Last month, Paul Febers (pictured), known on PocketFives as xxCelticFCxx, was part of a three-way chop of a Full Tilt Online Poker Series $129 No Limit Hold’em Knockout event. His reward was $37,000, the third largest score we’ve tracked for him.

Febers told PocketFives, “I’m feeling pretty good about it, as I’ve had a ton of close calls recently and have just been getting pretty unlucky deep in big events.” He has over $3.1 million in career online tournament cashes along with nearly a quarter-of-a-million dollars from live events.

Febers said he was short-stacked for most of the FTOPS Knockout, but was able to grind effectively. After the deal was struck three-handed, there was still $7,000 up for grabs, apparently unbeknownst to the group. “After we all accepted the deal, there was still $5,000 for first and $2,000 for second, but none of us knew that and we were basically just punting it in,” Febers narrated.

He added, “I noticed when all my friends were laughing their asses off in the Scottish Skype poker group that I was actually playing for money. I made a pretty loose call for it all on the final hand where I 3bet on a 9-X-X-10-10 board when I had 8-8 and he had A-9. So, still no FTOPS jersey for me.”

His Scottish Skype group has been pretty influential in his development and aptitude in the game, even if he hasn’t won an FTOPS jersey yet. As Febers put it, “We’re really supportive of each other and really get behind each other when we’re deep in tourneys. Plus, we do the occasional hand history review. More than anything, they are a great bunch of lads. Good banter can help you plug along when poker is boring. They are also good for a party when we catch up at live events. I have yet to play a live tourney hangover-free, so it’s their fault.”

Febers’ largest tracked cash to date came last year in a MiniFTOPS Two-Day Event for $80,000. When he’s not piling up five-figure scores, Febers follows his Celtic football team, “but they’ve been shocking recently, so that has been pretty boring. I also like to go out with all of the poker lads when I’m not grinding. It would be nice to eventually invest in something so I can rely on an income outside of poker rather than have to depend on poker winnings all the time.”

Febers is one of several PocketFivers we’ve talked to who have expressed an interest in a non-poker investment, whether it be real estate, restaurants, or mobile apps, just to name a few we’ve heard. On what he has planned, Febers commented, “I have had chances to invest before, but I’ve never been that sure about it because I don’t have much of a business mind, so I didn’t bother, but it would be nice to get on board with someone who has a good idea for a business.I can’t play poker all my life, so I better get a move on.”

The Scot began playing poker on a site that featured online pool. Eventually, he migrated to the traditional group of online poker rooms and noted that he “had never been more hooked on anything in my life. I was instantly fascinated by it.”

Our interview wrapped up with Febers wanting to send a shout out to Picasso 2(pictured), who chopped the PokerStars Big $11 in June and final tabled the Sunday Million last weekend. “He brags about it non-stop,” Febers said of Picasso 2’s Big $11 chop. “It’s a tournament that’s impossible to win and we kind of talk it up as if it’s the most prestigious tourney online.”

The FTOPS runs quarterly on Full Tilt. If you don’t already have a Full Tilt account, sign up through the links on PocketFives to get a 100% bonus up to $600 and one free month of PocketFives Training when you make a deposit. Click here to get started.

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