One of a kind: Scotland's poker king of Las Vegas

A quiescent municipality successful confederate Scotland is simply a agelong mode from the agleam lights of Las Vegas.

And yet Niall Farrell is blessed moving betwixt those 2 worlds arsenic Scotland's apical nonrecreational poker player.

His exploits precocious featured successful the documentary The Four Rules of the Poker Kings.

How did the 36-year-old marque his travel from increasing up successful Dumfries to winning - and losing - fortunes astir the world?

Poker takes him to tournaments successful the likes of Monte Carlo, Prague and the United States but helium is blessed to person his basal successful the tiny Scottish municipality helium calls home.

"I deliberation it's bully to cognize everything astir the municipality that you're successful - its bully points and its atrocious points," helium explained.

"It's my town, you know?"

Niall was archetypal drawn to poker - similar galore successful the UK - by the Channel 4 programme Late Night Poker.

"I deliberation I stayed up to ticker the wrestling erstwhile I was 14 oregon thing and this precocious nighttime poker was on," helium said.

"When you're watching poker, conscionable without immoderate information, it's rather boring.

"It was the archetypal amusement that had the small solid squares successful the tables truthful you had the full paper camera truthful you could spot what radical had."

It wasn't until helium started studying concern instrumentality successful Stirling that helium began playing the crippled with location mates and past online.

Over time, helium started to make his game.

"I don't cognize if it's possibly a small spot of arrogance oregon conscionable assurance oregon something," helium says.

"But I deliberation if I walk clip astatine thing and I bask it - which is truly important for maine - that I volition get rather bully astatine it."

However, helium freely admits helium was "very bad" astatine the outset.

"I thought I was rather bully rather rapidly - but I was incorrect and I was soon humbled erstwhile I started," helium said.

"But past you benignant of get humbled and past you tin commencement gathering up again.

"Roughly by the clip I graduated, I was astatine the constituent wherever I was like, OK, I'm going to effort and bash this professionally and springiness it a go."

He said helium was fortunate his parents were blessed to springiness him the state to marque his ain mistakes.

Not that it went smoothly.

"I was precise adjacent to quitting - I was having a atrocious spell," helium explained.

"I'd borrowed wealth disconnected my woman astatine the clip arsenic well."

He had fixed himself astir 2 weeks much earlier helium packed it successful erstwhile helium entered an online tourney astir 10 days later.

By "cosmic force" oregon "sheer unsighted randomness" helium won - picking up $33,000 successful the process.

"I could wage my woman backmost and benignant of went from spot to strength," helium said.

That is thing of an understatement for a antheral whose vocation winnings present tally to millions and is 1 of lone a tiny fig of players to person won the game's "triple crown".

The BBC documentary charts the ups and downs of his instrumentality to poker aft taking a interruption for the commencement of his son.

It captures some the delight of winning and the symptom of losing, contempt his skills.

"You are conscionable wholly numb," helium admitted.

"I effort to support myself distant from radical for like, 30 minutes due to the fact that I cognize you conscionable accidental and bash anserine things astatine that point."

And what does helium deliberation makes him bully astatine the game?

"I've ever been rather bully with numbers successful general," helium said.

"A batch of it's conscionable rather heavy maths, which is benignant of little glamorous than James Bond makes it look.

"There's besides an constituent of science too, particularly erstwhile you're playing live."

Next successful enactment could beryllium a travel to Cyprus successful a mates of weeks oregon a large World Poker Tour lawsuit successful Las Vegas.

In the meantime, though, he's blessed to beryllium successful Dumfries with his spouse Edita and lad Ruairi, without feeling the request to bargain a "massive house".

"We'd suffer the wee antheral successful 1 of the 18 bedrooms," helium joked. "It conscionable it wouldn't consciousness similar a location to me."

Instead, helium is blessed with a bully location and a play parkland wrong presumption of the beforehand doorway and the "peace of mind" that not having to interest astir wealth tin bring.

Niall reckons his upbringing successful Dumfries has played a portion successful that attitude.

"It helps support you down to world for a start," helium explained. "You don't get supra your station, truthful to speak.

"And, I don't cognize if it's a Scottish thing, but you conscionable rotation with the punches if atrocious things are happening."

It has helped him emergence towards the apical of a crippled helium inactive enjoys.

Even if, erstwhile helium is successful Las Vegas, helium is sometimes wishing helium could beryllium backmost pushing a plaything successful his Scottish location town.