KEY POINTS:
The name is Honeybone. James Honeybone. And while this James may not be playing poker with millions of dollars like James Bond was in Casino Royale, the 23-year-old has managed to pay his way through his university degree by perfecting his poker face.
Honeybone, a University of Waikato management student, has won more than $170,000, by applying research and mathematic skills to the card game which he plays in international tournaments and online.
"It's probably 30 per cent mathematical, and 70 per cent being able to work people out ... it is very much like James Bond in Casino Royale."
The Hamilton resident started playing poker around 18 months ago, and has competed in tournaments in Korea, Philippines, Spain, Las Vegas, and Australia. His biggest win so far was over $100,000 in a game in Barcelona.
Add that to a recent win of $76,000 at the Asia Pacific Poker Tour in Seoul, and Honeybone has paid off the loan he had accumulated while studying for four years, invested in shares and buys himself the odd luxury.
"I was just like any other student; I remember a week last year where I had to get by on a loaf of bread, but now I am debt-free."
Honeybone is using his gambling prowess to his advantage. He is doing a practical study for his degree on betting habits in Super Rugby, applying his faith in research and mathematics to investigate how people bet on the rugby games.
"Poker and finance have a lot of connections - they both require that you do your homework, and you have to make definitive decisions based on your gut feeling sometimes."
His study on Super Rugby hypothesises that if people have accurate past information before betting on a particular team, and base their predictions on past trends, they are more likely to be successful; it's an approach that has certainly worked for him so far.
