By
Dan |
Published
Jul 25 2008, 09:36 PM
In case you missed it, PocketFiver James P0KERPR033 Campbell became the newest Ultimate Bet Star Player. The online poker site, which is now a member of the CEREUS poker network, welcomed the 24th ranked player on PocketFives.com into its ranks. Campbell joins fellow UB Star Player Cliff JohnnyBax Josephy. PocketFiver Annie Duke, the face of Ultimate Bet and the designer of many of the online poker room’s tournaments and promotions, stated in a press release, “UltimateBet is now home to a couple of online poker's most talented and most respected players.” PocketFives.com sat down with Campbell to learn about why he became a Star Player and also discuss his own poker accomplishments.
Campbell said Duke originally lured him into becoming a Star Player at UB. He told PocketFives, “I’ve always played at Ultimate Bet and enjoyed the site. She called and asked if I would be interested in becoming a Star Player. I was delighted to be offered the opportunity.” However, the decision was not automatic. Due to the recent scandal at UB, Campbell thought long and hard about whether to join the site: “There were a lot of talks with Annie Duke and I got a lot of reassurance. It’s contingent on UB issuing refunds and handling the situation. I also talked to JohnnyBax. His joining had a lot of influence on my decision. Someone with a high level of morals believes that they were going to follow through.”
Campbell has a laundry list of quality wins online, including a chop in the Sunday Million for $180,000 and multiple wins in the $200 rebuy on PokerStars. His most recent $200 rebuy victory came in January, when he cashed for just under $55,000. I asked him what he considers to be his most important online win: “The Sunday Million was definitely my best win. I’ve won the $1K a few times and the $200 rebuy a few times. Those are nice, but in the Sunday Million, you can turn $200 into $200,000 in one day.”
In live play, Campbell made a deep run in last year’s World Series of Poker Main Event and also cashed in the European Poker Tour’s Monte Carlo Grand Final for $33,000. He commented on his success in live play: “At the WSOP last year, I was involved in a pot for becoming one of the top 10 in chips. There wasn’t any way of getting around it and I lost. In Monte Carlo, I was in the top five in chips for the first three days. When I went out, I had a set against a straight and flush draw. You have to win those big hands in order to win. I don’t play as much live as others. I have a family and friends. I’ll branch out a little more in the future.”
Campbell just got married a few weeks ago and recently returned from his honeymoon in St. Lucia. He said it only rained two days during the week-long trip, which is certainly beating the odds during the rainy season on the small island. He explained how he met his wife in case you’ve never heard the story: “Everything couldn’t have gone better. She was my high school sweetheart. We broke up while I was at college, but got back together towards the end of it. She’s supportive of me playing poker and that’s really important.”
Players that we’ve interviewed for PocketFives.com have widely different styles of play online. Campbell talks about his own online poker strategy: “You have to be aggressive to win tournaments, but I’ve tightened up my play a lot online. Play online has gotten too aggressive to the point where you have to play tighter now. A year and a half ago, the best way to play was to be relentless. Now, it’s changed so that if you play TAG, it’s the best way to play.”
A press release by Ultimate Bet notes that Campbell won half a million dollars from playing poker last year and has $200,000 in earnings from live play lifetime. Despite focusing his energy during much of the month of June on the World Series of Poker, he still managed to rake in $25,000 online in tournaments that are tracked for the PocketFives.com Rankings. In July, he took fifth in the $100 rebuy on PokerStars for $15,763 and won over $22,000 in the $33K Guaranteed, $100 buy-in (one rebuy and one add-on) on Full Tilt Poker. In May, he also took down the latter for $11,000.
Congratulations to James “P0KERPR033” Campbell for becoming the newest Ultimate Bet Star Player and being one of the top-ranked players on PocketFives.com. We’ll look forward to continued success from this 25 year-old star.