What is your BlondePoker username?
The Thistle
Which area do you live in?
London
What is your marital status?
Married
Do you have any children and/or pets?
Two Cats
When did you start playing poker?
35 years ago at school in Glasgow
Where can you be found playing live?
Mostly wherever there is a tournament, around London or further afield. I'm very popular in the cash games but I try to stay away from them
What is your favourite online site?
Depends - Blonde for the community and forum, the on-line support and the rebuy tournies, FT for hand histories, Stars for big field lotteries, Betfair for softer tournies with small fields, mansion for overlays...I move around a lot dpenedning on the time of day etc.
What is your handle there?
The Thistle on Blonde, bunch of other handles on other sites.
What is the harshest beat you have inflicted on an opponent?
I married my bank manager's wife
Who are your poker heroes?
Kenna James for his attitude to the game and those in it.
Eric (Rizen) Lynch for his unbelievable record and what he's given back to the game in on-line training
John Duthie for his pioneering spirit
Jon (PearlJammer) Turner for teaching me patience and new ways to think about playing the flop
Johnny Bax - for, well for just winning every race and for being the second best short stack player on the planet (I've had more practice)
Who is your best friend in poker?
My Wife Abi who rails my final tables on-line and does proper work
What are your greatest accomplishments in poker?
Realising about 18 months ago that I knew jack shit about this game when I quit my job to play and then building a bankroll from scratch starting with $1 tournies
Second last table at WSOP in the HORSE 2004
Final Table WSOP 2006 $1500 NLH (Stuart Fox did me up like a kipper)
Bellagio Cup runner up 2006
European Champ's PLH 2006
Gutshot Masters side event 2006
Hey last year wasn't too shabby after all...
What is your most embarrassing moment in poker?
2004 WSOP last three tables PLH. Friends fly in from SF to watch. I give them the big build up and explain who Helmuth and Cloutier and Ram & co are and how exciting it will be and then as they make their way up into the seats I donk off all my chips to Gabriel Thaler before they can sit down.
Which Blondepoker thread did you enjoy the most?
Fairly new to the forum but the one where suzanne poured her heart out about losing all the time to on-line donkeys and struggling with bankroll management. That's real poker life for most of us - not the glossy stuff on TV.
The thing I love most about BlondePoker is?
The community. Real people enjoying poker and not taking themselves too seriously. The live updates from Jen & crew are first class
My biggest pet hate in poker is?
Tournaments that don't start on time
What are your main interests outside poker?
Cooking and Music
Tell us something about yourself none of us would know
I wasn't always a fat bloke
What is your favourite pie filling?
Natalie Portman
Who is your favourite singer?
Jonny Lang
What is your favourite song?
Wander This World
Who is your ideal man or woman?
My Wife - she truly rocks
What is your favourite holiday destination?
India
If I could change one thing about myself I would?
Quit smoking