Neil Channing
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Name:
Neil Channing
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DOB:
12th Sep 1967
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Birth Place:
Reading, Berks
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Sponsor:
BlackBeltPoker.com
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Screen Name:
NeilChanning (BlackBeltPoker)
Biography
Neil “Bad Beat” Channing is one of the most highly-regarded players on the UK scene. A long-time denizen of the “The Vic” in London, Channing was an on-course bookmaker and sports bettor before he decided to concentrate on poker as a full-time career.
Following the demise of his business 2002, however, Neil found himself severely in debt and turned to online sportsbetting in order to get himself out of a hole. He made £380,000 in 20 months and was able pay off most of his debts, but was severely burnt out.
Then, following an almost fatal brush with acute pancreatitis, Neil found himself broke again, but was able to build his poker bankroll up by playing afternoon tournaments – £50 rebuy or £80 freezeouts – at the Vic, because the medication he was taking for his illness knocked him out by 8pm.
All that grinding eventually paid off when, in 2008, Neil won the Irish Open for €801,400. That same year, he cashed an incredible nine times in the WSOP. As of January 2013 he has amassed $3.3m in tournament winnings.
Neil is an equally adept cash and tournament player. In 2009, he launched online poker site BlackBeltPoker.com, for which he writes a colourful blog. He has also been a figurehead columnist for Bluff Europe since 2006.
Neil Channing Bluff Europe articles
Neil Channing Interview: Bad Beats
Greatest Hands