Spraggy Poker
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Benjamin 'Spraggy' Spragg might be wearing the PokerStars Team Pro Online patch, but don't make the mistake of thinking he's feeling right at home in a tournament with a buy-in of $25,000. Part of Team Online because of his popular Twitch stream, Spragg plays an average buy-in of $30 online. So to all of a sudden take a seat in a $25,000 High Roller was quite the change of pace for the amicable Brit.
'I play anything up to $215, maybe the odd $530, but that's as big as it gets. So to play a $25k live was huge for me!'
Spragg got his seat in the PokerStars Players Championship after having given away multiple Platinum Passes on the stream. Giving away passes is fun, but getting to play yourself is even better. 'PokerStars said 'Hey, all these community people are going to be involved, let's get you involved here as well.' So that was great!' Spragg said.
It was Spragg's first-time at the PCA, and since $25,000 events aren't exactly his bread and butter, you can bet he was excited. 'I played some $1Ks way back in the day, but I'm on Team Pro Online because I'm a twitch streamer. People see the stakes I play; I play anything up to $215, maybe the odd $530, but that's as big as it gets. So to play a $25k live was huge for me.'
- Ben 'Spraggy' Spragg, NLHE Expert at PokerVIP.com. A heads up No Limit professional since leaving University, Spraggy has recently transitioned to streaming a micro stakes bankroll challenge on twitch. With over $140,000 in cash game profits on the virtual felt Spraggy has now turned his attention to bankroll building.
- Hailing from the Gloucestershire, England, Spraggy has been a professional poker player since graduating from university in 2012. After building up a large group of followers through streaming poker on Twitch, he caught the eye of PokerStars and became a.
While Spragg was new to playing in an event with a buy-in this big, he wasn't all too nervous.
'I was excited but not nervous. It did not feel like a $25K just because of the atmosphere.'
'I felt ok. I was excited but not nervous. It did not feel like a $25K just because of the atmosphere. There are very old-school players who came out for this, and there are people who don't know the rules of no-limit hold'em who came out for it. And then there are the top pros from around the world. It's a fun atmosphere. I think it's the best thing to happen to poker for a very long time.'
The excitement was in the air as it was clear quite early on that the event was going to be big. The excitement was in the air because the field was so good; full of players who don't usually play these. 'Obviously, with the Platinum Passes [in the field] [...] you're gonna end up having an edge over some part of the field.'
Day 1 didn't go as planned for him. 'Day 1 started really rough; I just could not win a pot. I went down to 15,000 in chips and was all in for twenty big blinds with nines to sevens and managed to find a double.'
Spragg survived Day 1 with 43,000 in chips, under the starting stack. 'I would've been better out in the water slides late regging Day 2!'
The second day of the event was much better for the Team Pro Online: 'Day 2 started really well, I went from 43,000 to 110,000. I had Tonka [fellow streamer Parker Talbot] on our table, so that was a nice break!'
Spragg ended Day 2 with 115,000 in chips. With 207 players returning for Day 3 and 181 in the money, 26 players would still go empty-handed. Spragg was just praying he wouldn't be one of them. All went well early on in Day 3, but on the bubble, things got a bit more tense. 'When it got to hand-for-hand, I thought 'Ok I'm alright' as there were a load of short stacks. But then nobody busted; hand-for-hand kept going and going and going.
'It was really nerve-wracking as I had just paid my big blind and would be forced all in on the next big blind.'
'I was barely in my seat during the bubble. I was up pacing, checking out other tables, trying to find out where the shortstacks were - who was gonna be all in. It was really nerve-wracking as I had just paid my big blind and would be forced all in on the next big blind.'
Besides the fact that, for Spragg, it was $25,450 or nothing since he was in it for free, there was the fear of shame if he would end up bubbling. 'The last thing I wanted was to be that direct bubble boy. Because of the Twitch chat; imagine me walking out of here as the bubble boy, I would never be hearing the end of it. But we got there. It was a massive relief!
Not only did 'Spraggy' cash, but he also ended up leveling up a pay jump as people busted left and right when the tournament got in the money. Spragg took home $35,000 for his three days of play.
Parlaying his cash into shots at even bigger fortune is not Spragg's intention. 'Not this week I don't think. I'm flying out Friday, as was always the plan. I might put a little in bigger stuff online; I might take some bigger shots on the stream. We'll see how it pans out.'
The Stars Group owns a majority share in iBus Media.
Though Spraggy is no longer participating, you can follow the rest of the PSPC event on the PokerNewslive updates page.
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Spraggy’s 5 A.M Twitter musings took a cultural turn yesterday when he lit out on a long-form tweet about what poker movies could learn from The Queen’s Gambit.
“I’ve been thinking a lot about ‘The Queen’s Gambit’,” he tweeted. “And it’s success in captivating a mainstream audience whilst also receiving praise from the chess community for its presentation of the game. Something similar for poker seems intriguing but tough for a couple of reasons…”
I've been thinking a lot about 'The Queen's Gambit' and it's success in captivating a mainstream audience whilst also receiving praise from the chess community for it's presentation of the game. Something similar for poker seems intriguing, but tough for a couple of reasons…
— Spraggy (@spraggy) November 18, 2020
In his assessment, the problem of replicating The Queens’ Gambit for poker lies in the issue of acknowledging luck. “The Queens Gambit’s success in storytelling seems to stem from the narrative of a disadvantaged youth achieving success in a game where the sole source of her achievements [is] her talent […] There is no luck at play here.”
While this seems like a drastic oversimplification of how the series works, it leads him to pick up the issue with most poker movies that focus on competition as the motivating factor (beating “The Man”, winning the tournament). “If the final payoff, at the end of the story is acknowledged to have had a huge element of good fortune, the story isn’t as compelling. […] But to ignore it betrays the heart and soul of the game.”
After several hundred words on the subject, Marle Cordiero, his fiancée tweeted at him to go to bed. And the barrage stopped.
Come to bed plz
— Marle Cordeiro (@MarleCordeiro) November 18, 2020
Where is Rounders 2?
It’s an interesting question. Because for something that feels like the perfect high-drama metaphor for the American dream, there’s not a lot of great poker movies out there.
Like a lot of people, the reason I got into poker was the movie Rounders. To this day, it is more or less unique in being a satisfying poker movie that feels grounded in reality.
The Cincinnati Kid is a classic, but only makes sense if you imagine everyone in the big game is cheating except the kid.
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I admire California Split, but poker is a small part of the gambling shenanigans in that. Shade is a guilty pleasure but bears as much resemblance to real poker as Casino Royale or God of Gambling (both fine films in their own right, but lacking the grounding Spragg is looking for).
And those are the good ones. Lucky You does its best to be “realistic” but falls flat narratively. Deal is just The Color of Money plus cards and minus Tom Cruise. Plus it clearly peeked at the Lucky You script for its ending.
AllIn was forgettable dreck. Maverick fun, though hardly a great poker movie.
Even the writers of Rounders couldn’t bottle lightning twice. Their forgettable T.V. series Tilt revolved around cheating and T.V. tournaments again. And the less said about Runner, Runner the better, better.
And also how?
Spraggy is right. We don’t need a The Queen’s Gambit for poker.
The worst poker on TV and in the movies has a focus on competition. In a game where luck is a factor in the short run, the desire to win doesn’t work as motivation the way it does for Beth Harmon as a character.
In Rounders, Mike McDermott isn’t playing poker for the thrill of victory, he’s doing it cuz Teddy K.G.B. will break his legs if he doesn’t have the money for Worm’s debt. It’s that simple. And Spraggy is pointing the way.
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If the final payoff, at the end of the story is acknowledged to have had a huge element of good fortune, the story isn't as compelling. The talented protagonist won simply because they ran good, despite their good play. But to ignore it betrays the heart and soul of the game.
— Spraggy (@spraggy) November 18, 2020
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Featured image source: Twitter