UK Poker Player Turns 1p into £135,000

Andy Jankowski quit his job in IT recently and lives in the centre of Nottingham in the United Kingdom where he is a regular on the local poker scene. He classes himself as an amateur poker player and plays in the various pub leagues. He has three cashes to his name. This on its own is not a sensational story and I would not have rushed to write about him had it not been for what happened at the WPT event held at the popular Nottingham poker venue “Dusk ‘Til Dawn” (DTD) in May, where Jankowski turned a single cent into $192,210 (£135,000 pound sterling) by winning the event. Thanks to UK gambling laws, his winnings are tax-free too!

The story began for Jankowski when he chose to enter a $0.01 satellite tournament which he went on to win. This gained him a seat at a larger satellite and he finished high enough in that tournament to gain a seat at the next tier of the Partypoker WPT qualifiers. His winning streak continued and Jankowski eventually secured a seat in the live $1,100 buy-in event, which was conveniently being held in his home town of Nottingham, UK. Including Jankowski, 886 poker players had either won a satellite to claim their seat or bought in for the full amount meaning that a total of 98 players would eventually cash in the tournament.

During the tournament Jankowski played with a freedom he had earned because he did not have to worry about risking the full buy-in of $1,100 to play, he had effectively gotten into the tournament for free (with all due respect to the cent he paid to enter the first satellite of course!). Because of this qualifying success, Jankowski played with an ideal psychological approach, feeling he had won already by winning a seat in the event. Playing poker where you feel you have nothing to lose can be a real edge against your opposition who might just hope to cash, and in this case it turned out to be a great advantage for Jankowski as he did not fear busting out of the tournament early. He said afterwards that:

Jankowski was left facing fellow DTD regular Daniel Tang heads-up for the title who was in great shape as heads-up play began holding a 21 million to 4 million chip lead. A massive favorite as play began, Tang almost doubled his stack and there was signs he would make a memorable comeback.

Unfortunately for Tang, it was Jankowski who got lucky when it mattered. With Jankowski holded As, 2s and the flop coming down 8h, 3d, 6d Jankowski shoved into Tang. Tang tanked and then called with 10h, 8c for top pair, decent kicker. The flop card was a dream card for Jankowski, the Ad, handing him a massive advantage in the hand going into fifth street. The Qs was no help to Tang on the river and Jankowski was the champion, securing a massive first prize for the amateur player. Whilst not quite turning very little into millions like 2003 WSOP Main Event winner Chris Moneymaker, Jankowski’s run is not dissimilar. I am sure he will remember how he won the first prize of $192,210 for the rest of his life and it is not something British poker will forget in a hurry either.

Jankowski was surprisingly relaxed after winning the event and took it all in his stride. You can watch his engaging post-tournament interview by clicking play on the PokerTube video below.

Congratulations to Andy for restoring our faith in the possibilities of online poker. We are reminded that a great tournament has the potential to change our lives. Jankowski played out the dream that many of us have in turning a tiny buy-in into a life-changing amount of money. He has become yet another anecdote that reminds us that even in the tough environment of online poker, in the post glory days era you can still surpass your wildest dreams with skill and a bit of luck.

This is why online poker tournaments remain so popular. You never know when it will be your turn for the poker gods to bestow a big win upon you. It might well be the very next tournament you play.