Nice article in the Canadian Paper Today.

Practice pays for poker prodigy

Waterloo student wins $1.3 million

Rookie player has `odds worked out'

Jan. 12, 2006. 05:11 AM

ALWYNNE GWILT

STAFF REPORTER

It wasn't beginner's luck that won student Steve Paul-Ambrose $1.3 million (U.S.) at his first major poker tournament. It was skill, something he's been honing for the past two years.

The 22-year-old business and science major at the University of Waterloo spends up to four hours a day with roommate Aaron Coulthard, working at what they consider their part-time job: Internet poker.

And the practice paid off on Paradise Island in the Bahamas this week, when Paul-Ambrose took the top prize in the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure at the Atlantis Casino Resort.

Back home in the basement of the townhouse they share, "the set-up they've got is amazing," said Todd Coulthard, Aaron's 20-year-old brother and the third roommate.

"They go and play maybe three and four hours a day and it's really intense because they're calculating everything, they have all the figures and the odds worked out. It's not just like they're fooling around."

The partners play after classes, tackling eight games at a time on two large computer screens.

The two, who taught themselves to play poker two years ago, calculate every move they make; they even have spreadsheets to track wins and losses.

"The thing is they're very smart kids ... and they've put a lot of time into it," said Todd, a Waterloo arts student. "They feed off each other. They're a good learning pair."

Both Coulthard, 22, and Paul-Ambrose won trips to the tournament, organized by online gaming site PokerStars. They managed to avoid the $8,000 fee by winning a series of online contests that cost just $102 to enter.

Coulthard lost out on the first day, and Paul-Ambrose thought he would, too.

"It was a professional tournament and they thought they'd be out ... and they'd just enjoy the sun," said Todd.

But Paul-Ambrose went on to beat more than 700 players for the grand prize. He also captured a $25,000 seat in the World Poker Tour's championship tournament, which will be played in Las Vegas in April.

"My jaw was down for a good 30 minutes or so. It was amazing," said Todd, laughing.

George Ambrose said the win surprised him â€â€