Warwick grad scoops £800k in poker win

Warwick graduate Rupert Elder recently made headlines when he won a massive £823,000 in an
Italian poker tournament. The win came at the prestigious European Poker Tour in the Riviera town of San Remo, which plays host to some of the greatest professional poker players in the world.

The Economics student initially had plans to pursue a career in trading, but swiftly abandoned
them when he realised that he could turn his favourite hobby into a full-time profession. “I started playing when I was 18 with friends at school but I was definitely deluded by my own abilities,” he explains, “I pretty much dreamt of playing for a living.”

This remained a dream until he discovered Warwick Poker, the University’s poker society, and
realised that playing professionally could actually be a viable career. Attaining a place on the exec of Warwick Poker was a vital stage in his road to success, which he still looks back on as “really, really fun.” Rupert is not the first Warwick student to move into professional poker, with the society seeing many of its members enjoying similar successes: “Most people probably don’t know this but there’s several graduates who are making a lot of money playing full time now and probably more coming in the future.”

Despite his new-found wealth and fame, he insists that his “feet are firmly on the ground,” and
that he still maintains the same close relationships with his friends and family as ever. With the game only just over two weeks ago, he admits that “it did take a while to sink in, and to be honest it probably still hasn’t fully.” Even so, he has no intention to make extravagant purchases, having only bought a £75 hoodie with his winnings and with plans to save the majority of it to further support his game.

With regards to any aspiring players looking to follow in his footsteps, Rupert recommends a firm strategy, echoing his economics background; “Any player can win or lose but in the long run the bad players risk of ruin is 100 per cent, where as the player with good bankroll management skills will be almost zero. Winning a tournament is hard because it requires a lot of luck, but volume is important for a full time player, to make variance a non-issue.”

He also insists that there is a lot of hard work and tedium beneath what many perceive as a
glamorous, free-wheeling lifestyle. “It’s been the best decision i’ve ever made. I’ve made very
steady money over the 2 years and got to travel the world and meet loads of awesome people, but it has its downsides too – having to turn up at 12pm every day and play until late, always being on the road and losing lots of money from time to time.”

More worrying is the definite stigma that such a profession carries, with many considering poker too volatile to maintain as a career. He is certainly tired of people asking when he plans to give it up, or insisting that he quits now he’s ahead. “If people ever ask me if i’m going to quit while i’m ahead, I ask them if they quit their job after their first pay cheque,” he jokes.

Ultimately, he recommends that anyone interested should try their hand at Warwick Poker: “it
really is awesome and anyone who wants to improve their game should definitely go along.”

If you would like to follow Rupert’s recent activities on his [blog](http://www.blogs.warwick.ac.uk/relder), or check out [Warwick Poker.](http://www.warwickpoker.com)