The Poker Mob is Coming
Here's a heads up for poker players everywhere. A new invasion is in the works and the targets are card rooms across the US. These British gangstas are as dangerous as they come, charming, witty, successful, and increasingly popular. And one more thing, they want your hard earned cash.
Collectively known as the Hendon Mob, they travel around the world playing in top poker tournaments. Individually, they are Barny (The humor) Boatman, Ross (The glamour) Boatman, Ram (The looks) Vaswani, and Joe (The elegance) Beevers.
Halfway through their 2005 international tour, I caught up with mobster Barny Boatman, known in the UK as the "voice of poker" for his extensive work as a commentator for a variety of televised poker tournaments. Boatman, with his actor brother Ross, began playing as a teenager at home in Hendon, England. They both soon progressed to tournament play and Barny won the first tournament he competed in.
"It was Seven Card Stud with 200 participants in the Victoria Casino. Looking back, I really didn't have a clue what I was doing. I must have been incredibly lucky," he said. After that, he was hooked, but didn't take it up professionally until 1998 when he quit his job as a computer software specialist for a British shipping company.
The Mob evolved as a result of the brothers' trips with friends Ram Vaswani and Joe Beevers. "We were given the name because people started seeing us as a group of players from Hendon who often traveled to tournaments together," said Boatman. "We share a similar attitude and style towards the game.
Boatman was internationally recognized in the poker world when he became Europe's top-ranked Seven Card Stud player in 1999. "My specialty was Seven Card Stud and I came into poker playing that game. Then I fell in love with No Limit Hold'em about five years ago when I started playing it on the Late Night Poker television show in England. In tournament poker, I think it is the most beautiful game you can play," he said.
As both a poker commentator and a competitor, he has noticed differences in European and US players. "The Americans are less restrained than the Europeans. They are more competitive and are more likely to get emotionally involved and to show and express their feelings," said Boatman. "I prefer the American way especially in the regard that I believe talking is part of the game. Saying one thing and meaning another, getting inside people's heads or trying to throw them off is all part of poker," he said.
Boatman also noticed a huge difference in the way top-ranked players are treated in Europe versus America. "In live poker in the States, I see a far more deferential attitude towards people who are successful players. They are put on a pedestal compared to the average player. I think people tend to roll over for successful players in America," said Boatman. "It is the opposite in Europe, possibly because it is a smaller circuit and everyone knows each other. Top players are not viewed differently. Additionally, we love the underdog. We can't wait to pull someone down a peg or two if they are getting too big for their boots." He said.
Another big difference is the number of people playing poker. "I would say initially the big poker boom began in the United Kingdom in the late 1990s. But with the explosion of the Internet, it became a worldwide phenomenon which is now bigger in America. When we traveled to the Commerce Casino in California I was amazed at the sheer scale of the people who come out to play live poker. I met many people who were playing live for the first time. In America, poker is more mainstream and showbiz. Europe, so far, doesn't offer as many huge venues to play for the average poker player."
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