Barny M. Boatman (born 10 January 1956 in

St Pancras, London St Pancras () is a district in North London. It was originally a medieval Civil parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish and subsequently became a metropolitan borough. The metropolitan borough then merged with neighbouring boroughs and the are ...

) is an English professional

poker Poker is a family of Card game#Comparing games, comparing card games in which Card player, players betting (poker), wager over which poker hand, hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, with varying rules i ...

player and the oldest member of the poker-playing foursome known as

The Hendon Mob The Hendon Mob are a group of four professional poker players from London, England: Joe Beevers, Barny Boatman, Ross Boatman, and Ram Vaswani. The name of the group was first publicised by the ''Evening Standard'' newspaper in September 2000 ...

. He is the older brother of

Ross Boatman Ross Maxim Boatman (born 3 March 1964) is an English actor, professional poker player and a member of the poker-playing group the Hendon Mob. He is known for the role of firefighter Kevin Medhurst in the ITV (TV channel), ITV drama series ''Lon ...

, and resides in Archway. During his lengthy poker career, Boatman became one of the pioneers of

poker on television Poker television programs had been extremely popular, especially in North America and Europe, following the poker boom. This has especially become the case since the invention of the " pocket cam" in 1997 (and its first use in the United States in 2 ...

by regularly appearing in the

Late Night Poker ''Late Night Poker'' is a British television series that helped popularize poker in the 2000s. It used "under the table" cameras that enabled the viewer to see each player's cards. The show originally ran for six series between 1999 and 2002. ...

television series. He was also the first person to reach three consecutive final tables at the

World Series of Poker The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is a series of poker tournaments held annually in Paradise, Nevada, and since 2004, sponsored by Eldorado Resorts, Caesars Entertainment. It dates its origins to 1970, when Benny Binion invited seven of the best ...

(WSOP), and came close to winning a WSOP bracelet. In 2013, Boatman won his first career World Series of Poker bracelet in Event #49, $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em, winning $546,080. In February 2024, Boatman won the European Poker Tour Paris main event for €1,287,800, his largest live cash to date. As of February 2024, he has over $5.4 million in live tournament winnings.

Early years

Boatman grew up to

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

parents in

Somers Town, London Somers Town is an inner-city district in North West London. It has been strongly influenced by the three mainline north London railway termini: Euston (1838), St Pancras (1868) and King's Cross (1852), together with the Midland Railway Some ...

. He left school at his earliest opportunity, following pressure from his ongoing

truancy Truancy is any intentional, unjustified, unauthorized, or illegal absence from compulsory education. It is a deliberate absence by a student's own free will and usually does not refer to legitimate excused absences, such as ones related to medic ...

. He went on to travel for some time early in his life, and has both lived and worked in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, Australia,

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

, and

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. He has worked as a

bartender A bartender (also known as a barkeep or barman or barmaid or a mixologist) is a person who formulates and serves alcoholic or soft drink beverages behind the Bar (establishment), bar, usually in a licensed bar (establishment), establishment as ...

builder Builder may refer to: Construction * Construction worker, who specializes in building work * Carpenter, a skilled craftsman who works with wood * General contractor, that specializes in building work ** Subcontractor * Real estate developer, who ...

, English teacher,

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

computer programmer A programmer, computer programmer or coder is an author of computer source code someone with skill in computer programming. The professional titles ''software developer'' and ''software engineer'' are used for jobs that require a progr ...

(for P&O), and as a legal advisor in

Bermondsey Bermondsey ( ) is a district in southeast London, part of the London Borough of Southwark, England, southeast of Charing Cross. To the west of Bermondsey lies Southwark, to the east Rotherhithe and Deptford, to the south Walworth and Peckham, ...

, where he never lost a trial. He credits a

near-death experience A near-death experience (NDE) is a profound personal experience associated with death or impending death, which researchers describe as having similar characteristics. When positive, which the great majority are, such experiences may encompa ...

he had in a

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar from a saddle-style ...

accident, and the death of his younger sister Jo from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

of giving him a sense of perspective in life. Boatman's

hobbies A hobby is considered to be a regular activity that is done for enjoyment, typically during one's leisure time. Hobbies include collecting themed items and objects, engaging in creative and artistic pursuits, playing sports, or pursuing other ...

include

sky diving Parachuting and skydiving are methods of descending from a high point in an atmosphere to the ground or ocean surface with the aid of gravity, involving the control of speed during the descent using a parachute or multiple parachutes. For hu ...

snowboarding Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralym ...

, and

scuba diving Scuba diving is a Diving mode, mode of underwater diving whereby divers use Scuba set, breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface breathing gas supply, and therefore has a limited but variable endurance. The word ''scub ...

. He is the godfather to his brother Ross' son. Boatman used to play poker at home with friends and later taught his brother,

Ross Ross may refer to: People and fictional characters * Ross (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Ross, as well as the meaning * Clan Ross, a Highland Scottish clan Places Antarctica * Ross Sea ...

, how to play. They began to attend

poker tournament A poker tournament is a tournament where players compete by playing poker. It can feature as few as two players playing on a single table (called a " heads-up" tournament), and as many as tens of thousands of players playing on thousands of tabl ...

s together at the Vic on

Edgware Road Edgware Road is a major road in London, England. The route originated as part of Roman Watling Street and, unusually in London, it runs for in an almost perfectly straight line. Forming part of the modern A5 road, Edgware Road undergoes sever ...

, where he won the first tournament he entered, a

seven-card stud Seven-card stud, also known as Seven-Toed Pete or Down-The-River, is a variant of stud poker. Before the 2000s surge of popularity of Texas hold 'em, seven-card stud was one of the most widely played poker variants in home games across the Unite ...

event paying around £2,000. Together they went to a private poker game run by

Joe Beevers Joseph Charles Beevers (born 9 December 1967 in Marylebone, London) is an English professional poker player and a member of The Hendon Mob. During his lengthy poker career, Beevers became one of the pioneers of poker on television by appearing ...

and

Ram Vaswani Ram "Crazy Horse" Vaswani (born 1 September 1970, from Finchley, Greater London) a former professional poker player and the youngest member of The Hendon Mob, a group of professional poker players. He resides in Finchley with his wife Jackie a ...

, with whom they became good friends. The four went on to be called The Hendon Mob. Together, they were invited by

Nic Szeremeta Nic Szeremeta (1943 – 25 January 2021) was a poker player of English and Polish descent, the publisher of ''Poker Europa'' magazine, and creator of the ''Late Night Poker'' television series (and commentator with Jesse May during its first t ...

to take part in the brand new ''

television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

, where he reached the Grand Finals in series 3 and 4. During series 5 and 6, he commentated for the show, alongside

Jesse May Jesse May (born 1971) is an American poker Sportscaster, commentator and player. Jesse May was born in New York City in 1971 and raised in Madison, New Jersey, where he first became hooked on poker playing with friends. In 1988, he started atten ...

Poker career

World Series of Poker

Boatman first cashed in a

(WSOP) event in

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

in the $3,000 no limit

hold'em Texas hold 'em (also known as Texas holdem, hold 'em, and holdem) is the most popular variant of the card game of poker. Two cards, known as hole cards, are dealt face down to each player, and then five Community card poker, community cards ...

event. 4 days later he finished

in the money ''In the Money'' is a 1958 American comedy film directed by William Beaudine and starring The Bowery Boys. The film was released on February 16, 1958, by Monogram Pictures, Allied Artists Pictures and is the 48th and final film in the series. It ...

in the $10,000 no limit hold'em main event, finishing in 16th place. (According to the

James McManus } James "Jim" McManus (born March 22, 1951) is an Americans, American teacher, writer and poker player living in Kenilworth, Illinois. He is a professor in the Master of Fine Arts program for writers at the Art Institute of Chicago. Poker and ' ...

book ''Positively Fifth Street'', he was the chip leader for much of the tournament.) He also finished

of the main event in

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

(33rd) and

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

(854th). Boatman narrowly missed out on a

WSOP bracelet The World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet is considered the most coveted non-monetary prize a poker player can win. Since 1976, a bracelet has been awarded to the winner of every event at the annual WSOP. Even if the victory occurred before 1976 ...

in the

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

$2,000

pot limit In the game of poker, the play largely centers on the act of betting, and as such, a protocol has been developed to speed up play, lessen confusion, and increase security while playing. Different games are played using different types of bets, ...

hold'em event. His runner-up finish earned him $77,160 after outlasting a field including

Erik Seidel Erik Seidel (born November 6, 1959) is an American professional poker player from Las Vegas, Nevada, Las Vegas, Nevada, who has won ten World Series of Poker bracelets and a World Poker Tour title. In 2010, he was inducted into the Poker Hall o ...

Johnny Chan Johnny Chan (;He has another Chinese name "Chen Qiangni" () which is also commonly used by Chinese-language media. It is a transliteration of "Johnny Chan" (as "Chen" for "Chan", "Qiangni" for "Johnny") rather than his Chinese birth name. (b ...

, Phil Gordon, and

John Juanda Johnson "John" Juanda (born 8 July 1971) is an Indonesian professional poker player of Chinese descent based in Tokyo, Japan. He has won five World Series of Poker bracelets. Personal life Juanda was born into a Hoklo family in Medan, North ...

. This 2nd-place finish was one of a record three back-to-back final tables, which earned him a win in the European Poker Awards Tournament Performance of the Year category. He also finished one place off a fourth consecutive final table. At the 2013 WSOP, Boatman bested a field of 2,247 entries to win Event #49, $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em. He defeated Brian O'Donoghue in a three-hour, back-and-forth heads-up match to win his first bracelet and $546,080. Boatman also won another bracelet in 2015, at the World Series Of Poker Europe, in Berlin, Germany. He won Event #7, €550 Pot Limit Omaha for €54,725.

Other poker activities

Boatman made the final table of the first

Poker Million The Poker Million has been a televised European poker tournament since its inception in November 2000. The final debuted to 30 million viewers and has since remained popular. It was created by UK gaming outfit Ladbrokes with the help of sports pr ...

tournament. He also made the final table of the first ever Showdown Poker Tour event, finishing runner-up to Mats Gavatin. His major titles include: * L. 500,000 limit seven-card stud, 7th Torneo Di Poker, Slovenia, 1998 * FIM 1,000 pot limit Holdem/

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

, Helsinki Freezeout, 1999 * £500 pot limit seven-card stud, European Poker Championships 2002 * $300 pot limit Omaha, Four Queens Poker Classic 2003 * €1,500 no limit hold'em, Helsinki Freezeout, 2003 * £500 no limit hold'em, Luton Christmas Cracker, 2003 * €5,300 no limit hold'em, EPT Paris, 2024 In 2005, Boatman appeared on the chatshow ''

Heads Up with Richard Herring ''Heads Up with Richard Herring'' or ''HUWRH'', is a British celebrity chat show written by and starring Richard Herring, who is best known as one half of comedy duo Lee and Herring, the stars of BBC Two shows ''Fist of Fun'' and '' This Morning ...

'' to discuss his life, career, and his love of poker. In addition to Late Night Poker, he has commentated for Poker Million,

World Heads-Up Poker Championship The World Heads-Up Poker Championship (WHUPC) was an annual elimination-format poker tournament of heads-up no limit Texas hold'em matches. The tournament was co-created by Late Night Poker's Nic Szeremeta, PokerInEurope's Jon Shoreman, and gaming ...

Celebrity Poker Club ''Celebrity Poker Club'' is a British television series featuring celebrities playing poker. It aired on Challenge for three series from 2003 to 2005 as a spin-off from Channel 4's popular '' Late Night Poker'' series. Liam Flood was the casin ...

European Poker Tour The European Poker Tour (EPT) is a series of poker Poker tournament, tournaments created by John Duthie (poker player), John Duthie, winner of the inaugural Poker Million tournament. It began in 2004 as part of the worldwide explosion in Texas ...

Poker Nations Cup The Poker Nations Cup is an international poker tournament, televised on Channel 4 from March 2006 onwards. The series is commentated by Jesse May and Barny Boatman. Padraig Parkinson covered for Boatman in preliminary match 2. The series was ...

, and

Victor Chandler Poker Cup The Victor Chandler Poker Cup (often abbreviated to The Victor Poker Cup or The VC Poker Cup) was a poker tournament held in 2004 and 2005 in England for broadcast on Sky Sports. The £5,000 buy-in event commenced in 2004 and is played out in a n ...

. He also starred in his own series "Barny's Home Games" where he attended home poker games throughout Great Britain. As of 2024, his total live tournament winnings exceed $5,475,000. In addition, Boatman is a member of the

Gutshot Card Club The Gutshot Poker Club (also known as The Gutshot Poker Collective or simply The Gutshot) was a poker club, bar, restaurant and internet cafe located on Clerkenwell Road, London, England. The club opened in March 2004 and closed in 2007. It was f ...

and was sponsored by

Full Tilt Poker Full Tilt Poker is an Irish online poker card room and online casino that opened in June 2004. Formerly privately owned by Tiltware, LLC and later by the Rational Entertainment Group, the site was acquired by The Stars Group (then known as Amaya ...

. He has written over 50 articles for The Hendon Mob's website, and two online poker lessons for

Matthew Hilger Matthew Hilger is an American professional poker player and author from Atlanta, Georgia. He also operates his own poker-related website. Early years Prior to poker, Hilger graduated from University of Georgia with a Bachelor's degree in Fin ...

's site Internettexasholdem.com.

References

External links

Card Player profileHendon Mob profilePoker News profileWPT profileWSOP profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boatman, Barny 1956 births World Series of Poker bracelet winners European Poker Tour winners Poker commentators The Hendon Mob People from Archway, London Sportspeople from the London Borough of Islington People from St Pancras, London Sportspeople from the London Borough of Camden Living people Date of birth missing (living people) Poker players from London