Something about Michael McGee lends itself to a career as a poker professional. Asked to list his hobbies after becoming the latest player to win a Platinum Pass for the PSPC in Barcelona in 2020, he said: Â “Lots of travelling, reading (to get smarter through critical thinking) and also seriously into coffee.” All of that is precisely the kind of thing required for success in this game.
After picking up the game age 18, playing for play money online, McGee, from Peebles, Scotland, then started investing some of his earliest paychecks into poker and honing his skills. He quickly became financially secure thanks to the game and now, aged 27, from Peebles, Scotland, says he is mainly a cash-game pro and plays on PokerStars as “YouKnwMyName”. His biggest cash-game pot came last year when he got it all in pre-flop with kings against aces, but spiked a king on the river for more than $15K.
That kind of volatility is better associated with tournaments, and McGee has also sampled some success in MTTs, most prominenty on the UKIPT in 2013, where he made a final table in Edinburgh and banked £8,300. His best friend and former flatmate, Robbie Bull, won UKIPT London that same year, so McGee is well-versed in what it takes to win major events.
After a fallow period at the tables, McGee recalls telling Bull earlier this year that he needed “goals, something to aim for and work towards”. That was shortly before a Mystery Chest dropped a Platinum Pass in his lap and offered him a perfect target. It just so happens that McGee will turn 28 on Day 3 of the PSPC, by which time they will be deep into the money. A double celebration is already pencilled in.
