In a career spanning nearly two decades and accumulated earnings of over £10 million, Sam Grafton is one of England’s most prolific poker players. A local lad, born and raised right here in Leamington Spa, let’s take a look at how Grafton became one of the country’s best card sharks.
Grafton’s First Tournaments
Like many Brits, Sam Grafton started by playing poker online. This isn’t surprising when you consider that Britain (and nearby Ireland) is home to some of the biggest iGaming companies in the world. Today, it’s easy to go online and find a guide to the best UK slots online. Besides themed slot classics like Starburst or Mega Moolah, poker players can find and play tables over the internet, and that’s exactly how Sam Grafton got his start.
Having moved to London, Grafton’s first cash placing came in 2009, at a relatively humble £150 London Poker Masters event. He placed sixth, taking home a £1,000 prize. Proving his ability to make some money playing poker, Grafton went further into the UK’s poker scene by competing in the Grosvenor Poker Tour. He did better that time, placing fourth for a prize of over £10,000.
His First Six-Figure Win
Like many pro poker players, Grafton journeyed to America to try his hand at the World Series of Poker tournaments in Las Vegas. These bouts were met with varying levels of success – his 2011 debut saw him finish 14th at the $2,500 No Limit Hold’em Six Handed tournament, for a £12,000 prize. Subsequent showings in 2012, 2013, and 2017 failed to break that record.
Grafton’s first #1 placement came in 2012 when he returned home to England for the Grosvenor UK Poker Tour London Grand Final. He won the whole event, taking home more than £80,000 for his trouble. In dollars, it was also his first six-figure win. In pounds, he’d have to wait until the 2018 Partypoker LIVE Millions £5,000 + 300 No Limit Hold’em event – he placed fifth for over £150,000. 2017 and 2018 proved transformative for Grafton – he regards it as a turning point in his career where he increased his net worth by 100x.
Breaking Into The Top Five
To date, Grafton’s biggest win is the $5.5 million (£3.6 million) pot at the 2022 $200,000 No Limit Hold’em event of Cyprus’ Triton Poker Super High Roller Series. After placing second at a previous event a few days beforehand (for over £650,000), Grafton entered the next event and went all the way. By doing this, he broke the $10 million mark in total prize money and claimed the second-largest prize pot won by an English person. It also helped Sam break into the top five for all-time money.
Since then, Grafton has had continued success winning five-figure and six-figure prizes all over Europe, with the best prizes coming from his English tournaments. Grafton rarely plays in the USA, and he is yet to claim a WSOP bracelet, so it remains to be seen if he’ll be able to leave his mark on the world’s biggest poker tournament in the future.
Article written by Ben Spencer
