James Bord

James Bord plays online at Full Tilt Poker.

James began playing poker while studying Banking and International Finance at university in London. Primarily, he concentrated on online play until he discovered a local poker club and started playing there almost every day. Such was his dedication, he once had his car clamped twice in one day because he didn’t want to leave mid-game.

A career in banking followed after university, but the lure of the tables proved too strong and, in 2008, he made poker his business when he co-founded The Poker Farm, an online training and social networking company.

James continued to play online, steadily building his bankroll and improving his skill level, as well as playing in live cash games more frequently. Eventually, he began spending up to half the year in Vegas playing in many of the biggest cash games in the city. In 2008 and 2009 James took to the live tournament scene, regularly cashing, building his bankroll further and gaining experience.

In June 2010, at WSOP Las Vegas, he reached the final table in the $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball tournament. As impressive as this performance was, he would go on to eclipse it just three months later.

In his hometown and in front of family and friends, he achieved his first major tournament win by beating the field in the £10,000 No-Limit Hold ‘em – Championship Event at WSOP Europe. This victory earned him £830K ($1,281,000) and a coveted WSOP Bracelet.

He followed this up less than a month later with success at the 2010 Poker Cup in Marrakech, where he won the $50K No-Limit Hold ‘em tournament to pocket $247,000.

According to James, to succeed at the tables you must check your ego at the door and keep your composure. He believes if you can master the mental elements of poker as well the technical and strategy side of the game, you will have a huge advantage over your opponents.

He describes ring games as his “bread and butter”, but also feels confident going into No-Limit Hold ‘em tournaments thanks to his performances in 2010.

When he’s not playing, James dedicates his time to The Poker Farm, with a particular focus on giving players in less developed countries opportunities to play poker and develop their skill. He is a big sports fan and his ambition is to someday join the Board of Directors at his favorite soccer team, Tottenham Hotspur.

Look for James online at Full Tilt Poker.