Nixon bests an elite field to bag £93,970
Last Sunday saw popular poker player, vlogger, and Twitch streamer Jamie Nixon take down the £1,250 ($1,530) Grosvenor UK Poker Tour (GUKPT) London Main Event for a career best £93,970 ($115,039). Better yet, he did it on home soil of sorts – Nixon is a Grosvenor Poker sponsored player.
347 brave souls took their seats in London’s prestigious Victoria Casino, 34 made the money, and when it got down to the final nine, the cream had risen to the top with Irish Open winner Ryan Mandara, WSOP Main Event Finalist Antonine Labat, and Bellagio Cup winner Killy Sidhu all still in the mix.
a significant marker for a great player who had never previously closed out a big live tournament
In the end, however, it was Nixon who emerged victorious from the talented final table, a significant marker for a great player who had never previously closed out a big live tournament. Nixon sat down with VegasSlotsOnline News on the heels of this fantastic score.
Interview
David K. Lappin: First of all, congratulations on the terrific result. When I messaged you the day after you won, you jokingly said “I finally didn’t bottle it.” Earlier this year, you had a trio of runner-up finishes in the Irish Open High Roller, PPC UK High Roller, and UKIPT London High Roller. Did you feel like there was a monkey on your back?
Jamie Nixon: Thanks very much mate! Yeah, it’s been a long time coming this one. As you mentioned, earlier this year, I had that string of three second places. They all came in the space of a month, so I think that was playing on my mind ever since. In London though, I felt zero pressure – probably because of the fact I was ill and was completely drained of energy! I’ve done a lot of work on the heads-up element of my game too, but fortunately I didn’t have to use much of it as it only lasted four hands!
DKL: It was a tough final table – as tough as any I’ve ever seen at Grosvenor events. Can you describe the final table from your point of view?
JN: The standard at the final table was very high and I’m actually good friends with Ryan Mandara, Kully Sidhu, and Mitch Hynam. I felt comfortable in that crowd, though, and knew that if I played my game, I’d be fine skill-wise. I came in with a decent stack, but dwindled for a while with the card distribution not doing me any favors, but fortunately, I ran well at the right time!
DKL: When you have had nice results in the past, have you ever splurged on something nice for yourself, or is it just money on the pile?
JN: I’m a family man so the majority of the splurges have had some purpose – a house deposit and a new car (although I splurged more than I should have on the car as I persuaded my better half Ellie to let me get a Range Rover). I’d say the majority of the fun spending money goes on meals out. My son Charlie has an expensive pallet and loves his sushi!
DKL: On a recent episode of “The Chip Race,” Dara said that your most striking feature is your “apparent total unflappability.” That’s a great quality to have as a poker player. It probably means that you rarely stray far from your A-game. If you had to identify a leak that creeps in, one that you have to watch out for, what is it?
JN: That’s very kind of Dara! I’d definitely say that I agree as I don’t really get stressed out at the table, which certainly helps. Leaks wise though, I would say I have loads. I’m probably not as studied 80bb+ as I should be, and I definitely need to work on that more. Also, despite studying heads-up a lot this year, I’d say I’m a long way from perfect! So next time I’m heads-up with Dara, he’ll know he can go for the kill!
DKL: One thing I’ve noticed is that, unlike a lot of poker players, you understand the value of a dollar. Whether that is because you had a job before poker or because you have a young family, it manifests itself in you being a very steady, responsible young man. Has that helped you as a poker player or hindered you as it made you more risk averse on occasions when there were good shots to take?
JN: Are you calling me a nit, David? Haha.
Yeah for sure, I’ve been pretty open in the past about how before poker, I wasn’t doing amazingly well financially. I was very much a month-to-month type of guy, as a lot of people are these days. I wouldn’t say that it makes me risk averse, as if I’ve got a big roll, I’ll definitely take shots. I just won’t take the sort of risks that could get me back to the position I was in before poker. I always need to have that buffer there. I would say it’s definitely helped me, as I’ve managed to build steadily.
DKL: You’ve posted a monthly vlog for the last two months at least. I assume this win will feature heavily in the next one?
JN: I’ve been more focused on live poker over the last nine months, so I’ve been unable to stream as often on Twitch. I realized that the obvious thing to do was to start creating vlogs to fill the void. They are a great way to look back on what you’ve done down the line too, rather than just having the memories.
It’s a funny thing actually, I did start it for GUKPT London on Day 1, but on Day 2 I fell ill with food poisoning and could barely lift my head up, never mind record video so I ended up not doing it, for the biggest win of my career so far! Run bad even when I’m winning, right? I’m going to try and put something together from other people’s videos and the live stream footage though!
DKL: For the last few months, you’ve been hosting a “Vegas Home Game” in which there is a leaderboard to ultimately give away a £10,000 ($12,242) Vegas package. Can you tell me more about that?
JN: I’ve been running a weekly home game on Grosvenor Poker for a number of years now and the latest promo is to take a couple of people to Vegas in Summer 2023. The competition is ongoing until the end of December!
Each month we have a leaderboard for my home game and the top three players from each month go into a final (played in January) where they’ll be joined by the top three each month in my fellow pro Katie Swift’s league. In that final, two players will win a package to go to Vegas, as well as lots of others winning a number of tournament tickets! It’s all added value, too, so it’s great to be able to run something like that.
DKL: A few years ago, you came on “The Chip Race” to do a strategy segment. Some strategy guests bring successful bluffs or hero calls that they made but you brought a hand that you described as “the worst hand I ever played.” I think that speaks volumes for you and the way you always put ego to one side in the pursuit of improvement. So…have you played a worse one since?
JN: Probably a load of them! I did play one recently which I’ll say is worse, not because of how I played it but because it nearly got me beaten up!
I was in Cyprus a couple of weeks ago for the $3k main and we were in a three-bet pot. We got to the river on a four-spade board. I had A♦️Q♣️ so I elected to put in a large river bluff. My opponent (a very large, scary looking Turkish guy) tanked for five minutes before calling. I said “good call” whilst tabling my hand, only to see the Q♠️ not the Q♣️, which beat his set! He was fuming, throwing the chips at me as well as flipping his seat over! I thought he was going to kill me, but fortunately I got moved table two hands later, otherwise I might not have made it home from Cyprus!
DKL: Ha, ha, we’ll I’m glad you got home in one piece and once again, huge congratulations on the brilliant result.
GUKPT London Main Event Final Table Results
- Jamie Nixon – £93,970
- Kully Sidhu – £64,980
- Phil Clarke – £39,630
- Mitch Hynam – £24,995
- Antoine Labat – £16,780
- Justin Tsui – £12,140
- Ryan Mandara – £9,285
- Nikolai Mamut – £7,855
- Yucel Eminoglu – £6,425