Poker: Life lessons of the new world champion

As promised last week: more information about our new world champion, Jonathan Duhamel . He is the first Canadian to win the World Series of Poker. He's 23. He dropped out of university to pursue a full-time poker career, but discourages others from doing the same, saying "I don't think people should quit school." He is a serious student of poker, reading books alongside his many hours of online play. His style is aggressive. He has been making his living through internet poker for a couple of years, playing several six-handed cash tables at once. But this is not his first big live tournament result – he finished 10th at the EPT Prague in 2008 for €42,000. Not much compared to his $8.9m World Series win, but I'm sure it felt good at the time. He advises: "The more you practise, the better you're going to be. It's very important to keep your focus and not let your emotions get the better of you. It's something you master when you play over and over again." So, what can we take from this? Play with aggression and focus, read books, put the hours in and don't go on tilt. We already know that's how to win at poker. And there can be no advice for winning the WSOP; that's a miracle which has no formula. So far, Duhamel's poker tips are broad rather than specific. More valuable is his life advice. He points out, "You don't need to play $1,000 a game to have fun, you can play for free or small amounts." When he went broke, two years ago, he did not borrow money to go chasing his lost bankroll. He stopped playing and got a job. He regrouped, studied harder and came back. And what a comeback. victoriacoren.com