UK Poker pro Sam Trickett talks Black Friday

It’s easy to focus on the ramifications of Black Friday on US players, considering they are obviously the hardest hit segment of the poker population, but when the largest market in the online poker industry is suddenly cutoff from the rest of the world EVERYONE suffers. And this is something that one of the UK’s top poker players, Sam Trickett, talked to EGRmagazine.com about in a recent interview.

Trickett talked to the magazine about several interesting aspects of the poker world, beginning with the sense of urgency felt by many US players at the recently concluded WSOP, especially those lacking the resources or option of moving out of the country:

“A lot of people did choose to take a shot and play off their own bankroll and only get staked if it didn’t go well. It was good to see all these online players turning up who maybe aren’t as strong at certain elements of the game, and the fields were still big weren’t they? On a personal level I entered a few tournaments where I knew I wasn’t a favourite over the field, just to get experience and try to win a bracelet.”

Trickett also explained how Black Friday has affected the online poker pros, specifically citing a friend of his who has a whopping $4.5 million tied up on Full Tilt Poker; an amount that there is no guarantee he will ever see again -the rumor mill is speculating that Trickett’s friend is 2010 WSOP Europe Main Event champion James Bord, which would explain Bord’s heated confrontation with John Juanda at the WSOP, where he called Juanda a “thief” amongst many other colorful things.

Trickett also discussed his recent signing with Titan Poker, which he described as a sign that the entire sponsorship market is not simply Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars, and the prospects for other European poker pros to land sponsorship deals in the future -Full disclosure, Trickett owns a piece of CheckRaise Management which represents poker players-as well as the possibility for non-poker companies to start advertising on poker tours and poker television shows:

“I think it’s only a matter of time before non poker-related businesses get involved in poker, whether its energy drinks or sunglasses who start investing in sponsorships. Considering how big poker’s got, with thousands of people still playing online, it’s beginning to look like a good way for people to advertise.”

The entire interview is an eye-opening look at what appears to be not only one of poker’s best young players, but one of poker’s best young business minds as well. You can read the entire article at egrmagazine.com.