Sam Trickett: High Stakes Anytime, Anyplace

In a few short years, the United Kingdom’s Sam Trickett has gone from small-stakes grinder to one of the most fearless high-stakes players in the world.

Trickett has been playing in massive Macau cash games for more than a year now. These games have become the epicenter for the highest stakes poker action on the planet. He is one of the rotation’s most aggressive players, which is the reason he has a seat. The games, which run around wealthy Chinese businessmen, have been very lucrative for Trickett.

While away from the cash-game tables, Trickett has also established himself as an elite tournament player – especially in big buy-in events. He won $4.7 million in tournaments in 2011, en route to finishing just outside the top 10 in Card Player’s Player of the Year race.

He’s just 25 years old.

With millions in tournament earnings and hundreds of thousands in Macau profits, Trickett has come a long way since learning the game at a bar in 2005. His start in poker began in a low-stakes game his friend ran once a month.

“My friend knew I liked gambling, so he told me to come down and learn how to play,” Trickett remembers.

Card Player caught up with the Titan Poker pro and former semi-professional football player to talk about his start in poker, big buy-in tournaments, as well the Macau games.
Football Background
Trickett came from a sports background. He played football in his younger years. However, an injury ended his athletic dreams. He said he still misses it.

“Ever since I was young I wanted to be a professional, and I thought about it every day,” he said.

Trickett started playing for his hometown team – Retford United Football Club – when he was 10 years old and stayed with them for a few years. He played well for Retford and was picked to play for his county. He was also chosen for the team to represent the league.

“I played for Sheffield United and also Retford United first team when I was 16,” Trickett added. “Nottingham Forest then scouted me, and I went and played for them, but it didn’t work out too well.

Getting told I would never play again after my knee injury was the most devastating news I have ever received. I didn’t know what to do with myself. I was lucky to have an amazing family and girlfriend to help me stay positive and support me through it all.”

It wasn’t long before the former athlete found his new passion.

Plugging Leaks

Trickett said he started looking at the game in a different way after watching Phil “OMGClayAIken” Galfond’s training videos.

“I watched and listened to him break down the game and talk about ranges,” Trickett said. “I then played thousands of hands online at the middle stakes and started crushing and playing well on a consistent basis.”

His fundamentals were polished. However, it was the bankroll mistakes which cost him.
Trickett said he “kind of went broke in 2009 being immature and irresponsible” with his money. Fortunately for the young pro, his friend, fellow poker pro and 2010 World Series of Poker Europe champion James Bord was there for him.

Trickett describes Bord as a “big brother.” It was Bord who had a large piece of Trickett for the Macau cash games early on.

“My bankroll management used to be terrible,” Trickett said. “I have lost a lot from being irresponsible with money in the past. A lot of players take shots at higher games when they are losing, which is not a good idea. I think taking shots at higher games is good as long as it’s when you’re fresh and you feel you’re playing well.”

Macau Cash Games

In the back of a poker room at StarWorld Casino, Trickett sits with some of the best in the world.

Trickett said that he, Phil Ivey, Tom Dwan and Gus Hansen are “pretty much the only western pros playing.”

The high-stakes no-limit action used to be $5,000-$10,000 HKD, but has been bumped up to $10,000-$20,000 HKD (about $1,200-$2,500 USD).

The average session for the Brit is about 20 hours. He plays whenever he is in Macau.
Trickett was able to become a regular in the game thanks to his playing style. He met the casino employee who runs the games while playing in a smaller game.

“He saw that I played lots of hands and created big pots,” Trickett said. “So, one day the big game was shorthanded and he asked me to come and play.

I like to play lots of hands anyway. It’s more fun! I like getting into interesting spots. If I play in tight games it feels like I’m at work, and it can be so boring.”
According to Trickett, everyone in the Macau game has the same style. Everyone likes playing big pots.

“If you didn’t you wouldn’t be asked to play,” Trickett said. “We all know that if we wanted to bank small wins every session we should play tight and solid.”

Trickett also buys in for more than anyone else. He typically enters the game for $4 million HKD, or about $516,000 USD.

Trickett became good friends with the people in the game and is now welcome to play whenever he is in town.

“It’s a great atmosphere,” he said. “Everyone is really friendly. No one complains or moans when losing. People talk to socialize and not to get reads. It’s not that type of game.”

No sunglasses, hoodies, etc. to hide body language.

Despite it being a friendly atmosphere, the game has actually become tougher over time, Trickett said.

“[The Chinese businessmen] are smart people, and they learn quickly,” he said. “This is why they are all extremely successful in life. They watch things that the pros do and instantly figure out what we are doing and why. It’s actually really impressive how quick they have adapted and improved.”

Trickett doesn’t like talking about any hands, especially recent ones. He said he got in trouble last time as a result of talking to the poker media about some of the pots. However, he did say he has won some “sick pots that he will remember for the rest of his life.”

Trickett wants to remain a regular presence in the game, as well as continue climbing stakes – even if there isn’t really anywhere higher to go. He wants to play as big as possible.

“I’m happy to play versus anyone at any stakes,” he said.

Tournament Scores

To describe 2011 as breakout year for Trickett would be an understatement.

Going into last year, the poker pro had $1.6 million in career earnings. When the calendar ran out of days, Trickett had $6.3 million to his record.

Trickett started off 2011 by winning the $100,000 buy-in event at the Aussie Millions for $1.5 million. The tournament, which drew 38 of the world’s best players, was by far Trickett’s largest career score. He said he was relieved after the win, which was due in large part to his ability to mix up his game.

“I normally play aggressive three-handed, play bigger pots and put lots of pressure on. However, I didn’t feel that was the right strategy in [the tournament’s] format. I played a lot of small ball poker and did some pot controlling.”

Trickett would only have to wait a week before winning another $1.5 million.

With the major bankroll boast, the poker pro decided to enter into the Aussie Milions $250,000 Super High Roller event, after having some concerns at first about the strength of the field. With 20 players ponying up the massive buy-in, Trickett waded through the field — which included some Chinese businessmen whom Trickett was familiar with from his time at the high stakes Macau games — before eventually finishing second to Erik Seidel. The performance netted Trickett more than $1.4 million.

“I remember being on the final table of the $250,000, and I was actually embarrassed at one point because of how good I was running. I got heads up with a 4-to-1 chip lead and managed to blow it in 45 minutes. I have never felt so tilted and angry with myself because I played bad and made some sloppy mistakes. Playing in the big cash games is different than tournaments, because in a cash game you can be more patient and wait for some good hands and decent situations, but in a tournament you have to apply lots more pressure because the blinds are always increasing.”

He cashed in major tournaments four more times before winning the Partouche Poker Tour main event. This gave him yet another million dollar score in 2011, his third, this time for more than $1.3 million.

He wasn’t completely done yet. He ended the year by notching a final table in a European Poker Tour High Roller and a fourth-place finish at a World Series of Poker Europe pot-limit Omaha event.

Trickett is still gunning for a World Series of Poker bracelet. He finished a disappointing second in a $5,000 no-limit hold’em event at the 2010 Series. He said he isn’t happy with a tournament result unless he wins.

Some Advice for Beginners

Trickett has run some massive bluffs in the Macau cash games. At his level, some of the common ways to read a situation have gone out the window.

Here is a look at the biggest bluff Trickett has ever made:

With about $1.9 million USD in his stack, Trickett looked down at the 8 6. He had the button and opened to $13,000. The small blind three-bet to $40,000, and Trickett called. The flop fell T 7 3, giving him a gutshot-straight draw. The small blind checked, and Trickett bet $60,000. His opponent called, and the 3 hit the turn. The small blind checked again, and Trickett bet $140,000. The small blind check-raised to $490,000, and Trickett called. A jack landed on the river. It was once again checked to Trickett. He fired $1.31 million with just eight-high. The bluff worked, as his opponent folded. Trickett raked in the nearly $2.5 million pot.

“You will find these days it’s kind of gone back to the old fashion ‘does he have it or doesn’t he.’ Everyone is playing so good these days. They play bluffs exactly how they would play the hand they are representing. This is maybe different in smaller games than I play, but at the level of poker I play at it becomes more of a leveling game. For example, bet sizing used to be a strong way of reading strength and weakness, but everyone seems to be consistent these days and they don’t give much away.”

However, trying to read into bet sizing is a strategy Trickett still employs.

“I like to try and decide what they think I have and then think what amounts they would bet to get called by the hand they think I have,” Trickett said. “This sometimes is a way you can read into sizing.”

Trickett also has advice for players who are struggling with finding the real differences between cash games and tournaments.

“In a cash game you don’t have to win every pot or apply constant pressure because the blinds are always the same,” he said. “So you can afford to be more patient. By playing lots of hands of cash game poker it helps you realize when your hand is good and enables you to value bet lighter. Lots of people pot control in tournaments and check rivers when they should be betting for value.”

Trickett has one of the most intelligent poker minds out there, but in a way, he tries to keep as much of it in as possible.

He’s concerned about his Macau opponents finding an edge on him.

“I don’t want tallk too much strategy because I’m playing in such big games, and if the players were to read my whole thought process it would not be good for me. It would definitely help them make tough decisions versus me.”

Bluffing is a big part of his game, and while he won’t go into what he was thinking on a given hand, Trickett usually finds the best spots.

“Sometimes I’m so sure they’re folding, so I don’t really feel anything,” he said. “The other times when it’s a more marginal spot to bluff or not, I can feel my heart go faster.”

Despite his young age, Trickett has a wealth of experience with bankroll management.
Trickett won’t advise young players to be aggressive with their bankrolls in order to move up in stakes. He said it is “sensible to play within your means and maybe take some shots at higher games when you’re on a bit of a winning streak.”

“If it’s your profession you shouldn’t put yourself self at risk financially,” he added.

Soaking It All In

With all his live success, Trickett doesn’t take his online play very seriously anymore. He plays on the computer only when he’s bored.

“If I do play online it’s normally $25-$50 pot-limit Omaha on Titan Poker, because the games are really good and even better on the weekends,” he said.

When Trickett isn’t in Macau, he can be found playing live at the Palm Beach Casino in London – at the biggest game possible.

Trickett said that the games elsewhere around the world have been lacking.

“At the moment, cash games [in the U.K.] are pretty tough and have not been that good. The games in Asia always seem to play bigger than they do in the United Kingdom and the United States, mainly because the players in those countries love to see a flop and gamble a bit more preflop.”

Trickett also isn’t a mixed-game player.

Despite all his fortune, Trickett said no-limit hold’em can be boring at times. He hates the first starting days of tournaments. “It feels like work,” he said.

Through it all, Trickett once in a while takes a step back and thinks about how far he’s come in such a short time period.

He now has the freedom to make the trip to play in arguably the biggest game in the world whenever he has the chance and play without selling any of his action.
“It’s all pretty amazing. It was only two or three years ago so since I was playing $1-$2 online.” ♠