The Pro Gambler

North Londoner Joe Beevers on twitchy winners, losing a million and misplaced stashes…

What's your game of Choice?

Poker. The most popular version is No Limit Hold 'Em which is played at tournaments. But in cash games, I play four-card Omaha, which is slightly more complicated and generates more gambling.

How often do you play?

About three or four times a week. When I go away to a festival, I play every day. But, in London, a normal working day is going to the Victoria Casino for 6pm and playing through until 2am.

Are you addicted?

Absolutely not. There are compulsive gamblers, but this is my living; the more hours I play, the more I earn. I have a degree in finance so I could get a proper job, but it would be difficult to find one that gives me the same freedom and money.

Surely, Gambling is a mug's game. Have you honestly won more than you've lost?

Absolutely. I haven't had a proper job for ten years, but I have nice cars, nice holidays and nice clothes. I reckon I win eight times out of ten. A good year got me is a six-figure sum. I believe over 90 per cent of pokers players lose because they don't have the discipline only to play the best cards. The best cards don't come round very often - I might only play one hand in ten.

Have you come across any fancy gizmos for cheating, like in Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels?

The security you get in tournaments and casinos usually prevent cheating. But there's a funny story about a guy playing blackjack using a hand-held computer wired to his boot. He was tracking the cards that had gone so he knew what cards were coming up. But apparently the computer overheated and his boot caught fire.

Can anyone count cards?

With training, yes. But, if the casino realises, it's not going to allow you to play blackjack there anymore. It's not cheating; it's being clever and shifting the odds in your favour, but I've been barred from half a dozen casinos for card-counting.

In Lock Stock, the boys need a vast stash to take part in a game - is that common?

No. The biggest game I ever played in required $50,000 (£32,000) to sit down. A normal game for me would be £500.

Has anyone ever bet something stupid - like their house?

I played with a guy once who'd been losing several thousand every week. One day he lost all his money and no-one would lend him any, so he gambled his convertible BMW, which was outside. He went home in a taxi.

You're part of a group of players called the Hendon Mob: what's all that about?

It was the name four of us were given in casinos because we all used to play in a poker game every Monday night in Hendon. We set up a poker website 18 months ago and now the Hendon Mob is a recognisable brand.

What's the most you've won and lost again in one night?

The most I've won in one session was £30,000. On a different day, I once lost £6,500. But Barny Boatman (another Hendon Mobster) was in front in the world championship in Vegas, with a first prize of $1.5 million (£1m) when he made a big bluff and lost the pot. He finished up with $50,000 (£32,000), but he felt like he'd lost a million. So he took the $50,000 to the dice table and gambled it all away.

If you win £50,000, can you just waltz into a bank and deposit it?

If they don't know me, they're going to ask questions. On a big win, I'd normally use the casino as a bank. I'll either get a cheque form them or keep money on deposit there.

Is there a certain hand in a certain game that you would bet your ma on?

I would never bet my mother, but there's a situation called the "nuts", which is the best possible poker hand once all the cards have been dealt. You can't lose with the nuts, so I'd put in whatever money I had.

Does everyone have a "tell" face?

There are players who I have no physical tells on, and others who I find very easy to read. When people bluff, a tension builds inside them and they release that tension in different ways. I used to know a guy who, if I waited long enough, would make a jokey comment if he was bluffing. One guy winks whenever he has a good hand. Eyes are a big give-away, so a lot of players wear sunglasses.

Who's the legend on the circuit? The best ever?

Probably Stu Unger, who died not long ago. He was a world champion, a drug addict and an alcoholic. He had a photographic memory. It was almost like the cards were transparent. But he'd have a fortune one minute and be broke the next.

What's the most stupid bet you've made?

I bet on an FA Cup Final with a spread- betting firm - the more right you were, the more you won. This bet was on how good goalkeeper David James would be. At half time, I thought I'd won about £4,000. On Monday, when I got a bill for £13,000, I thought there'd been a mistake. There was: I'd misinterpreted one of the lines in the rules.

And what's the weirdest thing you've ever bet on?

How many seconds there'd be before the next throw-in in a football match. I lost a few thousand on that one.

Are private games actually illegal?

If they're for invited guests and the hosts aren't making any money, you're not going to have problems.

Has anyone ever drawn a gun at a dodgy game?

I've never seen a gun in my life. You do get people who scream and shout, but it's not like in the Wild West where someone loses a hand, the table goes over and out come the guns.

If you need to pee mid-game, do you take your stash with you?

No. They'd think you'd left the game. The dealer who runs the game makes sure nobody does anything they shouldn't. Apparently, when Stu Ungar won the World Series - worth $1m (£650,000) - he had a party in his room for three days and stashed his cash down the back of a chest of drawers. At the end of the party, he couldn't remember where he'd put it so he got a security guard to smash up all the furniture to find it.

Finally, do you instigate strip-poker with new girlfriends because you know you'll win?

No. But if you send round Jennifer Lopez and Melinda messenger, we an arrange a game.FHM