Let’s get this straight, this is no bad beat story. The APAT UK Championship offered a great structure, an incredibly juiced pot and, most importantly for me, a national title that I could use as bragging rights at PokerPlayer towers. Quite simply, a juicy cash finish wasn’t my primary goal – I wanted the title, I wanted to win.

It’s because of that mindset that I made a major call that would either cripple me or put me among the chip leaders. With around 30 players left fourth place finisher Adam Spratt announced ‘raise’ under the gun and, after momentarily appearing to be at a loss as to how much to raise, moved all-in for 70,000 (over 10 times the big blind). I read it as a big hand that didn’t want to face a re-raise: A-K, J-J or even possibly A-Q.

My stack was tipping the scales at 90,000 and I had Q-Q. I could pass and likely cruise into the money or take, at worst, a race for a good shot at the top spot. It was a no-brainer. I called. He showed A-K, hit two-pair and I ended up bubbling on day two after another race with 6-6 against K-10. It could have all been so different… but it wasn’t. Roll on, Wales!