BBC: The New British Invasion as Poker Pros About to Topple US

The BBC featured an extensive report on Friday about the “New British Invasion” and this one involves its growing pool of successful poker pros, one of whom will be playing in next week’s World Series of Poker Final, Sam Holden.

From Mario Cacciottolo of the BBC:

The US-dominated world of poker is under threat of invasion from a wave of British players, with a 22-year-old from East Sussex about to compete for the biggest international prize at the weekend. So how did Britons barge their way in?

The BBC talks to Holden and another popular UK pro, Liv Boeree. 

"British poker is doing incredibly well at the moment," Holden says. "Over the last two years we've had brilliant results in the biggest tournaments in the world, both in live tournaments and online. Considering our population, and population of players, it's quite incredible really.

"Previously the US had a real stranglehold over the whole market. It's their game, they're brought up playing poker at the kitchen table, whereas we don't really do that in Britain."

Boeree says that poker has enjoyed an image makeover in recent years among Britons. 

"Twenty years ago people maybe imagined poker being played in underground rooms or in casinos with big high rollers. This is not the case, it's so accessible now."

A quick note regarding Holden’s WSOP Final Table appearance:  Because he had to raise the entry fee into the Main Event, Holden sold 61 percent of himself at the World Series of Poker, meaning he only gets to keep 39 percent of his overall winnings.  That said, even if he is knocked out first among the final nine, the consolation prize is still a generous $782,115.

- Patrick Flanagan, Gambling911.com