A SWINDON man has won a place in the final of the world’s largest live poker tournament and the chance to win £5,000.

Accountant Daniel Mitchell, 35, from Rodbourne, came first in the Redtooth Poker South West and Wales regional final in Bristol, netting £500 and a place in the final alongside seven other poker players from the region.

The national final will take place on Sunday, March 28 in Nottingham, when 400 players will take part.

Also present will be celebrity players – ex-England footballer Teddy Sheringham and BBC TV’s ‘The Real Hustle’ star Jessica-Jane Clement.

Daniel learned to play poker in 2004 with a group of friends and has not looked back since. In his spare time he plays for small stakes on poker websites.

To date Daniel has played more than 2100 games online, and is only $70 out of pocket for his troubles.

He said: “It’s not about the money. I don’t play big enough stakes for it to be and I’ve always played for fun.

“I generally play small games with little or no stakes but the reality is that the higher the stakes, the better players you are up against and thus have a higher standard of game.”

The Redtooth Poker tournament operates live poker games in pubs and clubs across the UK, with more than 80,000 registered players.

Daniel began playing regularly in two pubs, the Village Inn and Brookhouse Farm in West Swindon.

He said: “One day I saw that there were some poker leagues advertised in a few of my local pubs. I wanted to play in two leagues as it meant that I’d play more often and it doubled my chance of qualifying for competitions. I’m very proud of getting so far in the Redtooth tournament.

“The secret of winning games is to be patient and not to play too many hands.

“You need to wait until you have some really good cards and then place your chips on them.”

Daniel now has the chance to be crowned UK Pub Poker Champion in Europe’s premier poker venue in Nottingham.

He said: “I am very excited about going to Nottingham to play in the final.

“I’ll be up against some very stiff competition but I’ll just play my usual game and see what happens. You do, however, have to rely on some luck.”