Lee Davy sits down with the Grosvenor United Kingdom Poker Tour champion, and online wizard, Rhys ‘Floppinhel’ Jones, to talk about poker nicknames, sharing a house with poker players, and anything else that spewed out of our mouths at the time.
It’s been a good few years for Jones. Numerous online successes, a final table appearance at the 2014 World Series of Poker (WSOP), and his victory at the Grosvenor United Kingdom Poker Tour (GUKPT) Manchester put him on the map as one of the best young UK players in the biz. Only everyone who knew anything about poker already knew that.
When you first created an online poker pseudonym did you ever give any consideration to the fact that you may one day be famous and that the name should be sensible?
“I guess that would have been a good problem to have! I guess I wouldn’t care what I was called. Unless it was really embarrassing of course. I think Floppinhel is quite reasonable.”
Where did it come from?
“I remember watching Sky Poker, when I was 17, and they were giving out some free prizes for the names that would make them laugh. In my grand attempt to make them laugh I created Floppinhel. It was a play on ‘Flipping Hell’ and ‘Fucking Hell.’ It never got a mention in the shows I watched after that.”
What have you been up to?
“I have moved house – I have moved in with my girlfriend. I have been playing less poker as a result of that. It turns out that moving into an unfurnished place is quite a lot of work. We live in Fair Oak just south of Winchester.”
There are a number of pros that live with other pros. They believe this really strengthens their game. Have you ever done this?
“Last year, I lived with my good friend Jonas Mackoff. We lived in Vancouver together between Vegas and Christmas. That’s my only real experience of living with a poker player. I enjoyed it a lot.”
Did you have specific times when you would did nothing but study together?
“If you are running a stable then that’s a good idea. My friends and I are much more relaxed than that. If we have an interesting hand we talk about it. Most of the time it’s in significant detail. But no…we didn’t set aside any particular time for learning.”
How important is it to work on your game away from the tables?
“I think the game is getting tougher. If you want to beat high stakes online tournaments you need to put in the work. Whether that’s on your own: reading, studying numbers; or whether it’s with other people doing strict classes – both paths are cool. People learn in different ways. One of the main benefits of playing poker is the flexibility. Being able to do things your own way.”
Have you read Chris Moorman’s book yet?
“I haven’t read it. I am still sitting by the front door, every day, waiting for my free copy to arrive – it still hasn’t come.”
Moorman is an obvious placement in an Online Poker Hall of Fame – give me another worthy entrant?
“I started playing mid-high stakes just before Black Friday. When I am talking on Skype with my friends they sometimes mention that so and so is back. It’s usually a great reg that used to play before Black Friday that I have never heard of. I don’t know….Bryn Kenney would be someone who springs to mind.”
What’s your view on the Dan Colman/Phil Hellmuth debacle?
“It’s not going to help anyone is it? It doesn’t help poker by saying those things. It just stirs conflict. I agree with some of his points, but it’s unnecessary. Anyone who has brought in their fair share of recreational players, over the years, has done something for poker.
“The game has changed so much today. Those personalities can’t do what they once did because they can’t play in the biggest tournaments anymore. They aren’t good enough. So the best players are getting all of the acclaim. Scott Seiver is doing better now at expressing himself in a very personable way at the table. But other than Negreanu, there is nobody else. Unless we create a High Stakes poker show that just contains personalities, those days are gone. But then again, will that sell? Do you want to watch outdated poker, or the best we have to offer today?
“I also think it’s amazing for poker that Martin {Jacobson} won the Main Event. He is someone who comes across really well at the table; he is polite, as well as being great at the game. He is a good role model. Hopefully, he gets more opportunities through the media after his win.”
