newcomer from Nottingham has impressed in his first full year of live play, with a GUKPT win and a final table at the World Series.
Sam Trickett may not have had the most prolific year in terms of cashes but what he’s lacked in quantity he’s certainly made up for in quality. In what was his very first World Series, the Nottingham hotshot almost scooped his first bracelet. In an extremely tough $ 5,000 no-limit hold’em event, featuring over 800 entries and a host of big name pros, Trickett managed fourth place, walking away with a satisfying payday of over $ 245k. If that had been his one and only big finish, it still would have been a good year, but Trickett wasn’t done.
On his return to the UK, he sat down in the main event at the GUKPT Luton and set about smashing the 375-runner field to pieces. With 12 players left, Trickett was chip leader and after his WSOP experience, he was never going to give up his position easily. He went into heads-up with a slender lead and showed his mastery of the small pot game to become the youngest ever GUKPT main event winner.
HOW WE WORKED OUT SAM TRICKETT’S POINTS
26 JUNE WSOP $ 5K NO LIMIT HOLD’EM, 805 ENTRIES
4th = 350 points
7 AUGUST GUKPT LUTON £1,000 MAIN EVENT, 376 ENTRIES
1st = 120 points
TOTAL NUMBER OF POINTS 350 + 120 = 470 points
FINAL TABLE MULTIPLIER 1.5
470 x 1.5 = 705 points
4
JAMES AKENHEAD
TOTAL POINTS 855
FINAL TABLES 4
HIGHLIGHT WSOP FINAL TABLE
A solid $ 710k in tournament winnings is enough to tell you that it’s been a great year for the Hitsquad member, but delve a little deeper and it’s clear that Akenhead was a whisker away from having an incredible year.
Up until May everything was pretty quiet; James Akenhead had won a small PLO side event at GUKPT Manchester but had yet to do anything that was going to send shockwaves through the rankings. But a third-place finish at the main event at the following GUKPT in Newcastle got things rolling and from that point on, Akenhead was rampant.
At the WSOP, he made the final table in a $ 1,500 no-limit event out of a huge field, almost 4,000 runners strong. Anything seemed possible as he powered his way to heads-up. He seemed destined for the coveted bracelet, before a cruel bad beat got in the way and he had to make do with second. The former train driver-turned-pro quickly collected his thoughts and a few days later came second again in one of the Bellagio $ 1k weekly tournaments, winning $ 24,330.
As the rankings year was about to end, Akenhead managed to bag his fourth final table at the GUKPT grand final. The young Hitsquad member finishes 2008 in an extremely credible fourth place.
HOW WE WORKED OUT JAMES AKENHEAD’S POINTS
15 MAY 2008 – £1K GUKPT NEWCASTLE, 189 ENTRIES 3rd = 48 points
3 JUNE 2008, WSOP $ 1,500 NO LIMIT HOLD’EM, 3929 ENTRIES 2nd = 240 points
6 JUNE 2008, $ 1K BELLAGIO WEEKLY, 132 ENTRIES 2nd = 30 points
22 NOVEMBER, £1K GUKPT NO LIMIT HOLD’EM, 118 ENTRIES 7th = 24 points
TOTAL NUMBER OF POINTS 48+240+30+24 = 342 points
FINAL TABLE MULTIPLIER 2.5
342 x 2.5 = 855 points
3
JOE GRECH
TOTAL POINTS 972
FINAL TABLES 5
HIGHLIGHT EURO FINALS OF POKER
Joe Grech has proved himself to be one of the most consistent performers on the circuit and since the start of the 2008 rankings he’s rarely been out of the top five. We talked to the grizzled veteran about his third-spot finish.
The key to Joe Grech’s success this year is two-fold: he recorded a substantial win at the very start and couldn’t stop himself making final table after final table.
The big win came in the Euro Finals of Poker in Paris’ Aviation Club where Grech took home almost $ 200k – the second biggest score of his career and a result that gave him an early lead in the rankings. He is keen to point out, however, that the victory was as much down to luck as it was good play. ‘I played well but in the final table itself I was the lowest stack. The first 50/50 I had, I won with pocket Kings. I went from 80k to close to 200k. Then I had four 50/50s and won every single one of them. I don’t pretend to be the best but I’m good enough to compete.’
Riding on a wave of confidence, Grech proceeded to rip through the field at GUKPT Brighton, eventually finishing in fifth and adding another $ 30k to his bankroll. Three more major final tables followed, giving Grech an impressive final table tally of five. So what’s his secret? ‘I try to mix it up with marginal hands such as 7?-9? and 10?-Q? and see a lot more flops early on,’ he says. ‘If you get lucky you can build up your chips – which you need – so that in the later stages, when the game tightens up, you’ve got enough to take a big hit and still carry on.’
But despite his talent for going deep and consistently making the money, Grech admits that the last 12 months have been disappointing for him. ‘I was in Vegas 42 days and played 69 tournaments. I got $ 75k in one tournament to recover everything, so I came back with a profit. But if I’d worked for six weeks at £5 an hour, I would have come back better off! This year I haven’t been able to get over that final hurdle.’
BIG PLANS
Though 2008 may not have worked out as well financially as he would have hoped, Grech remains in a sunny mood. Since hitting the circuit in 2003, he has been able to play safe in the knowledge that he is not reliant on poker for his income. That’s why you don’t often find him in cash games.
‘I’m not interested in playing cash for a living – I earn a living through the business. I have a guesthouse in London which gives me enough to pay for my bills, my car and house. I’m interested in winning £100k or £200k. If I win £25k, that’s not going to change my life.’ Blockbusting wins are the priority for Grech in 2009, which is why he’s going for the more selective approach rather than the blanket-bombing that he’s indulged in this year. ‘I’m going to concentrate on the GUKPTs and I’ll play in the Irish Open. I’ll try and qualify for the EPTs. I’ve got what it takes to get a big win.’
HOW WE WORKED OUT JOE GRECH’S POINTS
7 DECEMBER 2007 – €5,000 DIAMOND CHAMPIONSHIP EURO FINALS OF POKER 2007, 89 RUNNERS
1st = 168 points
20 JANUARY 2008 – £1,000 GUKPT BRIGHTON, 280 ENTRIES
5th = 48 points
16 MARCH 2008 – £1,000 MAIN EVENT, EMPIRE POKER FESTIVAL, 60 ENTRIES
6th = 20 points
2 JULY 2008 – $ 2,000 BELLAGIO CUP IV, 267 ENTRIES
5th = 48 points
3 AUGUST 2008 – £1K MAIN EVENT, EMPIRE POKER FESTIVAL, 67 ENTRIES
2nd = 40 points
TOTAL NUMBER OF POINTS
168 + 48 + 20 + 48 +40 = 324 points
MULTIPLIER FOR FIVE TABLES 3
324 x 3 = 972 points
PokerPlayer magazine contains great content like this every month HERE
