Todd and Doyle Brunson, Joe Sebok and Barry Greenstein, Tony Kendall and Malcolm Harewood (okay, I made that last one up) – there are several formidable father and son partnerships in poker, but the latest to make their mark are England’s Josh and Peter Gould.A property investor/professional poker player, Peter put on a near immaculate display to outgun 33 other competitors at the Loose Cannon Club in London to become the NPL’s UK Open Champion, taking home £34,000 for his troubles.
Although short in numbers, quality surpassed quantity with esteemed names such as Tony G, Roland de Wolfe, Dave Colclough and Roy Brindley all stumping up the £2,500 buy-in. Also present was American actress Jennifer Tilly, who although playing solid poker throughout, would eventually feel the wrath of Maria Demetriou whose Pocket Cowboys held up against Tilly’s A-J.
With the aforementioned names falling by the wayside, the final table was an eclectic and perhaps somewhat inexperienced one:
Seat 1: Jason Ho -- 124,000
Seat 2: Peter Gould -- 50,000
Seat 3: Patrik Selin -- 65,200
Seat 4: Josh Gould -- 53,300
Seat 5: Dieter Dijkstra -- 23,900
Seat 6: Jeff Buffenbarger -- 21,400
Although Jason Ho was only participating in only his third live tournament, the most intriguing presence was that of Peter Gould’s offspring, Josh. At just 18 years of age, Josh is already a professional poker player and quickly following in the footsteps of his father as a familiar face around the cardrooms.
With Dijkstra and Ho falling in 6th and 5th respectively, the inevitable father-son clash occurred, but not after Josh had been dealt a slice of bad beat pie when his pocket Jacks were cruelly outdrawn by Buffenbarger’s pocket Nines which made a set on the river.
Moments later, Peter dispelled any accusations of nepotism by placing the finishing touches and eliminating his son. A set of Nines were the youngster’s nemesis once again as Peter flopped a third to quickly see off Josh’s inferior A-6. Devestated at first, Josh was greeting by a fatherly embrace anf the never-unfriendly sight of £8,500.
After Buffenbarger’s top pair ran into the flush of Gould, we were heads-up with Patrick Selin possessing a slight chip disadvantage. Three hands later and it was all over; Selin made a move with T-5 suited, but found Gould unwilling to release his A-Q, which held up on a harmless 8-7-K-2-8 board. Triumphant in victory, Peter celebrated with a jubilant Josh before being presented the trophy by Tournament Director Roy Houghton.Partaking in various tournaments both sides of the pond, Peter is a regular on the circuit and has suffered from 'so near, yet so far' -syndrome in major comps such as the 2006 EPT Grand Final, The Caribbean Poker Classic and several WSOP events.
Although famed for his vast array of brightly coloured shirts, Peter is far from the table jester and an intimidating opponent on any final table. He is fearless, aggressive and not scared by playing a big pot - the perfect tools for winning a major comp.
It was perhaps this menacing combination that led him to becoming the UK Open Champion. Let’s hope he doesn’t teach Gould Junior any more tricks of the trade, otherwise we’ll all be in trouble.