Royal Ascot ITV star's secret talent away from horse racing saw him win £83k
ITV Racing presenter Oli Bell once faced a dilemma over whether to pursue a broadcasting career. He had a choice between working in TV or committing himself to online poker tournaments.
Bell is set for a busy week as ITV hosts coverage from Royal Ascot. The 38-year-old will present the Opening Show on ITV 4 daily during the festival. With a family background in sports broadcasting and horse training, Bell was arguably destined to become a racing presenter, and he will look forward to seeing the action unfold at Royal Ascot.
However, during his time as a tea boy at Racing TV, Bell discovered he had a natural flair for poker. He ultimately chose to focus on his TV career before returning to poker years later. Bell claimed his biggest win at this year's UK Poker Championship in Nottingham as one of the final six players who agreed to split the prize money and walked away with £83,500.
"In Nottingham, I didn't want to be noticed,' Bell told The Telegraph."I wanted them to think I was a professional poker player who was really hard to read.
'On the first table, a lass from Birmingham says, 'Oi, you look just like Oli Bell from the racing.' I apologised and said, 'Yep, that is me.' But when it got to the final table, everyone who was a racing fan was cheering me on.'
Bell's passion for poker evolved from playing with his family for matchsticks at Christmas to winning tournaments among colleagues in his early days at Racing TV. He began earning more than his salary in online games, but faced a tough choice when he was offered a new job in Australia.
'The first three years, I was playing online and ended up going through the grades,' Bell recalled. 'Typically, tournaments would last from 6pm on Sunday 'til 8am on Monday to fit in with US time, and my brother would sit keeping me awake.
'I'd always have work on a Monday and I'd roll into the office having had zero sleep making the worst cups of tea for [TV presenter] Nick Luck but having won considerably more than I was earning!'
When a new racing channel in Australia offered him a job, Bell decided to call time on his fledgling poker career. 'I had the conversation,' he admitted. 'Did I give up the presenting dream and just do poker?
'I did the sensible thing and went to Australia for three years. Because of the time zones, I parked poker. I'd had a great run, it was a moment in my life and that was that.'
Bell may have viewed his initial poker success as a moment in time, but he was a skilled novice. After being persuaded to play in poker tournaments for one of his colleagues, Bell won £7,000 on his first trip to a casino. He was also once sent to Las Vegas a day ahead of a stag do with $1,000 and made $5,000 for the party to spend during their trip.
Despite spending years away from poker, Bell's love for the game was reignited during lockdown. He discovered that he had not lost his skills, which Bell believes have also helped in his broadcasting career.
'I had some decent results so I knew I could still make a living from it,' Bell explained. 'I've still got it. I have no idea what 'it' is – it is like why is Ryan Moore a better jockey? I seem to have an instinct for knowing what I've got in my hand, knowing if I'm in a good or bad spot. It's the same as a jockey.
'My school report for maths said I was the worst my teacher had taught in 50 years. I'm not a maths genius in any sense. But I'm a complete nerd and geek at poker and it complements the day job because it has taught me so many skills that I use in my career.
'One of my strengths is chatting to anyone, the Queen at Ascot or someone having a pint with mates. Playing poker, you sit at a table and have to work out people from all walks of life, from different countries, religions, backgrounds, you have to read the room, know when to press someone for an answer or ease off.
'For all that it's a degenerate hobby, it's a lucrative one and it has shaped me as a broadcaster. It helps me in day-to-day life and in my profession.'
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