GAVIN CUMMISKEYhears how the former Republic of Ireland striker realised, after studying the game for a year, poker could offer him a new career route

I STARTED playing seriously in 2000 so it has been a big part of my life since then. Of course I played cards as a kid and when I was a footballer I was always involved in the poker schools in football clubs on away trips or whatever.

I just really love the game. I got hooked quite quickly. But I took it to a new level about nine years ago. I suppose I started to do well around then but the trouble is every time you think you got a knack for it you end up getting your arse whipped!

Because I enjoyed it so much I have become a student of the game. I try and learn more about it all the time.

In 2001, after a full year playing, I realised I could turn money on a regular basis just with poker. It took me that year to get a real grasp of the game but, yeah, that was when it became a career. But it is as much a passion as a career. Because of my media connections and work sometimes I don’t have enough time to play. I would never turn work down to play poker. Work has always got to be first, poker second. If you are going on a bad run in poker it is good to be able to turn to something else. Poker can be very unforgiving.

Right now is the longest period I have gone without playing the game. Last year I won about one hundred grand in prize money. I really had a good year in tournaments but from Christmas onwards I’ve only played the odd game and bet smaller than I normally do. I don’t know why this is; I’m just on a sabbatical at the moment.

That will change come April when I have a really mad month of poker tournaments so I will have to build up for that from mid-March to prepare for Monte Carlo, San Marino and then Dublin. There will be lots of games around that period in between the big tournaments.

I have played on the European tour for a long time now. All you have to do is pay your entrance fee. I am sponsored by Littlewoods, who have been brilliant to me over the past three years. I think I have got to three hundred thousand in prize money for them, obviously I get a large cut of, but it has been a really good partnership.

Sure, it ain’t a football salary but it’s not a bad life! I’ve entered twice in the world series. I went really well the first time around. I was just outside the money but the second time I came nowhere. I will play it again but the only problem is I’m not the greatest traveller anymore.

When I was a footballer I spent so much of my life in hotels and travelling about that I don’t want to do that anymore. Basically being away is something I find really hard since my football career ended. I don’t need to do that anymore.

I have sat at the table with some of the best players in the world. Not all the Americans but certainly most of the British ones, be it a cash game or tournament, but mostly a cash game.

The really good players play it quite tight. They have been around for years so they had to be careful to survive so long. They wait, basically.

The old cliché holds true; wait until you find a poor player on the table and go after him. You’re not going to get much out of the very good players. He’ll work out where you are and what you got. That’s the difference.

I would consider myself a tight player, if it is a small game I might throw it around a bit but if you are at a table with guys who are really staked up big you have to be careful with them because they are looking to bust you on one hand.

You have to really walk on egg shells, try and catch them but don’t get over aggressive with them. I enjoy pitting my wits against other players and there are similarities to the thrill of being a professional football player.

I only bluff on the odd occasion. Honest.