A massive year from 2012-13 kickstarted a life in poker for Ian Simpson. He finished fourth in the Irish Open Main Event for €107,500 in 2012 and then won the event a year later for €265,000.
Later in the year, the English poker sensation scored a runner-up as well in a $1,100 EPT/UKIPT Main Event for another €265,000. A sponsorship offer came with that success and Simpson has been playing professionally ever since.
Now with $1.1 million in live tournament winnings, another big opportunity recently came his way. 888poker signed him as an ambassador in May and he’s looking forward to promoting the brand.
“It’s hard to articulate how I feel,” he told PokerScout. “To be approached by a company as big as 888 is extremely flattering. I’d had several results on the client and that coupled with being on Twitch got me noticed. I’m looking forward to an exciting future with them.”
Turning up his 888poker Twitch streaming
Part of Simpson’s new role with 888 involves plenty of Twitch streaming. The company has added significantly to that part of its lineup in recent years.
Simpson, 36, looks forward to being a part of that on his own channel. Some serious strategy streams will be part of the mix as well as creating content away from the virtual tables.
“I’ll be streaming four days a week,” he says. “I intend to do some learning streams alongside the usual multi-table tournament grind. 888poker has a solid stream team that I can’t wait to create content with.
“I’ll also be attending a lot of the 888poker LIVE events. Being back at the live felt after the pandemic has reinvigorated my love for live poker. I don’t think I’d really understood just how big a gap in my life there was without live poker, so I’m especially excited to be visiting interesting cities and playing all over the world again.”
♠️♦️ANNOUNCEMENT ♣️♥️ pic.twitter.com/hFznPfVPTi
— Ian Simpson (@IanSimpsonPoker) May 21, 2022
A life in poker
Simpson grew up in the town of Cramlington in Northumberland, England, but now lives in Newcastle. Before launching into poker full time, he taught high school biology. Online poker has now taken the place of the classroom.
His poker routine usually involves playing online four nights a week into the wee hours of the morning. Family commitments can make that plan a bit inconsistent however.
“The rest of the week, to spend time with my family, I need to be awake early, which isn’t something many poker players are keen to do,” he says. “It’s worth it though, my daughter and my wife are so important to me and poker is how I make my living to support them.”
When it comes to poker goals, Simpson focuses more on his play rather than any major achievement or event. Growing his streaming audience also remains a priority as well.
“My goals for poker have been the same since I went professional, which is to make the best decisions I can for every spot I get involved with,” he says. “I’ve been streaming poker now for five years, so an additional goal is to keep growing my existing community.”
Away from the poker table, computer games occupy some of his time and Simpson also enjoys reading the popular Warhammer 40,000 science fiction books. Spending time with his daughter Adeline is also important.
With so much poker underway this summer, both live and online, Simpson offers a bit of advice for recreational players or those new to the game.
“Study! There are so many free resources out there to tune up your game,” he says. “Time is precious nowadays with everyone working so many hours to make ends meet, but even 30 minutes of study a week can give you that little bit of an edge over people who don’t put in that time, letting your hobby make you money.”
With his Twitch streams, Simpson hopes to be a part of his own community’s strategy sessions.