PARKER TALBOT turned the last of his teenage pocket money into a healthy poker win and has never looked back.
The 31-year-old from Ontario in Canada now travels the world and plays at some of the most glamorous locations.
He became enthralled with poker from a young age and lets the game guide his path around the globe, quite literally.
Parker finished seventh in the PokerStars European Poker Tour Barcelona main event this week and won a cool £90k.
Speaking to SunSport, he admitted: “I’m very bad at making plans – I came here on a one-way ticket.
“I’m going to an event in Brighton next week I didn’t even realise was happening before I head back to Canada.
“You can really end up anywhere playing poker to be honest – I’ve ended up in some weird places playing poker for sure.
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“Barcelona and Monte Carlo are the most glamorous places for sure but some stories I could tell are not at all glamorous.
“It can be glamorous for sure – you have so much freedom.
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“In the same way that can be a burden potentially as well if you’re not the most driven person.
“It’s very easy when you are your own boss to sometimes get stagnant and procrastinate."
That glamour includes a players only party hosted by PokerStars at a beach club in Barcelona this week.
Parker’s love for poker came from watching on television with his mum and dad.
When he was finally old enough to play the game, he went to a casino with 100 Canadian dollars (£58) that his dad gave him and lost it.
He went back a few days later with his last $100 and turned it into $400 (£232).
The 31-year-old has now earned around £1million in live tournaments and £2.7m in online winnings from the game he loves.
He explained: “Poker is the most beautiful game you can play for a lot of money because anybody can beat anybody on any given day.
“With any other game or competition, there are massive skill gaps that are not really overcome able in the short term.
“Poker is not like that. You can learn poker and win the EPT main event this year.
“You can get so lucky that you can just win the tournament. That is totally plausible and it’s a beautiful game.”
Parker’s popularity on the tour is in large part down to his social media fan base.
He has over 250,000 followers across his pages on Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and Twitch combined.
“It’s really enjoyable for sure,” Parker said. “These days I don’t stream as much as I used to but I’ve had a community of fans who have watched me and what I’ve accomplished through Twitch.
“I was hooked from watching on TV when I was young. I used to dream of playing a $5K buy-in when I was 16 or 17 years old.
“Now I travel to all the EPTs every year and mostly go to the World Series of Poker every year for the main event.
“I just play poker and am an ambassador for PokerStars – I don’t do much other than that.”
He may not be the best at planning ahead, but there will be two dates in Parker's mental calendar.
He will be at the upcoming EPT Cyprus from October 11-22 and EPT Prague from December 6-17.
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- PokerStars offers a truly epic experience of poker, they are hosting the EPT Barcelona in one of Europe's trendiest cities, welcoming the community again to a place of lively nightlife, sandy beaches and world-class cuisine.
- For 2023 PokerStars has a jam-packed year of live events with the return of many well-loved, prestigious locations and 2 brand-new stops (Paris which was in February and Cyprus in October) on the tour, 2023 is set to be a big one!
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Remember to gamble responsibly
A responsible gambler is someone who:
- Establishes time and monetary limits before playing
- Only gambles with money they can afford to lose
- Never chase their losses
- Doesn’t gamble if they’re upset, angry or depressed
- GamCare – www.gamcare.org.uk
- Gamble Aware – www.begambleaware.org
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