Liv Boeree showing off her model looks (Images by Josh Baskin)
Liv Boeree is a 26-year-old poker champion. After winning millions from games she plans on expanding her portfolio even further and taking it back to other things that she can excel at.
Liv was introduced to the game just five years ago, coming fresh from university with a degree in Physics with Astro-Physics she wasn't sure which path she wanted to take.
Instead, she started to apply for TV contestant shows and with a blink of the eye was one of the final five members of a new show, were they would be teaching them to play poker, with the help of some of the biggest industry professionals there are.
We spoke to Liv to get all her insider knowledge, how she unnerves people she's playing against and what's coming next for her.
How do you cope with the uncertainty of it all, and the chance that you could walk away from the table with nothing?
It's just part of the game, you get very used to it. It's a game of skill but there is a lot of luck involved and there are times when you can play perfectly and your best and then you just get unlucky. For any poker player, whether you're an amatuer or professional you'll get used to that, it's just part of the game.
To someone who has never played poker before, how would you describe it?
Like I said, it's a game of skill, with an element of luck. It's a game that anyone could play, young or old, male or female. You can play for no money or lots of money, and then there's everything in between. You can play for any amount really. You can play live and online.
How do you limit yourself from spending too much money?
It's the same with any hobby, say you wanted to take up golf, or some other hobby that could be potentially expensive, you know how much money you have, you know spare money, that's left over from your rent and your bills and so on. I mean, you wouldn't go out and buy a £5,000 bag of clubs to go golfing if you earned 20k a year, you wouldn't do that. It's the same with poker, it's the same with any hobby - you never invest or play with more money than you can afford to. It's called bank roll management.
Typically speaking, if you have a pot of money that you play with, you should never risk more than 5 per cent at any time.
What do you do to prepare yourself for the games?
Before any big tournament, I try and get an early night, eat well and get lots of sleep. That's the best thing that you can do is be well rested and any athlete would not go out the night before drinking and that, well the same goes for a playing poker or anything that you do really, that you want to take seriously. I would do that and then try and brush up on my game, recent strategies, talk about strategies with friends, that sort of thing. That's the best way to prepare I find.
Do you do anything to psych yourself up right before a game?
It depends, if it's a really, really big tournament or I make it to the final table and I know that I'm playing for millions, then that's very intense and I try and do some deep breathing, I try and meditate a little bit beforehand. I find that meditation actually helps a lot.
How do you manage to keep a Pokerface when you know that you could possibly be winning millions of pounds?
It's difficult. Basically, going off. I won a tournament in Italy last year and that was very nerve wracking. I felt such anxiety in my stomach, before the tournament and kind of during it, but when you're actually involved in a hand I find that I'm able to switch off the nerves and think clearly. It's all about breathing and taking your time. I find that it actually helps to look at my opponents a lot. If I stare at them, it calms me down and it seems to unsettle them.
Where is your favourite place to play in the world?
I loved Australia, I got to go to Melbourne for a tournament that was nice. But I think Vegas.
Who would you rather play against, men or women?
I don't really mind who I play against, I just want to play against people who are worse at poker than me. So if it's a man or a woman, you just don't want to play against someone who is better than you. Whoever they are, as long as they are worse at poker than me. Which hopefully is the majority of people.
How long do you see yourself playing the game?
I don't think I'll ever stop, I can't see a time when I'm never going to play poker again. I just love the game too much. The beauty of poker is that you can play as much or as little as you want. It just depends on how it fits into your schedule. I have lots of other interests, I've got some TV projects that I'm working on, that sort of thing. Away from poker but the game will always be there for me. 
So what are these TV projects that you have coming up?
I'm working on a few things, I'm looking to expand my science background because I have a degree in Physics with Astro-physics and that's something that's been put on the back-burner for the past few years, because I've been concentrating on poker so much. But I really have a lot of interest in that. And I think that we need some more TV shows about interesting technology and anything from weather to physics, to just new sciences basically. I would love to be involved in making some shows in that sort of thing. Fun but educational shows. (I'm later told that Liv would love to follow in the footsteps of Brain Cox - TV's new scientist)
You're a very talented guartist too - would you ever consider doing that professionally?
I don't know whether I'm good enough anymore to play guitar professionally. It's definitely something that I want to get back into, I really miss playing. I love my heavy metal a lot. So I do want to start brushing up again. Who knows, maybe one day if I get the chance to play in a band.
Apart from your TV projects what else do you have coming up?
I've got the UK IBT's, which is really cool because I get to be on Channel 4 each week. And I represent an online poker company, called Pokerstars, and they keep me really busy with their events and it's really good fun. I get to travel the world playing at their events. Then, obviously I get to play online a lot with them.
I'm going to be doing some exciting thing during London Fashion Week. Which I'm really excited about. Getting more into fashion recently.
What things have you got planned for London Fashion Week?
We're not a 100 per cent sure just yet, I know I've got some parties lined up and hopefully I'll get to see some shows which I'll find really fun.
Which shows are you looking forward to seeing?
There's a long, long list. I'm not sure yet, depends on what I can get in to.
Liv is usually travelling the world so for the first time in a long while she'll be in the UK for Fashion Week and is excited for the opportunities that this may bring. It's tough for a young woman to choose outfits when playing poker. What does a woman wear to a poker table? With poker being such a male-dominated industry Liv tries to stay in touch with her feminine side and love of fashion so she keeps a close eye on new trends.
Femalefirst Taryn Davies
Liv Boeree is a 26-year-old poker champion. After winning millions from games she plans on expanding her portfolio even further and taking it back to other things that she can excel at.
Liv was introduced to the game just five years ago, coming fresh from university with a degree in Physics with Astro-Physics she wasn't sure which path she wanted to take.
Instead, she started to apply for TV contestant shows and with a blink of the eye was one of the final five members of a new show, were they would be teaching them to play poker, with the help of some of the biggest industry professionals there are.
If I stare at them, it calms me down and it seems to unsettle them
We spoke to Liv to get all her insider knowledge, how she unnerves people she's playing against and what's coming next for her.
How do you cope with the uncertainty of it all, and the chance that you could walk away from the table with nothing?
It's just part of the game, you get very used to it. It's a game of skill but there is a lot of luck involved and there are times when you can play perfectly and your best and then you just get unlucky. For any poker player, whether you're an amatuer or professional you'll get used to that, it's just part of the game.
To someone who has never played poker before, how would you describe it?
Like I said, it's a game of skill, with an element of luck. It's a game that anyone could play, young or old, male or female. You can play for no money or lots of money, and then there's everything in between. You can play for any amount really. You can play live and online.
How do you limit yourself from spending too much money?
It's the same with any hobby, say you wanted to take up golf, or some other hobby that could be potentially expensive, you know how much money you have, you know spare money, that's left over from your rent and your bills and so on. I mean, you wouldn't go out and buy a £5,000 bag of clubs to go golfing if you earned 20k a year, you wouldn't do that. It's the same with poker, it's the same with any hobby - you never invest or play with more money than you can afford to. It's called bank roll management.
Typically speaking, if you have a pot of money that you play with, you should never risk more than 5 per cent at any time.
What do you do to prepare yourself for the games?
Before any big tournament, I try and get an early night, eat well and get lots of sleep. That's the best thing that you can do is be well rested and any athlete would not go out the night before drinking and that, well the same goes for a playing poker or anything that you do really, that you want to take seriously. I would do that and then try and brush up on my game, recent strategies, talk about strategies with friends, that sort of thing. That's the best way to prepare I find.
Do you do anything to psych yourself up right before a game?
It depends, if it's a really, really big tournament or I make it to the final table and I know that I'm playing for millions, then that's very intense and I try and do some deep breathing, I try and meditate a little bit beforehand. I find that meditation actually helps a lot.
How do you manage to keep a Pokerface when you know that you could possibly be winning millions of pounds?
It's difficult. Basically, going off. I won a tournament in Italy last year and that was very nerve wracking. I felt such anxiety in my stomach, before the tournament and kind of during it, but when you're actually involved in a hand I find that I'm able to switch off the nerves and think clearly. It's all about breathing and taking your time. I find that it actually helps to look at my opponents a lot. If I stare at them, it calms me down and it seems to unsettle them.
Where is your favourite place to play in the world?
I loved Australia, I got to go to Melbourne for a tournament that was nice. But I think Vegas.
Who would you rather play against, men or women?
Tagged in celebrity interview