Earlier this month, Jon EMSBasSpinks (pictured) stormed to an outright win in the PokerStars Sunday Warm-Up. The victory was worth a colossal $115,000 and Spinks outlasted five other members of the PocketFives community at the final table. It was his largest tracked cash to date and his 79th tracked victory. The Brit was kind enough to lend us a few minutes to talk about his big Sunday.

PocketFives: Congrats on the victory in the Sunday Warm-Up. You must be thrilled.

Jon Spinks: Yeah. It really couldn’t have come at a better time in my life. I am expecting my first child in March, so it really has taken a lot of stress off the grind for the future. I’ve been very lucky this year to close in a few Sunday majors, which is unusual for me from past experience. I’ve been very fortunate through poker and this money is going toward a much-needed holiday and future security.

PocketFives: The Warm-Up had a really solid final table with P0KERDUUDE, Sam KingKobeMVPStein, and RichieRichZH, just to name a few. Talk about that crowd.

Jon Spinks: The actual situation was a lot tougher than the final table was. The way the stacks were and the way the short stacks kept doubling up were more of an issue than the actual quality of the play. I thought thedingand healey87 played the best of my opponents at the final table. We spent most of it having one or two big stacks and everyone else having similar stacks, which led to a lot of ICM spots.

PocketFives: Was there a chopdiscussed?

Jon Spinks: There wasn’t even a chance for that to be discussed. I think it took about 20 hands to go from six-handed to winning. I went from having 2 million at 125K/250K and being 6/6 to being 1/3 with 30 million in about 10 hands.

PocketFives: Who is in the circle of poker players you’re friends with?

Jon Spinks: The people I talk to most are Dominik bounatirouIMONitsche, David davidv1213Vamplew (pictured), Marvin Rettenmaier, and Ben f3nix35 Dobson. There are a lot of others I talk to, but these are the people who have had the biggest impact on my poker game and my life over the last year especially.

PocketFives: There are some heavy-hitters in that group. How did you guys become friends originally?

Jon Spinks: I got to know Dom and David really well on the European live circuit a few years ago. We spent a lot of time traveling together along with many others, but they are the ones I kept close to the most after. Everyone gets along with Marvin. He’s one of the greatest people I’ve ever met and has time for everyone. Ben I’ve gotten to know really well over the past year and think he will break into the HSMTT scene over the next year. He works harder off the felt than 99% of tournament regs out there and has the right mindset to be something special.

PocketFives: Marvin Rettenmaier (pictured) has definitely gotten a lot of recognition. What have you taken away from watching his game and conversing with him?

Jon Spinks: His mindset, work ethic, and commitment to traveling and the live grind are really impressive. Surprisingly, we talk more on a personal level than about poker, but I think his results are amazing and I feel his accomplishments aren’t valued as much as they should be.

PocketFives: What do you still want to accomplish in poker?

Jon Spinks: I don’t think there is anything in poker I want to accomplish. The responsibilities of a child weigh far higher than any personal ambition to be the best or win certain things. All I care about is being the best father I can be and providing for my family.

PocketFives: How do you envision childcare working schedule-wise with poker?

Jon Spinks: I made the gradual transition to grinding Zoom cash games this year outside of Sundays and big tournament series. It’s going to be a balancing act between the two, but I am very blessed to have the freedom and opportunity with my job to choose when to work. Zoom and Rush Poker provide the best opportunity to stop for the nappy changes.

You can catch the Sunday Warm-Up weekly on PokerStars. If you don’t already have a PokerStars account, create one through PocketFives’ links to get a 100% deposit bonus up to $600 and one free month of PocketFives Training. Get started here.

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