PokerStrategy.com Moderator EagleStar88 Wins Genting Poker Series Main Event

One of our most popular moderators in the English community forum has won the online leg of the Genting Poker Tour, a UK based live series. EagleStar88 won £25,000, a £1,600 live Grand Final seat and a trophy on Sunday. We caught up with him shortly after his win.

Keith 'eaglestar88' Bartholomew joined PokerStrategy.com in 2008 and soon become a moderator on our English community forum. He quickly became one of the most reliable and popular mods in the community, so we shared a few words with him shortly after his win.

"It's a big deal. For me poker is about the social side"

EagleStar88

PokerStrategy.com: Congratulations on your big win. Is £25,000 a big deal for you?

eaglestar88: It's a big deal for me. I've been playing online since about 2003, I have played higher levels than I do right now, but at the moment I only play $5 tournaments. Sometimes I satellite into higher events, but really I am a micro stakes player. For me, poker is about the social side more than anything.

PokerStrategy.com: In that case we guess you qualified to this event?

eaglestar88: This particular one was a freeroll where all you had to do was generate $5 of rake. There was about 250 players and 12 seats to be won to the £430 main event.

PokerStrategy.com: Did the fact you freerolled into the tournament decrease or increase the pressure?

eaglestar88: It was mixed. I started off quite anxious and it got easier as I went on. Pre-game there was a bit of pressure; £430 is a lot of money and I considered selling it on. I didn't feel particularly confident when it started.

I started off playing pretty tight, as the tournament wore on I got low a few times and opened up a bit to get back into it. Then I went on a bit of a heater towards the bubble.

After that the pressure eased a bit, I was pleased with how I was playing and I gained confidence. I was pretty safe on the bubble and already thinking £900 for a min-cash was a good result.

"I love the community at PokerStrategy.com"

The Genting Tour Trophy

PokerStrategy.com: What brought you to PokerStrategy.com as a moderator?

eaglestar88: I love the community. I love the fact that rather than affiliates taking your money, PokerStrategy.com are different in that they give back and reinvest it into things like education, competitions and forum leagues.

I'm not as active as a moderator these days, but I still pop in most days and help where I can.

PokerStrategy.com: Tell us about being a moderator. What does it involve?

eaglestar88: We try never to enforce anything on anyone, it is supposed to be a fun role and largely it is a voluntary role. It is something you should want to do for the right reasons.

I was on there several hours a day looking through the forums, looking for spam and disposing of it, and answering peoples' questions.

It can be time-consuming and sometimes thankless, but it is one of those things that has to be done to protect the members.

The aspect I liked the most was dealing with the members face-to-face, answering their questions and pointing them in the right direction. That was the bit I enjoyed the most and it was what people appreciated more; if someone got an answer within an hour they would be delighted.

"I'm giving £1,000 to charity"

PokerStrategy.com: Did you have to brandish the 'ban stick' a lot?

eaglestar88: In terms of 'disciplining' people for want of a better word, I used to take a view of educating people before banning them. I would always edit peoples' posts and put a polite note saying "here are the forum guidelines, we are here to help" and 9 times out of 10 they would be understanding.

There were very few cases where we would out-and-out ban people, and when we did it was a collective decision.

PokerStrategy.com: So you are £25,000 better off, have you made any plans for the money?

eaglestar88:A friend of mine lost his father earlier this year to a heart condition and he started a campaign to get some exposure and funds for the British Heart Foundation.

He has been playing some tournaments around the UK and giving any winnings to the charity. We all as a group of friends have been trying to help as well and decided we will all chip in a little bit of our poker winnings.

Until now I haven't been able to contribute much, but with this win I have decided to donate £1,000 to the charity in honour of his Father. If anyone wants to contribute they can do so at this JustGiving site.

PokerStrategy.com: Congratulations on your win and massive respect for making such a worthy donation.