Neil Channing - the 'Gent of Poker'

@Neil Channing has been in the news a lot the past month - in connection with the closure of his Black Belt Poker site and his nominations in three categories in the British Poker Awards - Best Blogger, Poker Personality of the Year, and Best Social Media User.

Neil Channing is best known as the winner of the 2008 Irish Open but he has since accumulated live winnings of nearly $3,300,000. He’s also come to be called Neil ‘Bad Beat’ Channing and has two notable second places at @World Series of Poker events in 2010 and 2012. A beautifully written account by Nolan Dalla of the 2012 WSOP heads-up  is a must read and draws a great portrait of the man and the player.

In April 2009 Channing launched the Black Belt Poker cardroom, which was a skin on the iPoker network and offered an original internal grading system, with progress from green, through blue and brown, to the ultimate black belt, and a wide range of belt-specific prizes (typically tournament packages).

Fans of Channing and of BlackBeltPoker.com were very saddened by the news in February that the site was to be closed - the last event took place on Friday, Feb. 28th. Channing’s social media pages are full of touching comments and appreciation for his year-long efforts and dedication to poker.

Before turning professional, Neil Channing worked as a bookmaker at UK racecourses and he is the co-founder of Betting Emporium - a site offering betting tips and training. Channing is a regular contributor on the site and most recently the subscribers enjoyed a great piece of his with Oscar bet tips.

If he has been called an ‘old-school poker player’ it has little to do with his age (46) and much to do with his devotion to live poker, his knowledge about the game and the willingness to share it, his generous and positive nature, and last but not least, his ‘niceness’ and good manners. These qualities have made him one of the most widely respected and best-liked figures in UK poker.

In fact, his inherent decency and politeness have earned him the nickname 'the gent of poker' and gotten him involved in a debate on live poker etiquette. Channing voiced his indignation about many pro players’ disdainful and arrogant attitude to amateurs and their fellow table players in general.