In late August, the U.K.’s Sam TheSquidGrafton (pictured) came away with a second place finish in the PartyPoker $200,000 Guaranteed for $24,000. It wasn’t the biggest cash of his career or the flashiest, but it helped him barrel past $1.5 million in tracked MTT winnings in his PocketFives profile. We really get a kick out of Grafton’s accent, so we sat down with him to talk about his recent poker career. Luckily for us, he was 12-tabling, but gave us coherent quotes nonetheless.

PocketFives: Thanks for joining us. Give us your take on the PartyPoker $200K. Why do you play it and how does it feel to make its final table?

Sam Grafton: The thing that’s really nice is that there are certain tournaments you play that you know are good values. The Party major is one of those. When it pops up to register, you know it’s a juicy and soft tournament. There is a lot of variance and it’s hard to get paid out. When that value is converted into dollars in your account, it’s a good feeling. I’ve seen British poker pros get paid out in this tournament before, but I have not done anything. It’s really nice to see my PartyPoker account going up.

PocketFives: You chopped a $2,100 No Limit Hold’em SCOOP tournament earlier this year and banked $240,000. That had to leave you with a good feeling.

Sam Grafton: I got $240,000, the largest amount in the chop. I had an overwhelming chip lead five-handed and got it in with top set against two overcards and a flush draw. I insta-turned a house and that was the happiest turn card of my poker career. Then, I doubled up a couple of people, pressed the deal button, and it came up. We chopped it on ICM with $20,000 to play for. I ran badly three-handed, so that vindicated the decision to chop. It reminded me how much variance there is three-handed. I had a Vegas trip coming up and it was important for me to lock up cash.

PocketFives: Are you normally a fan of chopping?

Sam Grafton: It was a strange circumstance where I had about 30% of the chips in play. With five people left, I could get a little more than second place by chopping. It’s a unique place where you can do a five-handed chop and be in such a strong negotiating position. The payouts are super steep on Party. It has to do with you, your opponents, and your negotiating position.

PocketFives: Would you suggest that PartyPoker’s staff change their payout structure?

Sam Grafton: In general, we want steep payouts, but they are taking it to an extreme. They want that big number at the top because that’s what gets recreational players playing, but it’s quite remarkable. However, at the end of the day, as an aggressive player and a reg, you’re playing for a win more than your opponents, so a top-heavy structure should suit you.

PocketFives: You told us that the beginning of the interview that you are 12-tabling and talking to us at the same time. How is that possible?

Sam Grafton: I’ve done this so many days now that you reach a level of comfort. It’s really once you get deep that you need to pay attention. At the beginning of a session, I’m not doing anything out of line. At 15/30 in the Big $22, I am pretty comfortable with my decisions, so I can chat. There will occasionally be a difficult spot.

By the way, last night, we did the draw for our teams for WCOOP for an all-English league. I drew Chris moorman1Moorman (pictured) and Tom hitthehole Middleton. It was a random draw too. Can you run better than that? It’s $300 per man and I think I’m just printing money.

PocketFives: Did you go to any of the 2012 Olympic Games since you’re a member of the England pokercommunity?

Sam Grafton: I did. I went to see basketball, which was really great. It was really nice because I got back from Vegas in time for the buildup. I live in London and there was a great feeling in the city. The British team did exceptionally well this year.

PocketFives: Remind us how you got started in poker.

Sam Grafton: I played live cash at a little club in East London. I was at the club, someone sent me money on Full Tilt Poker, I two-tabled, and chopped a $24 freezeout for $7,500. That was my bankroll. I three-tabled and four-tabled, which I was impressed with myself for being able to do, and if I lost money on the session, I’d play heads-up cash to make it back. Somehow I survived like that until I got an FTOPS chop.

PocketFives: We saw you had three cashes at this year’s WSOP. Talk about your time at this year’s tournament series.

Sam Grafton: I had a really good time. Craig mcc3991McCorkell won a bracelet. He’s one of my closest friends. My roommate Christopher NigDawG Brammer final tabled the $10K Six-Max event. So, morale was high on the trip. I got 28th in the $1,500 Re-Entry and that was frustrating, but overall, it was a great trip.

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