Blackpool player Gareth "The Nugget" Jones, is one of the most respected players in the North West of England. Gareth likes to be known as the Nugget because of his great admiration for Steve Davis the snooker player who was called the Nugget as he had the golden touch and won everything in his sphere. In poker terms, Gareth wants everything he touches to turn to gold.
Gareth began playing poker 15 years ago and was successful virtually from day one. He has a fearsome reputation in the cash games and is a tight solid player who rarely leaves his money behind. When he left school, Gareth was employed by a large bank and eventually worked his way up to management level. However, bank hours are not conducive to serious poker play and Gareth struggled to stay awake during the day due to his unsociable night time activities. He came to the conclusion that poker was potentially more lucrative than working in the bank and he decided to leave the bank in 1999. However, fortune smiled upon the Nugget and he got a real lucky break when out of the blue the bank offered him a redundancy package and golden handshake. That meant he could concentrate on playing the game he has become to love. To this day he does not regard himself as a poker professional ....... merely someone who plays cards as a hobby and happens to make some serious money from his pastime. He is officially retired and this allows him the time to pursue his other hobbies which are all sport orientated. He particularly likes golf, cricket and backgammon and is always happy to wager on his opinions.
When you first meet the Nugget, he is very friendly and courteous at the table and he firmly believes that people should both win and lose graciously. He detests bad etiquette at the table and always tries to be a gentleman in his demeanour. He is always very approachable and understands the importance of welcoming new players into the game. After all, the poker environment can be quite intimidating for new and nearly new players. I honestly believe this attitude is to be applauded as new players are the life blood of the game. It is fair to say that Gareth gets a fair bit of stick from some of the more experienced players, but he takes it very well and to his credit he does not rise to the bait and merely takes their money as his recompense. It is possible that jealousy plays a big part in this ribbing of him and it stems from his successes at the cash table.
One of Gareth's biggest attributes is his money management and I would honestly say he is one of the best in the game at looking after his money. This attribute has probably evolved from his days at the bank and over the past 9 years he has kept meticulous computerised records to chart his progress. The starkest testimony to his success is that since he began keeping records he has had only one losing month and over 100 winning months. This amazing statistic shows you the consistency in his game. I have to say, I advocate keeping strict records, as I believe it helps your game and identifies problem areas. There is an old saying in poker that 90% of poker players believe they are winners, when in fact in reality the truth is that 90% of poker players are losers. One thing for sure is that Gareth is one of the big winners in the game and is one of the few players who has successfully transformed a solid cash game to tournament play.
Until recently Gareth always concentrated on the cash games (specifically multi card Omaha), but in the past 2 years he has refocused on tournament play. He has been slightly restricted because of his work renovating and extending his house, but his intention now is to travel the international circuit. In 2003 he trousered a neat £31,000 for winning the British Open and last year he won the Scottish Open and netted another £16,000. He has also won numerous competitions throughout the UK and is very well respected by all the serious poker professionals. He has written articles for Poker Europa for many years and has also been utilised as a TV commentator and advisor. He was very successful in all these positions and always shows a willingness to help other players and pass on his extensive poker knowledge.
Gareth's major dislike in the game is bad table etiquette and he is a firm believer that casinos should employ a yellow and red card punishment system. He also thinks that some casinos undervalue the worth of poker and poker players.
The players within the game that he most respects and admires are Julian Gardner and Phil Ivey, but he also believes that Lawrence Gosney will become one of the world's top players. Gareth's main ambition is to emulate Lawrence's feat of winning a WSOP bracelet. We wish him every success and hope that he is as successful in the major tournaments as he always has been in the cash games.
Article published on http://www.aworldofpoker.com/profile.php?member=2
Gareth has decided to give the benefits of his experience and poker know how in a series of poker seminars and will be also be available for one to one expert tuition. Click for details
For a further biography go to http://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/player.php?a=r&n=360
