Arron Fletcher definitely represents the new breed of poker player. He admits that he has an obsession with the game, but it’s not in the gambling sense. He’s a student of every aspect of poker, from physical to mental improvements, strategies and tactics.

Over the last five years, Fletcher has gone from online and cash game hopeful to making a lucrative living from live cash games and backing players. At the table, he is precise, calm and focused. Away from the felt, he is a bag of emotions, expressive, passionate and human in every sense. How does he marry the two and live his life as a poker professional?

“I have two bank accounts that are titled self-employed sportsman, but I’d be lying to myself if I said I was a sportsman. I do try to be the best I can. There’s a lot of pain involved. I go through an array of emotions between loving tourneys and thinking I’ll play everything then busting tourneys and saying I’ll never play another one again. That happens pretty frequently. I’m an emotional guy, but it’s a flaw in poker. I wouldn’t advocate it for poker players [to be this emotional].

So what does Fletcher do to improve his game in this key area?

I work on it a lot. I have my own methods, I’m someone who’s into the mental side of the game because I need to be. I have many weaknesses in poker and work hard on improving them. You can train your brain to do anything, I definitely believe that. I’m forcing myself to play just tournaments for a month. In my mind, it’s gone fantastically. I don’t discuss profit/loss short term because it’s irrelevant. I’m a smart investor, though. I always care about my horses. I’m conscious of improving all the time.

Fletcher took part in the WSOP Main Event for the first time this summer as he went to Las Vegas and followed in the footsteps of thousands of other players in trying to take down the biggest tournament in poker.

“It’s not the toughest tournament in the world! I had some superstars telling me I had a hard table, but I loved it. I didn’t know many of their names, but I played with Pratyush Buddiga. He looks like he was in the Spelling Bee! It was fun to three-bet him a lot and to play deep-stacked poker was great.”

How does an emotional person deal with the pressure and hope of the Main Event?

“I was determined not to be emotionally invested in it. Everyone says it hurts the most, that when you bust the Main Event, it’s the hardest moment of the year. I planned to post a status on social media saying it didn’t hurt a bit and these professionals need to ‘get over it’. But it hurt so badly when I busted, it felt like a train hit me! I thought ‘OK, it’s a new experience for me’. It was on Day 3 but before the money bubble. I don’t know why it hurt.”

We had to know - was it a bad beat?

“I don’t believe in bad beats, there’s no such thing. Our friend group don’t accept them, listen to them or say them, even subtle ones where people announce ‘It’s not a bad beat’, but you know it’s coming. It’s not accepted.

Are bad beat stories and players who speak of playing ‘perfect poker’ signs that someone isn’t a professional?

“I was watching Twitch the other day and I saw a notable professional doing a marathon for charity. First of all, that’s a great thing to do and I’m pleased that he raised money and everything. But he was whinging and bitching about bad beats. He’s a really established professional and he was whinging ‘How bad do I run?’ and ‘It’s so sick, so sick’.

I could not believe it. I was so shocked. He’s a fish, I don’t care what anyone says. That’s a fish! People are in the chatbox crying and bitching too; what are those people doing?! How lucky he is to be alive, let alone playing a game, streaming on Twitch and being a good, recognised professional? I lasted five minutes and I was gone, I had to turn it off! My life is about positivity and people who are particularly negative tend to have a short life-span around me right now!”

Fletcher is clearly someone who wears his heart firmly on his sleeve. He has been through the mill in poker terms, but has emerged a professional and is looking to make his mark on the game in a big way. One thing you can be sure of if he manages it will be how much he enjoys every second.