A Nottingham poker star has won £89,000 at a poker tournament in London. It was the biggest prize pot won by Jonathan McCann, who lives in the city centre, since he began his career at the table 15 years ago.
The 35-year-old got first place in the Grosvenor Casinos £1,250 Main Event in the capital, beating 450 players over a three-day stretch. Mr McCann said his success was down to staying relaxed and being self-critical.
"I'm very competitive, I'm not a bad loser but when I do lose I'm very analytical and I like to look at what went wrong," he told Nottinghamshire Live. "I don't have a big ego either so if I make a mistake I'll be the first to try and work on it rather than assume I played great and it was bad luck.
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"I'm self-critical and I'm willing to study to improve my game." It isn't the first time Mr McCann, originally from Cumbria, has won big.
His career has seen him scoop $38,000 dollars from the $10,000 World Championship in Las Vegas back in 2014, where he finished 283rd at the world's biggest tournament. He also won £74,000 from a second place finish at a UK and Ireland Poker Tour (UKIPR) tournament in Nottingham last July.
"I'm quite calm when I play, I think a lot of people can feel quite nervous but I feel like I'm quite relaxed. Maybe it's because I've been doing it for so long," he continued. "Part of the skill in poker is not to think about the money so much, a lot of people think about the money and they get scared and make mistakes, they're letting the money affect their decision.
"However if you can blank out the money and play the game and strategy then I think it helps, although it is natural to get excited over the money." Mr McCann made the decision to take up poker full time whilst in second year of studying sports science at university in Liverpool.
The formerly aspiring tennis coach left his course halfway through, but is now brushing shoulders with poker stars and celebrities at the sport's biggest events. Whist he has not shared a table with them, Mr McCann has competed in tournaments with tennis legend Boris Becker and the Brazilian football star Neymar.
"When you go out to the big tournaments you never know who you'll be sat next to," he said. Mr McCann said he's been scaling back on the travelling since becoming a dad.
"I used to travel all over the world but I've got a daughter now," he said. "I'll still play in Las Vegas and a few events in Europe but I'm mainly UK-based because I see my daughter regularly and it fits in with that."
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