A couple of weeks ago, U.K. poker pro Toby 810ofclubsLewis (pictured) came away with a win in the PartyPoker $200,000 Guaranteedand took home north of $47,000. It was somewhat small potatoes for Lewis, who has over $2.4 million in tracked online MTT cashes in his PocketFives profile and final tabled the 2011 PokerStars SCOOP Main Event for $167,000. Lewis’ name has popped up in plenty of interviews over our time, so we thought we’d take this opportunity to get to know the man who goes by 810ofclubs.

PocketFives: Great job taking down the PartyPoker weekly major. Tell us how the tournament went in general.

Toby Lewis: Party and I haven’t got along very well lately, but I started pretty well in this tournament. I got to three times the starting stack quite early and was pretty patient throughout. On the bubble, I had around 60,000 at 600-1,200, so I was comfortable. Nothing much happened after the bubble and I was getting shorter with 80 to 100 people out. Then, I got a double up and stayed around the average stack from then until around 20 to 25 out.

I spun that into a big stack, but made two bad plays when we were two tables out that got me short. I grinded back up to 5-of-10 entering the final table and then held with Q-Q against J-J and a short stack’s A-K, which got me to around 1.2 million in chips with 5.5 million in play five-handed.

The players weren’t great, so I was patient and didn’t get out of line too much. I got three-handed, stepped it up a bit more, and then got heads-up and rivered quad threes when the other guy bluffed a missed flush draw.

PocketFives: You said the players weren’t very skilled. Tell us about the field and the fields on PartyPoker in general.

Toby Lewis: PartyPoker fields have always been pretty soft, but smaller now than ever, so there are fewer fish. I guess I got lucky that I had a soft final table. PartyPoker doesn’t put enough work into their schedules and such, which is why PokerStars is a world apart from everyone else.

PocketFives: How did you get started in poker?

Toby Lewis: I started playing when I was at college and saw it on TV with friends. We played £5 sit and gos all night and also played a bit online. When I turned 18, I started going to the local casino. When college finished that summer, I suspended my university placement for a year and started grinding online – cash games at first and then live tournaments with some success. Then, I moved to online MTTs.

PocketFives: Do you regret your university decision? Do you have any plans to go?

Toby Lewis: Part of the reason I didn’t go was because I wasn’t excited about it and didn’t know what I wanted to do for a career, so I don’t regret it. I’ve seen so many amazing places in the world and had a great time doing it.

PocketFives: Since you’ve traveled a lot, what’s your favorite live poker venue?

Toby Lewis: In the U.K., probably the Palm Beach Casino in London. Worldwide, it has to be the Crown Casino in Melbourne. That is the best place I’ve ever been. Melbourne is a great city – weather, people, food, the value poker-wise is great, and I have friends there. If it weren’t for EPT events and the Euro circuit, I would live there.

PocketFives: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your poker game and why?

Toby Lewis: When I first started, I met a friend at the casino who was beating £5/£10 No Limit Hold’em cash games online for heaps. He taught me a lot. Notables other than that are the U.K. guys I’ve traveled and talked hands with over the last few years. NigDawGand I are from the same town and have been friends from the start – also mcc3991, TheSquid, floppinhel, neverbluff67, pez102, AshTheDonkey, moorman1(pictured), and badpab2. It’s all of the U.K. heroes basically.

PocketFives: That is a lot of poker talent. Leave us with one piece of advice for up-and-coming poker players.

Toby Lewis: Don’t over-complicate the game. If you think logically, you’ll improve a lot just through playing more. I improve and learn new strategies every session.