Finn Stewart's Cash Game Festival "Experience Has Been Really Great"
Finn Stewart attended his first-ever Cash Game Festival and immediately hopped on both the £2/£2 pot-limit Omaha and the £5/£5 no-limit hold'em feature tables. He lost a little on the first before making most of it back on the second table.
Stewart is 32-year old professional poker player that got into the game 20 years ago. He explained that he got into the game partly because of his father and partly because of t.v.
"My dad taught me how to play," shared Stewart. "He always loved card games and was a bit of a gambler."
"I got into the game through an old t.v. show called Late Night Poker in the 90's," explained Stewart. "The show got the game a bit out of the underground a bit. I think it was a big thing, it certainly was a big thing for me. They would have eight heats and one final table and I remember it looked really cool. I remember I wanted to play poker very soon after seeing the show."
Stewart has been a professional poker player for the past decade, although part of the time he was a semi-pro working other jobs on the side. He shared that in the back of his head he always had the thoughts of becoming a poker pro on his mind after watching poker on t.v. However, he was also pushed into it a bit when he moved to France with his girlfriend and poker was one of the ways to make money without speaking the local language.
When we asked Stewart about whether he preferred tournaments over cash games, he immediately responded cash games.
"I play tournaments about four times a year and don't like to travel for these events with all the extra expenditures," said Stewart. "I do enjoy when I play tournaments, however."
"With cash games, I can play mostly locally," Stewart elaborated. "If I had a bad session, I can always call my girlfriend for a hug or to go out to a pub."
This is Stewart's first Cash Game Festival but it will unlikely be his last. His friend, Tony Coe, told him about the event and he appears to enjoy the friendly atmosphere generated by the festival alongside the great poker actoin.
"Part of the reason this is my first Cash Game Festival is that although Aspers is now my local card room, I didn't really play properly here this year," said Stewart. "I previously was playing primarily in central London."
"My friend Tony Coe sent me a link to the registration page and wanted to get experience appearing on a stream," shared Stewart. "The experience has been really great and anyone can enjoy it."
Stewart's experience has been positive for him despite the fact he didn't turn an overal profit, at least yet, on the televised streams.
"I played a bit of PLO on the feature table on Day 2 and lost a bit with aces and then was in a gross spot where my full house was outgunned by a better one," said Stewart. "I lost about £300 in that game. Last night I played £5/£5 hold'em and got into a horrid spot early on. I flopped a flush draw against Chris Yong, got it on the turn, but he filled up with full house. I was in a world of pain but found the fold. I was happy after seeing the hand later when I watched the stream."
"It turned around after I doubled up against Terry Jordan when my flush-draw completed," Stewart continued. "I ended that session about 200 up. So I booked a small loss overall. But I am hoping to play some 1/3 on the side tables tonight."
We asked Stewart if he would travel outside of London for a Cash Game Festival and it appears he has his eyes on heading to Sunny Beach, Bulgaria for the next Cash Game Festival on Aug. 8-12 at Platinum Casino. He is looking for a potential poker holiday, something that the Cash Game Festival is well-known to provide.
"Absolutely, I hope to attend more Cash Game Festivals," said Stewart. "The idea of Sunny Beach really appeals to me. I really love the sun and the beach. If I find a couple of mates that are interested in a poker-related holiday I will likely go."
Poker is often about players donating to others on the table. Stewart tries to save his donating to those more in need as in his spare time he helps out those that need someone to talk with at the charity Samaritans, which provides support to those thinking about suicide. Kudos to Stewart to giving back to the community.