Sky Poker TV

I remember when I was a teenager and first learning how to play poker, there was a show called Poker Night Live. It had an array of hosts, such as Nick Weathall, James Browning and Tony “Tikay” Kendall to name a few. I absolutely loved the show, you could email in and get your questions analysed and answered live on TV and it was great for learning the game.

I never dared to imagine that I would actually get to appear on such a show, but that is exactly what I have had the privilege to be doing recently.

Sky Poker gets a two hour show every Tuesday on Sky Sports 4. It runs with a similar format to the old Poker Night Live show, allowing viewers to see themselves play on TV and get in touch with the presenters about all things poker, but Sky Poker TV has the added benefit of inviting celebrity guests onto the show to play against a pro poker player like myself. So far I’ve had the pleasure to meet and play poker against Max Rushden, Spencer Oliver, Matthew Hoggard and Mick Fitzgerald. The show consists of 3 rounds. Round 1 is 40 minutes of cash game action where the pro and the celebrity sit at a 6 max cash game and the person with the most money at the end of the session gets one point. Then there’s the chip stack challenge where whoever can build the tallest chip stack in 30 seconds (much harder than you might think!) gets two points and the show finishes with a heads up sit and go worth 3 points. I lost spectacularly the first two shows I did, but managed to win in my next two appearances so I’m currently 2:2 vs the celebrities overall.

The actual playing dynamic is really fun. The players on Sky Poker seem to find it hilarious to put me in spectacularly tricky spots live on TV, making outrageous bluffs to see what they can get away with.

I’m looking forward to continuing to appear on Sky Poker TV in the new year, it’s really exciting to get to sit down with not only a new celebrity each show, but also with poker personalities like Neil Channing, Tikay, Ryan Spittles and Richard Orford to analyse the game I love and learn about the lives these celebrities have been leading since their retirement from their various sporting careers.

I wonder what 16 year old me would say if I could go back in time and tell him this is what he would be doing with his life. No way would he believe me.

Aside from continuing with my appearances on Sky Poker I will of course be continuing to play professionally. The Sky UKPC is in February which I have already qualified for online and there are a plethora of other tournaments that I can’t wait to sink my teeth into. I had a rough first 6 months of this year because I had gotten lazy and wasn’t spending enough time doing theory work away from the tables. My bankroll got punished for it, but I’m happy to say I’ve seen a dramatic improvement in my game since dedicating a lot more time to the theory side of things for the second half of this year having managed some deep runs both live and online for some nice scores to see the year out with.