I may have mentioned Nik Persaud in passing in some of my previous columns, but I think it's about time he had one dedicated to himself. Londoner Nik has been the most consistent player on the Grosvenor UK Poker Tour during its short 18-month existence. At the very first event in Bolton in January 2007 he finished 10th, just missing the televised final table by one place. Later in the inaugural year of the tour, he went deep on two further occasions, resulting in another 10th-place finish (Luton) and a 16th-place exit (Brighton). He was especially unlucky at the Luton event where, with 10 players left, he went from chip leader to busted out in the space of two consecutive hands, suffering horrible outdraws in both. At one point, the tour looked set to rename the bubble "The Persaud" in honor of Nik's extraordinary ability to just barely miss out.
While many players would be disillusioned by such consistent near-misses and put on lifetime tilt, Nik took these defeats well and used them to spur himself on to better results. This year he has well and truly put the disappointments of last year behind him, and has made the final table in three of the four GUKPT main events that have taken place so far. In January he finished sixth in the opening event of the year in Brighton, following this up with a fourth-place finish a month later in Walsall. Most recently he finished runner-up to Marc 'Mr Cool' Goodwin at the fourth leg of the tour in Manchester. The graciousness with which Nik accepted his defeat prompted leg winner Goodwin to call for a standing ovation for the young player during the post-event interview. Nik now tops the tour's ranking list and has been installed as the early favorite to take the £10,000 first prize if he can stay there until the end of the year.
Nik has only been playing poker since 2003, but took to it like a duck to water. He gave up his previous life as managing director of his own recruitment company in 2005 to become a full-time pro. He won multiple packages to the WSOP in 2005 and cashed, finishing in 423rd place in the main event-but it's in the UK where he has had the majority of his money finishes. Although he has yet to win a major event, the groundwork he has put in at the GUKPT suggests that this first victory may not be far away. Nik puts his recent success down to the hard work he has put in to improve his game:
"I've started to play a really technically solid style of poker. Sometimes when I deviate from this I end up playing badly, but now I'm playing what I would call a 'Two Plus Two' game and the results speak for themselves, both live and online. This has convinced me to use this style of play as a foundation to improve my game further and get even bigger and better results."
Nik also recognizes that to play successfully over a long period of time, he will have to adapt and change his game, as there is rarely one single winning formula that remains constant in the world of poker. The game is continually evolving and although Nik has managed to find the right way to beat the tournaments of today, he is also well-equipped to change when it becomes necessary, so he can beat the games of tomorrow. After playing in Leg 5 of the GUKPT in Newcastle this May, Nik is heading to Vegas for the WSOP.
