Sam Trickett
Sam Trickett is an English professional poker player whose career combines major tournament victories with a longstanding reputation in high-stakes cash games. He became internationally known during the early 2010s through success at the Aussie Millions, the Partouche Poker Tour and the World Series of Poker.
His largest recorded payout came at the 2012 WSOP, where he finished second to Antonio Esfandiari in the inaugural 1.000.000 $ Big One for One Drop. The 10.112.001 $ runner-up prize remains the defining financial milestone in his tournament record.
Known as Tricky, Trickett developed from a player on the British circuit into a competitor in some of poker’s most expensive events. His record includes multiple victories in high rollers, although he has not won a WSOP bracelet.
Early Life and Date of Birth
Samuel Trickett was born on July 2, 1986, in East Retford, Nottinghamshire, England. Before poker became his profession, his ambitions were centred on football.
A serious knee injury interrupted his pursuit of a football career. Published profiles describe that setback as the turning point that led him towards poker in 2005.
Trickett’s subsequent success did not come from an established family poker background or an immediate move into elite tournaments. He began with local games and progressively built the experience and bankroll needed for a professional career.
Discovering Poker and the British Circuit
Trickett played at local casinos before adding online poker to his routine. His early internet experience included low-stakes sit-and-go tournaments under the nickname Tricky.
British poker rooms provided the first setting for his live development. Regular play and domestic tournaments preceded the international high-roller events that would later define his public profile.
The progression matters because the largest results can obscure the earlier stages of his career. Before he competed for eight-figure prizes, Trickett had spent years moving through smaller games and building his tournament record.
The 2008 GUKPT Luton Breakthrough
Trickett won the 2008 Grosvenor UK Poker Tour Luton Main Event for 109.050 £. The domestic championship became one of his first substantial tournament victories.
That year also brought a fourth-place finish in a 5.000 $ No-Limit Hold’em event at the WSOP for 245.927 $. The combination of a British title and a Las Vegas final table gave his early record an international dimension.
These results established a foundation for the larger events that followed. They also showed that his ambitions were extending beyond local cash games into the major tournament circuit.
A Stronger International Record in 2010
Trickett’s 2010 results included second place in a 5.000 $ No-Limit Hold’em event at the WSOP for 505.725 $. Jason DeWitt won the bracelet, leaving Trickett with a major payout but without the title.
He also finished seventh in the WSOP 25.000 $ Six-Handed event for 141.168 $, and fourth in the EPT Vilamoura Main Event for 139.681 €.
Later in the year, he won the PartyPoker World Open VI in London for 200.000 $. The sequence brought together substantial results in different tournament settings and preceded his breakthrough high-roller season in Australia.
Winning the 2011 Aussie Millions 100.000 A$ Event
At the 2011 Aussie Millions in Melbourne, Trickett won the 100.000 A$ No-Limit Hold’em event for 1.525.000 A$. The victory immediately elevated the scale of his tournament career.
Only days later, he finished second to Erik Seidel in the 250.000 A$ Super High Roller for another 1.400.000 A$. Those two results gave him nearly 3.000.000 A$ in cashes from one festival.
The Melbourne performances established Trickett as a significant high-roller competitor. He was now producing major results against experienced opponents in small fields with exceptionally large entry fees.
The 2011 Partouche Poker Tour Championship
Trickett also won the 2011 Partouche Poker Tour Main Event in Cannes. The tournament drew 579 entries, and his victory was worth 1.000.000 €.
The competition’s initial stages took place in September, with the final table completed later in the year. Trickett defeated Salman Behbehani heads-up to secure the championship.
The result added a large-field Main Event title to his Australian high-roller success. It demonstrated that his productive 2011 season was not confined to one festival or one tournament structure.
The 2012 Big One for One Drop
The inaugural Big One for One Drop took place at the 2012 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. Its 1.000.000 $ buy-in attracted 48 entries and created an extraordinary setting in which leading professionals competed alongside wealthy businesspeople.
Trickett reached heads-up play against Antonio Esfandiari. He ultimately finished second and received 10.112.001 $, while Esfandiari won the bracelet and the 18.346.673 $ first prize.
The runner-up finish made Trickett one of the most recognisable British names in international poker. It remains his largest recorded tournament cash and accounts for a substantial share of his lifetime total.
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
| 1st | Antonio Esfandiari | United States | 18.346.673 $ |
| 2nd | Sam Trickett | United Kingdom | 10.112.001 $ |
Winning the 2013 Aussie Millions 250.000 A$ Challenge
Trickett returned to the Melbourne winner’s circle in 2013 by taking down the 250.000 A$ Challenge. The event attracted 18 entries and generated a 4.500.000 A$ prize pool, with four players paid.
He defeated Tobias Reinkemeier heads-up and collected 2.000.000 A$. Fabian Quoss finished third and Igor Kurganov fourth.
One of the tournament’s decisive confrontations saw Trickett make a straight flush against Kurganov’s flush. The victory added a second Aussie Millions high-roller title to the 100.000 A$ event he had won in 2011.
Macau and High-Stakes Cash Games
Trickett’s reputation has always extended beyond tournament payouts. He participated in the Macau high-stakes cash-game scene alongside prominent professionals and wealthy recreational players.
That side of his career is less comprehensively documented than his tournament results. Private-game wins and losses cannot be reconstructed reliably from a public tournament database.
His association with cash games also helps explain why periods with relatively few listed tournament cashes should not automatically be interpreted as an absence from poker. Tournament volume and overall professional activity are different measures.
Later WSOP and European Results
Trickett continued to record significant live finishes after his early-2010s peak. In 2014, he finished second in the WPT Venice Main Event for 65.888 € and fifth in the EPT Barcelona 50.000 € Super High Roller for 288.400 €.
At the 2019 WSOP Europe in Rozvadov, he finished second in the 25.500 € Platinum High Roller for 368.899 €. The result added another substantial WSOP runner-up finish to his record.
Despite those deep runs and the Big One for One Drop result, his published record remains without a WSOP bracelet. His standing in poker therefore rests on a broader combination of titles, payouts and cash-game experience.
The 2020 Sochi High-Roller Victory
Trickett won Event #2 of the partypoker LIVE MILLIONS Super High Roller Series in Sochi in March 2020. The 25.500 $ No-Limit Hold’em tournament attracted 58 entries and paid him 435.000 $.
He defeated Ivan Leow heads-up. The final table also included Matthias Eibinger, Adrian Mateos, Timothy Adams, Artur Martirosyan, Phil Ivey and Paul Phua.
The result showed that he could still win against a strong international high-roller field during a period of more selective tournament travel. Reports that place this championship in 2019 confuse it with the year of his preceding WSOP Europe result.
Major Tournament Results
The following selection highlights Trickett’s largest payouts and important victories. Original event currencies are retained; Australian prizes are expressed in Australian dollars.
| Year | Event | Place | Prize |
| 2012 | WSOP: 1.000.000 $ Big One for One Drop | 2nd | 10.112.001 $ |
| 2013 | Aussie Millions: 250.000 A$ Challenge | 1st | 2.000.000 A$ |
| 2011 | Aussie Millions: 100.000 A$ No-Limit Hold’em | 1st | 1.525.000 A$ |
| 2011 | Aussie Millions: 250.000 A$ Super High Roller | 2nd | 1.400.000 A$ |
| 2011 | Partouche Poker Tour Main Event, Cannes | 1st | 1.000.000 € |
| 2012 | Macau High Stakes Challenge Super High Roller | 7th | 7.750.000 HK$ |
| 2010 | WSOP: 5.000 $ No-Limit Hold’em | 2nd | 505.725 $ |
| 2020 | MILLIONS Sochi: 25.500 $ No-Limit Hold’em | 1st | 435.000 $ |
| 2019 | WSOP Europe: 25.500 € Platinum High Roller | 2nd | 368.899 € |
| 2010 | PartyPoker World Open VI | 1st | 200.000 $ |
| 2008 | GUKPT Luton Main Event | 1st | 109.050 £ |
Tournament Earnings and England’s Money List
Trickett has more than 21.800.000 $ in recorded live tournament cashes. The Hendon Mob’s England All Time Money List, generated on October 13, 2026, lists him third behind Stephen Chidwick and Ben Heath, with 21.808.340 $ in earnings included in that ranking.
The ranking excludes recurring events, and individual profile totals can differ from list totals or change as records are updated. His best individual live cash remains the 10.112.001 $ One Drop payout.
These figures are gross recorded prizes rather than net profit. They do not deduct entry fees, expenses or shares owned by backers, and they do not establish his personal net worth or the overall result of his private cash-game career.
Sponsorship and Poker Media
Trickett was a member of Team partypoker during a significant part of his public career. In 2018, the operator released The World of Sam Trickett, a documentary series covering his background, professional development and life around poker.
That media role complemented his tournament appearances and cash-game reputation. It gave audiences a view of the person behind the large results that had made his name internationally familiar.
More Selective Tournament Appearances
Trickett’s later public tournament record has been less frequent than during his breakthrough years. A recorded return came at the 2025 Mediterranean Poker Party in Cyprus, where he finished 22nd in the 5.300 $ Main Event for 35.500 $.
The result confirms a later tournament appearance without establishing a full-time return to the international circuit. Public records should be read as evidence of specific events rather than a complete account of his schedule.
Place in British Poker History
Trickett’s career captures an important period in the development of modern high-stakes poker. He moved from British tournaments into Melbourne super high rollers, the Macau cash-game scene and the first million-dollar WSOP event.
The 2011 and 2013 Aussie Millions titles, the Partouche championship and the One Drop runner-up finish remain his principal tournament landmarks. The later Sochi win extended that record into a different stage of his career.
His importance to British poker does not depend on a WSOP bracelet. It rests on documented victories, an eight-figure final-table payout and a reputation established across both tournament and cash-game environments.