Roy Brindley

Before his poker career, Brindley was involved in greyhound racing, and worked in a kennels near Dorking at the age of 17, then moving to other kennels in Lincolnshire and Essex before moving to Andover, where he was a professional greyhound trainer from 1991 to 1995.

Brindley moved to America in 1995 to continue training greyhounds, but moved back soon after. Following some personal crises Brindley ended up living on the street and, by his own admission, he had something of a breakdown aged 28. He once lived off £1 for five days by eating baked beans at 9p per-tin and bread at 14p a loaf.

Following spells as a TV presenter for regional TV (Town TV, Andover), freelance journalist and as a magazine editor (Greyhound Monthly Magazine), he took up poker playing on arrival in Ireland in 2001.

After seeing a documentary on Noel Furlong winning the 1999 World Series of Poker (WSOP), Brindley took up poker in early 2001. He later became friends with the former World Champion.

In 2002, Brindley won seven ranking tournaments, and finished second to Kirill Gerasimov in the World Heads-Up Poker Championship (WHUPC). At the time of the WHUPC, Brindley had so little cash that he couldn't afford a taxi home and had to walk back to his hotel every night of the tournament. Yet, after finishing second, Brindley was distraught and came close to throwing his €40,000 winnings out of the hotel window.

Brindley also finished third in the 2005 William Hill Poker Grand Prix, second in the Masterclassics of Poker Omaha event in 2006, second in the Paris Open of Poker in 2007 and won the televised Betfair Poker Masters of Europe in 2007. As for titles no Player has won more European ranking tournaments than him despite his relatively short career.

In addition to his playing career, Brindley regularly commentated on SKY Sports' Poker Million and acted as an industry spokesman. He is a regular columnist for Card Player Magazine and works as a poker journalist for various newspapers.

In 2005 he appeared on the chat show Heads Up with Richard Herring and Up-Close and Personal with Jesse May to discuss his life, career and love of poker.

His tell all autobiography, Life's a Gamble, was published on February 26, 2009 by Transworld as part of the promotion he appeared on numerous TV and radio shows in the UK and Ireland including Conversations with Eamon Dunphy.

As of 2008, his total live tournament winnings exceed $800,000.[1]

From the Spring of 2012 Brindley has acted as the resident F1 betting expert on At The Races. In July 2013 he appeared on Calvin Ayre TV where he announced he was in legal litigation with his sponsors of nine years, Ladbrokes, for their cessation of affiliate payments and breach of contract.

• "Swimming with the Devilfish" by Des Wilson, ISBN 1-4050-8952-0
• "Life's a Gamble, the high sakes and low life of a poker professional" by Roy Brindley, ISBN 978-0553819410

• Official Corporate site