Adelaide Player Profile

Adelaide isn’t exactly known as the nexus of poker, but it has bred some top players. Let’s have a look at one of the best to have come out of the SA capital, James Obst.

Starting out as a teenage chess champion, Obst began playing at the (illegal) age of 14 online. Because he had no access to a credit card at the time, he got other players to transfer him small amounts to get his bankroll going. By grinding it out and building his bankroll gradually.

He eventually made a name for himself by winning a $10 rebuy tournament, taking out the first prize of $17, 000. From there on it was on to bigger and better things, making 5th place at last year's $100, 000 challenge at the Aussie Millions. His career winning to date exceed $2.4 million.

One interesting fact about his career is that another online player snitched on him when he was 17 years old (due to his underage status) and Obst was banned from online play for a year. Keeping his cool until he could play again, Obst used this time offline to focus on his studies, health and his other obligations. This left him free to get back into poker full time by the time he was 18.

James was invited to join Team Victory at the popular site Victory Poker in 2010, a testament to his skill level. His contemporaries in the Victory Poker stable include Antonio Esfandiari and Danny Wong.

A true Adelaide Crows supporter, James’s online handle is “Andy McLeod” after Andrew McLeod, one of the greatest indigenous players of all time and also considered by some to be the best Crows player of all time.

Being a hometown boy at heart, James still resides in Adelaide to this day.

Archie Raweed is a content writer at pokie.com.au, where he tries his best to cover the latest in the Australian pokies scene. In between articles, he likes to fit in a few hands of poker both online and offline.