Welcome to my website!
For those who know me, I won’t waste your time - just click on the William Hill Poker Club banner, and sign up for one of the best deals on the iPoker network, with one of the giants in bookmaking in the UK – one you can trust, and who you know will be looking after you… Since moving from Cryptologic to the iPoker network (third biggest in the world) where there is so much more liquidity, William Hill’s aim is to become one of the biggest names in internet poker and I have a sneaky feeling that they are going to succeed! Also anyone who signs up through me will be kept informed of any special offers and will have the opportunity to enter some events which will be unique to them.
For those of you who don’t know me, here is a little bit about myself. I have been a professional gambler for 95% of my working life, with the odd curve-ball thrown in along the way, with stints as an option’s trader at AMEX alongside the likes of Erik Seidel and our very own Jeff Duval (just before the crash of 1987 – great timing, huh!). I also was a comedian impressionist travelling around the clubs and theatres in Great Britain including a gig at the London Palladium (I always promised my late Mum who backed me in every thing I did, that she would see me at the London Palladium one day, and she was there!), television presenter and analyst on the award winning poker show, Poker Night Live and also an analyst on the very successful Sky Poker (channel 865).
The gambling started with backgammon, eventually becoming European Champion in 1984, and then progressed to blackjack, sports betting and poker. Mainly playing in the North East of England (having decided to keep my head down from the casinos who didn’t appreciate my blackjack talent), I originally played pot limit 7 card stud, and tended to concentrate on cash games, rather than tournaments, as that was a regular way of making a comfortable living. We had one of the best games in the country and a great crowd of people and I am glad to say that a lot of them are still playing today.
I was the person who actually introduced the first Hold’em tournament in the North East when I persuaded Greys Club Casino, Newcastle, (Managers Pat and Pauline) to run one. It was initially met with apprehension from the regulars and took quite a while before it really took off, but when it did - WOW! The tournament scene, which included £50 and £100 rebuys, sold out in Newcastle, Sunderland and Teeside, and our cash games were known throughout the country. One time Devilfish paid us a visit and having left £5k behind in the game, turned round and said “…and let that be a lesson to you!” I first met Dave Ulliot when he was learning his trade in small tournaments in Leeds - what a progression to a worldwide poker star with an amazing record.
Having met my fiancée, Lynne Beaumont, in March 2007 at a Grosvenor UK Poker Tour event in Cardiff, (she also happened to love poker, particularly tourneys), we started to travel to more festivals. She won the Betfred Ladies’ Poker Tour for two years running, winning a sponsorship deal with them, (under my expert tuition, obviously!), so the pair of us then concentrated more on tournaments.
In 2008, I finished a successful year as No 1 in Europe and 6th in the World for “Pro Rank Two” (live festival events $1,000 or less), cashing 27 times and winning two outright.
In March this year, William Hill kindly offered me a six month sponsorship deal alongside Julian “Yoyo” Thew (or way behind him, depending which way you look at it!) and so I have played in the Irish Open, the GUKPT’s, some of the WSOP side events in 2009 and am looking forward to trying a European Poker Tour event later in the year. I have had a few small results for them so far but obviously hope to ping something big!
Anyway, I hope you like the site – you can find out more about me by looking at an article that is due to appear in September’s edition of Bluff Magazine. Also, look at my current results by following the links to Poker Pages, The Hendon Mob and Poker in Europe, and follow my blog - I promise I will try to regularly update it for you, and as I said earlier, if you would like to join the biggest and the best internet poker network in Europe, just click on the William Hill Poker Club banner!
Please don’t be afraid to send me an email if you have any questions, problems, or just want a chat!
Hope you hit the flop…
James Browning
PS I am going to be giving out some free sport’s tips which I expect to be profitable in the long run. We will monitor them and hopefully will all see our bankrolls grow! Bet within your limits, so we can withstand variance.
Find James on Facebook at www.facebook.com/jamesbrowningpoker