Player Focus: "JP 5-time/MavFish"

Live or online one of the best young players in the UK today is JP Kelly, who at 20 is only just old enough to set foot in a casino.

But since he formally became an adult setting foot in casinos is seemingly all that the youngster has done. So far he has won or placed high enough in tournaments to take down nearly £200k.

His biggest offline win to date has been in the £1,500 NLH main event of ‘Springfest 2006’ at the Grosvenor Casino in Luton back in April 2006. He trousered £50k for that and followed it up with a £14,500 win at a tournament in London’s Sportsman Casino, 24th place in the Barcelona EPT event in September (good for $14k), and more recently, £15k in a £1,000 NLH tournament during the Northern Lights Festival at the Grosvenor Casino in Blackpool in November last year.

He’s a formidable online player too and if you run into him on PokerStars give him a wide berth or pay him a lot of respect in you enter pots with him. You will find him playing as either “JP 5-time” on PokerStars or “MavFish” on UltimateBet and Full Tilt.

If he’s done well playing when he can see the whites of his opponents’ eyes he’s equalled it on the online baize. Since the start of September 2006 he has notched up online tournament winnings of close to $200k, notably finishing 5th in the PokerStars Sunday Million (the week it was a $500 buy-in event at the end of November), which added $53k to his bankroll.

This tremendous performance has had fellow pros marveling at the kid’s success. When questioned about which of the hundreds of good players on the circuit stood out and who he tipped for future success, poker pro Paul ‘Action’ Jackson replied: “The best I have seen by a long way is JP Kelly and if you talk to him about poker it is easy to appreciate that he knows what he is talking about”.

Keith “The Camel” Hawkins described JP after he won his first ranking event as “one of the best young players I have seen for a long long time”

If you’re going to tangle with “JP 5-time” or “MavFish” there are some things you need to know about the way he plays.

He reckons the best way to get a good start in a tournament is to put yourself in situations where you can take someone’s entire stack. In a recent interview, he said: “To do that you have to play the right kind of hand, not things like K-Q and K-J. You don’t want to play those. Play hands like small pairs and suited connectors and then try to get into a good spot where you can grab a lot of chips. I’ll play connected cards with a couple of gaps as well – and not necessarily suited.”

If you’re deep in the PokerStars Sunday Million with him you should know that he is likely to make a move on the turn. He says he often calls on the flop with a speculative hand like a gutshot straight with over-cards – something like J-9 on a 7-8-2 board – and then he sees what his opponent does on the turn.

“I’d look to hit, and if they make a big bet I might let it go, but otherwise I’d be inclined to make a move. And if the board pairs I might represent trips,” he says.

It is a strategy that has clearly served him well. This summer he will just be old enough to sit in a Vegas casino so we can expect a bold showing from him at the WSOP.

Until then, trawling round the UK in search of high stakes action looks to be on the agenda which means forays to places like Blackpool, Luton, Brighton and Walsall.

Vegas is better, JP. But we’re sure you’ll find that out for yourself in due course.

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