Ian Simpson - My Year As A Poker Pro

The Paddy Power Poker Irish Open 2012 saw school teacher Ian Simpson from Newcastle, England, come fourth in the main event. While falling short of winning he scored a not-to-shabby €107,500. On top of that he was the paddypowerpoker.com online qualifer who lasted longest in the event securing another €100,000 as the Sole Survivor – €50,000 in cash and €50 in tournament buy ins. Simpson decided to take a sabbatical from his job and spend a year living the dream as a poker pro. With his year on the circuit coming to an end and the Irish Open 2013 just around the corner (March 20 to April 1) Card Player caught up with Simpson to see if his life as the Sole Survivor was indeed a “dream come true”.

Brendan Murray: Describe the level of poker player you were before you entered the Irish Open 2012 (and perhaps how you qualified). What were your expectations from the event?

Ian Simpson: I started playing poker online in my student days about nine years ago. I managed to win enough money to not need a part-time job in my final year at university. Back then a $300 buy in was huge, and only playable through a satellite. After university I raised the stakes and sunk a big chunk of my bankroll failing to qualify for the World Series of Poker. I then got a job as a teacher. As a teacher the WSOP is impossible given the dates of the tournaments and holidays so it felt like I’d missed my chance to ever play it. As I got into teaching, poker took a smaller role in my life, as teaching is a very time consuming and demanding job. Believe me! Nevertheless I love poker so when I did play it was often to try and satellite into a bigger game. This worked out for me a number of times and I played some mid to high stakes live poker this way. I qualified for the Irish Open in 2011 and 2012 by attempting a handful of satellites at PaddyPowerPoker.com.

The first year I went out early on day two with A-K suited which ran into K-K and another A-K suited. I was still over the moon with my performance. I remember being ill on day one, but still struggled on and played some good poker. This was one of my first experiences of tournament poker and left me wanting more.

When I qualified for the second year I wanted to cash. I mean really, really wanted to cash. I have a very good record in satellites. I think my strategy there is solid, but at that point I had never gained a decent pay day from the events I had qualified into. A minimum cash at the Irish Open would have been around €4,000 which would have been huge. To get €107,500 and the Sole Survivor package was a dream come true.

BM: How did you feel in the immediate aftermath of winning Sole Survivor and your final position in the tournament?

IS: Well, the hand that knocked me out had people back home watching the live stream shouting and cursing. They didn’t understand why I was smiling. When me and Thomas Beer got all in pre-flop with my 10-10 vs. his 8-8 I had sort of mentally prepared for it. Because it was being live streamed the dealer actually paused for quite a while before dealing the flop. In my head I thought to myself “Ian, you are guaranteed 4th place in the Irish Open. You’ve sucked out yourself more than once to survive to this point, but you’ve played some of the best poker of your life to get here. If an 8 hits then it hits and we walk off smiling at this achievement and go and celebrate with that gorgeous girlfriend of yours.” Well the 8 did hit but I still felt fantastic about what I had achieved. This still mystifies my family and friends who were watching me online and were gutted that I didn’t win. My Dad understood though and he reckons if he taught me nothing else he did teach me how to gamble and take the rough with the smooth

BM: How did you decide what events you were going to play in your year as Sole Survivor and how did you come to the decision to take a year out from your job as a teacher to turn “pro” for a year?

IS: The poker circuit and the teaching holidays simply do not line up at all. It was literally a choice between the Sole Survivor package and my job as a teacher. I loved my job so I agonised over what to do for what seemed like an eternity. In the end it was simply too big of an opportunity to turn down. Everyone was supportive and most people told me to go for it. I got lots of advice from different people, most were surprised I was even considering keeping my teaching job.

As far as what events to play I couldn’t play the 2012 World Series as I was still teaching then (I wasn’t about to leave my kids part way through the school year). Therefore I tried to pick tournaments that were either high profile like the World Poker Tour Doyle Brunson’s Five Diamond World Poker Classic or took me somewhere interesting to visit while I was playing poker like the Eureka Poker Tour which took me to Riga. Of course this June I have no teaching commitments so the World Series of Poker is calling my name.

BM: Tell us about some of the highlights of your year as a Sole Survivor, both on and off the felt?

IS: On the felt my proudest moments was rumbling three cheaters in Vegas. That piece I wrote Honour Amongst Gamblers [see this feature] is also one of my favourite pieces that I’ve written. It wasn’t easy to stand up to three big guys who were cheating but I was proud of myself for doing it (and even prouder to deny them any prize). Writing for Card Player has been an awesome experience too, I’ve loved getting my thoughts down on paper, it’s been similar to keeping a diary. I’m actually intending to write a book about my experiences over this incredible year.

I’ve also had the pleasure to play against some of the best players in the world. It’s been a real eye opener into just how deep the thinking can actually go in a hand of poker. Writing this I’ve just realised that Xuan Liu outplayed me quite expertly in Las Vegas. The last hand of the day she raised, I flat called with A-A and a tourist blind four-bet. Now surely her entire opening range is ahead of a random hand and she should have squeezed all in? Damn it! I must remember to balance my flat calling range.

Off the felt I’ve had the chance to go to some great places and do some amazing things. Also I got invited by my girlfriend’s school to teach Year 11 pupils about the mathematics and the risks behind gambling. I actually think this should be part of the curriculum so that young people can see how much fun gambling can be and not an addiction to be feared. It was a fantastic experience which was well received especially and it got me back in the classroom which is something I’ve really missed.

BM: If you could do it all again what would you change?

IS: Not a thing. People often fantasise about travelling back in time to change part of their lives, but I’ve always believed that our past experiences are what make us who we are. If we went back in time and changed a mistake, then we wouldn’t have learned from it and would be the worse for it. I do regret having to choose between keeping my job and pursuing this year of poker and I will always carry some guilt at having to leave. Writing this towards the end of my Sole Survivor year I’m still convinced I made the right decision.

BM: How has your poker game changed in your year as a ‘pro’? What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received or the single biggest improvement you’ve made in your game?

IS: I really think my mathematical analysis has improved. I didn’t realise what I didn’t know, but by using PokerTracker and PokerStove I have been able to really do some in-depth analysis about various hands I have been playing. I’ve recently been experimenting with online 18 man sit ‘n’ goes to see how big of an edge there is there. Because these are turbos you often get faced with very marginal decisions about whether to call an all in on your big blind with various hands vs. a small stacks pushing range.
Because I use PokerTracker I can see how loose/tight they are playing even when I play four tables at once. I’ve put together a spread sheet that compares pot odds, opening ranges and various marginal hands’ percentage equity against these ranges to help me make faster decisions about whether it is right to call all in with say K2s on the big blind vs. a tight players button all in push with 4 big blinds. It can get tricky when two or more of these situations come up at once, so I think this spread sheet I’ve made should help increase my hourly rate.

BM: How do you plan to develop your game into the future? Assuming you’re going back to your job as a teacher do you still hope to be a part of the travelling poker circuit?

IS: Poker will always be a part of my life. It will be different to how it is now though. I will play a lot of online satellites to win buys ins to the main events (like I used to) since there is so much value to be had there. There will only be so many major live events open to me since the school holidays rarely line up with the dates of the festivals and I won’t be able to play online as much since I will be so busy with teaching. Fortunately the Irish Open always lands in the Easter holidays! Actually if teaching is to be my lifetime profession then this is my one and only year that I will be able to play the WSOP and chase for a bracelet. It’s also great that I’ve got such an understanding girlfriend throughout all of this who understands that it’s my passion and doesn’t mind making some of our holidays poker related.

BM: What advice would you give to a new Sole Survivor (or yourself if you win it again!)?

IS: If I win it again? A little faith please!

Seriously though, I would tell them to make the most of it and have fun while they travel. It’s been such a unique and rewarding experience. I’ve got to see some fantastic parts of the world and clash with some of the heroes of the game. Whoever is fortunate enough to claim it this April will have an amazing experience. I’d tell them to share the experience as much as possible, as my most enjoyable trips have been with people I care about being on the rail cheering me on. I’d also tell them to take a good hard look at their own game before they start playing to see if they can find any weaknesses they can patch up before they start investing too heavily. ♠