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Location:
London, UK
Total Winnings:
$1,145,143
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Victoria Coren is a published author, columnist, TV Presenter, Screen writer and record breaking poker player! In 2005 Victoria made her mark on the poker history books by becoming the first player to win a televised professional tournament (EPT London 2006) and a televised celebrity tournament (Celebrity Poker Club 2005). A year later she was also named the first woman to win an event on the European Poker Tour and scoped a prize of £500,000.
As a commentator/presenter, Coren has presented Late Night Poker and The Poker Nations Cup for Channel 4, World Poker Tour for ITV2 and commentated on The Monte Carlo EPT, Grosvenor UK Poker Tour (Channel 4), Ultimate Poker Challenge (Channel 5) and William Hill Poker Grand Prix 2 (Sky Sports).
Her poker memoir/autobiography For Richer, For Poorer: A Love Affair with Poker was published in September 2009, and has received good reviews in The Times and the Observer, as well as other places.
<What made you start playing poker and who first taught you?
My grandfather taught us to gamble on cards, but that was blackjack. My brother started playing poker a few years later with his friends, and he taught me – under duress. I absolutely insisted.
When did you know you wanted to play poker in live tournaments and that you had the ability to do it?
A few years into playing cash games with friends, once I was old enough to go to a casino, I went! They had a £20 tournament, which seemed much less risky than a cash game with potentially unlimited buy-ins, so I played it. I came second, winning about £500, so then I was hooked on tournaments as well.
As an oxford graduate, playing poker is not the most obvious of choices, how supportive are your friends and family of your career choice?
Oh, very. I do a lot of different things, not just poker, so I think my family and friends know I’m at no risk of going skint and having no other source of income. I think my parents probably worried a bit at the beginning, but once they saw me winning money and being very sensible about the financial management, they stopped worrying and were very proud and supportive.
First writing about porn films then playing high level poker, why do you think you have been drawn and successful in two traditionally male dominated industries?
I was a real tomboy when I was a kid – short hair, jeans & t-shirts, climbing trees, the lot. These days I like a pretty dress and a bit of lipstick, but I’m still a tomboy at heart. As soon as somebody tells me something “isn’t for girls”, my stubborn streak is challenged immediately.
Does playing poker feel like work or do you still enjoy the buzz?
It never feels like work, and I always love the buzz. Sometimes it’s exhausting – maybe a 13-hour day in a live tournament, or an overnight session on Stars (eg. A SCOOP or WCOOP event which starts at 5pm in America but 10pm in Europe), but and sometimes it’s tough or disappointing, but it never feels like work and I hope it never will.
Do you think that women tend to have a different approach to “putting all their eggs in one basket” as most female poker players have other jobs, or are there just more opportunities for high profile female poker players?
Well, traditionally women are multi taskers – not so much all the eggs in one basket as many irons in the fire. And let me tell you, that makes for some delicious fried eggs. But seriously I think it’s because the influx of women is quite new, I’m sure in time you’ll see far more full-time female pros.
How has your exposure on the poker circuit boosted and/or affected your writing and broadcasting career? Do you think being a writer/broadcaster gives you more creditability rather than doing modelling and personal appearances?
I don’t think modelling would ever have been an option for me, though you’re very kind to suggest it. I think I have a quirky image in the UK media – the writer who plays a lot of poker – but it works for me. It’s less an image thing than a personal satisfaction thing; I’m proud to be a writer, broadcasting is fun and I love poker more than anything, so I’m happiest juggling all three.
Do you feel most comfortable in cash games, SNGs or MTTs?
I love them all, I couldn’t choose. I love live cash games for the banter and sociability. I love SNGs for the speed and the action, I love MTTs for the challenge of pacing the game, like surfing over a succession of different seas, and the chance of a big win from a relatively small buy-in.
What is your favourite poker variation?( NLTHE, Omaha for example) and why?
For playing seriously and trying to make money, I’d say Pot Limit Holdem (though nobody plays it any more) and No Limit Holdem. But in my home game on a Tuesday night, we play all manner of different ridiculous variants – wild cards, changing cards, multiple flops, high-low splits – and I love all those too. But I wouldn’t play them for thousands of dollars!
How has Poker changed in the UK since you started playing?
It’s changed massively. I have written a book, For Richer For Poorer: A Love Affair With Poker, which is my life story against the backdrop of all the changes in the game. That’s a whole book, so it’s hard to do in one sentence! In brief the game has become far bigger, far more popular, far more respectable and far more difficult. It used to be twenty cab drivers in a cellar. Now – for better or worse – it’s everybody.
Has televised poker become more performance driven now with players showboating to the camera’s to achieve poker celebrity status?
Yes. And that’s dangerous. It’s all very well for these high-stakes players to make crazy heroic bluffs for the sake of drama, but it’s important that normal players don’t copy them too closely. To make a lifetime living out of poker, caution and patience are absolutely as important as guts and move-making. As far as the big personalities go, shouting at people is funny on camera but in ‘real life’ I do like politeness at the table!
You posted on your blog that you were happy with your recent EPT Monte Carlo result (placed 26th). How important is it to maintain a sense of perspective in poker, rather than concentrating on the top spot all the time?
Absolutely vital. I won €40,000 in Monte Carlo – that’s two years’ salary for the average hardworking person. Of course it’s disappointing not to go on and make the final, but I’d be disgusted with myself if I ever failed to appreciate how amazing it is to win that kind of money, in a sunny beautiful place, doing something I love. And it was a tough field, and I played well, so I was proud as well as happy.
What event would you most like to win and why?
I’d like to win the London EPT again, because the night I won it was so magical, and I was in such a state of shock I was numb to a lot of it, so I’d like to experience it all over again!
How do you train for a Major tournament like the WSOP?
I don’t train. I probably should. ElkY has a personal trainer who makes sure he eats properly, sleeps well and exercises to be in good shape for a tournament – and look at his amazing results! Me, I’m usually rushing around, finishing emails, making work calls and filing articles until about 5 minutes before a tournament begins. Ah well. I like to be busy.
How much time do you spend analysing hand histories and potential leaks in your game?
I don’t analyze hand histories. But I always have a long think after a tournament about hands I could have played differently, where errors might have been, and what I might do differently next time.
Do you use poker training websites? (If so which ones)
No. I’m very old-fashioned. I just talk it through with friends in the bar!
How did PokerStars approach you to be in their team?
I think I approached them, actually. I wasn’t a professional player and I didn’t have a string of tournament results but I played well enough, wrote widely about poker and did commentary, I thought there might be value for them in putting me in some events. They said, “Hmm, we’ll put you in the London EPT and see how it goes”. So I thought, well, it seems like I need to prove something, I’d better win it!
During your coverage of the poker tournaments where is the best place you have been and why?
I will always love Las Vegas. It’s my kind of town. Constant action, all through the night, colour and lights and glitter, especially at WSOP time when all my poker friends are out there. Deauville is more elegant, London is my home, Barcelona’s very classy, Budapest was an amazing experience because my mother’s family came from there and I might never have visited if it weren’t for the EPT… but, gun to my head, Vegas blows them all out of the water.
Who are your poker role models?
John Duthie because he has been in this game for so many years and never made an enemy; everybody likes him, and that’s an incredible achievement for anyone. Freddie from my local card room for the same reason. Barny Boatman, Joe Beevers, Neil Channing and Keith ‘The Camel’ Hawkins for the kindness, advice and friendship they have given me over the years. I have many role models but it’s never about how they play – there are a million great players – I admire and emulate people who are sporting, good-humoured, gentlemanly and gracious at the table.
Have these changed as your game has changed?
No. My values are the same as they ever were, and I hope they don’t change.
Are there any up and coming players you think will be big names within the next couple of years?
Yes, but I’m not going to mention it in case I jinx them! I’m very superstitious.
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