Poker is a game of survivors, and if there’s one man who epitomises the word ‘survival’, then it’s Mickey Wernick. He’s never claimed to be the best player in the world, but he has managed to survive anything the game has thrown at him, and maintained his position as a major fixture on the UK circuit.

The ongoing poker boom may be continually spurting out a seemingly endless reel of acne-ridden, teenage hotshots, all brimming with a supreme confidence and advanced mathematical awareness, but Mickey has remained strong, and used his wealth of experience and determination to ‘kick it’ with the new generation.

A retired bookmaker from Wolverhampton, Mickey boasts a set of results that could induce arthritis on any poor soul scrolling the page, his numerous scores showing a level of consistency that few could echo. Most notable, however, is a constant presence, his results showing little respite since the turn of the millennium and proving that he really does eat, sleep and breathe this addictive game. In that sense, Mickey is undeniably one of poker’s true addicts.

Although his earliest result is dated back to 1990 at the Manx Classic where he clashed with a moustachioed Surinder Sunar, Mickey had been chewing up the felt decades prior, appearances in the Rubicon, Rainbow and, later, Grosvenor casinos making him a known, and highly respected figure in the Midlands area.

Mickey was also one of the first Brits to venture Stateside, when Binions and the Golden Nugget were the key players and the world’s fastest growing city was little more than a sprinkling of casinos and a mass of tumbleweed. Armed with a relentless vigour and unhinged hunger to take on the very best in the game, Mickey’s encounters with the likes of Chan, Reese and Brunson have become the stuff of legends, his tête-à-tête with Stu Ungar in particular being an oft-told tale.

It’s often claimed that Internet players have played more hands in a few years than the old guard have in lifetime, but with Mickey, it would be a close call. But despite his poker marathons, the bad beats still affect Mickey, and his heart-on-sleeve approach have endeared him to the masses, while showcasing the love-hate relationship he has with the game. On countless occasions he can be seen with his head bowed, attempting in vain to handle the wicked ways of the game. As a former amateur boxer, he should be used to absorbing the blows, but his will to win is so strong that each sucker punch leaves a slightly more prominent bruise.

If anyone has been treated poorly by the Poker Gods, then it’s Mickey, his run of misfortune around 2003-04 enough to demoralise anyone. Then there are the countless near misses: an EPT Deauville bubble, numerous WSOP cashes, two GUKPT finals without victory – he’s come desperately close, but has yet to capture that major title he so richly deserves.